Simple Happiness

"Children are not lumps of clay that a mother can mold and shape into whatever she thinks would be best. 

They are seedlings  ....  already pears, pines, or petunias. 

As gardeners, we can add only sunshine, water, fertilizer,

time, and love in order to make that growing plant

the most beautiful specimen of what it was intended to be."   

Linda J. Eyre

Oh oh oh so thankful for my husband today!!

Yes, my dear dear husband saved my whole week. Last week was baby week for me! I had a client give birth on Tuesday and one again on Sunday. So, to say the least, by Monday morning, I was shattered. I was sore, cranky and tired. I had maids to do and they did NOT sound appealing.Enter my knight in shining armor on a noble stead. 

This week I've had time to study what I wanted, work along side my beloved husband. I caught up on housework and got to really let my kids wonder around and be silly lovely children for days! NO agendas for a whole day? Unheard of. 

Obviously they have reflected it in these quick snap shots from today. 

Ah. Bliss. 

Can you think of anything happier than happy children?

Knitting ...

We're enjoying this cooler weather!! With cooler weather, I'm busting out my knitting needles. 

My To-Do list includes: 

Hat for Faf

Hat for Damon

Hat for Aurora

Longies for Declan

Fingerless gloves for Me :) 

Slippers for Daunika, Aurora, Declan and myself!

And anything else that comes to mind....... 

But for now, let's enjoy some recent knit goodies! 

These ones aren't made by me, but by a great knitter and mama!

And whats on the needles right now.....

Oh so many many things to knit.......... Only so many hours in the day! 

I'm living by....

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 GALATIANS 5:22

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. 

Ella Fitzgerald

"Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of our greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well." 

Mother Teresa

Destitutus ventis, remos adhibe 

- Latin Proverb.

You make a living by what you get, You make a life by what you give

 - Winston Churchill.

There are days when I really do look to inspiration outside to keep me on track. Days when I've ran around in circles and cannot understand who these little humans are and why in the heck they keep screaming 'Mom' at me. Have you ever had those days when you know you've been less than your best self and should go back to bed promptly and try again tomorrow? 

I tell ya, they are coming fewer and farther between in this home. I have been enlightened with the Spirit. I feel like I'm striving to be my best self. Instead of running away from those crazy little ones, we are in sync. 

Working on our values has a huge impact on that. We talk EVERY day about our value (of the month).  Last month was Kindness. I cannot tell you how much we have talked about Kindness because no matter what, there is room for kindness in our lives. Like the Galatians quote, there is no law against kindness and there never will be. Mother Teresa took it a step further and understood that giving your heart into living is good. I'd say its good for the soul, or good for the world... but those don't encompass it all... It is just good.

Of course I have days when I lose my temper, I forget my kindness rules and I want to crawl back into bed... but I will strive to lead this home by example. 

If I want kindness, I will start with me. 

Boise Balloon Classic 2010

There is something about a hot air balloon that invites wonder in any person age 2 to 102. It really is amazing watching these master pieces fly around. We braved waking our children up at 6:40am and getting all of us out the door and in the car by 6:50. WOW. We made it and oh what fun we had. As our kids get older we'll all plan on learning about the 'how this works', but first and foremost - Finding Joy in the event.

We really did enjoy this. It was fun to watch the balloons start out flat and perfectly folded. Then listening to the announcers say 'start your engines'. The balloons suddenly were growing and it was cool! We also witnessed some teams with broken fans, that were trying hard. They never gave up and eventually got their fans working. VERY cool to witness hardwork pay off!

I hope you enjoy the pictures!

It really was stunning to watch the sun come up over the mountains and all these amazing balloons floating above Boise.

Heading to 6 months...

Another happy week gone by... this kid is just fabulous!