Sunday morning pleasures

Our regular Sunday mornings are great.  We get up a little later than during the week, get ready at a comfortable pace, and head out the door in plenty of time to get to Sunday school, followed by worship.  We love our usual routine, but today I am reminded of how great it is to change things every once in a while.  Like today.  Jeffrey & Sloane are on a scouting trip as hunting season is about to begin.  I decided to take the day off, just for me.

I have had the most delicious morning.  I always ask Jeffrey and Sloane to wake me up when they leave early.  What's a little sleep when compared to not saying, "Good morning, loves."?  Since I was awake so early, I decided to just stay up.  I spent hours in bed reading Etta and Otto and Russell and James.  The room was chilly as the October breezes crept in and I snuggled under our cozy duvet.

When I finally got up, I saw that Jeffrey had left me muffins ready for the oven; a reminder to have a nice breakfast and take care of myself.  The muffins are baking, fill the house with the smell of sugar and cinnamon, and I thought I'd stop by and say hello. Tell me, what are you doing with your delicious October Sunday morning?

Friday Faves

freckles on her nose, Sloane on Father's Day

* Quote of the Week: "Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent." ~ Steve Martin

* Blogspiration: Plan Some Summer Fun with Apartment Therapy

* Song of the Week: A Prayer for Grace album by Morgan Harper Nichols

* Images of the Week: Magenta on Flickr by Gray Days and Coffee

* A Poem of a Post: The Memory of Worn Things by Christine Hiester

* In Case You Missed It: Something Cheering

* To Make You Think: Eliminating Unnecessary Decisions from One Little Minutes

* Some Things I Love: Jeffrey, Jane Austen, audiobooks, Amazon Prime, rainy mornings, lots of white molding, glass doorknobs, Anthropologie windows, paper lanterns, home libraries, composition notebooks, the fact that today is the last day of summer school

Happy weekend, friends.

Friday Faves

 cell phone photo from an evening walk

*In Case You Missed It: L'Heure Bleue

*Pinspiration: Vingettes by Emma Duckworth Styling

*For When You're Blue: 101 ways to cheer yourself on YesandYes

*Favorite Moment This Week: When Sloane looked at me and said, "You know how most teenagers don't get along with their moms?  This is why we do.  We sit and eat ice cream and watch movies together."

*Blogspiration: Penelope Loves Lists

*Great Read: The Blue Bedroom by Rosamund Pilcher is a perfect summer read.

*Image of the Week: Hydrangea Heaven by Chris Hawes

*A Song: "Blues Live" by Wynton Marsalis 

*Things I Love: iPhones, my new glasses, big rings, Instagram, Sloane getting her braces off, blog reading, only one week left of summer school, good vacation plans, great scissors, TJ Maxx, polka dots, weekends...

*A Wish: May your summer nights be long and sweet; full of fireflies and the sounds of children's laughter.

Friday Faves

from a recent photoshoot

* Quote of the Week: "You're only given a little spark of madness.  You mustn't lose it." ~ Robin Williams

* Blogspiration: Jacob Jolibois

* Song of the Week: Spring, Spring, Spring perfect for today, at least in Missouri

* Images of the Week: Last Hair Standing by John Wilhelm

* To Make You Giggle: Honest Slogans

* Read of the Week: Fairy Tale Girl by Susan Branch

* PINspiration: Caught Reading, curated by Relyn Lawson (me)

* Some Things I Love: the sound of rain on a tin roof, reading books out loud, decorating classrooms, laughing, making plans for a no-plans weekend, visiting art museums, touring botanical gardens, watching fish in a big tank, photographing children, marking things off my to do list...

Happy weekend, friends.

Happy Mother's Day

Brett & Relyn

I think this picture of my brother and me is a perfect Mother's Day picture.  It shows exactly how my mom has always made us feel.  Look at those happy, smiling, laughing faces.  Notice the book. Pay attention to the stylish home: the cool phone, the plants, the stylin', comfy sofa.  See the joy?

Motherhood in one simple snapshot.  At least, my own mother's version of it.  The ingredients she mixed are simple enough to write about.  But, they are not so easy to live out.  It takes courage, passion, compassion, intelligence, dedication, energy, prayer, faith, and so much love to be a mother like mine is.  But, oh, when you have a mother like mine...  life is nothing short of magic.

My Mom's Motherhood Recipe went something like this:

Laugh:  Give your children a happy childhood.  Laugh with them.  Play with them.  Listen to them.  Don't argue.  Teach your family that home is a place for friendship and joy.
Books:  Fill your children's lives with books and stories.  Read to them at night. Talk about what you are reading.  Listen to them read aloud.  Take them to the library once a week to stock up.  Buy them books as often as you can.  Have a personal library in each child's bedroom.
Home:  Make it beautiful and comfortable.  Work to keep it clean and tidy.  Life just works better without the clutter and mess.  Be organized.  Keep life in the house; nurture plants and pets alongside the children and marriage.  Take care of the things you are blessed enough to own and make your environment as beautiful as you know how.  Invite people over and treat them like they are special. Serve them nice food at a beautiful table and listen to their stories.  Be a good hostess. Above all, make home a safe place to return to after walking in this weary world.  Make home a haven and a refuge; the one place you can always find absolute love and acceptance.
Listen:  Keep the phone handy.  Let your child know that no matter where they are, what they are doing, or what kind of life they choose, you are - at most - only a phone call away.  Listen.  Talk.  Share.  Nobody cares about your life like your mother does.
Love: There are too many words for this one.  My heart is too full to tell you how my mother loved us; loves us still. Maybe this will give you a glimpse.  When I lived at home, my mom woke me up every morning with a song and a smile.  Every morning.  Now, we talk on the phone nearly every day.  And no one, not one single person know about the details of my life, my friends, my triumphs and frustrations like my mother does.

There just aren't enough words to speak the fullness of my heart.  I love you, Mom.  Happy Mother's Day.

Sunday Morning Poetry

A House of Readers

At 9:42 this May morning
the children's rooms are concentrating too.
Like a tendril growing toward the sun, Ruth
moves her book into a wedge of light
that settled on the floor like a butterfly.
She turns a page.
Fred is immersed in magic, cool
as a Black-Angus belly deep in a farm pond.

The only sounds: pages turning softly.
This is the quietness
of bottomland where you can hear only the young corn
growing, where a little breeze stirs the blades
and then breathes in again.

I mark my place.
I listen like a farmer in the rows.

                                                             ~ Jim Wayne Miller

Happy Sunday, friends.

Happy birthday, my love

 

As a tween and teenager I was the very romantic, dreamy sort.  I read love stories and daydreamed about a knight in shining armor.  I planned my wedding in great detail and practiced kissing on the back of my hand.  As a teenager, I wrote the most embarrassing, sappy love poetry which hasn't seen the light of day in decades, by the way.  I daydreamed romantic moments that were a mix of the First Love from Silhouette love stories and my own imagination.  Full disclosure: I still have about 25 of my favorite paperbacks from those early teen days though I haven't read them in years.  See?  Romantic, dreamy...

In college I told my mom that I had no intention of getting married until I found a man who would treat me at least as wonderfully as my Daddy treated her.  I went on to list all the other things I wanted in a husband.  My mom is always gentle and full of love, and she is a truth teller.  So?  What do say to your daughter in that moment?  After a quiet minute, my mom looked in my eyes and said, "I'll pray for you to find him.  Because, I'll tell you, there just aren't many men like your Daddy."

Fast forward about four years to our wedding rehearsal dinner.  I would give anything to have recorded the toasts that night, especially my Mom's.  She told that little story, though her version was longer and funnier.  She told a little of my hopes and dreams and a bit about her dreams for her daughter and my marriage.  Then, she said something like this, "You know, I worried for Relyn.  I knew in my heart that a miracle was the only way she would ever find a man who would make all of her dreams come true."  She turned to my sweet Jeffrey and said, "Jeffrey, I know you are the man God has for my daughter.  You've not only made all Relyn's dreams come true, you've made all our dreams for her come true as well.  Welcome to the family."

In that single moment, my mother, who always knows the right thing to say, summed it all up.  It's been nearly 25 years since then and Jeffrey still makes all my dreams come true.  Jeffrey makes me laugh.  He holds my hand and kisses me at home and in public.  He is never has anything bad to say about anyone.  He's a snazzy dresser.  He's kind.  He's a good father.  I could go on and on.  Instead, I'll just say this:  Happy birthday, Jeffrey, my love.  Thank you for making all my dreams come true.