01-09-2015

Happy New Year’s

Way back when, before time slipped into a new Millenium, I wondered what my life would look like in 2015.
Fifteen years away, it seemed so far away, so unreachable.

But as you & I both know, in that proverbial blink of the eye, it’s here before you know it.

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Fifteen years ago, I had no clue I would meet my one & only before another year was rung in.
Fifteen years later, not only do I have my best friend as my husband but also two rambunctious children who make me so proud to be their mama .

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Our Christmas & New Year’s break was a 2 week whirlwind filled with family & friends, quite a bit of driving, and a lot of fun.

We were lucky enough to go on a train ride to the “North Pole”, jump in 50° water at the polar bear plunge, and eat our fair share of oysters.

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And I promise we are not obsessed with guns, although these pictures indicate otherwise!
In December we went to our first ever BB Gun Party.
Yes, you heard that right…a BB Gun Party!

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I hope you & yours, a midst all the chaos that the holidays can bring, had many such fun & festive moments!

And let’s hope 2015 is filled with many more special memory making moments.

Love,
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10-30-2014

When your life is swirling and unfortunately it’s not goodness spewing from your lips…

The wind blows a midst the branches, leaves swirling, caught in the revolving dance of nature.

So goes our lives, being a mom, being a daughter, being a caregiver. Don’t we all have seasons when our lives are swirling around us, and there seems no end in sight?

When we have to literally makes ourselves stop. Make ourselves take a deep breath and simply BREATHE.

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Last week, just hours prior to leaving town for a blogging conference, I screamed at my 4 year old daughter that “she had issues.”

Yes, unfortunately, you heard that right.

I screamed at a defenseless child…solely because she wouldn’t put a sweater over her head.

Whew…NOT my proudest moment! And to top it all off, the blogging conference…oh, it was a christian bloggers conference. Talk about really needing the grace of God…I certainly am not a Christian because I’ve got it all right.

It’s more like I get so much wrong and can do nothing good without Him.

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All the pressures of the week, all the tugs and pulls to be this & that had left me depleted.

And unfortunately, my kids, my husband, my friends…they received my meager leftovers.

That moment was such a poignant reminder that without Christ, what do I truly accomplish?

If I am not filling myself, moment by moment with Christ, then what do my leftovers look like?

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When your kid sweetly says “yes, ma’am” or takes their plate to the sink without asking…it’s easy in that moment to respond patiently with lots of gentleness. But when they contort their face to a snarl and stomp those little feet, when the bickering never ceases, and they quite intentionally slam that door in your face…
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Those are the moments when it’s only Christ’s love that can respond in joy, in peace, in patience, in kindness.

Everyone has joy when their bundled little one smiles for the first time or the teetering child takes that first solid step… but when the 4am greeting is “Mama, I just threw up again” and you’re left stripping a bed for the 14th morning in a row…

That’s the moment you have to pray for the fruits of the spirit to be breathed out in you.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… Galations 5:22 & 23

When I accomplish nothing on my own, is when God accomplishes the most for His glory.
When I am weakest, He is strongest.
When I admit that I’m not perfect, when I ask my child for forgiveness, when I delve into the messy chaotic past…

When I let go of trying to be perfect on my own. Of trying to act like I’ve got this parenting thing under control.

Only then, is God able to come alongside me, pick me up, and help me move forward.

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So hopefully in that next future moment, when she stares defiantly at me that, “no, she isn’t putting on that red quilted sweater”…in that moment I say…”that is just fine.”

And when my child sees me truly repentant of my selfishness, when they experience firsthand me, mom, asking forgiveness for lashed out words…hopefully then, they see it’s okay to admit our flaws and imperfections.

So when my life swirls out of control, am I beckoning God to come close? Can I take at least one thing off my to-do list so that I can be more present and in the moment with my kids? Do I find moments every hour to remind myself of scripture, to ask God moment by moment to reside peacefully in me, so that others can experience joy, peace, patience from above and not the spewing of someone depleted from life.

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10-22-2014

How to stop beating yourself up…if only I had a way to make that happen

Sun rays shine through the broken window blinds, cascading micro dust particles throughout the air. But do I notice? Or am I too busy hurrying a child out the door? When my children look back on their life will the words, never softly spoken, “hurry up, we are late” be the echoes that resound in their heads?

And when I go to bed at night, do I ever allow myself to say “good job, Jessica” you made a difference in your child’s life today? Or do I tell myself yet again where I failed. Remind myself again of all the things I didn’t do. Beat myself up, yet again?

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If you were to criticize your friends and your husband as much as you criticize yourself, you probably wouldn’t have friends or a husband. So if we are nice and encouraging to others, why don’t we apply the golden rule to how we treat ourselves?

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Why is it, as women, we focus on all those should have beens, all those I didn’t do’s?

Whether you have 6 children or none. Whether you are a working in an office mama or a patience stretched to the max homebound mama, aren’t you doing your very best for your children?

At the end of the day we all stretch the elasticity of ourselves as thin as the thinnest pizza dough to make every sacrifice we can that will benefit our children.

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We give our time, our money, our energy, our patience…every resource we have…if it will in some way make our children’s lives better. So why don’t we pat ourselves on the back? Call a time out?

Or even better, say game over?

Perhaps tonight when you sink into that worn mattress between sheets filled with sand and dirt smudges because you just didn’t have the heart to tell your child to stop jumping on the bed…what if in that moment you told yourself “Good Job”? Reminded yourself of all you DID do…
Today, I gave a hug. Today, I smiled at my child. Today, I bent down on one knee to look at that grubby frog in those muddy hands. Today, I overlooked the dirt in my son’s fingernails that will never go away as every single day he says so filled with childlife truth “I forgot I wasn’t suppose to use my hands as diggers”.

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Wouldn’t it be so nice if I had a magic formula that would tell you how to make this happen? Drink this can of 10 calorie sugar water and you will be soooo nice to yourself. But you know what, I don’t have a magic fairy wand to wave and make myself be nicer to myself.

But I, and you, do have the ability to be intentional.

To ask God in prayer to help me be nicer to myself.

To acknowledge and let seep into your pores, into your hearts deepest darkest corner the resounding fact that God loves you just as you are. He delights in You! He sees you and He doesn’t see all your mistakes, all your should have done’s. He see’s you and He smiles exhuberantly thinking…How precious are you to me, my child!

Tonight when you lay your head down on your pillow, may you pray for God to help you see yourself through His lenses. A beautiful strong woman, an amazing ever giving mama, a compassionate wife…a child of the King.

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05-05-2014

Gourmet Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

It sure is hard being a food blogger’s kid!

I need to remind my kids constantly how lucky they are that baking and making unique eats is daily enjoyment in our house.

Yesterday we made these. If you aren’t salivating, you should be. So rich, so creamy, so delish!

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I followed the Raw Chocolate PB Cups recipe from Sarah @ The Sweet Life but did cheat and use semi-sweet chocolate chips & homemade pb. Still ooey-gooey goodness! Next time I think I’ll try sprinkling the top chocolate with a tiny pinch of sea salt prior to freezing. The contrasting taste of salt & sweet would make these sublime! (I used 1 & 1/4 cup of choc chips and was able to make 16 cups. Make sure to reserve enough chocolate for the top layer!)
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These would make a great surprise treat after school!

Enjoy ~

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03-18-2014

Life ~ A Fleeting Glance

Metastatic Cancer, Stage 4, Inoperable…words you pray you never hear spoken. Words that shatter your world. Words that make you ponder just how much more He, God, will allow you to suffer? Wasn’t the Thursday evening phone call 3 years ago at 5:23 pm bad enough? Shouldn’t that be the worst your family has to muddle through?

That night we lost a brother…a best friend…a son, to suicide. The grief, the despair, the depression, the helplessness….it’s intangible. But moment by moment, day by day, you pick up the pieces until time passes and as the years tick by you find that the strongholds of grief are losing their grips.

And then, you receive the phone call that your mother in law has cancer. And it doesn’t look good.

You question God, you rail against Him in anger, you seek answers… You drop to your knees and slowly the faith that has kept you afloat your whole life, reminds you…

“Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Isaiah 7:4 & 9

“… the God we serve is able to save us from it.. But even if he does not, …we will not serve your gods…(He is still good.)” Daniel 3:17

“Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food…
YET, (even then) I will rejoice in the Lord
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength” Habakkuk 3:17-19

All I want is order in my life and after 3 years of chaos, life was finally beginning to be somewhat normal.  So now, I feel like we are starting back all over again…on the brink of another life storm.

So what’s a girl to do? GIVE IT (my worries, my desire for control, my helplessness) TO GOD. Which is SO much easier said than done.

The book of Psalms has been a constant companion throughout my life and I’ve long believed that there is nothing wrong with asking God “WHY” and bemoaning the situation in our lives, if we first…give Him praise.

So, here’s my list of praises to HIM…

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~My MIL is staying positive & my children are able to spend quality time with her
~He has provided us with so many supportive family & friends
~No matter what happens in the weeks to come, He is a constant source of strength

And so, as we live out this storm in our lives, I am reminded of how crucial faith is to it all. Faith isn’t having all the answers, faith isn’t believing that everything will simply be all hunkey dorey…faith is having hope that there is a God, that there is a heaven, that He never leaves us, and that nothing separates us from Him.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

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01-08-2014

Playtime in the snow

After enjoying homemade hot cocoa & popcorn yesterday, the kids had a bawl playing in the snow! Shaving cream snow that is!

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I often use shaving cream for sensory play…learning to write our letters, teaching the colors of the rainbow, and best of all…shaving cream fights in the tub! But I’d never thought to use it as pretend snow until Stella’s very creative preschool teacher used it this week to entertain while it’s been so cold outside.

So yesterday I set up an idyllic play scene and let ’em go to town on it. SO MUCH FUN!

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The best thing about shaving cream is that it really isn’t that difficult to clean up. I did use a ton of paper towels to wipe it up, so that wasn’t good for the environment. But once you wipe it all up then the rest comes clean with a wet cloth. And since they just used toy figurines and matchbox cars, the cleanup of those was simple as well.

So if you don’t have any magical snow glistening in your front yard, go out and get some shaving cream!

~ Jess

08-19-2013

The Beginning of the End

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I like to categorize my kid’s lives into 4 distinct phases.

Phase I: Birth to PreSchool
Phase 2: Kindergarten to High School Graduation
Phase 3: College to Wedding Day
Phase 4: Being Married

In less than 48 hours, my son will enter kindergarten and don’t get me wrong…I am beyond EXCITED for this new journey. But I can’t get past the feeling that this is it. Everything he has to know in order to be a responsible, independent, caring, and fun adult has to be learned in the next 13 years. So to say I am stressed out is more than an understatement.

But the things I am stressed about, I am pretty sure no one else is even thinking about…

There’s his shorts…do you know how difficult it is to find shorts for boys??? It is SO hard to find shorts that are elastic waist (we haven’t conquered buttons yet) and actually fit well. For whatever reason, I am convinced that if his shorts come down in the back and show his underwear or heaven forbid, a little crack, then he’s going to be made fun of in school.

Then, there’s all these back to school eve dinners that my friends have. Really??? You’re making me feel kind of lame right now…I can’t get that organized!! Not only do they decorate the table beautifully and make a yummy meal, but they also pick a Bible verse as a theme for the school year. How do they possibly pick just 1 verse to cover everything? And when am I suppose to sit down with my husband and find out what he thinks are good lessons for them? And then, how do they get their kids to sit still at dinner, because at my house it’s more like two banchee indians running wild around the table. (And if you are hosting a back to school eve dinner, my hats go off to you. You really do inspire me!)

And then I’m stressed about all this stuff he has to take to kindergarten. For example, when is the best day to take the stuff…the first day, at the meet the teacher meeting, some other day? And what about those red & green folders I searched all over for, just so he could bring home paperwork in folders that are his favorite colors. Do they just take all the items and put them in a closet? Because, if he takes the whole bounty of items to school in a paper bag (our current plan) then does that mean he may end up with folders not in his favorite color. (I know, I know…just typing this out makes me realize how hysterical I sound!!) But really, why can’t they include instructions such as…In his book bag, please include the following items. In a separate grocery bag, please include the other items. And please bring all items in at the meet the teacher meeting. Those detailed instructions would be much preferred by moi.

So my current plan for these next 48 hours is to spend a lot of time in prayer, I obviously need it.  I’ve got to get over my fears of him being made fun of, have confidence that, special dinner or not, my husband and I will help guide him as he navigates this new journey, and to be able to just let go of all these trivial concerns and instead enjoy these last few days of simple childhood.

I’m hoping you are much less stressed about kindergarten and school than me!!

Jess

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06-04-2013

A New Parenting High

I know, I know…I haven’t posted in 6+ months and here I am this am with 2 posts!!!

I guess since many people consider me a ‘foodie’, I often hear comments like…”your kids must eat so well” or “wow, how do you get your kids to eat their veggies?” Well lets be honest…

This am my 3 year old started the morning with icecream (couldn’t take those strawberry crumb pics and not share some of the goodness) and then we moved on to the next best nutritious food possible for breakfast …. pizza! Why not? And, I didn’t just give them leftover pizza. I actually baked them a pizza for breakfast.

How’s that for an accomplished mom? At least they really enjoyed it!!

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Happy Tuesday!

Jess

11-06-2012

Take your child to vote today

Hello long lost friends….I really am out here in this world. I’ve just been taking a sabbatical from blogging to spend more time with the kids. And its been nice. But I do miss blogging and my head is often thinking “Oh, that would be a cool blog post”…

So today is the day. YAY!!!

Or actually, tomorrow is the day. You see, tonight while we are sleeping in sweet slumber a magical fairy will descend upon our twisting roads and picks up ALL those pesky VOTE FOR ME signs.

Obviously, I’m in la la land. But if you are feeling in the mood to remove a sign or two or even more, and you live in the Lowcountry, you can actually receive money to an awesome local restaurant….Triangle Char & Bar. How cool is this….for each political sign you bring in for recycling, they give you a $1 credit to be used there.

I’m not a very political person and lately have been questioning if voting even matters. Who knows?  But it is a really neat experience to share with my school age child and I do firmly believe that some votes really do matter…like your school board vote or if you live in California, voting for GMO labeling.

So get out there and exercise your right to vote today! And if it isn’t too much of a challenge, take your child with you so they can learn about the democratic process. And if you live in California….PLEASE vote for GMO labeling!

Have a great day!
Jess

04-20-2012

Plant a lettuce box for Earth Day

Want to celebrate Earth Day (Sunday) with your kids? What about…

Growing lettuce is so easy & simple and you get rewarded fresh food pretty quickly! Instant gratification seems to be a need of the kids I know.

You can either keep your lettuce small (above), which would then be called microgreens. Cut them at the very bottom every few days. You get more intense flavor this way.

Or allow to grow larger, as we’ve done with our romaine (Cinnamaron variety) below.

This is the first year I’ve tried micro-greens and they are tasty! You start these from regular seed but are just harvesting a lot more early & frequently.

And perhaps throw in an extra veggie besides the lettuce? I’m trying to grow cucumber (Green Apple variety) upside down this year – and it appears to be working!

ENJOY your weekend outside with family, friends, and nature!

Love,

Jess