[friday loVe ~ HIS voice]

I cried in TJMax a few weeks ago.

As much as I love that store... and as emotional as I might get over an exciting bargain, :)
it wasn't about the place or a price.

It was over something that never ceases to amaze and surprise me.

And it's one of those "never ceases to amaze and surprise me" things that I hope stays just that way.
Always amazing and surprising. Despite the frequency.
Leaving me with widened eyes, allbeit perhaps at times... tearful ones.
Like a little girl on Christmas. With a treat. When it is truly better than she dreamed it would be.
And she sparkles with indescribable pleasure.

Like THAT. everytime.

Dear friends of ours had invited us over for the evening.
It was the one year anniversary of their daughter's death.

As with alot of things that life brings...
each story and person unique,
there's not a magic-one-size-fits-all-formula with details on what exactly to do... or not,
on the anniversary of something like that.
For them as grieving parents... for those of us as friends. 

I had been wishing all week prior, that I could think of something meaningful to share with them.
A little remembrance. a significant token. a something.
The kind of something that I never find when I'm looking for it.
It doesn't work that way for me. I find special presents when I don't need them.

So I found myself driving into town at the last minute, to get a pink and white balloon bouquet.
Balloons were not the answer to my mental search for ideas. They weren't the something.
But they were a something, and the kids could have fun with them.
On my way to the party store, I made what then felt like an impulsive decision to stop by TJMax.
Maybe. Just maybe. I would find that... something.
I went to the back of the store and started walking past the aisle ends, glancing down each one.
dishes. kitchen tools. pet paraphernalia. gifty stationery things.
It's strange. Looking for something when you don't even know what it is.
I felt like I was wasting my time.
I came to the home decor aisle... and... I heard it. very. clearly.
That soul whisper. His voice.

It's here. In this aisle.
And sillyslowlearning me, believing that it was Him. truly. He had spoken.
and yet, I still entertained the next thought, that it was my idea.
So I argued back in my head. no it's not. not this aisle. this is mostly large home decor items.

I remember hesitating, and then walking down that aisle to the other end anyway.
I had even thought...see? nothing. I knew that. There's nothing here. 
I started browsing through the display of faux succulents, imagining how awesome they would look in my house.
And it was then... that I saw it.

The something. the gift that I had wanted so much to find...
A single, white, silk lily bloom in a little glass vase.

I was stunned. awestruck. my tears were the words that my lips couldn't say.
feeling gratefulness for His voice.
overwhelmed with His compassion. His grace. His l o v e.

for me. for our dear friends. for each of us.


friday loVe ~ HIS


You see, the precious baby girl who is missed so very much is...
Lilly Jane.


He loves y o u.
loves y o u.
y o u.
 

friday loVe picture ~ inspired by amber

[loVe picture friday, inspired by grace to be]

It's Amber's fun idea, as she posted here last week saying;
"i thought with valentines day coming up it would be fun to post some sort of "loVe picture" every friday for the month~ wanna join?
all you have to do is take a picture each week of something you love then post it on friday!"
But I am actually camera-less right now.
Ben borrowed my little point and shoot for his digital media class and has it at school most of the time. So I opened some old folders, found a few scanned photos from my 35mm days... and here's one of them. 

This week's loVe picture.



It was December 2004.
And we had just found out that our newest little person was a BOY!
We thought that our fourth baby would also be our last,
so even though we hadn't found out the gender with any of the others,
we decided this time to find out together as a family.

Way special. For all of us. Still. I love looking at this picture. :)

curious, did you or not, find out what you were having?
and was it announced... or a secret?


HaPpy Friday everyone!
and if you haven't already, jump in. i want to see YOUR loVe picture too.

[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?!