making light

delicious drinks. serious swimming. and leisurely sewing.

scrumptiously cool mornings and evenings are making us wonder: is this really july? since when does july bring breezes just chilly enough to necessitate the use of quilts?

the answer: maybe not ever. but i am not going to complain. because it is fantastic!

we have a kingdom of bees living in our upstairs-there is actually honey dripping from the rafters. it has been going on for quite some time. just wasn’t sure what was going to happen. but apparently there is ALOT of honey comb, etc. and so they are going to have to rip open the walls, etc. etc.

i don’t know what my 6 yo. will do when he can’t lick honey from the windowsills any more. this may sound disgusting. but if you knew how sweet raw. natural honey tasted you’d totally do the same thing.

the boys have been going to work with my husband a lot lately. one of the nicer things resulting in his being laid off is that we do have our own small. very. small business to fall back on and it is an excellent learning opportunity for the boys. they not only earn some money for themselves but this allows them to discern whether or not they want to apply a little more effort to their studies.

my grandmama, my dad’s mom, has some cancerous lumps in her breast again and so we will be heading up north to visit her in the next few days. this woman has fought cancer off and on for many years. she lost her husband, my grandfather, when i was 8. and then 8 years later, her youngest daughter, my aunt. both of them died due to complications from brain tumors.

my point in sharing this here:

life is short, friends. and though not always sweet. there is much sweetness.

we follow a Body Whose Head wore a crown of thorns.

and there is a sacredness in pain and suffering.

when it is submitted into HIS pain and suffering.

not even a hair on our heads is harmed without God’s permission. and minute by minute. week by week. day by day, HE controls the scenario of the centuries. and the years.

and even the minutest details of our days.

so let us remember:

“not for thee and thine to go in fear, dismayed like these others, enthrone the Lord of Hosts above all else, HIM you must fear, of HIM stand in awe. LET THE HOUR OF PERIL CONSECRATE YOU TO HIM.” ~is. 8:6-8

therein lies the “prescripition” for the myriad of things that can and do go wrong.

the peril is very real. but of which we should have no fear.

so consecrate yourself. and the ones you love to HIM.

today.

the focus

these people that i love so much.

the blue of the water and sky.

the white. frothy foam.

the cool breeze.

all of them blessings from a God Who is so. so. good.

those lashes. that smile.

silvery painted toes. sparkling like the flecks of sand.

a nap on a crisp. cotton sheet.

a yummy picnic lunch.

all because daddy needed a day off.

we all need a day off sometimes

to look for sand crabs.

and to find one another.

among the quiet noises of the great outdoors.

so as to keep the focus where it needs to be.

on God.

and on each other.

aspiring

“Theologians distinguish between perfectio sustanstialis in the soul and perfectio simpliciter. They tell us that where there is no mortal sin, there is substantial perfection: there are grounds for a further perfection, and the soul is at least perfectly alive.

The other kind of perfection, considered simply as sanctity, is the plentitude to which earnest souls feel called to aspire. The Holy Eucharist ministers to each of these perfections: in the first instance, the soul is actively helped to keep itself in a state of grace; in the second, its horizons of love are enlarged.

If love is the “bond of perfection” and the Holy Eucharist is the sacrament of love, then Holy Communion not only draws together outward behaviour and inward motive but also raises perfectio substantialis toward perfectio simpliciter.”

Grace alone can bring God’s mysteries nearer to me, and until it explains God’s ways to me, my vision, even aided by the truths of revelation and the theology of the Church, is wretchedly incomplete.”

~Dom Hubert van Zeller

dilly-dally-ing

with water colors.

and chocolate cake. frosted with cream cheese. chocolate and coffee….

*sigh*

waiting for a summer storm. i hear thunder and smell rain and it is oh. so. lovely.

but i also smell smoke and hear sirens. not so lovely.

the good. the bad. the ugly. the lovely.

all of it willed by the Creator of this universe. not some dis-interested spectator as the unbelieving might think.

HIS WILL. THE WILL.

It is something i have been pondering a lot lately.

i am hoping the answer lies here:

in the prayers of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

7 times a day. that is a lot for a busy mama like myself.

but it is possible.

and it is oh. so. lovely.

and the more i do it. the more i love it.

i haven’t got it all figured out yet.

but i am sure my heavenly mother will help me with the ins and outs.

see, it’s not all fun and chocolate cakes here.

i am seriously trying to navigate my way through some diffucult things. health related and otherwise. having teenagers will do things to your body you never knew were possible. making tough mama decisions is never easy. it wears me down sometimes.

so i have stepped out of the limelight. in real life. to do some really important stuff around here.

mainly getting my prayer life in order. that is at the top of the list.

one last good thing before i go. because life is really about seeing the good things with eyes wide open:

a toast to barb.

a delicious glass of wine. drank on the nite she waited for her thunderstorm.

the one that never came.

it decided to come out west instead.

ripe

in my grandmother’s garden there are: the sweetest berries. the juciest watermelons. the pinkest hollyhocks. and the bluest skies.

my only contribution: the darling little boy with a big appetite. curious hands and taste-buds. a missing tooth and a bit of a lisp.

that seems to be the only thing i am capable of growing these days!

a kindergarten diploma

the homeschool way.

mama made. bound. and delivered.

washable. re-usable.

can be used alone.

or shared with others.

but best of all it will always evoke love.

for letters. learning. reading. and sharing.

eye spy

on this first day of july….

with the very slim pickings from my sad little garden.

also from the garden. tiny. but proof that sweet things can come in small packages.

because i like to feel pretty when i am doing dishes. and let’s face it. i am almost always doing dishes.

i actually have two new aprons and another all cut out and ready to sew. but i am going out on a limb and adding a frilly ruffle to the bottom for some of that june cleaver flair. so it is taking me a little longer than the first two.

do you see the bird too? my family has a knack for “seeing” things in nature finds. remember this rock?

well, friends, july is here. it must be well into the 100’s today. and since we cannot pack up and move to somewhere really cold…i guess instead i will be spending the next few weeks tyring to beat the heat.

today’s tip: when going out into really hot weather, take your own cup of cold tea and/or water to sip on while you drive. it keeps the temptation to stop at those over priced coffee shops at bay.

so, what are you “spying with your little eyes….