Does this qualify in the “coming in like a lion” category?

I love the way wet heavy snows drape over tree branches; God is the most amazing artist. Today I remember my grandma Iola’s birthday… She was born on March 1, 1916, and we still miss her greatly five years after her death. Grandma would’ve loved this snowfall. She, an artist at her very core, was incredibly observant of and exuberant over nature’s beauties. Though today’s snowfall is indeed lovely, I can’t help but think she’d be looking forward to seeing the “faces” of pansies just like me.

I found myself looking for buds on trees last week as Livia and I walked down the block. Considering it’s still February and I reside in the great state of Nebraska, no buds. Yet I still look for them, long for them, especially in what seems to be the longest, dreariest month of winter.

My brother Andrew sent me a few e.e. cummings poems and this one in particular resonated with my hope and desire for spring. Enjoy.

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of allnothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

– e.e. cummings

Livia loves her tent o’ fun. She played in it for hours the first day we inflated it… Thanks again!

I apologize for the boring nature of my blog in the last week. I haven’t been in the bloggiest of moods, I suppose. There’s been a lot going on — baby showers and birthdays, friends coming to town and friends leaving town, doctor’s appointments and community dinners. You add a bit of a sinus cold in the midst of it all and the end result is a kitchen stacked with dirty dishes and an enormous, almost unconquerable, pile of laundry in the basement stairwell. To make this post slightly more interesting, I leave you with a round of “Ing”:

Wondering: how to live out the gospel, how to love Jesus so greatly that I worship him in all I do, how to then go out and love others more than I love myself.
Considering: how to rid my house of excess and live simply.
Attempting: to balance our budget and curtail eating out (which I love to do!).
Determining: to work harder than ever to keep my glucoses under tight control and have a great HbA1c (3-4 month measurement of blood sugar) the next time I see my endocrinologist.
Resolving: to give up complaining for Lent. Don’t laugh… This will be a tough, but totally worthy, endeavor for me.
Hoping: to feel like blogging again soon.

V-Day, with all its vibrant colors and accepted cheeseball flair, brings out the crafty in me. So life has been on the crafty side for Liv and me this past week. We discovered these fabulous window markers by Crayola (Walmart carries a large version); we cut, baked and painted the hearts (shown above) to our hearts’ content; and we made a unique version of this valentine for the man in our life (thanks, Monica, for sharing the idea!).

Happy Valentine’s Day to my dear friends. Pass along a hug or kiss, an email or blog post to warm someone’s heart.

I know that first shot is gross, but I’m compelled to post it here (compelled, I tell you!). The smooshiness of the beef, eggs and various spices somehow tickled my inner photographer and I just couldn’t help myself. Then I decided to snap a few more pics, because of course everyone is blogland is interested in my cooking day activities, right? So here it is, my final moments of assembling, packaging and collating (for lack of a better word) three meals for ten families.

And guess what?

The extroverted, community-loving, somewhat social butterfly-ish me really enjoyed preparing the meals alone. Go figure.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me proved,
I never writ, not no man ever loved.

William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

I have heard a lot of people talk of basing love on their feelings, which is frankly a dangerous proposition as feelings change like the weather in Nebraska (very quickly for those of you who don’t abide in the Cornhusker state). This sonnet has been a favorite since I heard it quoted on Sense & Sensibility. It reminds me that true love is faithful, that it remains steadfast even when temptation arises. None of us are perfect or immune to the storms of life, but God sets an example of true love for us. All we can do is seek to remain true to His perfect example. Time and time again we fail, and time and time again His grace sets us back on our feet and urges us to love faithfully in response.

This is a post I needed to read today. It’s for all the mothers out there…

There is something absurd about buying 10lb logs of ground beef. It just seems a bit ridiculous somehow. In fact, Mom commented that she’d be dry heaving if she had to deal with that much raw meat. (She’s gonna love me for saying that on my blog.) I don’t mind handling the wrapped packages but I know I won’t be thrilled when I’m up to my elbows in cow as I prepare our salisbury steaks. Alas, I picked the recipes so there’s no one to blame but myself!

By the way, Sam’s Club won the ground beef price war with 90% lean beef at $1.88 per pound. Walmart had the cheapest eggs ($1.32 for 18) and the cheapest boneless, skinless chicken breasts ($1.83 per pound). I don’t have a lot of time to spare or else I would’ve waited for huge sales.

The title comes from Stu’s youngest son who once endearingly said, upon seeing a 10lb tube of beef at the grocery store, “That’s one big dot dog!” Those quotable Kerns’…

The Kitchen Aid mixer was a perfect birthday gift for me (thank you, Jeremy, and everyone else who chippped in!) because I love to bake. I like to make desserts that look good and taste good. Both of my moms contributed presents in the month of December that make the whole decorating aspect a ton easier… Mom L gave me Pampered Chef spatulas that make icing a breeze and Mom T provided PC decorator bottles. I could fool around with batters and icings all the live long day. If only I had a maid to clean up the mess afterwards (and, who am I kidding, the perpetual mess beforehand)… Or perhaps a shopping assistant to run to the store for more cocoa… Or a nanny to keep my kiddo from tugging a carton of 18 eggs off the kitchen counter… Ha!