Looking Back at July ✽ Little Moments

Happy August, everyone! I hope your July was wonderful and that this new month will hold lots of blessings for each of you! Life was busy and full in July, and now we are all just wondering when Baby Bear will choose to grace us with his presence ;). Here's a little look at our month...

One night while Mama and Daddy went on a date, I had the little ones make personalized pizzas for supper. It made quite the impression on them. Abbi especially talks about it constantly, and I would say it was definitely a memory maker for them, haha!

Abbi made her pizza shaped like a stocking on accident, lol!

I wuv him <3. He woke up early and came to snuggle me in bed while I did my bible reading, but by the time I was ready to get up he was fast asleep again :).

We were gifted these chairs by a kind couple at church who are moving, so sweet!

Peter drew the kissy-face emoji from memory after seeing it once as I scrolled through instagram. Too cute!

Mama and I have been crafting half the month; she took up fabric stamping (so awesome!), and I have been working on a baby blanket for 3 weeks... hopefully just two more days worth of work to do there! I kind of had a goal to finish in less than 40 days, which is, I think, my current record for how diligent I was on getting one from start to finish. I'm not a very competitive person except against myself, then I am ruthless, haha! But I'm not going to share any pictures, we'll get some with baby eventually ;).

Our garden... haha. Well, the bell peppers and tomato plants started flowering. But it's so late now, I doubt that it really does much good. But, as Bethi says, we did better than last year! We've got three cucumbers that are quite big, and we harvested a whole basil plant (which is currently drying in the dehydrator, and it smells delicious, but it's taking so loooonnnnnng, haha!). Last year we got three basil leaves. And Bethi lost them. This year is, sadly, an improvement. We had such a great garden before we moved to VA, it's sad!

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Josiah: "I am hiding the dice from Noah. He can't see it way up there!"
Yeah, well neither can you, buddy... haha!

Noah, sitting in the van, about to go into church...
"Get pizza!"
After church:
"Get pizza now!"
*babbles about pizza*
Mama: "What if we don't get pizza?"
Noah, little lips quivering: "Because [translated "but"]. It be tasty."
*pizza for lunch*

Noah, with a caution cone on his head: "I'm a birthday!"
*Mama gives him a real birthday hat for fun*
Noah: "Where's a mirror? I sooooooo cute!"

Abbi: "Noah! It's raining!!!"
Noah: "More whipped cream!"
He typically loves rain, but apparently :whipped cream > rain:.

Also, obviously Noah is the family comedian of the year. You can't beat two year olds. (Sorry, Tori.)

Can we all just agree that if you clean the play kitchen set at church and there AREN'T toy cars in the oven, the question begs to be asked, did they even use the nursery last week?

Tori: "Noah calls cardinal birds, caramel birds."
Peter: "...Cardinal birds?...
"...I think I know why...
"...I call them caramel birds, too."

*Me, talking to myself, obviously*
Andrew: "WOULD YOU JUST BE QUIET."
I thought that that habit had died down for some reason, but nope, it's totally still buried in there, and it's resurfacing full force. Honestly it annoys me too when I notice, but it's just so involuntary, lol.

Also, does anyone else find themselves making a conscientious decision to Stop. Singing. In. Their. Head. and breath a sigh of relief when everything is quiet for two minutes before you start again...accidentally? Or no? Is that just me?

Noah, pointing to a cucumber; "Cucomoe!"

Abbi: "We've loved each other all our lives."
"Except you were MISSING for eleven years of my life, and it was sad."
Abbi: "But we have always loved each other in our hearts, even when we didn't know it..."

Abbi and Emmi, pretending to be indian princesses, walk past our organization station:
Emmi: "Ooo! You have a morning schedule! Not many tribes have those."

Josiah, when Tori asked if he liked salsa chicken: "No, but I just keep on eatin' it. And when it spices me, I have to take a big drink."

Andrew: "I didn't want to take my belt to bed with me! I might swallow it while I slept." (???)
Tori: "And then every time you would open your mouth to sing, you would start... BELTING."

Josiah explaining "Duck, duck goose": "You sit, and we'll goose you."

Bethi: "You don't get points for doing nothing."
I mean, she was being sarcastic, but that's a great life lesson right there. Thanks, Bethi.

While mourning the fact that the first baby cucumber I found was eaten by bugs, two much bigger cucumbers were growing and I never even knew it, I was so surprised when I found them, haha.

Noah is only too young for coffee when he wears this shirt....

...If he is wearing literally any other shirt, he says he is big enough. It's hilarious. I will tell him, "You're too young for coffee!!!" and he looks down at his shirt to see whether he is too young today, or not.

I'm turning on the dehydrator for basil...
?!?!?!?!?!
"It won't turn on."
*checks plug*
"Ohhhhhh, good."
*plugs it in* *turns it on*
"It still won't start. Where is the manual? Maybe I forgot something.... nope. Oh dear. Wait a minute... I bet..."
...
"Yep. Y'all, I plugged in the coffee pot."

I take a video of Noah telling me what his "Dino-mite Dude" shirt says, because it's cute, and he asks to see it.
After it's over, he tells me, giggling, "That was Noah. Noah talking like a baby." Like he doesn't talk all day long like a baby for obvious reasons... like, um, being a baby ;).

Abbi and Emmi celebrated Christmas in July... with an umbrella tree, a precious moments figurine, and air cocoa with candy canes in a Christmas cup, hahaha!

Tori, while I edit this post... ""Are you laughing at your own blog?"
Me: "Cardinal Birds?... I think I know why..."

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These knitted washcloths are available in Under the Tapestry :)! I was asked to sell these by a knit-washcloth-fan, and I have several sets available! And Under the Tapestry celebrates it's 3 year opening anniversary on August 10th! How would y'all like to see that celebrated :)? I have some ideas, but I am still finalizing things, so I am open to suggestions!

I also impulse free-handed this little mouse for Noah one night. He had been carrying around a baby's first laptop just to play with the little "computer mouse" on it. So I thought, I bet he'd like one without the laptop attached, and that evening I crocheted it up on the fly in a little over an hour. I finished it after he went to sleep, which made me sad, because I had told him I was making something for him... but then he woke up being carried to bed, and I was like, "Hey Noah..."... and when he saw it, he gasped and grinned from ear to ear, and it was just precious! I told Bethi, "That was worth it!!!", to which Noah replied, "Yeah, Merphett," and shoved the mouse in her face, so now this little guy is called Merphett the Mouse, and the pattern for him is going to be up on Under The Tapestry Handcrafts soon!

And here are the posts I shared on Forget Not His Benefits this month, in case you missed them :).

Life Lately

Undivided: A Study in 1st Samuel 

Whereas it was in Your Heart

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How was your month :)?! Any ideas for Under The Tapestry's 3rd "birthday"? What are you looking forward to in August :)? Many blessings to each of you in our precious Lord and Savior!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri :)

Sketches of Summer

Together we pull weeds, Bethi and I, with only a comment or two, perfect comradeship without words, because we are both doing something we love together. A gentle breeze blows just often enough to make the heat almost unnoticed, and centipedes travel rapidly past our fingers, unafraid of our invasion of their territory, unlike the timid pill bugs. We are gleeful over the simple facts that the lettuce is still standing, the bell peppers have finally shown their tiny leaves, the tomatoes which were wilting are now standing straight and growing in height from careful attention. "I don't know why, but I think I like weeding the best out of gardening," Bethani muses. The straight rows rising out of what was once chaos is satisfying.

The sun is beating down almost unbearably on anything that dares to show it's face to the out-of-doors; the sun is so bright, it is almost dizzying. But the garden is a friend, and it needs a helping hand even more on such a day as this. The carrot tops, feathery, abundant, thickly green, hide many weeds under canopies formed by intertwining plants, beginning to think of needing more room The squash shows little buds, the promise of fruit for our attentive care. Mental notes to transplant that pepper and stake the top-heavy tomato plants; the ground is hard and dry; it doesn't feel like anything could live in it. But the mist of water spreads it's beautiful prisms of color across the enclosure as the sun glints off it's surface, the gentle drops of liquid soak into the earth, and the ground is transformed into a life giving home for these spears of green.

I'm called to the window to see the little bunny that is nibbling clover under our double dining room windows. He's promptly named Timmy; and almost as quickly called Tiny Tim, for even a bunny is not exempt from having an endearing nickname. He seems to know we are watching, ready to run if the noises he hears turn out to be alarming, but he's not truly afraid, and seems to feel that the half hour of twilight is one to be enjoyed. He nibbles some more, and then lazily hops across the yard, and enjoys a long stalk of grass. Then he ambles and hurriedly hops by turns to the wooden yard fence, to creep along it through the bushes to his home in the woods. We expect to see him again; he has shown up just enough of late to make us feel as if we are a regular stop.

A light flashes in the dusk; it grabs my attention and I stand riveted at the window rather than hurrying past as I intended. Another and another blink on for a lingering moment, and then fade to be replaced by another. The display is simple and beautiful, reminding me of being seven years old and sitting out in my grandparents yard after a Fourth of July party, watching the fireflies put on their own light show. They are just as vivid and special this night, and their fairy sparkles over my garden fill me with a strong feeling of whimsy not often noticed, but cherished for it's briefness. I step out onto the deck, rid myself of the confining, distancing glass door. Here I am a part of the gentle night noises, the quiet stillness, surrounded by the twinkling lights that show the creativity and love for beauty that my Father not only created, but placed in me to love. 

Summer is here in full in South Carolina, and though the moment it arrives is difficult to tell, for often it feels it never truly ends, these little things are proof of the change, and a reminder that the simple moments can be breathtakingly beautiful and a gift contentedly taken is always a joy to the one who receives it. 

Lilies and Quotes

Josiah loves his ball so much :). And he looks so old after his haircut this morning, I don't know what happened! It's sad!
Bethi and I took care of these liles this afternoon! We got them after a convention Daddy worked at last year. The coordinator had gotten these liles to decorate with, and she offered us several plants as we were cleaning up. Come to find out, Easter Lilies only bloom once a year, BUT, they do come back the next year if left alone! I was worried these ones might not, since they got left outside during the winter and got snowed on, but they came up a couple weeks ago, and I was so excited to see the green leaves :)! And that tallest one has it's flower stem :)... Gardening has always been my "happy place", and I miss it here, but it makes the small pot plants we have even more special :). I do believe I look on plants with as much love as I do cats, which is saying something, haha. But it does seriously pain me to so much as thin new sprouts, I've always hated sentencing that beauty to the compost heap :(.

I've been reading "Stepping Heavenward". It's one I've read several times, but each time I find something new from it :). This part really stood out to me this time. It's a section of questions/concerns and replies copied down into the "character's journal"...
"'In my prayers my mind has difficulty in finding anything to say to God. My heart is not in it, or it is inaccessible to my thoughts.'

'It is not necessary to say much to God. Oftentimes one does not speak much to a friend whom one is delighted to see; one looks at him with pleasure; one speaks certain short words to him that are mere expressions of feeling. The mind has no part in them, or next to none; one keeps repeating the same words. It is not so much a variety of thoughts that one seeks in intercourse with a friend as a certain repose and correspondence of the heart. It is thus we are with God, who does not disdain to be our tenderest, most cordial, most familiar, most intimate friend. ...It is necessary to content one's self with giving to Him what He gives it to give , a fervent heart when it is fervent, a heart firm and faithful in its aridity, when he deprives it of sensible fervor.'"

Gardening Fun

Look at our little garden...

I love it! I hate bugs, but I love gardening :)! Any way you do it... as a family project, with a little one for some one-on-one time, or alone while thinking or watching the birds playing across the yard (we've had some bold black and red birds lately), I love gardening :). I love that the bees are visiting it more as the cantaloupe flowers and that the butterflies are more plenteous at this time of year, as well :). I like mowing and other yard work, as well, but that can seem not-so-great after three hours of it (I'm not sure if gardening would be the same? I've never gardened for three hours straight ;).) ;). But weeding, watering, and harvesting I could do any day (and do :) ). I'm going to miss the garden when we move, I'm afraid it is going to be too late to put in a new one there and get anything this year...

It had been a week since I last went out, and I was worried at what I would find, it has been a while since we watered it :P. So it was a pleasant surprise when this is what I found...

Tiny cantaloupes finally forming! This is the largest at the size of a tennis ball :)... Little fuzz ball ;)! And peas, and cucumbers, and tomato flowers :)...

I rushed through weeding so that I could show everybody ;). I was thankful that the plants are so big now that they seem to be choking out the weeds instead of vice versa ;). I took in the peas first, I couldn't carry everything at once...

Bethi's peas vines have done amazing, in the past two weeks we've pulled off a handful or two a day to get that bowlful :).

Abbi was thrilled that her Sugar peas were finally plumping up, too :). (Peter liked them as well ;).)

Then I went back out to get the cucumbers... I told everybody to "stay right there!", and Mommy ran thinking I was bringing in "something slimy" ;). Look at all of those!...

 

Ten cucumbers, with at least twice as many tiny little cucumbers that should be ripe by next week! It was sooo much fun to lift up a leaf and find one, then wonder if there were more, pick up another leaf and find three at once, and continue finding them :)...

You can't shell peas inside. Sorry, it is just wrong. Maybe I'm over sentimental. Or just crazy. But I had to take Abbi out ;).

We finally got everybody outside, and everybody was almost as excited as I was ;). 

"Look at that baby cucumber!"

Oh, but he saw a bird ;)...

"Please help, Mommy? He's right there!"

Emmi loved the cantaloupe :).

And we don't have a picture of Tori with the garden :(. I'll have to get one of her with her basil tomorrow. And her tomatoes! I *love* the smell of those tomato plants!!! Each plant has it's own smell, basil and lettuce and tomatoes, and even peas... weeding is really fun with such diverse smells :).

And speaking of gardens, the book "The Garden Where I Grow", by Gary and Jan Bower, is a wonderful book with biblical rhymes about how lessons from the garden go with lessons from the family, accompanied with beautiful watercolor illustrations!

"And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden..."

                                                  ~Genesis 2:8 

Thankful Thursday, Week 62

This week I am especially thankful for...

~A wonderful week with family.

~Peter's squeal of delight every time he saw a cat at Grandma's... he was so cute!

~Grandma's gift of some little drawstring bags for a project Tori and I are working on :)...

~Bubbles.

~Time spent making crafted gifts with Tori.

~Tire swings.

~That Tori found my Romans notebook (that has been missing for about a month!) last night :)!

~The way Peter comes and tries to climb in my lap every time I sit down at the table with my bible. It is amazing the sweet habits these little ones each form with my different bible reading plans! Who knew?!

 ~Teensy tiny frogs...

(That is a dime beside those frogs...)

 Which Peter loved...

~Cleaned and organized shelves and boxes.

~Daddy's photographer influence on this family...

 Andrew got a toy camera, posed the girls...

And Bethi did Mommy's job of tickling the 

"Daddy" to make them laugh, haha!

~Special treats from Gramma...

 The pizza cones were a big hit, Gramma :)!

~Shopping trips.

~"Special treats".

~Cucumbers.

~Fresh produce from our garden :).

~Time with the little girls shelling peas.

~The car driving by to look at our house today. That was exciting :). You never know which car holds the future buyers, haha!

~Completed house projects.

~Peter asking us to read a book to him :)... He's growing up!

~That Daddy gets home tonight!

"Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!

For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!"

                                            ~Psalm 117 

An Update of Sorts...

We received news that Uncle Jerry went to be with Jesus Tuesday night... We loved Uncle Jerry, and are going to miss him, but it is a joy to know that we'll meet him again at the throne of God! So, we'll be in upper SC over the weekend, and are praying that the Lord would comfort Aunt Donna, this is especially hard on her :(...

As far as house news goes, Daddy left to go back up to VA last Tuesday. There is another house that is a *very* big possibility in VA, and we are fairly sure that, Lord willing, we will be moved by the beginning of next month :)! What a blessing that would be!

In garden news, we had a yard work day yesterday, have chased two frogs out of the house since Sunday, and are harvesting snap peas like crazy... a handful a day isn't bad, haha. The cucumber plants have cucumbers on them, and the lettuce can't be eaten fast enough!

Finally, the Hidden Treasures auction ends tomorrow! If you haven't visited yet, or might be out bid, you'll want to check it out before midnight tomorrow!