Irons and Bees

I'm working on ... working on things. Or you could say,

I have quite a few "irons in the fire" right now. Don't cha just love old sayings like that? I just love old sayings like that. When I looked up the meaning of that old saying it made me giggle.  You really should read the back story on that very famous saying,HERE so you can giggle too. It will be an especially giggly time for you if you are a busy bee like me.
Speaking of busy bee's I am one, but I still managed to find this quote for you;
"It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted." Mary O'Connor
The "why" to my busy is what I want to focus on here for a minute. That quote made me question whether all my busy is God's busy for me? Does that make sense? Cause if it's God's busy then there should be praise, but if it's my own busy then inevitably swatting will ensue.  I mean... I feel I am a bee and to be praised(I want some praise people this is hard work this mom to 4 kids work) while I'm busy about my Fathers business. But how does one know they are about their Father's business, and not their own business, especially when it's my new business that is keeping me busy. Did you know Our Father Who Art In Heaven has a business? Well, He does and I want to be that kind of bee that does it's Father's business. Ya know a bee that should be praised versus a mosquito who deserves to be swatted?

 It's busy, business, being a bee. 

Say that five times fast.

I am SO busy, but it's a good busy.  It's a healthy busy. It's a (I'm -right- where- I'm -supposed -to- be) busy. It's the kind of busy that makes my heart sing.

I'm driving my kids here, there, and everywhere, and they in turn are driving me nutts!  No, really I am throughly enjoying them and their very active, very healthy lives right now. But when I'm not driving the Fab 4 here, there, and everywhere here are some other irons I've got heating up;

I have my shop that I'm loving so much. I'm sewing up a storm to stock the shelves of NodotsShop just in time for Christmas. And I'm trying to really prepare for having a booth at the Farmers Market here next Spring. I'm a bit excited about that little dream come true, bucket list, adventure. I sure hope they like me and my stuff. I hear the jury process is a rigorous one, but I have all winter to prepare.
And then I have my son Solomon and his art work that I'm trying to get packaged and ready for Christmas presents(hold tight family your copy is coming) and possibly future retail. Yes,  He is my 11 year entrepreneur, artist, inventor child. He wants to sell prints of his artwork at the Market next year with me. Well, really he wants to sell them right NOW he's an ambitious lil fellow that Sol Doll ! He started his own little business at the young age of 10 and he calls his business Donut Productions. I wonder where the love for Donuts comes in? Psh... certainly not from his mother who buys them all the time!

This recent piece of art work that he and his dad worked on together  a few months back has gotten quite the buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz... there's those bees again.
Solomon came home from school one day inspired by Van Gough and he asked me what my favorite Van Gough piece was, I said A Starry Night, and that is where Rainy Night was born. He sat down with a Sharpie and drew with such detail that My Giant was super impressed. Mo finished the piece with some amazing color and I might be bias but I think it's better than A Starry Night.  Psh... totally better!!

And then I have that little writing project that I was working on, Brody the Bishop and The First Day of Spring is no longer on the back burner people. Nope.  I put him back up on that front burner and I have a goal to get him full blown cooking by next Spring. That's right you heard me, I have a GOAL.  Just one or two, or maybe a few more than 5 ?
Remember this guy? 
Well if you don't you can read more about that HERE or just stay tuned. You will be hearing more about him in the future.  

Of course I still have my everyday life jobs, laundry dishes taxi cab driving vacuuming  cooking taxi cab driving shopping cleaning did I mention taxi cab driving?

Really, I promise I'm a happy taxi cab driving mom.

Most of the time I'm a happy driver.

Clearly, not a happy driver here but.... 

There ya have it folks,  the Irons and   The Bees. Linking up here

Thankful Thursday

There are moments in life when you know someone, somewhere, somehow, should be recording the chronicle of events that you are witnessing. The other night was one of those moments. My oldest daughter had her first High School Choir concert.

Wait. I'm feeling a little Va-Klempt!! Talk amongst yourselves. No really, it was a circle of life moment. I was Mufasa telling my young Simba someday this land will all be yours. Or something like that. Ya see folks, I was a Choir student. That's right. I didn't play sports.  I wasn't a cheerleader.  I was Rachel on Glee, and I loved it. I was in my element in that choir room with Mr. Peebles. Yep, me and Mr. Peeb's we were friends. No, for real we are friends. 

And now almost 20 years later, my Emmer's well...  she's a Choir student. Sniff. Sigh. Vaklempt. I was so proud of her, and also Ahem... I have to admit,  I was VERY proud of my parents. Let me explain.  As I sat there for each and every performance, many of which Em  wasn't even on the stage for I realized, My parents did this for me. They sat through each and every painful, off key performance just so they could hear their daughter sing some Mozart song that says Hallelujah over and over, and over, and O-V-E-R again! As I looked up at her and then down the row with my other 3 munchkins I had a moment. Sniff. Sigh. Vaklempt. My other 3 kids were so cute to watch as their faces were beaming to see their sister up there on stage.  My boys were totally cracking me up as they were trying as hard as they could to make their older sister laugh. Yep, it was a circle of life moment that I was thankful for. Thankful for life. Thankful for Emma and the choices she has made to follow in my footsteps. Thankful for my parents and how incredibly supportive, encouraging, and amazing they have always been. Thankful for music. Thankful for music teachers. Thankful people who can sing on key, and even thankful for those who can't. Thankful for all of my kids. Thankful for my parents. Thankful.  Linking up here

Holidays,Costumes,and Making Faces

We love the holidays around here. Well, let me rephrase that, My Fab 4 and I love the holidays. My Giant just kind of tolerates them. He's never been a big fan, but I think I have begun to grow on him(ya know it's only been like 19 years).  He got all excited about the "Pumpkin Spice Candle Season"coming like all the way back in September.  Picture this...  A Big, Grown, Giant man named Moses ... giddy over a candle.  Giddy. It was a sight to behold people, and I beheld it long and hard.

My favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving, but I really love them all. Starting with Halloween and ending with what I call, Happy LOVE day or Valentines Day as some other people like to call it. My Giant calls it "Hallmark Makes A lot of Money Day"- to which I say Bah Hum Bug! Clearly, I still have more work to do there.

So with Halloween approaching this year I have very mixed emotions. 

For one, my Fab 4 are so much bigger now and the holiday just doesn't seem the same without little ones running a muck, in cute little costumes that make your heart go pitter patter.

And then, 

In the past I have always had help in the costume making department. Thank you Momma Nash and Gram Ellen. But, recently I find myself on my own throwing stuff together for these creative Fab 4 kids who don't want just your average every day costume.

This year my oldest Em, doesn't want to dress up. 

Do you even know how sad this makes me? 

SO so Sad.

But I'm trying real hard to let this young lady be her own person so I'm not going to force the issue, but this is what my face looks like; 

OO

^

So sad.

Ok, but Chloe is going to dress up as a cupcake and that makes my face look like this;

OO

u

Ha, ha sometimes I just crack myself up.

And then Solomon the one who is dressed as the giraffe up there, he wants to be Count Olaf from the Movie Lemony Snickets, Series of Unfortunate Events.

 Which makes my face look like this;

OO

o

Did I ever tell you He was Charlie Chaplin one year and sadly I only have one fuzzy dark picture because,  My Maccy took a crapper last year and with that BIG CRAP he took all my pictures that weren't backed up. To which I say, CRAP FOR CRAP!!

And then Isaiah wants to be A Ninja 

or

Nacho Libre

or

A Wrestler Strong Man

or ....

Which makes my face look like this;

OO

w

Help me out people any ideas for Cupcakes, Count Olaf, and Ninja/Nacho/Strong Men??

I Give

It was a long hard week over here, last week.  My Giant was out of town all week for work, and our schedules(me and the Fab 4) were border line crazy town. Do you ever have crazy town weeks where you can't remember if you are coming or going? Where you wake up at 5a in a panic thinking you forgot something or someone? Ya know, crazy town. Which, makes for a l-o-n-g week!
On top of this very l-o-n-g week there were issues I was dealing with that I'm not at liberty to speak of, but they were issues with a capital 'I' Like; 'I' need you Jesus to help me be kind. 'I' need you Jesus to help me be generous. 'I' need you Jesus to help me forgive. Little stuff like that ya know.(LOL)
Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes I feel like saying  Ok God I give. I'm so tired. I can't do it. It's too hard. There is too much work to be done on the inside of my heart.
But just when I feel something like that I read something like this;
"I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime- until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you." Isaiah 46:3-4
It's words like those that make me think God is saying to me, "Noël, I GOT THIS!" Sigh. Why do I ever doubt that He does?
Why do I try to walk this road on my own? This trying to follow Jesus in my own strength, well it's like pushing a dead car up hill, in the rain, barefoot, when all the while there is a tow truck right in front of me. And all I need to do is ask the driver to help me, and he will. More than that he's been waiting for me the whole time just to scream out, "HELP!"

"I will carry you along and save you."
In conversation with my oldest, Em Faifs this week I said sometimes all we need to pray to God is, "H-E-L-P!" and because he already knows what we need that is enough. It's more than enough for him to come and rescue us.
"I made you, and I will care for you."
So this week probably did give me a few more grey hairs, but that's okay because those words up there say, "I GOT THIS, even until your hair turns white with age" and that my friends makes me feel a whole lot betta.
How was your week? How was your weekend?  I had time to rest, to Selah, to Sabbath.  I hope you did too. Happy Monday Beloved Reader. linking up here

It's A Sale and A Rainy Day

It's a perfectly perfect Rainy Day here and that makes me happy.  I'm about to head out to the Farmers Market and support the vendors there despite the rain. It's days like these that you find out who the real Washingtonians are. Ya know, the ones that aren't afraid of a little rainy weather.

So while I'm strolling the isles of the Farmers Market here feel free to stroll the isles from the comfort of your home at

No Dots Shop

There's a sale on all headbands today only because... well... I like the rain. It makes me happy.
Put in the code "rainyday" and receive 25% off. 

Flashback Friday

I dedicate this song to all my girls at the Influence conference. It's such a great video that brings me right back to being a young girl and a time that was so different. It's a good Flashback song, and just an all around great song to start off your weekend. Check out those hair styles. They are just making me giggle right now.  What really happened to the other side of Cyndi's hair?  Did you ever hear jokes about her hair in the 80's? I remember one about her getting in a fight with a lawn mower or something like that.  Where were her girls to tell her that it probably wasn't the best look for her? Please tell me that you would have my back and tell me not to go out of the house with a hair do like that?  Ok, enough hating on Cyndi this morning. I really do thank for her this all time classic fun song, but I gotta say she's a tad bit strange to me. I hope it starts your weekend off right. It's time for what I like to call a little FBF- if you are new here this is a link up for blogs that are a year or older. You find an old post that you want others to read or re-read and link it up. Then you read each others and I hope comment and get to know your fellow FBF'ers.

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What's In My Noggin Now

I still have beach chairs from the summer in the back of my car. And possibly even some sand. Don't judge I plead the 4th.

I remember when life was simple and all my babes were at home watching Sesame Street in the mornings and all tucked in nice and safe by 8 pm at night.  And all was well and right with the world.

I suggest to all taxi cab driving moms who have a schedule like my own where you are needed in three places at one time to invest in good friends so you can car pool. Oh and always keep a book handy for those moments of waiting around.

I want a new car. One that doesn't require 3 digits to fill the tank and is fueled by the grey clouds ;) that are so plentiful around these parts. What, too much to ask for?

I wish that I could be in Nevada to see this last minute biscuit, crawling, talking, just overall cute-ness incarnate! Can't believe she will be ONE in a few months. Is she not the cutest little biscuit you have ever seen?

I should probably eat less cheese and olives, but I don't wanna.

I mailed some care packages today and it made me giddy on the inside to think of the special places they were all going.

I think I need to get walking on more regular basis. I love walking and talking with my sister Jen. Or my sister Gina, or really any and all of my sisters.  Sisters are food to my soul. Walking is good for my old body.

I sang at choir practice tonight and thought about how grateful I am that I have had the opportunity to
stand among God's people and sing out loud and proud for many, many years now.

I hugged a stranger tonight. No joke. Before I even knew this woman's name I gave her a hug. She was just another parent standing around waiting for just another teen to come out of youth group, and she poured out her whole life story. How she had just come from the lawyers office because her and her husband are getting separated. How she can no longer afford to live where she does now and that means her kids will have to change schools. How her husband won't be paying for things that mean her and her two children will suffer for it. And so I just looked at her and said, "Sounds like you need a hug" gave her a hug, she wept. And I said, "Oh hello My name is Noël"

I enjoy Sleepy Time tea. It makes me sleepy. It really does.

I made lots of bow ties today. They look like this.  I heart them.

I'm gonna take the chairs out now(or wait maybe I'll wait til 'tomorrow morning) so I can fill the back of my car with Big Orange balls of happiness called pumpkins. Check back with me and make sure I got those chairs out and vacuumed my car. Keep me accountable would ya?!

Linking up Here:

Bleh.

Hello There Beloved Reader-

I dropped a ball this morning. Well, not a literal ball, but you know the balls that we busy people have in the air. The kind that you have balanced and juggled since the day you became an adult. The kind that stay right where they are supposed to be, and life is great and everyone is happy,  until.... one day you drop one. Well, I dropped one, and it couldn't have come at a worst time cause I was already in a funk inside my head. Oh, that dangerous place inside my head. That dreadful, dark, funk of a place. You know it's bad when you are tired of yourself. That's where I'm at.  Kinda, really tired of the inside of my head right now. Does this ever happen to you? Don't get me wrong, Sometimes my inner voice is great.  It can be very encouraging and wonderful. I can feel like I could conquer the world one moment  or at least my portion of it and the next moment All I hear is Bla, Bla, Bla, Judgement, Sarcasm, Tired, and Anxious.  

Yep, that's me right now. I'm tired of how selfish my thoughts are. I'm over how lame my inner dialogue has been. I'm irritated that I have to keep biting my tongue til it bleeds. I'm wishing I could take back or just not even think certain thoughts in the first place. And I am really hot and bothered by the fact that every month or so...  well ya know what happens every month for us lovely ladies, no need to go on there. I know dropping balls is part of a busy life. I know that people drop balls everyday. It's just that I feel by almost the age of 40 I should have things neatly tied up, and organized, and planned out, and prepared, and all those responsible grown up words that just aren't coming to me right now.  Instead what I seem to feel is  frustration, irritation, condemnation,  and all those other 'tion words that are not very helpful to a person already in a funk. I feel like I suck at life right now. Don't fret over me I'll get those ball up again. Like on my girls volleyball team when they scream, "Balls UP!"  That's what  I'm saying this morning. "Balls UP!!" I'm getting the funk out of my head with you all,   and I'm moving on . That, and I know the other prescription I need to get rid of the funk. A Pumpkin Spice Candle, THE best book, A Good Long walk, And some music like this, The words are really appropriate for me this morning.    

Flashback Friday

Last Saturday morning I did what must be done sometimes in a situation where one lives with 13 people, and one is getting to the very end of a very good emotional book, and one can not seem to find the time to finish said book. I shut myself up in my room for like 2.5 hours(don't judge), and I finished reading the classic book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

It's a book that is set at the turn of the century and is a story about an Irish family that has it's fair share of problems. The mom Katie is married to a drunk named Johnny and together they have a boy Neely(Cornelius) and a girl Franice. They struggle like all young families at that time to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.  

Francie the girl, is the voice that narrates the story through out the book and she is full of spunk, and socially awkward. Her only saving grace is that she loves to read. When she finally is able to read on her own this is what it says of her, 

"From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood."

Don't you just love that? Books are my friends sometimes, like last Saturday morning.  This book was a very good friend ;) Hey who you calling anti-social and nerdy?  Psh... This family brings you right back to a time when you could get a loaf of bread for a penny, a cup of hot coffee was not only used to warm your bones, but keep you from feeling empty inside, and when you didn't accept charity. You put your best foot forward when you go out in public, and everyone was trying to make the American dream come true.  Huh... I guess not much has changed. As they go to bed each night they read one page from the bible and one page from Shakespeare.  And as Francie grows into a beautiful, smart young lady you feel a certain sense of  responsibility for her and complete  joy with her when she finally finds love. By the end of the story I was bawling my eyes out to the somewhat, bitter sweet, happy ending that you want so desperately for this young girl, Francie Nolan.

One of my favorite parts from the whole book is when Francie who favors her father rather than her mother Katie, looks at her mother in a different light. She says of her mother, "Her hand never fumbles."  I just love that line, because Katie is the one who keeps the whole family functioning. Although at times Francie doesn't understand her mothers harsh ways, she in this one moments realizes that without her mother their lives would be even worse than they could imagine. And she can imagine quite a lot.
My other favorite part is when Francie realizes the preciousness of life itself and she says, "Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry... have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."  Isn't that one of the greatest passages ever written? Sigh. See, I told you this book is a good friend. 

Apparently they made it into a movie.   I have never seen the movie so I am on the hunt to rent a copy, and I am wondering if it was as good as the book? Netflix was a no go, and so was Vulu.  But, until then I want to read what you wrote SO NOW...
It's time for what I like to call a little FBF- if you are new here this is a link up for blogs that are a year or older. You find an old post that you want others to read or re-read and link it up. Then you read each others and I hope comment and get to know your fellow FBF'ers.

My Prince Solomon Happy Birthday

When I found out I was pregnant with Solomon it came as quite a shock.  Emma was only 2,  and Chloe was only 9 months old. To say I was already busy with 2 little girls would be an understatement. To say we were surprised would be an understatement. I'll never forget the conversation that I had with my Dawl Allie that prompted me to go out and get a pregnancy test.

As I was laying there on the couch still in my jammies around noon, I was telling her how tired I was. I said I felt like I might be getting a cold  (ahem... don't all surprise pregnancy start off as a cold) or something because I just couldn't seem to shake the BLEH feeling. She laughed and said, "You don't think you could be pregnant?" "Pshh NO," I said. But little did I know that at that point Solomon Russell had already been growing strong for 3 months.

I didn't know it at the time but My Prince Solomon was already surprising me, and he really has never stopped.

I am in a complete and utter state of awe with this young man.

He is total JOY to my heart, and at the very same time

he frustrates me like no other child I own ;) 

Because of how God made him, and how God made me there are many, many times that I don't understand why he does what he does.

But, that being said he helps me to understand my Giant more than I ever could have without him.

So often the things I see him doing remind me of a Giant man I know named Moses and I stop and giggle. 

His heart is tender.

His sense of humor stellar.

His eyes are always looking for the outside of this box we call Life.

He is without a doubt an artist.

And 

an inventor.

He is completely aware of the world and all it's mysteries. He is a very deep thinker. I am told on a regular basis from almost every teacher that he has ever had so far, that he brings so much to the table. He is truly, in many ways, wise like his name sake.

I've only had 11 years and 9 months with this young man and I know this for sure, he is a world changer.

I'm blown away that he is only 11 years old, and at the same time already 11 years old. Happy Birthday Solomon my Prince.  I love you, Mom~

Being Covered

Recently, on one of my walks I found the above little flower growing out from the middle of those rocks. I stopped in my tracks and of course took a picture. Right away this scripture came to mind,Exodus 33:22
Please do take the time to read that scripture. Not just that one but the cross references. It's hard to put in words what it is like to be covered by God, but if I were to use a word picture it would be something like the picture above.

Hard, Big, Strong, Faithful, Un-moveable rocks surround a fragile beautiful pink flower. That flower is able to grow there despite the wind, the storms, falling tree branches, bugs, and any other forms of attack because it is in the "cleft" of those rocks.

It's like when I get all snuggled in bed, completely covered by my big puffy, warm quilt. It feels right in every way. It feels safe. It feels like the most peaceful spot on planet earth. Peaceful enough for me to drift off into a deep, deep sleep. My blanket works as a barrier to anything harmful that might try to come and get me in the middle of the night while I am sleeping.  It keeps all the Boogie Men away. And as I drift off to peaceful sleep, I feel protected.

That is what the love of God is like. He covers us. He covers our free-will mistakes. He is faithful when we are not. He is un-moveable when we can't seem to settle down and find a spot to grow. He is true when we lie to ourselves and to others.

It's like He says in every area of my life, "I've GOT This!"

He can be trusted.
He is secure.
He will not break.
Like a Rock that you can stand upon.

Recently, there have been some really big, scary boogie monsters come against my family, and some of my dearest friends. Normally, I would internalize these scary things and forget all about that blanket that covers me so well, but this time around God has been faithful to remind me.

"The Lord is righteous; he does no wrong. 
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and
every new day he does not fail."

Little Eyes, Soap Operas, and Me

"Oh Be Careful Little Eyes what You See,

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See,

For The Father Up Above Is Looking Down With LOVE,

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See."
Have you ever heard this old Sunday School children's song? It goes on to say, Oh Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear Oh Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say  and then back again to the Eyes. It's a classic Sunday School song that has always stuck with me. This past week I was reminded of this song two times. Once with a boy child, and once with a "woman child in a state of Grace." You see, I had one of those profound moments as a parent where you live out a lesson you yourself learned long ago, only now you are on the other end of the lesson.  When I was a young girl I used to watch Soap Opera's. SHOCK. AWE. GASP. Yes, Soap Opera's were my vice. My all time favorite was Days of Our Lives, and later it was All My Children. I would come home from school everyday and turn on the TV to my favorite Soap, eat my after school snack, and dream about the day that A Knight and Shining Armor would come whisk me off my feet and make passionate love to me. Yep. That was me. Until one day I realized that Soap Operas to a woman are kind of like what Porn is to a Man.  Don't act so surprised, you know it's true. We love the story, the romance, the ultimate drama, and not so much the reality. Ok, now hold on right there. IF you are a grown woman who watches Soaps I mean you no harm.  To each his or her own. But for me, there was a point in time that I distinctly remember realizing that Soaps would no longer be healthy for my life, and for the realities in life so I gave them up. So fast forward almost 20 years and I find myself having to teach my children this lesson of being careful about what they spend their free time watching, reading, and looking at.
You've heard that saying,  "You are what you eat." Well, to me watching and reading is kind of our soul's way of eating. What we watch we digest. What we read we digest. And so I realized that I didn't want to digest SOAP anymore. Are you tracking what I'm laying down? That kind of fantasy life only leads to discontentment with reality.  I wanted contentment. I wanted reality. So I gave up Soap. (I didn't give up soap, like real soap silly. I promise I'm still fresh smelling) I have to admit was a strange thing to return to this lesson as the one on the other side of the fence.  When my children had the reactions they did I was surprised at how attached they were to what they were watching/reading.  There were tears. There were hugs. And ultimately, I hope I portrayed the true heart of God which is that although we won't go to "HELL" for watching things like Soap Opera's it's just not the best use of our time. And, it's kind of like... "Garbage in, Garbage out." (I hate even using that cheesy phrase but it really is so very true) I'm glad that song says, "For the Father up above is looking down with LOVE" because that is also the truth. He doesn't condemn us for these kinds of things that eat up our free time, and are frankly a nice distraction sometimes. I think, He just really longs for that time to be spent with Him. It's a good lesson. It's a good reminder. It's all good.
Happy Monday Beloved Reader.