stacie's sacred space

a real perspective

these are the people that make today so happy.

i couldn't stop smiling when i read these sweet cards from my three big kids!

there perspective is real.

 

 

 

yes, i like a lot of food.

yes, my job is to be a mom.

yes, i must jump rope more than i thought i did.

yes, i help them when they need help.

yes, i'm good at cleaning even though i didn't think so.

yes, one of my favorite hobbies is getting exercise.

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sometimes i don't know the impact i make on this world so it's good to have today to be reminded.

i am the momma i am because i have a great moms who teach me lessons all the time.

i also have amazing friends who role model love only a momma can give to her children to help me on some of the best days and some of the hardest days too!

paaaaarty!

birthdays are pretty good around here.

they ALWAYS start with birthday breakfast (most often krispy kreme donuts).

 

sometimes we even have parties.

this was a big one!

 

emma has celebrated every single birthday with janie-brain.

cousins are awesome!

 

greer is janie's best dance buddie.

you wouldn't believe the friendship that can be built in 30 mins. a week!

 

anna has been in class with janie the past couple years.

she's a "b" kid so her cubby is always close to janie's too.

she's a quiet and sweet soul!

 

alaina is in class with janie this year.

she happens to live right by joey's best friend so janie sees her around that culdesac too!

 

sydney is janie's brand new friend this year.

i can see why they are great buddies ... they both have three brothers, and they both have a nice mix of sweet and sassy to them!

 

ellie is janie's long time friend.

these two have been together at church group meetings as toddlers to preschool and now it's mostly on the playground and playdates!

 

sweet caroline became janie's friend because of their big sibs (joey and ella) who have been in class together for four years.

they got to be in kindergarten and have such fun being girlie girls together!

 

maura and bridgie are more long time friends of janie's.

our families hang together, and both of them helped a whole bunch at the party!

 

this girl smiled and posed and hammed it up a bunch on her seventh birthday.

pure joy!

 

lots of love in this picture.

janie's building her home team!

 

it was a heARTY party.

 

she even got silly with her painting ... an "old man's face."

 

hearts, polka dots, and pink, oh my!

 

she couldn't even stop smiling to blow out her candles!

 

the gifts are the special friends who came to celebrate with her!

thank you from the very bottom of our hearts!!

 

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here are a couple more pictures in case you thought i was super momma.

i had a lot of help!!

dave and the j kids were patient all week while momma was busy, my friends popped in throughout the week to help, my bestie was on the phone or texting me to help me through cake baking and any "crisis" that came up for me, my neighbor even ran out on that cold, cold saturday to pick up balloons and help me before the party, and some of friends were right here by my side to help with the party (the painting, the keeping me sane, the gaming, the picture taking, the ice cream scooping, the laughing, the snack serving, the boo-boo kissing).

 

 

yep, both above and below.

these are some super special momma friends!

my heart is swollen with all the gratitude.

 

 

 

seven looks good on you, janie.

big stuff has happened ... from six to seven

you continue to make us laugh, you are the reason there's pink and turqouise in the laundry, you are flexible, you go to school all day long, you are kind and caring, you ran around on the soccer fields, you picked up a dance class (hip hop and ballet now!), you are brave, you are helpful, you are the only you we have!!

i couldn't be happier to have that you-y, you in my life, jane-brain!

i love you so much!

you are a gift in my life.

the little things

i got a thank you note in the mail last week from a newish friend, jenny.

i had to read it a couple times.

it made me smile and cry at the same time!

how's that for real joy?

the thing she was thanking me for was something i thought was really little.

i like little things.

i love to share little things!

sometimes they are so little that nagging inner critic tells me they are too tiny to share.

in this thank you note, jenny shared a story about how my gift came just at the right time in her life.

serendipity ... yep, i believe in it!

that thank you note was so touching to me that i wanted to sit down and write thank you notes to all of the people who do so much for me (yes, even in the little things!).

this isn't the only time recently that i've heard how much little things i do touch others.

so gosh, darn it, i am going to continue my mission to quiet that inner critic (maybe even kick her out of my life).

i'm also gonna get caught up on my own thank you notes.

sometimes the little things make a big difference!!

spontaneous and quick

in the summer time, my friend, theresa mentioned that she would love for me to take pics of her family.

i'm looking for people to practice on besides my own tribe.

although i have so much fun taking pics of them, they get sick of me playing that role sometimes.

so this awesome weather and the beautifully decorated barn down the street, made me give theresa a call on our way out of town for one of the christmas celebrations.

i told her that i'd be around christmas day all day in my jammies and would take their pictures after mass if she wanted to meet me at the barn down the street.

we knew that the stars would have to align to make this happen though.

they did!

check out what i captured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks, r family for being my models!

you guys made my job easy.

 

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spontaneous and quick ... that's how i roll.

so now i can't stop dreaming of my life work.

ideas, goals, it's all so exciting especially as a new year is about to begin.

the message

"do not be afraid; for behold, i proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. for today in the city of david a savior has been born for you who is the messiah and lord.

...glory to god in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

- luke 2:10-14

 

i've done a lot more lectio divina (praying the scriptures) this year.

it has been a way of prayer that helps me to listen from a place in the depths of my heart.

thank goodness i have amazing guidance.

god's word is comforting.

yesterday when we read the birth of jesus according to luke, i enjoyed seeing the dates and highlighting in my bible.

i always love coming across the message "do not be afraid."

i don't think i can hear that enough in my life!

fear creeps in so often.

he takes it and brings me to peace and joy.

god's word is a gift i get everyday.

that painting in the picture above made by my friend kellyn was a gift this christmas too.

it was perfect for our little christmas altar keeping us centered on christmas day!

celebrating with friends

 

 

it was elliot's fifth birthday (a week ago)!

we got to celebrate with him.

when we all get together, there's always laughter and often some tears mixed in with it and no matter what the occasion, we have fun!

we had so much fun hanging together for this birthday that we decided on a whim a couple days later to have dinner together after exchanging a bunch of texts and phone calls and pictures of the sunset we were each watching on opposite sides of town.

thanks, wendy and eddie and all the r kids for having us.

everything is better with friends, that's for sure!

friends like you who know me inside and out and who love me quirks & all bring me so much joy!!

when the stars align

i go have fun!

 

last friday, joey's best buddie offered us two tix to the buckeye game for saturday.

it was a last minute good deal.

i sent a text to those two sweet friends above to see what i could bring to the rv for their tailgate party and if i could hang with them while my boys went to the game.

my niece becca was home from college too so i sent a quick text to see if she could babysit. thanks so so much, sweetie!

 

it all worked out for dave, joey and me to head down to campus for some warm apple cider, chili and home game fun.

it was awesome!!

i could have walked around and taken all kinds of fun pics but i snapped a few of the cute kiddos at our party and this bus :)

 

 

 

 

 

then i was happy to spot these two dudes.

this was a great start to october 20eleven even though the home team disappointed us.

thank you, thank you kelly and steph and your whole tribe of hosts. you guys know how to have lots of fun!!

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ugh, so many of these pics turned out blurry. i had camera shake big time especially on that last one. i'm messing with more settings and i refuse to not have pics from these days of learning so i'm posting 'em anyway. i need lots and lots of practice to get a hold of these manual settings i'm working with. life happens faster than i'm adjusting the settings. i am trying really hard to be patient and gentle with myself and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

i think i could get used to this

there was so much to do the day we hung at the lake.

 

a trampoline to jump on and play king of the hill on (that's sydney, darcy and j.p.s niece ... she's between joey and janie in age and joey had a blast with her. she was really sweet to all my kids!)

 

 

and do cannonballs off

 

 

kelly's island (that piece of styrofoam) to surf on, use as a giant surf board or play king of the hill on again (and rumor has it, it's a nice drink table when you're swimming around too :))

 

 

a slide to slide into the lake from (see that green one behind these boys in the boat who were trying to keep away from the dog they were afraid of)

 

 

a wake boarding helmet to put on when you wanna pretend you can do it just like your mama and daddy do almost every morning they wake up at the lake ... who knows maybe jack will be the youngest wake boarder in the bunch within a couple years. i wouldn't put it past that boy!

 

 

dog toys to throw off the dock and watch mumford leap for (even though i didn't get that action shot)

 

 

an upper deck to play on

 

 

i said play because there was a kayak stored up there that these boys played in for a while

 

 

awesome people to hang out with - kelly and darcy, it was so much fun to talk with girlfriends!

 

 

tricycles to ride

 

 

mumford, a sleepy doggie, to be afraid of play with

 

 

boat rides

 

 

tubing

 

 

picture taking

 

 

getting spilled off the tube - joey took a pretty good fly/dive off that "couch" - although there were tears and he was pretty scared, when we told him to get back in the boat for the rest of the ride, he said "no i want to ride on the tube again!" he's a tough cookie!

 

 

the love of my life right there by my side

 

 

lots of bare feet wrinkled from being wet almost all day

 

 

a little swimming in the rain

 

 

new pals to play with (even if it is a little leapster time)

 

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man, oh man was this some good summer fun!

we might just have to add visiting the lake house to our next summer list.

there is a calm and a peace (even amidst some of the chaos i manage on a day to day basis) around water.

we might have a future on a lake even though i'd have a lot of learning to do steering and parking jet skis ... i wouldn't even try to drive a boat!! maybe i'll stick to canoes or paddle boats. i want to try a kayak sometime too. heck maybe my water fix will come from a creek or pond or waterfall or even our annual trips to the ocean!

happy campers

 

these kids went to nature camps last week at one of my very favorite metro parks in the area.

i fueled 'em with healthy breakfasts and packed lunch, they lubed up with bug spray and sunscreen every morning, and we were off every morning.

they hiked, they played games, they dissected owl pellets, they made crafts, they creeked, they fished, they ate snacks, they hung with some good friends and they made new friends. it was a good program!!

they came home happy and tired.

i got to see some of my good friends and carpool too. thanks, traci and kellyn ... i get by with a little help from my friends :)

all i've got

i'm running low on energy.

i don't know what it is ... summer running might just be wearing me out.

all i've got today are the things that i've done this week that make me happy.

 

getting the linen closet cleaned out after it's been on my list for months.

 

having school supplies packed in backpacks and ready for the chaos that begins in less than a month.

it's a bittersweet feeling.

i do find peace in feeling prepared physically!

yes, do notice there are three of those big backpacks so on august twenty something jeffrey and i will be on our own from nine or so in the morning till two forty-five or so in the afternoon feeling our way through what the heck we'll do with our strange new lifestyle ... yes, it may seem wonderful to many, but to me it will definitely take some adjusting after having three kids by my side almost all day everyday last year.

the only thing that's constant in my life is change so i better get used to it!

 

 

trying a new recipe (i've never made sliders!) and the kids liking it.

it helps me tremendously to have a good friend (thanks, trac) working by my side with new recipes in hand in the kitchen.