free to be

This past Saturday, Kyle and I took some wedding pictures for our good friend, Kari. She used to be Kyle's running buddy & friend at Milligan-but she's grown to be a close friend of both of ours over the past 5 years. She was married at her parent's home and it looked to me, like something out of Southern Living magazine. Very intimate and unbelievably beautiful. Her parent's home rests at the top of a hill, surrounded by mountains. Kyle took some awesome pictures but I'm afraid I'm only able to post some of mine--maybe his will come later. :)


















Sunday we hooked up with Luke and some friends to play out on Boone lake. I laughed all afternoon long-about everything and nothing. We likely blinded people with our pasty white bodies, and it's a miracle we all made it back to land fully intact. good times.

Today was a leisurely, lazy day. We fired up the grill for dinner tonight and I couldn't help but miss my family. We've been blessed with a lot of amazing friends in this part of the world, but these are the days that feel like they are just meant to be shared with family. There's just this little lingering ache in my heart, brought on by the smells of the grill and the sunshine.

Tomorrow is a big day for us. Tomorrow, we officially put on our big people panties/boxers and step into the grown up world of child rearing. I have literally grown up surrounded by kids, I love kids, I've wanted to be a mom since I said "I do" and yet, tonight, I confess, nervous energy is beginning to pulse through my veins. I'm sure I'll have plenty to blog about once our week is through.
Rebecca, you are my "person to contact in case of emergency" person. ;)
No pressure.

Hope all is well for those of you far away.

A few highlights from the weekend.

Em's baby shower: Kelli and I threw Em a shower on Saturday morning. It was another georgeous day so we got to spend some time outdoors and Emily looks amazing with 6 weeks left to go. She's due on mom's birthday so I've suggested she name her baby girl, Kitty. For some reason she's not commiting to that right now. ;)






Saturday night Kyle and I went out to eat and then we picked up a movie. Since the weather is unbelievable Kyle wanted to watch the movie outside, on the deck. Soooo, we piled up the blankets, lit some candles and camped out on the deck to watch the movie. I do wonder what our neighbors think about us. We know we're dorks. We're okay with that. Next time I think we'll have to invite them. We had fun and as long as I've lived here, I've never admired the stars from this corner of Copper Hill.



Sunday-off to church and then over to a couple's home for lunch. Kyle and I are going to be babysitting/house sitting for them at the end of May so we wanted to meet the kiddos and get a feel for their home. This is the first time Gary and Stacy are getting away for a week since moving here. Kyle said to me this afternoon, "don't you think it's crazy that this is the first time they're getting to go on vacation and they're trusting their kids with us ?". Nice. Nothing like being confident going into this. ;)

And then this afternoon we also finally got to go to an open house for a home we've been obsessing about. From the street, we both are in total agreement that we love it...love the style, the colors, the neighborhood, the trees, everything. The inside though, needs a LOT of work. It's 1980's to the core and honestly, there's not a room that doesn't need work. Structurally, the home is sound but...we'll see. Jim played the role of dad for us today by being so kind as to come and crawl in crawl spaces and check out the wood siding/roof, etc. So Jim, if you should read this, thank you. It may not seem like much to you but you have no idea how much that meant to us. We are most grateful for our TN family. :)

With the window cracked a couple of inches, just enough to let the breeze sweep across my face, I weaved in and out of the mountain roads. Sandra McCracken and I were singing a duet loud and carefree in the car. The sunshine was warm on my face and I was relishing the fact that I get to enjoy these things while 'on the clock'.

I turned down a dusty, country road and took a quick peek at my directions. I was getting close. I saw the silver mailbox 'with the door that hangs open' and turned into a narrow gravel drive. Directly ahead of me, stood an old, white house. I looked again at my directions and felt a flutter in my stomach. The home looked as if it should be vacant. I slowed the car and put it in park. Three young kids were already out of the house and running wildly, like excited kids do, towards my car. As I turned the engine off, one little girl was already peering in my driver's side window and two other faces peered intently at me from the other side. Their little expectant faces were covered in dirt.

I got out and was immediately surrounded. They examined everything in my trunk and asked a hundred questions. They were excited and ran to the house yelling ‘the nurse is here!’ I stepped through an open door and smiled my best smile as my eyes slowly focused to the dim light. This old, tired, wilting home was nothing more than a frame. There was nothing of substance to fill it. The home was barren. The floors covered with dirt. The kid’s appeared well nourished but there was nothing in the home I could see to eat, except for a couple of bags of potatoes. They offered me what they had. I wondered if I would be so generous if the tables were turned.

The kids were happy. They talked about growing up to be nurses and doctors and the little boy dreamed out loud about growing up to be a bull rider. As I wrote my note they circled around me and tried to make sense of my scribbles. They touched my hair and played with my badge. It wasn’t unlike my experience in Africa; in fact so much about this visit took me back to that place. One of the little girls gave me a hug, and then the little boy rested his head on my side. They were hungry.

I'll never be able to articulate how it feels to stand in these homes. I'll never be able to describe how these hour long visits change our lives. Because they do--they change everything. In that home today, I was surrounded by laughter and curiousity and love, and yet I was a smile away from my tears. Not because I pitied them-which is what initially stirred within me when I pulled up to the home but because they possess treasures I do not. They were beautiful, this family hidden away in the mountains with little more than a roof as their shelter.

I drove away, my car bouncing and kicking up gravel along the driveway, with three little faces singing goodbye in my rearview mirror. Hope, personified: more beautiful then the sunshine; more refreshing then the breeze.

Happy Birthday Marcia and Ava!!
We love you guys!!



Ava, one year later.

“Give us the grace to
admit we are ragamuffins,
to embrace our brokenness,
to celebrate Your mercy when
we are at our weakest, to
rely on Your mercy no
matter what we may do.
Dear Jesus, gift us to
stop grandstanding and
trying to get attention,
to do the truth quietly
and without display, to let
the dishonesties in our
lives fade away, to accept
our limitations, to cling to
the gospel of grace, and
to delight in Your love.”
~ Ragamuffin Gospel

Ragamuffin, I am. The quote above has been my prayer for a couple of months now. I guess I'm hoping if I say it enough it will begin to sink in. :) Oh, to live quietly and without display. To cling to grace and to delight in His love. Such is the place I pray grace will take me to.

Full.

that's how life has been lately and this is exactly how my heart feels as I sit and type. Our days are full, our weeks fly by, but there's a quality to living lately that seems to make everything brighter. I'm learning to appreciate the fullness of the people in our lives. I'm learning, contrary to what I've believed to be true, that this type of fullness does not make one weary; it enriches and satisfies.

Today I met a woman from church for coffee. I've never had a heart to heart with her alone before and it was surprising at how easy it was to be with her. It completely made my entire day. And so it's been lately with the people around me: adults and children; people I've brushed shoulders with but never really slowed down enough to know. Women of all ages, hopes and ambitions. Their energy is contagious.

I write with a grateful heart. I know who I am, what I deserve. And yet the sun shines, flowers grace the porch, we enjoy a meal by candlelight, under a canopy of trees. I am surrounded by people who bring depth and beauty into this world. His hands and feet. Ragamuffins.

Our weekend was the best because we got to see this little face for 4 whole days!! If only we could get a dose of her more often!
Jim, Lori, and Riley came to visit this past weekend and it was sooo good to spend some time with them. We grilled out, went biking on the greenbelt, rocked out to the veggie-tales (something I thought I'd never see my brother in law do!!) and ate until the point of nausea on more than one occasion. Oliver did way better with Riley then I ever hoped. He was all packed and ready to be shipped off to camp but he suprised us! No traumatic humping episodes like last time (although I dare say he considered it a time or two). Our little guy is growing up. haha.

Once upon a time, Jim and Lori didn't think they would have kids. And now we have Riley which is the best thing that ever could have happened. She's so funny with her independent personality-vocabulary of a 5 year old-and a disposition that allows us to drag her anywhere. We talked a lot about who she gets what traits from...& so far they don't have to do any finger pointing. Not yet anyway.

Being around her all weekend caused kyle & I to wonder a bit about what personalities our kids might have should we ever have any of our own. Thanks to my brother, we already have visuals of how mutant-like they could look. :) We're convinced we'll have little monsters-especially in light of how amazingly good Riley is.
From my gene pool alone we have the following things floating around, just waiting to crop up in our off-spring.

the X factor:
We all know a certain woman in my life wears animal print and leather. She paints her nails hot pink, and has a collection of shirts that carry sayings on them which forces parents of small children to divert their kids' attention and to shield their eyes. She loves drama, uses the phrase "it's all about me" and vacations with cruises and trips to Vegas. There's occasional snorting with laughter. She blasts country music so loud it gets her into trouble with the golf association. She has a ring on every finger and they clink when she talks in her animated way.

the Y factor:
My dad likes to mount animals on the walls where the pictures of Chris and I used to be. We're not just talking birds either...oh no, there's deer, bear, & mountain lion. Interior design may not be his forte but he makes a mean fish soup (yes, if that just made you gag--welcome to the club). We have more pictures of him and his brothers in camo then in any other atire. He has this disease where he absolutely cannot simultaneously watch TV and carry on a conversation over the phone-on in person. He 'vacations' to the woods or on the lake, or up in a tree stand. He IS Wisconsin...all things that represent that frozen state are among dad's favorite things.

chris and I: It's been said that we bribed our cousins into jumping out of tree houses and barns when we were little. We both drove illegally (only one of us was smart enough not to get caught). We picked, and fought and screamed at each other all the time swearing hatred but inwardly loving every minute of it. One of us threatened to call social services to report emotional abuse for having to take piano lessons--which clearly, is abusive on many levels. One of us also wrote a letter begging our parents to trade the sibling in for his/her best friend.

So there you have it. That's what I bring to the table. :) Look out baby Longs!
Funny thing is, it's all good. The animal prints, the camo, the attempts to bribe our parents into getting a new and improved sibling. We like it just the way it is. Always something to talk about...

Riley will likely always be the golden child.

(more pics from the weekend to come).

taking a bath




Cracking herself up.