visual catch-up

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"I want to write and blog a lot this summer," I said.

Which, in retrospect, is just as hilarious as my other pre-summer self-promise:

"I want to keep my room exceptionally clean this summer."

Well it's almost August and I have blogged once (let's not talk about my room), but I have reasons!:

1. Previous stages of life have left me with copious reflection and writings thereof, while this summer has entailed more living than reflection.
2. My Dino-Computer heretically tests my patience beyond what I can bear.
3. I have spent most of my free time taking advantage of the fact that, for this short, sweet window of only two months, my boyfriend lives 10 minutes away instead of 2.5 hours away. Bliss.
4. My hippie-ish heart (which has, ever since a choir tour to the West Coast, magnified to dangerous levels where I daily dream about butt-length hair and gardens and nature living and makeupless, showerless days because trees don't care how I look or smell) longs to go far away and have this blog be more than what it is currently, for it to have pictures from afar, provide updates on long journeys and accomplishments, failures, and advances for the Kingdom. I long to get away from here and have this blog be my communication to you, because my current thought is: do any of these people care what this nanny/piano teacher is doing with her summer?

....and that's basically everything you need (and probably didn't want) to know about my current blog rut.

But I remember that I do this mostly for me, and you're free to read if you want to. And my prayer is that some form of encouragement reaches you through it.

Though on a much smaller scale than I suppose I'd prefer, and with the realization that most of you have also experienced a generally travel-less and occupation-full summer, here are a few (mostly non-instagrammed and therefore NEVER BEFORE SEEN) snapshots of some summer adventures, though I can guarantee you the best parts of summer so far I just haven't been able to capture with the iPhone.

room redecor

piano lessonz

Oh, the weddings...




trevor keeps taking pictures.

bridesmaid beauty prep












our favorite.


Well, grandkids, there was one time I was crafty with balloons and ribbon and coffee filters.
bachelorette party swag.


And all of the miniature loves in my life.





bubbles,
bugs,

and baking.


that day I introduced Jon to the boys.
lunch.
dat nursery grind.

and then, grandkids, there was another day I was crafty.
my boys named him "the watermelon."
and now I want to paint my real car polka dots.



And my main love :)




if you ever are in a long distance relationship
that becomes not-long-distant for a short period of time,
then you may also sit and just watch your sick boyfriend sleep
because you don't take any moment with him for granted.
and the times with him, even if he's unconscious,
are better than the ones without him.
(did I make anyone puke yet?)
communication is important.

as is dessert.



I don't know if other girls celebrate their boyfriends' 25th birthday
with sushi and scrabble in the clearing of a forest,
But honestly last Saturday I spent the day doing a belly dance workout video by myself,
and I don't know if other girls do that either.



And then the other randoms, which usually are the best.


calories at worlds of fun.
which don't count because we were with our youth group,
so they were holy calories.

Trev preparing for his El Salvador missions trip.

hanging wit gingers


was thinking about how to caption this,
but then decided to let the reader's imagination run wild.


i LOVE rainbows.
i love SNOW.
CLEARLY THIS WILL BE OVERWHELMINGLY THE BEST 20 MINUTES OF MY SUMMER.

because I spill everything,
and the only thing in the car to use as a napkin was his (clean) boxers.
You gotta take what you can get.


youth group lesson planning.

Summer has been sweet, encouraging, hard, bitter, overwhelming, giggly, sunny, rainy, full of sobs and smiles. In other words, absolutely wonderful. Jon will leave soon and that will be hard, but I'm too aware of how much God moves through the hard things. So I'm excited for the hard, to readjust my reliance and to remind me during the sweetest times that I still do not belong here. Trusting for God to bring me opportunities to further His Kingdom, to share all He's taught me and to bring to others this hope and abundant life that just makes me excited.

And just puts an eternal smile on my heart.







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