View from the Prairie Box

How have you recently expressed yourself creatively?

What were some ways you used to be creative, perhaps during your childhood/youth, that you don’t engage in anymore?

Would you like to revisit those old creative expressions someday?How is someone close to you—a spouse, friend, child—creative in a way you are not?

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Thanks for playing along, everyone! I think sewing is so cool… There are so many possibilities for gifts, fun toys, useful items, etc, when you can sew.

Beside photography, I find myself enjoying all sorts of kid activities. Basically, if I was left to myself, I’d sit down and color all the live long day. Livia doesn’t enjoy coloring much, though, so we create art by stamping, painting, cutting and gluing. I wish I had many more hours for creative projects… I’d especially like to pour myself into writing; for now I’m in a holding pattern in that area. I write in my head all the time but rarely do my internal compositions see the light of day.

Someday I hope to get back into theater again. You couldn’t keep me from performing as a kid.

Finally, I really admire my husband’s creativity in web design. He’s amazing with color and has quite an eye for detail (kind of necessary in his line of work, it comes naturally to him which totally impresses me). I’m also floored by Livia’s imagination. She sees worlds I cannot see and lives in richness because of it.

Livia attended Elsie’s Wizard of Oz theme party last weekend. I wasn’t sure about creating a decent costume, but Renae told me how to put together a little scarecrow outfit and voila! There’s Liv in all her scarecrow-y glory. The kids at the party were super cute. There were lots of Dorothys and Glindas, another Scarecrow made an appearance and Toto was adorable with a collar and little pigtails. I wish I had snapped photos of all the work Amanda put into this gathering… There was a yellow brick road welcoming guests in the driveway, complete with the dead Wicked Witch’s legs poking out from underneath a playhouse. Each platter of food was labeled with a creative title and the cake was decorated to match the theme as well. There were millions of people there and perhaps even billions of children under seven years old and Amanda smiled her way through the whole event, looking as cool and calm a hostess you could imagine. The thought of entertaining those billions of young children makes me go into a cold sweat, but I know enough to appreciate all the work Amanda did for this amazing party. Well done, friend!

Livia hasn’t seen the The Wizard of Oz yet (perhaps due to all the nightmares this movie produced during her mother’s childhood), so I explained the story en route to the party. After learning that Dorothy is from Kansas—“We have that in common!”—Livia sighed, “I love Dorothy.” I stumbled as I tried to explain that she couldn’t love Dorothy because she didn’t know her, Dorothy’s imaginary, blah blah blah. And Liv replied, “Yes I do know her. You just told me about her!” Right you are, perceptive little one.

Later that night, Liv went on and on about “switches.” I figured she was talking about lights. But it was Jeremy who finally realized she was talking about Glinda and The Wicked One of the West. You add that to the “fire chip” title she gave nacho cheese Doritos and you have one amused mommy. I love this four year old and her grasp of the English language.

Okay, so I’m cleaning Liv’s closet this morning and I’m coming across a ton of old items I should probably give away. Cute teeny baby shoes, brand-new-still-in-the-packaging baby blankets, old toys, you name it. Here’s what I’m wondering: How many things is it appropriate to keep for sentimental reasons? Should I hang on to Livia’s first pair of baby shoes or the pink cowgirl boots she wore for months on end? I’m in the mood to purge, people. This is a rare occasion, one to embrace fully.

Slide Number One was fun so Grandma and Liv go back for more.

Slide Number Two? Hm. Not so sure about that one. (See the larger Flickr pic to get the full effect.) I don’t recall my mom-in-law going down again. Apparently they don’t make slides like they used to! Now you need to see a chiropractor after attempting the neighborhood slides…

Livia has been pretty expressive today. My girl wears her heart on her sleeve for the most part—if something bothers her you can definitely tell. If she’s unresponsive, then usually it means that she’s not bothered. She’s fairly straightforward, which is kind of nice.

After school she told me that a classmate didn’t like her. After verbally prodding a bit, I found out that this kid kept physically moving away from Livia, so Liv went to her teacher and said she (Liv) was angry. Apparently things ended well because Livia smiled at the other child. As a big Feeler, I admit being a bit hurt that anyone would not like my child, however I’m proud of Livia for the way she handled her emotions (at least in her telling of it. Who knows how the real event went down?).

Then later, while I was getting my hair cut, Liv told me that a grey-haired man in the waiting area had sad eyes. I tried to shush her a bit so that the sad-eyed man (she referred to him again that way as we walked out the door) wouldn’t hear our conversation.

Finally, after community dinner Livia had some sort of expectation that she could type on Jason’s computer. I knew this was not a possibility as he was working on it at the time. She came down from his office and told Renae and me she was disappointed that couldn’t type.

I’d swear Sesame Street was having Describe Your Emotions Week—but we don’t get PBS anymore so that can’t be it. Liv’s just in-tune with her emotions, I guess. For the record, she wasn’t a big Eeyore today. She was excited to play with Polly Pocket this morning and giddy at the new face paint we bought this afternoon. She has strong emotions, but she’s also well-rounded in her expression of them. LOL.

Last January this tiny dancer was forced into being a dance class dropout. “Sitting in other mommies’ laps” was not deemed a good use of our tuition money, so Jeremy and I agreed to pull her out. We’re all about the no-pressure approach with extra curricular activities. Fast forward to September and the tiny dancer was again asking to take dance with JoJo.

It took a little more convincing on my part, a little social pressure if you will. Livia and I happened to be in the building on the first day of dance. And it just so happened that we were in the hallway when, one after another, her little friends entered the building. And one after another, the mothers asked if we were there for dance classes. One phone call to the Guy in Charge (aka Jeremy), one run home for dance paraphernalia, and one signed check later and Livia found herself in the presence of other tiny dancers. What a delight.

I love this photo for many reasons. One is that it is a fun portrait of my husband (who rarely sits still and allows me to photograph him). And two, it captures the dimple on his right cheek. That dimple doesn’t make appearances very often, so I know he’s really tickled when it comes out. I meant to accompany this photo with an interview of Jeremy. If I’m able to question him I’ll post the content later in the day.

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! You are my balance in this life and I praise God for you. If Livia could blog, I know she’d say thank you for all the tickle-wrestles and soda parties you have together. She loves you this much! (Envision her arms spread out wide.)

I grew up celebrating September 24 with my brother Andrew. So a huge happy birthday goes out to NooNee as well. Happy 27th, big kid! We can’t wait to see you when you come to town soon!

Livia said some things tonight that were hurtful to me as a mother. Frankly, I didn’t think I’d hear things like that until she was 14 or so, but perhaps I should have known better considering her strong will. Whenever I’m thrown into a new situation parenting-wise, it always takes me awhile to figure out an appropriate response. Do I discipline for this? If so, how? Do I simply ignore this behavior? Do I give an explanation and a warning this time around? I was actually taken aback by what Liv said and had to stop to consider how very little she understood the implications of her words. (For those of you who are curious, her comments related to adoption.)

After thinking about our little situation that had potential to brew into something very unlovely, I realized, Hey! I’m the parent here! I’m in charge, not this pint-sized punkin. Livia is a child, she doesn’t know what I know and understand what I understand. It’s my job to act like, speak like, and protect her like an adult.

I felt incredibly God-ordained in my role in that moment. Even more than that, I felt like I understood just the smallest bit of what God feels for us, his children. How many times have I turned away from his love? Over and over and over. How many times have I thought, spoken or acted in ways that were dishonoring to him? How often do I say ridiculous things that distort truth? All. the. time. God stands over me, in his infinite wisdom and love, and is as steady as a rock. He doesn’t change like the shifting shadows (James 1:17). He doesn’t treat me in the way I deserve to be treated when I’m foolish and childish, but extends limitless compassion and grace to me (Psalm 103:8-10). His love is steadfast and never ceases (Lamentations 3:22).

As I was considering all this tonight I was reminded about something great and wonderful today, something I almost forgot about. At lunchtime I needed to take Livia to preschool and run a few other errands. But I’ve been feeling super crappy with a bronchial infection and emotionally I wasn’t doing so well. Once we were loaded in the car I started crying in frustration. After a few minutes, Livia began to pray out loud: “Dear God, please take care of Mommy and heal her cold…” I can’t remember the rest of the prayer. I just know I was impressed by her sensitivity and the fact that she knew she could turn to God in spontaneous prayer, that God would take care of these problems.

Thank you, God, for loving us so incredibly—you have given us blessings we do not deserve. Thank you especially for Jesus, who died on the cross so that we, who are so childish and full of selfishness, can spend eternity with you. Help me to be more like you, to love my child the way you love me.

My parents’ apple tree is in full production mode and its limbs are heavy with fruit. Apparently, the tree needed a sturdy trimming last year in order to be this fruitful. We are glad to be recipients of baskets and bagfuls of these tart green apples—and Livia is thrilled to experience apple farm outings in her own Nana and Papa’s front yard!

I plan to make apple butter in the crockpot soon. I made some applesauce as well which didn’t turn out so great. That’s what I get for “winging it” and forgoing all recipes. Gloppy, sticky applesauce. It smelled great and tasted fine, but I can’t say I want to eat it a week later (texture is key!). I am thoroughly enjoying the new Zion Cookbook however and decided to cook up Karen Hunt’s apple muffins. This is the part where I have to eat my words. I’ve told many friends in the past that I DON’T LIKE muffins. (I think I wrote it on the blog, too.) Well, guess what. I made Karen’s apple muffins and they were delicious. Yum-o. Tasted great. So scratch my old prejudice against muffins. New days of muffin-y goodness awaits the Tredway household.

For the record, the new Zion Cookbook rocks. It has a lot more recipes than the old one and has breathed new life into my kitchen. If you’d like one but don’t attend Zion or Redeemer, you can send me an email (). Cookbooks are $15 and I imagine you’d need to include something extra for shipping and handling. Without further ado, I present the recipe for Apple Muffins.

Muffin

• 2 C flour
• 3 t baking powder
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 3 T shortening
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 C milk
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 C apples, peeled & chopped

Preheat oven to 400. Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening; set aside. Combine eggs and milk. Add to flour mixture, mix until flour is just moistened. Fold in apples. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tins half full.

Crunch topping

• 1/3 C brown sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/3 C nuts (opt)

Combine topping mixture. Sprinkle over muffin batter. Bake for 25 minutes.