Life With Puddles

• Nov. 21, 2009 - Eliza, meet Nutella.

Posted By Emily

We love Nutella around here. If you've never tried it before, I highly recommend it. Just be aware that it is a highly addictive substance, it comes in a tiny jar, and if you eat too much of it, you'll be as big as a barn in no time.

Eliza had her first encounter with Nutella the other day.

Eliza, meet Nutella on whole wheat.

Nutella, meet Eliza.

Besides being highly delectable, Nutella also makes a lovely false beard if you want to impersonate your daddy.

I just can't stop taking pictures of Eliza, no matter what she's eating. You'd think I'd be over the whole cute-kid-eating-and-making-a-mess thing, but I'm not. I love me a messy baby eating spaghetti.

And Eliza? She loves her some Brian Williams. Really. He draws her like a moth to a flame.

I prefer Nutella, personally.

Comments ( 1 ) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link

• Nov. 11, 2009 - The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

Posted By MyThree3Sons

Where is it written that life has to be perfect in order to be blessed?

Today I am feeling very grateful for my imperfect, blessed life.

Would I prefer that my husband wasn't spending Monday through Friday in Connecticut? Heck yeah. I hate this back and forth thing. We feel like human yo-yos. It's rough. BUT,

I am blessed with a husband who loves me and accepts me for who I am. A husband who loves our children and takes care of his family. A husband who laughs with me. Honestly, laughter is the drug that I couldn't live without.

This isn't perfect, but it's surely blessed.

Would I prefer to not be living in Indiana again? Umm, well, yeaaaah. But, I have a beautiful, comfortable home. One that we built and had the luxury of picking out every detail, inside and out. A house that affords my children their own bedrooms (hotel living has a way of pointing out the blessing in this). A home that has the scent of home cooked meals every day. A home where boo-boos are kissed and games are played and laughter is heard.

It's in Indiana, but it is, indeed, blessed.

Would I prefer to have all of my children here with me? So much. Only God knows why we were never given the privilege of meeting some of our little ones this side of glory...but what a blessing to know that we will meet them one day. How does one live without the hope of eternal life?

It's a blessing to be able to look forward to the future and know that there is more...

And once upon a time....I did dream about being a mother. I had big dreams. I don't always live up to my own expectations....but my children...they exceed my expectations. Do I wish that they would get along better sometimes? Of course. Do I wish that they would put on their listening ears more often? Yep.

Life with kids is imperfect chaos, but, may I never forget how blessed I am to be called their mother.

The little, imperfect things that are whispering while the rest of life is shouting --- That's the stuff that dreams are made of.

Permanent Link

• Nov. 6, 2009 - It's deja vu all over again

Posted By Emily

This was the scene this morning as I gazed out of my (very dirty) living room window.

Haven't we done this before?

Yep. Same scene, November 2007.

The same two guys fixed our water line today. The baby-faced backhoe driver has grown a beard over the past two years, which is reassuring. When you have a man directing heavy equipment that near to your house, you like to know they've made it through puberty.

This time, we had not just one leak, but two. Apparently, we have some sort of strange soil chemistry that caused the brand new copper water line to corrode, pit and leak like a sieve. Lucky us!

The good news about all of this? After it was all over, we had easy access to lots of freshly dug soil to use for our "worm parfait" science experiment.