music and meal making | magical motherhood

tonight we listed to ingrid michaelson while making dinner and at dinner he said “you. are. a. GOOD. COOKER. this. meal. is. delicious” and he even ate his peas! (it was two peas. but still, victory!) and at bed he asked me to hold him like i did when he was a baby and sing our bedtime songs. so you bet i did that, holding and swaying my giant four year old baby boy and enjoying every moment. it’s funny how he felt so big then and my arms felt so weak and tired when i was also so tired, learning how to rock and soothe. now he’s actually huge. but since i’m rested and stronger, and more practiced at swaying, doesn't feel so heavy. we’ve sung mostly the same songs since he was born and we add in new songs as we grow and enjoy more. there’s a song we sing that is super special to me because ethan found the song and introduced me to it right before we found out we were pregnant. but we were pregnant when we were listening in the car and tearing up and only God knew our little seed was growing right then and our lives were about to change for the best. i sang it tonight and he happy-hummed and sang along in his sweet, precious little boy voice. and i was delighted to tell him again the story of how special this song is because of being pregnant with our surprise boy. and his question was “did you always know you wanted to marry me tho? you always always wanted me to be here?” OH DID WE. (he gets confused sometimes and thinks i’m married to him and to papa, which is darling and the best) i delighted in telling him again about mine and papa’s love story and how God is so good to us. and how we always always always wanted a baby. but we had no idea God would be THIS good to give us JACK. this most special, unique, perfect for our family boy. oh, he just beamed! his glistening in the dim bedtime light cheeks.

i love being in the kitchen. i especially loves good music on while i cook. i love looking back on this memory, waiting on baby burt to arrive, my dear friend kaylene in my home taking these photographs for me to enjoy for a lifetime! oh, it’s so precious to me. now jack is enjoying making messes and teaching me so much every day together while making nourishing meals.

earlier today jack wanted to look at our family memories on my phone. he loves going to the favorites folder and reviewing our life. he exclaimed “oh, i love these days. i really miss my birthday. when is it my birthday again? wow this was a really really good year wasn’t it? remember this dinosaur museum? oh, remember that hike! was this two years ago? can we do that again? i really loved that! did i always love this since i was a baby? did you always hold me like this since i was a baby? i loved being a baby! i loved those lion jammies” OVERLOAD of preciousness. and what an opportunity to praise the Lord for the times we’ve had and the amazing miracle that is life! i’ve been really focusing on living our life and not living on my phone and i know we are all benefiting from it. it’s really hard because i LOVE to capture and share RIGHT AWAY. i will keep to blaming instagram for this! but stepping back to consume less and live more has been so good. i love taking all the photos and getting back into the routine of writing my life out. it’s my special thing. i love writing, i externally process and i’m just better when i've written. ethan always asks me to write more and i realized how long it’s been since i’ve done so regularly and it made me very sad! so this is good. i’m excited. i love my life. i love the ups and love learning in the downs. i love growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

right now i love how much he loves to help. and even just in a short amount of time i’m able to see how letting him “help” when he was two has paid off now that he’s four. he loves making my espresso for me. he asks to do the dishes. (he also washes his play food a lot when there are no dishes but i’m not about to deny him an opportunity when he asks to help wash!) he tells me thank you for all that i do for him. he’s just a true JOY. there’s no other word for it! not every day is this joy-filled and dreamy. but some days truly truly are. most of them are, actually. and i am thankful to God for it all.

here are some absolute favorite verses that i write on my heart about mothering to hold steadfastly to the Lord and his promises :

Deuteronomy 6:6–7: "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Proverbs 31:28–29: "Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.'"

Proverbs 31:26: "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." — this one is especially good for spicy mothers like myself

1 Peter 3:4: "You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

Deuteronomy 4:9: "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Luke 2:51: "And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

1 John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us."

1 John 4:12: "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

1 Corinthians 16:14: “Do everything in love."

Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Acts 16:31: “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

3 John 1:4: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."

Colossians 3:13: "Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Acts 2:17 “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams”

Psalm 133:1: "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!"