Marriage

Marriage

The golden circle round your finger marks an eternity

Of pain and tears,

Of prayers and fears,

Of smiles and kisses and promises.

To have: a person belonging to you, a gift of full knowledge

To hold: taking care of their needs, small and great

For better: when the laughter abounds, and the cuddles are close

For worse: when they break your heart and wound your soul

For richer: enjoying all comforts together, brilliant or sweet

For poorer: building trust and hope and harmonious work

In sickness: the smells, the groans, the aches, the pains

In health: rest and serenity, strength and ability

To love: the greatest of spiritual gifts, constantly growing to more than imagined

To cherish: memory filled with joy, pain softened by care, a lifetime shared.

Every adventure, every trial,

Every labor, every child,

Every dislike, every delight

Every weakness, every strength

Repentance, forgiveness, the offering of grace.

Giving, receiving, savoring, embracing, encouraging. 

Two become one.

Normal

 We like to have adventures, doing things that are exciting, new, on a grander scale in some way. To truly embrace and acknowledge the excitement however, we must have days filled with the quotidian.  Having a normal life will only heighten the anticipation and enjoyment when new opportunities arise. So is to the normal days.

It's good to be normal.
To have days of dishes and laundry
Days filled with the small and the sundry.
It's good to be basic.
To wear tee shirts and jeans
Going barefoot through crumbs and sticky things.
It's good to have clutter.
To have empty mugs and pillows askew,
Where people have relaxed when visiting you.
It's good to have food
That's simple, mac'n'cheese or PBJs,
Or bowls of cold cereal on really hot days.
It's good to re-read
To savor the tales that are familiar
And remember those stories that deeply inspire.
It's good to be quiet
To be surrounded by appliance hums
And ticking clocks, and outside bird songs.
It's good to walk
Without intent, or run because it's fun,
And to play with your children out in the sun.
It's good to hold hands
To comfort your child and help them along.
A simple gesture shared with your beloved one.

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:31

Song of Songs

Reading to my Children

No book is really worth reading at the age of 10 which is not equally worth reading at the age of 50. ~C.S.Lewis

I want my children to read, a lot. So I try to read to them on a daily basis. It has had the desired effect so far, they both love to look at books. Saoirse is just starting to turn pages, so very reading actually gets done, but she is learning to handle books. She likes the books that are as big as she is:

These books have beautiful illustrations with a variety of stories and poems from all cultures.

I loved looking through them when I was little and now Saoirse does too.

This is the only one I have, but someday I hope to have the rest.

Go to Amazon to find more of this great collection.

Currently the two books below are Ethan's favorite books.

The inscription in the front of my copy reads:

Dear Caitlin, Happy 5th Birthday! Love, Aunt Andrea

in her lovely script. 

Some books are worth holding onto.

Ethan loves this collection of train stories (and I like it better than Thomas the Train.)

What books do you read to your children?

Simple Mom: Twaddle-free books for preschoolers

Sidenote: Check out this gorgeous video

The Husband and Father

Roman is a volunteer firefighter/EMT and I am so proud of him for that pursuit. When the page goes out in the middle of the night, during a meal, or while we are on the road he is ready to answer. I am so glad that this is the example of selflessness being set before my children, and hope they always look up to him as their personal hero.

Daddy will always catch him

Future Volunteer

Little Helpers

Last year Ethan was crawling finding all the dirt and sticks in the little cabin we were living in. This May he has started 'helping' me with the dishes. He rinses and helps put some away. He loves playing in the bubbles and telling me when the water is too "Haw" (hot) or "Col" (cold).

He is also very generous about leaving crumbs for Saoirse to find. Now that she is crawling the floor seems so much dirtier. She is a little chatterbox, and also likes to whisper. Sweet sounds to my ear!

The bounties of spring that my Roman brings home, some from his mothers gorgeous flower beds.

My Favorite Book

Okay, I have a lot of favorite books, but there are different kinds of favorites. There is one book that always seems new every time I read it. 'The Blue Castle' by Lucy Maud Montgomery of 'Anne of Green Gables' fame, never becomes boring to me.



When the heroine finds her man the tale goes:

'She was no longer unimportant, little old maid Valancy Stirling. She was a woman, full of love and therefore rich and significant - justified to herself. Life was no longer empty and futile, and death could cheat her of nothing. Love had cast out her last fear.

Love! What a searing, torturing, intolerably sweet thing it was - this possession of body, soul, and mind! With something at its core as fine and remote and purely spiritual as the tiny blue spark in the heart of the unbreakable diamond. No dream had ever been like this. She was no longer solitary. She was one of a vast sisterhood - all the women who had ever loved in the world.'

True Happiness

The godly union [in marriage] of souls in mutual forbearance with each others infirmities and mutual stimulating each others graces, this is surely a fragment of true happiness.

~Charles Bridges

Confessions of St. Augustines

The modesty of a heart that confesses its weakness is more lovely than all the things I was so eager to know.

You{God} stir us up to take delight in your praise; for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless till it finds its rest in you.

My faith, O Lord, calls upon you; the faith that is your gift to me, which you have inspired through the humanity of your Son, and the ministry of him who proclaimed you.

Let me have a mighty love for you; in my inmost being let me hold tight to your hand, so that you may deliver me from every temptation to the very end. For you, O Lord, are my King and my God.

Mercy

My definition for mercy ~ Deliberate Compassion

Hope

My definition for hope ~ Confident Expectation

Mommy, Hold My Hand

In the darkest hour of the night
My little girl awoke with fright.
I sang a song and held her tight,
   While she held Mommy's hand.

My son is growing independent
And faces the world so confident,
But when strangeness makes him diffident,
   He reaches out for Mommy's hand.

As fever ravaged his tiny body
With chills that make the strong grow weary
Sleep came when he held fondly
  The soothing touch of Mommy's hand.

My daughter is still crawling around
My son runs to sight and sound
When they wish to share what they have found
  Then they tug on Mommy's hand.

Right now they cannot communicate
With words, they simply indicate
Their love, by hands reaching do state
    "Mommy, hold my hand."

In that gesture I see their trust
That I am doing what mothers must;
At any time or place or fuss
   Mommy will hold their hand.

By Caitlin Mallery