This is the Life

(Click image to enlarge)
Text reads:
Mother's Day weekend
fancy-schmancy breakfast
backyard picnic
planting a garden
Ian singing "Happy Birthday"
yummy lunch
dinner with mom and dad
2009

I truly hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. We mostly celebrated on Saturday to make getting ready for Sunday church easier. Ian ran in and woke me up singing, "Happy Birthday" and letting me know a Mother's Day surprise was ready. It's not my birthday, but Ian knew the day was special and expressed that in his way.

I came into the kitchen to an amazing breakfast. Thank you, sweetie! (I told you he's the greatest.)

Menu:

• Blueberry sour cream muffins (Nathan substituted fat-free yogurt for sour cream, used 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 white, and used 1/3 less sugar than recipe recommends)
• Bacon cheddar quiche (Nathan used 1/2 half and half and 1/2 skim milk but added more cheese and double smoked peppered bacon)
• sugared blueberries, straight from the freezer
• fresh strawberries

Here is another delicious recipe from my weekend that you have to try! Nathan made Strawberry Cream Freeze for an evening Mother's Day treat (he used fat free Cool Whip, substituted chocolate pudding for vanilla, and froze it in muffin liners).

We went outside after breakfast and got to work planting our herb and veggie garden. Nathan nailed it together right outside our porch.

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten that bag of manure to add to the soil . . .

Ian: "Mama, this is stinky. Did somebody poop in this?"
Me: "Umm, yeah. It IS poop."

So, tonight when grandpa asks him, "Tell me about your new garden, Ian!"
What does Ian say? "IT'S GOT POOP IN IT!"

It's okay. Nathan assured me this truly was the most interesting detail of the new garden, so we couldn't really blame him. And at least it didn't stop Ian from helping me dig. Stay tuned to find out whether he'll actually eat food out of that, umm, stuff.

My honey and kids outdo themselves each year on Mother's Day. I realize how truly blessed I am. I am thankful. I hope your weekend gave you cause for thanks, too.

Coming later this week:

• John and Amanda photo shoot!
• The REAL Rebekah . . . real life outtakes that don't make the blog cut

Be Completely Present

Lilly spent at least 30 minutes on this new container of Play-doh today. She didn't say a word, just worked and worked, pulling it apart piece by tiny piece. It's fun to see children experience and discover things, isn't it? She is definitely my little crafter. Give her a sheet of stickers and she can stay busy for an hour!

And speaking of growing up -- isn't she? She looks so like a little girl now. Where did my baby Yee go?

It's tough for me to be completely present in the moment as a stay-at-home mom. Honestly, some days I am just flat-out bored (guilty admission -- let's keep that just b/w us, okay?). When I see pictures like this one and realize how quickly my children are growing up, I remind myself how important it is to be intentional about parenting.

Soooo, in the interest of doing something worthwhile with my dear ones, I am setting a goal this spring to get a garden started for my children. Amanda Soule dedicates a portion of her book, The Creative Family, to gardening with kids. I plan to follow her suggestions: let Ian choose what veggies to plant, help him make garden markers, and keep a garden journal. Pray for rain, people!

More on Amanda Soule tomorrow. I could seriously blog every day about her amazing ideas, but then, this wouldn't be my blog, it would be hers! I'm off to dig in dirt!