Day Ninety Four

He Is Risen!

We have been a bit lonely. This is the first Easter we have spent without our oldest daughter. Sigh. We have two still at home. But we all feel the hole!

  So we made our way to church this morning at Antioch. 

Besides missing my girl, the day was amazing. I love this church!

The challenge is that we are called to give our lives away, and at the end of that is authentic, sustaining joy.

We shared a fun lunch at Red Robin, complete with comic relief from my son who, when presented with his second root beer before the meal was served, commented about our server (when she was probably not quite out of earshot), "Wow. She's really on it! Dad, you should give her extra."

After, we went home and prepared for the Sunday ritual of lazy.

But I was so pleasantly surprised to get a call from my brother, whom I see not nearly often enough. He and his love were in the neighborhood and wondered if we were doing anything...

It's amazing what light family who are friends can bring to a cloudy, snowy, lonely kind of day.

We played Wii. We laughed. We shared love and eggs.

All this and a raspberry limeade made for a beautiful Easter.

(yep. Still with the noise issues at only 400 iso...?)

Day Ninety Three

This Easter...

This year is like no other before it for our family. My husband was a pastor until last Spring. We have been in both senior pastor positions and associate/youth pastor positions (always a slash). In any case, there have been Easter preparations and service plans that have always ended up, in the end, trying to take over any real time I may have otherwise spent actually reconciling the meaning of the holiday in my heart. Add to the obvious pressure as a pastor's/staff wife, many of these years I also was worship leader/choir director (see, the slash. And the slash goes on...) and the pressure tripled. At least. I believe I even remember a year, not too long ago, when we hit the mother lode and celebrated a Sunrise service celebrating Christ's resurrection followed by a choir performance that had been MONTHS in the making AND daylight savings time all on the same bleary morning. Sure, I'd always manage to pull out the teary "thank you Jesus"and did, most definitely come to a moment of  impact. But I was always feeling the frenzy. That "I'll have to get back to You later, God. But, really, thanks" thing ...

Not this year.

This year has been intentionally, decidedly low key as far as the busyness goes. We, as a family, are no longer on that treadmill. It's a good thing.

The story is long and we're very happy to be on this side of things this year. And the fact that I had the time to take a shot of an egg that my husband (with the kids) took time to design for me speaks volumes concerning the miracle of this family fully taking time to be a family in this most blessed of seasons.

Thank you, Father for the cross. 

And thank you for this moment... this peace on a Saturday.

Day Ninety Two

I'm NOT going out there...

At least until I have to go to work, anyway!

(the view from my door)

Day Ninety One

April Fool!

(the old cheese-still-in-the-wrapper sandwich trick)

Day Ninety

I made something!!

My creativity has been a bit buried under a cold winter, but I needed a pouch for my new iPod.

It is meant to be worn across my body so I can do laundry or cook- even when I don't have pockets...

This is what I did today. Not really anything else.

 

Day Eighty Nine

A brighter day!

B. is on his way to school and it looks like blue skies!

I haven't meant to be grouchy. I just am ready for a change.

I've also realized that I haven't really been exploring new things photography-wise so much lately and have just been kind of  "phoning it in".

This week of "blah" has made me want to learn more again...

This shot is soft, but I love it anyway!

  

 

Day Eighty Eight

Is it still snowing?

Let me come out of my grumpy cocoon and see...

Plus, my guy is home sick. I'm SO ready for Spring.

Today I'd settle for color.

Day Eighty Seven

I know, Bruno...

It's been two days since our walks, which we both really look forward to. But the streets are icy and we're, well, cold.

Maybe later this week...

Day Eighty Six

Uh...

It's a snow storm.

Day Eighty Five

This is from a couple of weekends ago at the park.

I'm not cheating, but today is our last full day together before our daughter goes back to school, and I don't know how to get this day on film.

I'm going to keep it just for our own.

Day Eighty Four

...Tapping my fingers. Waiting for it (the snow) to go away.

Day Eighty Three

Looking for some Spring Break fun, my daughters and I decided to take a girl day in Bend. We ended up seeing Remember Me with Robert Pattinson (I know, but it looked good anyway) and Emilie De Ravin (from Lost).

Fun day. Great movie.

I love these girls! I'm proud of who they are.

Day Eighty Two

I love this poem.

My son wrote it last year in second grade.

Day Eighty One

Dinner is leftovers on paper plates...

It's Spring Break. So what?

Day Eighty

The Jelly Bean Project...

There are many more of these. Working on focus, mostly.

By the time I finished, I was entertaining a serious sweet tooth. 

Made it out of there having only four (maybe five) of them.

Day Seventy Nine

He Rocks!!

Another lazy Saturday. After many years of no free Saturdays, we treasure these. I think that, soon, we'll move on and decide to fill some of them with activity. But not quite yet.

This time, we rented Lego Rock Band.

One of his favorites is "We Are the Champions".

Go, my little Freddie Mercury!

Day Seventy Eight

Proof of Life

I was beginning to wonder.

We live in the middle of the central Oregon Cascades. And, while this affords beautiful mountain views and the bluest skies, it also can be a brown, frozen wasteland in the late winter months...

I miss blossoms and green lawn and, well, LIFE!

So, imagine my joy as I spotted these beautiful blooms, right outside of Red Robin.

 

Day Seventy Seven

Studying too hard...

The final's tomorrow. Last one. My guy is exhausted.

Can't wait for Spring Break next week!

Day Seventy Six

Some green for the seventeenth...

She saw me, I believe, with my camera out of the corner of her eye.

This is what I interpret as her, "Okay, Mom. DO it if you must," look.

But those green eyes and the golden hair. My stunning girl.

This is, incidentally not only St. Patrick's day, but our TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY!!

Day Seventy Five

Soba...

A little teriyaki chicken and the company of our oldest daughter in a wonderfully quirky setting makes for a beautiful Tuesday lunch.

Day Seventy Four

I admire his tenacity. He works hard at the things he loves.

 

Day Seventy Three

Historic and Peaceful Hendricks Park

I hope to be back here in a few weeks when the rhododendrons are in full bloom.

Oh. And if you're someone who's looking and you happen to notice that this days clothes look an awful lot like yesterday's clothes...

Yeah. I don't know what you're talking about.

Day Seventy Two

The Weekend We Picked Hailey Up For Spring Break...

(aka: the best weekend all year!)

Day Seventy One

This is the look you might get when you bathe your dog for the first time outside since the dead of Winter and the hose spews little icicles out at him.

Day Seventy

Classic Little Brother...

(conversation in the car)

Sister: David Bowie's so weird.

Brother: So are you.

Sister: I meant his movie. It was dumb.

Brother: Well, then. It suits you.

At this point, no one gave it a second thought. This is a familiar kind of conversation in our car.

But then our daughter exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! He's laughing so hard that tears are coming out of his eyes!!"

It's true...

Day Sixty Nine

Quiet Class...

Day Sixty Eight

More snow. A lot more snow!

But we've got the most awesome blue sky!!

Day Sixty Seven

One of my new favorites...

Everyone else has probably known about this for ages, but this is my first Anthropologie catalogue and I have carried it around with me for days!

The photography, alone, is beautiful and thought-provoking (as in, "How would I do that?")

Anyway, in a world where I've seemingly run out of inspiration; on an early, frigid morning...

I offer you a glimpse of the thing I'm going to spend the next half-hour thumbing through (for the tenth time)...

Day Sixty Six

Yep. Still Winter...

This week has been another uninspiring, cold, few days of waiting for Spring to arrive.

More snow.