[this moment]

it's a [this moment] as inspired by soulemamathat is actually a that moment. that moment when you realize that you cannot blink again. ever. it's all going so fast. my oldest, at 17, discovered that when on his knees... he is now just slightly taller than my youngest, at seven, who is standing up straight. that moment when you realize that you cannot blink again. ever.

Please help

Can you sense the urgency here folks?

What mother of five boys doesn't NEED a unicorn?

Please help.

My crazy, fun friend and yours, @aSeriesofFortunateEvents, posted this picture on facebook.
She makes me laugh. alot. love her.

I've been granted permission to share...
your opportunity to participate is HERE.

(i cannot stop cracking up. it's getting funnier and funnier.)

Have a great weekend!

This kind of melting snow is okay in the house...

This kind of melting snow is okay in the house...
At least it is... in a big ole mug of hot chocolate!

Sarah and I found this idea in one of my mom's magazines...
the link is right here.




I'm sure that the pics are probably the only directions needed for these fun little snowman toppers. so easy peasy.
But here's the list anyway. along with what we learned. :)

You'll need a large container of frozen whipped topping (do not thaw.)
mini chocolate chips
orange jimmies
hot cocoa

note; the canned topping as pictured does not work. it flattens fast, see the odd snowman face above.
the little cookie scoop as pictured does not work either...haha.
as we are firm believers of more is better when it comes to something with whipped cream!

i'm the girl who is full of what-not-tos. after most things i try. ;)

Using a large cookie scoop, drop mounds of topping onto wax paper.
or cupcake papers if you have them.
decorate the little "faces" and freeze until firm.

Or serve yourself immediately, that's what we did.
Placing the extras in the freezer to pull out when we need them.
Which will be often. 

One of our favorite wintertime drink recipes is my friend Deanna's "Fireside Coffee Mix."
It has just a hint of spice. and is so mmmmm cozy.  

Simply stir together the following ingredients, then store in an airtight container.
Use 3-4 teaspoons per cup of hot water or milk.

2 cups instant cocoa
2 cups coffee creamer
1 cup instant decaf coffee
1 1/2 cups sugar ( i use waaay less)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg



Do YOU have a favorite hot drink?
and/or recipe to share?
Here's to smiling about...
YAY! It's FRIDAY!!!And sweet melting snowmen faces floating in your hot chocolate.

Have a great weekend!

[We go with the No-Theme Theme]

 

I'm out of stamps.

So I'm taking another break from signing cards and addressing envelopes.

It's January second. Need I state the obvious? That our family's Christmas greetings are very, very late this year?
(edit: i had started writing this yesterday. so now it's the third. sigh.)
Or how do I say it, now that "this" year is last year? oh dear.

I found out that when you order your cards at the last minute...
you get them at an even later last minute.
They were to come in on the Wednesday before Christmas.
But didn't until that Friday instead.

When I realized that even the most heroic of efforts wouldn't get them to your house on time,
I chilled. :) And I'm just working on them when I can.

I still have a stack to do.
Including a few for Canadian friends.
And American friends living in Canada. :)
I plan on finishing... soon. before... groundhog day. ;) maybe.

I have noticed a bit of a procrastination theme going on around here...


We have everything on our tree, going with the no-theme theme.
And blog posts it seems today too...
Doing the no theme theme, as I feel like writing a little about this and that.
One of my boys recently discovered his first chest hair... and named it Phil.
Did you know that my name is Owen? Owen Mom.
It is. No matter if she's asking a question or making a statement,
when Sarah's talking to me, she starts almost every sentence with Owen Mom.
It made me feel nuts... until I realized it's precious.
And probably till Phil finds himself standing in a crowd , she'll have outgrown the need to say it.
and I'll be longing to hear Owen Mom just one more time.



The keychain tree has a theme---places we've been.



I noticed a pink bikini and a one shouldered evening gown...
I believe that my daughter is living vicariously through the gingerbread women that she decorated. love her.
Somebody I know was only home from school for about 30 seconds before his mother asked him when and where he'd singed off his eyelashes. Jared's enjoying his welding class. And the fact that he alarmed his teacher... and offered a teachable moment for his peers.

Only medical tests will reveal if I truly suffered heart damage.
But after answering the phone one evening and hearing these words,
"This is Officer Carbaugh. Are you...  's mom?" I do know that my son owes me for my next hair color appt.
I should have seen it coming.
He's The Farmer's Son.
And he has ramped with everything else. bikes. scooters. skateboards.
Why not the family car?

There's been a stay-on-your-knees-in-prayer theme going on around here...


Do you see cooperation here? me neither. We have that theme too.

"Jacob's being so good," said a friend of mine that I ran into while shopping at Walmart.
He was quietly making hand motions as we were talktalktalking.
But... I recognized that he was saying "shut up" in sign language. 
Maybe good mothers don't laugh about things like that in front of their children,
but I've heard that the sane ones do. ;)
Seven year olds with older siblings know more than they should before they should.

It was the exact same friend that Jacob had stared at for awhile one time before loudly asking,
"Mom! How does she say so many words without breathing?!"
I had bought the older boys travel toiletry bags prefilled with body wash and deoderant. I didn't bother to read any labels...but they did. myword. What a hoot. The manufacturer is celebrating 10 years of what they call, "A weapon of mass attraction. Helping you to attract girls and win in the mating game since 2002..." so... what? it takes a fragrance? mating game? Seriously, so lame. And we laughed.

Because laughter's a great theme. coping mechanism. medicine. necessity. indeed.




And now it's January 3rd. I must go to the post office today. Must.

But first I'm determined to finish this post.
Trying to end the writing-but-not-finishing theme I've had going on.
I've been putting off changing that about me.
Which takes this about full circle, doesn't it?
That procrastination pattern. theme. right. :)


May you experience...
seeing hearing feeling tasting knowing
...HIS glory in your day.
Because it's a glorious theme.
"...The glory of the One and Only...
full of Grace and Truth." john 1:14

Okay. Off to the post office.
and then I have an item to return at Target on my way home.
I don't procrastinate with everything. Never a Target trip.
Perhaps I'll do a little but dangerous no-theme theme browsing.
Target's great for that. :)

[Lesson Learned Last November]

Never tell your kids "Just try it" at the sushi restaurant
with the cool, little help-yourself-conveyor-belt,
without also communicating cost effective perimeters.


Seriously the most fun restaurant ever,  YoSushi at Union Station in D.C.
We had such a great time there with special friends.
If you ever have the chance to go, take me with you.
I think that there's only one in the United States... but they are all over Great Britain.
So any location you pick... I'm in. :)




and while I'm talking about lessons learned...
remind me to tell you when NOT to order your Christmas cards.
because I would know. :)

Happy HaPpY New Year to you all!


"The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life."
                                                                                             Job 33:4

just inhale. while looking in His eyes. don't you love that?!

[this moment]

 

but a seriously tweaked [this moment] as far as what originated with SouleMama.
mostly because i couldn't come up with my own title. so i used hers. :)

just LOOK at them! could they be any cuter? so precious. we LOVE them.




and the puppies. did you notice the puppies? ;) they're cute too. 



do you all have a busy weekend planned?
busy...good? or...is it feeling ohmyword tootoobusy hard?
i'm planning on ours being busy good. ha.
with cookie baking and a party to go to without kids.

happy friday friends!

A New Look for Grace

A new look for Grace.

I read these words yesterday. They are Shanda's title for a sweet post about her daughter getting glasses.
Grace looks really cute with her new frames, and if you haven't already... you can see the pictures right HERE.

A new look for Grace.

When I read that I immediately thought...yes. yes. I've seen that look. And I have been thinking about that very thing. My experiences that become my scattered thoughts were put into a sentence for me. And so I asked Shanda if I could repeat her words.

A new look for Grace.

I saw that look yesterday. Grace's look. and the day before that. in September. during the summer. when I was 29. i.e. last year. ;) I remember it when I was 16. and the year before that one too. I can jump months, even decades back into another century... and that look was there. over and over and over. Because Grace was.

Sometimes I recognized it in the moment.
Sometimes not.

edit: @bumblypick mentioned "grace spaces" in her encouraging comment. and i love that.  thanks christy. it reminded me of what i heard recently about the heart holes that life brings... those parts of our stories that we don't like, past and present, create spaces for grace. grace spaces. spaces to be filled with grace for redemption and purpose. "The power of the resurrection means that nothing but the tomb is meant to be empty."

Sometimes I've experienced it straight from Him.
And at other times I've experienced it straight from Him through you.

Sometimes it's seen but not heard. And at other times, it's only seen because it's heard.
Indescribable. Uncontainable. You are amazing God.

I saw it again this morning.

A new look for Grace.
Its cross shaped shadow... never blocking light, always bringing it. revealing its source.
And it was the same thing. again. 
The same thing and new. both. everytime.
Amazing.

Perhaps the nail scarred hands that bring Grace to us,
are ever turning it.
Its new look is simply another angle
for our human hearts to see that...




HE is the same. It's a promise.
And yet His sameness is new. fresh. personalized.
For each of us.

Timeless. Everyday. For right now.

His sameness is my potential for change.
His sameness is my power for growth.
His sameness is why I don't have to be.

There is always a new look for the same Grace.

Indescribable. Uncontainable. You are amazing God.