being a wife

As these thoughts rolled through my mind during this weekend, I decided I'd like to add them to my blog. Then I realized that for some, my pleasure in being a wife would be laughable or even absurd. If you feel that way there's no need to read on, it may really irritate you. I pray that's not the case and that most of you reading (who are my good friends in real life, I realize) will rejoice in the Lord's plan of marriage and His blessings in it according to His timing and desires for us.



So that's the preface I suppose...
Yesterday was a really "normal" Saturday, and today has been the same sort of normal Sunday. Throughout this weekend however, I've just been struck with delight as I've lived as Matt's wife. I really don't know why, but I'm especially thankful that the Lord is good to give us feelings which at times DO match the reality we read of in Scripture. Marriage is blessed according to the Lord's perfect plans and will for His people in their individual lives (i.e., not everyone should marry, I know). The world would tell us otherwise, and at times our feelings would cause us to believe these lies instead of the Lord's Truth.



So my "normal" day included dropping Matt off at work then making a trip to the Farmer's Market to buy a lovely new assortment of fresh flowers that I could use as centerpiece on our kitchen table. I ventured into the world of Whole Foods (I'd never been inside before) to buy some dill and whey to use in pickle making. I came home a cooked a lot... real dill pickles (with CSA pickling cucumbers), 3 batches of zucchini bread (with giant zucchinis given to us by a church member), and dessert (a Martha twist on Rice Krispie treats) to share with our friends who were visiting later in the evening. Then, I cleaned our house which had been neglected by a lack of motivation recently for thorough cleaning. I finished it all in time to pick Matt up from work (we're a one car family now), and then go on a lunch date with him thanks to our Groupon find! We came home and enjoyed watching the World Cup (but the US lost if you hadn't heard). We delivered a meal to our friends who are enjoying their newest family member, a tiny little girl! When we came home we ate a very simple dinner (cereal, zucchini bread, fruit salad, and leftover egg souffle). Then time with more friends who came for dessert and great conversations. Today has been more of "normal" life... cooking, doing dishes, doing laundry, etc. Nothing particularly spectacular about this weekend.



In spite of such mundane tasks as some might say (or as I might say even at times), the Lord has called me to these things. He gave me great joy in them this weekend. I am glad that Matt loves zucchini bread and that I could make a ton and freeze some so that he'll be delighted to enjoy it for days to come! I love that I could have a clean house for him when he came home from working so hard to provide for us and our growing family. I'm very thankful that we enjoy similar things (most of the time) and had a great time watching soccer and visiting with friends. He really is my best friend, and spending these sweet days together leaves me with gratefulness in my heart.

One more thing... he shared this with me after I picked him up from work:
A co-worker (who is a middle aged lady) was explaining why everyone is her family thinks that marriage is a mistake for everyone, and is horrible over-all.
Matt replied that he loves marriage, and is really glad to have a wife.
She told him that he's the only person she knows who feels that way and can be sincerely believed. She explained that Matt is genuinely happier than most people she knows, and that his pleasure in marriage is honest.

This is the Lord's work no doubt, and I pray He will always be glorified in our marriage... the world has no answer for His ways as they are "higher" than ours. Trust Him, He is so good.

beet chocolate cake

I am an extremely messy cook... I'd really like to work on that. My husband, or my mom, could share a long list of kitchen mess horror stories they've witnessed or experienced during my cooking. It's really not good. As I cooked my very experimental beet chocolate cake this evening my kitchen was splattered in purple dye from counter tops and stove top to the floor! I'm pretty sure early pioneers could've and should've (maybe they really did) used beets to naturally dye their fabrics, I'm sure it would work! In the process I also drop so much, Grace I promise this is TRUE! I dropped my food processor bowl today and it cracked. Now I'm really hoping that Cuisinart makes it possible for me to order a replacement bowl only. We'll see. So not only are messes made under normal conditions when you drop things like spatulas with batter they of course splatter. Then I dropped my bundt pan in the process of flouring it... what does that mean, a cloud of flour! So if you came into my house mid-cooking project you would've found, purple beet juice everywhere (including all over me), flour sprinkled all over my black yoga pants, and counter tops covered in a combo of ingredients that may have been spilled during the process. I hope this doesn't discourage you from eating at our home again... things are always clean to start with and end with. The middle just gets messy! Just a confession I thought I'd share. Now I need to check this beet chocolate cake and see how it's doing. It had great potential I think. The following quality ingredients even Martha might endorse... 1) organic milk 2) organic eggs 3) farm fresh beets 4) Ghirardelli chocolate 5) enriched flour - I'm hopeful!

3 year olds... BUSY!

So I've started my new job as a "teacher" of 3 year old children at a local daycare. Wow! Three year old little ones are very busy, thus I am not sitting too often and I'm getting plenty of time with sitting on the floor and squatting (various Bradley exercises that are unintentionally preparing me for labor in a few months)! If you have a three old please share any of their favorites with me, I feel like I'm still getting to know this age and will be for awhile I'm sure.
So far I've gathered this...
~free play is a lot of fun, for about 1 hour... then they're not quite sure what to do
~music really captivates them, Dr. Jean songs are perfect for this :) I'll be investing in more CD's I can burn from my collection as they are also quickly scratched
~these little ones already know A LOT (in comparison with my more recent experiences in much different areas)... many of them know most letters, all sing the alphabet song, they count very well to about 13 or so, etc.
~art activities are fun and their creativity often is displayed in less structure than I'd expect :) (EX: we make a fish with our foot print, and add cut out grass, rocks, and shells... some of us end up totally covering the fish we started with!)
~sand is more fun to fling or dump than it is to play with at the sand table in the place it should stay
~napping is good once they get to sleep!
~potty training is tricky and is not quite so "all or nothing" as I'd imagined... changing poopy Pull-Ups is also an interesting acrobatic feat for both the child and myself
~listening to new books is fun once we get to the carpet
~meal time is usually good until I insist on putting everything on their plates, even those things they don't really like - spills are also all to frequent :)
~being younger than the rest (only 2), speaking little English, and having a spunky spirit makes one little girl much more challenging than her friends!
~shoes and socks seem to be optional attire for many, they're always the first things to go in any difficult moments
~lining up is almost impossible, or so it seems thus far!
~sharing and taking turns are very new concepts and it's more common to scream when you don't get exactly what you wanted or expected... thus a new phrase in my lingo is "please use your words" or "let's talk to your friend about how you feel"
~being held seems to solve most problems these days, which is a very sweet difference and might be even better in about 2 months when this baby belly begins to shrink :)

I'd really love to hear from you all... let me know what insights you've gleaned from this fun age!