What I did this Week: It was the Forth of July

  This past week has been busy and beautiful and broken. Here at its end I am having trouble remembering exactly how it started. One of the consequences of not journaling.

  Sunday morning found my family and I in Oklahoma. For the first time this year, all the cousins on my Dad's side were together. We had a lot of fun.

 

  Sunday afternoon found my family back in God's country with all my cousin's on my Mom's side of the family, also for the first time this year.

 

  Monday was the 4th of July. Shopping and picnicking happened.

 

   It is hard to say no to books.

 

  In the afternoon, some of us cousins decorated my oldest cousin's house. Because among family members, small acts of vandalism are tokens of affection.

 

   Tuesday I came home to find this masterpiece had come in the mail.

 

  Wednesday, I bought some patterns.

 

  Thursday, I tried out a new muffin recipe, and the results were pretty good.

 

  Yesterday, I got the lamest fortune with my takeout.

 

  Personally, this past week was good. It was really good. I got to spend time with people I love as well as get things accomplished. Nationally though, this past week has been horrible. It seems that every morning I woke to some new brokenness. I keep wanting the world to be better, and yet I live under the shadow of knowing it never really will be. This darkness may be a small and passing thing, but people are a part of this darkness, and it hurts to know that. This is going to sound silly, I needed to get that Switchfoot album when I did. It reminded pain is a part of life. It always will be. And yet pain is where God's goodness is the brightest. Its where His love is the loudest. The wound is where the light shines through.







What I did this Week: after awhile

  For the past three weeks, I have not blogged at all. It is not that I have been that I have been suffering from a severe case of writer's block so much as I had lacked the mental organization needed to put thoughts onto paper. I am working on that though. There are a couple of drafts that will hopefully make their way to the blog-sphere this coming week (well, they will not make their way there, I will have to put them there). In the meantime, here are some pictures of the past week's activities.
 
  Monday, my brother Daniel and I put up a trellis in our garden for the pea plants. Whether or not they will live after being forced off the ground and into the air is yet to be seen.

    Tuesday, I read this oft' quoted  passage from Hamlet.

 

   Thursday, I made Indian food.

  Friday, we went out to the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown Texas. It was fun until their was a wreck, and then we went home. There are a lot of things I would like to say about the experience that I will refrain from putting on the internet.

Some of my family.



 I will leave you with the Nerd-fighter rep.

 

And so went my week.

What I did this Week: its been awhile.

  Now that I have abandoned this particular brand of blog posts for over a month, it seems about time to do another 'What I did this Week' entry. So here are some pictures of this past week's activities in no particular order.

  I made my baby sister a birthday dress in the fabric of her choice.

 

   And then I made her a dress as a birthday present.

 

  When those were through, I started a yet another baby outfit.

 

  Friday, my family and I started out to the beach on a very impromptu trip, and then one of my brother's threw-up on the way, so we turned around and headed back home. The almost happened trip did end up with us eating pizza in the car, and that was fun.

 



  Since we were at home Friday night, I made a deep, dark chocolate cake for my Paw-Paw's birthday.

 

  Then for my baby sister, I made dark chocolate brownies.

 

  And since tomorrow is Valentine's day, I painted my nails this wonderfully appropriate color.

 

And so went my week!

For this I am Thankful

 

 Now that I have posted the obligatory food picture so that people will actually click on my blog post link, here are the things I am thankful for this year.

 

  The Grace of God and Salvation through Christ, because without Him everything else on this list would be pointless.

 



  That I am not a teenager. Hormones stink.

  For turkey.

  And leftovers.

  And siblings who smile at me until I share my leftovers with them.

  For my whole family. Kudos to this group of people for putting up with me for decades.

  That I got to go to Chicago and spend time with some amazing friends.

  That I got to volunteer at ALERT and work with a wonderful group of girls.

  That Christmas is almost here.

  For the color plaid.

  For Big Bend National Park.

  That I realized my addiction to caffeine and I now know how to compensate for it (which is basically to drink a ton of coffee).

  That for this year I have been given the good sense and the will to journal more.

  That Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming out in less then a month.

  For Jon Foreman's incredible new EP set.

  That Andrew Peterson released a new album this year.

  And with that being said, I will leave you with this song.

The Beauty I Teach

 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' I have heard that phrase all my life. There are many times I have quoted it to another. I do believe it somewhere in my heart of hearts. But everyday I see what I am told beauty should be and I sub-consciously accept it.
  Last week, at Family Camp, I took my two-year-old sister for a walk. Since there were pinecones all over the ground. I told her we should pick some up to take to Mom. It is fall and so we have pinecones instead of flowers. I tried to find the most symmetrical pinecones that had touched the ground. My sister picked up cones that were crushed on one side: they were not so spiny. As I gathered my pinecones, I would hold them out for her to look at and would tell her, "See, pretty." Then she would hold up her crushed pinecones for me to see and say,
  "Pretty." I then found myself saying,
  "No, look at this one," as I held up a mostly symmetrical pinecone. "This one is pretty." Then she, in her two-year-old way, insisted that she wanted her pinecone, that it was pretty.
  I stopped for a moment and had to ask myself: Why was I telling my sister it was the symmetrical pinecones that were the pretty ones? She liked the crushed ones, and that was her opinion. There are definitely times when I will have to tell my sister there are absolutes that will override her opinions. But when it comes to pinecones, I am not really an authority on which are pretty and which are not. Perfection, as I think it should be, is not always beautiful. After all, I am human. My ideas of goodness and beauty will always be flawed. God made some things symmetrical and He made some things asymmetrical. And everything He made is good and beautiful whether or not I think so.

What I did this Week: Family Camp 2015

  This past week was spent by my family and I at Family Camp. And here are some of my favorite pictures I took in no particular order.

I watched many volleyball games

And a really fun play.

At the end of the week I came home with a shirt covered in signatures.

We Don't Know the Meaning of Fear

   Friday. I watched my baby sister run, arms open wide, to the edge of the ocean. She splashed in, at first with a little trepidation. But once the ocean became familiar, she knew no fear. Jumping and falling. Drinking the water in and spitting it out. Her innocence kept her mind from the danger surrounding her.
  I stepped into the ocean with my sister and watched her play. I envied her some; her lack of fear. She knew nothing but the of the sky, of the sand, of the salt and the joy thereof. And she embraced the ocean as fully as she could.

What I did this Week: late again

  For the past three days, I have been without the internet, which was a good thing. In my wifi-less state though, I was unable to blog and this post is late. So here goes.

 

  Sunday was my last day helping with the 1st and 2nd grade Sunday school class. The past year has been a lot of fun and I am going to miss these kids.

 

  Monday I went to the fabric store.

 

  Tuesday, I made dry shampoo.

 





  Wednesday, I made sister a skirt and bow out of fabric she picked out. Being two, the fabric covered with little images of chips, guacamole, and salsa was the one she liked the most.

 

  Thursday I over-packed for a weekend trip.

 

  Friday, we saw some of our cousins.

 

  Saturday we saw more family when we went to my Dad's Uncles, but I forgot to take pictures of them.

 

  Now I will be guilty of a shameless plug. Jon Foreman came out with the third EP in his new series and if you are reading this, check it out. Here is a song to whet your appetite.

 

And so went my week.