Thankful Thursday: Simplicity is a Choice.

I love this quote by Ann Voskamp: Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus.

As we are coming down from the high of Valentine's Day parties, eating too many cookies and reading tiny cards that declare silly things like UR Fab! (Barbie) or It's Your Destiny to have a Great Valentine's Day! (Darth Vadar), today we are staying inside to stare at the rain in our comfy clothes. We're going to make crockpot potato soup and paint.

I've been reminded again to be thankful for the thousands of simple blessings in my life: new words spoken clearly, growth spurts, crazy post-nap bed head, amazing friends, a thoughtful husband, an upcoming 3-day weekend. And simplicity truly is choice; I'm learning to eliminate the unnecessary. Can I streamline my daily chores, errands, and outings to make the most of my time--these precious winter days spent at home?  Are you writing down your daily blessings?  What have you done to encourage simplification in your life lately?

And as much as I despise the game Break the Ice, I'd probably set it up all day to see this big smile.

Teach us delight in the simple things,
and mirth that has no bitter springs;
forgiveness free of evil done,
and love to all men beneath the sun.
— Rudyard Kipling

A Quick Ode to Summer

Yes, it's thankful Thursday!


Sometimes we read too much Dr. Seuss, it's true. I found myself going through my list of thanks rhythmically today, so I thought I would force you to endure a glimpse into my mind. A short Ode to Summer that I put together in approximately ten minutes........  

New trick = "winking"

Sunscreen, bubbles, take a walk.
Slip n' slides and sidewalk chalk.


Laundry helpers, kitchen cooks.
A fresh batch of summer books


Pointing up at zooming jets.
Watching lots of Wonder Pets.


Pull a weed, pick a flower,
Drive-through Sonic Happy Hour.


Learning how to do our chores,

Side-effect of Summer = falling asleep anywhere and everywhere.

Hearing all about Clone Wars.


Squeeze some ketchup on your fries,
Make some yummy, muddy pies.


Made-up games, scrunchy faces,
Travel to some different places.


August is coming, and it's a bummer.
No more bare feet, no more summer.

"Scrunchy Face" pushing around only the bare essentials. Flashlight, Microphone,  etc.

"Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle." 

~Ann Voskamp
 

Thanks: Appreciative, Satisfied, Content.

This morning we were up early; there was a dense fog, and the overcast haze is teasing us again with the promise of afternoon thunderstorms.  The kids have been busy playing with puzzles and kitchen toys and I am savoring a morning of dawdling laziness.  What are you thankful for this week?  Here are a few great thoughts from Ann Voskamp today!


"On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgement and effort to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur."
— Ann Voskamp


"Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing.... Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away." 
— Ann Voskamp 


These are a few things that I am thankful for this week: 

• Hearing "Cannon-BOMB!!" repeatedly while the kids jump into the pool.
• The simple enjoyment of a yellow sucker from the counter at the bank.
• Great big new teeth trying to squeeze inside a small mouth.
• Flannel pajama pants until noon.
• Maddy dipping her finger into the cinnamon and sugar mix left on her plate when the toast is all gone.
• When my kids hold hands on their own.

Popsicles in Pools

The dust continues to settle on our most recent adventure—a whirlwind trip to the Midwest to participate in my baby brother's beautiful wedding. The trip odometer read 1,400 miles, 450 games of “I spy,” 125 rainbow goldfish crunched into tiny van crevasses, and 16 half-eaten sucker sticks melted into tiny teeth.

One thing that continues to amaze me about these trips is that no matter how I plan—I am a planner you know, there will be traffic in unexpected places, downpours in the middle of mountain driving and babies who wake up hours before they should. Flexibility is a skill that it forced upon us with the gift of motherhood. With each child there is another set of wants and needs, another hungry belly, another dirty face and another time frame that is not quite in sync with mine.

For the past two days I have had great intentions to unpack the bags, put the laundry away, finish organizing the toy room, take things to goodwill, mop the floors, put things away! The house seems to still be in post-adventure disarray and my little guy has done nothing but follow me around the house whimpering and clinging to my left leg.

Because of the whimpering and clinging we have spent the majority of the past two days outside in the baby pool where the sun is hot, and deep well water runs cool from green garden hoses. Today they ate Popsicles while sitting in the pool and the green ice melted down their chins and dripped into the water. I watched chunks of Popsicle melt into the pool and I watched Mason sift through the grassy water, find the chunk and shove it back into his mouth. It was a lovely summer day and as they splashed and played I stared at them—forcing a memory.

Then I was thinking about how even in the midst of lazy days where nothing is scheduled or planned, where the kids are deep in the land of imaginary play, the responsibilities of motherhood are there—lurking shadows that can instantly force a shift in fun:

• Suddenly realizing that the baby is playing with a mysterious “log” in the sandbox = an immediate fun-ender. <Insert 20 minutes of child and sandbox clean-up>
• Leaving the baby in the living room for no less than 60 seconds to retrieve a non-swimmy diaper resulting in an artistic display of some sort on the middle of the living room floor = a fun-ender. <Insert several minutes of child and carpet clean-up>

Long ago I willingly accepted these responsibilities: the constant hunger of bottom-less bellies, washing of sweaty kids and sweaty clothes, scrubbing of dingy baby teeth, driving to and fro and the immeasurable changing of diapers.  I can't take three small kids and plan a day-o-fun that doesn't involve an unexpected mess and needs that must be met immediately.  Instead of always worrying about all the hypothetical messes that could occur at any time during my day or tracking down that tricky fun-ender who is lurking in the shadows, I'm learning to enjoy the moment and clean it up when I can.  Sometimes it's best to just eat Popsicles in the baby pool and embrace the gooey melted mess that comes with lots of smiles and laughter.

On this note I am supremely thankful this week. 

• I am thankful for the flexibility of my young kids. They show me how to relax.
• I am thankful for a safe drive and a lovely visit with family.
• I am thankful for cheap popsicles and sticky faces.
• I am thankful for water splashes on the pages in my journal.
• I am thankful for the fun sounds Mason makes when he impersonates a jet flying above us.

“The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be - unbelievably - possible! The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now.” 
~Ann Voskamp

“I don’t need more time to breath so that I may experience more locales, possess more, accomplish more. Because wonder really could be here - for the seeing eye.” Ann Voskamp