Summertime

While we who live in states where the thermometer is still topping 90 daily won't kid ourselves and call this time "fall," school officially starts for everyone except for me on Monday, so technically, we're wrapping up summertime.  Brian starts the school year at Mercer Law, Els begins 3-K, and Muh will be going to the same place one day a week for MMO.  I have gotten so behind in my posting of pictures pretty much everywhere (except instagram), so I decided to deluge the blog with highlights from this summer.  

BFFs on the pier at Lady's Island

This boy LOVES the ocean                                    

The old house, all packed up 

Outside the new house

"Helping" with the move-in 

B excited and optimistic before we missed not one, but three flights to Europe

The awesome treehouse at the Dogfish Head Brewery.  They actually have staff meetings in there!

Rehoboth Beach.  We decided we like the southern end of the Atlantic shore much more than the Northern.  But there were huge waves.

At the Roanoke Star.  That's the city behind us.  

Together again!  I can't believe it's been 11 years since we were roomies.  (And, yes, I may have worn that dress a lot during our trip.)

Home again, home again, eating watermelon on the front porch.

Fun at the most ghetto children's museum in the world.  

Muh with his first ice cream cone.  Needless to say, he was excited.  

Eliana with her favorite celebrity.  She kept hugging him.  

They are obsessed with taking "silly face" pictures.

So, here's to (hopefully) cooler weather, new friends, new schools, (new everything), lots and lots of birthdays, and savoring our last season as a family of four!

Think Pink

We read a lot of Pinkalicious these days.  It's inescapable.  While Els numbers fire ants and roly-polys as her friends, chose a stuffed rat as her toy from IKEA recently, and likes to climb the lower branches of a tree in our back yard to "howl at the moon," she also loves pink.  She can't help it.  What 3 and a half year old girl can?  So, her resin-encased bug collection rests beside her dress-up dresses and her stuffed rat listens to endless repetitions of Pinkalicious.  

That said, she was entirely convinced that baby #3, or baby Rainbow, was a girl.  "But what if baby Rainbow is a boy baby?" I asked her the day before the big ultrasound.  "No mommy, I only want one brother in our house," she insisted.  There was no room in her mind for another boy, another brother.  And, what do you know, she was right.  Baby Rainbow, baby trois, is a girl.  I personally would have been thrilled either way, but Els was not even surprised.  She knew the whole time.  Now her mission is to convince us to actually name baby girl Rainbow.  She "really, REALLY, wants her real name to be Rainbow."  I told her that we're not hippies, but that she can call her sister Rainbow as a nickname.

We're going to call her Eva.

Princess Els with Branches the Rat

She actually really does love her brother

In her "howling tree"

Do You Remember That Time?

Last Tuesday B and I celebrated 8 years of marriage, and almost 10 years together.  We've basically grown up together at this point.  We survived our 20's together.  Some of it's been painful, like losing his mom, moving how many times now?, and my almost crippling depression last year.  Most of it, though, we like to look at as an adventure.  Moving to different states (although painful at points), having 2 children within the span of 20 months (and now 3 within 4 years), joining the Marines Corps AFTER we were married, the list goes on.  Before we were even married, we started calling ourselves a team, and that is what we are.  A team that, by the infinite grace of God, keeps growing into something we could not have imagined 10 or even 8 years ago.

So, how did we celebrate this momentous occasion?  Glad you asked.  Brian surprised me back in April by telling me that he was taking me to Europe for this anniversary.  Germany, Austria, and The Czech Republic to be exact.  The real adventure part was that we were going to fly Space A.  Space A is a really cool program for service members and their dependents where we can fly on certain military and military chartered aircraft for free.  The catch?  You have to wait for a while, and it's basically like flying standby.  I like to call it "travel roulette."  Very long story short, we waited for over 10 hours at one airport last Tuesday, were given the LAST TWO seats on a plane, got boarding passes, and went through security all jittery and excited, before getting bumped by a guy on orders who showed up as the flight was boarding.  Aiyiyi!  No big deal, we were in Baltimore and knew that not one, but two flights to Germany were flying out of the Air Force Base in Dover in the middle of that night.  We collected our thoughts and bags and made the drive over the Bay Bridge only to find out that they had been filled to capacity with gear and were not accepting any Space A-ers.

As we accepted our fate and drove back over the bridge to Annapolis to begin our "contingency plan" we recounted other such events in our life.

Like the time where we showed up at the hotel we had booked nearly six months in advance on our wedding night to find it "overbooked."  Or the time we drove six hours through the snow and ice without chains on our tires to the pass to Yosemite National Park to find it closed.  (In our defense, the website said that it was open.  Also, being from the south we didn't know about snow chains before this day.)

In the end, we had a wonderful trip that we would have never taken otherwise.  We toured Annapolis and the Naval Academy, we went to the Dogfish Head Brewery (B's own person Disney world), went to some of our favorite places in D.C., and visited some dear friends in Roanoke, Va.  And, by the way, Roanoke is amazing.  It's like a hidden gem of a place that we fell in love with.

The quote that kept going through my mind was from the "Lord of the Rings" triology,

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."

Rock of Ages, when the day seems long,
From this labor and this heartache I have come.
The skies will wear out but you remain the same,
Rock of Ages, I praise your name.

From "Rock of Ages (When the Day Seems Long)" by Sandra McCracken

Favorite Things, Again

One of my favorite singers of all time is Patty Griffin, and it would be difficult for me to choose a favorite song of hers, but if I had to, "When It Don't Come Easy" would be in the running for top billing.  Not that anyone cares.  But, one of my favorite lines from said song is, "I don't know nothin' except change will come, year after year what we do is undone.  Time gets movin' from a crawl to a run..."  This line is especially appropriate for this season of our life.  The winds of change are blowing and this time we can't hold on, this time we must pick up and go where God is taking us.

That said, there are far too many "things" to write about, so I'm going to do it in bullet-point form.  Bullet points of favorites.  So, here goes.

1.  I've been in love with Punch Brothers' "Who's Feeling Young Now" album since I got it in the mail in February.  It's the kind of album I listen to over and over for a while and then any time after that when I can't think of anything else to listen to.  It never disappoints.  It's amazing.  Every.  Single.  Time.  They are some of my favorites even if they never come anywhere remotely near South Carolina or Georgia.

2.  Beaufort.  Beaufort.  Oh, need I say more?  I know I've been back and forth over the past three and a half years with my feelings about this place, but in the past year I've become hopelessly attached to this place.  The sheer beauty.  The people.  But, God (and specifically the U. S. Marine Corps) is moving us to Macon, Georgia at the end of the month.  B has an amazing opportunity to get a one year degree in his very specific area of interest there.  We've always said that we can live anywhere for a year and I'm keeping my mind and heart open for surprises.

3.  This necklace that my sister gave me for being in her wedding.  I've worn it every day since.  Well, I guess it's similar to what she's wearing at the top of the page on the link.  There's a charm for Els, a charm for Muh, and a December birth charm for...oh, wait.  Too soon?  Yes, in about 26 to 28 weeks, God willing, we will have another precious little person to love and care for.  (I've become very suspicious of precise due dates.)  Els calls {her} Baby Rainbow.  (And, no, we don't know the sex yet, but Els ALWAYS refers to the baby as her and she, so it's stuck in my head.)  I have to say, now that the pure shock has worn off a little, I think I may be more excited about this baby than ever before because I'm realizing how fleeting and fragile babyhood is.

4.  My Ray-Bans.  They're polarized.  It's awesome. I made upwards of $500 at a friend's gold party recently and treated myself to these beauts.

5.  These crazies.  They're always favorite.

6.  And this guy.  I would be totally remiss to not mention him.  Almost 8 years after we said "I do" and  ten years since we met, he's still my favorite person to laugh with.  Hence all the moving around for and having babies with him.  

[Takes a deep breath.]  I think that's about all for now.

Catching Up, IPhone Style

We went fishing at a family reunion

B and I took a kayak tour for my big birthday

Nana, Pop, Grace, and Micah came to visit for Easter and we went to the beach 

My loves.

Muh, the future cowboy!

We picked flowers at Meme's house

We picked strawberries with dear friends

My little pig pen after the strawberry patch

Els, the butterfly huntress

Haircut number two for the little man

We pick (and eat) the wild blackberries in our yard almost daily

One of Els' treasures

Guacamole made at our table at a local restaurant.  Everyone loved it!

Ever since I got an iPhone for Christmas, I take tons of pictures.  It's wonderful because I never have been much of one to remember to bring my camera, pull it out, and actually use it.  Especially in very busy times, like right now.  We have been going here, there, and everywhere in preparation for my little sister's wedding next weekend and just because life is busy busy with a 3 year old and a 17 month old.  Here is a little bit of what we've been up to.

O what wondrous love is this, though I raised my clenched fist,
He opened up my hand to receive His gift.
And what wondrous love is here that God Immortal has drawn near,
And shed His blood to close the rift.

From "What Wondrous Love is This"

Among the Scoffers

Behold the man upon the cross, my sin upon his shoulder,
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers,
It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished,
His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished.

From "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" by Stuart Townsend

This Past {long} Weekend

It was a doozy.  In a good way.  Now that I look at all of the pictures I really can't believe we did all that we fit this all into four days, but we did.  Here's a glimpse

First we hunted Easter eggs at Els' school.

Fun was had by all!

Then, after frantically looking for (and finding-thanks a billion Jen) a babysitter, I experienced my first Mess Night.  Sadly, this is the only picture I got.  (That's B top right, raising the roof.)

Next, our good friends came to visit.  These guys are only 3 weeks apart in age and they had a great time together.

We visited Els' "beautiful place", aka the marsh front around the corner from our house, where she attempted to climb a tree.  This girl is fearless.

The weekend was capped off by a trip to the beach with good friends.  

My men.  This was before Muh got into the water and let the waves literally crash over him while howling with laughter the whole time.  I don't have pictures of this because I was frantically trying to keep him from washing out to sea!

Needless to say, we were (and are still) tired.  

And hungry, but a great time was had by all!

Farther Along

There is so much hurt going on all around us right now.  It drives me to my knees and leaves me only further convinced that Christ himself is my only hope.  I love this song and this whole album for that matter.  You can find it here.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." -2 Corinthians 4:8-12

3 Years

This was taken on her birthday.  She didn't have a nap, was full of sugar, and was quite excited about ice cream at Chikalay.

This morning I am thanking the Lord for three years with our precious little bundle of life, Eliana.  She is joy and drama, entertaining and challenging, and always the absolute most beautiful girl I've ever known of.  Oh, and funny.  The child does not forget anything, so she simultaneously keeps us on our toes and keeps us in stitches.  This particular birthday has been so much fun because it's the first one she's really been aware of and excited about.

Three Years Ago Tonight

We headed to the hospital at about 2 AM to meet our precious baby girl!

A Little Augustine for Your Wednesday Evening

What crooked paths I trod!  What dangers threatened my soul when it rashly hoped that by abandoning you it would find something better!  Whichever way it turned, on front or back or sides, it lay on a bed that was hard, for in you alone the soul can rest.  You are there to free us from the misery of error which leads us astray, to set us on your own path and to comfort us by saying, 'Run on, for I shall hold you up.  I shall lead you and carry you on to the end.'

-from Confessions, Book VI, 16

The Valley of Vision

My heart is breaking this afternoon for so many reasons, for so many people.  However, I'd be lying if I told you that I was not the first person for whom I am tempted to weep.  One year ago today we brought home a very sick little man from the hospital.  Although it was the end of his sickness, it was just the beginning of mine.  On January 19, 2011, I had no idea yet how black it would get, how deep depression would go.  I cringe, my heart in knots, just to think about it now.  And although I did not yet realize how deep was the valley that I had begun to descend, I also knew very little of the mercy of my God.  Because, you see, last year I found myself in the pit falling in love with my Savior.  Praise God that he has delivered me from so great a peril and he will deliver me still!  I learned (am still learning?) by paradox that the broken heart is the healed heart.

"Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley."

-from "The Valley of Vision

What a difference a year can make!

'Tis Christ My Earthen Vessel Fills

With treasures rich...

I know I'm a little late in the game but, Happy 2012.  Here's to a year of God's continued provision though we don't know where we're going.