The days behind Us

FRIDAY, MAY 21st-

It was a grocery day, sunny, relaxed, productive. Planted new seeds in the garden, worked outside, kept the doors and windows open, mowed the lawn, washed our produce from shopping and thought it looked soooo delicious drying out on the counter. I already felt like we had our weekend and it was just beginning. DELIGHT!

OH HAPPY, SUNNY, GOODNESS!!!

Justus lounging in hammock. Ben playing with hose.

YELLING FACES(in chronological order)-

Inspired and prompted by sir Gabriel...can you see his stitches???
Ben, could only be sweet (with his own gash above the eye).
Sigh!

MONDAY, MAY 17th-

Took Gabriel to Urgent Care to get stitches!

Not quite sure how, but he split his chin playing on/in Kie's car.

Justus' comment, "Umm, I can see INSIDE him....uhhhhhg"

We debated not getting stiches and just using a butterfly closure, but ended up going in.

If the option arises again. I'll opt for the butterflies!!!

Gabe was a champ though, and I treated him to SONIC!

He got a corndog and a peanut butter cup sunday....

he ate the sunday FIRST!!! : )

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12th-

Tornado sirens were set off...

so, I got myself and all sleeping boys into the bathtub with mattress over us!

The sleeping children however, did not stay asleep and were eventually all crying and sweating in one very crammed bathroom!

Next house...we're getting a basement!!!

MONDAY, MAY 10th-

Breakfast?!

Ice-cream with strawberries and peanuts.

We needed a little JOY to start off the day...

given the previous days circumstances(see Sunday post)

Ice-cream is just the thing!

Drove to Wichita to buy a matress.

Way home, drove right into a severe thunder storm!

Visibility? About 10 to 50ft(varying).

Radio? Giving tornado warnings,

telling people to get into storm shelters,

naming towns I don't know,

naming a county I might be in, but don't know!

First thought? "Stay Composed"... Second thought? "Pray!!!"

... Third thought? "Pray Harder!"...

Forth? " Don't cry!"... Fifth? "DO cry!"...

Sixth? "I want to go home...Oregon home!!!"

We DID make it home safe...no tornado encounter,

but had a very sleepless week!

SUNDAY, MAY 9th-

Happy Mother's Day!

Had a wonderful breakfast with my family...

took Kie to the airport : (

Had a rough drive home.

Forgot my purse. Kids were hungry.

Boys cried nearly whole way home (about an hour).

Lost my patience about 5min from home.

Didn't feel like such a great mom...

went to bed tired and discouraged.

SATURDAY, MAY 8th-

Planted my FIRST garden (or rather, half of it),

basil, oregano, thyme (Herb pot),

stevia, strawberries (dessert pot-mmm),

tomatoes (cherry and whole),sweet peppers and mint in the raised bed

(built myself : )

Also have plans for sugar peas, lettuce, corn, carrots and sunflowers....

pure DELICIOUSNESS!!!

Mother's DAY

Happy Mother's Day!



MAMA SHARY~

Just a simple (yet immeasurable) "Thank You" for instilling in me so many things I have never thought twice about and have even looked forward to during my childhood years:
Being a stay-at-home MOM

Having my children completely naturally and at HOME

Eating/Preparing HEALTHY WHOLE foods

Baking BREAD from scratch (I FINALLY figured it out!!!)

Allowing God to give me more children than may seem SANE or COMFORTABLE...but knowing HIS delight and BLESSING

BREASTFEEDING my babies


GROWING a garden (1st one this year)

Giving ANYTHING and EVERYTHING a try "If someone else can do it...I probably can too!"

Giving GOD's WORD authority in my life and over EVERY aspect of it



These are values I deeply cherrish and am so THANKFUL you gave them to me! They are making my life (and the life of my family) a GREAT joy!!!

I love YOU~
Melody Christiana

Beautiful Bread

Something I have aspired to do since I got married was to make homemade, whole-grain, DELICIOUS bread. Over the last 6+ years I have had a few near successes, but on a whole I am really GREAT at making whole-grain BRICKS. Worthy (though, not always) of bread pudding.

: (

Over the last few weeks I have made loaf after loaf of magnificent bread...some cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns, hotdog buns and only ONE batch of "bread pudding" bread. HELLO CELEBRATION! Here are some pics of my latest creations . YUM!

P.S. It only takes me about 1 1/2hrs from start to finish to make a batch of bread...and I even grind my own flour!!!

A few of the latest!

Here are some of the latest from our HOME...



To BEGIN...Gabriel has always shown us the best way to get bumps and bruises and his latest experiment was with the bark of a tree trunk! I'm thinking the TREE made the bigger impression! Ahhh BOYS






next...BENJAMIN in a diaper, RED rubber boots, pushing a cart with BABY and holding a GUITAR!! That pretty much sums up my littlest man! Just about any time of day he has at least one of these items....this time, he must have really been feeling LIFE to the fullest, because he had it ALL!





There's also this WONDERFUL secret I'm trilled to share!!! This man of mine, the one I followed, WHOLE-HEARTEDLY half way across the country! I"M CRAZY 'BOUT HIM!!! P.S Notice all that blue sky in the background??? Just about EVERY DAY so far!

Half Way There

I have been having trouble lately, finding the motivation to stay on task during the day. It seems like, from the beginning of the day I am already behind and don't seem to make much progress by the days end. Even though, the dishes in the sink are not the same dishes, it is still full of dirty ones. Though the toys on the floor have been picked up numerous times, there are still toys on the floor. Though I may have washed all the dirty laundry, it is still in baskets, unfolded and waiting to be put away. To top it off, I am much more easily drawn to tasks than people and my most important "tasks" happen to be 3 growing little persons.

So, after some inspirational scriptures and prayer last night I was ready for a "New" day today!
1) GET DRESSED (yes, I spend some days in my pajamas, productive, but in sweat pants)
2) Get the boys dressed (they don't seem to mind either way...so it's not uncommon for them to stay in jammies most of the day)
3) Eat and Feed Breakfast BEFORE any chores
4) Employ the youngsters to help wash up from breakfast and do dishes
5) Clean as we go...everyone together, not moving onto the next task until cleaning up from the current one

AT NOON TODAY, my entire house was clean! Dishes were done, children dressed, clean clothes put away, toys off the floor, beds made, meals eaten on time. We even played a bit. (They saved me from a bomb that was going to blow up our city-so valiant!) Now, before you start thinking I got it all figured out, the story continues...

Bed time for Ben. Since he is the only one that takes a nap, I usually lay down with him and read a story. The problem today, was that, after the story was over, he was still a bit restless so I stayed with him for a while. After a bit, the bed started feeling so cozy, the blankets were warm, my little sweetheart was snuggling up with me and my eyes couldn't resist "resting" for just a few minutes....ahhhhh.

The other boys were having quiet time, but somewhere in my contented slumber, I heard playful voices. "Boys, read your books" I say, half conscious, knowing I will not follow up if they aren't. A little while later, seeing them playing in the room. "Play quietly" I reprimand, knowing full well I'm already slipping back into sleep. Then, finally, confronted with the constant request, "Can we watch a movie?" "Um," (darn, I should say no, but I'm so warm and sleepy. It'll keep them out of trouble. I really wanted to only do television on Sat morning, But I shouldn't...Oh) "Okay!" I give in!

A while later I stir back into mommy-land! A little groggy, a little guilty, pretty rested! I take a final glance at Benjamin sleeping soundly on his bed. My sweet boy! Hearing the movie playing in the other room, I remember the granted request. Darn, if only I hadn't taken a nap. I was also suppose to go grocery shopping before dinner and try to tackle another load or two of laundry.

As for now, I only have time for one task; out to the farm for fresh milk and eggs (can't do without), or to the store for groceries (also another necessity)? I'm leaning towards the farm...the grocery store will have to wait. Maybe tomorrow...IF I can leave BEFORE nap time lures me in! : )

Kansas or Bust!!!

We are here, we are unpacked, and so far, we love it!!! One of the greatest factors is that we now have a glorious back yard!!! The boys LOVE it and are often out first thing in the morning, pajamas and all! There isn't anything terribly exciting in our yard. There aren't really any trees to speak of, we don't have a playset, it's mostly just concrete and grass....but OH, the adventure! A stick, a ball, a puddle of water; that'll do!

As for me, this is probably my favorite house so far. It's not anything special, a ranch. But, it's just right. There is enough room for us to be comfortable, good storage and cupboard space, but not too much to clean. Our landlord gave a close to free-range on painting and decorating, which is exciting, but also dangerous. I have sooo many ideas already!

There is also a YMCA less than a mile away, and for the first time in a LONG time, I'm feeling the motivation to start exercising regularly. Ready to get rid of some extra flab ; ) The people we've met so far are very hospitable and courtesy seems to be common. Nearly everyone holds doors for everyone else, and when I went to the grocery store they automatically helped me out to the car and loaded my groceries.

Though it's pretty windy, the weather has been warm and outdoor worthy! I hope to get more pics as we go, but here is the latest of the boys playing with our packing materials. Then there's Ben, who was so fond of his pajama shorts, asked me to put them back on after he was dressed!

Blast from the Past!!!

I am noticing lately that as I add more and more to my days, I instead, tend to be losing a great deal more. More commitments renders less time to serve my family. More expectations...less energy. More "hobbies"...less enjoyment. More connections...less quality friends. Certainly, it isn't all bad, but I really want to live on purpose and not wake up one morning and feel like my life just happened. "Ready or not, there it goes!"

I am also realizing the immense amount of energy and dedication it takes to serve my husband and raise a family. With that in the forefront of my mind, I want to use my efforts to make our lives, enjoyable, peaceful and fruitful. How?! I can't boast to know all the secrets, but I'm going to try, perhaps the opposite of what I'm doing now: ). Simplify! Slow down!

So, to merely flirt with the possibly permanent idea, I am going to disengage all my Internet communications for a month!!! I will, however, gladly accept telephone calls, letters in the mail, and especially, unexpected visits. If you choose the latter, we will delightfully forgo our previous agenda, put on a kettle for tea/coffee and enjoy your company for as long as you care to stay...even if it's overnight! This may seem silly, but I truly mean it! Our lives are getting much too spread thin, much less relaxed, and very rarely personal or face-to-face.

I have already lost precious time, potential friendships and vital opportunities fulfilling unnecessary engagements and ignoring the bits of life that happen right in front of me. Besides, who doesn't enjoy a handwritten letter in the mail, or a spontaneous visit with friends (without worrying weather or not they are too busy or would welcome your "intrusion"), or a call to see how life is going? I for one, certainly do!!!

My "trial" will begin somewhere around the 15 th, so if you wish, please make sure I have your phone number and mailing address and vise-versa.

With much love,

Melody