I realize I have not posted in quite a while, so as not to disappoint my few faithful readers, I offer an explanation. My camera battery charger is lost and I have not wanted to blog without pictures! Because the afore mentioned charger seems to have no plans of showing up anytime soon, I thought I'd share a little bit of what we've been up to around here anyway.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Random
Posted by Shannon 5 comments
Monday, August 25, 2008
Unexpected Summer
Posted by Shannon 4 comments
Monday, August 4, 2008
Stepping Out
Posted by Shannon 3 comments
Friday, June 27, 2008
Things that make me happy...
The way it smells outside after it rains
Silly giggles from the backseat
Hot tea in the morning in my teapot we got in China
That David is finished with school
Cookouts and swim parties with friends
A good book
The fact that I still haven't killed the flowers I bought in April
The joy in Abigail's face as she sings her cheesy VBS songs
Knowing that the Lord is working on me...however slow I may be to listen and learn
A fun girls' night out (any takers??)
Anna's full-blown (and contagious!) belly laugh
The ocean
The cardinals who come to our bird feeders
Having David as our leader and provider
Homeschooling our girls, and learning new things right along with them
Being called "Mommy"
Posted by Shannon 4 comments
Monday, June 2, 2008
safe landing
In celebration of our afore mentioned anniversary, and as a reward for putting up with (I mean, so graciously and lovingly enduring) David's last 2 years of school, he blessed me with a wonderful trip to Hawaii. We opted to visit the more laid back island, Kauai. Can I just say that I think it should be required by law for every married couple to visit Kauai every year? We had so much fun!
Thanks to the five hour time difference, we were up every morning before seven (we are not at all morning people.) My favorite morning by far was when we woke up at 5:30 and walked down to the beach to watch the sunrise. My first sun rise ever and it will definitely be hard to top. We spent the next week taking amazing hikes - our favorite being to a beautiful, secluded (except for all the other people who apparently had the same guide book) beach. We found what we thought was the perfect beach - Hanalei Bay. (Until we found an even better one on our last day.) We stumbled upon a random sidewalk restaurant and were hooked - we ate there at least once a day from the time we found it. And right next door was our favorite breakfast spot - a very tasty vegan juice/smoothie bar and bakery. We had a very relaxing massage and I even talked David into taking a Bikram (hot) yoga class with me. (Never in our lives have we sweat so much - 90 minutes of yoga in a 90 degree room - and we were pleasantly surprised by the lack of "new-ageness" of it all.)
And to top it all off, we had absolutely no worries about our girls. A very generous friend kept them all week and refused payment. They came home with stories of water gun fights, going to Braum's in their pajamas, fun circle time (where they learned a new song I think I've probably heard about 50 times today already!), lots of outside playtime, and Abigail's favorite: band time. My friend's husband is a gifted guitar player and singer, and they all had music time together where he led with the guitar and all the kids picked an instrument with which to play along. It has been reported that Anna has a gift of drum playing - I would never have guessed that! And Abigail has no rhythm at all, except her own (no surprises there folks, she is after all David's daughter!)
After 6 full days away, we were more than ready to come home to our girls. Tuesday was our last day in Kauai and our flight didn't take off until 9:00 p.m. We took our favorite hike one last time, discovered what would have been our favorite beach (as we left, we heard people saying that they had just seen turtles, an eel, and many other amazing fish), showered and headed to the airport. We slept pretty much the entire, uneventful flight to L.A. From there we caught our final flight to DFW. Let me just tell you that the Lord has some work to do in me. When we go hiking (in Colorado and such) I am terrified the entire time of bears and mountain lions. When we go snorkeling, I am constantly keeping an eye out for sharks. When we are out in the back yard and anything buzzes in my ear, I am outta there for fear of wasps or bees. I am ashamed to say I have quite a spirit of fear.
It is probably not surprising then that I have never been a very good flyer. I've almost cut David's circulation off more than once as we land and take off. This time was different. I had plenty of good books to preoccupy myself with and was sleepy enough to not really waste any energy being afraid of what I knew was statistically unlikely.
As we were just about to land, early if you can believe that, the pilot all of a sudden starts heading back up again. As he circles around for what feels like the zillionth time, he comes on the overhead and says, "Folks, we're having some flap trouble. Don't worry, we do have flaps to land with and our landing should be normal. The only difference will be that there will be some emergency vehicles waiting for us when we land." Say what? Flap trouble? Should be normal? Emergency vehicles? Not exactly music to my ears.
I immediately began to go into panic mode and my mind was racing with several worst case scenarios. (I have no idea where my girls learned to be so dramatic!) I sensed an uneasiness in David as well, which didn't help my own fear. He pulled out his Bible and started to read. Then all of a sudden I remembered I was a Christian too! I stopped worrying and started praying. I don't really remember specifically what I prayed, but God was good and we had a rather bumpy, but safe, landing. (Emergency vehicles and all!)
While it was certainly an awkward ending to an otherwise perfect trip, it served to David and I as a good reminder of how temporary this life is and what a gift we have in each and every day. I feel like the Lord has been trying for some time to teach me to relax and enjoy all the "little" moments of life. While I am still certainly a work in progress (in so many more ways than just this!), I feel like I'm sort of starting to get it! I've been so blessed by the seemingly mundane and small moments lately - may you enjoy yours as well!
Posted by Shannon 3 comments
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
9 years ago...
Posted by Shannon 5 comments
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Ode to Abigail
I love the way you sing in your bed every night as though no one else could hear
I love staying up a little later with only you, drinking our dessert tea and reading books
I love how big you look in your bed (okay, so that one sometimes makes me feel sad...but in a good kind of way!)
I love how you always dance around the house
I love how you run from one window to the next, waving goodbye to Daddy every morning
I love how when ya'll are hanging out with Dad while I sneak away for a quiet trip to the store, you always call me (even without Dad knowing it) - and how your messages always begin with, "Um, Mom, I just wanted you to know that....)
I love listening to you read - you do so with such expression and animation
I love your tender heart for the Lord and how easily you memorize His word
Best of all, I love that I get to be your mom!
Posted by Shannon 8 comments
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Thank the Lord for George Washington Carver!
What happens when you let a four year old chew a piece of gum and then forget to make sure she spits it out at some point?
This picture isn't doing justice, but as you can see from Anna's very remorseful expression, the gum gets in her hair. Her hair that you can't bear to cut because it took four whole years (you know, her entire life) to grow that long in the first place. A friend recommended trying the old peanut butter method, so before cutting off her half-curly hair, I decided to give it a go:
It took quite a while. After several minutes of having to stand still, Anna started to get pretty whiney and I told her, "Well, you're the one who put the gum in your hair, and this is the price you've got to pay." She got still again, but a couple of minutes later, she burst into tears. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "But I don't want to give you all my money!" (All $5 of it.) To which I replied, "What are you talking about? I never said you had to give me your money!" "But you said I have to pay the price!" Don't you love how literal kids are?
Posted by Shannon 8 comments
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Look out, Andrew Peterson!
Abigail sang this song during the children's program at our church on Easter and I think it is just too amazing not to share! I had them "reenact" it for me at a birthday party today.
Is it wrong to be jealous of your 6 year old's memory? ;)
Posted by Shannon 3 comments
Friday, February 29, 2008
I'm supposed to be a what?!?
Before I attended the conference, I thought I’d brush up on some of Sally’s teachings :) by rereading Mission of Motherhood. The chapter that spoke to me the strongest, in fact the one I couldn’t move past because I wanted to sit and soak it all in, is titled, The Servant Mother. The what?? Servant?? Is that what my life has come to? Choosing to be a servant-mother means willingly giving up myself, my expectations, and my time to the task of mothering – and choosing to believe that doing so is the best use of my time at that moment. p.68 Instead of looking at all of the interruptions, accidents, and such as intrusions on my time, I am learning to see them as moments to bless and serve my children, opportunities to model Christ’s graciousness, moments to teach them to be patient and forgiving. This theme continued, for me, throughout the conference. A few points that encouraged me in this: In the midst of the interruptions, there is a moment for planting…All of the little things build a legacy…Nothing that’s great that’s accomplished is ever accomplished easily…You can’t do it all, so make sure that what you’re doing is what God wants you doing…Be the servant leader, not just the person in charge…
The other thing that I kept hearing over and over again was to love my children as they are – individual and unique. I’ve struggled with this one for some time. My girls couldn’t be more different and I sometimes find myself comparing my younger one to my older one. I realize this isn’t fair and believe me, I love my girls equally, yet Anna sure keeps me on my toes! Some things I heard at the conference: Children are not educated unless you nurture their own creativity…Allow them to develop their own areas of interest…To influence their heart, you must give grace and love who they are…
I think I long ago crossed the line from musing to rambling. If there is anyone still reading, I leave you with one more Sally quote:
But it’s the way I respond to my children in everyday moments that gives me the best chance of winning their hearts. If I have integrity and patience in the small moments of life that are so important to my children, and if I approach them with a servant’s heart, then I have a far better chance of influencing them in the larger and more critical issues of life.
(And the next time you see me losing my cool during one of these “teachable” moments, please remind me that I wrote this post!)
Posted by Shannon 2 comments
Sunday, February 17, 2008
In the eyes of the beholder....
All day on Valentine’s Day, my little Anna was just as sweet as could be. She showered me with compliments and kisses, telling me over and over, “Mommy, you’re so pretty!” The next morning, David walked by the girls’ room and heard them talking. He heard Anna say, “Abby, let’s go see our mommy. She’s so pretty.” So Anna comes and crawls into bed with me, snuggling and just being ridiculously sweet. She looks up at me, wipes a few hairs from my face, and says in the cutest little voice ever, “Mommy?” At this point, she’s got me completely eating out of her hands. “Yes, Anna?” Looking into my eyes, in just as sweet of a voice, she says, “Mommy, you’re not as pretty today as you were yesterday.” What?? You mean I don’t look the same with messy hair, no make-up, no contacts, baggy eyes, etc? I was shocked. Not really, but I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a very long time!
(For those who may be wondering, I couldn't find my heart-shaped cookie cutter on Valentine's Day, so instead, I made the girls teapot-shaped french toast. And yes, that is a furry headband and dress-up outfit that she wore to breakfast. Not uncommon around here.)
And speaking of Valentine’s Day, here are a few pictures from our parties. Unfortunately, I put the wrong memory card in my camera and was only able to take a few.
Posted by Shannon 2 comments
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Oh, to be 29!
So, how did I spend my birthday? I got my carpets cleaned. Exciting, I know. I then tried to convince my family that all I wanted for my birthday was for us all to clean the baseboards and shutters. I mean really, what could be better to any stay-at-home mom than to have clean carpets, and freshly scrubbed baseboards and shutters? They didn’t buy it, so I guess I’ll save that project for another day.
A very sweet friend stopped by with a lovely cake from Whole Foods complete with candied roses and a white chocolate flower, so yummy! My dad stopped by later with a bottle of 1979 bordeaux (so much better than my $10 grocery store wines!) My wonderful husband brought me some beautiful orange tulips and a delicious sushi dinner from our favorite place. Abigail gave me a pillow that she made in her sewing class, which she had been hiding in her daddy’s trunk for about a month! Anna gave me lots of hugs and kisses, and was the first one to wake me up to wish me a happy birthday...and a happy one it was!
Posted by Shannon 1 comments
Monday, February 11, 2008
Not too sure what I've gotten myself into...
I’m not exactly sure why (or for whom) I’m starting this blog, but due to the fact that I’m seriously addicted to reading other people’s blogs, I thought it was high time to start one of my own. Blogging is such a strange thing to me. On one hand, I have several blogs that I follow fairly regularly and it’s really fun to get a glimpse into the lives of others. On the other hand, several of these blogs belong to people I’ve never met and who have no idea that I’m reading what, to me, seems rather personal…it’s almost like sneaking and reading someone else’s diary. For some crazy reason, I’ve decided to let the world in on mine...
More than anything, I thought this would be a fun way for me to record silly moments and favorite memories of my simple life as a stay-at-home, home-schooling mom.
Posted by Shannon 2 comments