Things That Make The Heart Beat Faster:Day 5

I adore these boys. I adore hanging out with them, listening to their discoveries ("we found duck eggs when we were at Uncle Dan's!"), laughing at their jokes ("it's called a dwarf planet because it's short and has a white beard- get it?"), hearing their confidences, everything that involves being their Mama. That's not to say it's always a walk in the park, but the walks in the park, or even the hanging-out-on-a-blanket-in-our-not-quite-a-park-backyard like the past few afternoons make any hardship and frustration more than completely bearable. It's such a privilege and a joy to share in their little lives, to get to know each unique boy and what makes him tick (and maybe more importantly, explode!) and to help guide and foster their interests, their passions and their character, all the while holding them in my heart as delicately as one would a butterfly. I love how my sister-n-law phrases it with her own wee ones "you are not mine, but the Lord's so seek to honor him in all that you do"...I feel that best sums up my parenting approach- attempting to honor God in how Ryan and I raise them and above all being so thankful for the simple joy of days like this.

Favorite Things: Day 4

I'm a day late and a dollar short on this favorite things post but that's okay because we were outside...

hanging out with Jill & Ruby, getting advice on the care of my rhubarb plant,

admiring the progress of the onions,

and giving a pep talk to the tomato seedlings Ryan just planted.

I wish I could take credit for our lovely garden space, but I can't. It's all Ryan. He built the raised beds, started bricking in the walk-way, planted the seedlings indoors, and moved our compost bin into the garden where it is now safe from squirrels. I love the care he puts into the garden, from the planning of it and the ordering of seeds from Johnny's in late winter, to the actual hard work in breaking up the soil and laying everything out. It's a wonderful family project and the boys take turns taking the compost out, watering the seedlings, and weeding, once the growing season really gets going. Farm to table is something I grew up with in Virginia because my mom is such an avid gardener, and she would tell you that in addition to being a wonderful alternative therapy, it's a cost effective way to feed a family healthily and organically. "Farm to table" and "slow food" are new fangled names for a very old fashioned concept, long before the industrialization of food. I went to a food canning safety seminar at our local library recently and the woman leading the class said a great rule of thumb when buying food is that if it's something our great-grandmothers wouldn't recognize, it's probably not good for us either. I loved that! That hasn't stopped me from ordering a case of Organic Green & Black's Dark Chocolate from my local co-op, but you get the general idea.

I love what Jamie Oliver (the "naked chef") and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsley (of The River Cottage) as well as Alice Waters and other chefs are doing to encourage people to grow their own food, not only for the economic and health benefits, but for the valuable lessons it teaches kids (and adults) about where our food comes from, the miracle of a head of broccoli sprouting from a plant that started out as a tiny seed, and that the very best foods can come from your very own backyard. I think we've largely gotten away from the essentials and having a garden is one of the best ways for us personally to learn to eat seasonally, to learn to cook with what we have, and ultimately, to enjoy our food more for having grown it ourselves.

Favorite Things: Day 2

Pleasing Things

I've been editing, editing, editing my wardrobe, the boys' wardrobe, everybody's wardrobe...we live in a 1600 sq. foot house, which isn't huge for a family of 6 and I'm running out of surfaces on which to put stacks of folded and clean laundry. It has felt good to shed so much extra clothing, and it's helped me narrow down my style even more and what I've come to is this: most times, all this girl needs is a scarf, a jacket, and a pair of kick-ass boots to feel put together and the most myself in my clothes.

Things That Make The Heart Beat Faster: Favorite Things Project

Favorite Things: Day 1

Splashing in puddles with the boys after a hard spring rain (with gusts up to 40 m.p.h. too!)

I'm beginning a collaboration for the month of May with a group of other blogging friends inspired by a Japanese author and court lady named Sei Shonagon, who wrote an equisite book of observations from 967-1000. Little is known of her except her real name and this record of her musings left behind in this book, including lists of things under headings such as "things that make ones' heart beat faster", "pleasing things", and "elegant things".

We will be posting once a day for the month of May, a photograph and quick muse on anything that strikes our fancy and falls into one of those three categories. I love this idea because there is a part of me that loves sharing my favorite things and a bigger part of me that is intrigued and exicited for the glimpse into my blogging friends' world and what they see that inspires them.

The list of collaborators is as follows (and is also listed on the left sidebar under the heading Favorite Things Collaborators: Summer, Annika, Cydney, Blythe, Jenn, Andy, Jennifer, Marianne, Moi(that's me!), and Molly.

Simple Joys & Favorite Things #1

It's hard not to be cheerful when you wake up to these sunny sheets, a birthday gift from my mother-in-law Patti. The dhurrie rug is from John Robshaw, one of my favorite textile artists, a steal from anthropologie friends and family days.

This is post #1 of a little Oprah-esque series I'm calling favorite things.