~happy friday~

we like to fly on fridays.
to be a superhero.
to escape the pressures of the week.
to let loose and act a little zany.
(although, some of us just like to play on the computer for a break.)
to fly like a little birdie.
hope these make your day a little lighter~
and let the stress out a bit.
well, not this one. this one is stressful.
and a bit scary.
i guess it's more for halloween.

backyard beauties

i wanted to share some pacific northwest goodness with you all:

first, the bicycle that brian and the kids surprised me with one friday afternoon...
i am so happy to have this! i can't tell you how many times i've said,
"if i only had a bike, we could just ride there."
now we can.

there is beer in portland.
lots and lots.
we don't grow this on trees in our yard
and this isn't even a portland brew,
but i thought you would enjoy the short stout bottle nonetheless.
i'm random like that.

berries in our yard.
love them.
i love picking a handful and gobbling them up with the kids.
and i think they happen to be beautiful.
(i also made raspberry lime jam for the first time ever with some local friends... thanks ladies!)

tiny little flowers...

that you almost walk right past...

grapes growing by our back porch... not sure what type yet.
but they are fun to watch grow...

i think i'm supposed to dislike the moss in the northwest
because it grows everywhere,
but i just find it to be beautiful!!

one more little berry.

and my favorite:
not necessarily special to the nw, but i love, LOVE hydrangeas!!
and i'm so happy there are a few bushes in the yard.
(i will probably plant more...)

busting loose.

see these hoodlums?
the ones who can't find anything better to do than crowd around an iphone and watch some sort of video?
the ones who have been slightly neglected in the midst of moving, starting a new job, new city, new church?
the ones who have played well and fought well with one another all summer?

see the big kid holding the phone?
he has an adventurer's heart.
he wants to explore, experience and just go.
the one that looks like a smaller version of him, just likes to go with him. anywhere.
even if it's the bathroom.

the little girly girl just wants to sing songs and prance around.
and the baby? well, i just have a crush on him. except when his diaper smells.

so.
we figured they've been "caged" long enough.
we're taking them camping. to the wide open spaces.
one night. four kids. one tent. two inexperienced-with-camping parents.
and one puppy.
it's a test run to see how we all do. i hope we don't get eaten by a bear.
or get ticks. or rabies. or have anyone fall into the fire.

pray for the brave souls that have invited us to join them...
we don't even have a tent yet. and our flashlights are all dead. and nic can't find his swimsuit. man, i've got to get busy...

we're leaving tomorrow morning and you could say the mood around here is somewhat ecstatic.

a dull sparkle?

as i was brushing my teeth tonight, i noticed my wedding ring. at one time it had sparkled and shone, but tonight, i noticed it was really dull and darkened. i quickly cleaned it up and was amazed at how willing it was to shine again. and since i can't keep myself from thinking of life as a series of analogies, i of course began to think of how symbolic my treatment of this ring is towards my marriage.

i don't ever really forget the ring is there. it's lived on my finger for over 12 years now and even as my hands grow more wrinkled and tired, it will remain there - Lord willing. i move it around quite a bit. since i indulge in just about every other nervous habit oriented around my hands, it's only natural that i would also spin and fidget with my ring.

when my hands are cold, i often switch my engagement ring to my right hand and wear both rings separated. when i do that, i quickly remember how it felt to wear that engagement ring. i would stare at it all the time - knowing the lifetime promises were going to quickly follow my receiving it.

when it's hot, my fingers swell and it becomes impossible to take the rings off.
when i play with the kids, i turn the ring around so that the diamond is sideways so that i won't scratch them. my wedding rings are the only piece of jewelry that i've owned that actually have any value. (and there you have another possible analogy.)

i feel quite sentimental about it all right now.

tonight, i watched the bachlorette. (yes, i am a scumbag and i watch that show from time to time; you may think whatever you'd like of me.) though I get caught up in the fairytale of it all, i often wonder and worry about how these couples will fare after it all ends. how could you possibly succeed after all of the dramatic romance and perfectly orchestrated dates are no longer the norm, and real life sets in? and it made me think of how sometimes that is how our own engagements and dating can be. so much romance and excitement and then, before you know it, you find yourself 12 years and four kids later in the midst of a very real life and the hands that are wearing those rings are just a little more worn out looking. ironically, my own experience of marriage and love involves so much more reality than the reality show.

but tonight, right now, my ring is shining.
and when i think of the man whose finger i also placed a ring on back then, my heart shines a bit too.

but maybe his awareness of these feelings of mine is lost somewhere in the daily living. perhaps the requests of "please take the kids somewhere" or "could you do the dishes/laundry/etc" crowd out affectionate expressions. maybe the love i have for him appears somewhat dull to him. perhaps like my ring, it needs a little shine from time to time.

i think i can take care of this ring a little better. and i think i can create a little more sparkle in my marriage as well. and i will.

but right now, i'm delighting in the comfort of the permanency of it all. i'm finding pleasure in the indention that remains under my rings and finding pleasure in my promise to walk this life with this man. and just as the ring has become quite a part of my actual hand, my husband has become a part of my actual being.
i can't imagine life without him.

(photos taken in atlanta, march 2009 by my friend keri walker)

a reading list.

sundays are good for reading.

so here is some of what i've started reading, have read and am reading with the kids.
(from top to bottom)
1. (wind in the willows) BEAUTIFULLY written. i love this one. the kids, not so much. but i'm pressing on and forcing it on them. i guess there just aren't enough wizards or lions or battles in it for their tastes. ;)
2. started on mother's day. crazy that it's set right here in OR. i became unsure about the story half way through, but i am sure i keep hearing "jesus is fond of you." in my head which seems like a good thing.
3. i love me some anne lamott. wish she was my friend. just started this one...
4. great little diddy from susan schaeffer macaulay on our responsibility to educate our children... at home or school. (highlights charlotte mason's thoughts on education) helpful and encouraging.
5. Going Public is a book written to encourage christian parents that their kids can thrive in public school. i am really thankful to be reading this one. their example as parents is really encouraging.
6. (world without end) what to say about ken follett? Pillars of the Earth was another world that i LOVED to visit for the month or so that it took me to read... this one is his sequel. i started it, but then took too long of a pause, so i will probably start it again once life settles a bit. (HA!)
7. a book given to me by another pastor's wife in seattle. written by jerram barrs (love him) about God's perspective on women in the bible. i haven't gotten far enough to comment about this book, but i am passionate about women having value and a voice in the christian community... maybe the book will speak to that. (anyone read it?)
8. and a goodwill find for a few bucks. great stories, nice pictures and crowd pleasing at our house. ;)
9. (not pictured) Death by Suburb... started today... LOVE it and feel that it's going to make me think. ironically, we have moved out of the suburbs and into city life here in portland, but i still think this book is going to speak to the "american way of life" in general regardless. i'm looking forward to reading more.

i'd love to hear any book recommendations you have or thoughts about any of the above that you've read!!

to do:

1. hang pictures~
lots of them. everywhere.
smiling faces, happy places and people we love.

2. laundry~
oh, the laundry... the never ending piling of
dirty smelly clothes.
sort. wash. fold. put away. repeat.
until you die.
(not to be negative or anything.)

3. rent a bulldozer~
(or maybe dynamite?)
for the toys and clutter oozing out of
the kids rooms and into the hallway.

4. enjoy having four kids~
we haven't made tons of friends yet...
so it's great that they have one another.
and thankfully, their friendship with one another has been blossoming.

5. find a home for all the pretty little things~
most of my surface space looks like this. eeek!

6. build new bookshelves?
i'm considering built-ins. we have more books than
we have bookshelves. and we ALL know that getting rid
of books is NOT an option.
(okay, except maybe the american literature anthology below.)

7. did i mention we have clutter?
i keep ignoring this cesspool and it doesn't go away.
what's the deal? doesn't that work?

so. there you have it folks.
when i have a second in my day, this is the list of things i'm considering tackling.
overall, the process of moving here has been amazing mostly due to
how serving our church community has been. so many people have helped us
move in, paint, get settled, paint, paint, and paint some more.
we are VERY close to having the entire main floor painted!!
(which means, i'm running out of excuses to deal with the above!)
(if any of you who have helped us read this, THANK YOU!!)

my kids read too much.

i've actually never said the above.
and i kinda doubt i ever will. so in our house, we are doing what we can to encourage book indulgence. we have officially kicked off our "reading for media" program in the prentiss household...

(boys playing the new lego star wars that oliver got for his bday!
NOT difficult to get them to play this)

(boys listening and working on a history lesson from the story of the world)
(doesn't count toward minutes as "reading" but a really nice activity that they actually like, but still harder to get them to do this~ like reading.)

you might say we've been known to indulge a little in the media* world. we love movies, mama loves for the kids to quietly watch a show (or two... okay on a bad day, even more!), we love music, u-tube, blogs, games, etc....
all of this adds up~ QUICKLY.
i often feel myself slipping into over indulging with it all, especially during something like a move~ hypothetically speaking of course.
so.
here's my attempt at getting a handle on it all: for every minute that the kids read during the day, they gain a minute of media time (up to a maximum of 60 minutes). they keep track of their own minutes and it all works out beautifully. and by doing this, we are all helped in choosing what is good over what is easy.

the only problem that we've run into is regarding the guitar hero game that the boys just bought at a yard sale. I (the mom who kinda doesn't really get the video game world) LOVE THIS GAME. so i want to bend the rules a little here... but i'll be strong. ;) i promise.

********

on a side note, THANK you ALL for checking in with me and letting me know you're out there. all of your comments felt like one great big hug!! and really i'm blown away. i thought for sure that i had killed this blog by not contributing for so long.

so thanks for hanging in there. i hope to post at least once a week and at some point, i'll do a "house warming party", blog style of course. wish i could post more!
xo~ kp

*i don't think it's wrong to use extra media with kids to endure a difficult period of life, fyi. so you are not allowed to feel condemned (here) if you have been doing so. it doesn't mean you're a bad mom if you do... we all cope with circumstances differently AND we all have different capacities and convictions. so be free!! now go love your kids!

i'm posting something.

(elliot and kiddos on our front steps)

see that adorable missing-a-tooth smile?
that's how i feel about any of you still lingering around here...
thanks for hanging in there.

i want you to know that i'm slowing working toward making space in my life for things like this 'ole blog. it's important to me~ makes me feel healthier in a way.
this move we have been through from california to portland, oregon has been consuming. for some reason, i haven't known how to share about all the emotions involved in front of this immense audience of ten?? readers and so it has left me somewhat silent.
but, i'm coming up for air.

and i'm going to be pushing my thoughts, photos and kids on you all once again.
that is...
~IF~
any of you are still out there... anyone?... anyone??...
bueller??...

something important:

i know some of you who read this blog also pray.

and i want you to do so for some new friends of ours.
i've hesitated to even put this on here because i don't want to dramatize it some way and it's just been difficult to know what to say, but i feel it's important to gather as many people as we can to comfort and pray for this family.

melissa and kalen have a little boy named aiden that is almost two.
around two weeks ago, aidan fell three stories from a window that had a loose screen. he landed on his head on the sidewalk. miraculously, he survived... and is even recovering now and looking better each day. but they have a long road ahead of them~ many needs, many steps, many questions and many fears to face~ our hope is that there will also be many miracles to come.

if you could, please move off of this (lame and neglected) blog and over to their blog (www.prayersforaidan.blogspot.com)to read about the journey this family has been on since aidan ended up in pediatric ICU.
and don't just read... pray if you will. and let them know you were there. don't worry about having the right words, just let them know they are not alone. kalen shared with me one night that the love of perfect strangers for his son that they didn't even know helped him believe that God really does love him. perhaps God could increase all of our faith through joining into this difficult road ahead for melissa, kalen and aidan.
please join them.