My 2012 One Word Resolution is Be.

Really it’s sort of a catch all word, be. I had a hard time narrowing my word choice down, seeing as it is nearing the end of the New Year season, I figured I’d best be getting on with things.

Be: kind, daring, selfless, funny, willing, faithful, connected, loving, present, growing, rested, creative, intentional, joyful…

I think that’ll be enough to get me started, no?

Who or what do you want to be this year?

Love,
Jess

View my last two Resolutions at the links below!

One Word 2011: Remember

One Word 2010: Enrich

Hey Y’all,

Before setting my One Word Resolution for 2012 I want to reflect a little on 2011.

Here is my Top 10 Projects in 2011 list.

10. Snowboard getaway to Tahoe, CA – ‘it takes a village’ to leave all 4 kids behind for 6 days!

9. Homemade Valentine Truffles from my Mother-in-law, (truffle recipe)

8. “Lepre-can”, growing sprouts in a can, from Ryan.

7. Painted side table with vinyl bird accents. (for Shabby Mamas)

6. Princess Molly’s 4th birthday cake. Angel Food cake with powder sugar frosting.

5. Welcome Max, my nephew! I guess that is really more my sister-in-law Lisa’s project.

4. Painted side cupboard with buffet drawers and crystal knobs. Now in my dinning room!

3. Watermelon Hedgehog by Neat Pete…who else would have the patience? Nice.

2. Puppet show curtain with the kids’ former window valance and a tension rod.

1. Number One project of 2011…insert drum roll.

Facilitating Grandparent interviews with 4 Grandparents and 3 Great-Grandparents for Ryan’s homeschooling.

Wow, what a year! I’ve been truly blessed by 2011. Here’s to hoping 2012 brings as many projects or more!

Check out my Top 10 Projects of 2010 from last year!

Love,

Jessy

Open Road

I’ m not sure what to say about my life. I only know that it feels good to type. My life sprawls out on the screen in front of me like an open book. I read my own blog to see where I’ve been and where I’m going.

For 3 1/2 years I’ve come to WordPress writing my thoughts  in a box on the internet. I recite tidbits about crafts, deep thoughts about the afterlife, and everything in-between. I neither aspire to grow a Domestic Blog empire nor be America’s top Mommy. I write to just be me.

So, what do you get?  Just a blink of my life between breaths on this Earth. I write to give my thoughts wings, to give my dreams hope and to give my family memories. I write to put it simply, because I have to.  When I say I’m too tired to type; I’m too busy to think; My blog is too boring to read; My ideas aren’t original….I die a little inside.

So are you there blog? It’s me Jessy.

Ready to type, ready to remember, ready to dream…

Recipe for AutumnFun:

Combine crisp leaves, chilly winds, and a few rays of sunshine.

Blend in four siblings. Stir well with dirt and air.

Throw in a football, 2 brooms, 15 pieces of broken chalk into days with empty hours.

Cover in jackets. Let cool outdoors until people start crying or the sun sets.

To serve, place Autumn Fun on a blanket, enjoy with a runny nose and side of muddy shoes.

Love,

Jess

Books. My library card could catch on fire from all the action it gets from checking out books.

Fresh Produce from friends and family. Between my brother-in-law, mother-in-law and my neighbor we ate like kings this summer. Homegrown kings. (my salsa recipe will be coming soon — save those tomatoes!)

School Supplies. I’ve been collecting odds and ends school/craft supplies for years. It all seems to make sense now that I’m homeschooling the kids.

What you are grateful for today?

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Jess

This school year Ryan, my first grader, has started homeschooling. We do school at home, at the zoo, during van rides, waiting in line, before bed, in the school room, at the kitchen counter, you get the idea. Basically, our lives have turned into living lessons with some worksheet thrown in for good measure.

Establishing a new home and a new way to “do” school in the same year summer has been one of the biggest roller-coasters of my life. Pots and pans, Ps and Qs will all get sorted out one way or another; it is the constant personal character development for me and the kids that is so hard to do!

Here are a few snap-shots from our time homeschooling.

Great-Grandma Mary "GG" listens to Ryan's read aloud assignment.

My babies exploring the patio garden.

Post-library visit impact on the living room.

Unit Study bulletin board.

Molly doing "school" on the school room table.

Cheers for school supplies!

Jess

Claire and Leah swinging on the deck.

I hope you have a great weekend chilling and grilling!

I’ll be back next week with a great salsa recipe and pictures from our first couple weeks homeschooling.

Love,

Jess

The dog days of summer are almost over. In Minnesota, I am heading into the weird transitional mini-season that holds the State Fair and Halloween decor, beach swimming and school supplies. So before, the boat, the marshmallows, and the sunscreen are all a distant memory, I want to show you what is in the “lost and found” bin at my house.

Ry lost some teeth.

Ryan sporting a summer smile at the beach.

Molly found some patience, fractional mind you, but patience none the less.

Molly tending to her new cousin Max.

Claire found courage.

CJ "hanging" out on the neighbor's play set.

Leah lost her willingness to give up her “thumb” after nap-time.

Leah with her "taggie" on the diaper table in her nursery.

Peter found peace during his time as a canoe leader for a wilderness week Up North. He didn’t loose any of his paddlers.

Pete carrying water at his pre-trip camp site.

I lost my cool and then found it, then completely lost it again, then figured I didn’t need ‘my cool’ because frazzled is the new look for Fall.

Molly, Me, Leah, Ryan in front of the fire pit.

What’s in your lost and found box?

Love,

Jess

Finding

Opportunities for

Concentration to

Understand

Something

-Jess @ Just aBlink

I don’t often have time to think. Sounds dumb, but it’s true. Spending time in a good ‘think’ to remember where I’ve been and where I am going is a wonderful blessing.

Much of my attention while raising little ones is focused on the who, when and what aspects of my life.

Who is crying? Who is your new friend? Who is going to fuss up!?

When will you be home from work? When will we be able to buy a new couch? When is it bedtime?

What is for dinner? What is in your hair? What could possibly explain the profound silence in the playroom?

Attention for the deeper understanding of why and how comes only when I find time to concentrate and understand something about myself or God or the World.

Why do I care if my kids express sibling-friendships? Why do I value marriage? Why do I so easily see the faults of my kids when really they are reflections of my own inadequacies?

How can I instill a hope in things unseen to my little ones? How can I express more gratitude? How can I possibly carry on when my shoulders are too heavy to lift?

So even when time is short, my brain is on mac-n-cheese-xbox-dirty sock-sippy cup overload, and my calendar shows it is time to do it all over again tomorrow…

I focus.

Love,

Jess

The day has come, drum roll please, Molly developed an attention span!

{Applause inserted here.}

She can play without a companion for about 20-30 minutes. Mid-afternoon has become a time for dolls, littlest pet shop, and other rainbow-colored shenanigans.

I am often right next to her as she plays. For real, I could play next to her for hours but somehow I grew up. Dinner and responsibilities cut in and I can only give her short bursts of playtime. Which is good, I guess, but I’d rather play than just about anything. Except snacking and napping. Am I a kid or what?

Molly playing with my dolls from childhood

Molly aka Rainbow Brite

Molly feeding her doll

Love,

Jess