World, meet Madeleine. She’s cute and sweet, has the most amazing thigh rolls I’ve ever witnessed, and thinks bananas are simultaneously disgusting and delicious. At least that’s the impression she gave us the last time we saw her. Sadly enough, her daddy no longer believes it when I tell him that Madeleine loves eating french fries, or potato chips, or strawberry applesauce from Burger King. He’s caught on to the fact that his kid sister is attempting to torment him. However, Adam, you may rest easy in the fact that though you deserve endless teasing from me, precious Baby Bright Eyes is safe. (Pssst, Madeleine. Next week we’ll try Oreos. Trust me, they’re delicious!)
I recently had the privilege and good fortune (free tickets!) of seeing the Soweto Gospel Choir perform. I can’t find sufficient words to explain how uplifting I found the entire performance — what was supposed to be a great gospel choir experience became food for my soul instead. So I splurged on Amazon and picked up their Grammy Award-winning album Blessed. Indeed I have been blessed by their music, in particular a song called “Joko Yahao”. The song is sung in Sotho, so I looked up the lyrics and found the words matched the music exactly.
JOKO YAHAO (“Your Burden is Light”)
Your burden is light
It lifts my heart
My belief is my shield
That saves me from death
I have found happiness
In the Lord’s way
Enemies have scattered
He has defeated them for me
I’ll wait with expectation
And trust in Heaven
When I’m tired, the Lord will carry me
I am officially a book dabbler. I don’t really read so much as I dabble in reading, snatching a few minutes in doctor’s office or a bit of time before bed to complete another chapter. Nonetheless, here’s what is currently on my bookshelf:
For Women Only by Shaunti Feldman. I’m reading this small book along with my bible study girls. It’s eye-opening and, if used correctly, can encourage communication and intimacy within a marriage. It’s so easy to never stop and figure out what my husband is thinking. This book is a tool for further conversation.
When You’re a Parent with Diabetes by Kathryn Gregorio Palmer. I “met” Kassie via an online group for moms with diabetes and I am super impressed by this book she’s written. For more information about Kassie and the dream fund that helped her write this book, check out Parents with Diabetes.
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I feel like I’m the last person in my social circles to be reading this book because I’ve heard it mentioned for a few years now. It’s much easier to read than I had imagined, but also less impressive stylistically than I had imagined. Somehow those two are connected, I think. Jock McGregor gave a lecture on this book at the Rochester L’Abri Conference, and I’m wondering if I should’ve listened the lecture (borrowed on CD) after reading the book, because now McGregor’s thoughts have oozed into my mind and have become my own.
Romance in G Minor and other stories by Bess Streeter Aldrich. I’m a sucker for Aldrich’s writing. She writes of a bygone era, with heroines who are typically homemakers and teachers. Her short stories are palate-cleansers for me and create sweet escapes from the everyday stressors and anxieties I face. Trivia tidbit: Aldrich hails from Elwood, Nebraska; a mere 22.5 miles from the Prairie Box. Double trivia tidbit: I began reading Aldrich’s works w-a-y before I moved to the Midwest.
Buying beautiful, custom-made jewelry doesn’t get any easier than this. Check out my sister-in-law Chelsea’s lovely work at tigereyebutterfly.etsy.com. I’ve been noticing that necklaces seem to be more popular than bracelets were last summer… And I’d much rather purchase something handmade and one-of-a-kind than grab something quickly at Walmart some weekend.
Also, ahem, Mother’s Day is coming up.
I couldn’t ask for a better setup for a photo shoot: hole-y playground equipment, light from the setting sun and my precious girl. The subject really is the most important aspect, though… She’s completely natural and doesn’t spend one moment posing for me, she doesn’t get grumpy about being photographed the way adults do, and she loves to play outside.
In the car somewhere between home and Pine Lake Road, a light went off in her little mind. Liv lifted her arm to her face and declared, “I have hair on my arms.”
And then, “Daddy has hair on his legs.”
Yes and yes. True ‘dat.
The blooming of plants each spring is a bit like magic to me. Everything looks dead. Twigs stick out from the ground, bare-barked and dark in color, with dried crusty leaves crowded around their bases. When my mom was a child (I like to think of her as “Claudia, the Island Girl” because she was from Key Biscayne, FL), she wondered why folks left all those dead trees standing, why they didn’t just cut them all down! Apparently when you grow up in tropical climes you have no understanding of the miracle of spring. The miracle is clear: dead branches start sprouting green buds. Though they once appeared lifeless on the outside, my beloved variegated dogwood and viburnum contain, deep within their core, life.
How seasonally fitting that we celebrate Easter, the resurrection from death to life of our Savior, in the spring.
* Keep the prayers coming for the Allen family. We praise God they are now home with baby Amelia — this is wonderful news.
* Who wouldn’t want to win a Dyson?
* I’m really getting into this cake-decorating thing and I’m enjoying the Wilton classes, too. If any of you locals see Wilton idea books (some are called yearbooks) or decorating paraphenalia at garage sales, please give me a ring. I’d like to pick up items at low costs.
