weekend

we had a weekend. oh, we had a weekend.

we filled it till it spilled over.

the girls met the boys at the apple orchard on friday. the afternoon found us at the campsite.



just us. just the four that make us what we are.

we went out for a tour of the place and saw so much of His wonder.







why does deep green moss so frequently and immediately conjure up ideas of fairyland?



i so enjoyed being outside with my people. being all together and breathing in a bit of the wilderness. good medicine.

early saturday morning, samuel, kate and i went over to the lake to greet the day while jason tended the breakfast fire.



magic.

good to get away. good to be together. good to minimize all the noise and just be.



happy week-start everyone.

a few things i'm lovin'

finally got this girl in her mamma's fail-safe hair-do. i couldn't handle the cuteness. and so you have to endure 3 pictures.

coffee on the deck. i just love outside. God makes good stuff, people. 

some time with the fam. parking at the very tippy top of the parking garage. and getting a few treats. 

keeping the kids occupied and oh-so-happy with a car wash.

and, finally, pumpkin pie in May. 

we have friends with whom we share a usual, not-on-the-date, thanksgiving dinner. and we had one. in may. and i made pumpkin pie. and it was delicious. a bit odd, perhaps, to smell cloves and cinnamon on the doorstep of summer, but delicious still. 

we are off to texas tomorrow. visiting my lovely parents. my sister is joining us. oh what a time we'll have. happy days to you.

outside

we got to go on a little adventure. into a forest and beside a river. what a great start, right?

well, it actually started very early (for us) in the morning. we drove out to a friend's house as they were letting us tag along to Pisgah for a class on life cycles. the drive out to her house was worth it. all by itself. even if the day was going to end up terribly. the drive through dew-flowers and morning mist made it worth it.

but, of course, the day just went up from there.

we learned the craziest stuff. God is amazing, folks. the stuff He has made- the systems that work- that i don't know a thing about- that i never pay any attention to- is astounding. mind blowing.

side-note: i'm so tickled by this young friendship. two boys who talk about birds and bugs, among other things. i'm a fan.

we picnicked and explored. parked by a noisy river and gazed at a waterfall. we moms each answered as many, "momma! momma!"s as we could. stopped for some cookies on the way home. and made it to our doors with happy kids. exhausted.

a good day.

spring. she's stretching her legs

oh she's coming. we walked the yard recently and saw all the signs.

green.

tiny new green peeking from the brown.

red buds.

and flowers.

the kids are outside as i type. doing "a school project about making mud." (yes, they made this up, i think in a hope of convincing me of the task's worthiness)

fleece pants are now stuffed into frog rain boots. i hear singing and see two little heads bouncing as they run. what a joy to be outside. to feel His breeze blow through the house. thankful.

walks and photos. and crafting a bit.

you should know at the outset of this post: it's chock-full of photos.

the sun came out today. and because my sister lives in michigan and suffers through clouds for weeks on end, i know i really don't have much to complain about. but it had been at least 3 days of rain. and the sun came out today.

and we went on a walk. searching for lovely things.

(i love whatever these bushes are. their seed pods produce beautiful winter 'flowers')

(this tree has always been a neighborhood favorite of mine. that trunk is perfect)

(our very own sweet gum tree. little kate keeps calling those annoying, beautiful balls different things. we've had gum balls and ping pong balls. today, there was a 'meatball' stuck in her stroller wheel.)

and then we came inside. i made cookies to bring to a show tomorrow.

and sewed. a pile of headbands:

also, for those of who might be interested, i'm making some cards similar to those i posted about earlier. i'll have some available tomorrow night with verses already written and some sets of blank ones for you to fill in yourself. i may start putting them on etsy... we'll see.

hope the week is settling in well in your corner. we're striving for the same- a settling in. deep breaths of this moment. this one. right here.

i warned you about the photos. you can't say i didn't.

river water

gathered with some friends and went here saturday:

and all of us romped about the water with/as children

exploring routes around jutting rocks, skipping the small flat ones and trying not to fall in. some of us succeeded. hey- being dry is overrated. right...?

i'm finding myself wishing i was back at the river today. deep breathing. green. and loud water.

looking for the beauty in my laundry today. i know He's here.

hope your weekend has been full of little and big adventure. back soon.

a happy-weather photo collection

we've so been enjoying these recent days. sun, breeze, birds, and new leaves.

growing things in our teeny garden.

first honeysuckle

supper outside

proud pigtails

so close! if i had a fancy-pants camera, that shot would have been perfect. maybe it still is, though

wandering in our little wilderness with these cuties

i am looking forward to more good gifts this weekend as my sister is coming in a matter of hours. yay! we're planning lunches outside, evenings on the deck and a day at the beach. i'm sure you'll be accosted by photos come monday.

happy weekending everyone.