valentine's day

It was a simple Valentine's Day for us this year.

To be honest, celebration of any kind almost didn't happen. I was so tired and just feeling a little worn out physically and emotionally.

But then came the simplicity of my seven-year-old's request coupled with such earnest hope in her eyes, "Mom, do you think we'll decorate heart cookies today?" and I couldn't say no.

Cookie dough got mixed up and popped in the fridge. I pulled out the defrosted pork loin and began preparing it. A simple table can be beautiful and honestly doesn't require much effort.

And a little red food coloring in buttercream frosting delights the hearts of little girls everywhere.

Our celebration was simple, but perhaps more memorable than any other Valentine's Day I've experienced yet, because it reminded me that even when the pressures and cares of life press in hard, even when I feel worn out and like there's not much left to give, as I put one love action in front of another, He meets me. By the time dinner was served and we were gathered around the table, I felt so refreshed, so filled.

The greatest of these truly is love.

Upward basketball

It's another year of Upward Basketball and, boy, do we just keep loving it!

Right in the midst of the winter season when it's hard to find opportunities for kids to run around and be active, they get to play basketball with friends twice a week right at our local church. It's a pretty sweet deal!

The three oldest kids are all playing again. This is Gabriel's seventh and final year, Jackson's fourth year, and Bronwyn's third year. Bronwyn has surprised me in the past twelve months by showing a good amount of athleticism after years of being less than interested.

The little girls still weren't interested. They'd rather color pictures in the bleachers. But who knows? Maybe one or both of them will pull a Bronwyn and suddenly come out of the woodwork with this stuff!

We're so thankful for all the volunteered investment so many make to put Upward together. The kids have great coaches who love them and fear God. They foster an environment of encouragement and healthy perspective.

And, of course, it's a great time each week to see people we love and spend time together!

The Paladins are big fans of Upward Basketball!

winter cleaning

Is winter cleaning a thing?

Because, confession: that's when I do mine!

Deeper than any spring or fall cleaning; and far more necessary for my soul, that's for sure.

I've discovered this pattern about myself: every winter, there comes a morning when I wake up and I look around and I am convinced I live in a pig sty. The wear and tear of a big family cooped up within 4 walls for cold day after cold day with the windows shut tight becomes unbearably noticeable and I can't take it for another minute. The dingy upholstery, the dusty corners, the cluttered shelves, the fingerprint-stained windows, oh my!

Some years, I've almost had a meltdown on this day. But this year, as I tearfully told Daniel over a cup of coffee that I thought I was going to lose it, he said, "Brietta, you do this every year. Instead of fighting it, just take the day off from schoolwork and clean the house. Have the little boys watch Little Bear or something and get the older kids all helping you. You'll feel better and, good heavens, nothing will be hurt by a deep cleaning!"

(Why does he always have to cut through my drama and just simplify things like that?!?!)

So that's what we did. I gave one kid a dust mop, another our window cleaning cloths, another a dust cloth, another a vacuum. I followed with the mop bucket and rag. We worked from the mudroom all the way through the house and up the stairs. Furniture got pulled out, couch cushions got turned over, slipcovers went into the washing machine, cabinets got scrubbed, bookshelves got tidied. My downstairs is pretty straight-forward since we don't have any closets down there or many toys. A thorough cleaning transforms it from gray to bright in no time.

The reward for cleaning the entire first floor of the house was a deep cleaning and reorganizing of the girls' bedroom. I love rearranging a room.

Things got a little exciting at one point as I was heaving a full-sized bed mattress around by myself in a rather crowded room, but we got every nook and cranny of that room cleaned and every toy reorganized and at the end of the day, we put the beds and dressers and doll things in different spots and it looked clean and fresh and the girls' eyes were dancing with delight.

And the next day, I woke up as if nothing had happened and as though the world had always been a peaceful, happy place and nothing stressed me out and we opened the math books and mapped some World War II battles and learned about Pluto together.

Honestly, I really do think winter cleaning should be a thing if it isn't already!

Nine

They say the days are long but the years are short, but from my vantage point both years and days seem to be a whirlwind, and here it is March 12th and I'm just now finding a few minutes to note on this little space that Jackson Edward turned nine on January 15th.

A blur, I tell you.

His day began with chocolate chip pancakes. He'd barely wiped the sleep from his eyes before he was diving in, quietly enjoying this rare treat.

This is one of the things I love about Jackson: in a world that is so busily clamoring for everyone to see and acknowledge what we love (I do it, too!), he is content to simply relish the things he relishes. No fanfare, no fuss, no need for recognition or affirmation. Just pure and simple enjoyment.

A quiet celebration for a quiet boy. Two friends joined us, along with Nana and Papa and Uncle Merrick. He requested a turkey dinner. But can we not have roasted sweet potatoes with this turkey dinner? Okay, buddy, you got it!

My heart kind of caught in my throat this time around as I lit the candles that are so quickly accumulating on the cake. Wasn't he just my baby a few days ago?

But no, he is growing and growing fast. Grappling with big boy challenges and deeply desiring to be counted among the young men. Wrestling with heart issues and fumbling at times, making mistakes and getting back up again, developing thoughts and ideas, growing into his own skin a bit more.

2005 marked some significant experiences in the Lord for Jackson Edward; experiences to be cherished and celebrated.

He also got to do a lot of the typical childhood boy things, and I must say that he is the most all-American looking boy I know! A baseball cap low on his forehead, a bat slung over his shoulder, a mitt dangling at his side as he walks across the bridge for another game: I watch him and wonder if I've been transported to 1952. Boyhood suits this boy so well!

But I know that he was made for manhood.

And so I'm thankful for another year celebrated and I am excited for another year of walking together and growing together and watching what God will do together.