Our Particularly Good [Full] Weekend

When Heather and Ash are called away, it is typical for me to swoop in with bag and baggage, to spend a full and fun weekend with my two favorite little ladies.

This particular weekend started off with Kate on a playdate 

and Sarah and I at my headshot shoot,

 followed by a [very exciting]
Wegmans date of shared sushi and dumplings.

Upon retrieving the little one, we met up with some of my friends for a Sweet Frog treat, before returning home and crashing into beds comfy (and new!).

The next morning we stretched and woke, 

 lounged around, creating culinary feasts.

 We played old games for old times' sake,

 [having ourselves a little bit of healthy conflict
while we were at it...]

and took advantage of a beautiful day,

with a bit of outdoor exploration.

We played and prodded,

and took a few selfies to document the moments. 

[Moments such as this child, being a hilarious little nut.]

Speaking of hilarity, selfies, and nuts,
now for a 'when you give a kid a camera' break:

Yes, after lunch, we went for a drive.

We headed out into the countryside

and discussed--among many other things-- how lovely it is

to live in the middle of Pennsylvania

[How lovely, indeed.]

Our destination was my favorite little store out in Amish country, where we got so enmeshed in our decisions about which candy to buy and whether or not Kate absolutely-needed-and-could-not-live-without the little tea set they were offering for sale that we did not document a moment of it.

But, after our decisions were made (vanilla caramels, mint nonpareils, and no to the tea set as sweet as it was), we found ourselves in the town's antique shop.

 My directive to "not touch" was taken as "you must tiptoe, and above all else, do not allow your voice to be heard"

 as these two whispered in furtive phrases

 and sweetly muffled giggles 
regarding all that they were finding hidden away.

We felt fortunate that Kate was reunited with her "one true love!" [inexplicably, a drawer full of forks...]

 that we found this beautiful old ivory-keyed piano,

and this fascinatingly old type-writer, 

upon which Kate felt the need to state that she was "here".

[We had no doubt, darling hilarious child...]

We drove home, refreshed, 

but ready for some downtime,

and dinner.
[More dumplings! More sushi!]

Soon enough, we were ready for pajamas, snuggles,
and Good Luck Charlie [our favorite!],
feeling happy and content with our day well spent.

The next morning, 

 Kate and I had some quality time

 with each other

 and with her new [and very thrilling] antique knife/fork

[what the heck is this thing?!]

before climbing back into the car for yet another drive into the countryside, this time to church, and to the variety of little cats that are in residence out there, who were just waiting for some playtime with these two little cat lovers.  

In their hilarity,
these two sweet things make me laugh;

 in their beautifully particular ways, they make me full.

We had ourselves a particularly good weekend, indeed.

The Word Is:

persevere

It's time to embrace a real one.

Approximately 10 years ago, during my Princeton days, when my rent was payed by a very wonderful church-piano-playing job, the good people of the church brought in a photographer, as churches often do, and said:  We need your picture for the directory.

So I sat down and smiled.

Then, I got a job that took me to my Harrisburg days, and the good people of that job said, "hey, we need a headshot" and I said: 

Well, I happen to have this one...  

And that was where we left it.

Through the years there have been other good people who have said "hey, picture?"...to whom I have replied with a random assortment of cutouts of my head, saying "will this work?"

And, in my typical way, I have decided: It will do. And that is that.

But, recently, God's been working on me. He's been teaching me that my tendency to just make do, without expecting more than I could ask for or imagine, is not how He wants me to live anymore.  

He's been teaching me to say: I will invest where I am, 

and enjoy to the full all that He has for me, here.

And so I've been realizing it's time to embrace the truth:

As a child of God, I'm allowed to fully live, headshot included.

Fortunately, I've also been realizing: 

I live with a very talented photographer.

Hence, this lovely lady and I had ourselves a little photo shoot the other day, in order to make my headshot legit.

And so, here, investing in my State College days,

I'm left with an abundance of real headshots to choose from:

More than I could ask for, or imagine.

Investing, in who I am, and how God made me.

Believing Him for abundance, and trusting the lessons He's taught me all along the [long, long] way.

Embracing, the Real One.

Celebrations, of a house

Since these housies and I have been journeying through life together these last few years, and since the tides are changing,

we climbed in the car this past week for a little journey 

 just down the street,

to dinner,

delicious 

[and silverware, entertaining].

Taking our time,

 we indulged

 in special treats,

 and dug into our food and conversation with great delight.

Grateful for the journey we have been on, 

and the opportunity to share in it together,

we celebrated where we've been and where it is we're going, 

in this new season of all that God is doing.

Celebrations, of a house, and of our hearts.

The Word Is:

enjoy