Getting delicious shaved ice…
and being with friends…(oh wow, look at those bright red lips!)
and getting really sweaty and hot playing and therefore ensuring a stellar night’s sleep!
*Last year it was such a fun mini-task to capture moments from the everyday during summer…here’s to trying to do that again!
In an effort to blog in real time…
So, this book ‘7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess’ has been such a great and unexpected blessing! I had begun hearing about this book from my sister-in-law Jenny – and then literally, SO many people whom I love and respect have mentioned it to me. It’s one of those books that you almost begin reading with a bit of trepidation; because you know you won’t be able to be the same afterwards. You can’t claim naivety to certain issues, your heart will become burdened on certain subjects; life won’t look the same.
My good friend Jaklin and I had been talking about trying to organize some sort of group to casually read through the book together – so we had a community to bounce ideas off of while we journeyed through the group. And then, organizing a group through church fell in our laps! AWESOME!
This week (I’m 1/2 way through, will write more later on this journey!): clothes. You pick 7 items of clothing out of the hundreds that we all own and only wear them (read no accessories, however I am claiming freedom in this area and wearing one pair of earrings). (Minus those undergarments, PJ’s, and whatever else you feel like claiming the Lord’s freedom in!). Here is my wardrobe for 7 days:
Flowery dress (a totally impractical addition, but I was out of town at a wedding this weekend!) / white shorts / jeans (yes, even though it’s summer in TX…remember the wedding/plane!) / khaki shirt / navy blue shirt / casual pink dress. 7th item = shoes. Mostly my birkenstocks (feel free to judge, but they’re darn comfy and I love ‘em!) / however I did have a pair of dressy flats that I wore to the wedding.
It’s already been fantastic! A great talking point with Abi / feeling solidarity with delightful ladies at church / having a super light suitcase for the weekend away / washing things out by hand. Haha, because I’m an accidental slob and my delightful husband did ALL the laundry while I was away therefore forcing me to wash items out by hand because it wouldn’t be very “simple” of me to run the laundry machine for 2 items of clothing!
Blogging friends who are in on this little experiment with me: Jaklin / Holly / Elaine.
So, it’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am moved and awed by nature. Just part of my crazy. I am really happy to say that it seems as though both of my kiddos are the same way. VICTORY!
This little friend came home with abi from school one day:
(oops – thought I had a picture of the chrysalis…imagine a chrysalis image here!)
Anyhow – a chrysalis came home from school – then traveled to Fort Worth (which was funny b/c that was a HOT day, but I wasn’t going to travel home first to drop off our little friend – so they had to brave it in the car with cracked windows – fingers crossed!). With the Fort Worth experience, I didn’t know what to expect…I didn't want to build the whole thing up in case the heat was too much for our little butterfly.
BUT…one morning we woke up – and this is what we saw!
SO COOL! We were all pumped!! (Probably more than what is normal…but as stated earlier…we don’t really fall into the normal in this category!)
After school, we swung by the nursery and grabbed some butterfly-lovin’ plants - because we wanted our yard to be a haven for “abi the butterfly” (guess who named her?!) – and we were set for her release…
And she just needed a bit of coaxing /we weren’t going to let Abi not touch (on her legs) her special butterfly!
Every time we prepare for another little Wallace to join our family I get super nostalgic. And in actuality, I’m nostalgic quite a bit of the time anyway. Remembering brings about joy and thankfulness – all good things.
And this is why we consider moving to California practically every day…
Enjoyed some “nostalgia time” with Abi & Doons today – thankful for beautiful memories.
Whenever I hear the word ‘eclipse’ I want to start singing “…a total eclipse of the heart…” It brings back middle school memories. Ahhh, there – I’ve got that out of my system.
Because of the science/nature nerd in me – when I heard that the solar eclipse would be visible this past week; well, I had plans to see it.
This is what the lucky few in North Texas saw:
That is not what abi & I saw.
Oh well.
We walked outside at 8:15 – a comfortable 5 minutes before the eclipse was supposed to happen – and apparently I had overestimated how generous the hill on our street was; because we could not see anything! Well, except for a pretty spectacular sky. But, that was not the point of our 8:15 jaunt!! So, Abi & I loaded up in the car and raced to the lake, driving to the highest point that I could think of that was super close to our house.
And we missed it.
I tried to stay upbeat for Abi (she wasn’t as excited as her crazy momma about the eclipse) – but we decided that it was still pretty fun to hang out in a field, in your pajamas, playing rock-paper-scissors (abi’s new favorite way to pass time in random locations – or in the car at stop lights.)
It was a memory nonetheless. I’ll remember our silly chase, sitting in the field with a bunch of strangers, waiting for something that had already happened (thankfully a kind lady described it in great detail to abi!) Special times with my girl. Sometimes, it’s just about the story.
First off, let me tell you how delightful it’s been to read some of the articles/blog posts that have been circulating on Mother's Day. So many honest, genuine ‘takes’ on a day that is beautiful and wonderful…but also can bring about expectations that are raised to some insanely high level that is just not practical OR honest.
So, bravo to honesty.
Bravo to genuine. I will take another helping, please.
And bravo to acknowledge the good that the Lord has done in mommas and through mommas (and the good that is done in our hearts when delightful families celebrate mommas!) – yet also the freedom to proclaim that for some Mother’s Day is a day that can be filled with pain, with disappointment, and with longing.
This Mother’s Day, my beautiful family made me feel loved and treasured.
This Mother’s Day, our church highlighted the cause of the motherless, of the abandoned – and my heart ached, yet my spirit soared with the hope of a movement.
This Mother’s Day, I was thankful for the fantastic, biological momma that I have, the rockin’ mom that I was given through marriage, and the many spiritual moms who love me and offer me wisdom.
This Mother’s Day, I am thankful for a day to reflect, to be thankful, to be inspired, to PRAY more.
*Great post that made me laugh (and cringe) at some silly that has been in the news as of late.
Get ready for something truly shocking…the weather in Houston completely rocked. I’m not trying to be extra negative on Houston (we have a ton of love for Houston and always have a delightful time there); but weather is not usually one of Houston’s finest qualities, in my opinion. I had to eat my words a couple of weekends ago – the weather was perfect. And do you know what adds to perfection? Wonderful family who will heat up their pool so you can swim when it’s a delightful 75 degrees outside!! Amazing!!
We had MC’s party on Saturday morning (have I mentioned how morning parties are just awesome?!) and then we just got to hang out and enjoy each other and the weather for the rest of the weekend! McGowns…thanks for the good times.
I love this next picture…extremely pensive while drinking capri suns. Serious business.
So, here is to some time set aside for serious contemplation while enjoying something delicious! I’m thinking coffee…
