Author name: hill

picture me {im}perfectly.cooking

so here’s the truth,
i am not a very good cook.
i don’t really even enjoy cooking.
there, i said it.
eating?
yes.
baking?
yes.
cooking?
no.


it’s not something that comes naturally to me. 
i have no knack for “season to taste”

i don’t know what to do to make something that 
doesn’t taste great 
taste great. 

a few nights ago i overcooked the green beans
and i burned garlic bread.
it’s usually not that big of a deal 
(because i tend to do stuff like this all the time)
but when i messed up two of the three things we were supposed to be eating for dinner,
that’s when it’s uber lame.
big time lame. 


i can 
never ever 
remember that something is in the broiler. 
even if i have just put it in there.
two seconds earlier.
i have a hard time just sitting there, watching it cook.
it’s probably because i have a hard time being patient. 
and, i try to do too many things at one time in the kitchen 
(and in life)
and the end result is never good. 

(isn’t the fishie tucked in his shirt absolutely adorable?)

K would say i am not a very good cooker.

well, that’s not actually true 
because for some reason, she thinks that i can cook.
but she does think that people who cook are called cookers.
makes sense to me.

and you must read this incredible post about this very thing.


and thanks to Holly for linking up last week!
her honesty about her struggles is so relatable.

picture me {im}perfectly
is a weekly project to reveal that we don’t have it all together.

i will post a 
picture me {im}perfectly
blog post every wednesday 
where you will be able to link up to your blog
revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,
your kids are not picture perfect,
your house is not picture perfect,
your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let’s 
encourage, 
inspire and 
remind 
other women 
that none of us have it all together.  

add my button to your blog post
until next wednesday
and link up to your direct posting
and feel encouraged. 

851. the purple sky
852. the scent from our lime tree
853. the big bowl of lemons on my counter
854. being outside so very much yesterday
855. PT in our backyard

this blog is comment-free.

KS visits.part 3

as it always does, 
our visit went by way too quickly.
how does that always happen?
one moment she is arriving and the next, the visit is over.
but we have carefully outlined many future trips to visit each other
(and maybe even one thrown in there without any children).

(photo taken by D)

we 
(of course)
never ran out of anything to say,

enjoyed lime dr. peppers with our kid-free lunch
the oatmeal, chocolate chip, butterscotch cookies i had prepared 
along with her oatmeal, chocolate chip, peanut butter cookies she had prepared.

we even got all gussied up to go out to a night on the town 

with our friend KP
which ended at the late hour of 8:30pm.
(i think i need to invest in some heels 
if i am going to hang out with these lanky girls.)

we stayed the night at my parents’ condo

where we posed for this 
much-too-early morning shot 
(with the red of my camera strap on the left).

yep, that’s right
it was the second time i have stayed the night away from L. 
and the first time was when he was 
admitted into the PICU at Christmastime in 2009. 
i don’t like to think about that night though.
but this night at the condo?
oh, this night was heavenly.
we stayed up and chatted 
while eating fro yo 
until it was much too late in the night.
we had to set alarms in the morning
so we would be sure to make it home in time to take D to school at 9am.
it was 
that 
dark and 
that
quiet at the condo. 
i don’t remember the last time i set an alarm 
to be sure that i was up by 8am.
that is definitely one perk about having children.
we’ll call that a perk.

and then we dropped her off at the train station 
because have you know it, 
KS is a world traveler. 
and how adorable is she?
too adorable.
she is such a fashionista.
(do you notice her “sippy cup” filled to the brim with coffee?)

846. being inspired
847. homemade guac made by the hubby
848. promised family time
849. thinking and dreaming about the future
850. K’s enthrallment over the trains


this blog is comment-free.

KS visits.part 2

when she’s not flying in from the middle of the country to visit,
KS and i have a standing phone date. 
each and every week.

it’s so incredible how much life we can share 
in those 
never-have-enough-time-to-talk-about-everything 
quick fifteen minutes. 

and, it’s amazing how much life we can share 
without living near each other.
although, we do often dream about 
what it would be like to be next door neighbors.
we’d share our morning brew 
(especially since we are both totally and completely addicted),
we’d practically live at each others’ houses,
our girls would play baby doll together,
our little boys would nap at the same time,
and our husbands would golf with each other. 
especially since hers just shot 
a nice, low number while she was out to visit.
it would be really lovely.
i’m sure of it. 
but, until then, we’ll just hold onto our weekly phone dates.

(photo taken by K)

and here she is loving my baby like he is hers. 

she even babysat
all three children.
twice,
so that B and i could go out on dates.
hah. 
not quite.
we had a kindy to tour and a 
parent/teacher conference to attend.
but, B and i did hold hands
and our conversations weren’t interrupted,
so it was kind of like a date. 
kind of.

Photobucket


841. the sweet smell of night jasmine blooming
842. a happy little man who just received his first issue of lego magazine
843. a messy but quiet house
844. horse drawn carriage rides
845. finding out about a friend seeking the Lord

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KS visits.part 1

KS came to visit.
(more on her here and here.)
i know.
isn’t she one of the best?
one of the best, i tell you.

look at her in full mommy mode.
even though none of her children came with her.
here she is, on the phone with her kiddos 
(who were back home)
while entertaining mine.
by the end of the visit, 
my kids were referring to her as “other mommy”
(a name they’ve only called my sister).

and what out-of-state visitor can refuse going to the beach?
not a one.
we made sure that it was one of our first stops.

and oh, was the sun shining!
it was a glorious day.
and, when my kiddos started fussing 
because they were tired of being strapped in the stroller, 
she didn’t even flinch. 
now that, my friends, is a blessing.

stay tuned for part two of her visit. 

836. the warm wind
837. a party with the big kids
838. metal bowls that make clinking sounds
839. watching L flirt with his therapists 
in order to get out of doing the work
840. legos, legos everywhere
this blog is comment-free.

all three.





what a treat for me to have photos 
with each of my kids this week.
this is all because the awesome KS 
(more on her here and here.)
came to visit.
(more on that soon)
it was
incredible
(of course).
and i can’t wait to do it again.

831. seeing rain on the street lit by the street lamp
832. hearing the rain slosh in the car tires as they drive by
833. david gray
834. seeing the beginning of toddler tantrums with L
(this is a good thing. a really, really good thing)
835. knowing exactly what the right thing to do is


this blog is comment-free.

picture me {im}perfectly.

i tend 
(always)
to spread myself thinly.
really thinly.
too thinly. 


i love starting new things.
new:
systems, 
projects,
commitments,
plans.


but my follow through isn’t always superb.
that’s not the fun part to me. 


new,
fresh beginnings,
births of projects,
now, that is my idea of fun. 



(photo taken by the lovely KS)


i think i can handle it all but my balance is not usually
(or ever)
balanced. 


in college, i took a photography course 
where one of our first assignments 
was to take a collection of self-portraits 
without actually taking a single photo of ourselves. 
one of the photos i took 
was a group of five small potted plants
that were on my patio. 
each were barely surviving. 


i want to 
do everything,
see everything,
be everything.
but i’m not.
and i can’t be.


Yet I am always with you;
   you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterward you will take me into glory
Psalm 73:23-24


picture me {im}perfectly
is a weekly project to reveal that we don’t have it all together.

i will post a 
picture me {im}perfectly
blog post every wednesday 
where you will be able to link up to your blog
revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,
your kids are not picture perfect,
your house is not picture perfect,
your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let’s 
encourage, 
inspire and 
remind 
other women 
that none of us have it all together.  

add my button to your blog post
until next wednesday
and link up to your direct posting
and feel encouraged. 


826. catching up on the phone
827. being here. really, really here
828. baking muffins
829. losing yahtzee to the kids
830. running into an old friend


this blog is comment-free.


highlight.

the other day, 
K and i were having a grand ol’ time 
using our walkie talkies.


i later found out that 
we were chatting it up 
while she was going poop in the potty.


definitely the highlight of my day. 
definitely.


821. never knowing what the day will entail
822. getting the chance to cross things off my to do list
823. trusting in His door of hope
824. feeling like i’m getting back on track
825. exhausted kiddos

this blog is comment-free.

don’t even think about commenting.

we heard yet another 
incredible,
life-changing
transformative 
sermon 
at church this weekend.

we are so blessed by the truth 
that is spoken at our church.
so, so, so blessed.

the words cut my heart 
(of course)
and have changed my mindset.
each time, 
each week, 
my heart is urged to point more towards Christ 
and to focus less 
on all the other things that that don’t matter.
the things that i do each day 
to fill my heart and mind
that are not of God.

when we pursue anything other than God, 
we think we are being filled up 
but in the end, 
we are left 
wanting more.
desiring more.
wanting and desiring ungodly things.
it’s this ugly monster that we feed.
that we feed to our hearts.

our pastor talked about our daydreams.
my daydreams.
where my mind goes when it has a free moment.
he talked about the 
security, 
affection, 
affirmation,
approval and
identity
that we get.
that i get.
from those daydreams.
from those other things
that are not God.

my love language is words of affirmation.
and i don’t want to feed that monster anymore. 
i don’t want to go anywhere else for my security.
anywhere besides God.

everyone is worshiping something.
i want to keep God on the throne.
and God alone.
and i want to be changed.
i think what we all want is a lasting change. 

i want to renew my heart.
i want to respond to Him.
i want my treasure and my value to be from Him. 

this blog is now going to be a comment-free blog.
i was so inspired by this blog.
i have thought for a few months 
that i should implement this to my very own blog.
and after hearing this sermon, 
i knew that i could not go one more day without doing this. 


and oh how i love your comments. 
i really, truly adore them.
and that is why i am choosing to say goodbye to the comments.
i just love them too much. 
i know that you understand. 
and you can always email me
{capturingmotherhood@gmail.com}


“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel 

   after that time,” declares the LORD. 
“I will put my law in their minds 
   and write it on their hearts. 
I will be their God, 
   and they will be my people. 
No longer will they teach their neighbor, 
   or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ 
because they will all know me, 
   from the least of them to the greatest,” 
            declares the LORD. 
“For I will forgive their wickedness 
   and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34


816. a napping house
817. my purple scarf
818. our bare tree out front
819. snow on the mountains
820. the crisp, clear day
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