a day in the life of me

what did you today?

a ritualistic, reasonable question punctuated at the end of a day. if so common practice to ask, then why do i always struggle finding the answer? when i worked, the answer was easy. i was 'bringing home the bacon". now that i am a stay-at-home

mom, i have trouble defining my

day, my life even. goodness forbid that i ever look back and wonder what i have done with my life. after all, isn't life just a collection of ordinary every days. a series of mornings and afternoons and nights followed by mornings again. 365 mornings, multiplied by however many years you are blessed with. each day adding to a year. each year adding, totally a life. so then how does one measure a day? where is it's value laid? is it in the number of products produced, projects completed, goals accomplished, boxes ticked? in the weight of emotional epiphanies discovered? in the quality of conversations had? in reaching the perfect ratio of house harmony versus child chaos? in the number of cheerios swept? in the amount of steps clocked on my pedometer? in the amount of laundry baskets, grilled cheeses or flowers picked? in the accumulated average volume range of my voice

during that day? in timeouts? in things forgotten, undone or hurried? in the number of failings, the flaws, the imperfections? how will i measure my life? what will be my truest

fruition look like, feel like, smell like, sound like? how do i measure it, count it. how do i count blessings, not in fear of losing them but always with trusting hands open?

every life begs to be extraordinary, whether it admits it or not. begs to be noticed, valued & remembered. documented & recorded so someone, one day will know that i lived, i longed & i loved. i lived today. i lived fully with hands & eyes wide open. eyes opened to the lavished Love in each

moment, even hard moments. moments bathed in the gentlest Light. and as i am preoccupied with the ordinary, i often miss the extraordinary of everyday moments. for isn't a day without Love, a day wasted, a day lost

in history? and so here is my story, my today, my right now & my forever. here is why i will miss today. not because it was out of the ordinary but because it was lived in the realization the He loves me through the gift of ordinary moments that unfurled, blossomed into Joy, into Beauty. here is what i did today and here is how He loved me today {by no means an exhaustive list}.

• singing silly non-sense songs with the boys
• brand new sheets
• racking up pampers point with a pampers sale
• finding a toy car under the table
• sticky fingers
• dirty floors
• refilling the toilet paper
• shaking out the twins highchairs
• the house shaking thump of kai's bottom hitting the floor after attempting to walk
• davith's pjs having the 'baby gap' label even though they are size 3
• eating cravings
• a house well lived in
• de-stinking the garbage can
• crocodile puppet on the counter
• big, teethy grins
• daddy bike rides
• plates licked clean of their tasty goodness
• the aroma of home cooked food filling the house
• returning overdue movies to rogers
• temper tantrums
• perfect timing
• purging the fridge of very expired yogurt
• a bread basket filled with abundance
• horseplay on new bouncy bed with babies
• my belly getting in the way of the camera
• smelly, gym carpets
• chasing three dirty bottoms up the stairs
• that perfect twist in my hair in just the right spot
• baby dance moves
• warm, sweaty summertime cuddles on porch

this is what my day was made of. even the ugly made beautiful.

made of wonderful. and i will embrace it, frame it, nail it down by giving thanks for each precious moment.

one eyed monsters {formerly known as 'toad in the holes'}

this is one of my favourite ways to eat eggs these days. i get tired of the traditional omelette, the fried or scrambled and certainly the boiled egg. eggs are an important source of vitamin D and other than fish, the only other source that has vitamin D naturally occurring. we need vitamin D to absorb calcium & protect us from chronic disease. they also are high in protein. i love eggs. when i was growing up my mom called these 'toad in the holes' but i recently heard someone call them 'one eyed monsters' which i thought was added motivation to get davith to devour this tasty breakfast or lazy dinner. here's the recipe:

• With a slice of whole wheat bread, cut a circle or other shape out of the middle.
• I was taught to butter both sides of the bread and put it on a hot griddle. However, I stopped doing that years ago. Just spray the pan with some cooking spray so your egg doesn’t stick, and it cooks just fine.
• Crack an egg into the center of the bread slowly to keep the egg within the borders of your hole.
• Flip to the other side.
• After the egg whites are no longer runny, slide the 'one eyed monster' onto a plate. Use the center piece of bread to dip in the yolk.

* my 'one eyed monsters' looked pretty 'scary' to say the least & so i just copied this pic from google. the ones featured in the pic was only cooked on one side to keep the yoke looking pretty which works if you like your eggs more on the runny side. i used multigrain bread for extra fibre & nutrition.

and still more awesome than i know... {a song diary}

"all that i have heard others say, all that i have found in books, all that i have written myself, seems savorless, dull, and heavy when compared with what faith has unfolded to me of the unspeakable riches of God and of Jesus Christ. Christ alone can reveal Himself to us. we toil and exercise our mind in reason and science, forgetting that therein we can see only a copy, while we neglect to gaze on the incomparable original. in the depths of our soul, God reveals Himself, if we but realized it, yet we will not look there for Him."

~ brother lawrence

and what can i say to the King, who is ever-knowing, ever-present, ever-pursuing? present in the ever pulsing movement of the day, present in the crumbly toast clenched toddler fingers, in the afternoon sigh, in weather worn farm feet, in a child's dimpled cheek, in a banana at the peak of ripeness. present everywhere. for how could i limit the limitless God to the confines of my own mind, my own understandings & experiences? after so long a betrothal to Him, i still am so humbled that i could ever behold all His awesomeness, all that He is in my awareness. and so i am bound by this love-struck journey to see my groom in all His fullness, in all His glory. what can i offer to my groom but the thanks of a humbled bride... for You are so satisfyingly enough for me and yet still more awesome than i know.

~ a humbled sister of brother lawrence

wedding edition {small style}

we love weddings! we especially love dressing up for weddings! here are a few pics from our dear friends wedding this past weekend. i just noticed that i didn't take any photo's of dav, so i guess this will be just a twin edition of {small style}.

horray for weddings! success after a 10 minute battle over that terrifying crinoline!

evie: pink dress - winner's, white flower hairband - ana cruz {from etsy.com}

kai: onsie - knuffle kids {a shameless plug for my wildly creative friend karen - she's amazing!}

a perfect fit for a hot summer wedding

flex those muscles!

pajama style {small style}

i love pjs! especially on babies. maybe it's because of the indicative quiet time that ensues once three babies are finally wrestled into those one pieces or maybe it's just that they are so cuddly & smell so good at the end of a long day.

in any matter, i thought {small style} needed to include this necessary wardrobe item which no day is complete without. these are by no means my favourite pjs, they are just the shots that i could quickly catch before bed tonight. i will definitely have to do a second addition with my favourite pjs on them.

at the end of the day, after baths & lotion, they all tumble in

to the little room off of our bedroom where they play hard, rough-housing, until the moment before bed & stories. here are a few shots of those rockin' pjs & the rough-housing.

evie's pjs: george

kai's pjs: george, susu: mam

davith's pjs: joe fresh, susu: nuk

what to sing in a storm

before me, even as behind,

God is ~

and all is well.

- john greenleaf whittier

oh, how this settles deep into an anxious soul, like a salve to the raging heart. a constant, an anchor, a swaddle to flailing arms.

You are good God, eternally good to me. You were good to me yesterday, You are good to me today & You are good to me tomorrow into forever. how could i ever fear?

* i love the title of this photo: "rider of the storm"

optimism is contagious

i love maxwell house commercials. they are just so darn good. i cry almost every time! they beg the question, "is your cup half empty or half full?" so challenging but soul food at the same time. "brew some optimism" is one of the most inspiring ad campaigns i've seen in a long time!

so, how about an optimism break?

a spoon full of sugar...

we have been pretty strict on our kid's sugar intake. we try our very best to eliminate or avoid refined sugars at all costs & stick to more natural substitutes. having said that, while being pregnant especially, i have found it difficult to reduce my own refined sugar intake. that darn starbucks! those cravings are just soooo hard to ignore. so i do give in but have a few safe guards to help me not indulge.

sometimes pictures speak louder than words. these are a great motivator & perspective check. they also help clear up a few misconceptions like juice is like eating a piece of fruit. juice without the fibre a piece of actual fruit is just as bad as pop. as you can see from these pictures, a chocolate chip cookie has less sugar content {personally, i'd take the chocolate chip cookie over the juice but that could be the cravings talking again}. and don't let those added vitamins convince you otherwise.

these pictures are a creative way of showing sugar content.

4.2 gms = 1 teaspoon of sugar {each cube is a teaspoonful}

now they just need to do one with salt!

* thanks jo anne for these helpful reminders!