My last post was exactly one year ago yesterday.. quite a lot has happened in the past year and yet none of it was recorded here.  I hate how much I want a blog-- This post is meaningless, just thought I'd acknowledge it has literally been a year since I've posted anything. That is all.

Holiday at the Sea

Back when Will and I were engaged and registering for wedding gifts, we decided to not register for luggage, even though the only "luggage" to our name was a duffle bag of his and a hanging bag of mine. Well, for just two of us that has sufficed, but now with our little bundle of joy, who somehow manages to need more stuff than her two adult parents, we needed to finally go buy a suitcase.  TJ Maxx is the bomb.  Yes, the bomb.   Well worth the extra time digging through all the options to find the one for us.  It is currently sprawled out in the living room half packed.  It's got those wheels that rotate 360 degrees so when you're standing in line and have to move forward a few inches, you don't have to grab the handle while kicking the bottom of the suitcase out to get it on it's wheels, you can just glide it forward with the lightest touch.   That's what I was imagining as I was gliding it along the checkout aisle at TJ Maxx, but then I remembered the last few times we've flown, we've dropped our luggage off to the "quick check" guy outside so we didn't have to wait in line.  Hm. I'm sure the gliding will still come in handy and look cool at some point.

I think that vacations are all the more wonderful for the few days of chaos and stress leading up to them.  Trying to wash every piece of clothing, sweeping and swiffering every inch of the house, doing all the dishes and cleaning the bathroom, changing the sheets-- all so when the vacation is over, it's a smoother transition than the abrupt one that would be if all were left undone.  My poor house though, I need to pretend like I'm going out of town every week so it can be this clean on a regular basis...

Ann Elise fell asleep in the pile of laundry on the couch next to me, just thought you should know :)

So, "Holiday at the Sea"... It is a very British sounding phrase and while I am not British, (though sometimes I read Harry Potter to AE in a British accent... or what I think is a British accent) C.S. Lewis was.  Last night at our church's Mid-Week worship I scratched notes from the sermon out on the back of the handout, Robbyn is an excellent teacher, so I tried not to get frustrated that I had AE next to me (out in the hallway listening so she didn't disturb everyone).  He was reminding us who we are in Christ and said this quote from Lewis' book, Weight of Glory,

"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Really the "Holiday at the Sea" part is just ironic because we're leaving for that very purpose soon and I thought that was a clever title, but it also made me think of why I wanted to start this blog.  Whether anyone reads it or not it's a way for me to remind myself to not just float through life, but intentionally engage in the lost, broken, and blah parts of my life with a creative eye and redemptive purpose.  Whether that means taking the time to really get to know my neighbors and loving them with a Christ-like love or digging up all the weeds and planting something pretty, it's invigorating to know God has created us in His image, and as He is in the business of redeeming a lost and broken world, so now we get to come along side Him and be a part of that, no matter how big, no matter how small.

Ann Elise is years away from being able to appreciate the beauty of the beach, (and I've managed to keep her out of any mud thus far) but this her first trip will be the beginning of memories and longings for a place so wonderful and beautiful.  I cannot wait for the day she realizes that she was made for such a place, far more beautiful than the beach, that lasts forever.

Time to Think

So, recently I realized that if I want to really think about something, really think it through, I have to schedule time to do it.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I haven't had time to think about it...  Mainly because Ann Elise, my 9 month old, refuses to be happy for more than a few minutes at a time when not in my arms, which I now refer to as her control tower.  The instant I pick her up, she twists to see everything in the room from her new safe vantage point.  It's all about perspective.  For her and for me... I could choose to be seriously frustrated about her new habit or see it as endearing.  As of now, I'm somewhere between the two.

I've also recently noted that my brain doesn't work the same way it did pre-Ann Elise.  It doesn't make connections as quickly, recall things as accurately, or (and most annoyingly) doesn't get the thought in my brain translated into something that sounds educated and refined to my mouth.  Most of what I say now-a-days comes out after many, "uh's", "um's" and "oh you know that thing.. that.. oh, you know.. what is it again?".  See, I'm not even sure that made sense, but as it's nap time.. precious, sacred nap time, I do not have time to sit here and think about it.  I must move on to my to-do list with a multi-tasking fervency only other mom's to young ones can fully appreciate.

And because I only look at blogs for the pictures, here's a couple pics of sweet AE (no, we don't call her "AE", it's just easier to type). 

Not napping

trying on her new hat

purple plaid pants.. and daddy's eyes

hot turquoise chair..  first redemptive project (as it was a yucky beige before)