A New To Do List

"Whether we are married and taking care of home and family, or studying in school, or working in an office or a factory or on a farm, whether we are dedicated to the priestly or religious life, matters little -- in whatever we do, we must always seek first the kingdom of God.  That is, all of our actions of every day must be accepted as from God and referred back to Him, must be done in a way that fulfills His will, for in this way alone is the kingdom of God promoted and spread upon the earth." 

~Father Walter Ciszek, S.J.

I need a new To Do list.

With our approaching move, my To Do list has gotten way too long.

It often makes me crabby.

I often loose it.

Worst of all?  I think I have been filling it with the wrong tasks.


I came to this realization while talking about the Fruits of the Spirit with my kids last week:

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

I am reminded that the tasks on my To Do list are not nearly as important as how I do them.  

So, instead of this:

1. Return library books

2. Grocery run

3.  Parent the behavior

4. Dinner at 6

5. Clean kitchen

6. Pay bills

I need a To Do list like this:

1. A smile and a joyful heart at the library.

2. Patience with my kids at the grocery store.

3. Peace behind the firmness as I confront the misbehavior.

4. Faithfulness, not frustration, as I make dinner.

5. Goodness, not grumbling, as I clean the mess.

5. Self-control, not sarcasm, with the customer service phone call.

Now those are tasks worth remembering, worth accomplishing.

Nota bene, Queen B!   Whatever graces your To Do list today, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him (Colossians 3:17).  

Grocery Bag

Our kitchen is starting to look pretty bare in preparation for our move.  Good thing there is lot's of fresh produce to enjoy these days!  The fresh fruits and veggies disappear in a flash around our house.  Here is my plan for the week.

Day One

Cheese quesadillas with 

tomato & soybean salad from Dinner A Love Story

A quick, delicious salad to dress up the quesadillas.

Photo and recipe at Dinner A Love Story

Day Two

Nigerian kidney bean stew with peanut sauce from Food Network

with brown rice and strawberries

A new recipe from one of my favorite cookbook authors.

Day Three

Shrimp in coconut curry from Everyday with Rachel Ray

with basmati rice, carrot sticks and grapes

One of our favorite, simple curries.

Photo and recipe from Rachel Ray Magazine

Day Four

Salmon with brown sugar and mustard glaze from Everyday Food Magazine

with roasted okra and buttermilk cornbread biscuits

Salmon is always a treat in our house.  The biscuits and okra are awesome.

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Day Five

Beef and broccoli lo mein from Cooking Light Magazine

with raspberries and snap peas

Here is one of my favorite dishes to clean out the sauces in our pantry.

Blessings on your kitchen this week!

Picassos of Summer

"Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to remain an artist once she grows up."

~Pablo Picasso

Our summer picassos have been hard at work.

In Florence, they met for a creative meeting of the minds on Nana's deck.

I love to watch them inspire and learn from one another.

I love to watch them create something new. 

This crew works hard at their artwork.

But the hard work never comes at the expense of having fun!

Keep up the good work, crew.

You're helping to make the world a very beautiful place.

Beat the Heat

It's August, and it's hot outside.

Good thing that we learned how to stay cool back in June while visiting Nana in Alabama!

The splashpad is the place to be when the heat comes out to play. 

Swimsuits are nice, but feel free to go in fully clothed.

You'll stay just as cool that way. 

We've found that the splashpad is best enjoyed with people you love and love to play with.

Ahhh, now doesn't that feel better?

Stay cool out there, friends!

Two Words

Buddy Bear knows a lot of words.

Unfortunately, he can only speak two of them: "Tickle" and "Hi."

Is there any wonder he's frustrated with me when I don't understand what he's saying?

The NC Crew

It's been one year this weekend since we moved to NC.

These six cousins have made the most of every minute.  

They are best buddies, with a year of memories to last a lifetime.

We love you, cousins E, S and T.

Thanks for sharing all of your joyful noise with all of us.

Pushing Through the Restless Days

Summer is like parenthood.

Most days are wonderful.

Some days are harder than others.

Lately, we have had a spell of restless summer days around our house.

Maybe it's the heat.

Maybe it's too little sleep.

Maybe it's the burden of having too much choice over how we spend our day,

 and the boredom that creeps in as a result.

Whatever the reason, the past few days have been filled with 

too many timeouts, 

too many interventions,

too many scowls and not enough 'yes, ma'ams,'

too many crabbys, not enough happys.

You might say that my kids and I are getting in the way of our summer fun.

Hard parenting days make me a restless parent.

I don't enjoy messes.

I don't enjoy timeouts.

I don't enjoy fussing.

I don't enjoy discipline.

The restless parent in me wants to throw in the towel,

I want my career back,

I want out of the house.

I want to feel important, 

I want to feel valued.

But at the point when parenting becomes the hardest, 

at the point where I become the most restless,

that is where my parenthood becomes most important,

most valuable,

and has the greatest potential.

So stick it out, Johnson Bears.

Finish the time out, pick up the mess, give a big hug and head out for more.

The lessons learned on restless days make for better days ahead.

There is so much summer fun left to enjoy!

And stick it out, Momma.

Say your prayers, get some sleep, make a plan, hold your tongue, put on humiltiy,

have some patience.

Parenting through the restless days makes for better days ahead.

Thanks to these great women for two posts that offered great perspective on a frustrating, restless parenting day: AWOL Mommy's post on "Vocligation", and Leila's post on "Competence vs. Perfectionism."  Truly, these are great reads for any day.

Best of Baltimore

We just couldn't make T go to Baltimore all by himself last week.

I mean, the poor guy would have be stuck at a conference all by himself.

The last time he had to do that, it was over Thanksgiving and he was the saddest guy on earth at the happiest place on earth.  We couldn't repeat that sage, not with only two weeks of fellowship left!

So, we tagged along.

Outside Lord Tyler's in Fells Point

I think Fells Point is still recovering. :)

Baltimore is a remarkably family-friendly city.

Stay near the water, and either walking, boating or busing to your destination is a cinch.

There is plenty to roar about at the Science Museum,

Don't worry, no dinosaur bones were actually threatened in the making of this picture.

the dolphins put on quite a show at the National Aquarium,

G-Bear and E-Bear spent the rest of the night pretending to be the dolphins from the show.

batting practice at Camden Yards is not to be missed,

Way to go, slugger!

Put 'em in, Coach.

the trains at the Railroad Museum will really take you back,

and there are plenty of new heights to climb,

G-Bear saw the climbing wall and was determined to try it.

especially the really high ones!

Can you believe this?  What did you do with my cautious little girl?
She made it to the top twice, folks!

I promise, T really was attending a conference, and he attended it faithfully!

But, when he came back each day, we made the most of every minute.

Our three Bears were troopers through our long car rides and daily walks.  They were just as enthusiastic about exploring the city as T and I were.  E-Bear was always up for a boat ride. G-Bear was like a sponge at the museum exhibits, asking so many great questions and wanting us to explain everything.  Buddy Bear took total command as an independent walker, and quickly became an expert at wandering off by himself.  But, oh, we had so much fun just being together.  We slept like rocks at night because of all that we enjoyed together each day.  

That makes for a happy Johnson crew all around.    

From Mr. Bed Head

Seriously, Mom,

it's time for a haircut.

Oh, but I love those curls, Buddy Bear!

Grocery Bag

This week we'll be continuing our pantry clean-out quest and preparing for a visit from Nana!  Here are my plans to get through dinner.

Day One

Green lentil curry from Food & Wine Magazine

with basmati rice and whole wheat tortillas
A great lentil dish, but BEWARE the cayenne pepper!  
I cut waaaaay back on what the recipe calls for, opting for more of a sprinkle.

Photo and recipe from Food&Wine

Day Two

Pulled pork tacos from Everyday Food Magazine

with whole wheat tortillas and mango

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Day Three

Mattar Paneer from Indian as Apple Pie

with basmati rice

Recipe from Indian as Apple Pie
Photo from Kevin Eats

Day Four 

Mediterranean veggie burgers from Everyday Food Magazine

with carrot sticks and strawberries

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Day Five

Mozzarella and chicken calzones

with strawberry spinach salad 

Blessings on your kitchen this week!