the glittered nest

Steiner Ranch Fires

 
Photo from ynn.com

This amazing site above is from our neighborhood: Steiner Ranch.

We are one of the 40 fires across Central Texas on Sunday, September 4th, 2011.

My family is safe and we evacuated early so we were not one of the many who were in gridlock for an hour just trying to reach our main road to get out.

We are praying for everyone in our area and surrounding areas that they are safe and stay out of harm's way.  We especially pray for the brave firefighters who are trying to put these fires out and risking their lives for our lives and our homes.

Most of my family were frantically running through our house grabbing clothes, toiletries, leaving most of our sentimentals...but grabbing golf clubs, UT longhorn tickets(my husband did grab our valuable documents after those items...ha ha). Funny what you do in a time of panic.  I grabbed dressy clothes but forgot pajamas!

My son(who is five) was sitting on the stairs watching us run through the house with his hands in prayer position saying:

"Please God keep us safe and please make it rain".

His first thought was to pray and then grab his toys. 

This is when you stop and realize who is in charge and to turn to in a time of panic:

GOD.

And my five year old had a direct line to God that day and was trying to protect us in the only way he knew how.

This is an image that I will always remember and always keep with me in any time of panic or distress.

I thank God for my family and my life today.

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Learning to Pray

 CONFESSION:

I'm not very good at praying. 

How silly does that sound?  Is there anyone out there in blog land that feels the same way? I have wanted to post on this subject for a while now but embarrassed to actually type these words out.

Is there anyone out there that would rather run a 5K in the Texas heat than pray out loud in front of a group for fear of not saying the right thing like me?  Do you have a specific time you pray so you don't forget to?  Our dinner prayer is: God is Great, God is Good, let us thank him for our food"...seriously it's time for me to break out and really talk to God and teach my children to connect with him in their own way.

Why is  praying out loud so hard? 

I recently went to the MOPs international conference where I attended a session on "the melody of prayer".  Jonalyn Grace Fincher was our speaker and I encourage you to click on the link to follow her blog.  She was such a nice and calming spirit to listen to in the midst of a large conference when we were on the go from session to session. 

Her tips for prayer were simple:

You can find peace in nature and music to help keep you centered on God. Jonalyn says to pay attention to things you naturally notice in life and start praying about those things.

 I don't know about you but I often have little thoughts creep in like...Dear God, thank you for giving me my health today(oh gosh...did I start the dishwasher before I left home) also thank you for giving me strength to keep calm when my 5 year old wrote with a sharpie all over my cabinets today(oh yeah...that really happened!)

I find myself picturing something happy and calming when I talk to God:

 
My favorite summer vacation with my family is always at the beach.  This is what I like to picture.

Sometimes late at night I will play a sound machine of the ocean and pray.

Familiar or favorite smells also help me feel calm and ready to pray.  I like to light a candle when I want to connect to God or just center myself when life gets crazy and fast moving. 

What centers you as a prayerful woman, mother, child of God?

When I hear beautiful worship music at church on Sunday it always makes me feel like the gap from this world to god is a little bit closer (which can be hard considering the place we all live in these days).

This will be an ongoing journey for me and I would love to hear your thoughts on prayer and what helps you to make the connection.

 

Hair cut for a friend

My daughter Abby donated her hair 5 years ago for our friend Kim who had cancer. 

 She lives in Franklin, Tn and her cancer has returned for a third time. 

Since I can't be there with her today I thought I would donate my hair this time for her! 

A little about Kim:  She has two beautiful children: Riley and Hunter and a husband: Jason.  She has amazing friends and family all around her giving her support!  She is a very strong woman and incredibly creative.  Go to her blog chemowithmycereal.com to keep up with what's going on with her. She is going through Chemo right now and my family prays for her every day.  We love you Kim!

 The organizaiton I am donating my hair to is: Pantene Beautiful Lengths. My hair will help make a wig for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.

 

Think Like a Tree

Think Like a Tree

Soak up the sun

Affirm life's magic

Be graceful in the wind

Stand tall after a storm

Feel refreshed after it rains

Grow strong without notice

Be prepared for each season

Provide shelter to strangers

Hang tough through a cold spell

Emerge renewed at first signs of spring

Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky

Be still long enough to

Hear your own leaves rustling.

Karen I. Shragg

Love Love Love your Life and remember these moments!

Happy Birthday Brock

Brock's birthday was yesterday but we were out of town most of the day.  Here are some pics of our little fun day!

My daughter Madi iced the cake. I taught her how to use an icing scraper to get a smooth finish.  I think she did a great job..don't you?

A couple of friends came to the party: George, Georgy the monkey and George's little brother: little George.

I just made the monkey two days ago and his eye is already MIA.  

We had such a wonderful day because we spent it in Houston with my goddaughter at her FIrst Holy Communion.  Here is a picture of her and the girls...check out this adorable painting my friend's kiddos did:

What a wonderful day.  Brock's farm birthday party is next Sunday. I can't wait to share pictures with you.  The candy bar is really coming together!  Happy Sunday to you!
 

  

Simple Things

I have been very conscious of slowing down this week

(as you read in my last post),

so today consisted of simple things:

 peaches and bubbles

"While we try to teach our children all about life

Our children teach us what life is about"

~unknown~

My children have definitely taught me all about this. 

 It is so amazing to look through a child's eyes...I know...I do it all of the time. 

I think I'm the only 37 year old that still looks at teddy bears in a store....for myself!

 You can really see it when you do simple things with them, like blow bubbles and see how much enjoyment they get out of this little activity. I think we laughed for an hour today. 

Peaches: 

I am waiting for our peaches to ripen a little before I try a preserve recipe: Rosemary Peach

I think once I do we will be eating jam and scones for a week straight.  Here are our beautiful peaches:

Rosemary Peach Preserves

 

Ingredients

Makes about 1 quart

·   3 pounds yellow peaches, peeled

·   1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

·   4 3/4 cups sugar

·   4 large sprigs fresh rosemary

Directions

1.   Halve and pit peaches, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Transfer to a large bowl. Add lemon juice; toss. Add sugar and rosemary; toss. Cover; let stand, tossing every hour, for 4 hours (sugar should be completely dissolved).

2.   Put peach mixture into a large, wide pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until liquid is syrupy, 12 to 13 minutes. Crush lightly with a potato masher, leaving one-quarter of the wedges intact. Skim foam from surface. Discard rosemary sprigs.

3.   Seal and process: Fill hot, sterilized 4-ounce jars with hot jam, leaving 1/4 inch space in each jar's neck. Wipe rims with a clean, damp cloth; cover tightly with sterilized lids and screw rings. Transfer jars, using tongs or a jar clamp, to the rack of a large canning pot filled with hot water, keeping jars upright; cover with water by 2 inches. (Jars should be spaced 1 inch apart and should not touch sides of pot.) Cover; bring to a boil. Process jars in gently boiling water 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack; let cool 24 hours. If lids pop back when pressed, they are not sealed; refrigerate immediately, and use within 1 month. Sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place up to 1 year.

Here's the recipe I will be using...I'll let you know how it turns out!  It's from Martha Stewart so I am sure it will be good.

Little Things

I know this is an old saying..."it's the little things in life", but it is so true.  I always get nostalgic this time of year.  My garden is blooming, remembrance of past gardens and the sweet little laughter that runs through it, children's birthdays coming up, remembrance of birth, happy summer times being outside...I could go on and on.  I have been so caught up in the details of school coming to an end and rushing around to all of our sports and appts that I haven't stopped to take life in.   I was out in the backyard with my son today and he helped me pull peaches from our peach tree.  This is our second year in our house and the tree is just now producing 100's of beautiful peaches.  It was so nice just to admire the beauty and just BE today.  Why don't we take more time to remember this?  Maybe I should put it in my outlook calendar...once a day it will remind me to just breathe and kiss my kids.  My son is 4 this week and I feel like time is rushing by.  He is my last child and I want to hold on to this innocent time when he is hugging my leg, following me around the house and constantly hugging his stuffed animal.  Can I just stop time and feel this moment?  I wish I could but I guess recognizing it and feeling God's blessings all around me is all I can do. 

A couple of pictures of my little cutie about to be four and his little friend lovingly called GEORGE: