early to rise

All last year I bemoaned the fact that even before my feet hit the floor in the morning, the work began. I don’t mind the work or the little ones making it for me, I just wanted a bit of quiet before the launch into coffee, breakfast, chores, diapers….you know.

Last August I swore I would rise before everyone, say my prayers quietly and enjoy the time. I did for a few weeks then I realized….the work would follow me! If I woke up surely one or all would join me! I decided I might as well sleep in.

That worked. But the desire for a peace-filled beginning, a silent start haunted me.

My answer….a walk. And so my alarm sounded earlier today and I strapped in the one who inevitably awoke and off we went.

It was Anna and the birds and me, greeting the sun as it peeked over the hills.

I prayed my morning rule while she munched on something. We soaked it all in and we were filled.

Hopefully I can keep the new habit. Three mornings a week seems sustainable.

encouragement

After a lovely email from a lovely girl, I decided to pick up the “pen” again. Her simple words spoke of encouragement and that got me thinking. We women, wives, mothers, friends, we need encouragement and inspiration. The online world can be a community of encouragement both giving and receiving. So that’s my goal, to be a more generous encourager.

So may your week be bright, thoughtful and intentional :)

Good night.

saints peter and paul and the know-it-all

After a pool side chat with Erica and my beautiful Goddaughter (where lots of dairy products were consumed), I’ve decided the bluecanopy needs an update to say the least.  While I won’t bore you with a long list of why I have neglected this space, I will say that I am dipping my toe in timidly.  Blogging has been a blessing and a challenge for me but I really do appreciate the benefits of it all.  So there it is.  And here we are.  Blessed feast and hopefully I won’t ever be taken for this.

Our days are filled with summer goodness…with the warmest days still to come.  The cool breezy days lend themselves to long afternoons of imaginative play, bike rides and outside projects.

We are all learning to love just a little more, to enjoy one another just a little more, and to bear one another in patience.  It is draining and deliberate and delightful all at once.

At the end of the day, when the piles of folded laundry have been stacked on the piano, when the fish tank light has been switched off and the only sounds are the flipping of pages beside me, the distant hum of the fridge, and the soft breathing of the baby in the crook of my arm, I lay still and smile.  God is Good.

milady juliana

i really do love this girl and all that she is….amazingly imaginative, spunky, thoughtful, sweet, helpful, dancing, singing, narrating, joyful juliana…

thank you, Lord for my precious girl.

wisdom…couldn’t resist

“By His Resurrection, the Lord has brought us from death to life, and that Resurrection the “Angels in Heaven cry,” [for they have] seen the light of deified human nature in fore-ordained glory in the person of our Lord and Redeemer, in Whose Image and through the power of Whose Resurrection, all true believers in Him, all who have united with Him with all their souls, are transformed. Glory, O Lord, to Thy Most-glorious Resurrection! The Angels sing, rejoicing together with us and foreseeing the swelling of their ranks. O Lord, make us worthy, to hymn Thee, the Resurrected One, with pure hearts, seeing in Thy Resurrection the cessation of our corruption, the seeds of a new resplendent life and the dawn of coming eternal glory whose forerunner Thou becamest, being resurrected for our sake. The tongues of neither men nor angels are capable of expressing Thy ineffable mercy toward us, O most-gloriously Resurrected Lord!”

Bishop Theophanes the Recluse

st. john’s ladder

From this daunting work…

Freedom from anger is a triumph over one’s nature. It comes by hard work and the sweat of one’s brow.

The first step toward freedom from anger is to keep the lips silent when the heart is stirred; the next, to keep thoughts silent when the soul is upset; the last to be totally calm when unclean winds are blowing.

Just as darkness retreats before light, so all anger and bitterness disappears before the fragrance of humility.

Phew! Lord have mercy.

doggone

I’m trying to conjure up a blog subject here. Nothing seems worthy so I’ll tell you how I’ve been feeling about dogs. So I took the kids to the park yesterday morning. While we enjoyed a game of tag and treasure hunt on the grass, a white truck pulled up. Not a mom car, not a work truck. Ok…it was a guy on his lunch break taking his GIGANTIC mastiff for a tightly restrained stroll through the park. The guy was giving the dog about on foot of leash and the spunky creature was pretty much pulling him.

Now my beef is…why would someone bring a dog like that to a park where children are playing? Am I being weird? I know we all share the park…but he was scary! One strong leap and he could have torn away from white truck man with little effort. We said hello when he walked two feet within our play zone. Maybe I should have moved when I saw him coming our way. I don’t know.  Maybe he was really sweet….but those teeth!  It gives me the willies.

yet another parenting link

This one has been very encouraging to me as well. Most of it seems common sense, but great reminders and clear “goals”…take what you will from it.

Intentional Parents

if fr. alexander schmemann had had a blog

….it might have been very similar to his journals; which I have read through but pick up to peruse from time to time. Here’s what I read today…

“Tuesday, October 8, 1974

‘It is difficult for the rich…..’ It is quite obvious that at the center of Christianity is the renunciation of wealth, any wealth. The beauty of poverty!–there is also, of course the ugliness of poverty, but there is beauty. Christianity is enlightened only by humility, and by an impoverished heart. Poverty does not consist always of lacking something–that is its ugliness–but in being content with what there is.”

And this…………………..

“Tuesday, October 22, 1974

Cool, transparent, sunny days. Slowly falling leaves. I am always impressed by the sad light of triumphant Fall.”

creating

I once heard someone speaking about creating being intrinsic to us as human beings, and that the act of making something beautiful can be so utterly fulfilling. He emphasized that this is so because we have been shaped in God’s image, the Creator of all. This basic fact has been nudging me along recently. True, almost activity, even those not usually associated with art per se, can be perceived as or made into a creative outlet…cooking, homemaking, gardening, even sports, etc. But I have a hankering for some good ole fashion “making.”

Today I drew a crude crayon version of St. Basil the Great for my boy, yesterday we drew flowers from the porch, sewing is out because it’s too messy and consumes more space and time than I have right now. Now I readily admit that I am nothing more than mediocre in any arena but still the point is to try it and DO it right?

Some things I’d like to learn or do again:

tile mosaics (have never done this, I’d like to use found things like broken ceramics…maybe I ought to save all of our broken bits)

pottery (joined a co-op studio while in Santa Cruz and took 2 years worth in college…handbuilding would work)

hand embroidery (I know some very basic stitches but I want to learn the really cool beautiful ones)

writing (i used to love to write…cheesy poetry of course and some short stories.  I’ve thought about children’s books…)

breadmaking (once it cools down and I fix my oven)

There are many more but these seem like they could feesibly fit into my life somehow.  By saying this, doing feels like more of a reality.  Ah, well it’s ok if it doesn’t happen this week or this month

What do YOU do or want to learn?