Look To The Sky

new

always a cocked head....seemingly a little shy...a little putting on a show....always that Buddy charm that's all his..

more of the messy treat of WD....

this girl finished up first grade today!   tomorrow is a game day if her cold isn't too bad, and if it doesn't get rained out.  i don't think i ever mentioned this, but Ella sure loves to run.....she passes up boys (two at a time) when they run the bases...can you believe that? LOL!

so some new photos....not too much to say.....just busy getting ready for the weekend and next week-  two days of standardized testing for Ella, a trip to Idlewild Park on Wednesday, and Ella's Girl Scout bridging ceremony on Monday, when she becomes a Brownie after two years of being a Daisy!!!
 
 

revisit

i revisit things frequently.

i second guess myself a lot.

i revisit creative ideas quite a bit.

i sometimes take a long time to move on.

i cry again about things that happened. and again. and again.

i pull out scrapbook pages....to rekindle those memories.

i make a lot of the same dishes for dinner....chicken shells and homemade pizza, for sure.

i have never changed my favorite Bible verses in years and years.... I've kept them all this time. my favorites over and over again.

how many times do i say "i love you?"   a. lot.

i have insecurities that pop up here and there, even though i've tried so hard to let them go.

i revisit the same aisles in the grocery store because i forgot the item the first time through. ;-0

my text messages would read to you all that i love to talk to my parents and my sweetie often during the day.

the photos you see on my blog are ones of my children that i want to see again, and again, and again.

here's one i never put up on my blog from last spring i think.    i put some similar on my old blog, but not this one.   she is such a "looker" it's scary.   i could just hold her and stare at her all day.   same thing with Philip and Will David. 

but, God has blessed me with every day so far with a day to revisit the love my family has for each other, and to revisit the love that HE has for me, each and every breath I take. 

Amen.

focus

the new zoom lens is here! i was able to experiment with it this weekend.  here's a few shots.....

wd had just gotten a creamsickle from the neighborhood ice cream truck.  i had to let go of my mommy desire to not let him get himself alllll sticky.  so he got to eat this his way.....which was MESSY!

 the gang's all here....and enjoying joyously tasting icecream bars...

this little flower is part of our yard....but don't ask me what it is. ;-) besides killing flowers naturally, i don't remember their names either.   will be working on both of these things this summer with the kids.  okay, more pics tomorrow.

only 5 days of our first official homeschool year left! we are doing....FUN stuff this week!    some review of science and history.    we are going to start working on watercolors and our nature journals.  of course, continue with handwriting and math.   and a nice little review of English.  

this week i have a few homeschool items coming in the mail.   a set of super-elite flashcards for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; the drawing with children book (got a GREAT deal); material world (for our geography/cultural studies, also a GREAT deal); and soon some other odds and ends for studying "children around the world" as well as a nature journal specifically for Ella (or me...heheee..) that is quite lovely. can't wait....here's a pic of the nice set it is!

isn't it delightful? i think so, especially for a 7 year old girl. it is by Eeboo. i am so excited to pursue the nature study alongside my children this summer and fall.....we have a nature trail within walking distance that will be perfect for almost anything we wish to discover and observe.  

Philip received a few presents today at the birthday part held at my parents' house (thank you so much Mom and Dad!!!) this afternoon.....they included a butterfly net and a bug catcher with magnifying glass and tweezers.   now, he's all about that stuff. he spent the better part of the evening hunting bugs and treasures. i went with him down the street a little bit. we found a piece of a robin egg.   he put an ant in his bug catcher. ;-)    we looked at all the "wishes" in the field nearby.  that is, fuzzy dandelions.  he calls them "wishes"....love.

i am trying to figure out what my focus needs to be for the Etsy shop. not knowing truly what that is.   kinda now, but just need to get this last week of school done i think.   i also need some focus on some organization of my scrapbooking supplies. THAT is driving me INSANE.    i don't have a workplace or studio set up, just my here and theres....which is "okay" if you dabble in the creative side but when you really want to work, it's frustrating. plus, each month or so i accumulate- including whatever i am selling or making for Etsy. ;-)   not a bad thing but i need to figure out how to "organize" some different materials.   so i can work faster.  more efficiently. more often.  better. clearer. focused.  

i will take ANY advice on this one.   note, however, we have a SMALL house and I am using a bit of closet space, but could possibly utitlize the front room closet a bit better.  

oh, yikes!  11 pm already. i must go.   Will David is teething so much these days...allll while Ella is losing teeth. Yes, she lost another one today.  Yay for her!  And poor WD, he's up a lot with an ouchy mouth.   and that means i'm up.   a  lot.   oh, i am used to it. but i dread it when i go to bed. it's not so bad after i wake up, but before, yes.

anyways, off i go.   hopefully to post more (maybe about the Esther Bible Study I attend, some photos, some other homeschool ideas/goings on) tomorrow.   i'm trying to get back into blogging more often.   ;-)  we'll see!

blessings...

 
 
 
 

enduring

Oh, dear, some days at the Russell household I really don't know what we're doing during the day.   This week was tough because Will David was sick and dealing with incoming teeth.   Philip was all about playing computer games and picking on his little brother.   Ella started acting like a teenager (and I say that endearingly but have to be honest because it's been a struggle with her lately...she's so sweet usually, and now I am so confused...wwhere did this come from?....LOL...).   Put those three together, and it was hard to homeschool.    We have six days left of school.   YAY.   And then a few summer things here and there but no biggie. Just enough to keep it all fresh in their heads.  

This week was a nice week of goodies for me. Well, the past TWO weeks were! Last week, as a Mother's Day gift, we all went to Medina so I could "shop" vintage goodness.  We went to three different places, and at each one, I found more than what I could even think of getting....isn't that how it always is?  SOOOOO much inspiration.  So much fun for me. Would've been better to have a friend or two with me while I looked though......my family just waited in the car, bless their hearts!   One of these days I will get pics of what I brought home with me-  one thing in particular is very functional. It's a vintage basket with compartments, and I have placed crafty/scrapbooking stuff in it already as storage.   Also, some really inexpensive old trim, and an adorable mini set of cards.   

Also, I was able to get a zoom lens.....something that I haven't had since my regular SLR camera!    I tried it out tonight and can't wait to do more with it.  Saturday is a ball game, so it'll prime time to test it out with sports.  If only we weren't flower killers I'd have some nice flower closeups. HAhahaa....I will most certainly be on the lookout for some wildflowers of something along the road....or coming to your house. :)

I am trying to get geared up for more Etsy creating. Oh, I so need to do that.  It's been too long. Lisa and I are going to update our look.....get a new store banner up there and some different things. Spruce up the place a bit.    We are also going to take some beginning steps to work on a "project" that I am quite excited about.  It entails lots of artistry. That's all I am going to say about it.  It'll be, hopefully, inspiring to others. 

Well, here's some odds and ends photographs....Ella and her daddy looking for worms.

a sweetly dimpled curly haired boy (who has a mom that will not cut the hair yet because of those curls!!!)

the three chalk artists...well, the two chalk artists and the janitor. ;-)

i really don't know what this face is all about....hmm.....

kinda cool pic of Ella jumproping with her cousin Sydney looking on while she sits...

all I can say about this photograph...I'm already nervous about her becoming a young woman....beautiful...

most certainly like a dream....

looking through photographs of these children makes my heart want to endure any difficulty we have with them, as we try to lead them along the best way...it's not easy, but so, so worth it.  we press on because of the love in our hearts...

blessings..
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

tomboy?

perhaps....but she goes to all-girl-mode pretty fast, too!  

today was a miserable game (although the tied) due to the weather- cold and wet.   thank goodness for Grandpa being there, so I could stay in the van with a sleeping Will David who napped that whole hour and half(!) and talkative (precious) Buddy.  i parked on the side so we could have a view of the field....i saw sweet girl using her blanket whilst on the bench, and just knew she had to be cold!  well, one thing for sure, she's going to be "weathered" by the time she is in the pros....haha.....

Happy Mother's Day!

blessings.....
  

dancing light

one thing about where we live.....it's rich with sunlight when there IS sunlight. i mean, not many shady trees in the backyard.  and the church's field just at the end of the street, well, it's completely open and ready for all the light in the world to give it some of its glory.   i don't mind the sun....although the not-much-shade-in-our-backyard bugs me, we don't have sunlight too often in NE Ohio.  tonight is a night that i am absolutely LOVING the sunlight....the sun is setting in its own brilliant way.    thin, tall shadows are reaching across from one yard to the next.    the air has cooled. the sun is letting go of its position in the sky, making room for that moon to do its thing.   when i took a late evening walk tonight, i enjoyed the flickering, dancing movement the light and shadows made.   the nature trail down the road a ways is the perfect opportunity to just....stop.   stop and let nature dance.   a few times during my trail walk, i stopped.  i pondered upon some things i saw.  i made sure i could remember details, as i started in my nature sketchbook again today.    its part of our homeschooling summer curriculum to do a nature sketchbook, and also to study birds, and hopefully some trees/flowers/insects/etc.   anyways, the nature trail is a gift.   what God has made is truly a gift...and a shame that we don't enjoy these simple things more often.

last night, as i took some small video clips of Ella in the field for something for church, i took the opportunity to take some pictures of her in her "naturey" dress.  green on her is perfection. something with her complexion and her hair...we had to ignore (kinda) the bees, and (kinda) itchy grass, but she was a delight to capture...and to test out my new replacement lens (so I can be confident with my photos!) was wonderful...

 
 
   

destiny

do you ever wonder

how is it you came to this particular moment in your life

and what's keeping you there

how you've changed

what has God given to you

this day

or last week

last year

a decade ago.

do you ever wonder

why

you've done what you've done

the changes you've made

the decisions you were given

promises you made or promises broken

or how you've been challeneged by God

or have challenged Him?

perhaps maybe you've thought not much of those things

because you're settled within

yourself, with thoughts bent towards

internal struggle with confidence,

or fear, or lack of joy,

and thinking upon these things are

quite difficult.  just not your cup of tea.

i think i've been doing both lately,

becoming more contemplative

and sometimes just a tad more closed up

in my heart towards my own understanding

of myself and my relationship with the Lord.

sometimes I just want to quit.

either simple things, or bigger things.

oh, one time I wanted to quit my blog. ;0

and another, well,  umm....cooking. lol.

neither are very realistic. I guess

we all reach those points at times.

we think we need a new comfort zone.

but really, God will give us all the comforting we need.

i suppose i'm just rambling too much now.

i feel inspired by a ladies Bible study

lately to just dive  back into writing.

writing what...i'm not sure.

i think for one, writing here.

with homeschooling in mind,

or just a woman living in faith,

and perhaps with my own children

as we begin new homeschool adventures via

nature journals this summer.

it's funny how inspiration comes to us at differnet times.

it's veiled for me quite a bit

but then, that veil can instantly be removed

and the LIGHT that comes

is brilliant, and amazing.

my mind has wandered to thinking of

my own destiny through these inspiring times.

for I believe, especially now, as a mom with growing children,

and a love and desire to be the wife and mother God wants me to be,

I need to focus on where I've BEEN, what I'm doing NOW,

and knowing that God has my future in His Hand, and I do NOT

need to focus on worrying about that at all.

but just to TRUST in all things,

in the Lord,

that if I can only stay within His reach,

and can touch that unveiled cross,

He will lead me to the Amy Russell

that he wants me to be.

Difficult, yes.

Terrifying, at times.

Unending love.......Always.

I can't fathom the Love He has for me, for all of us.

Because I know how much love I have for this little guy (pictured here about 8 months ago or so) and I cannot seem to imagine Anyone loving Anyone else more.

Amazing.

Amazing Love,

Amazing Grace.