In a Day

Quiet - She can be found clicking away on the big brown couch at any given time. She chooses games that I would've never chosen: Vocabulary quizzes and strategic art/building games. The Lord has given her talents he never gave to me. I love that about her.

Elbow Grease -  Cleaning out the pantry takes twice as long now that every event is made into a photo shoot. Which is kind of ironic, since a blogger is always taking photos of everything. But when you are trying to learn a new camera its ridiculous. I had to clean the flour and dust off those canisters too. They haven't been that shiny for a long, long, time.

Life Lessons - These sparkly shoes sat under the sofa for days. In my mind I decided to count how many would pass before someone (anyone) else would pick them up and put them away. It didn't work out so well for me. I soon realized that my silver shoe rage wasn't so much about teaching a lesson as it was proving a point: Why do I always have to be the one picking things up, or reminding someone else to do it? I selfishly kept bitterness in the deeps of my heart... until, with the cumbersome sound of my own whining voice, I realized I was a lot like that shoe-- sparkly on the outside... but smelly deep within. I snapped the picture as a reminder: Parenting is about training, not setting up traps to point out someone's failures.

Early Mornings - I get up pretty early...way before the sun or the roosters. There is something about being outside before dawn has broken, when the soft yellow lights of neighboring windows mix with the blues in the sky.

Laughter- Several times a week we crank up the music (kids choice) and spend thirty minutes cleaning up the casa. This means the chores are often mixed with lots of moonwalking and lip syncing. My part is to tell them to hurry up! and work more! play less! and generally act like I'm letting them get away with having fun while working. The truth is, their hard work is of huge help to me. But occasionally, when I'm in another room, and they think I don't know that they're lip syncing to Michael Jackson in the other room, I'm gathering evidence while they are unaware.