Change, Change, We are Here

As you can sense from my absence I am in the midst of a transition, a evolution in what it means to live and breathe and love in this life of mine.  Many of you come here to see my lastest crafty endeavors, I am still crafting, I am just having a harder time finding time to photograph, edit and post my little creations, where as I would rather just enjoy them.  Some of you come to keep up with my family and more specifically, Adelaide.  And I must be honest, the longer I parent and blog the increasingly less comfortable I get with the idea of sharing much of our lives on the internet.  Certainly, what you get here is a small bit of the depth of what it means to be our family, it is edited, but it is still a part and I mindful of how sharing that part, even ever so small, might impact my family.

My ordination in 2008

Which brings me to probably my biggest piece to share.  I returned to work about three months ago.  After 15 unplanned, unexpected and delightful months staying at home with Adelaide, I returned to full time work in July. I am very fortunate to work in a vocation that is family friendly, in fact that is an understatement extrordinare.  I have been hesitiant to share much about what I "do" for a living out of respect.  Out of respect to a readership that is very diverse, out of respect for myself and my own sense of privacy and out of respect for the people I work with because I only want to represent my vocation and the people I share it with in the most positive way--because it is the most joyous of honors to be a part of this work together.  But for those of you that are curious, I am an ordained minister. 

At a ribbon cutting for our new building at my first church in 2008

I love what I do and as I already mentioned it is incredibly family friendly.  I work 4 days a week in the office and get one week day off to spend at home with Adelaide.  And in what other vocation is it not only encouraged but often expected that you bring your family to work with you one (or more days a week).  So unlike people in more traditional jobs Adelaide is only cared for by someone other than T and I briefly 4 days a week, instead of 5.  Also, her care? She started pre-school this fall at the church I serve.  In a culture that is not very family and motherhood friendly, I am SO grateful that my child's care will be onsite (actually about 40 feet from my office) where I work.  This is so rare and I am so grateful to have found work that is meaningful to me and that fits my family's place in life. 

Leading worship in 2009 at a friend's ordination

What does this mean for the blog?  It means that this past year I have had time to write and edit photos during afternoon naps and after bed, but now sometimes I will chose to spend that time differently, being more present to my family, our household and all that that entails (you know the glamourous parts of life--laundry, dishes, picking up raisins off the floor!).  It means that as I continue to wrestle with the balance of sharing your life on a blog that I may try a few new things, we shall just have to see.  It will be a balance I will have to live into, since photography is a love but as a few of you all know writing has always been my original love.  

P.S. The title of this post was inspired by a Pablo Neruda quote I first discovered here and adapted to reflect this new phase, this wild, open-hearted and crazy way in which things are constantly changing, the way we are invited to fling our hearts wide open and hope for the very best.  Change, change, we are here. 

Summer Lovin'

Here are a few pictures from our recent goings on...

Our local farmers market might be the best we've ever lived near. Local honey and organic blueberries are our favs.

Stroller turned watermelon carrier at the farmers market.

The mister had a big birthday.  We threw a big cookout.

We also celebrated our five year anniversary and had my mom watch the little missy so we could celebrate.

We are getting so expressive and did I mention we are walking?!

We went to the Dallas Arboretum to check out the Chihuly exhibit and it was amazing!

Fourth of July on the Square

Parade watching with dada.

What have you all been up to this summer?

Peach Pickin'

You know how hard it was to not name this post after the Presidents of the United States of America song? Anyhow, the mister was traveling last week so me and the little missy decided to head to Oklahoma to do some peach pickin' with grandpa.  Last year we missed the picking season and so for months now we have been plotting and planning when we would go this year. Grandpa happens to have the beat on all fresh fruit growers in the central part of Oklahoma so he took us to the best one in the area.

One morning after breakfast we loaded up the car and headed out to Hannah, Oklahoma to pick peaches  at an orchard there.  Grandpa showed Adelaide how to pick the peaches off the branches and put them in the basket.  She got pretty good at it, if fact throwing is something she's gotten quiet good at so some peaches got thrown and hence a little beat up on their way into the basket.  

Towards the end of our time picking she wanted to take a peach out of the basket to hold.  I obliged and before I knew it she had chomped right in and ate the whole thing bite by bite! The peaches were so fresh we both ended up being covered in peach juice--yum!

We brought home a HUGE basket of peaches that I have plans to blanch and freeze (for winter cobbler and pie), do some fresh salsas to serve over grilled fish, and even try out a chutney recipe to can.  Hopefully I will share a little of that part of the process too!  

It was a great way to spend a cool morning with our grandpa and have a new experience.  

Happy Father's Day

These two are thick as thieves. There is no one this girl loves more than her parents, but especially her dada.  

And while I know that Father's Day is about reflecting on fathers, I couldn't have picked a better partner in this adventure in parenthood and this little thing that makes it all not only possible but easier called marriage.  I know, that's a lot of PDA for this little blog, but it's true. Happy Father's Day, to my mister and our little family.  

House Projects, Fishy Faces and Golf Carts

You know I am a notoriously bad blogger during nice weather.  So, no apologies!  I haven't been tackling very many craft projects (although I do have a few I might share) because we have been tackling some much bigger projects around the house, painting, cleaning and organizing and even tackled a landscaping project (or two).  Between all that fun and traveling a bit here and there...not much time for blogging!

Little miss continues to grow and grow, mostly in skills and not in size--she is still a tiny peanut!  She has in her command about a dozen words or so and knows and can say 3 or 4 animal sounds.  In fact, crazy little story...We got the Melissa and Doug wooden animal fridge magnets (at TJMaxx on the cheap!) a while back and I busted them out about a month ago to both keep her occupied while I cooked dinner and to start learning our animals just for fun.  I didn't know if she was old enough to learn animal sounds but I would sit on the kitchen floor across from her a couple of times a day and let her pull the magnets off the fridge and hand them to me.  I would then say the animal name, make the sound and hand it back to her to put on the fridge.  One particular animal caught her attention immediately and seems to sell her on the whole animal noise thing--the fish!  I think she really liked the facial expression of making fish lips, but the first night we worked on them, that next morning she handed me the fish and made the fish lips and the kissy noise!  I about died from cuteness right there on the kitchen floor!  And it's her favorite animal and noise to make.  

Having a one year old is the best, by the way.  She is so fun to take on adventures now that she can point and go "Ooooh!" One of the little adventures we had a few weeks ago was taking a golf cart ride.  First, off golf carts are waaaay safer than when I was a kid and have things like seat belts.  Plus her Uncle B went very slow and safely for his niece.  It was so fun because my siblings and I grew up on and around golf course (fun random fact, I actually played competitive golf through middle school and high school) so it was kind of one of those little dreams come true to start introducing Adelaide to the game and fun of golf.  We definitely have plans to get her little clubs when she starts walking and getting a little coordination. 

How have you all been?