Family Time

My family is here! We are having a great time with Nana and Papa...it's such a blessing to have them around for an entire week.

Right now I am sitting at the coffee shop with my Dad while Mom has the girls at the park. We're headed to our favorite little cafe for lunch and then we'll have Matt's birthday party tonight! It's a beautiful, sunny, 50-degree day and we're enjoying every moment.

I will announce the Lettergirl winner later this afternoon. Stay tuned! :)

Work Day and Family Love

Today was a work day at our house. My consistently amazing and giving husband repurposed our old red front door into a custom built-in desk in our kitchen. I am beyond thrilled with the results and I'm so excited to have another workspace for computing, writing letters, sewing, and more! I will eventually post more photos when I have it all pretty ;)

The girls loved helping Daddy with the project...their favorite days are when he is home all day! :)

He also crafted me this adorable laundry shelf out of the old torn down fencing in our back yard. *love*

We spent a lot of time talking with family via FaceTime...which is always fun. We feel like we are "right there" with them. All of my siblings have iPhones so we are able to keep in touch this way and it's such a blessing.

My brother Scotty came over tonight for supper...which involved more FaceTime with our family in Minneapolis, who had also gathered for supper. It was like a big party! :) He ended up spending the night...so right now, he's sleeping on the couch to my right...Bella is on the couch to my left...and all I hear is the sound of the heater fan. Blissful silence at the end of a busy day.

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life...to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."  *George Eliot

Facing The Sunset

Colorado has a little law against texting while driving. But what about taking photos while driving? I didn't see any laws against that :) I just couldn't help myself...it was breathtaking!

Tonight as we were driving to go meet Matt at Chipotle for dinner, I was greeted with this beautiful fiery sunset over the mountains. The thing is, as I was driving south, I had no idea that once I turned the corner to drive West, I would see this!

Isn't this how life is too? We get so focused on the bumpy gray road we are currently on that we forget what beauty is all around us...just waiting to be seen. All we have to do is just turn and face it.

Yesterday, Ann Voskamp's new book arrived at my door. I read the first chapter this morning and was a little shaken for the rest of the day. You'll have to read it to see what I'm talking about. Let's just say that it reminded me how fragile life is. I drank in everything that the girls did today with extra care. I smelled Lucy's neck for longer than normal and squeezed Bella so tight.

Today was like every other day. But with eyes wide open, not wanting to forget these moments...I chose to see it differently.

• A newspaper magically arrived at my door for me to read while I sipped my mate.
• Steamy pancakes flipped by an excited 6 year old make life worth living.
• An ecstatic little Lucy leads me over to her most recent artwork (nevermind that she drew in a book instead of the paper).
• Sisters creating together. Such sweetness (and sometimes fighting, but mostly sweetness) :)

Oh these precious moments...I want to always have open eyes to see them for what they really are. They are little blessings in the every day of life. There is so much joy to be found if I just remember to face the sunset.

*you can (and should!) read Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, here.