the quotable effie.

sickness starts in the kitchen...

...and ends in the bathroom.

praise be.

in celebration of goodness & light, in honor of beauty & wonder: i will rise early, meditate and give thanks and praises.

i will search for hidden joys in the mundane: hallelujah! the bacon sizzles! hip hip hurrah! the wind is playing in my hair! holy cow! today is majestic.

i will acknowledge negativity: real or perceived, mine or otherwise, and nod. take note, and move on.

in celebration of peace & calm: i will remember that no one can hurt me without my consent. and i will have patience with myself and others.

"Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating." - Simone Weil

"Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged"

-Helen Keller

by its right name.

my great grandmother, effie marie, and me when i was still lauren marie.
(she crocheted that blanket for me, because i am her namesake.)

this snazzy, jazzy lady was a treat. when i was born, i was given her middle name. she didn't go by effie, her chosen name was petie, after a farm helper she followed around and adored as a child. (or so i believe the story goes.)

when i ask to be called effie, it's more than a passing fancy. and i feel rude and ungrateful for not personifying the name my parents chose for me, but lauren just does not fit. i've felt for my whole life that it meant big shoes to fill. "lauren" should be sophisticated, eloquent, graceful, put together. and while i am many things, i am not that.

effie means "melodious talk", which if find more fitting. effie is relaxed, fun, more likely to trip over a flat surface... much like me.

where lauren would be a lovely fur coat, effie is your favorite worn out cardigan. and i'd quite rather be comfy than pretty.

and i feel comfy in "effie". i feel like myself, with no expectations, no standards to meet, just plain ol' effie. and i like it.

"For a moment she rediscovered the purpose of her life. She was here on earth to grasp the meaning of its wild enchantment, and to call each thing by its right name."

(p.s. happy fiftieth post!)

last nite.

“When I am with you, we stay up all night.
When you're not here, I can't go to sleep.
Praise God for those two insomnias!
And the difference between them.”
-rumi

(i love my lovey and the fun we have together.)

my goal in life:

"A cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how suddenly jarred." - Amy Carmichael

a friend posted this on facebook, and it really resonated within me. this is my latest mantra, my every intention.

busy times.

big weekend! saturday we had vi's party, and it was quite a success. though you can't really go wrong with hotdogs, root beer (thanks to the castoes), d.j. lance rock cake, and far too many presents. violette was very happy, thanks to all our awesome friends and family who do what they do. we appreciate it all so very much.

sunday, brady's dad popped over from amarillo and we had a quiet day while he slept and then we went shopping and got pizza, fun times.

tonite is church here and then afterwards... the midnite release of harry potter!!!!!! i can't wait, really. this morning we're headed over to my grandma's to play, and then tomorrow is my 6 week appointment with the midwives. bittersweet, because i know it's my last midwife appt., ever. i'm sure i'll cry :)

saturday was also theodore's 6 week mark, he is the biggest of my babies, by far, which is interested because he was the teeniest at birth. he is just so so chubby and roly poly! though he insists on shedding all newborn trademarks way too early, it's okay. i was concerned about it, and really wanting to enjoy his baby phase, but i had this realization the other day. when we get stuck in a particular stage, be it newborn, baby, toddler... whatever, and we're really sad when they grow out of it, it's awfully unfair to the little one. because we're so concerned about them not being what we want them to be, and also we're missing out on the stuff they're doing NOW. the past is PAST, right? i mean, how often do we get stuck there, meandering through the day, thinking about the good times we had or the bad, or just whatever. but we're totally missing out on RIGHT NOW.

time for my favorite cheese quote:

"the past is history, the future's a mystery, the present is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

today i'm going to be here now.

oh, & i love my husband. & he loves me. squeee!

my problem with "art".

i've always been a wary of* "art" and those who claim to be "artists" of any stripe. and while i've never quite been able to put my finger on just why that is, tonite i received great clarity on the matter.

i've been thinking about this lately and i think it's that most people with a gift, or "skills", as the case may be, seem to enjoy putting down, or simply pointing out the flaws of, those without the same gifts or "skills". i know i'm so guilty of doing this. if i happen across a knitted object where the purl stitch was done backwards and caused the stockinette stitch to be twisted, i giggle and smile a smug smile of knowing. knowing the difference in knit and purl. knowing what stockinette stitch is. knowing that i'm right, and this object is so wrong. the sad thing is, i don't know.

i don't know if this is the first item that this particular person has knitted. and if they saw my smug smile, or heard my careless comments, they could be discouraged and not pick up knitting again. or this person may know full well that their knitting is twisted and they like it that way! there are many things i don't know, but acting this way only shows that i do know critical judgment, cynicism and pride*.

and this is especially important for those of us that claim to follow the ways of Christ. ^{Hebrews 3: 13} says "but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." yes, i'm taking it out of context, but i think is so important that we encourage each other. and it's hard, i get it. it's way easier to make fun of something than it is to say "hey, that is awesome, you GO for making this!" (especially if someone is still in the learning phase, and their stuff sucks.) i mean, it's cheesy and oh so pollyanna to be nice, but it matters.

and guess what, instead of getting butthurt about my crappy n00b photography and giving up(which i really want to do. i admit, my panties are in a bit of a twist right now) i'm going to keep on snapping. and trying to get better. and i'm going to keep posting my pictures, because i'm proud of myself for doing something.

and hey! guess who else did something. my BFF vanessa. she did something i would never, ever do. because i'm scared of criticism and sharing my heart. but she's not! and we all get to experience something sweet and beautiful because of it. go check out nessa singing a lovely song and be blessed by her pretty voice and her sense of daring. i know i am.

so, let's all go make something beautiful and encourage someone attempting something new. and maybe soon we can all become artists and creators and reflections of the great creator we're supposed to be.

*1. and, conflictingly, drawn towards, but that's for another day.
*2. yes, i'm aware that this whole post was spurred on by critical judgment and cynicism... to quote hank hill: "it's called a double standard, bobby, live with it."

lastly, i apologize for the insane amount of run-on sentences that i seem to be so fond of writing.

children are people too!

"if there is something we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves"- carl jung

this quote sums up my thoughts on children completely. i see a disrespect and sense of ownership towards most kids, and it breaks my heart. i am not talking about spanking, or time-outs, or any other punitive measure the majority of people in America use, but the general attitude behind all of it.

i have yet to figure out why, if parents/grandparents say they want to spend time with their children/grandchildren, when it comes time to actually being together, the adult usually ends up chastising the child, and the child ends up in tears. for not playing the proper way, for not "staying inside the lines", for not posing just so for the photo, for "being sassy"... the list is endless. next time, why not step back and watch the child at play? marvel at the ingenuity and creativity that is naturally intrinsic. why not sit back and see how cleverly kids can work out problems themselves, instead of directing how they are playing together.

children are resourceful and capable beings, they do not need nearly as much "help" as we assume. let them figure out how to put on their shoes, dress themselves, feed themselves, cook with you... when we do these things for them, usually out of impatience or inconvenience for ourselves, we take away the child's independence and will to try something new in the future!

children are not malicious, nor do they have the capacity for manipulation or deception. curiosity is not equal to impertinence. (sidenote: honestly, i'd rather have an impertinent child who thinks for herself, than a "good girl", who does not question anything.)

simply put, there is never a reason for an adult to make a child feel badly about himself. when i am with my daughters, i want them to feel huge and confident and complete in themselves, not belittled or shamed.

steps to take towards respecting children
from john holt: the needs and rights of children.

-being genuinely courteous towards a child, using the same tones you would towards an adult
-not treating a child like a servant and demanding from him favors or services that we would not think of asking of someone our own age
-respecting and protecting the child's right to privacy, that means privacy of thought as well as space. (People who really like hearing what their children have been doing don't usually have to ask them.)

effie recommended books on the subject:
-above all, be kind, by zoe weil
-peaceful parents, peaceful kids, by naomi drew
-living simply with whildren: a voluntary simplicity guide for moms, dads, and kids who want to reclaim the bliss of childhood and the joy of parenting, by marie sherlock
-the creative family: how to encourage imagination and nurture family connections, by amanda blake-soule


forgive me for bouncing all over the place here, but it is early and i am still pregnant :)

recently.

There is a community of the spirit
Join it, and feel the delight
of walking in the noisy street,
and being the noise.
-rumi