last night

the house is quiet and dark. i have checked the locked doors for the last time. the dryer rumbles softly fluffing the towels i forgot to fold earlier in the day. i tiptoe in for one more look at him. eyes closed, breathing softly. hands behind the head, elbows out. more diagonal than how i left him. i lean over the rail to smell his breath and kiss his forehead. my feet come off the ground so that i can reach him. his eyelids flutter open briefly, the long, dark eyelashes casting shadows on his face. he doesn't see me, so deeply asleep. "see you in the morning, sweet boy". he sighs and rearranges his arms. i wonder if he knows how much i love him. "mama loves you."

my peek-a-boo house

i found a great website, www.icanteachmychild.com. it's full of fantastic ideas, projects, and tips for teaching and playing with children of any age! this peek-a-boo house idea is one of my favorites. you can find the original here: http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2010/11/peek-boo-house/. here's my version:

i found a great piece of cardboard with these flaps to make it a little more interesting and also used lids from items other than just wipes containers (ie: plastic spice and candy containers, truvia container, boogie wipes, and chicken stock boxes). instead of felt for the coverings, i used the flannel baby blankets my little one is no longer using (i am a sentimental fool!) and added scrapbook paper to the tops of lids (mine have different animals on them). i used photos under some of the lids and placed various colors of scrapbook paper under the others (ie: the blue lid has blue paper underneath with "blue" written on it). this was really fun to make and totally worth the second degree burn i got from my glue gun!

my little piece of heaven

what He has done for us

i'm at a loss for words, there's nothing to say
i sit in silence wondering what led me to this place
how did my heart become so lifeless and cold
where did the passion go?

when all my efforts seem like chasing wind
i've used up all my strength and there's nothing left to give
i've lost the feeling and i'm numb to the core
i can't fake it anymore.

here i am at the end, i'm in need of resurrection
only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
what i've lost to the world, what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again

You speak and all creation falls to its knees
You raise Your hand and calm the waves of the raging sea
You have a way of turning winter to spring
make something beautiful out of all this suffering

here i am at the end, i'm in need of resurrection
only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
what i've lost to the world, what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again

-nicole sponberg
http://artists.letssingit.com/nicol-sponberg-lyrics-resurrection-ddns6v3