It is not summer. I know this. It’s spring, and spring is often cold and disappointing in Washington. I remember the first year we moved here. Everything was green and blooming furiously, but it was COLD and GRAY. Day after day. It was well into June, and I finally turned to Tim and asked him when summer was going to arrive.

These children are ready and willing to hunt down the sunshine.

Nearly every day the children and I would bundle (yes, bundle) up and set off in search of some sunshine. There were streaks of golden light off in the distance and I was determined to find them. It was our own treasure hunt, however, instead of searching for the pot at the end of the rainbow, we were looking for a sunny day.

Today was mild and overcast in the morning. By mid-afternoon summer had peaked around the corner and blown its warm kiss. Cheeks and shoulders gained a rosy cast. Sunscreen resurfaced from its long winter sleep and popsicles were cheerfully passed around, dripping over little fingers. Windows were pried open and flip flops dragged out from under winter boots.

Really, it’s a comfortable fit. Three rascals in a tub.

It’s not summer. Not yet. This weekend, however, like a beautiful flower unfolding in the light, we humble Washingtonians were treated to a rare sliver of summer in the midst of a dreary spring. It was truly glorious.

Nothing like some chocolate to celebrate the end of a lovely day.

Decadent Chocolate Bundt Cake (from Cake Mix Magic)

1 pkg devil’s food cake mix
1 pkg (4 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Cake - combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream and water. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly in greased, floured bundt pan. Bake 50 to 60 minutes @ 350. Cool in pan on wire rack then remove cake.

Frost with prepared frosting.

Note: We used vanilla pudding mix (out of chocolate) and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Topping was gently heated canned frosting. Served with old fashioned vanilla ice cream. Rave reviews!

Tomorrow summer promises to come again. What a tease! I intend to savor its warmth and drink up any bit of sunshine that trickles by.

Kathy
Project 366 - Day 137

One of the only things I enjoy about getting up early in the morning is savoring the peace and quiet that lies over our neighborhood like a warm blanket. Although we live on a cul-de-sac, our house backs up to a much busier street, and is positioned cheek-by-jowl with houses on either side. Not far away a major thoroughfare connects our town with the neighboring community, and the railroad tracks snake around behind our development. The noise of all the people around us (to which we contribute no small amount of shrieking) is often considerable, especially on Friday and Saturday nights when local ruffians drive around, windows rattling from the bass of blasting sound systems. Sometimes I really miss living in the Duckabush valley, with our house nestled down in the forest, far from the things of man.

Or maybe I’m just jealous that my car stereo doesn’t make the windows rattle.

David steadies the kayak for his brother …

Some days (I keep a rather erratic schedule) when I wake up, nobody is stirring, not even (as in the famous Christmas poem) a mouse. Other times I find Kathy asleep on Doughboy (our couch), if she’s stayed up reading blogs or posting an entry on our blog. I turn on her mattress pad heater and usher her off to bed, hoping that the kids will sleep in and let her rest. During allergy season I often start sneezing while I dress in our bedroom, and wake Kathy up with a dozen or two of my explosive sneezes.

This morning, I stepped out onto the front porch and found it already light outside, as the summer equinox solstice approaches. A low cloud cover and absence of breeze enhanced the hush that was disturbed only by a single bird, chirping his heart out from the top of my neighbor’s roof. I wondered if my neighbor, who works odd hours as a fireman, appreciated that little bird.

The intrepid Daniel, setting off on an historic voyage …

In these moments of silence, I find, in spite of my weariness, a contentment that seems to extend all the way down to the core of my soul. For this moment, as I stand on my porch, all the concerns and worries that clamor for my attention are silent and still. I don’t have to worry about being a husband or a father or an employee or a friend or a church leader or even a handy-man. Instead, I find my heart drawn to God, in thankfulness and appreciation of His awesome goodness to me and His worthiness to receive praise and glory and honor. As the Psalmist wrote:

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

Sarah takes no chances when it comes to flotation devices …

Whenever I hear or read that verse, I think of a pool of water, shaded by trees, nestled among the rocks, with only the tiniest ripples emphasizing its tranquility. It is in moments like this that I can forget my own self-importance and revel in the abundant sufficiency of my God, far above my loftiest thoughts. Whatever happens today or in the rest of my life, Jesus, all by Himself, faithful and true, is enough for me.

With the fountain on, this pool has more than ripples …

All too soon the spell is broken and the neighborhood begins to wake; already I hear the slamming of car doors and traffic on the road behind our house. My cell phone buzzes with a message from my carpool buddy. I check the time on my phone and realize that I need to get moving if I’m going to catch the train. And so a new day begins; but the memory of that deep, quiet moment is something I treasure tightly, smoothing the bumps and jolts out of my way and calming my spirit, all the way to work and throughout the day.

Tim

Project 366, Day 136

The tomato planting continues.

I’m not sure Tim and the children are actually going to sell any of their precious plants. As the days go by, and each plant grows stronger and taller, Tim’s attachment increases.

Good morning happy plants! he choruses each day to the green jungle growing in my bedroom.

Honey, I think I’ll build some shelves in here and then I’ll have a place to grow tomatoes all year long, he told me last weekend.

Shelves, over my window seat, for tomato plants? Now isn’t that an interesting decorating approach.

Um, wasn’t the point to sell some of these plants? I asked him recently.

It’s an investment, he mumbled as he went down the row watering each of his “babies.”

Frankly, I’m just glad someone is teaching the children about gardening as it’s not likely to be me. Unless of course a class in Black Thumb becomes popular.

Hey Mom, do you think you can teach me to kill plants this week?
No fair! Mom said she was going to teach ME how to over water and neglect house plants next.
It’s my turn.
No, my turn.
MOM!!!

Sigh. Until then I let Tim and the children do the planting, weeding, watering and tending.

Look how they even pull random neighbor children into the planting work.

My goal is to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. And with prices as high as they are, a garden looks better and better. I wonder what else I can get them to plant?

Kathy
Project 366 - Day 135

I love movies! I love the thrill of being lost in a fantastic story, putting up my feet, digging into a big bowl of popcorn and being swept away into another time or place.

As a Christian family, we try to be discerning and wise in our movie viewing (not an easy thing these days). Here are some resources we use in previewing and monitoring our movie choice:

Plugged In - run by Focus on the Family, this is a Christian review site. Profanity, sexual content, violence, and religious themes are all clearly outlined.

Screen It - another “spoiler” type review website. Unlike Plugged In, this is not a Christian based site. It is geared toward parents, however, and does an excellent job of detailing the specific content of the movie. There is a separate section where the author rates the movie (on a 1 to 10 scale). Although he is not filtering through a Biblical world view, I often find the movie critique to be insightful.

If the children are going to watch a movie they have to pay a “chip.” Daniel and David encourage Sarah to pay as often as possible. They even occasionally let her actually select the movie. That’s big brothers for you.

IMDB (International Movie Database) - the mother of all movie websites. It has every movie, actor, director, etc every made in it’s database. This is the place to research movies, cross reference composers, or just plain track down the answer to that illusive question.

“Who was that guy who played in that movie with the other girl? You know, the one where she kisses him at the end?”

If you can figure out even one little piece of the puzzle - the name of the movie, one of the actors, even the year in which it was made - you can unravel the mystery and connect the movie dots. This has brought much peace in our household. Tim has resigned himself to my OCD need to place actors into proper movie context.

“Tim,” I’ll say in the middle of a movie. “Do you recognize that character? Yes, the cashier. Do you think he’s the same guy who played the teacher in the comedy we saw last week?”

Poor guy. He doesn’t even pause. After all, the “movie itch” isn’t going to go away. I must know.

“Why don’t you go check IMDB and see. I can wait.” Of course, that’s code for ‘I’ll be playing my computer game while you get online. Call me when you’ve figured it out.’

For movie trivia, you can’t get any better than IMDB. You can also find trailers and links to other external reviews.

Yahoo Movie Listings - I keep this site bookmarked because it links automatically to my zip code and will list all the theaters in my area, complete with showing times, movie info and maps.

Coming Soon Trailers - proceed with caution. This site collects the newest trailers as they are released. We don’t have a tv and rarely go to the theater, so if we do see a movie preview, it’s usually online. I ignore all the “junk” or questionable movies, and enjoy the fun ones. Although they do include children’s films as they are released, this is definitely not a site for kids to visit unsupervised.

These buddies stick together.

ClearPlay - a dvd player that offers filtering options. We purchased ours at Target last year but they have since stopped carrying them. Basically you purchase a subscription to the filters (which are accessed online), load them on to a USB stick and then plug the stick into the dvd player. The ClearPlay DVD player recognizes the filter and applies them to your copy of the movie. Profanity, violence and inappropriate sexual scenes are either edited or skipped. Recently we had some trouble with the audio portion of our player (purchased in November 2007), ClearPlay paid for our shipping and is mailing us a new DVD player free of charge.

If you have a movie resource that your family recommends, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear about it.

Visit Rocks in My Dryer for other Works For Me Wednesday tips.

Keep your eyes open for Fireproof, the newest movie produced by the makers of Facing the Giants, coming out in the fall of 2008. Check out the trailer! Looks powerful.

Kathy

We spent a portion of our morning with poultry today.

Yep, chickens and turkeys. You didn’t think I was talking about cowards, did you?

Oh, there were some other animals as well. Rabbits, goats and sheep. The pigs were especially entertaining.

Or maybe not.

I think this guy was eye-balling me.

The nearby fair offers educational tours for free. Yes, I said FREE! You know we were there. Of course, by the time you pay for gas and a McDonald’s lunch afterward (that’s what happens when you sleep in and don’t get up early enough to pack lunch) it’s not exactly a free outing.

Still, it was educational and enjoyable. We had our own private tour guide and three exhibits to explore (including the petting area). This year’s theme was poultry and farming.

As always, having friends along turned an ordinary outing into a fun adventure.

Bacon and Eggs, anyone? Maybe it’s time for a good shearing.

Kathy
Project 366 - Day 133