S.S.S.G

some friends hosted a low-tech, short video contest. cell phones, laptops cameras...under three minutes. naturally, we entered a few of our home videos.
the friday night film festival was awesome! red carpet, many in black tie (we didn't get that memo), lights, cameras, popcorn.
it was the second event for our kiddos that evening, so we were on the edge, but they did amazingly, intently watching each video and expressing genuine joy for each entry, clapping loudly!
there were many awards, and you can imagine our joy when the award for

Best Costume

went to
Super Speedy Safe Guy

Jackson's very own creation. that's right, the costume that ended up being his halloween costume, instead of the robot he worked on for hours. S.S.S.G. is an every day character in our home

hope that worked. never posted a video before!

i don't think he realized there were many awards that evening, because he was walking around with this surprised look on his face exclaiming to everyone, "I WON!!! I can't believe I WON!!" at church two days later it was sweet to see another young winner wearing his medal as well.
jackson has been wearing his medal every day since the festival, over a week now.

the other entries were really amazing!

• best actor went to a lego guy. created by a father/son duo
• best story went to another young artist who used her stuffed animals to act out the story!
• one of my favorites was a wendell berry poem, the path, spoken by different voices and using over 3,000 still photos (i don't even know how one does that!!) to create the film

clearly we have talent in our community! it was so fun to see the submissions and i am already looking forward to next year!

riding a bike

my mom reminds me often that i was nearly five before i was riding a two-wheeler. my sister must have been an over achiever, because here is my four-and-a-half year old, on the cusp of riding! last summer he and hubby worked quite a bit, but this long winter has been a long break. just a few weeks ago, he started practicing, all on his own! back and forth along the backyard path, using his feet to carefully balance. we are so proud of his diligence, determination and self-motivation!the focus is awesome!
the pride and joy is fantastic!
and claire busily works in the mud. just can't keep her clean.
she's a lot more like my sister, so maybe she'll be an early rider!

Surprise!

we didn't get to go to the sunrise easter gathering this year.
little claire bear had pinkeye.
yuck
it did make me happy that i had found a few little things to put in easter eggs to hide. this has been the first year for many traditions. the kids are finally old enough to get it, to understand a bit and to participate in events like an egg hunt.
we talked about how fun it was to wonder what was inside, how surprised they were to even have an egg hunt. that's the kind of surprise friends of Jesus must have felt that morning when they went to the tomb.
for us, just a few little this were HUGE! legos (jackson's new love), temporary tattoos, chocolate covered almonds and a tiny tea set. hubby and jack were immediately immersed in lego, while claire held a tea party for the little lego men.
they've had just as much fun refilling them and hiding them for each other!
i have been enjoying this picture of a bowl of yarn from a friend's house.....ummmmm, lovely texture and colors!


i was surprised to spot the first garage sale of the season today!
even more surprised to find two of my favorite things at this vintage filled sale; coated cast iron and creamy pyrex bowls in a variety of colors! it was a good thing i only had $13 dollars in my pocket and two crazy kids to corral. i came home with this trio of easter-colored bowls!
yes, that is our juicer, a permanent structure on the limited counter space probably until fall. hubby started a cleanse so we are having a juice every morning for breakfast. it feels so good to start the day like that! don't get me wrong, i love my coffee, but i notice a very distinct difference when my first drink is a veg/fruit juice. i feel clean, fresh, energetic. then after an hour or so i have my cup of coffee, not because i need the drink, but because i love the taste of coffee!
this afternoon, using one of our new bowls, we made "cleanse treats" for hubby, and us too.

peanut butter balls
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup raw honey
3 cups oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup raw nuts, seeds, dried fruit or chocolate chips.
roll into balls, chill, enjoy!


and claire finally put on her easter dress. within an hour it had both blood and dirt stains :)

we love you. we need you.

we went to the wednesday night community dinner this week. we always love going and having a chance to hang out with people in such a casual environment. (right, and it is one less meal i have to think about planning!) this week was extra special. not in a really obvious way, but in a subtle way, perhaps just to me. i was particularly aware of the relationships that my children have built with others in our community, all on their own. they are a mere 2 and 4, but would consider nearly everyone present a good friend. when someone would pull up, i would hear one of the kids exclaim who had just arrived, "look who is here!! dougy!!". they would run and greet the new arrival with a hug or high five. our hosts live right by a railroad track which was an immediate attraction. jackson convinced at least four people to take him for four individual walks up the steep hill and explore the tracks and bridge. claire knew she could ask anyone to help her reach some food and they would accommodate her. after the meal my kids were in the kitchen having a spontaneous dance party with a group of adults, uninhibited, letting their limbs fly, and making up their own moves.
later, i saw jackson sitting on a bean bag with one woman, then later with two others. my first thought was amusement, projecting a future snuggle time in a bean bag with a lady. in reality i was so overwhelmed by the love in our community. love we have for our friends, love they have for us. our friend, jessie, told me that he had called her over, "come sit with me! i really like you jessie!", he told her.
something right is going on here. it makes me glad that they are comfortable with who they are, they have confidence to be themselves around others, and are developing relationships with my friends.
this gives me assurance for those teen years too, that perhaps they'll be talking to some of my friends if/when they isn't talking with me.
so, here's to you, special friends!
thank you for investing in our lives
thank you for seeking to know my children, as individual little people.
thank you for caring for us.
we certainly can't do this parenting thing alone and are so grateful for a solid community!

what's grosser than gross?

reaching up for a cake pan to find that it is filled with water.
smelly water.
water, that has been there for almost a month.
water that dripped from a leak from the upstairs apartment.
water that leaked from their overflowed dishwasher.
water that flowed from a clogged sink.
water from a sink previously clogged for over a week.

i don't really want to bake a cake anymore.