summer senses

seeing :: hummingbirds and bunnies in the backyard. Girls in little bright swimsuits sometimes sunbathing, mostly running and leaping into the little pool. 

smelling :: dirt and sweat, little girls play hard.

tasting :: Chocolate Cake, I made my first ever rosette cake for a garden party thrown by my mother in law, and I thought it looked pretty and rustic, and it tasted very rich, but by far my favorite part was baking and decorating it. I can't wait to try out some new cakes and I am already planning Pip's 2nd birthday cake!

hearing :: Cicada songs. The other night we were having dinner with all of our family, and we stepped outside to search for lightning bugs after dusk, and our ears will filled with cicadas humming all around us. The girls were so excited by the new noise, they couldn't stop smiling. It was a picturesque evening of childhood summer.

feeling :: cold?!  This summer has had some wonderful cooler nights and mornings, and at times I get to wear my new sweatpants, and snuggle into a blanket. 

The other morning, I got so giddy about upcoming fall, (it's my favorite!) because it felt and smelled fall-ish in the middle of July!!

planning :: home school for my girls. In light of all of the transitions and unknowns in our life, we have decided that we will try teaching the girls at home. I am feeling both nervous and excited for the upcoming year of kindergarten and preschool for my little ones.

reading :: When Children Love to Learn general editor, Elaine Cooper, which has been confirming and encouraging. Also, I should be receiving my copy of For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaffer McCauly soon. Both of these books dive into the Charlotte Mason method of educating and I am anxious to begin exercising what I am reading in our every day life.

listening :: The Civil Wars pandora station. 
I love this song.

talking :: when our family from Osaka, Japan was here, we talked late into the nights when our kids were finally in bed. It was wonderful having uninterrupted time with them. We love and support them in carrying out the Great Commission to the people of Japan.

laughing :: Jokes, Penny's babbling and now funny sentences.

We got a library card yesterday to the library in our new town, and of course the girls found a joke book and just had to check it out. Bonus: We found one of Levi's jokes in it! Also, Levi brought Penny into our room upon her waking this morning. She wiggled off of the bed and said, "I mwan foo" which I returned with "You want food?" And she got excited and started jumping. She's communicating!

crying :: over many things silly and not. about newness and uncertainty, getting a new library card (I miss our old library community!) and missing friends, hard lessons learned and grace in abundance. 

Which leads me to ENJOYING :: Him, meeting me here, revealing himself to me continually, a time of new adventures and passions, knowing that someday I will look back on this time and it will all make sense and see I am growing because of it!

photo taken at George Washington Carver National Monument

So, moving on..

Hey, so we moved!
In the last couple of months,
our little family packed up the 
little grey house with the orange living room,
and left humid Oklahoma for humid Missouri.
I have tried to write a few posts on it,
but took my sweet time in posting them, so now, we are just moving on.

When we first got here, we spent two days moving into
our temporary housing (my in-laws, Thanks Kev and Deb)
and packing for our 10 day stint in the Colorado mountains at Camp Como.

Levi helped his dad out with a week of High School camp,
and the girls and I just tagged along for fun!
We explored, drew in our nature books, which soon turned into princess books,
hiked, lunched in tiny towns,
made new friends, 
and played till the sun was behind Little Baldy
(the 12,000 ft peak I climbed!)

We stayed in an old barn,
waking up way early as the sun blazed through our windows.
Every single morning all five of us would snuggle in one bed waiting for it to be time to get up and out for breakfast.
At night I would sit outside our cabin, waiting for littles to fall asleep,
 reading, and seeing the most spectacular skies.
I am thankful for our time there,
exploring some place new,
seeing God's beautiful mountains,
walking through peaceful trails between aspens.
I loved the simplicity of being there,
I never knew the time,
never stressed about meals,
left my phone off and in my room most days,
I was unplugged more than I ever have been,
and it was wonderful!

Now that we are back home,
I am trying to remain intentional about 
spending less time in front of a screen,
spending more time playing
and making memories with the girls,
and meeting God without distractions!

Have fun this week! Shoot off a Roman Candle for me!

just for you

I have given up for a bit on my weekly portraits,

times are a bit crazy and I am scrounging up

my little bits of sanity and using them on my family.

BUT,

because it's friday,

and I have a bit before my weekend fills up,

I am posting a few favorites to share with you! 

I can't get over the transformation in Pip since January!

 NG :: her signature hair hold.
Cord :: in her own little wonderland
Pip :: her jokes are the funniest

I hope you all have a great weekend! I hope you are refreshed, loved, and comforted!
More on our changes later, and why life has seemed so crazy over here to come!

mama day

I have two amazing moms in my life,

 I am one to three,

and maybe someday more.

We celebrated over three days which was really nice,

and it was funny to us when our three year old asked us if 

it was still mother's day last night.

We had Chinese and shopped at Target friday,

I picked up another grey tshirt, ha!

We celebrated with Gram and Pops on saturday

with a soccer game and homemade vanilla cupcakes with

chocolate raspberry frosting.

(seriously, buy this cookbook)

And on Sunday, I was showered with pieces of art,

a gift of 50 promises, and cheeseburgers,

(showered with cheeseburgers, ha, I only ate one but while rereading this it made a funny visual for me)

and finished the day with hanging out with some sweet friends.

However among all the sweetness and love,

there were fits thrown and sleepless nights,

which is what being a mom is all about.

I cannot truly appreciate the fullness and joy of motherhood,

without experiencing some sadness and guilt.

I am thankful to be reminded of His grace on a daily basis.

I can't be a mama without God.

I am so thankful that I get have my best friend help me.

I hope all you mothers, aunts, grandmothers, best friends

know that the love you pour into any children is 

truly a gift.

Thank you for giving constantly!

snapshots: a little behind

So I have fallen a little behind in my portrait resolution,

and just keeping up here on the blog.

I have always told myself that this blog wouldn't get in the way of

being a mom, but would be a nice creative outlet for me in my free time.

And lately my free time has been spent doing other things I love,

playing, reading, sitting outside in the beautiful weather,

going on family dates, napping, and spring cleaning.

We have been well.

We celebrated our favorite guy's birthday early in the month of April,

had a wonderful Easter feast with friends, and spent a week loving on and being 

loved by my brother, sister in law and their new puppy.

1. birthday tradition, I make a cookie cake for him and he decorates it :: 2. their favorite eggs :: 3. I just love her face here in our easter outtakes :: 4. Easter clothes from Grandma :: 
5. Waiting for Bracken, Grace and Mugsy :: 6. quiet afternoon book time :: 
7. Our favorite Engineer and Ballerina before they headed home.

:: :: ::

Follow me on Instagram @edendaygreer, 
for more day to day quips about our life.

1 6 / 5 2

+a portrait of each of my girls every week for 2014+

While outside taking easter photos for the grandparents, I caught some candid shots of my girls that I absolutely love!
NoraGirl: She thought the clouds looked like the biggest fluffiest blanket and wanted to sleep with it.
Cord: She told me she just wanted to watch the birds.
Pip: That was her original dress my mom picked out, the sweetest blush and cutest cut, however moments before we were to leave for church, she dumped orange juice all down the front of it so we changed dresses.

Happy Monday!

1 5 / 5 2

+a portrait of each of my children every week for 2014+

NoraGirl: make believe in the backyard

Cord: picnic by the pond

Pip: back in her element

We LOVE the nice weather and are anxious about more outside fun to come!