Concentration Required

Babies Don't Keep

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo,

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; dust go to sleep!

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

**********

12 weeks old this past Friday

3 months old this coming Friday

10 pounds, 12 ounces

Indeed... they don't keep!

{and my house is quite shocking}

Cool Summer Fare

My father-in-law was out of town on Father's Day so we threw together a casual, impromptu picnic-style {it's too hot for a real picnic} family meal this past weekend. Barbeque with a selection of cool sides made it easy; when the heat index is 103 and the humidity is high there will be no using the oven!

Thank you for answering my call for help by sharing your simple supper suggestions. I'm feeling inspired to cook once again... despite the heat and these crazy baby days.

El Hakkadosh, The Holy God

But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice,

and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.

Isaiah 5:15

Eyes for Each Other

Help Wanted: Simple Summer Suppers

The meals from friends have stopped arriving and my freezer stash is rapidly dwindling. Baby Sister joined us almost three months ago; it's time for me to start cooking again. The problem: I'm seriously out of practice and desperately in need of fresh inspiration.

I'm looking for simple, easy supper ideas. I'm talking about short ingredient lists and minimal prep... like cook the shrimp, boil the pasta, and toss it all with olive oil kind of easy. We can't live on grilled chicken with oven fries, shrimp with pasta, and fruit salad for the rest of the summer.

What are your favorite "go-to" summertime meals? You know, the simple recipes that you can recite from memory. Do tell, please. I'm a girl in need of ideas.

Today's Slice of Life

Because I don't want to forget these crazy days of too many remote controlled vehicles, of a four year old DJ {who dresses himself}, of making her smile no matter how ridiculous, of dancing to the Jackson Five, of putting my cell phone in the refrigerator instead of the strawberries.

What do you want to remember about today?

Sweet and Juicy

To save myself the madness of grocery shopping with three children in tow I've started doing my weekly Krogering at night after the darlings are peacefully tucked into bed. It works out quite nicely: the professor holds down the fort while I shop alone and then he helps me unload the car.

Last night, as I wandered the produce area, I was surprised to discover clementines on the shelf. I've always considered these splashy little guys to be winter-time guests, but I'll take them in summer too since they're willing to come.

We ate some this morning with our Pop Tarts {another spontaneous, late-night purchase... all part of a balanced breakfast, right?!}. The unexpected morning treats helped to bring smiles to teary faces facing yet another day of swimming lessons.

She Plays

As far as she is concerned, Legos and cars are way overrated.

Yep, the boys' club can keep 'em... colorful, dangling bugs are much more fun!

We'll let that be our little secret.

The Allure of the Automobile

The car loving men in my life {the professor, my dad, and the boys} made a special trip to Atlanta to view The Allure of the Automobile exhibit at the High Museum of Art.

They kicked things off right with hot dogs for lunch at The Varsity.


It was the boys' first time to visit a large art museum... they made themselves feel right at home.

The exhibit of "18 of the world's rarest and most brilliantly conceived cars from the 1930's to the mid-1960's" awed them.

When the car-gazing was finished they hopped on the MARTA train for the boys' first subway experience. They rode it to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis hotel to visit one of the largest atriums in the world. It was a fun and exciting day. Everyone came home tired and happy.

*photos by the professor

El Hakkavod, The God of Glory

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.

Psalm 29:3

Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

Then the Lord said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

Exodus 33:18-23

Today's Small Pleasures

Bubbles on the driveway.

Buy one, get one free milkshakes from Sonic.


Summer reading... my own and aloud with the boys.

Early morning solitude with tea.

Excited baby kicks and coos.

An answer-to-prayer long nap for baby.

Planting and potting, despite the heat.

Anticipating a day at the lake.

Making Father's Day cards. Chocolate cake in the oven.

Knowing it's time to trade our busy week for a quieter weekend.

"He Grants Sleep To Those He Loves"

Today was so full

And so busy for both of us

But for tonight all those burdens can keep

Come let sweet Jesus be the Light in your darkness

And open the door to the Paradise of sleep

Your tender sadness, it touches the heart of me

Howling and scowling just make you more dear

With all this commotion now what could the trouble be?

For Love's sake my darling I'll always be here

For he grants sleep to the ones that He loves

And I live to love you as well

The last words you'll hear tonight will be "I love you"

For love takes us all of a lifetime to tell

words by Michael Card, based on Psalm 127:2

Treasure Hunt

In search of a missing toy car they endeavored to clean out the crevices in the couch.

According to Little Brother, "Dat's where da woaches {roaches} are."

They found everything except roaches.Phew, that's a relief!

Black on White

Morning View

Sometimes I look at a photo and it surprises me. I'll realize that I was so intent on enjoying breakfast table orchids that I failed to notice office morning sunlight. A step back for a broader view reveals that while the two are lovely in themselves the real beauty is in how they work together to create one pleasing vignette.

Life is like that, isn't it? The contrasts, the juxtapositions, the clear and the unclear, the soft and the hard, the ordinary and the extraordinary, all overlapping, weaving themselves together to create one spectacular story.

El Haggadol, The Great God

Let us come before Him with thanksgiving

and extol Him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God,

the great King above all gods.

In His hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Psalm 95:2-4

Poolside

This post is dedicated to the girlfriends everywhere who love our daughters as much as we do...

The boys, the baby, and I ventured poolside today for the first time this summer. I wondered exactly how I would manage the trio, considering one of them is an infant, along with sunscreen and towels and pool toys and food. As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about...

No, there are no worries at all when a girl has a dear Susan-friend who eagerly tucks Baby into her arms and sprinkles sleepy summer fairy dust upon her and whispers sweet wishes in her ear... Baby will mellow into the most delicious lump of drowsy sweetness and decide that being cradled by loving arms in the breezy shade next to the pool is most definitely the best place to nap in town!

Yes, I've decided that my Susan-friend must indeed be Baby's fairy godmother: she loves the little one dearly and she works the most wonderful magic!

A Birthday Cake

I woke... a special day dawning. Midmorning we stir together a chocolate cake generously laced with anticipation. We wait for news. The phone finally rings this evening, right before dinner. He's here! Another boy-cousin, my third nephew, just born, now in my sister's arms. We rejoice and there is cake for everyone. Everyone except the birthday boy. Just wait until next year Little Man!

Weekday Mornings Lately

By midmorning everyone is fed {no small task these days} and dressed {disregard clothing worn backwards, please}. We venture outdoors and make our way down the hill. The boys play at the creek while I admire the Queen Anne's Lace growing next to the road; from her stroller, Baby happily talks to the trees that give us shade. When the bugs start to bite and someone decides that she is starving we tromp back up the hill toward home with promises that we'll do it again tomorrow.

Look!

Have you seen Ohdeedoh today?! It seems the folks over there love our new wall art as much as we do! A hearty thank you goes out to Apartment Therapy's Ohdeedoh team for giving the professor's creation five minutes of fame.

The Men in Her Life

She can hold their attention for quite a while...

But there is only one who is completely wrapped around her little finger.

Sprinkled

Come peak into the nursery for a minute... I want to show you the beautiful wall hanging that the professor designed and made for Baby Sister's room. I love it. I really love it!
The inspiration for the overall look of the room, as well as for the wall panel, came directly from the colorful Cathedral Window quilt that his grandmother made for us shortly after we married.

Using four sheets of thin birch plywood, happy colors from the quilt, and the large CNC wood router at work, the professor repeated the quilt's pattern using layers of wood. To add interest he reversed the color scheme leaving the diamonds neutral while adding color to the petals {the negative space}.
The result is a simple, mod'ishly feminine panel that happily fills a large, empty wall and complements the quilt beautifully. I love how the once neutral room is now pleasantly sprinkled with color... kind of reminds me of a cupcake!

El De'ot, The God of Knowledge

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!

Romans 11:33

Succulents and Poppies

Blue Eyes

Hello, Strawberry Girl.

You are two months old.

You weigh exactly ten pounds.

Eight of those pounds are in your cheeks.

The rest are on your thighs.

Better your thighs than mine!

And... better for kissing.

Onesie Dress

I'm still recycling my 1980's-era Laura Ashley dress. This time I used some of the fabric to sew a skirt onto a basic white onesie creating a tiny, comfortable summer dress for Baby Sister.

Cuing off the touches of pink in the floral design I added a strip of pink hand-crocheted lace {a thoughtful gift from Val} at the empire waist. The bit of lace is just long enough to be knotted neatly in the back creating a darling sash.

While I love the dress, it doesn't do justice to the lace. However, I'm certain Val will delight in knowing that her gift is being enjoyed, so I carefully basted the dainty trim onto the dress by hand. When Baby Sister grows out of this dress I can easily remove the lace and use it on another girly project.

Morning Tops

I spotted them on the dining room table after breakfast.

I wish I could jump into the cool blue reflection of the glass.