The hope of Easter.

Today what I felt was the hope of Easter. The hope that comes from the fact that, though life is messy and broken, God is with us. Resurrected and present in our mess, making beauty from our ashes. I don't understand it all, my faith often feels so weak and pitiful, so thank goodness His faithfulness isn't dependent on me! 

It was a sweet morning, a celebratory afternoon at church ( which held their service and block party at their new space 2 blocks away! Yippie!), and tough late afternoon/evening as we came home and Jubilee immediately started throwing up. Sigh. Ollie JUST got over a round of hand, foot and mouth while Joel was out of town. Anyway, just one of those messy realities! 

Here's our little Easter table. Ready last night with baskets that held a new book, a few treats, and new super soft stuffed bunnies from Mammy. All were appreciated.:) 

We found the twins playing with their bunnies by the tulips- so cute:) 

Loving our backyard tulips and looking out the living room window at our cherry tree blossoms! 

Poor baby girl. 

Reading with his cheerleaders:) 

Love, love, love watching them ride their bikes together. It's just the best!!

Would you look at that flower garden?! It's a few blocks from our house, such a surprising sight in an area where flower gardens don't abound. An older man grows and tends it right outside his yard, between the sidewalk and the road. I hope I get to tell him one day how much I appreciate the work he puts into it!! Anyway, Joel and I took the big kids and Ollie on a walk this evening and it was so nice to have a breath of fresh air before coming home to, well, more throw up. Whew. Anyway, happy Easter to you friends! Jen

Jack and Jubilee.

Jack is our next door neighbor, and just a few months older than Jubilee. We have always thought they look like twins!:) Anyway, Jubilee has had a tummy bug for the past week and today she said, " Jack, I don't feel good." He stood up and looked right at her, grabbed her hand and said, " you don't feel good? Do you need anything?" While he repeated himself multiple times so she could understand, I grabbed my phone off the counter and snapped this photo:

                    Melt. My. Heart. 

Then when we were walking him home (next door), they were walking hand and hand and he says to her, "Come, meet my family." Ahaha. Sweet little ones. So fun to see them at this stage.

In other news, the Hunt grandparents are here!! More on that soon!

Jen

Twins.

They are cracking me up today.

At lunch Sam was reading aloud from a Lego story reader and he looked up and said, " Amelia, pretty soon I'm going to be able to read fairy tales to you." 

"Yes!" She replied. "Especially if mama gets sick or , you know, gets pregnant again, then YOU can read me fairy tales." Ahahaha:) I keep waiting for Sam moving forward in reading to inspire her to, but no. Just as he was content to sit and watch her zoom around to bring him toys when they were babes, she is content to listen to him read, especially if it means he will read her fairy tales!

Then, I went outside to take some brownies to them we had made and they said, "come see our chicken hotel, mom!" They were in the compost area where our old Christmas tree is. Oh my gracious. Sam says, " As you can see, we have snacks (cranberries from the compost), a flower bouquet (bowl of dandilions), a trash can (the chickens food bowl), and the hotel itself (the Christmas tree) with comfy nests for the chickens." I peered inside the hotel, and sure enough the chickens were both laying comfortably in their "nests"! 

Sam just ran inside and said, " we aren't coming inside, I'm just getting books to read to the chickens!" Oh my. They are just hysterical. Knock yourself out,guys. I'm just reading this lovely book while the little ones nap! 

All for now, Jen

Sometimes.

KSometimes I get a little angst-y over, well, everything. The house that is never all clean at the same time, the school goals that are oh, so hard to accomplish with diapers to change and potty trainers to train, little ones needing naps, big ones wanting snacks. And, speaking of school, Waldorf or Charlotte Mason? Or a combo? Or just do our own thing? Move to Texas, stay in Utah?! Did I mention the dirty house? Did I mention how not only the house, but my whole being feels like a bit of a mess most of the time. Angst! Worry!  

Then, truth comes in and calms me down. From a calming word from my Joel. From a hymn heard while rocking. I raise my hand right there in the rocking chair and say, "seriously, amen". From a Bible study that speaks to our need to dwell in the Lord's presence in order to see our need for Him. Truth. From a conversation with a dear friend, over the roar of toddlers and babies, the encouragement comes. From looking out the window to see the big kids bent over rocks, studying. I open the window and ask what they are doing, giggling with delight inside over the whole precious scene. Sam yells up, " We are cracking open rocks to see if they are crystals. They are, just not rare ones! That's what Amelia's book says." They had brought her book out there with them! Oh goodness. My heart calms down a notch. You see, we may be a tad behind in math (oops!), and babies and toddlers may "interrupt" us often, but these children love to learn. That's what we are going for, right? Deep breath, Jenny. And yes, I'm a mess in so many ways. There is very little margin in my days- they are full to the brim with children, home, husband. So, I neglect other things. Like, personal time and space and thought. Not saying that's good. I'm just saying, I wouldn't trade it. And I need to remember that. Work on the mess, yes, but don't let worry and angst overwhelm me into missing out on the joy. The joy of this life that has been given to me so graciously by God, who knows and loves me fully. Messy heart and home and all. That's all friends. Hope you are able to feel some calm in your heart as well, Jen

In our homeschool, lately.

New beginnings.

Mondays. New Years. Spring. Throwing off the old, putting on the new (in Christ). I love them all. I guess mornings would fit in there too, but try as I may, I do not love mornings.

Anyway, I'm sitting outside right now watching the kids on their bikes, listening to the birds, reading a magazine. Ahhhh, Spring. We celebrated today by putting away our winter books and pulling out the spring. Amelia, most of all, loves these days of switching over the seasonal book basket. She spreads them all out, sits in the middle of them and digs in:) Some favorites off the top of my head are:

Little Cottontail

Make way for Ducklings

Butterfly Children

Brambly Hedge: A spring story

Spring by Gerda Muller

The Bee Tree....

And many more!:) 

Happy almost spring to you! Jen

A welcome break.

The package man brought an envelope from amazon and I literally squealed when I opened it and found this book that I forgot I had ordered. A new book, just for mama. 

Now it's snowing, the girls are taking a long, warm bath, Ollie is sleeping and Sam is playing with Legos. Oh yes, perfect conditions for a little break, and if I don't fall asleep, I am looking very forward to a cup of tea and a few chapters of a book. Moments like these are much needed for all mamas, of course, but I think for those who choose to have school age kiddos plus younger little ones home with us pretty much 24/7, they are vital. I'm trying to be better about grabbing them when I can. Which means I must post this and get to it:) Jen

Another adventure with daddy.

Gosh, I love that they have a super adventurous daddy who loves to include them on his adventures!:) That amazing sled Joel is pulling Jubilee on was a yard sale find years ago and has seen lots of use- one of our favorite yard sale finds ever!! A good day had by all (though most of mine was spent cleaning/decluttering- but at least the work got done!). All for now, Jen

One thing I hope never to forget is the feeling of a little one sleeping on my chest. Sigh, there's just nothing like it. 

                                          Happy Valentines Day from our little loves to you!

                                    

I really love this picture of the kiddos, ready to head out to their Waldorf program Valentines party. Though, to keep things real, immediately after this sweet picture I found them slugging it out in the van over who got to hold the basket of valentines. Ahem. 

So, I like this next picture even better. A trip to Target after the party. All were in festive, happy moods, and no one fell out of the cart or got their fingers run over (which I assume is why several people looked concerned when passing by. Possibly they were concerned for my sanity? Hehe). Good times, cute kiddos.

On to pizza making and telling each other why we love each other so, and then bed time for babes and movie watching for the grown ups. Hope you had a lovely day too! Jen

To my mama on her birthday.

Every year I say this, but it's just so true, that it is so fitting you were born on a day that celebrates love. Because you, who you are, celebrates love. Not the superficial, hyper sweet kind of love, but the deep down, nitty gritty kind. The Jesus kind of love. That is the kind of love I have known since I was born. It has been my example of what the word really means. 
You have cheered me on in every endeavour of my life. I mean cheered as if I were an Olympian! From gymnastics in the front yard, fun runs, jump rope teams, friendships, heartache, choir, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, mothering. So many times, your belief in me is what has made me believe in myself. Seriously. And now I get to see you love my children. And, oh, they know your love is special too. From fairy picnics to hand made scarfs, to thoughtful full moon dates- it is a gift to see you be a Mammy. 
I have watched you love others well too. I have watched you love them abundantly, not just well. I have seen you forgive, I have seen you hope, I have seen you seek the best, I have seen you live out I Corinthians 13, really. In big ways. 
Oh mama, this life has not been easy for you. From birth to this very day, you have had so many trials, so many heartbreaks and so much pain. I was thinking today as I was washing dishes how fun it will be to see you in heaven with no more pain! Rest for your weary soul. Ultimate love for your heart. Not that I want you there anytime soon, though. My heart would shatter into a million pieces. 
I love you, mom. I'm thankful for you in more ways than I could ever write. I hope you feel loved today, because you are. Thank you for your consistent example of God's love and for always reminding me of His faithfulness, even through the poop that life brings. With all my heart, Jen

                    P.S. What am I wearing in this picture and look at those tiny babies!! 

One of the sweet ones...

Sometimes a mama just needs a sweet day where things mostly go right. I'm thankful for the one we had today!

Though I don't really ever question homeschooling the kids (it just fits for us right now. I enjoy spending my days with them and they tear up when I tell them they won't be able to homeschool in college;), sometimes I question the *best* ways to spend our days. How to best nurture their learning journey while nurturing a toddler and babe too- whew, it can be tricky! Then days like today come along and I feel like I took a deep breath of fresh air.

Last night I miraculously came up with some Waldorfy valentines ideas to make with the twins today. (Have I mentioned they just started going to a Waldorf program on Fridays. Um, so excited.) They were SO excited to roll some beeswax candles, so excited that we started at 7:33am- hehe. Oh Sammy, he's such a project guy. He worked so hard and long on his candles, the tags, etc. Pretty sweet. Amelia loved the chance to paint, to cut, to create a huge snake out of beeswax...ever doing her own project, that one! Before we knew it it was time to scramble up some eggs for lunch and start the process of getting ready for Wild Wednesday. Gosh, I probably haven't even mentioned Wild Wednesday here? It's a program at the Ogden Nature center that we try to go to most Wednesdays with the Cox's. It's pretty great and the kids love it! Today's program was called " Wild Love" and was all about how animals attract their mates. It was interesting,  gross, and amazing!;) Back home and dinner waiting in the crockpot. Ahhhh. Now I'm watching American Idol with Jubilee (does that cancel out the beeswax and watercolor?! hehe) after getting baby down to sleep and letting the kiddos play ( "we haven't played together all day!") a bit late. 

I think some reasons this day went well:

* I got six hours of sleep in a row last night.

* I drank a chai tea this morning (2 1/2 weeks with no diet coke- hurray!).

* I had a plan for our morning that I was excited about, and they were too.

* The plan was beeswax and water colors- how can that go wrong?hehe

* We spent time with friends. 

* We learned fascinating things about animals. 

* Dinner was made. Everyone liked it. Enough said!

Thanks be to God for smooth days, for breaths of fresh air, and for encouragement. I know it's all from Him. 

Hopefully more soon, Jen