Joy is...

Joy is homemade lattes in the morning, kids making it to the bus, wearing my favorite yellow dress and finishing an epic book.

Joy is a husband who does dishes, reads Winter in the Big Woods to a bath tubbin' little boy, roars like a monster, practices math flash cards and helps freshly washed babes into pajamas.

Joy is a special lady loosing her front tooth! Finally! We've been calling her Nanny McPhee.

Joy is sunsets and sunrises, for birth and death. For new beginnings, brimming with abiding joy. For a long earthly obedience and life everlasting.

Joy is a cleaned house. A wise woman once stood in my kitchen and loosely quoted Thich Nhat Hanh, it's not about how clean your house is... it's just about the process. Joy is scrubbing floors on hands an knees. As Grandma Eunice would say, "I'm thankful I am able to do it."

Mud Baths

Saturday, while Eric was at the grocery store and I was finishing the last of the vacuuming. I got a knock on the back door. And I was greeted by this.

Muddy-muddy children.

Laughing with delight at their filthiness! They were 'playing in the sprinklers' with their beloved next-door neighbor friends and after an hour or so, this is what it evolved into.

And instead of get angry at their mess, I grabbed my camera and a towel for their track-making feet!

And we laughed together while they regaled me about their mud-slinging adventures.

First they got to rinse off all the grass and mud. Then we washed the tub. And then they took a real bath.

And I got the mud out of their swim suits. Hooray for me! And they are still talking about how dirty they got. Hooray for them!


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Just a reminder about Revisiting Sanctuaries, spots are filling up. So join today!

Weekending

Friday night dinner with around our kitchen table with friends.

Saturday morning park date and donutless-bakery date. Heat-induced-mild-crabbiness from 5 kids.
Lazy, quiet time afternoon. Cool sheets, special snacks and a oasis from the heat afternoon movie.
A mud bath with the beloved neighbor kids.
Mama cleaning the house. 
A rinse off bath then a bubble bath post mud bath.
A late night visit from two of my favorite women-- while our Men were out together.
Sangria and coffee plus waaay-past-bedtime-children-wrangling. 

Sunday morning quiet with a visit to church.
Pork ribs, cheesy-rice and fruit salad for lunch. Simple. 
Another lazy quiet time-- a stack of books with my boy. 
A visit to our favorite pond, meeting some favorite friends by happy accident.
Hours wading in the water-- splashing, laughing.
A quick picnic.
A sunset drive home.
Time for bed.
Laundry to wash, dishes to be done.
Reading out loud, knitting away.
Waking up to a thunderstorm-- snuggle down into safe warm bed for sleep.


How was your weekend?


Joining Amanda.

All quiet on the home front.

We were on our way home yesterday afternoon and Izzo says. "I want to drive straight home. Get on the couch with my pink blanket and snuggle you, Mama." If there were any more precious words, I don't think I've heard them.

We didn't snuggle right away, but our home--with all the busyness-- feels like a place to come rest in.

I don't know if that makes sense. But I felt it last night. During dinner preparations, the kids occupied their time with window markers on our big front window. Giggling. Truman made Eric draw T's all over the window. Singing almost a song of "And uh nother T, and uh nother T..."

Then there was supper-- o my... which was amazing--left over mashed potatoes make the best shepherds pie. Our pie was not just the sloppy stew covered over with a glop of mashed potatoes but, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, garlic and onions and this wonderful tenderloin. Cooked extra hot in the oven to make just the top of the potatoes crispy. You know you've hit a great meal when there is no negotiating bites at dinner. Just eating!

About 10 minutes before bath time that was unoccupied by tasks. I picked up my knitting, Isabel was painting, Truman was fixing 'sum-ting' with his Handy Manny tools and Eric was chilled out. All in different rooms. What a difference 10 quiet minutes can make in an evening.

The kids giggled through bath time and then we snuggled on the couch for book reading and praying time. I read some new library books to Izzo, while Truman sang out the title words of Leslie Patricelli's book, Higher, Higher! (at the top of his lungs).

This night filled me up to the brim. As if we were in a whole evening of snuggling-- not just a few minutes during book time.

What has filled you up lately?

Craft Fair in Sioux Center!

Friends,

I know I’ve been rather absent here but, I have some awesome news. After weeks of working on some great new products, we’ve got a booth, some new tags and we’re excited.

Wendy and I will be at the craft show in Sioux Center Iowa!

Helping Hands Craft Show
Saturday, October 17, 2009
9AM-3PM
Sioux Center Middle School
Sioux Center IA 51250

We will have lots of new felted bags, Halloween totes, scarves, cup cozies, wonderful smelling bath products, headbands and some vintage items.
Andrea and Aimee will be there too! Yes!

Ok, so if you’re going to be in the area for the weekend... come on by and see all of us.

If you need more information, shoot me an email at theyellowdoorpaperie[at] gmail.com!

The Puddle Jumper

Last night was one of those nights, where whining was used in place of talking. Where eating one more bite of quinoa became near world war three, instead of getting angry, I just set the timer. If she hadn’t finished her one bite by the time one minute was up, we would no longer be taking our special trip.

She finally ate the bite, as the timer rang, “Ummm, Mom this is Yummy.” And then proceeded to eat the rest on her plate. All that whining for nothing... grrr.

It was rainy and dreary, and it still is. So we bundled up, donned our rain boots and coats, packed into the car with the dog.

Our town has a three mile, wooded trail that connects us to our neighboring town. It is a godsend!

The whining dissipated as we ran down the trail head, found some puddles and jumped to our hearts content.

O the wonders of fresh air and woods, on our spirits.

We came home for baths and hot cocoa, the evening ended much better than it started.

Late Summer Snack

We arrived home late last thrusday night. Covered in dirt, tired but energized.


After working side by side in the garden with sweet friends. We brought in 4 huge boxes of garden glories: cabbage, sunflowers, squash, carrots, potatoes, beans, peas, the first of the tomatoes and cucumbers! I didn't even remember we'd planted cucumbers until a friend said, "Do you want to pick the pickels?" Um. YES! (Thank's Charlene!)


After we bathed the kids and put them down, we cleaned and seeded 14 sunflower heads (which yeilded 2 gallons of seeds). I have a whole photo story, that documented the whole process. Coming soon!


And washed the beans/peas for canning and freezing on Friday, and washed the cabbages for coleslaw (that we made for a friend’s wedding).

It was getting late, the kids were in bed and lucy was down for the night. I took a shower then made my self a little bedtime snack.

My grandma used to make us a summer salad that was just peeled cucumber, ranch dressing and fresh cooked, crumbled bacon. O my. Getting out of her pool, sitting over the hot bricks in the back yard on the heavy, white, wrought iron lounges (which never had cushions on them) eating this cool salad was the epitome of summer.


I felt a tinge of sadness and memory eating this cucumber salad in my night shirt on the front porch in the summer evening air. I figured it was too late for the neighbors to be peeping out anyway (if not well, hello neighbors!).

So whether you dress them in olive oil or in bacon ranch, cucumbers are a nostalgic summer treat.


Summer Bedtime Snack
1 small tomato
1 small cucumber
1 hard boiled egg (I boil a dozen or two at the beginning of each week to have on hand)
Oilve oil
Balsamic Vinager
Lime Juice (or juice of half a lime, I was out so I used the real lime product... I’m not sure if it is ‘real’)
Salt and Pepper

Dice tomatoes, and gently salt. Cut ends of cucumber’s first, as they are quite bitter. Then dice cucumber, you could peel first, but hey I’m lazy and I like some extra crunch. Dice hard boiled egg and then dress with olive oil, a little balsamic vinager (a little goes a long way), squirt of lime (or lemon), salt and pepper.

It is so easy and so delicious. You could double, triple, quadruple if you wanted too! Add some cilantro for some extra summer zing!

Irresistible Joy

Bath Time, originally uploaded by TheYellowDoorPaperie.

Here is an irresistible photo, that my friend Wendy took. The kids play at her house during the week when I’m at work. And the kids love it. They’ve only been going a week, but they clap and sing on the way to her house. It makes my mommy-heart happy.

If you knew our kids, you’d know that they LOVE to take baths together. The tradition started over a year ago, play dates, usually in the evening ran over into bath time/bedtime. So they’d get bathed together, before going back home for bedtime. Then summer rolled around so pool trips, backyard water play and such ended in the bathtub as well.

This picture just captures the sheer joy they feel when they’re together.

And the joy I feel when looking about their sweet faces. It just cracks me up.

Hope you have a joy-filled start to your week!

Brewing Up Bathtime

The smell in our kitchen is heavenly right now. Eric is brewing up all kinds of bathtime fun.
So far he's created five different and equally enchanting batches of herbal bath tea. Lavender, citrus peal, cranberries, basil, sage, chrysanthemum... and the list goes on.


It's a bright and springy activity as opposed to the thick blanket of snow thats falling out my window right now. Hopefully the grass will start to grow soon and the garden will need to be planted.

Bathtime and Breakfast

Bathing. My guilty and yet squeaky clean pleasure.
We, here at The Yellow Door Paperie are getting ready to unveil our bath line. Goats milk soap, bath teas, red sandalwood candles plus lots more. All of our plant products are locally grown (most from our back yard), natural and environmentally friendly. We are looking to sell them on etsy!

I'll let you know when our etsy shop is up!