{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

{pretty}

I ordered these pillow covers with our home state outlines on them from Etsy a month-and-a-half ago, and they just arrived a few days ago. They came all the way from China, many, oh so many days later than the production and shipping time estimates were. I was so annoyed by how long they took and I will never again order from an Etsy shop in China. It's just that they were exactly what I wanted and I couldn't find them anywhere else. This house has been one gigantic blank slate for me ever since we moved in in July, and I am piecing it together slowly. It makes me happy that now our entry is a fitting introduction to the rest of the house and who we are as a family. Kind of.  Little by little it's coming together. That green bench is something I picked up at a consignment store a few months ago, and immediately had second thoughts about it. I'm still not attached to it, but those burlap pillows make it a lot nicer to look at.

{happy}

Annie likes to get herself going as fast and high as she can on the swing, and then jump out.  We just got that swing a couple weeks ago and I'm really glad we did because Annie loves to swing.  The others like it but Annie LOVES it.  This picture was taken yesterday evening.

Earlier today just as Timmy and I were arriving home, we saw Tim being dropped off in front of our house.  He had just gotten home from his trip to New York.  Timmy asked me to let him out right there, so I did and he ran across the yard yelling, "Daddy!" I grabbed my phone to capture their happy reunion.

{funny and real - they seem to go together hand in hand, don't they?}

A couple days ago, I microwaved the last of the leftover chicken tortilla soup for lunch. It was the perfect amount to fill up the bowl and I felt satisfied that not a single drop would go to waste. Once it was nice and hot I squeezed some lime juice in and added a dollop of Daisy. Perfection. Then I made my way to the table, holding it gingerly with two hands. It was heavy and it was hot. I was sooooo close to my chair when it suddenly slipped out of my hands and hit the floor. I didn't even get a warning, never felt it start to slip. One instant I had it and the next, SPLAT! I could have cried. The mess was so huge. I was so hungry. I was sliding quickly into a pit of despair. Then it came to me: real. I grabbed my camera. It doesn't get any more real than this.

Proving Tim's point about why we should not bother reupholstering these chairs

Timmy and I were in awe of the scope of this mess. It looked like someone had projectile vomited, splashing the floor, the chair, the wall, the window and the curtains.

And I was all out of paper towels. But it made for a good story!

For more {phfr}, go to Like Mother, Like Daughter.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~Capturing the context of contentment in every day life~ 

I've gotten lazy about blogging again, so I thought now would be a good time to join Like Mother, Like Daughter and do one of these.  I say "lazy", but it isn't really laziness that's the problem. I have a whole lot to say; I just don't know where to start.  I think this is just what I need to get myself taking pictures and blogging again.  I'm going to try to make it a date every Thursday and see how it goes.

I have spent almost a week working on this post, and I have to say that pretty and happy have been really easy to find, while funny and real have been a bit trickier.  I'm treating it like a challenging assignment that just has to get done and doesn't need to be perfect.  I can do it!

{pretty}

A big southern porch like this one demands some greenery, but I am kind of a brown thumb.  No more, I say!  A couple people, my mom being one of them I think, told me that ferns would do well in this shady area.  A few days ago I went out and picked some up, and I shrieked for joy like a little girl when I saw how pretty they looked hanging up.  In my online research into care of ferns, I read that they have a "strong survival instinct."  I didn't know it was possible for a plant to have any kind of instinct, but that will serve them well at my house!  

{happy}

Annie and Timmy spend a lot of their time together NOT getting along, so whenever I see her reading to him, my heart sings. She reads to him often, especially on weekends.  At bedtime, too, when I'm reading something to Delaney that doesn't interest them, she'll read to him in his room.  On Friday evening when it got kind of quiet I said to Tim, "What do you think they're up to?"  Once in a while I catch them being good, and this was one of those times!  It really does happen, and it gives me reason to hope that one day they won't always be picking on each other incessantly.

{funny and real}

Pickin' and grinnin'

Just as we were arriving at the Y yesterday morning, Timmy had this to share with me: "Mama, I like my boogers better than your dinner."  I gasped, feigning outrage, and sputtered, "What?!  You like your boogers better than my dinners?  You don't want tacos tonight, you just want boogers?"  He said, "Well, I still like your dinners.  And I like boogers too."  Ick!