A walk in the woods.

Girls with girls, boys with boys....there's been way to much of that around here lately. So Isabela went off on a playdate with dad while I tried to figure out what to do with my two boys. The weather has been so nice, I wanted us to be outside. But I was also exhausted, so something like Maymont was out of the question. And Diego's on this sometimes nap, sometimes not kick. Yesterday was a no nap day, which means possible meltdown at any moment...definitely not taking him anywhere indoors. That would just seal the deal.

So we ended up at Rockwood Park. I usually avoid the playground there and head straight for the trail. The playground is overcrowded and boring for me. I didn't want to have to worry whether or not my kids were sharing with others, being polite, or getting pushed around themselves. Plus the trail is an adventure! You never know what you'll come across.

Like what the heck is that guy doing on the sign?


We spied this bright green piece of fluff and thought it was a caterpillar. Then realized it was just a piece of moss. Come to think of it, I don't think we saw any wildlife. It is still winter even though it's warm.


Diego found this walking stick quickly on and pretty much used it as a gun the whole time. He's my Lord of the Flies boy.


I had to teach him not to shoot at other joggers or passersby. He was so proud of himself..."Look ma, I didn't shoot the guys!"


The stick came in very handy when Joaquin kicked the soccer ball into the creek. I finally convinced him to brave the slight embankment covered with leaves and use the stick to bring the ball close. He did it, then threw the ball up to me and I watched it roll right off the other side of the trail into an even steeper creek bed. This time, I had to be brave and risk slipping into the mud. It's a funny story now, but I was fussing the whole time. Way to ruin a memory, mom. I'm going to try and remember that the next time something goes wrong.

Some of the exercises along the trail are really difficult....this is supposed to be like the pole vault...up and over the bar.


Some required a lot of concentration.


Joaquin was quick to help his brother. But Diego's fighting for independence now...no more helping for him.


And he did do it all by himself!


He's so proud.


We made it a mile and a quarter around the trail. I had brought the wagon in case Diego got tired, but I ended up pulling Joaquin most of the time. It turns out Diego's my cross country runner, while Joaquin is the sprinter.


A day out with my boys can be exhausting, but it's also invigorating. Here's to boys!

God made a world out of His dreams
of majestic mountains, oceans and streams,
prairies and plains and wooded land,
then paused and thought...

"I need someone to stand
on top of the mountains, to conquer the seas,
explore the plains and climb the trees.
Someone to start out small
and grow sturdy and strong like a tree,"
and so...

He created boys, full of spirit and fun,
to explore and conquer, to romp and run,
with dirty faces and banged up chins,
with courageous hearts and boyish grins.

When He had completed the task He'd begun,
He surely said, "That's a job well done."
(author unknown)

simplifying

Simplifying has been the motto around here lately.

Another closet cleanout was due. This time, I was a little more ruthless. If I hadn't worn it, even if I liked it, it went out. (Really, I think there are some t-shirts in a drawer that snuck by me, but I'll get them on the next go round.) I have my favorites, that I feel comfortable in, and they're in the weekly rotation...everyone I see knows it...so I'm only fooling myself into thinking I have more options with a closet full of stuff I don't wear.

Juan Pablo did it, too. I think we had four bags of stuff. And when I get around to the rest of the house, there WILL be more. It's shameful, and I'm not sure how it happened considering just four years ago, we moved back here with only 8 suitcases to our name. (It might have even been six!)

After blog hopping for awhile, I came across one talking about simplifying your time. What are the things that eat up your time? She mentioned Facebook. I've never been on it that much, but I would call myself 'checking' it and there went 20 minutes. So I joined her and deactivated my account. Now I've filled up that 20 minutes clicking around on Pinterest, but when I quit doing that, there really is much more time in the day!

More time for important things, like reading.


And house projects. When we first moved here, we had taken the ugly wooden shelves out of Isabela's closet, and even took the doors off to make more space in her room. But recently, she said she wanted a closet like Joaquin's. What a great idea! We used the direct mount shelves from Lowe's, got them cut to the size we wanted, and it took an hour or so to install. (Not to mention it's about $50 cheaper than the boxed kits they sell.) Now she has more space than ever and can see her clothes! Goodbye, dresser.


We have since pulled the old doors down from the attic. Juan Pablo and the kids threw a new coat of paint on them, and now we've got a great, new hiding place, too.


Which reminds me of a game of hide and seek we played the other day. SO FUN. Just when you think there are no more spots, someone comes up missing and can NOT be found. I hid under two pillows on Diego's made bed. The kids must have come in there at least three times, even touched the bed to check in the drawers underneath the bed, and didn't see me. The hardest part was trying to remain still and silent while laughing uncontrollably.

Back to simplifying. It's refreshing, uplifting, gratifying....and unending. If you're interested, here's some links that got me started:
small notebook
farewell facebook

fighterman

We're knee-deep in super-heros around here. There are bad guys and monsters around every corner. Any random lincoln log, stick, or paint stirrer becomes the weapon of choice. And believe me, he knows how to use it. He wields it around as fast as a knight from King Arthur's Camelot. If you see an armload of toys high up on the refrigerator, you know why.



He discovered these goggles about a week ago. He calls himself "Fighterman" and I thought he was so creative to think up his own super hero name.


It turns out he just can't pronounce the 's' sound. He's really saying 'Spiderman'. F's instead of S's are really hilarious, so you know we're asking him to say all sorts of things, plus he volunteers many on his own. One of our favorite, Diego say--"I'm smart!"


The other day, he kept asking to go out on the playground. I made many excuses and tried to entertain him in many different ways....why? because it was COLD. Finally, I realized I was going against everything I stand for, so I bundled myself up (afterall, it's me who's cold, not Diego) and we headed out.

How could I deny this happiness?





Is this the making of a superhero, or what?


He's able to leap tall buildings in a single bound....almost. Well, he definitely has a creative way of getting from here to there.


Outside time in winter is just as important as any other season. It's good for him. It's good for me.


I'm a slow learner...but he's teaching me.

5 days left

Be a part of something great here.

bulletin board crafts

What boy doesn't like to keep score? Joaquin is definitely at the score keeping age...whether it's how many scoops of ice cream or how many soccer goals.

For some reason, he really wanted a baseball themed room. Funny because he plays basketball and soccer...but it works because Diego's favorite sport is now baseball....any game where you can swing a bat around and hit things, he's in.

So I finally hung a project I'd been hoping to finish for months, but never got around to it. This was an old brown bulletin board I picked up in a yard sale awhile back, and now it's a scoreboard. I painted it with chalkboard paint, and the letters are stickers except for the few I had to stencil in.


Eventually, I want to put up numbers for the innings, but I'm not sure when I'll get to that.


Another easy bulletin board we made yesterday...a feltboard snowman. I made this for a preschool class one year...the idea was to cut out lots of mittens and have them match them to put on the snowman. They always loved this center, and I thought it would be fun for Diego, too.


He liked decorating it, but only wants it to stay a certain way. Don't put the cowboy hat on the snowman, he definitely doesn't like that one. (And yes, he's wearing goggles in this picture.)

recycled card box

This is a great, easy craft to recycle cards....birthday, Christmas, greeting, get well....any type of card. We discovered this over Christmas here and I thought about all those advent calendars with cute little boxes to open each day. Using your Christmas cards you received, you would have all sorts of sturdy, seasonal boxes to use. (That's if you still get Christmas cards...we only got four this year!)

Here's how to do it...you should know, it's addictive.

First, separate the two halves of your card along the fold line.


Use a pencil to draw two diagonal lines, corner to corner. This will give you the middle point of the card.


Fold in two sides so that they meet in the middle at the point.


Do the same for the long edges, too, so they meet in the middle.



Take some scissors and cut four slit along the folds, like the picture, to make the tabs.


With a little help, the box comes together almost by itself. Fold the sides up, the tabs go in and the outside tab folds up and over. I use a little tape to make it stick.


Follow those steps for both halves of your card....and here's the finished box. I wasn't very careful when I folded, so the edge is sticking out a little. But it's still a cute little box to leave a small treasure in...or maybe for the tooth fairy?

hospitality

I've scratched resolutions. That used to be the highlight of my New Year's Eve. Sad, I know. But this New Year's was great, and now I'm trying something different.

One word.

I've chosen one word for the year. It came to me in December. I had started reading my Bible regularly...a great idea, by the way...first thing in the morning, before I eat, before I check email, before I get dressed. If I do anything else before reading, the reading doesn't get done.

So I kept coming across this word: HOSPITALITY.

My Bible has commentary, which I love. It helps me understand things so much better.
Like at the end of 2 Timothy, Paul is sending out final greetings:

"Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus."

Not very moving, right? But the commentary says, "Like Paul, we should take time to weave our lives into others' through close personal relationships." Now that was interesting.

Then it was on to Titus. A short book with this cool verse:
"Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined."
The commentary said, "We would benefit from inviting people to eat with us.....Giving hospitality is very important today because so many people struggle with loneliness. In our self-centered society, we can show that we care by being hospitable."

And then this famous verse:

In Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to enterain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
The commentary had this to say, "Hospitality simply means making other people feel comfortable and at home."

It couldn't have been more obvious. This year, I need to focus on hospitality.

And honestly, I've never been really good at it. I forget to offer people something to drink. I never have amazing snacks. My house is often in shambles, dishes piled in the sink, or more often scattered about any surface in the kitchen, clothes waiting to be folded in a pile in the hallway.

But I'm hoping hospitality is more than a clean house. Plus, I'm going to try and use closed doors more....I can throw all the junk in a room and close the door, right?

On New Year's, our pastor gave out a study guide for Bible reading for the next few weeks. I was shocked when I read the summary for week 1: "....Our God is a God of hospitality, creating a place for a people, a place where all life can flourish...."

So there it is.

2012. Hospitality.

We welcome you to our house.