Dear Trevor Knight

Trevor,

We don't know each other. We have little in common but for our Oklahoma addresses. You would know nothing about me and truthfully, though I'm a graduate of The University of Oklahoma and an avid football fan, until last night, I knew very little about you. I am the mother of a 5 year old son. He has been acclimated to football since his adoption four years ago. Living in the Bible belt, it was expected that we redefine their definition of "American football", as 'football' in Ethiopia is the American equivalent to soccer.  It didn't take long to make him a believer. My husband has worn black and gold as a Saints fanatic since childhood and I ate oysters at Acme once and fell in love with a city that never gives up. 

So between OU Saturdays and Saints Sundays, our kids have become overrun with football. While he still loves soccer, the five year old has been asking for the last two years to play on a team. The fan in me is ready to sign him up, but the Mom in me has countless reasons to say "not yet".  Safety concerns, his age and the aggressiveness of the overall sport will make me keep searching for flag football teams for several more years to come. 

But there is another aspect of the game with which I struggle. As with most high profile positions and situations in life, the bad seem to dominate the headlines and unfortunately are most of what my kids see. Players and actors making news primarily for their wrong choices and not the right ones. Last night Allstate honored players at half time for their activism off the football field and last night you were rewarded for all your hard work on the field. 

What struck me when it was all over and the mics were crammed in your face was not your stats, it was your humility, your grace. It was absolutely refreshing to watch. Completely reminded me of a mutual hero, Drew Brees. It made me want to hug your mama. 

And while my five year old tuckered out before halftime, you can be sure next season when Sooner Nation dones your jersey because of your on field actions, there's a 5yr old in OKC who will done one because of your off field moves. 

Hugs, 

A Future Football Mama 

Growth Indoors: An Experiment

 



So it may be a smidge understated that I am having a hard time dealing with the cooler weather around here. The thought of not being able to play outside in the garden and watching every thing in our backyard freeze over always depresses me slightly.

 

By January, I'm over the weather and the bickering kids on the weekends and am ready to start pruning trees and tilling dirt. This year, I decided to experiment with growing a few things inside in order to combat a post-Super Bowl depression (that really is the only reason there is a January right?). The Hero seems to believe that I have once again taken my projects overboard, but I think I kept myself in check for the most part. 

 

Exhibit A: Our dining room table. One tomato plant, a jalapeno plant and a Tabasco pepper plant. This area of the house gets great sunlight and we never eat here, so these babies are guaranteed to have a warm and safe winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit B: Our kitchen counter across from our giant window that overlooks the back yard.

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit C: Window sill in the kitchen. Those two tiny little sprouts are romaine lettuce. We'll see how they hold up. I am fully aware that lettuce can be grown outside for awhile past cooler weather and even some times past frost, but our immediate neighbors have decided feeding rabbits are a great idea. Apparently, they love eating here better, so I'm forced to try inside earlier than I would have liked.

 

 

 

 

Any one else growing something inside this winter?  How else do you bust the winter time blues?

Garden Planning 2014: Bat Houses?

Spring of 2014 will be my third spring planting a garden. I never would have thought a little hobby of ours would have grown into a 1/4 of our backyard and one of my favorite parts of every day. As I am making my list of what I want to add for next year, I've been researching a lot of garden supply blogs and stores online. 

Since Oklahoma didn't have much of a harsh winter last year, our mosquito population exploded this year. It felt as though every evening in the garden was cut short to being covered with whelps and bites over every inch of our bodies. The Hero sprayed organic spray, we doused ourselves in repellent before going outside and we avoided the most prevalent times of the day to work out in the garden, but all was for not. 

As I researched ways to rid ourselves of mosquitoes and Calamine lotion, I read that bats are avid mosquito hunters. In fact, one bat can eat between 500-1000 mosquitoes in an HOUR?!! I was intrigued. 

Bats appear to not cause damage to property, butterflies, pets or kids. And the only thing you need to do in order to attract them is to put up a bat house. A house for bats? I know. Right. I never knew there was such a thing. 

Take this beauty for example: 

It is a two chambered model, offered by www.gardenharvestsupply.com at is a two chambered model. Breeding couples are housed on one side and single bats can live on the opposite side. The instructions state that the house should be placed fifteen feet above the ground, and for quicker occupation, place the house on a pole or a structure as opposed to a tree; as bats seem to dislike navigating around tree branches and leaves. 

This model claims to hold up to 100 bats! 

Ok. Fess up. Are you intrigued or creeped out by watching a bunch of bats over your garden at twilight? Anyone familiar with bat houses? 

What's To Love About August

August in Oklahoma is the hottest month of the year. 

Growing up here all of my life use to leave me groaning every day in this 100 plus temps.

But the longer I live here, the more I have come to fall in love with August. 

There are very few months that have such a flux of change.

Sweet comings and goings, graspings and savorings that not many months here possess.

August brings new beginnings with school. 

School supplies piled high, the smell of new erasers and readjusting to life on a schedule.

Savoring the last bit of growing beauty before fall takes over and the air chills out. 

The last bit of grasping to lazy days and naps for no good reason. 

The final bits of friends visiting for the summer. 

The garden in full swing as the veggies and fruits craving the hottest part of the heat in order to blossom and produce. 

Sweating in the kitchen, canning the fullness of abudance to savor come winter.

Escaping outdoors a few more moments to explore and discover. 

Anticipation of  the opening of our States second religion...football..

While the air is hot and most people spend most of Oklahoma's Augusts indoors, there is so much to love about this month that I'm almost sad to see it go. 

Living In Oklahoma...Tornado Season

Since all the commotion in my little home state the past few weeks, I'm getting asked a lot what it's like to live in Oklahoma during tornado season. As I sat with no power Friday night listening to hail and wind and rain pound our house until the early morning, I typed this on my ipad.

In the early part of summer, as the wind whips the plains, the mood in the atmosphere above Oklahoma begins to change. Carefree moments of spring fade and a watchfulness goes up to the sky. Factors once ignored individually are now documented in groups: the wind, the heat, the air and the rain are tracked, calculated and re-assessed.
And we've grown so good at this process, years of sky watching and debating, has made every farmer, lawyer, mechanic; experts in the laws of physics and vortexes and timing.

When the air grows stale, and the Oklahoma heat gives way to a musty, heavy presence, all eyes look up. As the clouds roll in, we roll out our safety measures: shelters packed with food and water, blankets and pillows stuffed in closets and bathtubs. Candles, flashlights, batteries, generators and radios become close at hand. And we wait. And calculate. Tune into our favorite storm tracker as regularly scheduled programming is suspended and prime time is now maps of city streets and local emergency protocols.
And when the air and the wind and the rain and the timing form a perfect, hellacious union, a finger of the sky touches the earth. It begins to spin.
The turbulence and force, wind and rain breed hail and clouds of debri, which uproots trees and demolishes homes. Seconds, minutes, hours rush together and then lull into waiting. Power flashes on then off, on then back off. Candles get lit and flash lights clicked. Board games and coloring sheets are the only entertainment and a radio is the only connection to the outside world.

And all eyes look to the sky.

Things quiet. People come out of the ground, their shelters, their bathtubs.

Assessing what's been lost and whose lost what comes next. Hugs and tears and "thank you Lords" passed out to all, regardless of your status of relationships. Because the morning after a storm is always the most beautiful. Like the arms of a dangerous lover, the fervor of the night before is replaced by the sweet calm of morning. Thankfulness washes anew and the petty things of yesterday are replaced with reminders of the truly important.

And all eyes look to the sky.

It's now that our work begins. Re-building a house or passing out water, its all the same to us. We'll fix our fence, then offer to help you with yours. It is a part of who we are, these storms we've come to expect and respect and deep down we revere this time, this season, because it has formed who we have become. So don't ask us why we live here or why we don't leave. Because the only way to recover from a storm is to face it, prepared. Not run away from it.

- Hugs n Love,

Lindsey

Painting this Season Differently

 

I've been thinking and praying for a while about how to do Christmas differently this year.

I want my kids (and myself) to feel the wonder of the season,

instead of just the pulse of MORE STUFF.

We've prayed about it as a family

and I've begged Jesus quietly on where the RESTART button

between Thanksgiving and the end of the year.

 

I told The Hero I even wanted our Christmas cards to look different.

We are not the sweater and chino matching type.

And even though I try so hard to try to keep up with that image,

we are never going to be a J. Crew family.

 

I saw a pin on Pinterest awhile back about a photo shoot that involved paint.

I knew in an instant it was for us.

The perfect start to a different kind of holiday.

I called my friend, turned photog-pro Vanessa at Dear Okie

and asked if she was crazy enough.

 

I think her exact quote was "HELL. Yes."

 

I found us all white shirts.

And we "looked" like we'd take average ole, "stand in front of the fireplace" pics.

 

You should have seen the kids' faces when Vanessa and I pulled out the paint.

 

 

Vanessa explained we were going to paint the canvas as a family.

I doled out the brushes and

The Hero set up the canvas.



The kids got busy chucking paint.



I got lost in just being together.



The Dinosaur almost hyperventilated when The Hero threw paint on him on purpose.

He was so worried about his shirt.

Until I tossed a brushful in his hair.

And begged he do it back to me.

 



 

We painted one another.

Then went back to the canvas.

We tossed paint and wrote on each other for the best part of two hours.

Laughing and screaming.



 

Letting the paint and joy drip all over.

 We covered paint on every inch of each of us.

Including Vanessa.

(thank God we spared her camera).

 

I've never seen The Dinosaur make this face before.

Here is the masterpiece we created:

 



 

Out of the 340 pictures Vanessa took, only five of them were of all four of us staring at the camera.

The rest were so perfect, we didn't need to be looking at the camera.

It was us in our glory and mess.

Just like every day.

 



But with free license to embrace who we are without all the expectations.
Be. Still. My. Heart.

 

Here is to you and yours this holiday season from a family who is trying to start our traditions all over again.

And praying that we paint it right this time,

while covered in love and joy.

 

If you haven't had a chance to buy my kid's book yet, go to the top of the blog and hit the "Buy Now" button for paypal. All proceeds from the book go to build a water well in honor of our sponsorship son through Children's HopeChest. There are only 1000 copies printed and we are praying they are sold as soon as possible. Thanks and God bless.



The Thing About A Garden

The thing about having a garden is that it is a lot like having another child.

The waiting.

Trying to remember patience.

Dreaming of the future.

Being diligent about weed removal.

Hoping for the maximum amount of growth.

Studying diseases and organic home remedies.

And while all of that sounds like a lot of work.

Trust me, most days it is just work.

Watching each individual plant mature and produce,

is such an amazing joy.

We are learning more about how God developed our world.

And yet, we are also learning about how He develops our hearts.

No wonder there is so much scripture about seeds and harvests.

The Angel calls this the world's smallest jalapeno plant.

But if you look close, you can tell there are at least two,

 just waiting to mature.

What Started As A Packet.

I told you guys awhile back that The Hero had plowed an area of our back yard just for me. He put a fence around it and added the most adorable garden gate. I really only intended for this to have a bench, a few stepping stones, a small fountain and a couple of veggie plants. I wanted a place to  pray, meditate and simple praise God in the simplicity of my own version of a Mommy's time out locale.
And then we went to the hardware store.
The kids and I both were enraptured. Rows and rows of brightly colored packets of future tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, radishes and five different variations of lettuce. We stood for close to an hour pouring through the spacing, depth and sunlight requirements for each possible purchase. We decided to only take home a seed packet for tomatoes.
Now don't get me wrong, I like all of the by products that a good tomato sacrifices their lives for: marinara, ketchup and who could pass up, SALSA! But slice it off the vine and eat it, eh, I could do without. The Hero however; well I think he believes tomatoes are this generations version of manna. Add a little salt and  pepper and he'll eat tomatoes until he gets mouth sores.
$1.29, seedling pods and dreams of salsa every night for dinner later, we were home. The kids and I planted the packet of seeds, filled it with water, scoured the house for an appropriate sun-lit location and waited. Every day was just as exhilarating as the next. Wake up, rush down stairs and "oooh" and "aaahh" only to discover that nothing had happened the previous night.
Then came day 10.
The screams and leaps around the living room at the sight of a tiny seedling poking through the dirt was amazing.
Since we could no longer be declared total failures, we marched back the following weekend to purchase lettuce, carrots, spinach, cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapenos, banana peppers and broccoli.
The Hero was just elated that saying "hardware store" no longer meant groans and protests from all parties.
Almost two months later and we've added, basil, dill, rosemary, cilantro, onions, sweet potatoes, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. 
Each night the kids and I walk through our growing slice of earth, pick weeds, check for new growth, stand amazed at how something so small can continue to keep growing. It's still so beautiful to me  knowing that a seed can produce a plant, which blooms into a fruit which can sustain our lives...and our souls. I've been able to not only speak but SHOW my kids God's love for us all through a process that occurs every spring. He has provided for us in so many ways and turned an entire planet into a way to meet our needs.
If there's every any doubt that there is a Creator who loves us, just go plant a seed.


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