All posts tagged: home

Gardening :: Life

I don’t know much about plants and gardening, but one thing I do know is that if I want more blooms I have to prune the bush. It’s the literal display of “two steps forward and three steps back.” The bush will keep growing but it won’t continuously bloom without snipping off the wilting blooms. It’s a bit of a letdown to me when I snip off the pops of color, because I know I’ll have to wait for more blossoms to flower. This seems an accurate parallel to my life… I’m easily discouraged by that phrase (two steps forward and three steps back) and its reality in my work as a potter, in my marriage, in my daily struggles as a mother. I desire more fruitful success in my life, but my toddler puts me to the test on a tiring day and my husband and I disagree again on the same issue. When I react poorly and without wisdom, I realize that my behavior is similar to a wilting bloom- it’s a decaying …

Picture: a day

I’m going to be trying a new thing here on my blog- Posting a picture a day with a few thoughts attached to it. I’ve used my Facebook blog-page as a “sounding board” or “launch pad” for some topics that I’d like to write more about. But I really love my little blog -it started out like a craft project for me or like a collage of pictures and artwork from my home- and I want to continue using this place for most of my writing. The reality at this stage of my life with such young children is that I rarely have time to put two thoughts together much less finish a sentence. Some of you readers know of this dilemma 😉 So I’m going to attempt sharing simple thoughts and perspective from little snapshots in my part of the world. I hope you’ll tune in next time as I journal along this journey of having a family, living with grief, learning from God, and throwing with clay… all while renovating an old farmhouse …

Safe :: Haven

I sometimes wonder what people think when they see my IG feed or my FB feed- these beautiful snapshots of our life at Bluebird Haven. Do they think we just have it made? That we’re so lucky? That our situation in life is enviable? It all looks idyllic, as someone once told me. But how we got here isn’t idyllic. Let me tell you what I see when I survey this place we call home. I see grace upon grace upon grace. God brought us to this place as though we were war-torn refugees. We had no home at the time and the place we’d been calling home held the stench of death. We had been living in a rental, a sweet little gingerbread style house, in a rather idyllic town that was much like Mayberry. But Death came like a thief in the night to our cozy home and ripped our hearts out of our chests. We were a bloody tortured mess. I remember my husband trying to literally tear apart the deck posts …

Simply :: Not

I’ve been wanting to write lately about the simple moments of my life; like this little cabin bear that’s growing up far too quickly. Soon she won’t be such a little bear, she’ll be a medium bear with a medium bowl of porridge & cushioned chair ☺️ And then share a witty moment like this when my dog finds her nook in the baby’s teepee. Sometimes Molle really is a doll (except for when she’s not…. and eaten a farm chicken for lunch). Or days like this when we had 75 degree blue skies weather the day before, but then the winter storm blew in across that mountain there, blanketing our farm in charming white. It’s the simple moments that get me…. But it’s impossible for me to not consider the other not-so-simple things of life. Like my anger issues, my relationships, my words, my parenting skills, my strength to get through another day…. Maybe you saw my post on the FB page & Instagram about my very BAD morning when my husband told me …

Home: For the Holidays

Merry Christmas! For us “Christmas” lasts until January first, and then we begin the letdown into non-holiday winter. Is that how it is for you guys?? It’s been crazy over here the past few days in our neck of the woods. Wrapping and ripping, feuds and laughter, hormones and balance, tears and smiles. We’re full of contradictions! I hope it’s been a tolerable holiday for those of you who haven’t wanted to go through it, and I hope it’s been delightful for those of you who’ve looked forward to it. I’d mentioned in a Insta post around Thanksgiving that I might do a Holiday House Tour, since I do love the holiday season and really enjoyed decorating our humble abode this year. So I snapped a few pictures to share of our simply charming cottage. A bit overdue, I apologize :/ When the Little Person has a cold, it’s difficult to find time to post. I’ll tell you bits and pieces of the property’s history and the story of how we fell in love with …

Dogs: Lick, Love & Learn

For those of you who know me well, BleuBird Mama loves her dogs! The funny thing is that I didn’t grow up with dogs, not even a house cat, and the little goldfish lived about two days. I had no experience with animals until I was in college. I liked other people’s pets, but I didn’t know how to interact with them well. I also didn’t understand the context of a species and their particular behaviors. I always knew- even when I was a kid- that I’d marry an animal lover. My husband told me he wouldn’t have married me if I didn’t love animals. He grew up with Labradors and outdoor cats in the mountainside of a pacific coastal town, so he was all outdoorsy and acclimated in ways this wimpy suburban girl was not.  When we got married we inherited Ian’s old black lab Luke Skywalker, also known as Pookie or Lucus Maximus and Pook-pook-pookie-the-pooper. He was a wonderful dog. Loyal as the day is long. Simple minded. Obedient. Affectionate. Quiet. Sweet. Of …

History: Picture Book

When I was a kid, I spent hours flipping through old photo albums of my family’s history. My brothers were much older than I and my family had lived in Germany before I was born, so I was fascinated to see the past and hear the stories. I’m still fascinated by pictures. They tell the stories of what has been and what is and maybe even what will be.

Brownie Points: Trials

So we’ve been having….. Another rough weekend…. or week….. or let’s just say, month. But, despite the unkempt abode and the unkempt hair and the unkempt dogs and the unkempt laundry, the Lord is good to us. I have been sick as a dog off and on for the past few weeks, unfortunately, despite all my best sicky-remedies; Ian has been exhausted as a dog for the past month due to 15 hr work days. Come the weekend, we crash in bed – swearing we’ll not get up till somebody forces us to either keep our jobs or lose ’em – and look around the house at the mopless dirtiest floors and those shedding giddy labradors…. and say to each other, “He will uphold us with His righteous right hand. He is always faithful, and we are so grateful for Christ’s love.” Sometimes I get a wave of inspiration to be creative again, and then I try to some avail only to crash and burn in the end. Yesterday I was in bed until 5pm …