Remember Joy

Mama, have you ever lost yourself? ...

Ever become so immersed in each day, or in this thing that requires so much of you, there doesn't seem to be anything left over? Any "you-ness"  recognizable? Have you bent so far under some impossible load you don't know what straight looks like anymore?  Where did that spontaneous, carefree, unwearied personality disappear to? Did you leave it in your other pants pocket?  Forget to stick it in your purse as you dashed out the door? 

No, dear friend. It's there still~ you'll catch glimpses. That gargantuan task that hides you so well is what makes you. Dear mother, you shine through those you've poured yourself into...how could you be unseen? You are the background glow that reassures small eyes. And you are the gentle touch that guides little hands. Christ poured into you so that you could then pour yourself out to others.  Remember this:

Luke 17:33 "Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."

You haven't lost yourself, this is  you. You don't need to "rediscover yourself." Woman, you're right there, in the very thick of life! Love then. Love and give grace and show mercy and laugh loudly and bend...

“We bend. I bend to sweep crumbs and I bend to wipe vomit and I bend to pick up little ones and wipe away tears... And at the end of these days I bend next to the bed and I ask only that I could bend more, bend lower. Because I serve a Savior who came to be a servant. He lived bent low. And bent down here is where I see His face. He lived, only to die. Could I? Die to self and just break open for love. This Savior, His one purpose to spend Himself on behalf of messy us. Will I spend myself on behalf of those in front of me? And people say, “Don’t you get tired?” and yes, I do. But I’m face to face with Jesus in the dirt, and the more I bend the harder and better and fuller this life gets. And sure, we are tired, but oh we are happy. Because bent down low is where we find fullness of Joy.”~ Kisses from Katie, Katie Davis

WIT (Women In Training)

 These are my girls. Ages 4 and 2.8. 

Me, age 3ish. (note 80's shorts. *erhem* moving on.)

I am a WIT member. Those two blonde beauties are also WIT members. We are Women In Training. (Yes, I could have gone with MOG~~mothers of girls~~ but really, who wants to belong to a club calling itself "MOG"?)

Together we are in training. Together we learn and discover what it means to be female. No girl is gonna learn that from her daddy. Yes, he can teach you how a man should treat a woman and YES, that is important...but it takes a mama to teach a girl the intricacies of femininity. It takes a daughter for her mama to fully realize what her own mama was passing down to her.

 Whose idea was it to entrust two beautifully feminine souls to my care?  Train them up in the way they should go...  this means we have to hold close a few things that are truly female.

This is what I've learned about what it is to be woman since having two of my own:

*"sugar and spice and everything nice" is a bunch of crap. 

* a 3 year old little girl has a hidden diva just waitin' to bust out 

* all little girls yearn to know they are Seen. they are special, glorious, wonderful, sparkly princesses (grown up women feel this too, we just label it differently.)

* tea parties with big, floppy hats are a must both at age 2 and age 88.

*EVERY girl likes babies whether it be human, puppy, rodent etc. If given a chance, she will love on it. 

* women live to love.

* attitude is birthed with your baby girl. you will spend her first 18 years teaching her to smooth it out.~good luck.

* Twirling dresses are a must. Ditto mud pies. Ditto tree climbing.

* If it has a boo-boo, it gets a kiss (whether the injury be on you or the salamander on the ground, things that have boo-boos get kisses.)

Little girls are magical, grown up women would do well to remember that we are magical too. So flaunt that inner princess, wear a twirly dress with a big, floppy hat and hug your daughters:)

 Here's to our training, Cheers! ~~Genna

Messy Life

I hate grief. It's messy and uncontrolled and hits when you when you least expect it.

My cousin,  who was a brother to me, died almost 2 years ago. He died the day before my birthday to be exact. And I'm sure he did it as a courtesy, because I told him at his hospital bedside "You will make it through this, because if you die on my birthday I will kill you." (in love, but you get the idea.)

So it has been almost 2 years, and unlike the rest of the family I don't post "I miss you's" on his still-existent-facebook page, I don't call his still-functioning-cellphone just to hear his voice forever saved in his voicemail. He is gone, he can't be reached. He will not return those calls (not that he did before, the man was the master of text conversations. haha.), nor will he be responding to any of our comments.  Why flay your emotions? Why chase a memory that only tears you up? In general, I focus on the sunny parts of his life: I remember someone who wasn't too cool to play Barbies and/or ninja turtles with a tag-along-little-girl. Someone who threatened all males in the vicinity of his teenaged, female cousin. A guy who could be a real pain in the arse in a debate. A man who loved his wife and his kids with his whole heart.  In the daily-ness of life, it's easy to forget you still miss them, still hurt for their presence.

And then today happens. And a friend comes over seeking reading stuffs to borrow and you find the memorial pamphlet stashed between the covers of a book. And the unexpectedness of their face staring up at you leaves you gasping. And for whatever reason (it's late and you're tired, your guard was down, your just more emotional, who knows?) you can't forget that their gone. Absolutely, without a doubt. Gone. Yep, it hurt. Enough to bring on the ugly, messy grief. The kind I hate.

But it passes. All my babies are sleeping. And I played duck-duck-goose with them today while the sun sank into pink clouds. Now how could mourning stay with us when we have giant, cotton-candy pink clouds in the sky? Little hands to hold, a husband I couldn't do without and a God who whispers soft comfort to our hearts? Love deeply~Genna

MOB (mothers of boys)

Hi, my name is Genna (this is where you chorus "Hi Genna.")  and I am a recovering Mother Of Boys. (MOB member).

I know what it is to sit by a bedside while your boy is getting stitches removed.

I know what it is to open the door and find a mud monster wearing your sons clothes.

I have seen the before and after of surgery.

I've witnessed multi-day lego town construction.

I've marveled at their conviction of absolute invincibility.

I've grinned to hear "You look SO pretty mama!"

And cried when they give you a tight hug at the end of a VERY exasperating day.

I am a MOB member.

 I've wondered at the men they will become, sighed at the mess they make, rolled an eye at the DELIGHT they take in who-can-fart-the-loudest contests (seriously guys? WHY is this funny? and WHY is it a life goal to have the STINKIEST one??) oohhed and ahhhed over the newest war wound ~~and LOVED them with a full heart, knowing they'll leave one day to conquer the dragon and find their princess.

But for now, I am the princess. :) 

Be royal~ Genn

And the Winner Is.....

Ms. Kim, I do believe that makes you the WINNER!! woohoo! 

Thanks be to everyone who mobbed my phone w/ texts and helped me pick the NEW NAME for my organic bath/hydrations business:)  Now surf your eyes on over to etsy (or for all ye locals I'll have a pamphlet coming out as well) and check out the new things I've added. Oh and for you locals, just a little thank you coupon; if you recommend my products to a friend and they purchase from me, you get a dollar off your next purchase ( this is cumulative~ which means twenty of your friends find something wonderful they just have to have and you find yourself spending 20 fewer dollars on your order!)

~Genna

The Finalists

Ok folks, here are our finalists for re-naming my all natural and organic business (which supplies essential oil ridden lotions, salves, and bath bombs.) Send me a vote via text, fb, blogger...however and we'll let you know our official new name~~and more importantly who won that FABULOUS prize tomorrow!


Naturally Scents-istive
Healthy Houseful
Natural Selections
Granola-topia
Crunchy Hydration



If you have any last minute additions for consideration, add them in the comments!! ~Genna

Who Wants to Win Something Fabulous??

A prize, a Prize, A PRIZE!! Who doesn't love to win a good prize??

Here's the deal, I am separating my business into two branches and moving beyond just an etsy store BUT I need a new name to reflect the part that will no longer be just etsy. We are breeding/selling German/French Angora bunnies and sell the fiber (fancy word for the hair~~kinda like shearing a sheep, but smaller) online. I also make essential oil ridden lotions, salves, sprays, bath bombs & herbal tea baths for that same site.  More recently a few opportunities have cropped up to move the natural products past etsy and into other places.

And here's where you and that prize come in!! I need new name ideas for the non-bunny products! Whoever comes up with the name we go with will receive a free lotion AND mini-bomb set of their choice:) Let the brainstorming begin!!

~~Genna

And the Reality Is?

Doing dishes (erlack!) I found myself making a mental list. What kind of mental list you say? Well, the sort that involves breasts and babies and awkward moments and what one might really-really wish they'd known beforehand just to gird their uh...bazooms as it were. And I knew, I just KNEW it was a list to be shared...*insert evil giggle* (that is, if you can giggle evilly....) We'll call it:

THE LIST OF THINGS I DARN WELL WISH I'D KNOWN BEFORE....

~  It doesn't matter whether or not you are well endowed before babies, those girls  WILL. GET. BIGGER.

~ You may find yourself needing to replace a shirt SEVERAL times a day those first few months if you mistakenly bend over to tie your shoes, or lean against anything in general.

~ When preparing to feed your wee bairn, you might accidentally flash the mailman who will, from then on, flush a faint pink whenever you open the door for a package. (yeah, well maybe mailmen shouldn't peak through large, uncurtained windows. sheesh.)

~ You very well may give up on young pizza delivery boys ability to look at your face and instead just send your (criminally laughing) husband to the pizza place to get it. (seriously though, this kind of husband-laughter should be punishable by something, right?)

~ You will find yourself part of an impromptu baby feeding party in the church nursery and wonder why you don't just stop pretending you're going to hear the sermon and start planning nursing party potlucks?

~  You will develop a love/hate relationship w/ your bra

~ Bikinis become the enemy....and women who wear them? ~~pure evil.

~ One word: Teething.

~ And one thing I really wish I'd known before? I wish I'd known how much I'd cherish being so important, so loved by someone so tiny. (Awww, come on. you knew I'd end it all mushy right?)

 “It is no small thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.”~ Charles Dickens

A Letter to Daddy's Girl

Daddy's Girl is turning four in four days time. Four. It's not a very big number, really, but it means she's no longer a baby, no longer a toddler and (thankfully) a full two years past diapers.

Daddy's Girl.

And she is that. "BUT," she adds with a shy kind of smile and sincerely raised brows, " I'm YOUR girl too Mama."  ~~ simple words with meaning far outweighing her little frame. Izy LOVES her Daddy. She's tough as a bed of nails, has a serious personal bubble you do NOT invade, loves to rough house, loves to twirl in a poofy dress & collect on your adoration, will call you out on anything she doesn't agree with and has enough sass to give my sixteen year old kid-sister a run for her money. But she loves her mama too. MY Girl is soft spoken, sensitive to any injury she's given you, quick to apologize, quick to hug, quick to giggle, loves anything art, paints nails and asks huge questions about Jesus.

Parents always say they've learned more about themselves, grown more and realized how much they need Christ just through having children...well, let me tell you. It's true. Without this little bundle of contradictions, I wouldn't know what it is to desperately cling to the fraying strips of my temper to keep from screeching at a 3ft irritant who has a severe urge to give her will power a workout. I wouldn't know what it is to find such joy in another person's discovery of mud. I wouldn't know the magic of what it means to really be a Daddy's Girl, I wouldn't remember half the nursery rhymes that take up space in my head. I wouldn't have a reason to actively search out various shades of purple (my other daughter doesn't DO purple, she's a pink girl.) We would miss so much intensity, so much lust for life without our whirlwind, first born daughter.

Happy Birthday to daddy's girl, happy birthday to my girl. Happy four years Izabella. :)

Finding Joy

There's an ocean in my heart. My family and I took a vacation to the coast a week ago~ it had been a YEAR since I had seen the sea. As a Navy brat, that's a REALLY. LONG. TIME. And only when I stood facing it's beautifully thrashing, racing waves, smelling that gritty, salt air, glorying in it's wild wind, did I really feel that year. A whole year. A year without sitting in my church. God is at the sea. I feel His presence best watching those waves, tasting that salt, hearing the gulls.

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God." 

Women in particular seem to have such a rough time with Psalm 46:10. Be still??! Are you kidding me? Still. Seriously. Still?! Do you have any idea how rapidly laundry breeds? Or how crabby folks get when there's no food to be had? That psalm was obviously intended for nudists...or people without children. 

 The ocean is wild. It is free.  In it's constant movement I can finally, finally be still. God is such a romantic, He gives us beauty to rest in. Drops of joy to be had in each day. Rain drops when the sun is shining, one of my very favorite things. High tide, when the waves lick sand castle ruins and chase children's toes up shore. Unabashedly luscious blooms on fruit trees. Thanks God. 

 

Find those moments of joy, sparkles of beauty God picked out just for you today. Those minute details He remembered to include just for you, just because He knew you'd love them. And how could we not? They show the boundless love of our creator, the one who invented freckles and swirling, turbulent clouds, brilliant cherry blossoms  and yes, emerald waves tipped in shocking white. Find your joy today and hold it in your heart. 

~Genna

  

What's in a Name?

I know a gal, let's call her Ashley (because that's her name.) She has a highly entertaining blog which inspired me today. Another wonderful friend uttered this ABSOLUTELY TRUE *snicker* line about my family on Tuesday, "I swear your kids are never bad when I see them Genna, they're always perfect. You guys are like the perfect family." ...

Hang on a sec, I just snorted my tea remembering... Wow, don't laugh and drink at the same time. That has to be bad for your nasal parts.

*Erhem* Moving on~~

Decided to let ye under the ridiculous delusion that we're perfection to a "p" in on a few glimpses of this past week. If it doesn't convince you we're just as special as the next fam, nothing will:) 

*My 2 year old told Granny via Skype that her baby brother "scratched" her nipple...so now her nipple is cold, but mommy's are still warm. ~~

 * My 5 year old son having a MELT DOWN because I finally forced the boy to relinquish his favorite shirt (ghost busters) to the washing machine. kid had to wear something else. It. Tore. His. Heart.

* I burnt  the usual one tray of cookies, my signature mark when baking them. On the plus side, there are 40-some-odd other non-burnt-super-chewie-chocolate-chip-goodness-cookies waiting to be eaten


*I might have completely freaked out because one of those GIANT mosquito eater things dived bombed me~~and yes, it did it on PURPOSE. :) ...I am aware most adult women don't cower when confronted by flying things one-one thousandth of their size, I just can't be one of them.

*My three year old ran, butt naked, out of the bathroom screaming that the potty water was chasing her (it started to overflow.) 

*Eating Ancient Roman Style (lounged on pillows, eating w/ hands) on the living room floor as part of a "school project."    ~~actually, I'm a little proud of this one. It was FUN!

* And I may or may not have allowed our almost-one-year-old to sit next to me and chew on a magazine while I finished typing this...if really pressed, I plead the fifth:)

(this happened too.)

Be strange: Genna

Don't Try This @ Home

My kids have a pretty groovy grandpa, yes?

Here's to rad in-laws~ Genna

Our Non-musical Orchestra

ACHOO, kerchoo, kerchoo, achooo!!
"ya done?"
"I think so."
"Ok, well then bless you."

Such is a normal spring conversation between the man and I.

Allergies. I have 'em. Sneezing? Yep, picked that up in the same aisle...on sale, that's why it's always so many in a row. I've a lot to spare apparently. BUT today is not about allergies.


It's about colds.The common spring cold~ colds which come w/ sneezing, because apparently when you get sneezes on sale, they attach themselves to any ailment. The sponsor for the sternutation (that's medical jibber for "sneeze") trait must have been wildly good at his job when it came time to pass them out to the Briggs family. When we sneeze we REALLY mean it. My record is 9....in a row. Impressive, yes? And Matt? Matt just has one, but his is the sort that leaves your eyebrows behind somewhere and startles migrating geese in nearby fields. Intense. Our poor kids didn't stand a snowball's chance in you know where of inheriting a dignified kerchoo.

Now? We all have the common spring cold. We smell like peppermint and eucalyptus oil, keep tissues on hand and stare w/ watery-eyed hilarity at each in turn as we add sneezes like punctuation marks to the general cacophony. Come on over, it's a riot:)



Bless you~ Genna

And Just Guess Who Came To Visit?

There is a moth. Let me rephrase~ ahem~ there is a moth...in my HOUSE. Without fail, where ever I go, within a day or two of arrival, a moth sticks itself to the outside of my bedroom window and from there SOMEHOW relocates to the innards of mine home.

And it's the fuzzy, fat bodied, playground-bully kind of moth. You know the one~ the type that stole all the other moths lunch money and from there proceeded to scarf down the best pockets of jackets or some such. It's that kind of moth.

I hate moths.

Oh not passionately, but certainly on a level unwarranted by a creature whose biggest crime might be dive bombing a candle. A candle? Seriously? Could you pick a more asinine thing to attack?

Aforementioned winged cretin is currently bouncing off the top of our lamp (clearly under the misguided assumption that it's a well-defended enemy of the melting wax & wick variety.) 'Course he could just be scoping out my hideout over here behind the computer. Creepy little blighter.

If he were at home I'd call in reinforcements; the insect stalker/killer, the one who has thwarted invasion attempts of every kind from 6-8 legged foes, a 6'1" moth menace my ultimate in secret weaponry: my husband. Alas, the man be out tonight. I think the creature knows it. I think he knows I know he knows it...or something like that. I think it might time to relocate....at least until a rescue effort can be made. Good night *shudder*....

Psalm 8

I love reading Psalm 8. It's not the best psalm nor the most quoted, but I like it. It's simple and reverent and perfect. So here, without further ado is psalm 8:

"O Lord, our Lord
how majestic is your name in all the
earth!

You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the
heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him a ruler over the works of your
hands;
you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds or the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the sea.

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the
earth!

Time

Suffering from writers block~~ BIG TIME. Our family is due to move in approx. 2 weeks and I couldn't ask for a more excited state of excitement EVER. Anticipatory excitement makes for very poor wit, or at least a very poor ability to write:)

I wanted to thrill ye of the online world w/ tales of how crazy God's timing has been, how we never knew from one moment to the next what (if anything) our week was going to bring on the house-searching front. I wanted empathize with you who are waiting on His word, searching for His confirmation, the go-ahead, the green light, a reassuring nod that you're on the right path...for we have trod that road for almost a year and let me tell you, somebody forgot to pave it. :)

....Or more likely, I just neglected to wear appropriate outdoor shoes.....again. The blue-collar man I married is forever saying, "who wears heels in the country, in the rain, in Oregon?!" You might call it blind optimism. See, if you ignore the weatherman fiercely enough, you may well get a sunny day, yes? Fortunately as we've learned (via muddy, dirt road) God guards even my improperly shod tootsies .

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

And thus, I land here, incapable of relating how very awed I am by our God. There are so many inconsequential events that, standing on the past year from this end of the calendar, lead to knowing I'll never be able to see big enough to understand Him fully. Much as I love to write, I will always fall short in my own ability to cinch in all the pieces and show you the simple complexity that has been His guidance in our lives. BUT a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say and I love the above picture. If you merely watch the road and its winding~ see how immeasurably long and daunting your destination seems? Where are earth does it lead? But look up ....

The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon
shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and you God will be your glory....
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end."
Isaiah 60: 19-20

Worship from a Pre-schooler:)

My kids had an (optional) Awana assignment and entered into it w/ the usual Briggs flair and zeal. They were to write a song of praise to God and set it to the tune of some nursery rhyme. Both picked the tune "twinkle, twinkle little star." Here were the results:

A song by Izy~

The ants sing God loves me!
Thank you for food
and for painting the sky
and making people.
Jesus loves me!

A song by Will~

I love you the most God
I will love you always God
And I love you all the time, God
Thank you for caterpillars
and ladybugs and daddy longlegs
And thank you that you made
Spiders to eat bad things
and made some to look like ants God.


I LOVE that they both hit on the two big issues: jesus loves us/ they love him and giving thanks for the amazing things He created. God is wowsome:)