Images of Life

The most prevalent images in my life right now involve mud. Those of you with boys in your family will likely relate.

Mud (n): The thing I get to wash off the 3rd son repeatedly throughout each day. The thing for which I have some seriously resentful feelings. The thing which can inspire frustration and emotionality in an instant.

But then at night, when I tell Swen about how I had to bathe Lincoln 3 times and change his clothes at least that many, somehow it becomes funny.








Laundry. This is an action verb. Laundry is in constant state of motion, but it somehow manages to be dirty more often than clean. How is that possible? No matter how much time I spend every day trying to rein in the laundry, subdue the laundry, put the laundry in order, IT IS ALWAYS OUT OF CONTROL. I don't appreciate it one bit.



One of the joys of motherhood is finding little images like this:



Children definitely abide here. I find ropes tied around knobs, lengthened by cast off dress ties and bungy cords, stretched across the room. Tablets of paper with love notes carefully drawn, uncapped markers scattered around. Bags full of plastic walnuts, play cell phones, and Mr. Potato Head's lips and arms. Couch cushions and blankets dotting the room, guarding little feet from the hot lava carpet.

If I remember to appreciate the scene before everything is set in order, I see evidence of healthy imaginations at work.

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When we were deciding whether to add Maxwell to our family, we were overwhelmed with the feeling that all of our needs would be met. We would be blessed in our decision to increase our family. I have seen evidence of this in so many ways. When I opened the fridge the other day to try to squeeze one more item in, a scripture ran through my head. In my life, the Lord has quite literally "open[ed] ... the windows of heaven, and pour[ed] ... out a blessing, that there [is] not ... room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).



This fridge is the largest residential model we could find. And it is totally packed with food. There is not room for even one more little thing. Is that not a huge blessing? We have 19 different kinds of vegetables in that fridge! I can't believe that we have been so blessed with such variety and healthy options. It is a rare boon in the world.

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Another favorite image is this:



I love, love, love it when my kids play together. Sometimes it feels like fighting and contention are more common than peace and happiness. But once in a while they achieve a perfect interaction--laughing and cooperating, imagining and building -- and I love it.

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I love these shots when people couldn't possibly get closer together. We do that a lot. One of us will be in the bathroom brushing our teeth, then suddenly all 7 of us are squeezed in together. It always makes us laugh when that happens.



Most of all, I absolutely love the next 6 images. I don't mean the snapshots, though I love those too. I mean these faces that meet my eyes every morning, throughout the day, and at night.












P.S. I Tried and Tried and Tried to find a normal picture of Joe. One where he was just sitting and smiling. I think such a thing is purely fictional.

You know those moments when you tell yourself, "I never want to forget this. I gotta burn this image into my brain." Moments like that are almost painful. You so badly want to remember, but it's impossible to truly, fully capture it. I've had so many of those. Just little things, like Swen is holding one of our babies, and I can see a little face peeking over his shoulder. Or my kids learn something new, and they're so proud of themselves. Or we're sharing a quiet, spirit-filled moment together. Or we're all dancing to the music during the closing credits of a movie we've just watched. I love those images. They are heart images. Maybe we'll be able to watch them someday in our life movie. Wouldn't that be the greatest?