Friday Finds: New Blossoms

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I can't say that I am going to be able to be consistent with my Friday Finds again but I have been longing to get back into it and the latest Etsy Finds inspired me. It was dedicated to the Cherry Blossom. I am so longing for Spring and the first glimpses of warm weather have finally started to appear so I couldn't resist finding a few things myself.

 

Cherry Blossom Earrings by  Hapa Girls 

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Cherry Blossom Hairpin by  Daisy May Designs

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Cherry Blossom Earrings by SS10001

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Heirloom Polaroid Bracelet by  jerseymaids

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Bloom Earrings with Light Pink Flowers by Dreamy Vintage

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Turquoise Flower Earrings by Molly the Pirate

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Cherry Blossom Pink Beaded Bracelet by  Shamble Ramble

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Aqua Blossom Geisha Gem Dangles by gami works

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Missaki Vintage Romantic Blush Flower Hair Pins by  Fancypop

Great Expectations

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For the past few weeks I have been sick. I guess you could say it's a good sick.  Every time I run to the bathroom I remind myself of the little life that is growing inside of me. The life that we prayed for.  The one I said I wanted even if it meant being sick, then getting fat, then actually going through labor and delivery all over again. I have to keep reminding myself of that now when my heart starts to complain about the constant trips to the bathroom and the way I can't seem to get my eyelids to open all the way.
The boys are as excited as boys get about this kind of thing. Peter is very excited about my belly getting bigger. He looked over at me while we were sitting in church and said, "Mommy, your belly is just going to get fatter and fatter!" His eyes lit up at this thought and I'm a bit concerned that he is way too excited about my growing girth.  Warren is determined that this is going to be a sister for him (as is everyone else around us).  I keep reminding him and myself that we could end up having all boys even if we are blessed with 6 children.
We have kept up with most of our normal activities. I have pressed on in school. Sometimes I look around me at the disheveled state of the living room, the dishes still in the sink (something I try never to do!) and the general chaos to which the house has been subjected to. I sigh....I suppose this is just a stage. Hopefully soon I will be over the worst part of it all and possibly have some small amount of energy return. Maybe then I can keep up with things better.  We'll see.

For now I just drink as much ginger ale and sparking water as I can. Try to grab tiny bites here and there with the hopes that they will stay down and keep reminding myself to praise God for answered prayers!

Reading Out Loud

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My boys are probably not as old as I like to think that they are but it all started this past summer.  There are so many books that I never read as a child and I'm eager to read them now. Not to read them alone, all tucked up in my bed after a long day, but to enjoy them with others, mainly my children.  So we started by reading the Little House series.  (Yes, this was a series I never read growing up). I am probably more eager than they are to find out what happens.  Once Almanzo entered the picture I couldn't repress the goofy smile that came to my lips and the irresistible urge to say, "You know who is here on the prairie? Almaaanzoooo......"  Since I only have sons they humor me but don't quite share my eager anticipation to find out how he and Laura actually fall in love and get married.

We enter into these other worlds mostly at lunch and tea time (and sometimes when they are going to bed). 

We recently took a break from "Little Town on the Prairie" and read "The Saturdays" by Elizabeth Enright. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not sure if the boys gleaned all of the wonderful sayings or the more difficult vocabulary but we all seemed to look forward to each chapter. 

So are there any more great read aloud book recommendations? I would love to keep adding to my list.

Squirrels and other wild animals

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One of the marks of truly settling in seems to be setting in place a bird feeder. I'm not sure we have had this luxury in any of the places we have lived in before.  The boys Grandaddy made us a lovely one and installed it last Saturday and now things seem to be complete. Since the initial installation not a bird has come near it (even with my futile attempts at scattering seed all over the grass and banister) but there is a very fun squirrel who is constantly teasing us with his presence.  Every time we see him we all sneak up as quietly as possible and let our vicious dog Lucy out for the chase. She has come close several times to snatching some bit of the tail but the squirrel definitely seems to have an advantage over her (one being that it can climb trees and unfortunately she has yet to figure this skill out). 
All this squirrel watching and chasing made our school day very lively and prompted me to bring out my binoculars.  The ones I have clung to ever since my parents got them for me and have moved them with me to each new location (which has probably totaled at least 8 or 10 moves). They are something everyone loves to have around but never remembers to get out. Well, we have finally gotten them out and our backyard has become a safari adventure. 

A Word

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I recently read a friend's blog who was inspired to choose a word that would reflect the coming year. Her word was "hope".  That word already sums up so much of what she has had to cling to and I'm sure this is just the beginning.  In October she gave birth to a premature baby with Apple Peel Syndrome (a rare intestinal complication). Every day I eagerly await updates of little Josette's progress and see evidences, glimmers of hope in each word sent out, each day that progresses for her and her husband.

This word started my own quest to find a word to sum up what this year will most likely mean for me.  The word that came to my mind was "deny".  It seems that every day I am learning more and more of what it means to deny myself.  Not just in the little things, although they are ever present as my young boys strive constantly for every ounce I have to give, but I have had to learn to deny myself in much bigger ways. I have had to deny the introvert inside of me that starts to cry out and threatens to shut down when I have pushed myself into what it believes is too much social interaction.  I have already been called to deny my own comfort, my own desires, and sometimes even my own appetite. It is not easy. In fact it is probably one of the hardest things I have to do and yet as I read Luke with my boys in the morning and read the part that talks about our duty being to deny ourselves I am rebuked. For even the great efforts I seem to take in order to deny myself pale in comparison and I am led to start again, refocus and remember what I am to be doing.  To deny all my instincts, all my wants, and serve.

Coming to a Close

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2011 is in its infant stage and I find myself already trying to take in the whole year. What to expect this year and what the unexpected might be.  I can be close to confident that my boys will continue to grow, that we will continue to press on with school, that we will be right here in this house enjoying the newness and forgetting what it was like not to live here.  Then there are the things I hope but am not certain of such as whether this year will bring us another child, whether all the new products floating around in my head will actually be created, and if all the projects that need to be done around here will actually be completed.

One thing I have had to realize is that I have to downsize some things in my life to open up new opportunities for other things to take their place. With this realization in mind I have decided that I need to close my vintage shop on etsy. I do this with bittersweet sentiments. I have enjoyed the vintage treasures I have come across, and I have loved the idea that even if I can't keep all of them for myself someone else might appreciate them just as much. 

It all just ends up being too much though and in the end something has to go. 

So in honor of the new year and the celebration of old things I am running a final 10% off sale on everything in Yesterdays Warehouse. Etsy how offers the option of coupon codes so in order to get this discount just use the code CLOSE11. The doors will be officially closing once and for all January 31, 2011 and that chapter of my business adventures will be closed. 

Alive in the New Year

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I am still out here pressing on even though my fingers have not seen the keyboard much at all. I have taken many photos and have been hesitating to post anything until I can get those photos on my computer but alas it has not happened and it's so hard to find the time.

We have partially settled into our new house. There is always that one project that holds up the final unpacking but other than that it is feeling much more like home. 

Today we are seeing our first day back to school since the move. I have much ground to cover and much more to get organized but it feels good to be getting back into a routine...the first one in the new house.

I will be posting more hopefully very soon. Updates on our visit to my dad's family (all still practicing Amish) and much more but for now I actually have to start the school that has so long been postponed.