lollipops and gumdrops

My really fun friend Charlie Jones sent me this hilarious email today: 

"Been getting your Posterous posts. Got me thinking... you really should buy a camera. You should try to document some of the things you do. You know these times slip away so fast. A picture or two wouldn't hurt. 

So I got this video... it is called when Japanese Babies are Born. But I think it should be called, "When Huff Babies are Born..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjYIjYRq1JM

Our lollipop tree that we got out for the holidays! My dad whipped this up for Anna when she was little and loved the song "The Lollipop Tree" by Ginger Sands.  I could not find the lollipops this size at the store so I went over to the bank and asked them if they would be willing to donate to our holiday cause. They were happy to be a part of the festivities and gave me a bunch to bring home for our tree. 

 

 

thanks Bank of America! 

 

 

our fun gumdrop tree tradition! 

 

 

little peanut 

 

 

hug in the hall at school yesterday when I picked them up

 

 

the YUMMY chocolate bar we enjoyed for dessert tonight! 

(Mom and Dad- you must know that this is the bar that we got after our ridiculous walk in the rain last wee. We all laughed as we ate this tonight and realized that if we had not gone on that adventure, we would not have discovered this chocolate at the Metropolitan Market. Giving thanks for the silver linings that show up after the fact!) 

 

 

celebrating Papa!

 What fun today to celebrate Papa today with a birthday surprise of Tracey being at our house when they arrived for lunch today!  She flew over from Missoula early this morning and we have had a great day being together and enjoying the day celebrating his 70th...

Counting our blessings

 Each year since 1995, Jason and I have had a tradition of writing reflections each Thanksgiving about what we are grateful for. Not a novel idea, but it has been a sweet gift to carry this on over the years. We read our letters tonight as a family, and when I put them in our notebook, it was such fun to see letters from past Thanksgivings and to remember folks with whom we've shared the holiday over the years. 

I love that he added Legos after he realized that was not on his original list. :) 

Ode to Joy

 

http://youtu.be/L_k785dRNJs

gratitude

 There are few things more subversive in this world than someone who sees grace in every corner, who chuckles easy and loves easy and has both whimsy and mirth mixed in with even their honest assessments of the way things truly are. These glad-hearted people have discovered that thankfulness is not merely a discipline but the only sane way to live in a world offering so much gritty beauty, so much possibility for love, so many joys.

These unlikely provocateurs have not caved to rose-tinted glasses or withdrawn from bitter reality. They simply know that sorrow does not finally own the day. They do not ignore the pain. Quite the opposite, their heart has grown so large that the life they know possesses the courage to see all that is wrong and yet has strength enough to gather the afflictions into itself, allowing love to tend to the wounds. They know that joy, not misery, holds the ace. And they are so very, very thankful.

“Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth,” say Barth. “Grace evokes gratitude like the voice of an echo. Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightning.” – Winn Collier http://winncollier.com/like-thunder-follows-lightning/

Oh I love that reflection above.... I want my heart to overflow with thanksgiving like that everyday..... As I end the chapter on this day, I am giving thanks for a great week with my parents here and for the richness of family and friends... 

how is it possible that all these girls are mamas? Tracey and I were Bible Study leaders to them when they were juniors in high school back in 1995.... :) What fun to see them this weekend... 

the huge gift of having a homework helper this afternoon :) 

shine... 

(Dad has been amazing this week in restoring furniture for us and helping us put some pieces back together) 

a visit to the "Harry Potter" room at Suzzalo library to show Mom that Hogwarts is indeed here disguised as University of WA... 

bedtime stories are the best 

burst of colors

 "I never met a color I didn't like." -Dale Chihuly

It's hard to beat blue skies in Seattle with an unbelievable burst of creativity and color that we got to witness at the Seattle Center at the Chihuly exhibit. 

Beautiful Things

 "Beautiful Things"

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

I listened to this song tonight while fixing dinner and was moved to tears. Though I have heard it many many times, it still speaks to me deeply. I am so grateful that God does indeed make beautiful things out of the dust and that he is committed to making beautiful things out of us! In spite of some glitches the last few days (for example-- going on a walk with the family yesterday during a time that turned into a torrential downpour so that we had to resort to Plan B in the middle of my "great" idea for the afternoon), I have been thankful for the way that there is grace around every corner, if only I will look for it. We went to lunch today at a friend's house and saw a little girl (about 3) come running into the room only to fall right as she ran in.  She could have burst into tears, but with some encouragement from her mom, she stood up and started over.  Even this can be an invitation for me to start over too and to rise again.  We can accept the invitation to allow Jesus to carry the weight of whatever it is that is burdening us and to rise again. Amen... 

the kids were so fast that I could not even get them in a picture! (I did manage to capture Jason's stride though!) 

reindeer at Swanson's nursery 

our little Christmas tree that Anna picked out :) 

With sunshine in Seattle today, we could not pass up the opportunity to go by Golden Gardens today on the way home from the nursery picking out our tree. 

sweet spontaneous hug this evening... 

dinner date tonight with the Atkins at our house