five on friday.

{1}  I love teaching.  Love it.  Especially on days when you see light bulbs turn on and capital letters with correct puncuation remembered. {not that I always do it ... but hey, when you're an adult, I think you can have any kind of style you want}

{2} This Little Light of Mine is one of my favorite songs {ever}.  And these are two of my favorite versions of it.





and the story here about the making of it:




{3}  Compliments are some of the easiest {and most necessary} things to give ... but I don't give them enough.  Starting today, I will.  You want to join me?

{4}  Having true, meaningful, and necessary conversations are some of the best ways we can spend any extra minutes we have  ... and I'm getting really good at those conversations.  Really, really good.

{5}  Clint and Darcy are back in Oregon ... and life is already better.

.............................
 
happy weekend all

a first for Mason.

Mason started track.

And for not having done any athletic {adventures} before ... I'd say hes' off to a great start.

and so it goes ... another piece of the molding and making of him ... just taking off from the starting blocks.

perfectly {imperfect}

My head chopped off ... well, almost all of it ... and a nice looking double chin.

Mack wanting {up} ... I swear I'll still be carrying him at age 6.

Rusty Mae doing what she does best ... chewing all over Mack until he screams.

Lindsay {2} grinning from ear to ear.

Flowered muck boots.

Snow.

And although this picture was taken by Mason a few months ago ... it still captured life in one of those perfectly imperfect moments.

Isaiah 64:8 ... summed up with these words by Sarah Young : 
As you go through your day, talk to Me.  Let Me show you how this day - with all its joys and troubles - can shape you into the masterpiece I designed you to be.

perfectly imperfect.

...................

If you have an extra $8.40 in your pocket - go buy Jesus Calling {for kids} ... it's been one of the best purchases I've ever made. 

ever.

and not just for my kids, but for me.

go figure.

a few of my favorite things ... about branding.

everyone works as a team.

there is always someone smiling.

stories are told and memories are shared.

advice is given ... and sometimes listened to.

Ian actually sits down {once in awhile}.

friends visit.

others work hard on your behalf.

there is a lot of multi-tasking.

a lot of weight is thrown around.

friends are made.

cool stirrups show up.

the biggest ones are saved for last ... and it turns into more of a rodeo than a branding.

mothers and their sons have conversations in the midst of chaos.

there is a LOT of love.

and cousins get to share the day together.

wordless wednesday.

2 different scars.

a spattering of freckles.

beautiful eyes.

a button nose.

a dirty face.

and ... so much more.

I {love} you, Mason.

And I hope you know how much!

looking {too} hard.

Sometimes ... actually, most of the time, I look too hard for things.

I get so busy looking that I don't see what's been right under my nose the whole time.


Like on Saturday for instance ... when I spent 15 minutes {searching} for Mack ... only to find him right where I had left him.

Sitting in a chair, curled up ... resting in the midst of a storm.

..............................

Looking too hard ... and missing the big picture.

Looking for help ... when it was there all along.

Looking for love ... when really, I hear it whispered from the moment I rise, to the moment I lay my head down to rest ... I just have to know to listen.

Looking for approval.

Looking for understanding.

Looking for a miracle.

Looking, and looking, and looking ... but not really {seeing}.

And not really seeing because of tired, achy, weary eyes that have been focused on some of the wrong things.

....................................

Life has a way of teaching us so much about ourselves.

So much that it hurts at times.

But you know what?

It's totally and completely up to us to see through the impaired vision ... and past the hurt ... right to the heart of {hope}.

five on Friday.

1. 3 year old cowboys melt my heart.

2. A great day is not just one in which everything goes your way. A truly great day is one in which you stay in touch with Me." ~ Jesus 

3. We're going to {attempt} to brand again ... starting today ... praying that the sunshine we've welcomed today sticks around through the weekend.

4.  A {peace retreat} is in the making at our house.  thankful for this post ... and the hope it gives me.

5.  If I could figure out a way to market it ... I'd do laundry for a living.  I really would.  There's just something about the smell of clean clothes and the look of a perfectly folded pile of shirts that gives me reason to smile.