is family day! That is what our kids call Sat. and Sun. The day where we all get to be together.

Today we spent some time outside down in Palm Beach. They have their gates and hedges trying to keep riffraff like us, out. We sneak in anyway.

This Banyan tree has to be hundreds of years old. It is right next to the water and its roots creep up out of the ground like some underground snake yards away from the trunk.

A sweet older woman on a bike, stopped and asked if she could take our picture. That was sweet of her. You get an idea of just how big this tree is. You could hide among its roots.

Mike played candy land with the kids under the tree. As you can see, Hudson was not interested. He wanted to explore some, so I followed along. One of the things I have come to observe this first year of homeschooling is how unique and different each child is. What sparks their interest and what does not. It is fun to tag along and think of ways to nurture those things that are blooming within them. I think that is good parenting, it is also good pastoring or leadership too, but that is another post.

I have had a hard last 3 days with Hudson. He hasn’t been very “able” to listen to Mommy. Whenever he gets like that, I have to look back at what has been happening the previous few days. Too much stimulation, not enough sleep and no outside time will make him and me nuts. So I got his little system back on track and today was much more pleasurable.

I highly recommend family days.  They are the highlight of our week.

and I love you!

Just a few simple words that should be said to your kids as often as possible.

If possible while looking directly into their eyes.

That is all for today!

Have a good weekend.

I was able to take some super cool shots of Shawn and his Canadian girlfriend Jenn last weekend. It is a ton of fun to capture priceless moments. I think last weekend was pretty priceless for them on many levels. Just read his blog. Well, since you asked so nicely, here are some of my favorite shots.

One of the things I feel like God is calling me into with my photography is finding beauty in ordinary, broken things that most people walk right by and never think another thing about. I’ve driven by this cement factory for 20 years or more, ever since I was a kid. It wasn’t until recently that I saw the beauty there.

Most things here are sqweeky clean. Nothing dirty or old, or so it seems. I am looking for the reality that is everywhere that somehow gets quietly hidden away in Palm Beach County. I keep digging for the “real” life that resides here and not the super glamorous one that everyone assumes it the norm here.

Urban Legend has it that they are putting an Old Navy in this partially built structure. Yuck! I will be so sad to walk into this newly built store when it is done, and remember this lovely light. I pulled up and kept the car running, and said, “Let me check the light.” I ran in and saw it there as if it was calling to me. We all jumped out and 20 minutes later I had this.

As my friend Lora says STELLAR!

Grace and Peace to all those in love today~

my kids were that is, and then I proceeded to fall right off with them.

Have you ever had a moment where you just lost it? Does the phrase “screaming like a banshee” mean anything to you? Well, I just did it about 30 minutes ago and you would never know it based on these photos. It was normal children issues, but I found myself in a dangerous situation by a busy road and NO ONE was obeying the first time and on top of that they ALL were whining. Great Scott people. It was bad, bad I mean real bad.

They are all now having quiet time in their rooms, I am venting online to all of you dear people and PRAYING that God will always continue to cover my obvious gaps, and trust me people there are many of them. There are moments when there isn’t enough of me to go around, so I have learned to TRUST God at all times because otherwise I would go crazy. Honestly, our youngest easily counts for 2 children and at times 3. He runs FULL speed ahead, my oldest takes his SWEET time and the middle one is marching to her own drum, quit efficiently I might add. I can’t be 3 places at once.

On the up side, just prior to said breakdown, I got some great shots. And if you are really good, and ask nicely(I am serious you must ask or I wont do it:-)) I will post some rockin’ shots I did of friends over the last few days. It almost looks like I am a photographer:-)

Peace to all those who wish they could clone themselves today, so that their children each had a personal chaperon at all times~

It has been a full week.

Having the teenage kids of our dear friends this past 10 days has been a blast. Seriously, everyone acts a bit shocked, but they have been marvelous and we have loved every minute of having them. My kids have been in “hog heaven”.

We also had Chloe’s tea party and that was a fun moment for her.

We also are hosting our house mate Shawn’s girlfriend from Vancouver. Very cool lady.

Plus walking our neighbors dog who are in Albania for the last 2 weeks and we just picked up the family dog of our teenage friends until their parents get home Tomorrow night.

Good Times. I love a full house. We can still sleep 2 more in the house, so come on people, what are you waiting for.

Honestly, it gave Mike and I a little glimpse or taste of something we have dreamed of for awhile but never really sure how it may work.  Dear friends of ours live in intentional community in Ohio in various forms. We would love to see this type of togetherness develop here in this area.  Small buds are even now forming. It will be fun to watch God bring it about.

Peace to all Zoo Keepers today!

Today our sweet pea is 5. I can’t believe how quickly time moves along.

The other day I was laying her down for her nap and we had a little snuggle. She began to play with my cross necklace around my neck and we had the following conversation.

C - “Mom this is a cross but it isn’t the real cross that Jesus died on right?”

Me - “Your right it is just a symbol.”

C - “What is a symbol?”

Me- “It is a little sign that reminds me and other people that I made Jesus king of my life.”

C - “and king of my life too?”

Me - “No, just my life. He can be king of your life if you want him to but you have to ask him. I can’t ask him for you.”

Thoughtful silence.

C- “I am not ready yet. I will wait until a few days after I am 5. Because he is so big and I am still so little. When I am 5 I am bigger.”

Me - “OK- you tell me when you have decided because it is a very special thing. If you listen very carefully when you are still and quiet you will hear him calling you.”

C - “What does he say?”

Me - “Come, follow me I have amazing things to teach you.”

We went on to talk about ponies and flowers and exactly how big God really was and how is it possible that he can be everywhere. So pray that Jesus will reveal himself to Chloe in a way that she sees his accessibility and not that he is so big and she is so small, but that she is loved and protected in his “bigness”.

Peace to all 5 year olds and want to be 5 year olds today!

This is a posted response to Amanda’s question about an exercise prescribed in The Artists Way. Because of its length, I posted it here. All you artists, join the conversation if you feel inclined.

I have really enjoyed working through this book even though it isn’t written with a Christian perspective (even though JC believes in God) I have grown immensely through it. With many things, I choose to take the meat and spit out the bones and her book is no exception. I believe God is speaking out in all manner of art and literature, and using all sorts of things to call people back to him. Expressing yourself through creativity is, I believe, an essential part of a Christian’s formation into Christ likeness. So I say all of that to say, I think that this exercise is a both/and sort of thing. If you need it, do it, and in the process Jesus will speak to you healing and affirming words.

Someone with a Christian perspective, that allows Jesus to be their center and their compass, are able to come to this exercise with that grid and really gain a ton from it, while keeping it in the right perspective. I think, it is generally true, that people have a very hard time really grasping who they are in Christ. Because of emotional and often traumatic, early child hood experience, people are ether overly codependent or obsessively people pleasing as adults. Driven by need for approval and love or fearful of rejection and isolation, people don’t understand how precious they are and rarely set healthy boundaries in that direction. We rarely take time for ourselves, over extending and over committing as a way of being “there” for others, without ever realizing that if we haven’t really come to grasp who we are as beautiful creations ourselves, we can’t ever really be who we are supposed to be for others. All of these are little clues that ultimately signal that we like to be in control…of ourselves and others.

Recently, I have been in a season of understanding who I am and that taking care of myself really allows me to be open to what God is doing and saying to me. I like to call it soul care, others say having good boundaries. It is really a spiritual practice. I know deeply at my core, that the more I can be present to the process that God has me in( and not in others process), it allows me to stay weak or humble before what God is doing and what he is calling me to do and be for the sake of the world. I am not the source of anything, even my own healing and artistic process. It is all an outflow of my relationship with the Father, and He is the source of all of my healing and my creativity.

I had a few issues with her language, so I didn’t plug into it in the way she prescribed. Although if I were in a different place, doing it may have been helpful, I just didn’t feel like it was helpful for me at this point. I, however, do have a deep awareness that the more I am aware of where I am at in my own formation or treating myself as “precious” in her language (which takes time and intentionality) the more I am able to be present to the Father which is a weak and humble place. Ironically, as Christians, the weaker we are (which really means we know we are not in control) the stronger and more healthy we become.

So those are my lengthy 2 cents. I am interested to hear your thoughts!

Grace and Peace to you,
Amber

Yeap, that was my favorite line in the Prince Caspian movie.  It is true, imagination is at a premium these days.   It is so easy for us to follow the “party line”, do what has always been done and forget that there is always an unseen way. A path that is just itching to be blazed. I recommend seeing the movie, and reading Prophetic Imagination with a prayer that God will reveal the “unseen way” to you.

There is one you know.  A specific path that you have been called to blaze in your local context.  If you ask God to show it to you as well as give you the deep imagination to see it, you may just initiate a kingdom revolution that will not be sparked until you say yes and move forward.

I wonder what things would look like if more of God’s people could imagine things differently?

We found a wonderful nature trail near our home and found all sorts of things. If you look close you may even

find a few little monkeys.

We will be the proud parents of 5 children. Mike and I are happily hosting the teenage kids of dear friends of ours for 10 days. They are great kids and we are going to have a blast together. Giving them a little taste of our three ring circus will scar change them for life, I am sure in all the good and appropriate ways. Our three are thrilled and I hope to goodness they don’t wear those two out. So my posting may be spotty at best.  I hope to at least throw up some pics for your viewing pleasure.

I was also reflecting last night on our first year of homeschooling. For something I was so fearful of in the beginning, I now, couldn’t imagine our life any other way. The other day, we bumped into the owner of the old Montessori school we used to attend. They are expanding to 8th grade, building an all green, state of the art building that is within bike riding distance from our home. She has always made it clear that she wants me to work for her. A few years ago, I may of considered it. Now, I just smiled and said thank you. People often ask, “How long do you think you will home school?” Our tentative answer right now is all the way. I may change my tune when they are teenagers and of course, we are open to what God is saying at each step and phase and if it become apparent that a traditional school situation is best for all involved, then of course, that is what we will do. But for now, I love our family rhythm.

It will be a learning curve the next 10 days having teenagers and toddlers.  Pray for me!

It’s a misty, hazy, slightly windy morning. I am hoping to get back into my “up before the kids” routine that I had before Peru and the holidays. Today I did it, so that is a start in the right direction.

I have now decided I love shooting in the aperture setting mode with it WIDE open. Or as wide as I can get it depending on the lens I am using.   I am off to start another wonderful school day.  Slated for today,  Shakespeare’s 12th Night, Burgess Bird Book, and Smudge the Little Lost Lamb along with the usual, writing and math.

Peace to all~

Many blessings to all Mother’s Today, including my very own special Mom and Mother-in-law.

I pray you find a quiet place to rest,

Maybe a place for you and a dear friend to sit and share some soul talk.

And enjoy something simply beautiful today.

(I took these photos in our courtyard experimenting with shadow and aperture settings. I am really unhappy with the graininess that all of my photos appear with this skin. Any helpful pointers would be much appreciated.)

Peace to all artful Mama’s today!

(Please read previous post)

I had Hudson recap the story to his Grandfather this evening and he revealed one tiny bit of info that he had not shared with me this morning. He exclaimed, as he jumped in mid air “To infinity and Beyoooonnnnnndddddd.” Wow -three year olds are literal, and maybe he has seen Toy Story one too many times, which trust me people isn’t that often.

Honestly, my parents are laughing their backsides off, because I am getting my paybacks. That is OK, it is only a matter of time, until I will be laughing my backside off watching our dear children parent their young ones through the maze of this life.

In addition to the now infamous jump, I found these.

I know, I now know better. I thought it would be cute and festive as well as a reminder to our children to eat healthy snacks by placing them in these super cute, orange bowls on our kitchen pass through. See them in the back of this pic? The only problem is, they can be easily reached by little hands without my knowledge. Let’s be honest, I know they are dong it. But hey it is fruit how bad can it be for them? If it keeps them busy while I am finishing up school, then all is well, or so I thought. As I cleaned up the mess of a room after the jumping incident, I found these 6 half eaten apples all over the place. Almost as if, little chipmunks had been eating them for sustenance during their rambunctious play. Then, being all hopped up on natural sugar they felt super human and able to overcome the affects of gravity. As they found out, THEY CAN’T!

So, no more chair, no more apples out in plane site (tomorrow we will make applesauce from the remnants) and a huge helping of laughter makes life interesting. Just as long as we enjoy each moment, laugh at ourselves, pray for grace to cover the inevitable gaps and keep falling forward, everything will turn out all right.

This morning, I was finishing up a narration with Jackson downstairs while the “littles” were upstairs “playing”. I hear Hudson, our adventuresome daredevil, say “la la (his nickname for Chloe) if I get in trouble with this, run downstairs and get help.” (At least he had the forethought to think of possibly needing help and that what he was about to do might tun out badly. I am still not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.) Before I even had time to find out what was going on, I hear a loud crash and Hudson crying hysterically, while they both run down stairs.

While I put ice on a slightly bloody, goose egg sized knot on his head, I found out that he put their desk chair on top of the dresser and then proceeded to climb on top of it and attempted to jump the three feet across the room onto the top bunk. It obviously failed miserably.

After he had calmed down he said, “Mom I have a good idea, we can go to the grocery store and show the cookie lady my bump and she will give me a cookie and then I will feel all better.” I decided I wouldn’t tell him about the time that Mommy climbed a tree and swung a garden hose over the limb in order to swing around like Tarzan. My youthful zeal had the energy and lack of fear to conquer said task, however my three year old mind didn’t have the logical thinking skills needed to know that I must grab both sides of the hose so that gravity wouldn’t have its way with me. I ended up in the ER with a sprained ankle. Good Times People. I am reliving my childhood.

One cookie later, we are all off for quiet time.

Peace to all furniture jumpers today.

Today we did a little exploring.

We took off our shoes and headed down to the rocky shore.

Three brave explorers were after shells, and this is the perfect spot to find just the right ones.

These holes in the rocks capture the most beautiful shells. Little pools of joy reflecting the light like jewels for the taking.

A rocky crag overlooking the gentle surf entice them forward, onward and upward as they faintly hear their mother cry “GET DOWN FROM THERE!!!!!!”

Moving forward, through the rocks,

we find the most beautiful arch carved in the stones by years of wind and rain and surf.

Well, we did find some beautiful shells, among many other things.

Teeny, tiny ones and great big ones.

It almost felt holy.

Peace to all~

Word of the week - Angaboo! What is an angaboo you ask. Well, we are not sure, but Hudson is using this new found word like a tool.

Mom, I just found the Angaboo.

What is an angaboo bud?

It is under the house.

What does it do?

It sticks on to the house and holds it up.

What color is it?

black.

Can you draw one for me.

No - it’s just an angaboo. You can’t draw one. I wish I could dive underneath this house and get it for you Mom and show it to you.

Walks away singing a little made up song about the glorious angaboo. We thought it was a fluke and he would forget about it, but almost everyday for the last 10 days he brings up the mysterious angaboo. Mike and I are perplexed as to where he came up with this one, and what he is trying to communicate to us.  Poor kid is getting frustrated with our lack of knowledge on all things angaboo.
What is your best guess of what it is?

(I wrote this so, when he is 16 and I want to pull my hair out at him, I will think of his little angaboo and chuckle.)

If you don’t know yet from reading this blog, I am fairly passionate and honest about what I think and believe. The last year has been a huge learning process for me. I started this blog, all by myself, in order to force myself to do a few things. One was to become a bit more technologically proficient without needing my husbands help every time I turn on the computer. Well, I am not where I want to be but I am light years form where I was. Another was for me to think through and articulate my thoughts about life, love, homeschooling, parenting, our family, our faith community, and following Jesus in my own words, without letting my brilliant husband do all the deep thinking and talking for me. Not that he tries to, but I tend to let him. I think it is natural for most women to hide behind their husband, so this blog has been my attempt to grow and learn and be stimulated by him and not intimidated by how well he thinks and writes etc.

Well, not to toot his horn for him, but he has some brilliant posts here, here and here. Read them for yourself. I was honored a few weeks back when he asked me to consider moving my blog over with him on our what is church site. I was shocked really. When we first moved to South Florida, the what is church site was our little flag in the vast, barren land down here. It was a small, feeble, unseen, seemingly unsuccessful attempt to see if anyone out there was thinking about some of the same things. Well, that little website found a few dear souls(both locally and globally) , who were and are thinking the exact same things that we now journey with today. They are our faith community, our allies, our friends. In the beginning the what is church website was designed to tell our story and along the way a church was born. It is an amazing thing to see 7 years later, a sustainable faith community has developed, that is not dependent on any one set of peoples effort to make it work. It just works. I can’t explain it. God did it and is doing it, not any one of us who call it home. It doesn’t need us our our story to float it along. It has its own story, its own life. We are as much a part of it as any other person who calls our little church home. We are all learning, loving, growing together and passionately putting discipleship to Jesus above anything else. Mike is still reworking and writing some pieces for the what is church site, and tweaking some technical things as well as finishing the book he is writing. It is a huge work in progress. We are raising a family with three small children, working bivocationaly and sharing our life with our church family, so there are not many hours left in the day to do essentially a full times job worth of work. So be patient it will come. (I am really speaking to myself here) So,I say all of this to say, I will be renaming and moving this blog in the next few weeks. Mike and I feel like it is now time to dig into more deeply all it is that God called us here to be and do. Not that we havn’t been doing it up until now, but that there is a special season opening up that we are willing to step into. So that is what is kicking around here. I will keep you all posted on the upcoming change. Thanks for letting me share my heart.

Peace to all~

We will “school” through the summer. Let me explain. Life is learning and we never stop that, and our kids like to do things with me and with each other all the time, so I will keep doing what we have always done and some people may call it school. I just call it lifestyle learning.

So - we will work on building beautiful art together this summer. Develop team skills by playing tons of “together” games, that sneakily use math and reading skills in order to play. Learn a bit more about map reading with an around town treasure hunt and develop real world math skills be creating a small store and selling items in the store. We will find little objects around our house, price them and use play money to buy them from each other. Oh boy we may even do it under the dinning room table and add the fort component in. (People it is HOT here in the summer and we need tons of indoor things to do!) In addition we will reread some of our year one favorites out loud again, like Pinocchio and King of the Golden River, and work on our writing skills by corresponding with our compassion children. All fun, all learning, all school.

It is getting very hot and sunny during the mid-part of the day, so we need to do indoor activities to stay our of the sun. Anyone have any other ideas?

We are off to have our quiet time and then make banana bread this afternoon. The kids have asked me for the last time, “What are we going to do with these black bananas in the freezer Mama?”.

Peace to all bakers today!

I have been saying for 7 years that I wanted to take an adult ballet class. So I finally did it. I signed up at our local rec center. The other night was my first class. Our babysitter is super into ballet, so I asked her what she thought it would be like. She said it would be like free movement, so I showed up in a pair of jogging pants. I realized immediately that I was NOT prepared.

There were about 15 women in the class of all ages, rehearsing for a RECITAL! WHAT! I did not anticipate this. They had the full get up on, and the best dancers in the class where those who had been dancing all their lives and continue to do it to stay limber and in shape. I was comforted by the other Moms who never danced when they were little and wanted to give it a try too. I am not alone in my feeble experimentation. That is comforting.

So, they pulled out the bars and away I went, never having taken a ballet class in my life. I must say that more then once I thought, “What am I doing?”. I tried to stay in the back but they kept pushing me to the front. “You can see better up front” they said. “Yeah” I say better all right. I saw I had no idea what I was doing. The women, however, were so nice and encouraging. Around here, women tend to be a bit clicky. It is hard to break in, and when you do it is usually based on your neighborhood, your children, or your job. Within those circles the “keepin’ up with the Joneses” is rampant. This setting felt different. No one was trying to be the best or have the best kids or anything, they were just wanting to have fun.

So I did. I had fun. It is much harder than it looks. I think I will go back. So what do you think of that?