Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

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Saturday smiles: end of another week edition

Seriously? It’s Saturday again already? Time seems to be flying in our house right now. Which reminds me a little of those movie scenes where an airplane is flying directly toward a mountain and everyone thinks .they’re going to crash until the last minute when the plane makes a sharp turn or narrowly crests the mountain without a problem. That’s kind of how life feels for us right now. Not exactly something to smile about, I guess, unless you believe that God is good and you aren’t going to crash and burn and even if you did He’d have a plan for that.

Anyway, on to the weekly smiles.

How can you not smile at the first sign of spring? This yellow crocus, poor confused little flower, appeared in our front yard this week. With temps in the low to mid 50s part of the week, I can understand why nature might think spring is approaching soon. It is approaching soon, but I’m afraid the little crocus won’t survive unharmed till then.

The library. Even though I’m not checking out books right now because I have a backlog of books in the house to read, I still have an “I’m home” moment when I walk in. And I love that Isabelle can pick out no less than 15 books every three weeks to take home, even with a library of her own at home. Hello, we’re the Bartelts and we have a book addiction.

While at the library this week, I was reminded that three weeks from now, we’ll be on our way to Florida and halfway through the seminary semester. Crazy.

The time bake feature on our oven. I made these in the afternoon, then the kids and I took a long walk around the neighborhood. When we returned, it was ready to come out of the oven.

Last Sunday, the kids sang in church. Isabelle hasn’t quite been brave enough to do any actual singing since the kids have made regular appearances, but this time, she sang a little bit AND performed hand motions. Way to go, girl!

Making decisions as a mom. This week, it was little stuff, like making a dentist appointment for Isabelle (her first) and signing her up for soccer. I procrastinate and second-guess myself on decisions, so to have made two tangible ones for the well-being of my children this week feels great.

Isabelle’s starting to recognize and learn how to write letters. I’m not a teacher, so maybe this is old news for other parents of almost 4-year-olds, but it’s exciting. She can write her name and with a little direction copy letters and fill in crossword-type puzzles. Seeing her correctly identify letters that aren’t in her name makes me believe that yes, she will learn to read.

Corban’s terrible twos are turning ornery in the cute-but-naughty sort of way. He giggles and runs away when he needs a diaper change or takes something from his sister. I have to say here that it makes me smile because I can’t let him see me smile in the moment. It is sort of funny. But I know I have to lay down the law. He giggles about other things, too. While singing to him for naptime this week, I picked the hymn “Trust and Obey.” He repeated the words as best he could, then nodded his head and said, “I like it” followed by a giggle. It was enough to make me crack up during the song, too. Oh, the joy.

He also does stuff like this.

Friends, new and old, who keep me sane and encourage me.

Playtime at the park.

Making up after a fight.

Winning a license for a writing software I can’t wait to play around with.

Taking action toward meeting a writing goal.

So, what’s bringing a smile to your face these days?

Happy Saturday!

Saturday Smiles: The Going Home Edition

What a crazy week!

I could tell you that it was crazy because my husband finished two papers for finals week, our van went in to the shop to fix a disturbing whining noise, and the kids and I spent most of our time washing clothes and dishes, packing and cleaning.

Or I could show you this.

Our son, doing a babushka impression.

Or this.

 Our daughter’s fashion sense. Headband. Cross necklace. Nightgown. It works for her. She’s either 3 or a fan of ’80s Madonna. I’ll let you decide.

I could tell you that the kids opened presents from the woman I call my English grandma because she’s a lady I befriended the semester I lived in England with whom I’ve kept in touch for more than a decade. She’s always sending us the neatest gifts for Christmas and birthdays.

Like this.

Mmm. Chocolate. Or in the words of our kids who have composed a new jingle for the company, “Cad-bury, Cad-bury. WE WANT SOME! WE WANT SOME!”

So to recap, busy parents plus inventive and creative children plus chocolate equals crazy.

The light at the end of the craziness was our planned trip home for the holidays. So craziness is worth it to be with family for two weeks.

Especially when we get to enjoy days that include this.

A walk through a forest to pick out a Christmas tree. In the snow. In practically the middle of nowhere. Bonus: the tree only cost $10. That’s some cheap entertainment and memory making right there.

Walking through a forest, even if it was “just” an overgrown Christmas tree farm sparked every ounce of creativity in me. I imagined stories as we tromped through the snow. And I wished for a magical sort of setting for my kids to play in as they grow. (Lord, hear my prayer.)

There was too much to smile about this week. Our van was fixed in time for us to take an 800-mile road trip. We only forgot a few things in the midst of our packing frenzy, and the one thing that makes the trip the most bearable — chewing gum for a car sick child — I remembered less than a block after we pulled away from our house. Thank you, Jesus.

Best of all, we made it to Illinois without any traffic or weather delays, with tired but smiling kiddos and tired but relieved parents.

My kids’ reaction to the snow, even if their first glimpse of it was 5 a.m. local time, was priceless. They thought the snow came to Illinois just for them.

My husband is snoring on the couch. The house is quiet. And my heart is full. We celebrated birthdays today as a family. My grandma’s — which is today — and our son’s from a few weeks ago. We cooked for our family tonight — our go-to beef stew recipe. We shopped all over town for ingredients and tracked down an appropriate pot to cook it in. We felt a little bit like participants in some sort of Food Network challenge as we rushed to beat the clock to have dinner ready in time. Then we watched with satisfied smiles as young and old devoured the stew.

The smiles escape for big reasons, like our daughter helping her Nana and Papa’s snowmobile club hand out food baskets to shut-ins. She was thrilled to say “Merry Christmas” to them and be involved in serving others. My heart smiles at her heart of compassion. And for small reasons, like the invention of family restrooms and their inclusion in interstate rest areas.

Familiar sights. Roads well-traveled. Family all around. The soft glow of Christmas lights on our newly picked tree. How our children thrive with their relatives.

If I go on, I won’t stop.

The smiles are stacking up, with more to come this week.

Thanks for indulging me in another week of smiles.