Connection

And God did start it. It was nothing short of a miracle considering the last dead battery incident which involved a mind numbing non-stop car alarm extravaganza. I breathed a sigh of relief as that key turned over and the engine rumbled slowly to a start. We headed down the snowy street to the library to meet Natalie and the kids...offering up our deepest thanks to Jesus as we drove.

Natalie and I sat in two kiddie chairs and watched our littles play. We talked about homeschooling and upcoming birthdays and other mommy chitter chatter.

There were many times while living on the road that I LONGED for a best friend. I would see other mamas at the park with their girlfriends and a lump would form in my throat as I realized how long it had been since I had a girlfriend (in person) to confide in and laugh with until our sides hurt. I longed for that connection again. I longed to be able to answer "YES!" to a  library invitation on a snowy morning.

After the library, the girls and I went for our weekly "mommy date". This week we enjoyed the lunch special at the Thai restaurant in town. Lucy watched the goldfish while Bella read local magazines. We shared the pad thai and red curry...and then bundled back up to go grocery shopping.

We enjoyed our time out "on the town"...but we were even happier to get home and get the house ready for Daddy's arrival. After a dinner of homemade tortillas + tacos, we started up the fire and watched American Idol. We LOVE our quiet, magical evenings at home and the simple connection that comes from being with each other day in and day out.

What have you done this week to build "connection" in your family or friendships?

Snuggling Amidst The Mess

My two little bed-headed wonders this morning...we somehow slept until 10:00 a.m. What?!

...and because of the freezies outside, we stayed in and drank hot tea and pretended to be on American Idol.

And lest you think that my life is completely perfect and my house is never messy...think again.  I am thankful for an amazing husband who sweeps in at 6:00 p.m. and helps me clean when I'm at my wits end.

It's been a LONG day, but tomorrow is a new day with new mercies. And a newly cleaned house. Oh what a difference it makes! :) Stay warm everyone!

*inspiration monday*

Hello lovelies. It was a CRAZY amazing weekend at Hoop Path in Boulder...I'm still processing the wealth of information and general life encouragement that Baxter provided.  I'm editing the rest of the photos tonight (if my very full hard drive cooperates). I had a blast with Leah and Mia as well...it's so great to be around fellow mamas who just "get it". There was lots of chocolate and Thai food and hooping and thrifting...ahhhhhh....blissed out.

Here are some of the things that are inspiring me right now:

I'm a little obsessed with leg warmers lately. I found the sweetest sweater at the thrift store...cut off the sleeves...and voila! I need to serge them so they don't fray. But I don't have a serger. Hmmmmm....suggestions?

Tiffani. Always inspiring. I just edited this photo of us jumping in Vegas and I got all sappy and teary eyed. Good times. We are strongly considering jumping on a plane to Portland in May so we can attend the Life is Good unschooling conference with her. *squeal*

I got a box of goodies from Shauna at Mama's Herbal Soaps and I am in LOVE with the sprays. The Aromatic Rescue Spray is my favorite right now. We spray it on our pillows/sheets and call it "magic sleeping dust" :) I also love the "Sacred" spray. So warm and delicious.

I don't know how I found this...it just popped up on one of my tabs. But I love it!

Arian just posted another one of her lovely free downloads. Love this one! All of her freebies are amazing...I especially love her chore charts. So sweet.

Hmmmmm.....this is interesting.

I would love to incorporate more vintage clothing into my wardrobe, but I'm always at a loss at how. This makeover story is so inspiring! Her hair is sooooo pretty!

I came across this wonderful idea on Suzy's blog. Love love love. What a fun thing to do on a chilly afternoon. Check out her lovely online store too...so many fun things. I'm lucky to live just 20 minutes from her...we have a playdate looming out there for scheduling :)

And lastly...I've recently discovered Phil Wickham's song "Divine Romance". It's an oldie, but new to me and I love it. And in finding the link for it, I realized that I had heard his song "You're Beautiful" at a church in San Luis Obispo, and LOVED it then...but couldn't remember the name of it. I love re-discovering music...

Looking forward to a quieter (but much, much colder and snowier) week. I'll be getting the house back in order and writing some letters by the fire while I drink some steamy mate! Yay!

What are you excited about accomplishing this week?