Real Life Post #1

Why not? Just some silly realities and real life pictures from this section of my life...

Let's start with the pretty things because, after all, those are equally present. First, flowers gathered by Jacob and left for me by my bedside...

...and another blossom from the yard next to his leather bound journal. We love reading through the journal entries the kids have written in years past, and this one by Jacob will no doubt be a treasure.

I'm at home tonight feeling way under the weather as the rest of the gang is at church. We are normally all there on Wednesday nights, but I'm pretty certain no one wants to contract the virus I've got. My body is aching, and my throat is burning and dry while my nose and lungs are drowning in snot. (I know, you're welcome.)

I was folding laundry when they left, having to run out after the car because I found a folder someone needed on my laundry table. My usable space for folding clothes is getting smaller all the time because it's become a catch-all for everyone's stuff. Here is a list of some of the things that are cluttering my work space:

3 boxes of surf wax
ear buds and headphones
a padlock and key
an eraser
screws and nails
soccer cleats
a roadside flare
a science book
a ziplock bag containing owl pellet bones
Legos
an extension chord
a razor knife
origami paper
an Amazon return
a quadcopter and remote
a Mason jar of coins, toys, paper clips, and other things I find in the washer and dryer

On one end I had a stack of clean, folded towels. Our towels are white, so it was easy to spot the perfect brown hand print of my son. I guess he needed to dry off his hands after doing who-know's-what. It would have been nice if he had washed first, or maybe reached for a rag folded at the other end of the table.

I tell myself that someday my perfect little space will be so boring in comparison to now.

Jon cleaned out the garage again this past weekend. I say 'again' because a cluttered garage is one of his pet peeves. Ours just fills up so quickly. The kids are not the only ones to blame- that's for sure- but their sport/outdoor things certainly do spread out and fill up any open space.

Sunday afternoon I had a smaller crew than usual since two of my kids were with friends, and only one of my boys had a friend over. I snapped a few pictures to remember the garage now, because, yeah, when the kids are gone and the garage is tidy, there will be fewer things to shake our heads at. We may as well see it for the narrative it is of life right now with our kids, and the representations of activity and blessings.

This is not how Jon left things on Saturday. No, sometime between coming home from church in the afternoon and lunchtime, the boys found an alligator lizard. They organized a home for it in a plastic trunk by the window while they searched for other, smaller lizards for it to eat.

On the garage floor, I found some sort of score board written in chalk. Maybe from the intense marble game they had going last week?

This is Andrew's never-finished popsicle stick house. He bit off more than he can chew, and the thought of building the 17 intricate chairs he says are needed is overwhelming him. (He splits the popsicle sticks lengthwise for these.) It has been sitting here for months.

The kids' corner-- There is more stuff than can fit here. We still haven't found a good solution for the surf boards. A beach towel is still rolled up on Olivia's bike from last weekend when she and Michael biked down to the beach. When I took these pictures on Sunday, the boys had gone off for some adventures somewhere, maybe with the lizard. I could tell they were also on skateboard, scooter, and swivel board since those and more helmets were missing from the hooks along the garage door frame and adjacent wall. Soon the street hockey equipment will be in use more often when the weather starts to cool; my boys and their friends like to play at the school nearby.

And this one? Sunday clothes that were stripped off in a hurry and flung about on the floor and table. No time wasted for Sunday afternoon play!

My camera lens helps me to see differently, especially the good stuff amid the less appealing things of life. I'm always in the process of learning to see better, and to search for beauty and goodness all around. I think it's worth the effort.


~Katherine