In other words...

I picked up a little 'women's wit' daily calendar mini... the cutest little tear.off.calendar that prints quotes and the date on credit.card size paper. Some of the quotes are silly... some are predictable... some make me blush--- but every now and then, some make me think.

I think I may share them from time to time... just for funs. :)

Ready?

"We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs." -Gloria Steinem

Wow.
Means one thing to me personally...
Magnifies it a thousand times to me as a mother.

Love that.

Happy Wednesday!

Peace, love, and burlap.
xo
lmkw

Up to the Mountaintop

What a beautiful day to celebrate the life and legacy of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr! The sun was shining and a friend invited us to a park playdate. While there, watching the kids play and run, we talked about our upcoming dream of adopting a little girl.bebe... one we believe is in Ethiopia. It was a beautiful day to talk about about how close we are to fulfilling this dream for me and my sweet little family of boys.

Then I started thinking about the significance of the day. Perhaps this dream of ours wouldn't be as possible for me- or as dear to my heart if it hadn't been for this man and his progressive vision of LOVE.

This song written and sung by Patty Griffin, is her tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King... inspired by his Mountaintop Speech. What her perform it live... beautiful indeed!


Here is Dr. King's actual speech below.

I'm so thankful to live in a world shaped by visionaries of his caliber. But most of all, I'm thankful that Dr. King prepared a world in which my sons will understand that "the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." and that "Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

And, of course, I can't help but daydream about how Dr. King and his message of Love and Hope will impact this sweet daughter of ours... who will be home one day.

Happy Monday, friends.

Peace, love, and vision.
xo
lmkw

Haiti quake puts parents' adoption dreams in limbo

Oh friends... my heart is so heavy. So so heavy.

In checking my email this afternoon this was the first story on Yahoo that popped up. It's about the orphans in Haiti and their US parents who are trying to get to them... you can imagine how immediately scary it seems for these parents who have no idea IF their children are safe and have food and water. To make matters worse many of these children were scheduled to fly home the week the earthquake hit or sometime soon there after.

...after years of being motherless, fatherless... finally reunited in LOVE...

The adoption process takes so much time... years even- now these parents and their children may have unbelievable Hoops To Jump before they can be safely united.

The sheer idea of it all breaks my heart and has me hitting my knees in prayer for these children... and for the mothers here state.side that can not get to there Beloveds. For those of you who have read my blog for a while, know that NOT being able to get to my children is my NUMBER 1 fear in this life... separation from my Beloved.

Often times I pray for Peace... peace about this or that... but I've never prayed for the kind of Peace necessary to fill that sort of need. Just the sheer vastness of it overwhelms me. Makes me wonder if a single prayer from THIS little mother's heart would urge The Maker of the Universe to deliver such an enormous thing... I'm so small.

BUT it doesn't matter how small I feel. This isn't about me. This is about these children and their parents who face unbelievable challenges before they will be delivered safely into their homes. So, with Hope in my heart, I offer up streams of prayers for these situations... these hundreds of individual situations.

May my voice be heard... may Peace in abundance flow to these children and their families. May safety, provision, and wisdom hasten this seemingly broken process. May this 'obstacle' strengthen the resolve of the American people and families who have a heart for orphans.

*I fear for the 'new' orphans who have been created through this earthquake... for the children who have lost their mother or father... Will they be safe tonight? Who is feeding them? Are they scared? Who is there to hold them and protect them?

I don't pretend that I know what God has planned... but I do know without a shadow of a doubt that His Grace is sufficient. I have no doubt that His Hands are holding these children still in the midst of it all of this chaos...

***READ THIS ARTICLE*** then join me in lifting up this situation in prayer.

Now, if I can just figure out how to DO something about it...

PEACE, LOVE, and PRAYERS.
xo
lmkw

On a whim...

I decided to paint my bedroom.

(i.love.to.paint)

Well, let me back up. From the day we moved into this lovely little nest (18 or so months ago), I decided to paint my bedroom. But on my own list of priorities, everyone else's bedroom came before mine. I'm not complaining. Just clarifying. Heading into 2010 I knew that I wanted to A.)Paint and 'do' the Playroom... something similar to a classroom with lots of stations for creative play. I've picked out the proper bookcases,organizational furniture, etc. and budgeted it all in. and B.) Paint our kitchen, dining, living, Great.Room(s) a warm grey color to bring out the best in my pretty antique cypress cabinetry throughout those spaces...

BUT

What about the plan of painting our bedroom? I mean after a year of living, unpacking, decorating, redecorating, baby.birthing- everyone had my effort to get things just right. So what could slapping up a couple of gallons in my bedroom hurt?

Absolutely nothing.

So my color is Benjamin Moore's Wedgewood Grey. It's this beautiful blue.ish grey. The original room color was lovely. Like this cafe au lait color... very pretty. And in other parts of my house, I LOVE it. But with my furniture, in my bedroom- it was a bit too darkish.... and did nothing for my honey stained furniture.

So I've detoured my house.plans just a bit... and am excited about this little selfish splurge. My boys get 99% of my time and resources- and coming off of this big Christmas, I can prolly justify a little effort coming my way.

I want a serene retreat for me and theHotness to have... a refuge that restores us after our day. Clean. Uncluttered. Simple. Refreshing.

The basic colors in the room will be layers of creams, whites, honey, etc... with the blue.grey walls. I plan on rotating my accent colors in oranges... or deep yellows... coral reds... whatever suits my mood/season. That way I can enjoy changing up a few touches here and there without needing to completely overhaul the 'look' again.

Here are a few pics of the paint color along with the bedding I've set my sights on.



I can't decide if I'd rather the cream bedding or the white... I believe I may drive to Houston and decide for myself in person. *That's a little luxury I have with all of my trips back and forth to Houston! I'm so excited about the 'plain' bedding. I'm a bedding freak... I have several sets. BUT they've always had some design or other. Very ornate, generally. I'm wanting something much more simple this time around.

Here are a few other pieces that inspire me to complete the look...

These to go on either side of the headboard...


I can't decide between either framing in this gorgeous wallpaper behind my headboard and in the master bath... or hanging a beautiful fabric panel similar to the one above. *Different style/colors. totally.

Here's the general feeling for a few accent pieces that would tie things together...

New towels for the bathroom...



It's fun to have fast little projects! Plus it suits my mood these days. This new.decade thing has me on inspiration.overload... :)

I'll keep you posted on the progresssss. Maybe even a few pics, too.

*yawn*
Yes, I totally have pretty little blue specs on my hands right now as I type this.

peace, love, and citrus.
xo
lmkw

...Christmas Outtakes...

My favorite moments:
Staying up late into the night baking goodies... and theHotness staying up with me. He would just sit back and watch me do my thing. Filling in the conversation with this or that... talking about our past. Like when we would scimp on groceries to save up for our big Christmas feast... or when we'd put off buying each other Christmas gifts til after Christmas. And then suddenly realizing that if those were the 'hard' times, then we haven't a thing to complain about. And that immediate warm feeling of gratitude.... God is good. (all.the.time) I love my husband. We've come so far. I'm glad to be doing it along side of that man. I made a really good choice. :)

James buying his own presents for everyone. He was a great shopper and did better budgeting his things than we did! :) He bought me a new 'rove.' (which means robe) bc he loathes my old one. His tiny little heart would stress so when he'd wake up and see me in it. He was so proud to gift me with a new red one. He told me it was from target about 12 times. It's perfect because he's perfect. That's how motherhood works! :) A few things he bought: chocolate chapstick. edible necklace. air.guitar.classics CD. a stuffed orca.whale. a comb and brush set. :)

Watching Jackson blossom with all the Christmas attention... for being so small, his joy is undeniable. I've never seen anything like it. He knew it was a special day... or days. He knows that he is a part of this family. And he feels at home here amoung us. It's amazing how he has changed us so. All of us.

Me sitting on the couch all day Christmas Day... in my new red.rove... with theHotness napping next to us... listening to church services on the tv... kids jumbled on the big carpet under my feet playing with all their Loot. A crochet needle in hand, a how.to.crochet book to my left, a ball of limey.green yarn to my right... teaching myself how to crochet a hippo.

Here are a few jumbled pics taken over the span of Christmas.time...













Another year down, full to the brim. Another season steeped in goodness and faith. One year done and one year beginning. New and shiny. The promise of More on the horizon.

Thanks to you for watching it all unfold and sending the strategic 'attaboy' from time to time.

Peace, love, and buffalo.plaid.
xo
lmkw

Magic Moments...

...aren't to be overlooked.

Sometimes mothers need to bathe or check emails or put away clothes.
Sometimes when they finish whatever it is that distracts them, they find this.





Peace, love, and brothers.
xo
lmkw

Hello Monday.

It's no secret that I love Mondays.

I'll admit that the secret ingredient to loving the most dreaded day of the week is being a SAHM. But I love the fact that Monday is a fresh slate for me... My routine begins again. I know what to do. I know what to expect.

Today is especially nice, because we had a very productive day here at the house yesterday. Being a true SAHM, the majority of household duties are my responsibility. At any given time, I know where we are in the process of things. On the clean to dirty scale, at any given time, I can tell you exactly where the laundry is, the linens, the tubs and bathrooms, the grocery shopping, etc... BUT every now and then, my 'job' requires theHotness' assistance. Think hunky repair.man with tool belt strapped to his waist. Very desperate.housewife of me...

BUT with two boys underfoot, packing away all the Christmas decor requires the extra brawn. So yesterday we were both busy bees. AND (!) that makes for a really nice Monday because I so jump.started this ship yesterday.

Anywho, I've been meaning to post about a recent movie that I have seen and loved. *Marcus and I are trying to watch more movies at night... when the kids are tucked snuggly in bed... perhaps a glass of wine... Us. Alone. On the couch with my cold toes tucked under his leg, watching something together.

We watched 'Away We Go' with Maya Rudolph and Jim Halpert from The Office... or whatever his real name is. We loved it SO MUCH that we watched it twice two nights in a row. Oh. I was expecting a comedy- but it's not. There are really funny parts in it- but all in all, it wasn't staged as a comedy.


It's a beautiful story about a couple's journey about what family means to them... Having been pregnant before and having experienced all the longings to create Home and Family for my expectant child, many things in this movie resonated with me. The writing is amazing... I've lost my love for movies bc the writing is generally TERRIBLE and cliche. Unless it's on Sundance, it's not worth my time. BUT this movie is a beautiful exception. It's incredibly well written. *Jillers and all you other GlowingMothers out there- this is a good one to get you excited about pregnancy and bebies...

*Disclaimer: Don't send your attack.dogs on me for liking this movie. The Protagonist are un.wed. I'm not advocating anything here... it's just a sweet movie. And before you judge my moral compass, remember that you are most prolly obsessed with Vampires--- so send your henchmen home. :) I dig Holy.Matrimony, mkay? But the movie rocks.

My favorite quote from the movie:
(On parenthood) "It's all those good things you have in you. The love, the wisdom, the generosity, the selflessness, the patience. The patience! At 3 A.M. when every one's awake because Ibrahim is sick and he can't find the bathroom and he's just puked all over Katki's bed. When you blink, when you blink! And it's 5:30 and it's time to get up again and you know you're going to be tired all day, all week, all your dadgum life. And you're thinking what happened to Greece? What happened to swimming naked off the coast of Greece? And you have to be willing to make the family out of whatever you have."

*yep* Go rent it.

Okay, off to let the bread proof before baking... and to get to my fireplace screen before theDuckling does.it.in and smashes it to smitherines!!!

Peace, Love, and breakfast.
xo
lmkw