grave-clothes and tea

our pastor spoke this past sunday about change. the process of taking us from here to better. and there were many pieces, but one that stuck with me was about community.

he reminded us of the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus raises him up- summons him from the tomb. and there he is. a dead man, now alive at the word of Christ. still in his tomb-wrappings. so Jesus asks the people around him to unbind Lazarus. and our pastor asked, "was Christ capable of bringing Lazarus from death to life and yet not able to remove his grave clothes?? absolutely not!"

then he said something like this: Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. and surrounded him with a community that could help remove the grave clothes.

oh how that resonated. looking back at these recent months- ups and downs with anxiety battles- the days that changed things, the moments that turned my course, were precipitated by some form of community.

a conversation with my sister, a word from a friend on the phone asking me to do this one thing, seek Him, ask Him ____, think on this, people stopping and praying with me, etc.

i am so very very thankful for community that sticks with me. as our pastor said, removing Lazarus' grave-clothes could not have been a very pleasant task. and i know my friends love me, but are probably a little sick of me falling into the same brand of crazy again and again. but patient community is such a huge part of my being made new. i'm so grateful.

more happy summer days to you, friends. the above drink is my new favorite. tea steeped in the sun with a few mint sprigs to brighten the tea (and my life). i'm in love.

the movies

i love movies. old movies on rainy afternoons. new movies on a friday night. and going to the movies. it is just so exciting.

and we took our little man and girl to the movie theater for the first time this weekend.

on a very hot saturday afternoon, we hid in a cold dark room to watch winnie the pooh.

this may seem ridiculous, but as the movie began and i looked down the row at my family, i got teary. yup. i did. looking at the blessings. and experiencing one of my favorite things with the 3 best peeps in the whole world. his first time at the movie theater. he was so excited. they both were. and i was overwhelmed with how cool my family is. and how fun 'going to the movies' is. and all the blessings. all the good.

the weekend continued with good. bounty from other people's gardens made into salsa for a saturday night:

outside bubbles with daddy.

welcome to the week, friends.

old patterns

my grandma is traveling to one of my absolute favorite places tomorrow. without me. a cabin of my childhood. where we spent long cool days doing really important things. puzzles, listening to music, baking, eating, fishing, rifling through piles of library books, playing cards and exploring long stretches of sometimes-blueberried forests.

it was a tradition that was built into my bones. every summer, about this time, i find myself craving foods we always ate there, thinking more about family and longing for cool nights under a bright Milky Way.

so i'm making caramel corn tomorrow. and i started on a little project. some might call it juvenile, but... well. i don't care.

oh yes. friendship bracelet. i saw them featured here and i couldn't resist. as a girl i could never conquer the v-pattern. and through this post, i was enlightened. i had to try one!!

now my sisters have laughed at me. i have SO much work to do for the upcoming and awesome Indie Craft Parade. i really do not have time to be spent on a friendship bracelet (though it is super cool). my dear sisters allowed me one; "get it out of your system."

so i will safety pin to pillows and jeans for a day or so. remember those blissful days of Minnesota-lake childhood. and then try to move on.

happy weekending friends. hope yours are filled with new and old delights.

this girl

guys.

i'm having some issues over here.

this little spitfire-cutie.

i'm in bed yesterday morning next to jason (and samuel- who comes to greet jason every morning with the dawn) and i groggily realize that i hear someone in our kitchen. i come out to find my little girl. sitting at the computer playing with my turned-on camera next to an empty starburst wrapper. oh yes. she had climbed on top of a basket to get 1 of the two random starbursts we had lying around. and she was cool as can be.

then came bath time. where she crawled out of the tub to get jason's body wash and squirted it everywhere. the floor, the tub- the place stunk of manufactured manliness for the rest of the day.

oh she's a handful folks. defiant with a sweet smile. i don't even know where to begin sometimes.

bri left

well, they left.

and we had a fabulous week together. so very different from her last visit. we had very little cohesive conversation. our so-called 'quiet times' (girl supposed to be sleeping, boys in the next room playing something involving masks and guns) were filled with reading and recovery. preparing for the next round of hours with four littles in our small house.

we did life together for a week. trying to train children in the way they should go, talking about marriage, making food and cleaning up. together. and it was awesome.

i spoke with a sweet friend in the hallways of church yesterday. she is just returning from a long visit with her family who live so many many miles away. and we both agreed to remember that His plan is what we want. so hard to remember as they pulled out of the driveway on saturday. all i can see is the loss of days. not seeing my nephews' soccer games and not having weekly (daily) morning tea with my sister.

but, as my friend reminded me, i get to spend eternity with my sister. what are a few years of separation? for reasons i don't understand, we don't get to be in one another's daily lives right now. and i'm striving to remember and trust.

and hold on to the days i get. they were just wonderful.

being together

they're here!

sister and nephews arrived on monday night and we haven't really stopped since.

a bakery, a waterfall and tons of cousin bonding. it's been awesome.

it is so nice to have a buddy all day. someone to help. to talk to. to look at and smile with when a little looks at a globe and asks, "where's california? where's leviticus?" such a blessing to be together. to look into each other's lives and talk about what's really going on.

honesty and laughter. so good to be together.

hello again

forgive the absence, friends. it's been a week over here. containing much, but most importantly a trip away with my one true love.

in honor of our ten, we asked dear fabulous friends to have our children and left for two days. did some walking/hiking together. it was wonderful.

Congaree National Park (yes. this will resemble me showing you my vacation slides. but it was so beautiful!! i have to do it.)

this forest was incredible. a hard wood swamp forest. i felt like i was in madagascar or something. trees 150 feet tall. birds i'd never heard before.

i loved this branch. stuck within the boardwalk. so many colors. there is some fabulous decor-sceme in that little branch.

and day 2 had us at the Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway. it was insanely beautiful. the kind of beauty where you look around and don't really believe what you're seeing is real. couldn't be.

so that was our vacation. thanks for watching. big-sister briana is coming today. (yay!!!) sure to post more on that soon. happy week, gang. may we each rest in the reality of His love and provision (not remembering that one very well lately...).

our fourth

beautiful independence day. we did up all american-style. made a peach pie and listened to country music (so you have to too. press play. you have to. and thank you alli for the song) had burgers and lit sparklers.

it was pretty fabulous.

a couple of weeks each summer of my childhood were spent lake-side with my family. my grandma, games of Sorry and cookies. my mom, books and bonnie raitt. a boat, minnows a sister or two and my dad. beautiful stuff. and a lot of peach pie.

and as i made my peach pie filling last night, i innocently stuck my nose in the bowl.

and before i knew what was happening, i was bawling. hands holding the kitchen counter, tears hitting the tile.

that smell. it propelled me backwards and the impact brought a flood of tears. scenes of innocence took over my mind-space. my grandma, our summer cabin weeks, a life of easier.

i stood and thought of what could satiate this new thirst. i could go to minnesota and see my grandma. i could even visit that cabin where we spent so many fabulous days. but no. nothing would satisfy this. it was all of it-- a longing for days of simple childhood joy. and i can reach for those places and people and they are gifts. but it will never be as simple as it was. can't set free this responsibility- these years (though there haven't been that many).

so i ate peach pie in memory. in a little bit of mourning. and in thanksgiving. for all that has come before and won't be again.

it's a good life, folks. He gives us good all over the place. i know it's here in the midst of my two-year-old's fits of temper and my laundry piles. His goodness. HE is here.