Jehovah-Rapha, The Lord Who Heals

...for I, the Lord, am your healer.

Exodus 2:26

He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5

But for you who fear My name

the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

Malachi 4:2

Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;

save me and I will be saved, for Thou art my praise.

Jeremiah 17:14

I Dreamed

Last night I dreamed that Baby Sister arrived. I was resting in my bed {at home} after the birth when the professor walked into our room carrying a big, fat, rosy baby girl. "Guess how much she weighs," he said with a grin... "Ten pounds and two ounces!"

He laid her on the bed next to me and I leaned over and kissed her.

The Boys' Room

We did it... two boys, two bedrooms, and 200,000 "I can't get rid of this" treasures consolidated into one space.


The room is colorful, boy'ish, and pleasantly cluttered.

Things are neat right now but sometimes this place is a disaster zone. As long as the room is relatively tidy at bedtime I try not to sweat the mess... this is their space.

Each boy has one drawer to hold seasonal play clothes; the third drawer contains socks, underwear, and pajamas for both.

They love having bunk beds... I love the floor space that going vertical allows.

Cubicle bookcases from Ikea {the white one shown here and a low brown one on the far side of the bottom bunk, partially shown in photos 2 and 3} help us maintain our preference that all toys are stored in the boys' room.

In the interest of keeping it real here is the closet. There are more games and toys stored inside while shirts, jackets, and dress clothes hang. I still need to sort through the shoes and settle on a good shoe storage solution.

And here is real life... just hours after having the room neatly picture perfect this is the current status!

One project room finished... two bathrooms and a nursery to go!

Pensive

couch view

These days it seems that I feel sluggish and contemplative more often than not. After lunch I find myself gravitating to the couch {it's bathed so nicely in warm sunlight in the afternoons} where I read with Little Brother and then stretch out to doze like a cat or think about how our foursome that will soon be a fivesome.


Yes, I desperately need to mop floors, vacuum, and cook meals to freeze but such tasks are requiring a three-day pep talk to motivate myself. I wonder, when will I get another burst of nesting energy?

This morning we had beautiful, peaceful snow showers. Because this is the deep south and snow of any sort is a marvel I tried to capture it with the camera through the bedroom window. It was a lot prettier in person.

An afternoon cup of tea with a dose of solitude was a nice pick-me-up today... that and a ginger lemon creme cookie. Yum. Such niceties help carry me through the school carpool line, the flurry of after school snacks, play, and homework, then dinner.

Can you see the fourth item up? Bows! Every little girl should have one.

Yesterday I started placing tiny socks, nightgowns, and sleepers in the baby's chest of drawers. What delight! As I worked my mind started racing, "Oh yeah, we're going to need diapers and wipes... Where are the receiving blankets... Don't forget about baby wash for bathtime... And hooded towels... Do we even own a bottle {no} or pacifier {no}... Baby Sister needs a hat."

Why didn't I think about these things before now? Clearly it's been a while since we've had an infant in the house. I seem to have forgotten about all the little necessities {like Tylenol drops} that we'll want to have on hand... so I started a list. But I'm still feeling kind of spacey about it all. What would you put on your list?

Window Simplicity

Captured Moment: Weekend Reading

Mouse Soup

by Arnold Lobel

Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide

And Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide,

as it is said, "In the mount of the Lord it will be provided."

Genesis 22:14

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

Casual Clutch

I'm small but I have enough room for keys, phone, and wallet essentials. I look great with jeans and boots. Take me out with friends, haul me to the gym, or stuff me in a purse, I don't care. I'm a casual kind of girl. I'm a casual clutch.

*pattern and inspiration from Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol

Slow'ish Day

I wasn't feeling great this morning...

So, when he asked if we could watch The Polar Express {upside down} I said yes. "Tomorrow, we'll watch Da Grinch Dat Stole Chwistmas," he informed me.

We took pictures of each other {don't you love the Instamatic?!} and played with Legos. When we actually ventured out it was only for a quick trip to the drugstore which yielded some make-up that was free after coupons!


Several loads of laundry were conquered, snacks were consumed, books were read, and we I rested.

When Big Brother came home from school everyone smiled and we went out to enjoy the fresh air where I lay in the dry, prickly grass under the bright, winter sunshine.

And then there were leftovers for dinner.

More Clips

Last night after finishing The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, after tucking the boys into bed, I made more colorful clothes pin clips while mindlessly watching reruns of The Office with my feet propped up. {As an aside, Baby Sister is doing quite a number on my legs these day. Varicose veins, support hose, and all... let's just say that I really glad that it's pants season.}

These simple, colorful clips really make me smile. With magnets glued to the back they're perfect for displaying masterpieces and greeting cards...

And, I'm finding that I love having them on hand to clip tags to gifts and to seal bags of goodies. I'm even using them as chip clips.

When not in use, seeing a bowl of them in my laundry room is just nice.

Peanut Butter-Banana Granola

Because snacks are very popular at our house... and so is granola.

Cook {generous} 1/3 cup crunchy or creamy, natural peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, and 3 T. canola oil in a small saucepan over medium heat for two minutes. Stir in 1/2 to 1 ripe banana, thinly sliced, stirring the mixture briskly to break down the banana until the mixture is mostly smooth. Remove from heat.

Pour hot mixture over 3.5 cups of uncooked, old fashioned oats. {Feel free to get creative with your "dry" mixture by adding flaked coconut, other grains, sesame seeds, or nuts.} Stir well until coated.

Spread mixture in a greased jelly roll pan and bake for 10 minutes at 325. Stir. Turn the oven off and leave inside five minutes longer, keeping a watchful eye to prevent scorching.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Add dried fruit or chocolate chips if desired. Store in an airtight container and serve over vanilla yogurt for a satisfying snack.

Monday, Monday

Monday morning beauty.

I spent most of the day trying to reclaim the house...

It was definitely showing the effects of a four-day, snowy weekend.

Monday morning outdoor play. Baby, it's cold outside.

Bench Monday

"Mommy, why didn't you get me a whoopee cushion for Bawentine's?"

Oh me.

Jehovah, The Self-Existent One

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " Exodus 3:14

Then the LORD [Jehovah] came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the LORD [Jehovah]. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD [Jehovah], the LORD [Jehovah], the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin... Exodus 34:5-7

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Deep South Snow Day

February 12, 2010

Colorful Clothes Pin Clips

Wooden clothes pins + 3/8-inch wide ribbon + Strong glue + Magnets =

Colorful Magnetic Clips

Using what I had on hand, this is my spin on clothes pin magnets.

Very easy. Very fun. Very useful.

I heart them.

Treats to Share

This is what my guys and I have been working on over the past 24 hours: simple store-bought lollipops tagged with hearts cut from card stock... little Valentine treats for the boys to share with friends over the next few days.

Last year I was busy creating marshmallow bouquets, truffle-a-blooms, and hot chocolate goodie bags and, oh, it was fun! This year seems to be my time to learn {once again} that sometimes ultra-simple is not just good enough but very best of all.