My Gifts

I'm learning that it's joy in the small things that makes life large...

Thankful for: 

~Little ones born in the Spring

~Grown men zipping down lines with the joy of a child

~Babies mimicking the adoring crowds

~Ordinary rocks becoming treasures

~Nana on her special day

~The gift of growing up with cousins as best friends

~Reliving the happiness of races run together

~An afternoon in Target with Sisters, Slurpees and Starbucks



"With every grace, He sings, "You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you." -Voskamp

Remembering:

"When the laundry is for the dozen arms of children or the dozen legs, it's true, I think I'm due some appreciation. So comes a storm of trouble and lightning strikes joy. But when Christ is at the center, when dishes, laundry, work, is my song of thanks to HIM, joy rains. Passionately serving Christ alone makes us the loving servant to all." -Voskamp

A Year in Photos~ Week #12

We threw a goodbye barbecue party for Uncle Charlie and Aunt Claudia Canby. They just HAD to leave chilly Virginia and head back to their home in paradise. ~Catalina Island~ We were all trying to find a way to sneak into the luggage, but there was something about a weight limit. Sheesh.

Important Notes:

~I'm counting 16 and 3/4 children and 14 adults in this picture.

~Charlie and Claudia are not our "Uncle" and "Aunt" technically. When Molly and Dana married, Hannah asked Claudia if she could call her Grandma. Ummmm?? We decided Aunt was a bit more fitting. Little did Claudia know. She WAS in fact a grandma in a mere 10ish months:)

~I think my brother was hungry.

~Not sure what happened to the faces of Taylor, Zeke or Brennen? Sorry, kids.

~The food was scrumptious!

SEE!

So much to be thankful for

I'm reading this book...

I stumbled across Ann Voskamp's blog more than two years ago, back when the word blog sounded strange and unfamiliar to me. I have read and reread her words, printed them out and hung them on the walls of my home. A constant reminder to find the joy and have gratitude through the long days of my homeschooling/mothering/life journey. I'm so grateful to have her book. After only a day of reading and 250ish highlighted and tear stained pages, I'm praying that God will help me to become a woman of thankfulness.

Ann was given a dare to write down one thousand things that she loved and was thankful for. "A dare to name all the ways that God loves me." She says, "Giving thanks for one thousand things is ultimately an invitation to slow time down with weight of full attention."

Isn't that what we all want as moms: a chance to SLOW time down and savor the moment without all the senseless running around? With FULL attention?

"How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full?" This question hit home for me and with tears streaming down my face, I realized again that my life is SO, SO FULL. And I want to gather up the moments and give thanks to the ONE from which all blessings flow.

So my blog friends, this place I have here will be a way for me to journal a few of my "one thousand gifts." Maybe the small things in my life for which I give thanks really matter little to you, but I need a place to keep them, so here we are.

Please, if you would like to, follow along with my occasional posts of thankfulness, who knows if I'll ever get to 1,000, but there can be no harm in trying, right?

1. The man I love sleeping soundly after a long night of work

2. The evening hum of the dishwasher and washing machine in a quiet house

3. Whip cream and sprinkles on cookies

4. Knowing that my family is just steps away if I should need them

Lori :)

What keeps me going when the days get LONG...

{a breakfast of champions: coffee and frosted mini wheats}

{the occasional handwritten love note from my kids}

{amazing lip balm~ my favorite}

{a magazine. I only need to carve out a 5 min. block of time, which is good, 'cause that's all I get}

{have I told you about my 3:00 coffee break yet? And this creamer is so yummy}

{AND...knowing that I only have a few more hours till this man comes home and all will be right in the world once again}

What tricks do you use to make it through your long days?

Zoo Day

Uncle Charlie and Aunt Claudia came all the way from Catalina just to see us. OK, OK it was probably to see their sweetness of a grandson, but we always like to think it's all about us;) 

{he has yummy cheeks and doesn't mind at all when Aunt Lori smooches them often}

Friday was a perfect 70ish degree day , so Molly suggested a trip to the zoo. We were on it. My four little monkeys were getting restless and needing a break from reading, writing and math, while Ben and I needed to STOP the plaster, painting and trim. If only for a moment. Thank you very much.

{Three generations of Canby men in the wild}

The animals were lovely, I'm sure.

But we came mostly for the humans.

Ummm...? Excuse me?  Will you please take a moment to look at the belly. When did that happen?

This little one is going to be a BIG sister in a few short weeks.

I think she'll be ready.

Sorry, I just had to find a way to sneak this picture in. Adorable, right?

The last exhibit that day was full of loud and rowdy animals who begged us to free them and take them home. We agreed. Reluctantly.



A Year in Photos~ Week #11

SHAMROCK 8K~ 2011

WE DID IT!!!

Some lovely for your day

I found a design blog that I adore and wanted to share a few dreamy inspiration pictures with you. When I need a moment for a deep and cleansing breath during my messy renovation reality, I glance at them. Maybe they will make you happy as well.

{The white chair cemented my decision to go with white fabric on mine, and the artwork~ahhhh!}

{the sliding barn doors have me thinking of my closet}

{I want my sister to copy this painting for my house. Please, Chani?}

{just love it, not sure why}

{we have almost the exact setup for the stairs in our bedroom. This gives me hope}

{I want to move in}

{perfect reading nook, don't you think?}

{all pictures courtesy of greige}

I feel like I've just looked at ten of my favorite magazines in all of three minutes...

Enough of that, though; I better stop daydreaming, break out my work clothes, and return to scraping plaster off my bedroom floor with a hammer;)

Here we go again...

The bathroom is finished. And since nothing else is going on in our lives(HA!), we've decided to keep the ball rolling and move ahead on the bedroom redo. We MUST get the bedroom finished while the weather is still yucky and before summer vacation. Because we've got plans, people. None of which include plaster, paint or plumbing. Yahoo!

Closets. We needed closets. So this week Mr. LORIENDEVON built me two. One for clothes and the other for my enormous-hideous-always in the way treadmill. After weeks of deliberation in my own little head, I've come to the conclusion that although I hate the way my treadmill looks, I cannot live without it. Or should I say that I couldn't button my pants without it? Whatever. You get the point.

I told Mr. LD that I wanted a long closet big enough to hold only the treadmill with a TV hanging on the front wall and a fan in the back. He made it happen. Loving him. Here is what we've come up with so far.

{closet area before}

{walls going up}

{very, very beginnings of a closet}

{Treadmill will be hidden from sight behind this wall}

{bedroom side~treadmill side}

Sorry for more ugly remodel posts, but that's truly our life lately. Work on remodel-make a mess, Clean the mess-have a party, school the children, work at real job (because it pays the bills) then do it all again next week. Kinda exhausting, but hopefully worth it in the end. We'll see. Thanks for following and your encouragement along the way. It means the world to me. More to come.

Lori

A Year in Photos~ Week #10

{family party: where the company was better than the food, but just barely. Menu~Crab cakes with roasted red pepper sauce and avocado, spicy bang bang shrimp and yummy pork tacos}