Where has this weekend gone?! Last I checked, it was Thursday and I was working on the church bulletins. Then, badabing badabang! it's Sunday night.  Siiigh. Will time ever stop going by faster?

Anyways, I have been both too busy and too distracted to post my February photo challenges in a timely fashion. Allow me to remedy that fact.

Day Eleven: Makes You Happy.

This may be the reason
for this weekend's distraction.
Well, that and having
a plethora of awesome pictures
of this lovely lady to edit.
I have been drooling
over this here program
for a very long time.
It is now in my possession.
As in mine.
As in legally mine.
And doesn't that just make
an artistic, conscientious,
snap-happy girl
feel wonderful?

Day Twelve: Inside Your Closet

Today I cheat.
No one wants to see inside my closet.
Well, no one except me
when I want to get dressed.
So!
This is my favourite closet in the house.
Judah loves to play hide and seek in it.
I love how it has some semblance of order.
Even Judah acquiesces to
putting things back in their places.
More or less.
:)

just call this one "my cup overflows"

Day Ten: Self portrait.

It's hard to take a photo of yourself
with a fixed 50mm lens.
I asked my wonderful husby
to snap a photo for me.
I love love love this picture
with my two little boys.
As you can see,
Benji is breastfeeding.
This picture really does capture
the special bond I have
with both of my littles.

an open door that no one can shut

Day Nine: Front Door

What is it about
a weathered door
leaning against
a barn board wall
that simply demands
you take a photograph?
I don't know.
But it does make me wonder
who this front door
once belonged to.









Also! It's that day of the week again - thankful Thursday!

Sheesh, guys, I have so much to be thankful for. First, though, let me start with this:

I have been motivated to waste less time and actually get things done around here. The fact of the matter, no matter how much I'd like to deny it, is that there is always something to do in this house. There's always laundry to do, a floor to scrub, a carpet to vacuum, a loaf of bread to bake, a meal to prepare, a diaper to change, and a dog to walk. Oh, and a self to take care of. It has taken me a lot to actually admit that being a stay-at-home-mom is a full-time job. I do actually have an important job to do. My husband expects me to care for the home - and he is right to do so. He's not being chauvinistic. I have the sensitivity required to care for a family. I see needs that he does not, I have different standards of home cleanliness than he does. It's not that he's lacking - it's just how we're made up. We are designed to compliment each other, to complete each other. It's about time that I smarten up and delight in the wonderful task God has designed me for - has designed for me.

So! Now that that's off my chest... here's what I'm thankful for:

• My beautiful, big kitchen that makes it easy and enjoyable to create delicious food.
• (I can't say this one enough) The GORGEOUS winter we've had this year. I cannot recall such a beautiful winter season! Although... when I was little I would have thought this was the worst possible winter on account of the lack of snow. 
• My husband. I am more than blessed in the man God chose for me to marry. He is taking so much responsibility to not only be the physical head of this home, but also to be the spiritual head. I'm not saying he is perfect, but I can tell that God is teaching him what it means for husbands to love their wives like Christ loves the church. 
• I am so very thankful that while everything is dead, brown, and prickly here, SOMEWHERE in the world it is grapefruit season! They are so sweet and juicy right now! They bring summer and sunshine to my life.
• The Church body. I've been going to church all of my life. It's something that can easily become "this thing we do", and thus lose almost all of it's meaning and importance. But lately I've been re-discovering how vibrant and alive it really is! And it should be - we are the bride of Christ, and he's coming back His beloved. 

What are you thankful for today?

please don't take my sunshine away

Day Eight: Sun

The clouds were being all blustery
and shroud-like this morning.
They tried to keep the poor old sun
from spreading it's golden rays.
I looked up from my breakfast
and saw it breaking through
it's unfriendly barrier
and ran outside in my pjs and slippers
just to get that perfect shot,
thinking that was the only sun I'd see all day.
Well.
It happens to be out in full force now.
And it's going to be a beautiful day!

button, button, who's got the button?

Day Seven: Button.

I knitted myself a cozy cowl
using this pattern here.
It looked like a short scarf.
I sewed the ends together, overlapping slightly
and added these buttons,
which my husband made for me.
He cut a stick into coins
and drilled holes in with a drill (duh).
They are not functional at all
and are totally for show.
But they are still
really nice buttons.

what's for dinner

Day six: dinner.

Have you ever had dahl
(aka dhal, daal, and dal)?
I made it for supper tonight.
It was incredibly tasty,
even though I did not have enough tomatoes
and had to use salsa (oh the sacrifices I make).
It combines the deliciousness of
onions, garlic, fresh ginger, jalapenos,
tomatoes, cumin, and lentils
all in one big skillet of
mouthwatering goodness.
Joey made flatbread to go with it,
although he didn't realize that
he was looking at a Finnish flatbread recipe,
which is, supposedly, a large biscuit.

a weekend recap

Don't you just love it when you don't have any plans, and even so spend your whole day happily occupied? That's how our weekend was. The only plans we had made was to have family friends of ours over for supper on Saturday. The rest of the day was spent going for a walk, doing "feels-like-Spring" cleaning, and making donuts. DONUTS!

Pumpkin donuts! With a buttermilk glaze!

Related: I have ingested enough grease to last me the WHOLE YEAR.

Also related: I am turning over a new leaf and making healthier food choices. Starting with grapefruit for breakfast.

Today my (non-food) goal is to seek God in his word and ask him how I should be spending my time. I don't want to be wasting the time I have been given at home in selfish pursuits. I know in my head that God has a purpose for placing me where I am, and the last thing I want to do is to deny that purpose.