This is hugely encouraging, and for me, a commission of sorts. By saying "quality time," Elisabeth is referring to the idea in our society of reserving a chunk of time to do something entertaining with your kids. Although not a bad thing in any way- quality time is fantastic- it is not the same as being together, participating together in the daily routine. In the daily routine is where our kids are learning This is what we do, This is how we do it, This is where things go. They learn by watching. The power of influence is extraordinary.

My thoughts as I encountered this quote:

1. It's so encouraging to know something important is going on just by having a routine and letting my daughter be a part of it. I'm re-excited about spending typical days with her, letting her watch me do a thing 50 times, so that she'll know how to do it for herself. That's important! It's my job to start showing her that she's a necessary and appreciated member of the family.
2. I'm motivated! Let's do these ordinary days! Hardly anyone but me sees how the hours are spent at home on an ordinary day, but big things are established in these little known hours. I want her to see that we put our heart into the work God has given us to do today and draw her into the acceptance of responsibility as early as possible.  (Read E. Elliot's Serious Play, Careless Work for more notes on this)
3. I'm humbled. My influence on her is so concentrated. How I clean up a spill or a broken bowl is being watched oh. so. carefully.
4. I need help. She will need thousands of reminders and repeated orders and corrections. I will need wisdom, and I will need to stop whatever I am doing to help/discipline her. I will mess up and miss out on opportunities to teach something. I will get worn out and will wonder whether the way she puts that thing away or climbs on this piece of furniture really matters. But I'm praying for faithfulness and patience.
5. At this point, still being under 2 years old, we are limited in height and motor skills as to how much Hadley can help me. But I can let her watch. If there's one thing I've learned about my toddler, it's that she is interested in whatever I am doing. So, I'm giving myself a challenge. Even though it's harder to do things efficiently with her underfoot, let her watch. Let her see a thing being done thoroughly. daily. faithfully. carefully. orderly. That will mean a sacrifice of time and attention from me, but it's the sort of attention that she can't have too much of, and it will repay me later.
6. I have a dream. It's after dinner time and my family is in the kitchen with me, putting away leftovers (depending on how many mouths there are, maybe there won't be any), washing dishes, talking about stuff, and we like getting a job done together.

I hope this post will be an encouragement for you guys in your plain old ordinary days, too! Writing it out helps me so much. I'm excited about the days ahead. This post kinda goes hand in hand with this song from last Friday. :)

If you have been reading this blog long at all, you probably know that I love this lady Elisabeth Elliot. Wife of missionary Jim Elliot and a superb author. She often gives me something to think on that lasts years and years. I'm surprised how many of the things rolling around in my mind are from reading just a few of her books. Here are a few favorites... Keep A Quiet Heart, Let Me Be A Woman, Passion & Purity, The Shaping of A Christian Family, Discipline: The Glad Surrender.

     Lately I've been motivated and in the mood to do chores. Maybe it's because it's the end of school; the changing of seasons. I'm usually very dependable when it comes to ordinary chores- the dishes, making the bed, laundry, wiping counters, and general tidying up- it's the unordinary chores that I'm iffy on. The ones that maybe don't need to be done and aren't on my daily to-do list. And it's those iffy chores that I am talking about now. I am totally hooked on doing them!

   I've been putting a new chore on my regular list of things to do each day. So far I've washed the bathroom rugs, organized every item in my closet and re-folded the things on shelves, sorted baby clothes, vacuumed the hard-to-vacuum places, scrubbed hard-water stains, washed all of Hadley's toys, helped Grant get everything off the basement floor and onto shelves, and cleaned the kitchen floor on my hands and knees (twice!).

    Now that we are gearing up for the move to camp for the summer, my focus is drifting to other things, but I do still want to clean the fridge inside and out! There's nothing like putting one's affairs in order. It's so satisfying. and a little addicting. What unordinary chore do you want to put on your to-do list today?

and so many more. i've had this list sitting in my google docs for awhile, slowing getting longer. it's mostly made up of happy memories from my own childhood and things i've dreamed about for the longest time. not included that i already wish i had added: dance to michael jackson, teach them about camp shetek, and grant would probably like them to watch star wars sometime, too.

there's actually only 49 listed, but i figured you wouldn't take the time to count, and if you did... you would just smile at me.

happy friday, friends.
from the one who can't wait to be a mom.

friday already?!


yes, it's here! where did this week go? i can't even tell you how it was spent, but i do know early morning basketball practices began and there were about 4 interviews with president bush mixed in there somewhere. anyway, here's what i'm loving this week.


1. piano possibilities on craigslist (if one eventually gets in our house, i will cry from happiness)
2. making granola and practicing our christmas program at preschool (jingle bells included)
3. spinach quiche!
4. the arrival of my new niece, louisa. oh that name, love it. 
5. special knee-high circulation socks.. hopefully these will help my forever-freezing toes!
6. will these help my circulation too? 
7. judy brought me a berry pie bar. we both agree: we could eat these everyday.
8. the nearness of clementine season.. how exciting.
9. the december issue of martha stewart living (spritz cookies, baby!)
10. this sweeeet hair-do. i totally want to try it. 
11. the thought of going to my favorite antique store this weekend...
12. a phone chat with mom
13. mmmmm... cornbread. or better yet, mom's thanksgiving corn casserole.
14. an awesome review of natural laundry soaps. thanks for doing all the work for me, testers!
15. leggings and slippers.
16. proverbs 11:25.. whoever refreshes others will himself be refreshed. how sweet is that?
17. whitney's easiest pillow you'll ever make. 
18. a giant chalkboard for sale outside of a shop in our town... why didn't i get it?!
19. best room ever? you have to see this totally awesome, amazing, beautiful nursery. i want it to be my bedroom. 
20. grant comes home in half an hour! pizza and a movie tonight.

hello all, sorry my posting has been somewhat off and sporadic lately. life is full! this week i'll be full-time at preschool, also putting together a halloween house project, and fulfilling my monthly quota of visits to the gym! but i'll still be popping in with tidbits of news and things to show you, of course.

speaking of which. i just had to show you...



this awesome little quilt i found for $2.00. doesn't it remind you of anthro? if you could see it in real life, it really would. it's the perfect size for draping over your lap while getting cozy on the couch. which i did this weekend, while we watched a movie and lit up my pre-halloween jack-o-lantern.

and this...



grant tore up, sanded, and painted our entryway on saturday! it's looking so different already.. i love it! the color is called 'dinosaur grey', how cool is that? we copied it from our brother and sister in law. grant has plans to put up new trim and design me a new shelf, and i have plans to hang a chalkboard in there somewhere. yay!

this question just came to my formspring:
  "I sure do love your food posts, but do miss the everyday stuff posts that rounded out your blog so beautifully. Do you think you'll go back to writing more about your day to day? :)" 

thanks, anonymous! i'm really super honored that anyone would want to hear about my little everyday adventures. and you know how i love homelife. and how i want to do a better job of recording the daily. so this is perfect! just what i needed to hear. now i can't make any promises that the food posts will slow down, because let's face it, i love food. but i will try to up the posts that include details of my homelife!

so, to catch you up on stuff, here are some of my adventures lately.

adventures in thrifting. last week was the annual rummage sale in our town, one of my favorite weeks out of the whole year! i came away with a tart pan, a cute wooden paddle, the salt and pepper shakers with the big holes that i've been hunting for, a milkglass vase, some vintage kitchen utensils, a few classic children's books (of course), and best of all.. a whole box of glass jars and juice glasses (one of my well-known weaknesses) for FREE. i think i spent a total of $5 on everything. it was bliss.

adventures with hair. i'm parting my hair.... on the other side. talk about an adventure. anyone else stick to the same side for over twenty years and then try to swap for the other side? wow. it's a lot of weight in a weird place. haley just gave me a highlight to help the poor side that has never seen the sun. so. those of you who can swap back and forth between sides whenever you want... hopefully i'll be joining you someday.

adventures in exercise. am working my way back into running. every summer at camp, i slow way way down and then it takes me forever to get back to where i was! but at least i have a goal to work toward. i've been using "my running road" (a not-too-busy back road, with farm fields on either side) almost every day! not necessarily running the whole time.. but going longer or going faster and making progress. i really like my running road. it lets me watch the stalks of corn fade in the fields and the black birds flying in their eerie, waving flocks.

adventures in entryway design. we got a new front door! (thank you, derrick!) hooray. one that is not the same color as our siding. and we ripped up the little square of boring linoleum in our entryway, revealing the original hardwood floor! oh, silly people who covered it up.. why do such a thing? we are brainstorming ideas of how to make this tiny space really cool. maybe some chalkboard paint will be involved. and a cool grayish color.

adventures in knitting. not much to report here. still working on the same scarf-like project, here and there, whenever i have a moment to sit down and be cozy!

adventures with preschoolers. the other day ross, one of our funniest little students, finally made the "s" in his name in one single, beautiful stroke. we've been working on this since last year. i was so proud i almost cried. i think he was freaked out by how excited i was.

adventures with aperture. i'm going to learn some new photo software! woohoo. the plan is to use it instead of photoshop to edit the photos i took this weekend.. hopefully my little sis will be really excited about her senior pictures! (the photoshoot went great, by the way. she is such a trooper, even when it got super cold and our feet got really wet.)

adventures with grant. we've been married 877 days (yes, the countdown on our computer is still counting up) and married life is still as awesome as it was that first week. and i will never get over the insane niceness of having someone to sleep by. it's the most comforting thing ever. and everyday, it's our favorite part of the day. it's even better if you lay awake thinking up "regular human names that make horrible pet names" together. it's one of our favorite games to play (i.e. a cat named greg or danielle). we laugh way more than is necessary.

now that we're caught up, more everyday stuff to come soon! (in smaller portions.)