unexpected beauty

In the spring this little beauty might get looked over with it's petite blooms and bare branches. But in the winter, everyone stops to stare. No one expects anything to bloom in the midst of winter. And yet, only weeks ago, this bush that stands at the edge of concrete and in a pile of rocks was blooming. Pink blossoms on bare brown branches.

{Even this basketball playing boy had to stop and take a serious look.}

I've just been thinking about the ways God takes care of us. Big things and little things--- in this case diminutive things. He knows {and you know if you've stuck around long enough} that I loved my pink peonies at Leland St. I miss my pink peonies. Mostly in the early spring when the days are longer and warmer and the grass is greener and when I start to see them lining people's lawns. But God knows that and I love that this little unexpected blooming flower is another reminder of his love.

William's county fair

This post is coming at you from way back in 2010. I know, that is like so two years ago.
:)
It's just that every time I open my Picnik account, these pictures comes up:

And every time I think to myself --- why have I not posted about the county fair party?? I think at first it was because I was being critical of the pictures I took. But now, over a year later, all I see when I look at these is family that I love {and miss so dearly -- Erica, Bret and Ben} and friends who drove all the way to the country to celebrate and memories that I don't want to forget.

invite: Loralee Lewis

{I can't find a picture of William's invitation, but these are the ones I ordered.}

I loved everything about this Etsy shop from the minute I found it. Loralee was so sweet to work with. She got my invitations printed and sent to me in a hurry -- I remember wanting to have them before we left for Florida. She was really personable and super friendly. {And, as a side note, in 2011, she was asked to help with swag bags for the Emmy Awards!}

Welcome to the County Fair!

Guests arriving on a hayrack driven by Farmer Grandpa.

We ate hot dogs, kettle corn and chili. It was the 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off. My mom, Patrick and Dan entered the contest.  The chili was delicious and every one unique. Dan's smoky and my mom's a white chicken chili and Patrick's very traditional beefy and bean. My favorite was the tray of fixins - shredded cheddar, green onions, avocado, mini saltines and cornbread muffins.

Photo booth fun.

Singing to the birthday boy.

County Fair games: sack races, three-legged race, donuts on a string and apple bobbing.

And scoops of candy for the favor. I also ordered these bags from Loralee's etsy shop. They were printed on glassine bags. Again, super pleased with the quality!

His party was the weekend of  Halloween, so the party ended with lots of boys turned superheroes!

Happy 3rd Birthday William! You sweet little blondie -- we just returned from Florida a week or two before the party which is why he is so tan and blonde :)

on Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve 2011 at home. It was just our family; the four of us. 

At first it felt oddly quiet. Since we've been married, Patrick and I -- and then the boys -- have been spending Christmas Eve with our big extended Hogan family. And I've had years and years of Christmas Eve's with them growing up. The warmth, chaos, laughter, family, authentic Italian cooking and fun are always part of what make the day special. 

 

We missed it as we gathered around our table to celebrate. But it was also special being together, the four of us. There's something to be said for starting traditions, creating something new.

Toasting to Christmas, Jesus' birth, family and the year of 2011. We ate and shared our highs and lows from the year .

Celebrating the birth of a baby two thousand years ago.

Dressing with shirts tucked in on a Saturday afternoon. Leaving for church in the crisp night.

We ended the night donning soft new striped pjs, and sprinkling food for the reindeer in the grass in our bare feet. I felt perfectly content when I tucked the boys in and watched their eyes sparkle with thoughts from the day and the anticipation of the one to come.

a mom never forgets

I've come to realize that there are some things that a mom will never forget.

The day your bright eyed boy loses his first tooth is one of them.

{December 22, 2011}

On a sunny Thursday morning, just a few days before Christmas, this little 4-year old boy lost his first tooth. One of the front ones. 

In what was not one of my finest parenting moments, emerged yet another of his bravest. He and Henry were running on -- well, playing or riding on -- the treadmill; I had just jumped off. I was feeling good, endorphins pulsing through my body and the Train station on Pandora blaring through the Sonos speaker. They were being cautious, I reasoned, and turned to the mess in the playroom to start cleaning it up. That's when I heard a thud and then his cry. I ran in and scooped him up from the floor, alternating comforting him and Henry who felt like the whole terrible accident was his mistake. I saw the blood and realized my sweet baby, barely 4 years old, lost his front tooth, and jammed the other -- the one beside it -- straight up into his gums.

He continued to be brave. His crying stopped after only minutes; long before mine. I cried empathetically along with him; I still can't imagine the pain of falling and knocking a tooth clean out and shoving another into my gums. I cried because I felt completely and totally to blame. And I cried because he is only four. Maybe not a baby, but still my youngest little boy. I wasn't ready for him to look like a first grader. 

But you know after a day it didn't phase me. He is still the same sweet, daring (he fell off the back of the couch the same night as the treadmill accident - things don't phase this one) friendly, happy little boy. And his little tooth missing smile just makes him more uniquely who he is. I'm sure I will have a hard time parting with that little gap when his adult tooth comes in.

it's 2012!

source

It's the start of another year; the beginning of something new. Without making any formal resolutions, I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I hope this year looks like.
I hope I will say yes more often.
Yes, I will crawl around, knees to the hard wood and yes I will be the mommy lion. Yes, I will play spies with you. Yes, you can have pancakes for dinner {it's ok every now and again}. Yes, it's happy hour at Sonic, let's get us some cherry limeades!
I hope I will be patient and make our home a place of peace of rest. I hope our boys will feel comforted and at rest, not rushed and harried.
I hope I will be able to paint and put nail holes in walls.
I hope I will trust God, leaning on Him for each new day and be reminded on the bad days that His mercies are new every morning.
I hope I will practice hospitality.
I hope I will other people before myself. My children, husband, family and friends. And also strangers, people I encounter on the library steps and in the supermarket aisles. And people half a world away who live each day without having their daily needs met - I want to put them before myself too.
I hope I will be grateful and thankful.
It's a new year and I am full of hope for things that are to come. My hope isn't in myself or in what I might be able to accomplish through my own might, but in God and in what I hope he will accomplish through me.

For what you have done, I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.

Psalm 52: 8-9

 I can hope indeed and hoping is good, for we serve a good God who will never leave us or forsake us.

sugar and sprinkles

A few weeks before Christmas my mom gave us two dozen pre-cut sugar cookies. That just left us to bake and decorate. The fun part!









We dyed frosting (we were out of red food coloring) and used every kind of sprinkle we could find in our pantry. It was a delicious mess. I stepped on little sprinkle nonpareils for days after and I'm pretty sure sprinkles and frosting were the boys lunch that day.
And you might find yourself wondering by now if my children ever got dressed during winter break. I'd say most of the time they didn't! Only for special occasions did we step out of our pjs. Perfect!