Rebecca Sower

the quote keeper's summer series (14)

Happiness...

not in another place

but this place,

not for another hour

but this hour.

{ walt whitman }

{ photo: our girl, heading to college this fall, brings joy after joy to her mommy's heart. }

that kind of day

I woke with energy and motivation to go into my studio and make journals to put in my shop.

But that changed when I went down to the kitchen, windows open and that spring breeze blowing in.  I knew it would be a baking, fresh-air chores day.

(I'm just learning Instagram...bear with me...these photos look a little weird don't they?)

That sky-blue sky with those puffy white clouds.  Breathe deep deep deep and savor all that fresh air...

 

just the remedy for that teenage-boy-smell that sometimes accompanies the clothes on that young man that I love so much...

and with windows open and fresh lilacs catching the breeze, I don my apron and start baking...

stacks of waffles to put in the freezer (there is no end to how many waffles a 14-year-old boy can eat in one sitting)...

almond butter cookies that will be gone within 20 minutes of the kids getting home from school...

and fresh bread for dinner and maybe even some for tomorrow too...

What do you like to do with your fresh-air spring days?

where are they now?

Many of you know me from way back when.  From a couple of journaling/scrapbooking books I had out (wow! it seems so long ago).  And from time to time, one of you will ask me about my 'cover' kids...what they're up to, how old are they...

So I thought it might be fun to have a little 'where are they now' segment...

Youngest daughter, then...

and youngest daughter, now...

Yeah, she's grown up just a little bit.  Loves baking, friends, art and photography (this one taken by her sweet friend--they love to go out for photo shoots...but darn it, I wish they'd stop playing on the train tracks).

Son and oldest daughter, then...

and son, now...

13 years old today!  Loves football, basketball, backpacking, friends...and he's smart as a whip.  He really is, just like his dad.  Not his mom, his dad.

Oldest daughter, now...

My freest spirit (can you tell?).  Majoring in social work.  Loves music, concerts, people and the world!  And boy-oh-boy is she hard to pin down.  She's like a little blur that I have the privilege to glimpse when I'm the luckiest of moms.

And that's where they are now.  Thanks for stopping by.

back from the beautiful shore

  




 


And now . . . back to reality.

a thought for today

Here is a work in progress . . .

And, more importantly, here are some words that I hope will speak to you as they do me...

"Family love is like the wind:

instinctive, raw, fragile, beautiful.

At times angry, but always unstoppable.

It is our collective breath.

It is the world's greatest force."

{ james mcbride }

we interrupt this program...

...to see if your Easter-morning photos of the kids turned out well...

Because here...

...not so much.

Out of 18 photos, I got this one that will have to do...

And I think we can all see it wasn't my daughter that wasn't working with me.

chasing summer

Summer has felt like a butterfly fluttering by, and I the child laughing and running and never quite catching it.  But those are the best kind of summers.  A lot of time spent with my family, and a lot of that time right here at home humble home.

So while cobwebs have been forming in my studio, and dust bunnies are collecting under my furniture, and weeds are growing in my flower beds, and the sounds of television are not even heard, I have been...

...on a 9-day mission trip to Montana, desolately beautiful Montana...

 

...playing lots of marathon Monopoly sessions (only one single game have i won so far. one.)...

...swimming under the hot sun and evening stars...

 

...making frequent trips into town to visit here and sometimes here...

...and then camping out in the kitchen, canning for the pantry...

 

...making homemade pizzas and guacamole...

 

...baking pies and pound cakes (still getting around to that homemade bread)...

 

(obviously trying to make up for all those years of being a lame cook and lazy baker)

...I have also been catching up on some reading...

...nursing an injured stray kitten back to health.  meet henry...

 

...tending to our vegetable patch...

...canoeing the Red River and hiking the Big South Fork...

Well, I don't deserve a summer this good, but it's been just that.  Really, really good.

How are you chasing summer?  Post it on your blog and let me know...would love to know what your summer looks like so far.

the best adventure of all

Apparently there was a time

when God thought my life

was just a little too dull

so 10 years ago today

He sent me this little man

and thus began the most...

messy

loud

heart-stopping

nerve-racking

exciting

unpredictable

adventure of my life.

But what a fun ride it's been.

And if it weren't for this guy

I would've missed out

on the best adventure of my life.

Happy Birthday Luke!

I  love you more!!

14

on this day

14 years ago

this amazing girl

came into my world

and

those have been

the best 14 years

of my life...

happy birthday erin!!

call of the wild

 I don't get it, but I'm just a girl.

football.

boys growling like animals, knocking each other silly and finally getting the chance to release all that pent up aggression (at least where mom won't fuss about it).

it's here...football season.  and I'm the biggest fan of sweaty #26.  I love football because he loves football (oh, and he's a huge hockey fan so I've grown to love hockey too...and he says baseball might be his favorite sport to play so baseball's pretty cool too...and last week he mentioned he wants to sign up for basketball...)