Sacred Space

“I think of our family table as a training ground for all of life, a place where adults and children alike can learn to put aside their differences in favor of laughter and fellowship; a place where we can each be heard and respected; a place where each of us can offer love and nourishment and receive it in turn. When we hold hands around our table, we create a sacred space there. When we share food and life and good talk, we reweave our connections with each other.”

Katrina Kenison, Mitten Strings for God – Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry


Does this sound like mealtime at your house? I love the thought, but between trying to convince three munchkins to stay in their seats, to fights over eating broccoli, pleadings to use their inside voices, and six trips to the kitchen for mom, the bustle of our table often feels more like a zoo than a sacred space.

And yet, every now and then we’ll share a meal in which everyone stays in their seats and eats without complaint, in which giggles replace arguing, and even those rare moments of the older two asking questions and sharing the beginnings of real conversation with one another. It is these times that remind me that the work of training in these early years will not only pay off later, but is an irreplaceable time in itself. The chaos of learning prayers, of training in manners and teaching appreciation for wholesome meals may not be the quiet, peaceful picture that my mind conjures up when hearing the term “sacred space,” but these are matchless moments that are holy in themselves.

So, for now I’ll light a candle to fulfill the part of my heart that longs for serenity and embrace the sacred chaos of mealtime in these early years of motherhood.







*Written for our November MOPS newsletter. Katrina Kenison's book, Mitten Strings for God, which I quoted at the beginning is a great little book of vignettes written by a mother who chooses to live simply. It has been an encouragement for me and could be a nice Christmas gift for mothers of young children. :)

Learning to love, learning to pray

Isaac has had a nasty stomach bug the past few days. As I was rubbing his back and tucking him into bed after a round of vomitting last night, Grace came and sat next to me on his bed. She began gently rubbing his back, closed her eyes, and said "Dear Jesus, thank you for Isaac. He is sick. Amen."

Melt my mother-heart. Watching these three learn to love each other well and learn to love our ever-faithful God are two of my favorite things about motherhood.

All Things Fall

Autumn is, without a doubt, my favorite season. I love the crisp morning air; the vibrant colors; picking, drying & saucing apples; pumpkin candles; big pots of homemade soup; dressing in sweaters & boots; hot drinks and the list goes on. Apparently, I've been too busy enjoying fall to update the blog, but with winter now upon us (or so it feels), here are a few highlights from the past couple of months.

We had an unusually warm and beautiful fall this year, which led to many an afternoon playing in the leaves. Raking, jumping, throwing, burying, and of course, posing for pictures!





What is fall in Spokane without a trip (or four) to Greenbluff? Apples, pumpkins, cider, tractor-rides...so much to enjoy. The kids and I went up on our own, then with Grammie & Poppa, AND I went with Grace & Isaac on their first ever school field trip!









The kids like helping me use our peeler-corer to prep apples for applesauce & dehydrating, however, this year's favorite was making caramel apples.






We spent a number of mornings exploring new kid-friendly hiking trails this fall. Eli is at that tricky stage, he loves to "hike" with his siblings, but his little legs wear out sooner & he can't quite keep up with them. He is 30 pounds now so I can still carry him in the backpack, but I am thankful he prefers to be on the ground some of the time. We did have one disastrous adventure a few weeks back which ended with me carrying a fit-throwing Grace as well as Eli on my back the last 1/2 mile. It is a good thing Isaac was in good spirits!




Halloween this year consisted of a pink dinosaur, a tiger, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. We had a great time at a party with our small group friends, decorating pumpkins, making pizzas, & playing games amid the bubbly chaos of twelve small children.





Time in Moscow. I remain very grateful for the ways in which my folks are a huge part of each of our lives, I cannot imagine it any other way. THANK YOU Grammie & Poppa!



I am also grateful for the opportunities this fall for grown-up fun, including:

An Arbor Crest concert with NB & Eric



A 24-hour trip to Portland to celebrate a special friendship. Nicole & Brad (both of whom were my RD's in college and have since become my good friends) have been best buddies for 20 years. So, they threw a fabulous anniversary party, complete with a DJ, fantastic food, lots of people & even a registry! :)


Me, Nicole, Mindy (and Baby Smith)


Cheers to 20 years of friendship!


And, a gorgeous hike to the top of Mt Kit Carson, a favorite of ours.




So long, autumn. Hello hats, gloves and SNOW!

Times, They Are A Changin'

It has been a time of transitions in our household.

Transition #1: Grace & Isaac are now in week two of pre-school. How did my little munchkins get to this point already - SCHOOL?! They're going to pre-school out at our church, which has helped tremendously in easing them into this new routine. They were already comfortable in the setting, knew a few of the teachers & even a couple of the students before the first day. They have been eager to start school and hardly let me hug them as I dropped them off the first day. Eli thinks he is ready too. I had been carrying him and put him down to hug Grace & Isaac good-bye, when he began to walk off, but stopped to smile, wave & blow me a kiss! Sorry buddy, you're stuck with me for another two years. :) Really though, I am looking forward to have a couple of mornings each week to focus on Eli, while knowing the other two are learning, growing & enjoying their time away from us.






Transition #2: A few weeks prior to the start of school, Grace & Isaac made the switch from toddler beds to "grown-up" beds. Sleep had not beeng going so well & these two were ending up in bed with me far more regularly than I care to admit. So...sticker charts, a week of rough nights, and viola! They're now doing well sleeping all night in their own beds & I am a much happier mama with better rest! Once the kids filled up their sticker charts, they were able to pick out their own new bedding, pictured below.



Transition #3: With the start of school, we did have to face one sad realization. Grace & Isaac are on the complete opposite pre-school schedule as their buddies Olivia & Isabelle. We've had a nearly weekly playdate with the Jones girls since the twins were born. I knew the day would come when school would prevent our treasured playtime, but I didn't expect it to happen just yet! We'll somehow figure out a way to see each other, but Julie & I are both feeling bittersweet about what this next stage means for our time together.



Transition #4: Our dear Kelli, who was with us all summer, decided to move to North Carolina at the end of August! We are excited for the journey she has ahead, but miss her already.



Transition #5: Because I know a few of you who read this are parents of toddlers, I have to mention one last transition. I recently read Love & Logic Magic for the Early Childhood Years, by Jim Fay & Charles Fay. It has honestly changed things around here in a matter of days. I love the respect, empathy & choices these parenting techniques give children while ensuring that the parents are the loving authority figures. There is plenty more I could say, but I'd rather just encourage you to go check it out for yourself. It is a relatively expenisve little book, so I just checked it out from the library, but may be ordering a copy of my own to keep!

My Boy

In late August, I was fortunate to get to spend over 24 hours alone with Isaac. We titled our day Isaac & Mommy's Excellent Adventure, and did our best to make sure it was an adventure. I made up clues the night before so that Isaac would have to figure out what was next throughout the day. We started out with an early morning mystery run that ended with breakfast at Petit Chat, the bakery down the street. We then went to Other Mothers (one of his two requests for the day!) and scored an entire fall wardrobe for him on store credit. He was excited to pick out "new" clothes, which is a good thing since he has now outgrown all of the hand-me-downs we've had from generous friends. We spent a little low-key time playing at home and then his buddies Adam & Colin introduced him to the Fish Hatchery, where we all shared a picnic lunch. The highlight for the boys was, of course, feeding the fish & watching them fight over the food. After his rest time we removed one of the swings on the swingset so that he could try out the trapeze & rings, which quickly became his new favorite part of the set. A few good friends came over for a Papa Murphy's dinner and a chance to be a part of Isaac's adventure. We ended our day out at Eric's. He was still in Scotland with his kids, but let me know Isaac & I could go tromp around out there (Isaac's send request for our day), which was a fabulous finale to our adventure.



Checking out the fish with his buddies

Upside down or right-side up this kid is a bundle of energy!

Laughing with Kyle

Tickle war with Coco

I told you he is strong!

Look at those muscles

He could swing for hours out there

Our self-portrait


Isaac Justice, I thoroughly enjoyed our adventure! You are a joy and a delight. You challenge me to be a more intentional mother, you play hard, you make me laugh, and your sharp mind continues to amaze me. I love you, buddy.