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.

Baker’s Clay

2 C flour
1/2 C salt
3/4 C water

Combine all ingredients in mixer with dough hook attachment and knead away for a few minutes… OR… Combine flour and salt in a bowl, then slowly add water with fork and mix all with hands. Knead for 5 minutes. Roll out shapes and figures to desired thickness. Make a hole in the dough for ornaments to be hung later. Bake at 350 for 10-60 minutes, depending on thickness. Cool and paint. [Sara Mann, Zion Cookbook]

**Thick shapes may need to bake up to 2 hours, I’ve discovered. In lieu of acrylic paints, nail polish works great. This is a simple and fun craft to do all year round with your kids (or by yourself, I just use my child as an excuse to do fun kid-type activities).

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.

Livia: Make waters? [A few others words, pause.]

Me: You want to make waters.

Livia: [Smiles and shakes head.] No. Make waters. Hood.

Me: Hood? Like a hat?

Livia: [Smiles and laughs.] Make waters. Hood.

Me: [Now at a total loss.] Neighborhood?

Livia: Yeah!! Watch make waters neighborhood?

Me: You want to watch Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood?

Livia: [beaming] YEAH!

We’re both relieved at our communication for exactly two seconds until I say No and she wails the wail of a toddler who skipped her nap. Darn that Rogers for only being on PBS on weekdays.

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…