Hey, It's Been A While...

This is just a quick and random post to touch base as it's been a while since my last update. Forgive me, ahead of time, for this non-thought-out post. It doesn't promise to be overly entertaining or insightful, just an honest snippet of my 'now'.

After we recovered from our road trip, got caught up on loads of laundry, and made the car inhabitable again, we had a couple lovely days of summer laziness...sleeping in with hardly a schedule in sight! We went to the library, the kids flew kites, we went to the beach for a day, ate out a few times, and had fun inventing water toys with what we had on hand. It was great!

The much enjoyed rest was followed by some more craziness, in the form of Paul doing multiple projects for guys at work and me finding out about/applying for/interviewing/getting a job for the fall! I'm going to be teaching at a christian preschool three mornings a week; I'm pleased and excited about this unexpected chapter beginning in my life. I really felt like God brought the whole thing together, so I feel at peace accepting the job.

That's the majority of my update. There's more I could share...little moments or things that have happened, but I think I will stop here. Summer marches on fastester than I'd like. August is just around the corner, and so I make it my goal to enjoy each day. For each one, spent under the Father's care in the company of loved ones, is a gift!

Six days. 2200 miles. Late nights and early mornings. Thrilling rides. Fireworks as a final farewell. Welcoming pools. Vast sandy beaches. Movies in the car. A grandiose bridge. Freshly made mini doughnuts from the pier. Stunning red giants planted and grown by God's hand. Bottles upon bottles of water! Snacks. Laughs. Hours together. Summer vacation ~ 2010...

Disneyland

Camping

Playing on the California coast

San Francisco

Lombard Street

Golden Gate Bridge

Redwood Forest

Hello Summer???

The highly anticipated day has arrived once again this year...the last day of school before summer vacation!

The weather is defying us at every opportunity, continuing the grey, drizzling, 60-something pattern even though it's the middle of June. Regardless, it cannot dampen the spirits of my children. The summer lays stretching before them, unfettered by school books and homework. Their imaginations dance with the possibility of sleep-overs, staying up late, water play, cook outs, and trips to the park. And I am reminded that this is the ONLY summer I will ever have with my children at 11, 7 (almost 8!) and 6. So I whisper a prayer that we will make many wonderful memories and be filled up by fun, restful days by the time September rolls around again. I know it will pass in the blink of an eye!

Happy Anniversary

Happy anniversary, Dad and Mom! 41 years is no small thing. What a joy to witness your love and see your relationship going strong all these years.

Nostalgia...In The Garage

We were all hanging out, being lazy and watching TV on Monday morning of the past holiday weekend. An ad came on for a toy race car set, which the kids (Ben in particular) ohhhed and ahhhhed over. As the ad was ending, Paul mentioned that he had an old slot-car racing set he had saved from his childhood... that he had put it away for when he had kids that were 'old enough'. I looked at him and said, "Uh...honey...they're old enough!"

So out came the dusty, old cardboard boxes. The kids excitedly unpacked and examined the many pieces of this new treasure. Together with their dad, they tweaked, tuned-up, snapped track together and played with the set. They have had such fun getting it up and working! The hours they have spent in the garage will surely be a fun memory.

Let the racing begin!

Ah-ha

I've got a startling revelation for you. Are you ready for this?

Just because I have decided to do something, or to behave in a certain way, doesn't mean the rest of the world has made the same choice.

Soak it in.

It is not the world according to me.

Shocking, isn't it?!?

No, but seriously, it doesn't surprise me when someone takes their coffee differently than mine...or they order something else from the menu at a restaurant, listen to another genre of music, drive a different car, pursue a dissimilar line of work, etc. So why does it bother me - or even make me grouchy - when I make a friendly gesture to a stranger and they don't return it. I wave and smile, they look the other way. I stop for someone to cross the road and they refuse to acknowledge me. (Of course this doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes the people I encounter respond very kindly.) But I found myself grumbling and feeling offended when people didn't respond the way I thought they should.

And then the "ah-ha" moment.

The only response I get to choose - the only actions I get to dictate - are my own. I never signed a contract with the rest of the world stating, "I will behave this way, and then you are required by law to respond in such a way that is pleasing to me." Are my convictions so weak that a few undesirable responses are going to cause me to behave in another way all together? I hope not. Afterall, I wouldn't feel obligated to order the same thing as the person in line behind me at Starbucks. They're getting an americano? Good for them. I like the non-fat white mocha. That's my choice and I'm the one who will be drinking it.

Dandelion Wishes

I know blowing soft, white dandelions just spreds the seeds...but I have never been able to grow up where that is concerned. They are fluffy and actually quite beautiful to look at. It's magical how they scatter and float on the breeze with a simple puff of air, releasing a wish out onto the wings of possiblity.