dear handsome hubs

Just a little note to thank you for

 being especially wonderful these last 

couple of days.  Your compassion and

 encouragement make me feel like I

can do anything - no matter what

else is going on around us.

I'm so grateful that we get to 

do life together.  You're the best

friend & hubs this girl could have

ever asked for.  Love you!

xoxo,

wifey

lake dreaming

On hot, sticky days like today,

all I can think about is the lake...

 And since I'm stuck in the office, 

these lovely shots will have to do!  :)

*images here, here, here & here

heart check

 

Do you ever feel like your

words take you by surprise?

 

Whenever critical words, snarky 

judgements or ungrateful complaints 

slip out of my mouth, I know it's time

 for me to refocus on the Father.  

It's astounding how quickly 

my little heart gets dry & dirty

when I stop going to Jesus 

for daily refreshment.

Anyone else with me?

*via etsy of course

a funny combination...

This past weekend was filled to the brim

with lots of friends & family.  We got to hang

out with cute kiddos on Saturday night, cook 

BBQ for the entire church on Sunday, and 

celebrate Father's Day with the hubs' family.  

We're blessed...and a little tired!

 So last night we shut ourselves in the

 house and chose to be lazy.  We made 

a big batch of crepes & a bowl of salty 

popcorn, then snuggled up on the

 couch to watch Star Wars together. 

 It was a silly (and kind of perfect) 

end to the weekend. :)

*image

adventures

On Thursday night, we celebrated 

the end of another school year 

with a little camping adventure. 

 

We booked a beautiful site at 

a nearby state park, and had a 

great time camping together

 for the first time!

 

With the exception of a thieving

raccoon, it was peaceful,

quiet, and relaxing.

As someone who has never been super 

big on tent camping, I have a silly 

confession...the food won me over.

The best was waking up and making

breakfast outside - greasy bacon and 

pancakes on a camp stove, and 

steaming french press coffee!  

It was nice to escape our normal

routine and just be outside together.

 

We spent most of our brief stay

beside the fire - sometimes 

chatting but mostly just sitting

 in comfortable silence. 

It was a perfect way to officially

welcome summer vacation.  :)

*image editing

freckles

This might sound weird, but freckles are

one of my favorite parts of summer.

I think of them as sun kisses, and love

coming inside after an afternoon in the 

sunshine to examine my nose & cheeks 

for evidence of time well spent outside.  

It's like proof on my face that

summer is here, the sun is warm, 

and life is good.  :)

*image

summer pie

Doesn't this raspberry ice cream pie

look perfectly summery & delicious??

*via

take me out to the ballgame

 

Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed a fun, 

sunshiney graduation party with the

 hubs' family...at a baseball game!

 

I'd never been to see our local team

(shame on me), so it was neat to

check out one of the attractions

right in our backyard.

 

This little lady totally stole the show.  

She had us completely amused for the 

afternoon with her antics, funny 

faces, and love for ice cream.

And as proof that it was a 

good summer afternoon, I came

home with a nice toasty sunburn!

*image

exhale

It's time for a weekend, don't you agree?

 

In the midst of some important stuff, 

I think we'll be stealing as much time away

 for rest and togetherness as possible.

Because really, when you have a hubs

as cute as mine, why wouldn't you? ;)

*image

grey day wishes

Normally a series of dreary days

makes me want to curl up on the couch,

but for some reason I've been craving 

a quiet, grey day at the beach.

There's something appealing about

an almost empty beach - you get to enjoy

the moody, powerful waves in silence,

and I always feel like God is standing

right next to me pointing out the

beautiful things He's created that 

don't always grab my attention

on bright, sunny days.

Plus, is there really a better

combo than steaming coffee, an 

oversized soft sweatshirt, and cold 

sand between your toes?  :)

*image

grace

Anyone else out there struggle to

keep the right perspective?

I get tripped up so easily in this -

constantly striving for perfection, then 

being frustrated when I inevitably fail. 

That's why I cling to the reminder

that God's glorious grace is freely 

given through Jesus.  (Eph 1:6) 

Thankfully, it's not about me trying 

harder.  Because of Jesus and the riches 

of God's grace, I've already been given

more wisdom & strength then I could 

ever come up with on my own. 

Anyone else need to step 

out of the way, and

 let grace replace striving?

 

*image

feeling crafty

My handsome hubs is a middle school 

teacher, and while I get to hear about

 his academic adventures, the extent of my 

participation is typically to listen and 

enthusiastically encourage.

 

 So you can only imagine how thrilled

I was last week when I got an email asking 

for creative help with a fun little project!   

 

(and yes, we do email each other

 constantly...is that weird?)

 

 

The project:

Create fun invitations for students

with the highest grades this year.

 

My solution:

This free download, cardstock,

some envelopes we had hanging 

around & about an hour of time 

to print, trim & glue. 

It was quick & easy, and my only 

challenge was to adapt the envelopes to 

the template, since they were slightly

different shapes.  (I kept trimming 

until they worked!)

I think the result is pretty fun, and

wouldn't you feel special getting one of 

these in the mail from your teachers?

*PS - check out the free download...

there are a ton of great invites!

 

(But please pretend you've never 

seen it before if you happen to get 

an invitation from me like this!)

last saturday...

 Last weekend we enjoyed a perfect day

on the Maine coast with my folks.  We visited

some of my favorite places, soaked up plenty 

of sunshine, and devoured lots of good food!

 

We walked the entire length of the breakwater

 in Rockland, which has been a summer tradition 

for my family for as long as I can remember...  

 

 

 ...then visited the always gorgeous

Children's Chapel, another family favorite!

It is the most peaceful little retreat, 

with stunning plants & trees everywhere.

 

Thanks, parentals, for treating us

 to such a wonderful weekend. 

Let's do it again soon!

*photo editing

weird dreams

I had a dream last night that I was 

a dancer in a Broadway show.  

(Even in the dream I had a sense of 

how ridiculous that was, but just bear 

with me for the sake of my story...)

So in the dream I'm hanging out with 

all the other dancers, and everyone 

decides that they're hungry.  

We go to a little store to buy snacks, 

and as we're checking out, all the dancers buy

super healthy food: lettuce, fruit, etc.

And I walk up to the counter and 

plunk down a tub of cool whip.

(Cool whip...because apparently

that's my snack of choice??)

Everyone started judging me and 

telling me I couldn't eat it...so 

I danced right out of the store.

Yep, that's right.  Just try and

stop me and my cool whip. ;)

*image