the in between

Mulling over this since I found it on this blog. Our life is definitely 'in between' right now and there's peace in knowing we aren't alone.

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There's a place between here and there.  A piece of ground in the middle of take-off and landing.  A section of the unknown within beginning and ending.  You probably find yourself there from time to time.  It's the land known as Inbetween.


Inbetween is one of the most rugged places in life.  You aren't fully here, and you aren't fully there.  Your emotions and hopes are strewn across an endless list of possibilities.  Door knobs of wood, brass, and silver line the path, but which will open?  In the land of Inbetween, the paths are lined with sealed envelopes and foggy dreams.  Excitement runs forward and fears hold back.  And if you stay long enough, you feel the tremors of  your soul.


The land of Inbetween is downright scary.  It's a place of blind trust.  It's where the pedals of faith meet the narrow road of fortitude and where movement is demanded though there's no place to go.  The worst part of this land isn't the uncertainty or frustration that accompany it - it's that God likes it when you're there.


While He's no sadist, God loves the land of Inbetween.  He loves what it does to us.  He loves the humility and dependence it creates in our hearts, so He creates innumerable forks in life's road that swerve us into the land of Inbetween.  The unknowns of job, marriage, children, and home are the signs of this uncertain land.  At times, people are thrust into Inbetween by mishaps, accidents, sudden deaths, and even unexpected fortune.  Some people visit so many times they begin to wonder if it's life.  And they aren't far off.


So what will hold you steady when you walk through the terrain of Inbetween?  A recognition that Inbetween is God's design.  In one miraculous moment, the Creator of the universe placed you in the greatest Inbetween of all time - the place between the earthly creation and eternity.  Life's smaller lunges forward and backward are merely postcard reminders that there's something greater than this place we're visiting.


If you're in your own land of Inbetween, remember that God was the original designer of this journey.  You can get mad, scream, and even pout if you want. But it doesn't change the fact that you're merely passing through.  Everything else is Inbetween.  (from Deeper Walk, a Relevant Devotional Series)

house tour//kids room

Some proper pictures of the kids room so far. This is mostly to satisfy the grandma that lives too far away to have yet come for a real life peek. I think a visit is in order mom! 

Only enough room to sleep, which is what we wanted - and the whole reason we have a playroom. A playroom which likely will never see the light of day on this blog because of the embarrassing amounts of disney plastic, DVDs, Wii games and general mess that live there. 

in the clouds

Feeling more than a little inspired by this room I took to cloud-ifying the kids bare walls.
Using this tutorial it came together easy peasy and, even though I think I will add afew more large clouds in the bare spots, I love how it turned out. 

1. Make starch mixture. I halved the recipe in the tutorial and still had way too much.

2. Make cloud (or any other shape you choose) template. You could just cut out the fabric but that proved a little fussy with the fabric shifting and trying to cut rounded shapes. 

3. Cut out fabric. I pinned like crazy to keep the edges as clean as possible. 

4. Soak fabric shape in (cooled) starch mixture.


5. Hang. No pictures here because it was difficult enough getting the clouds on the wall straight by myself. Picture taking would have just been ridiculous at this point. While this is definitely an easy project, if you have a partner for this part, it would cut down on the swearing for sure. 


6. Let dry. (Make a new duvet cover for the room out of a (super score!) thrifted chevron stripe twin sheet that looks brand new and is in a perfect color palate, while you wait. Or don't - that's just what I did.)

7. Admire. 


The room is still in progress so better pictures will follow when I get it finished.

family day

happy family day to yours from ours. 

the swimmer

our afternoon

(dairy free) cinnamon buns

it's someone's birthday

Whose birthday?  I don't know. 
But they got a wicked play dough cake and at least 14 multicolored candles. 

She played with playdough for close to 2.5 hours that day. An event that hasn't been replicated but was sweet (quiet) bliss while it happened. 

reservation for...

... 5.


Tonight we did Valentine's Day up right. 
With special food made to order, chilled drinks in crystal, cloth napkins, candlelight and a movie. There were even pink, sweet, and foreign treats for dessert. 

And we didn't even have to leave the house. 

V-Day

Tonight

My kitchen aid.

I've found my attitude shifting in the kitchen these days. 
I've always loved having the kids in the kitchen but their actual level of involvement was pretty limited due mostly to my aversion to flour spilling everywhere, eggshells in my batters, and inaccurate measurements. 


My poor children.


I'm one of those people that, unrealistic as it is, loves the idea of having all my ingredients perfectly measured out in pretty bowls and measuring cups beforehand, a la Martha of course. I admit it, I've marveled at the way she can dump a pretty little cup of flour into her Kitchenaid (in the perfect shade of turquoise) backwards for the sake of the viewing audience and with no mess.  


Let it go Sarah. 
For the sake of my poor children. Let it go. 




And lately I've been doing just that. 
Ellie has been joining me in the kitchen, cracking eggs and chopping like a pro. She's flung her fair share of flour as well but all in all Kitchen Time has been far more enjoyable for all. 
And I figure if my kids can cook our favorites for us by the time they're twelve the mess now is worth it. 

*There was a lesson in proper cutting technique straight off the bat and my knives are embarrassingly dull so no reason to worry about little fingers!  

when the kids make breakfast

It's delicious.

And the morning gets even better when daddy cleans up. 

I love Saturdays. 

clogged

And I wondered why the vacuum never seemed to pick anything up. 

I've Got This Friend

So I know I talked about The Civil Wars just a few posts ago, but their album came out February 1 and it really is worth buying. 



Another little taste to whet your appetite. 

moving

Slowly this 70's masterpiece is becoming home.