five minute friday: Rise

 Today's prompt is:RISE

         The moment often spoken of has recently happen when my kids are less and less often my alarm clock and my husband's actual clock or the sun is. It is amazing how much that minute or two to gather my wits helps. I know that there are breakfasts to make and lunches to pack but not having to answer questions milli-seconds after I have woken has so helped my stress level and ability to rise and greet the day with a smile and bit of enthusiasm.

         While I have never and may never master the skill of rising before the rest of household I am finding my way to a place peace and happiness that I hope is setting a better tone for everyone as they set out to their separate adventures.

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Five minute friday: Visit

Feeling the need to stretch my creative muscles and so I'm joining in this week's five minute friday now hosted by Kate Motaung of heading Home

Visit

start:

   One of the new aspects of my faith which came to me in college was making a 'holy hour' and sitting in peace, in adoration for awhile before my Lord. At beginning I of course worried if I was doing it right but in time and with some encouragement I came to relax and enjoy my weekly visits and the graces of being still and quiet and just visiting

  The different seasons of my life have not always an hour a week to visit in such a dedicated way but I carry the lesson forward of great and lasting good of being still and visiting in such a way as to leave space for me to talk, for him to talk, and for the lovely silence to sometimes comes between friends.

Stop

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5 minute friday: Exhale

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

Exhale

Start:

   The rooms all got painted that needed to get painted, and the furniture got moved with only minor bumps and scratches.  It was definitely a race to the finish and there is still so much to do, but not right now. Right now in the lavender nursery surrounded by boxes but sitting in the glider just as I had envisioned I'm rocking my baby down to sleep and exhaling. Because however much more work there is to do both here and at the old place; evening has fallen and we're in, and it is time to rest in our new home.

Stop.

please head over to Lisa Jo's for more 5 minute friday

5 Minute Friday: Mess

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

 Mess

Start:

     
    Finding order, finding balance and staking out some ground and the courage to say 'this is our mess and you're welcome to it'. I've been prone to clutter always (as is my husband) and adding three littles has only aggravated that except where it has helped tremendously.  

    Where motherhood has forced me to let go of old stuff to make room for their stuff, not to mention my new role and new dreams.  Where motherhood has forced me to get more organized so that there is time for play and we still have clean clothes and yummy food.  Where motherhood has given me the courage to say 'this is how we parent' and 'this is how we keep house' and it works for us.

Stop.

    
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5 minute friday: Writer

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

Writer

Start

      

   It has always been a secret wish of mine to be a writer.  Out loud to anyone who asked I wanted to be a nurse and later a midwife, and that was true.  It was also true that a quiet secret part of me wanted to be a writer like some of my favorite characters Anne, Laura and even John-Boy.  So I wrote short stories, and extra reports for school and have kept a journal forever.

   Then in college a couple of teachers told me I was a terrible writer and so I stopped; except for my journals because those were prayers to the God who made me and already knew my heart.  Then many years later I became a mother and that helped me be brave and start this blog and let my writing be read again because I just might have a story to tell.

Stop

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5 minute friday: View

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

View

     I think it is sort-of amazing how some views or vistas become the touch-points places in our lives.  This sea-wall with steps down to the ocean, waves crashing at high tide or seal sightings at low.  I'm watching as this place, with fish & chips or pastry and coffee, become for my kids an essential part of a trip to visiting G-ma, and where I take so many heart-pictures of my family smiling staring out to the sea. 

DONE

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5 minute friday: Remember

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Remember
Start:
  Remember when you had that away rotation on a reservation in Arizona and I helped drive you out except I didn't know how to drive stick so I learned along the way; and we went to the Grand Canyon and walking up to the rim were disappointed that it was so overcast but it didn't matter because once we got there the Canyon was immense, awesome, totally taking our breath away.   

That night it snowed, and so the next morning we all but had the national park to ourselves, and we wandered around pueblos and walked over lava rocks like kids in a playground finally climbing up that rise just to find the top too socked in with fog for any view but then on the walk down we hit a point below the clouds where it all came into view; the savannah like grass and rocks just below us and in the distance the painted desert ~ and you, who had gone first to show the way down smiling back up me.

STOP.

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5 minute friday: Home

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Home

Start:
     That feeling when you pull into the driveway and there is a light in the window and you start thinking about what you left crocking that morning and suddenly the red lights and traffic slowdowns don't matter you have made it ~ you're home.
   Or is it waking to the sun coming through the window and that mostly rested feeling because the kids slept the night and so did you; and there is nowhere you have to be and so  you follow little footsteps downstairs and find a cartoon and snuggle into the couch for a lazy morning at home.  STOP


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5 minute friday: Ordinary

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Ordinary

Start:

     Is it ordinary yet?  Certainly I'm not surprise to hear you cry for me in the night or forget to bring you with me in the car while running errands.  However there is still an awkwardness calling you by name, with me as often calling you baby girl almost as my brain is getting used to that idea first.  

   That said seven weeks later I'm loving learning your personality, your different expressions and how you like to be held.  On reflection, having you in our world and family is definitely not yet ordinary and that is kinda wonderful.

Stop:

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5 minute friday; What Mama Did

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

What Mama Did

Start:
    Every year in late April as a family we headed to the White Mountains to enjoy our yearly timeshare in a wonderful house.  The house, condo actually, was an absolute dream for a child to explore filled with lofts, ladders, and hideouts.  Going in late April we never knew what the weather would be, some years we were playing in the snow or another years we played tennis under sunny blue skies above the mountain peaks.  But always swimming in the indoor pool after which my mom would dry and dress us, leading us to the door of the rec center and then tell us to run as fast as we could the 100+ yards back to the condo, and so we did, wet hair streaming & laughing all the way.
    And in retrospect I know she was teaching us about balance: the timeshare week never fell during our school's spring break, but that didn't matter ~ we got our assignments and were expected to do them throughout the week, but this week of family togetherness and fun was much more important than any perfect attendance certificate.

Stop.

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5 minute friday: Wonder

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Wonder:

        The due date for this coming baby is New Years; I wonder which month will prove to be his/her birth month, which year?  I wonder what kind of Christmas I will make for my other littles; currently feeling good but I know at some point the energy level will take a hit.  I also know that this time and place is so full of wonder and children if given just the smallest of nudges can find amazement and wonder everywhere.  I wonder who this little person is, and if a boy what we should name him.  Wonder and amazement at the wonderful things about to happen most of the time, anxiety only happens a night a little, praise God.

STOP

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5 minute friday: Stay

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Stay:

   Our first experience with summer camp this year, a morning program hosted at a local playground, involved a delicate waiting game as she would me to please stay as she got her bearings, scoped who was there, got her feet down; and then I was free to go.  Which was fine because her younger brother, too young for camp, was not going to let me bring him to a playground and not let him play a bit.  

  There will be many more of these in our lives together as we sort out how long she needs me to stay, how long its good for me to stay, when I should stay in her (their) face, and when I'm over staying my welcome.  

STOP

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5 minute friday: Quiet

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Quiet:

    Quiet time is a work in progress in our house with the no longer napping preschooler in part to allow the still napping toddler to sleep, and in part to allow everyone a chance to take a deep breath and reset, and in those few minutes I find the space and respite I need to again be ready to listen to the story, watch the dance routine, answer the many 'why' questions that the late afternoon and evening will bring until tucked-in into their beds the quiet will return ~ except for the whispered conversation sharing our day between the parents as we too find the stillness amidst the craziness to rest.

STOP

Please go and enjoy other 5 minute friday entries at Lisa Jo's

5 minute friday: Roots

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Roots:

    This September my mom brought me lily of the valley clippings to try and transplant, and I grow tomatoes in pots just like my dad did once we moved to a house with a yard too small to truly garden in.  These are part of my roots, as is the french title by which my kids refer to my mom, and I referred to hers.
   What little things, habits and everyday phrases are sending out tiny tendrils deep into the soil of my kids forever grounding them into who they are and will help them stand tall in the future.

5 minute friday ~ Voice

Voice:


Start
    
    I'm not sure when I started talking about the concept of her inside voice with my first but when her little brother came along it definitely became a concept often discussed.  Still a couple of years later a work in progress, she has discovered the great joy of finding herself outside and the freedom to let her voice fully demonstrate her energy and happiness of the moment and if there is an echo even better.
    And I'm learning along with her ~ when to let loose and shout, laugh and giggle so that the wind can pick it up and carry notes skyward like seeds to take root elsewhere.

Stop.

(Day 12) 5 minute friday ~ Race

Race:

     Right now Lisbeth loves to race, across the house, anywhere but mostly down our block to a big oak tree about halfway down ~ and Liam loving being with his sister loves to race after her and since I don't think he yet understands the concept of winning a race it does not bother him that he never wins ~ as long as we cheer him across the finish line he is thrilled.
   And so I wonder will it always be like this my high energy child always racing ahead and my more laid back child happy to be included and part of the game ~ or at some point will winning become more important to him too.  And soon there will be a third one whose personality I will get to discover and wonder over ~ and now my mind is racing.

More 5 minute friday at the gypsymama hosted by Lisa Jo

5 minute friday: Welcome

 

Welcome:
    So there is food, fellowship and often a fire; but mostly there is welcome.  Welcome for the weary musician/singer, especially if this is the first time they are away for Easter, if this is the first time that they sang/played the Trid gauntlet.  Beginning with Holy Thursday and ending five Masses later on Easter Sunday.  We make welcome with food and warmth and hope that they eat well and listening to the stories of past Tridium and the recap of this one begin to truly feel part of this church family.
   And at the end of the evening while the faithful remnant help with unloading and reloading once again the dishwasher, we get to again marvel that the small feast shared among some graduate students has grown and endure to becoming Easter dinner for any and all who would like to come and join in.


For more 5 minute friday please head over to Lisa Jo Baker's