Dog Days of Summer

Well, I was really hoping against all odds that this summer would not be a repeat of last summer in terms of heat. I got my wish, but I guess I should have been more specific. Because I actually didn't think in a million years it would be possible for it to be hotter than last summer. I've been wanting to post more, but life seems a little mundane at the moment. We spend most of our days inside - reading, playing, and (I'm a little ashamed of this one) watching probably too much of the Backyardigans. Today we ventured outside in celebration of the 99 degree weather and here are a few pictures of Grant playing. He is so funny. His newest saying is "I sure am". As in, "Grant, are you having fun playing outside?" -- "I sure am!"

PS. I have finished a couple more books and will be writing on them very soon if I can collect my thoughts!

Being 15 Again

Well, I am almost back to 'normal' life after being away for a week with our youth group. We made the 14 hour drive to Glorieta, New Mexico to attend M-Fuge camp. Several months ago, I was staunchly opposed to attending camp as a sponsor, but as time wore on, I warmed up to the idea. Turned out it was a lot of fun and I'm so thankful that God changes our minds about things. I went to Glorieta as a senior in high school, and as I walked around the camp and relived old memories, it was incredible to take inventory of all the life changes over the past 12 years. As I watched the youth struggle all week with questions about God's faithfulness, I was able to share all the ways that he has shown me goodness and grace time and time again.


Turns out, some things never change when it comes to teenagers and summer camp. Yes, food challenges are still funny. Yes, our youth minister ate an entire piece of cheesecake covered with worchestshire sauce and salt and pepper. Yes, camp 'relationships' are still uber-dramatic. Yes, camp food still leaves much to be desired - dry meat, crusty bread, and browned lettuce. Yes, pulling pranks is still a staple at camp - I orchestrated leaving our youth minister at a truck stop on the way home :). Yes, teenage boys still have a sense of humor that makes all mothers of young boys a little nervous about the future.


Some things have changed however, since I last went to camp: This camp actually served Starbucks coffee (can you believe that? a caramel macchiato after worship service - so spoiled). Whereas I talked to my parents maybe once during the whole week I was at camp, our youth barely survived with their allotted 10 minutes a day to use their cell phones - I found the whole thing very amusing. Lastly, we actually had hotel style rooms - no bunk beds thrown in a big concrete room and showers with too-small curtains. At this rate, who knows what luxuries camp will have when Grant is able to go!

What Did I Just Say???

Today at HEB I had to laugh after I heard myself tell Grant something. Once you are a parent, you find yourself saying the most ridiculous things, often times with all the patience and seriousness that you can muster up at the time. Here are some of the things that have been coming out of my mouth lately:

1) "When we get the balloon at HEB, it's for playing with, not for repeatedly hitting the cashier."

2) "If you want to eat your banana, that's fine. But it's not okay to mash it on Norman's back."

3) "Your teeth are for eating, not for biting mommy" (this one takes extra, extra patience since he is way too old to still be doing this!)

4) "Please stop licking the carpet, carpet is for walking on" (don't ask - I have no idea why he decided to start doing this at church the other night...)

Grant is talking all the time now and always surprising us with the things he comes up with. Here are some things coming out of his mouth lately:

1) His favorite line "I do it all by myself"

2) He asked Brad, "Mommy is going to work to make money for my piggy bank?"

3) After we tucked him in the other night he yelled, "Hey guys!! Come back and hug me now!"

4) And the newest glimpse into his psuedo-imaginary world, "Norman is my little brother. My little brother lives outside in the dirt."

At least all of this nonsense provides good entertainment from time to time!

Our Biking Adventures

One of my favorite things to do with Grant is go bike riding. I've been wanting for some time to take my camera along and take some pictures along our route, because these times have become special and I want to remember them long from now. Since we live in a more rural area, we are able to veer off onto roads that are less-traveled and dotted with small farms and ranches. Our favorite route takes us along a road that several of our church members live on, so I am often able to stop and visit along the way. At the end is a ranch with 5 horses, so it is a perfect resting stop - I get a drink of water while Grant gets to look at the horses. I've so enjoyed our rides over the past 2 years. Now that Grant is an expert bike rider himself, it's harder to coax him into being a mere passenger, but once we are out riding, I feel free, and I love all the sights, sounds, and smells associated with being outside. I posted a few weeks ago about the book Sabbath. One of the practices it encourages is to spend more time in nature, as a purposeful observer, and it's true - after we bike, I feel more rested - more at peace.

The day I took my camera along, we had the treat of finding a big turtle out on the road next to the creek! Grant was so excited at our find.

What is Outside Your Window?

a view from our front porch

Admittedly, Brad and I have spent our 7 years of marriage in some unconventional housing. For the first 4 years, we had the distinct blessing of living in my grandparent's house out in the country (aka 'the ranch'). In the beginning, while moving in amidst their belongings, I didn't think I could make it there - the grief was too intense and the memories so close they took my breath away. But in the end, it was a sweet 4 years, one marked by tranquility and lots of making memories with friends. When I think of the ranch, what I picture in my mind's eye, is the view out of the kitchen window. A view of the backyard, wild grapes growing over the barbed wire fence, and beyond to the pasture, green and open, cows grazing lazily. That view always makes me pause and take a restful breath.

For 3 years now, we have been living in the parsonage that is next door to our church. The church was overwhelmingly gracious and generous - renovating it based on our tastes and helping us move in. I'll never forget our move-in day, watching everyone around me working so hard, thinking 'this is service - this is love getting its hands dirty'. There have been a lot of advantages of living in the parsonage, but one of the most unexpected blessings has come from the view from our front porch. You see, we live directly across from the Bosqueville Cemetery. It's the very definition of a rural cemetery - graves that date back to the late 1800's, overgrown with bluebonnets in the spring, a curved archway at its entrance. I have spent a lot of time on our front porch watching Grant play, etc. And one of the things that the view has done is center me time and time again. It reminds me how fleeting the days are, it's emptiness reminds me to labor after things that will last, it inspires me to live better.

I recently finished 2 books by Anne Lamott, a very popular Christian writer. I read both Traveling Mercies and Grace Eventually. I recommend both as they are witty and honest accounts of what a life of faith looks like. But it was a quote at the beginning of a chapter in Grace Eventually that stuck with me the most. It was a question from TS Eliott and it read, "Where is the life we have lost in living?" Now, as I sit on my porch and soak in the view, I ponder that question. For, sometimes life is hectic and I can go into auto-pilot, and sometimes life is so mundane that I feel I am simply existing. My view reminds me, this question reminds me, to live all my days - to use all of my senses. I wonder what our next house will look like, and what the view from that house will teach me...