... it's the day we spend time as a family.
I am falling deeply and madly in love with Saturday. I've always liked the weekend; who doesn't? But as a stay at home mom of two, the beauty of having another adult to spend an entire 24-hour period with is hard to describe. Pure joy. Utter bliss. I love it.
What of Sundays you ask? Well, last Sunday, while Ben was at early morning Church meetings, Nell was napping in her crib, and I was in the basement printing off something for my Young Women's lesson ... Reid picked a scab off his arm and bled all over my front room.
"What's dis on my leg, mommy?" he asked so sweetly as I walked up stairs and saw the mess.
"That's blood Reid, it's blood."
This Sunday Ben dropped Nell during Church (and now our whole congregation knows how I react when angered) and just before bedtime Reid pooped on our deck (and now our whole neighborhood knows how Ben reacts when I over-react), so yeah, I still haven't mastered loving my Sundays.
But Saturdays, I love.
Two weeks ago we spent most of our Saturday harvesting our garden. Ben dug up all the root vegetables. Reid helped wash the carrots. Nell crawled around under the shade of one of our big maple trees. I peeled, peeled and peeled, in preparation for the big freeze. I remember thinking as I bagged all those veggies that we'd probably spent a good 10 hours on $10 worth of carrots. But I didn't even care that it wasn't cost effective. Our garden gives us so much more than food. Lessons, bonding, self-reliance, work ethic, and love. Our garden gives us all this and more.
This weekend we canned 11 quarts of tomatoes. We've been making fresh salsas and caprese salads, and grilling margarita pizzas and caprese grilled cheese sandwiches for weeks. Our tomatoes and basil did awesomely well this summer. And our grocery sale had a fabulous sale on fresh mozzarella. We might as well be Sicilian for the month of August. The only harvesting still left on our to do list is to make fresh pesto and prep it for freezing. Later today I plan on going to our neighbor's house and telling her the rest of the tomatoes are hers. Next weekend she'll can a batch of homemade pasta sauce. I think I may love our garden as much as Saturdays!
This Saturday we test drove a mini-van (Reid fell in love). I went to the farmer's market with a neighbor and a young woman from church. Just when we thought we couldn't run into any more mormon families, we spotted the sister missionaries. It was Mormon day at the market! After all the noon time naps (Ben loves to nap when the kids do, I love to enjoy the quietness of my house) we went to a friend's birthday party. My friend said the goal of the party was to turn her backyard into a "kid oasis." I think she succeeded. There was a bouncy house, two blow up pools, the usual swing set and sand box, kid sized cars (and even a ride in fire truck), hot dogs, chips, and cupcakes. Reid probably thought he'd died and gone to heaven.
Last Saturday started with one final summer buzz, which merited a special bath (and sucker).
Next, we headed to the NEW (North East Wisconsin) Zoo. Where we all got to feed the animals.
Reid was loosing patience waiting for the giraffe to come over. But I couldn't leave without feeding the giraffe. So, I said a little prayer that went something like this "Heavenly Father, I know thou has control over all the animals." And then of course I felt a little silly, God doesn't owe me anything. But in the back of my mind I just thought of the scripture that says a seed of faith can move mountains, and I just knew I had more than a seed of faith ... and that giraffe was a lot smaller than a mountain. And sure enough, as I was pondering this faith/movement relationship that young giraffe turned and looked right at me. She (Zuri) left her peaceful hay snack by her mother's side and came right on over to Reid and I.
This is why, even though my Sundays always feel like a lot of work, I keep at it. God really can move mountains for us. Maybe one day He'll even grant my dream of letting me ride a giraffe. Seriously, who wouldn't want to wrap their arms around that long neck and cross the savannah with a 13 foot high view?
Reid told us his favorite animal was the snake, but I find that hard to believe considering every five minutes he asked to go back and see the alligator. This guy (an albino with a red light shining on him) was sleeping all five times we stopped by for a visit. But on second thought, Reid did ask to go see the snake a second time, and I promptly told him no. Oops.
I am falling deeply and madly in love with Saturday. I've always liked the weekend; who doesn't? But as a stay at home mom of two, the beauty of having another adult to spend an entire 24-hour period with is hard to describe. Pure joy. Utter bliss. I love it.
What of Sundays you ask? Well, last Sunday, while Ben was at early morning Church meetings, Nell was napping in her crib, and I was in the basement printing off something for my Young Women's lesson ... Reid picked a scab off his arm and bled all over my front room.
"What's dis on my leg, mommy?" he asked so sweetly as I walked up stairs and saw the mess.
"That's blood Reid, it's blood."
 |
| "No picture mommy!" |
 |
| Too bad son, I need to document the messes I call life |
But Saturdays, I love.
Two weeks ago we spent most of our Saturday harvesting our garden. Ben dug up all the root vegetables. Reid helped wash the carrots. Nell crawled around under the shade of one of our big maple trees. I peeled, peeled and peeled, in preparation for the big freeze. I remember thinking as I bagged all those veggies that we'd probably spent a good 10 hours on $10 worth of carrots. But I didn't even care that it wasn't cost effective. Our garden gives us so much more than food. Lessons, bonding, self-reliance, work ethic, and love. Our garden gives us all this and more.
This weekend we canned 11 quarts of tomatoes. We've been making fresh salsas and caprese salads, and grilling margarita pizzas and caprese grilled cheese sandwiches for weeks. Our tomatoes and basil did awesomely well this summer. And our grocery sale had a fabulous sale on fresh mozzarella. We might as well be Sicilian for the month of August. The only harvesting still left on our to do list is to make fresh pesto and prep it for freezing. Later today I plan on going to our neighbor's house and telling her the rest of the tomatoes are hers. Next weekend she'll can a batch of homemade pasta sauce. I think I may love our garden as much as Saturdays!
This Saturday we test drove a mini-van (Reid fell in love). I went to the farmer's market with a neighbor and a young woman from church. Just when we thought we couldn't run into any more mormon families, we spotted the sister missionaries. It was Mormon day at the market! After all the noon time naps (Ben loves to nap when the kids do, I love to enjoy the quietness of my house) we went to a friend's birthday party. My friend said the goal of the party was to turn her backyard into a "kid oasis." I think she succeeded. There was a bouncy house, two blow up pools, the usual swing set and sand box, kid sized cars (and even a ride in fire truck), hot dogs, chips, and cupcakes. Reid probably thought he'd died and gone to heaven.
Last Saturday started with one final summer buzz, which merited a special bath (and sucker).
 |
| Giving kisses. I love how babies just open wide when they hear the word "kisses" |
Next, we headed to the NEW (North East Wisconsin) Zoo. Where we all got to feed the animals.
Reid was loosing patience waiting for the giraffe to come over. But I couldn't leave without feeding the giraffe. So, I said a little prayer that went something like this "Heavenly Father, I know thou has control over all the animals." And then of course I felt a little silly, God doesn't owe me anything. But in the back of my mind I just thought of the scripture that says a seed of faith can move mountains, and I just knew I had more than a seed of faith ... and that giraffe was a lot smaller than a mountain. And sure enough, as I was pondering this faith/movement relationship that young giraffe turned and looked right at me. She (Zuri) left her peaceful hay snack by her mother's side and came right on over to Reid and I.
This is why, even though my Sundays always feel like a lot of work, I keep at it. God really can move mountains for us. Maybe one day He'll even grant my dream of letting me ride a giraffe. Seriously, who wouldn't want to wrap their arms around that long neck and cross the savannah with a 13 foot high view?
Reid told us his favorite animal was the snake, but I find that hard to believe considering every five minutes he asked to go back and see the alligator. This guy (an albino with a red light shining on him) was sleeping all five times we stopped by for a visit. But on second thought, Reid did ask to go see the snake a second time, and I promptly told him no. Oops.
His favorite part of the whole day was probably the train ride. This boy loves trains. His excitement as we waited for the conductor to come was just too darn cute. Three dollars well spent.
Our lunch on the other hand, was not money well spent. But hey, you can't expect an entire day to be perfect.
And here are two other noteworthy pictures from last Saturday. I really do love Saturdays!
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| Some Saturday mornings Ben will take the kids to Goodwill. Here are two of his awesome finds. A toy castle which both kids love, and a workshop that doubles as a desk. |
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| There is always |
2 comments:
Loved the pics. Thanks for sharing Sis. It makes us feel like we are a little (emphasis on the little) part of our grandchildren's lives. Wish you lived a whole heck of a lot closer.
I have always loved Saturdays too. Even when they are spent in working, it's a diversion from the rest of the week.
I loved the picture of Reid and Nell in the bathtub together. They are such close siblings. I hope it always remains that way.
Give them both a big hug and smootch from Grandpa B.
We do wish you lived a WHOLE lot closer! Missing you, Ben and the children. So glad your garden was such a success as is your finds at Goodwill! Saturdays do sound like wonderful days chez vous tous! Love you and your blogging!!! Mom
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