Hey! Happy Leap Year, Yo!

Snacked on some almonds today.

So sweet! Today in devotions, I came upon this delicate little flower that put a smile on my face. This isn't unusual, since the LORD talks to me a lot using creation. Not only does it realign me with the proper perspective of Who He is (Star- Breather, Designer, Artist, Almighty Sovereign...), but it is guidance from the gentle Shepherd who points out reminders to me as I walk along the path with Him. So when He does this, I put down the reading plan, and put it in park.

God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—

have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made... Romans 1:20

This is not some licence to adopt a pantheistic approach to my surroundings as though they are a source of direction, comfort or authority. No, they are little reflections of His way; a Creator that designs with beauty, wisdom, and is involved with even the most minute detail; these are the things that speak to me. And today, He did this with the almond branch. So I dug out some old books and notes I had on biblical trees and herbs, and was reminded of the sweet significance of this unassuming little blossom. Boy did it pack a walloping punch!!!

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Prov. 8:17

It appears that the Father likes almond branches, and specifically wanted them included in the decoration of His Tabernacle. It is also the rod of choice given to Aaron, as a symbol of authority that produces fruit and bears witness to that which is contrary to GOD- specifically murmuring/ complaining (context in Numbers 17). This speaks to me because when things don't go my way, or we encounter hurdles as a family, like we are with Spencer right now, the temptation is there to grumble and complain. But ultimately, what murmuring really boils down to is a temper-tantrum that we pitch to our Heavenly Father, Who has filtered our circumstances. (Insert GRACE here!) 
But the sweetest thing I discovered, was that the almond branch is the first bud to blossom in spring; a picture of life coming from death. Love it! And obviously GOD loves it too, He made it a priority to paint these pictures for us. Isn't that a comfort?! Also, almond blossoms serves as a signal for Israel to prepare for the up-and-coming Passover- which is a picture and promise of safety and security of God's people, who are safely hidden with Christ in God. Further, we also see Jesus pictured as our living Branch
(Is. 11:1 & 53:2) It's Jesus, Jesus, Jesus all over the place, Jesus! 
What a comfort that is for me during a winter season of worry and doubt.

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Song 2:11, 12

It is winter now, but the buds will blossom again, and in the meantime, I'm 
securely held. 

That is SO Jesus. Thank You, Poppa!
Amen. 

Baby Tree

It's Spencer's turn to make a tree with his hands and fingers! The challenge I had with him was keeping his hands open. He kept wanting to make a fist.In the end, it wasn't the cleanest impression of his hand and forearm, but it's good enough to keep. Wanting to keep it light-hearted and fun, we really took our time so his project took several days. One finger of paint per day.

I typically use half a dozen coats of mod podge.

Mod Podge is our friend.

owls are back in vogue, like they were when i was a kid.

                                                                                                                                   

 

Pie is in the oven, and boy does it smell good in here.

I typically use Granny Smith, plus a red variety (Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji) of apple that's on sale.

Mel's Very, Very Basic Pie Crust

3 sticks cold, diced butter

4 1/2 Cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 Cup sugar (for sweet pies)
1/4 -1/2 Cup ice cold water

*A note about water: This will not be exact, what you will need can vary depending on the climate
of your kitchen (I need less water in the summer, for example).
So, I gradually drizzle
it in until the dough clumps into pea-sized crumbles.

*For savory pies or quiches, I omit the sugar,
and include herbs like rosemary or chives.

Eureka! He finally cut that tooth!

9 Months, 13 days.

Like my new hat?

Hey, do you like my new hat?

(Cuz I don't!)

It comes off almost as quick as Mommy puts it on.

She thinks I wont notice when she sneaks it on.

Wrong.

Mama found me that perfect hat for only two buck$! 

Two bucks too much!

...he wins.

Grace: encouragement in unlikely places

So relaxing!

I find myself doing a lot of cleaning and sorting lately; believe it or not, it's how I cope with stress. This has the potential to be a recipe for disaster for an easily-distracted sanguine like me. All of my old boxes, folders and notebooks are full of things to get lost in for a few hours, so I have to be really deliberate when I start projects like this. And I don't set the bar too high, keeping my goals attainable. This morning, I decided to tackle the bottom shelf of the craft closet. I didn't want to get too entrenched in it, I just wanted to edit out some of my old projects and magazines that I was saving for a rainy day. I was doing really well until I came upon an old box of stuff from my Sunday School teaching days. That's where the LORD met with me today- in my craft closet.

My Shepherd

Believers identify with Jesus in many personal ways, among them: Healer, King, Counselor, Teacher, High Priest, Refuge and often a combination of these. For me, Jesus has ministered to me the most as Shepherd. Through the many years, He has led me through so many different situations, with the promises of Ezekiel 34 and their fulfillment in John 10. I have little sheep everywhere in the house, just to remind me of this perspective- Who He is, and who I am in Him. When I read, see or hear about sheep, I pay particular attention. 

 So lately, this sheep has been in a pit of sorts, a deep, lonely, and depressing pit. http://6piedesinapod.blogspot.com/2012/02/friend-loves-at-all-times-and-sister-is.html And the Lord addressed it with me today when I came upon a stack of scriptures that I had leftover, planned to recycle, and eventually forgot. Little did I know that I saved them for such a time as this.

...your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Matthew 6:8

Thank You, Father!



Messy Little Diversions

We had some fun with paint this morning. I was hoping we could make little keepsake multimedia art canvas.

Paint squishing on a Tuesday morning.

 We made it this far, and let it dry. Then we started project number two.

Embellishments!
She wants a "S" for Selah, for starters.
  

Sometimes we have to improvise with our paper sources.

Just like Mama: Bird Nerd in the making.

When in doubt, slap on another layer of Mod Podge.

Perchin' our birdie.

Now, on to Spencer's tree...

Processing

The kids and I were just talking about how much we packed into the last twenty-four hours as we took Spencer for his MRI; including a three hour, one-way drive to a city south of us, getting lost in said city, grabbing some dinner, unloading, plopping our bodies in a hotel, sleeping, getting up at five to be at the hospital by six; and then spending the next five hours signing, prepping, listening, praying, releasing, crying, reuniting, holding, nursing, packing up and turning around for another three hour drive home. Whew. If it sounds like a lot, it was. So now, I'm processing.

Here we go. Another motel.

~Settleing in after nearly four hours in the car.

 Big brother entertains the baby, while Dada performs an antsy child-in-armoire extraction.

Welcomed levity: these are always good for a laugh however, the jury is still out on its ability to lather up an
adult-sized head-or two, or four.

Sleepy. Long day tomorrow. 

6:00 AM

In the waiting room with Dada.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34: 17,18

We figured that Dada, the one who doesn't nurse, would be better off holding him since I was frustrating him. He kept looking at me like, "Hellooo? Are you going to feed me now?!"

This is his "I''m frustrated that mom wont feed me -cry." One minute he'd smile, then suddenly, he'd start crying.

At this point, we were there about 45 min. filling out paperwork,

talking with the doctor, having his vitals checked, and meeting the anesthesiologist. So as this was being taken, 

he was hungry (no food allowed for 8 hours prior), tired, in

strange surroundings, in a weird gown,
& teething to boot...I may need to take over. 

7:30AM

-My sweet, sweet bubba bug cried himself to sleep. It was a blessing, though.
He went right into anesthesia after that,
so at least I was the last person he remembered.
They explained he would get a little gas to breathe,
they would then intubate, and start an IV.
They assured me that he'd be sleeping first, so he
wouldn't be too uncomfortable. The anesthesiologist, 2 nurses, and
the MRI technician were with him the whole time.
8:55 AM

Here they are transporting our Spencer to recovery.
Our sweet nurse Linda explained in advance that they couldn't stop moving him
so we could peek or touch. He was still intubated at this point, so that probably would have upset me.
 We sat in a waiting room for
about an hour and a half, then we moved to a new recovery-type
 room for another ten minutes, talked with some nurses (that we immediately
bonded with), and soon we could hear him screaming down the hall as they brought him to us.
They warned us he'd be upset, and he did not disappoint.
We told him that now would be a good time to ask his parents for a new pony, or a sweet ride
of some sort. Whatever you want, buddy, we'll make it happen ; )
10:10 AM Reunited!

At this point, I was finally able to nurse.

A huge relief (in every way) for the both of us.

The IV needle was bigger than his whole hand.

They kept it in for about an hour post proceedure.

They wanted to see if Spencer was eating, peeing normally, and if he

held down his milk.

The "What to expect when going home "conversation went something like this:

*Expect him to be out of sorts

*Watch for upset tummy/vomiting (he had no trouble with this.)

*Possibly sounding temporarily hoarse

*Sleepy

*Sore or sensitive hand (the IV site)

Some questions I had:

Is it safe to let him sleep? (Yes.)

Is he in pain? (Pain, no. Discomfort, probably.)

Does he remember anything? (Probably not.)

Can he take his meds? (Yes.)

Can he eat solids (Yes.)

Homeopathic chewable teething tablets? (Yes.)

Can he take Motrin or Tylenol or pain/discomfort? (Yes)

(*Hey but don't take my word for it, they change their minds in the medical community all the time.)

*Update. Happy to report that he did wonderfully. No weird reactions, at all. 

 Pretty alert at first, then slept most of the way back.

Grateful.

Homestretch

Daddy's almost home and I'm positively giddy!

No time to get too cozy! We have to pack everyone up for another

hospital roadtrip. -So grateful to have him near me!

A buck well spent

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness

 and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:12

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,

you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Ephesians 6:13

Here's a little visual reminder that I keep on my fridge.

I've kept this little dude around for ten years or so. Formally a card of encouragement from Johnny,

it's a tool I use daily. -Talk about money well spent! 

So just a little reminder, when your out and about and are drawn to little things like this

at your neighborhood Christian bookstore, go ahead and pick it up for someone that you know will need it ( and that could be any one of us).

You never know if it will one day become someone's crumpled, food stained, visual go-to cue for encouragement (Phil. 4: 8,9).

Thanks, Babe.

Retro Play! ( fail.)

Kids crack me up. They just do. I love watching how their little brains operate-

 how they improvise. Case in point: Selah, my three-year old,

 sat and played with this and only this for nearly an hour....

Yes, it's a toilet.

 She had a little story going on, and had two or three different little voices for the characters she dreamed up.
 Occasionally, she'd flip the lid up and down, and make car noises,
 and there was some random chatter about attending a party, and I thought, it must be cool to live in a world that vibrant and entertaining. 

Then I got all nostalgic and philosophical. I decide that I am going to "unplug" my kids 
for a while and allow them to entertain themselves the way I did when I was a kid. No Disney channel, wii, DSI, or Starfall.
 No sir. Today, we were going to  really help nurture 
those creative little minds! It'll be
"Toilet World" 24-7.

My Strategy
I dug out an old activity book that I picked up at Goodwill, and figured that now was as good
a time as any to truck on through it.

I, for one, think my book is precious. It's a nod to a sweet by-gone era where kids left the house at breakfast,
 came home in time for dinner and did who-knows-what for the hours in-between.
 And on rainy days, they'd open a book like this one and get creative. My kids love fun projects, so I'm certain that they will eat it up. 

Check out the sweetness.

I'm so stoked to get started!

When I pitched the idea to Gabe, he gives me one of these...

(Not quite the reaction I was hoping for.)

Maybe it would be better to get Selah going with her project, and then go through some ideas

with Gabe, to hopefully spark some enthusiasm.

Selah quickly decides she wants to make a dolly, so we open the book to the dolly section.

I especially love the tin foil doll.

 I attempted to start one for her to see just how "out of the box" she would go.

Let me tell ya mamas, when it comes to dollies, you. just. don't. mess.

No amount of yarn hair or google eyes could transform these scary (and might I add) scratchy

 things into anything even remotely cute or cuddly.

I was confused. I mean, aren't kids just... kids? Aren't there universal laws of childlike wonder at play,

no matter what the generation?

Surely you could give a kid a couple of sticks, and they would be good to go.

 It worked for the dollhouse toilet, after all. But I guess it's a kids prerogative to be discriminating because

Selah's response was swift and decisive. When I asked her where her baby "head" was, she said,

and I quote, "It's in my kitchen

 drawer, because that's where it goes."

 and that was the end of that.

Sadly, Gabe wasn't into making surprise balls or hobo sacks.

I'll have to keep looking.

So much for today's attempt at retro fun crafts. I'll endeavor to persevere.

I am not done mining for treasures that I know can be found in that book.

I will let you know how it goes.