Through the window I see you waiting You are smiling Cause I'm coming Your eyes are a story An ocean of memories Pictures of faces and places And all of the things That make us feel like we have it all
All of the times That make us realize We have it all We have it all
Life is beautiful Life is beautiful
Living and dying Laughing or crying If we have the whole world or have nothing I know there are long nights But we'll make it With every sunrise comes a new light And all of the things That make us feel like we have it all
All of the times That make us realize We have it all We have it all
Life is beautiful Life is beautiful Life is beautiful
A father's love A wedding dance New Year's dreams A toast with friends A soldier coming home from war The faith the hope of so much more A brand new life, a mother's prayer Shooting stars, ocean air A lover's kiss, and hard goodbyes Fireworks, Christmas lights
These are things that make us feel alive These are the times that make us realize
Life is beautiful Life is beautiful Life is beautiful
I finished writing Fly Away Home--quite possibly my favorite book I've written thus far. The characters are embedded in my heart forever, I'm afraid!
I ordered my first-ever laptop this afternoon! I am so excited...been needing one for a years since I've become a serious writer and spend quite some time on the computer throughout the day!
Our cousin got a deeper-than-one-inch-gash in his leg this evening...at the hospital getting stitches now, so if you think of him, would you mind praying for it? *eesh*
I am flying solo tomorrow and watching the three youngest without any help. This should be easy, right? Well...if Levi would ever go to bed for me. :D I generally rely on Sarah or Anna to lull him to sleep!
Yesterday I received Sarah Sundin's latest book, With Every Letter, and have begun to read it! Really enjoying the book thus far!
And a copy of Jennifer Freitag's The Shadow Things is on its way soon!
The weather--breath of Autumn, charm of summer, golden-in-between--has been splendid, and the glory of it holds the whole day through as I work. Driving home with Dad, we take a back-country route and the evening gathers around us.
The oyster-light beauty of a limpid-eyed dusk.
Frail shades of pink dying the West and a lone feather above--an eagle's pinion, carved of gold-whetted cloud-shard.
Uplands chasing the vagrant light, downlands...mingled shadow and warmth. The broad bands of trees dark and silent against the wash of beauty--beautiful in their own solemn way pencilled, as it were, upon the drapery of rose and amber.
Home-words, good words lingering in my thoughts from the book I'd just laid aside--its delight faded only with the glory of the earth at elf-light.
Such simple, earth-rhythm glory. Glory of heaven and earth shouting praises to their creator. Quiet glory of a world turning--moment by moment--a shade lovelier than it had been yet a moment before. Hay-sweet breeze, dove-light jinking on the meadow and there on the edge of that eagle-feather.
It has not always been this way--I know. I have only been privileged to see this turning of the night for a few years of my life--for the dusk-rhyme is never heard above the roar of the city where I lived so long. I breathe deep, long, lasting, and lift a thought of thanks--heart too full to frame in words; but He knows. He means for it to feel this way--this pain and joy mixed in the cup of Beauty.
The joy glimmers coal-wise in the center of the pain, and the pain springs till my heart aches and throbs. It will not always be this way--I am grown. I may marry and the man I marry may take me back to the city. Moth-wing terror flutters in my breast--to be trapped--I, akin more to this beauty and linked more to this land than I had known before tonight...a thrall in the confines of a city, barred from viewing the turning of the night in its muted, pearlescent shades.
It may be. It very well may be. Never to sense the gloaming? Never to watch its richness unfold petal by petal except on that rare occasion when I might find myself home?
My heart again throbs and joy mingles strongly with the pain once more. Blue hope, center of the flame, whirl in the shell. Home has my love...but my Love shall be my home.
But here...now...I am captive of the dusk-rhyme. Intoxicated, suspended, transfixed by the glory.
So I'm supposed to post 11 random facts about myself, then answer the questions he asked me, and lastly, tag 11 people and give them new questions. :)
Random facts:
#1. I'm getting alot of reading done on my Daniel's iPod, (Love and Friendship by Austen, The Laughing Cavalier by Orczy, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, and Dombey and Son.) though I still prefer real bound books. :)
#2. You can't believe how excited I am about this right now:
#3. This weather? My absolute favoritest!!!!!! The fall is just perfect that way. :)
#4. Our county fair was last weekend and I was able to go every single day! (seeing as the grounds are literally 5 min. down the road, it's quite convenient. ;)
#5. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Septembers nearing it's close and October?! will be joining us soon! :P
#6. I'm hard at work trying to finish all my books so that I can graduate in December and be able to be in the Class of '12!!!!!!! xD
#7. Seeing as temperatures around here are dropping to the 60s in the mornings, I guess I ought to switch around my wardrobe......
#8. I want to dance very soon, and am excited about the prospects in sight.
#9. I love that cozy, exhilarating sound of fallen leaves blowing across the pavement. :) #10. My hair is in a sorry state right now, and I need to go put it under control. #11. Homemade KitKat bars are the best. Just sayin.
And now for my answers....
1. What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Read books with exciting plots, talk with friends, or some craft like Smashing. :)
2. What is your favorite black and white television show?
That'd be Andy Griffith or Leave it to Beaver probably......
3. What is your favorite song?
I don't have only one, but here is one of the many:
4. What is your favorite Bible verse?
I really like:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, angles, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus out Lord.
Romans 8:37-39
5. Where do you go to church?
Well.....seeing as church is held in our home every week I really can't say I go to church.....;)
6. What county of what state do you live in?
A small and pretty county in the Old Dominion State.
7. What is/was your favorite school subject?
Right now probably Biology. :)
8. What is one of the highlights of this year for you?
Turning 18, and eventually graduating!
9. Cookie or cracker?
Cookie if it's homemade, cracker if not.
10. If you could go to any concert tomorrow, where would it be?
You mean who? I'd really love to see Jamie Grace, Tenth Ave North, Celtic Thunder, or the big one coming up in the winter. :)
11. If you could visit any country in the world, where would it be?
Can't pick country. ;) Continent? Probably Europe. :D
So now I guess I'm supposed to tag 11 of my peeps. Here goes nothing! ;)
And give them 11 questions:
1. Country or Classical?
2. What's your fall comfort food?
3. Kindle or real live books?
4. Black or green tea?
5. Do you like where you live?
6. Are you a city or country person?
7. Trendy or old-fashioned?
8. Dancing or other art?
9. What song is stuck in your head right now?
10. Is your family more spontaneous or very planned out?
11. What artist would you love to see in concert?
Okay, there we go. :) Hope you all are having a great week, and we'll talk to you later!
~Sarah
Rachel is hosting an Autumn Allure Modest Fashion Event starting today and running through the end of September on her blog: A Butcher, a Baker, a Candlestick Maker. Run over, check it out, take the button-thing, and tell everyone you know about it! We want as many girls as possible to participate! There will be guest posts, posts on how to dress cute on a budget, My Style, choosing the right clothes for you, and more! So stop on by and check it out! And if you plan on participating, leave a comment and tell us so. :)
For starters, if you're a photographer this is a must-read.
If you love to capture memories by way of pictures, or even if you simply appreciate having all those moments at your beck and call, keep reading.
I love photos. I enjoy looking back and remembering all those great times or events, and I like to be the one to document them in the way of pictures.
Those days where your camera is constantly on in your hand or hanging on your neck ready to snap any frame you find pleasing, are fantastic! They make you feel great, you create a masterpiece, and get at least a few awesome shots.
And then there are the periods of time (days, weeks.....even months. :P) where photography has had to take a back seat. This summer has been one of those times. Originally I was feeling like a bum for not creating any fresh and inspiring albums, or contest-worthy photos. But very quickly that died off. I realized that for this season picture-taking couldn't be the highest priority,(due to life's craziness plus the fact our computer's stuffed) and that was fine. :) I didn't even have to feel a little guilty for leaving my camera home when I went on an outing or to a party---and I could really enjoy the times I was able to spend snapping the shutter.
And of course......
Levi's first berry picking *snap!*
Girls' Retreat *snap, snap, click!*
Brilliantly-colored sunset *snap, snap!*
Family birthdays *click, snap, click*
Surprise party *click!*
......you get my drift. ;)
Through my camera-free days, I realized how nice it was not to view all the good times through a lens. :D Seriously, there is a huge difference in "being in the moment" and "capturing the moment". For instance, that awesome look of shock and delight of Bethany when we jumped out at her......it's wouldn't be the same in a photo. Documenting a fun or important time with film can not even start to compare to the experiencing the realness of the same moment.
Ann's 100% true point appeared in my inbox today, and I was like, "yes, exactly!" (make sure and take the link all the way....it's a fabulous post. :)
So, for my summary:
Keep taking great pictures, but make sure and put away your Nikon or Canon ;), and really and truly live in some of those bits of life. :)
Once upon a time there was a family who was perfect in every respect save one: They could not reconcile their schedules to their pocket-watches.
"We shall be there promptly!" they swore to each event. And they meant to. They really did.
"We shall be a tad late, actually." The Outsiders learned to watch for this second alert--indeed, they came to expect and to plan thus, for the family always followed up the former with the latter; they were quite punctual paying this compliment.
More often than not the family rang up the Outsiders again: "If it isn't too much of an inconvenience we'll be there...well...to put it quite frankly, rather late." Which the Outsiders learned to take as a sign that the family wouldn't be there at all.
In the end the Outsiders were always right, which vexed the family to no end. They certainly didn't like this brouhaha between schedules and pocket-watches. It was the family curse--how could they help it? They couldn't. So the family continued to make their promises and swear to timeliness and get everything prepared in advance, but still their schedule moved at a tardy lounge and their watches flew till you'd think the gears would fly off, and late the family continued till the Outsiders never expected them at all.
"Wait for us!" the family shouted. "We'll be there! We promise!" And sometimes when the family held on with their teeth and dug in with their heels and slapped everyone and everything together with peanut-butter-and-jelly so they wouldn't slide about so, the Outsiders would glance out their front windows and nearly have a heart attack to actually see the family coming up the walk at a fashionably flustered pace.
The Aged member of the family no longer checked her pocket-watch and merely waited for the summons-or-not which came unfailingly.
The Seasoned members of the family learned to formulate plan B's and C's and D's and E's and F's (and even H's---just for good measure) and never to fret about the Plan A which hardly ever came about.
But the Youthful members of the family (not the Infantiles--they were too young to have pocketwatches) would not give up despite the wisest counsel. As a result they were the voice the Outsiders heard on the other end of the phone, or the senders-of the texts and emails expressing regrets, and over time they became quite a bit jaded with it all.
"Why can't we ever be on time?" Some of them grumbled.
"Better not to plan things at all," the Thunderous one suggested.
"We can still make it if we all leave NOW!" the Optimist would say.
But inevitably one or another of the Youthful Members would find they had lead and steel in their shoes instead of leather, or their watches had sped along in a way abnormal even for them, and the jading continued because they had been going about this way for so long.
Then one day, ONE DAY, the family had had enough. More than enough. Several of them were in tears over another aborted mission. (though this time the abortion was aided by an Outsider.) One of the Seasoned Youthful Members cracked her knuckles. She cleared her throat. She straightened her spine and Harrumphed at the pocketwatches and the digital watches and the mickey-mouse watches which all conspired against the family.
And do you know what this Seasoned Youthful Member did? She sat down in high dudgeon and wrote a blog post. And she hoped that someone in the wide wide world of blogging might have a wee spot of sympathy for the family and their timely curse.
The End. (but she still thinks her family is pretty lovely. :)
As I told you all while ago, one of my new hobbies has becoming Smashing. :) I've found that it's really fun, relaxing, and uses my creative energy in a productive way. Here's their summary of what a Smash book is to be for:
Anyhow, as my book is filling up and getting thick, I thought I'd do a flip-through so you all can see what I've done so far. :) So, without further ado.............
My Smash book as of 9/2/12/.
I'm a terrible pack rat, but this has been a fantastic outlet for all the things I kept *knowing* I'd use them sometime! ;) Tell me what you think!
Labor Day weekend is the official end of summer, I suppose. Oh, and what a summer it's been! It began with a wedding that led to a courtship that has led to a certain member of our family moving into a different Time Zone. (Not nationally recognized, but philosophically termed "Lovers' Time") This makes coordinating the simplest events rather difficult because this certain member doesn't need food or drink when he has the conversation of his "belovedid," to quote Ernest T. Bass. I am half-jesting. It has been such a blessing to see Daniel and Abigail's courtship flourishing. :)
The summer continued with a visit to the harbor to see a fleet of tall-ships and an unexpected departure to Georgia which took up five weeks! I turned 20 while down in Georgia and came back just in time to see baby saying his first words and celebrating his first birthday, and Sarah and Leah to turn 18 and 15, respectively. Life waltzed along in a at a comparatively slow pace to that I'd learned to cope with during the campaign.
Levi took his first official steps, and the girls were introduced to Smash-booking. We attended a surprise party for a dear friend, and we lived through many a day of rain for--contrary to the rest of the nation--it's been an exceptionally wet summer.
We planted berry bushes and played volleyball. I worked on my books and lived the Cossack Uprising vicariously through With Fire and Sword. We made matches and discussed hopes and dreams. There's been laughter and joy and heartache all mingled together into the goblet of this summertime. Old ways we were fond of have gradually been effaced by a new regime of blessings that will prove to be sweeter than we'd ever have dreamed. At present they may rub now and again like a new pair of boots, but we'd never trade them back.
We've sent letters and received letters, we've sung songs and watched movies. We've danced to Ella Fitzgerald and memorized songs from Wicked and Les Miserables. We've even gained a taste for country music!
We've fallen in love with Sherlock and reminded ourselves that our tastes have grown much more refined since the days of Spy Kids and Inspector Gadget. We've made birthday cakes and eaten them, we've walked in the historic towns nearby and had a picnic or two to boot.
It's been a long, full, summer, and one I can truly say I'll never forget. So many memories, so many lessons learned...so much life. I can only look forward with breathless, eager anticipation to see what the fall will bring.
Autumn! Fire of my heart and love of my being...I come alive when the trees kindle and the breeze carries that gypsy-chill on its breath. When the blood rushes with spices and the very leaves are blushing with pure exhilaration...
I can see some of the adventures that might be lurking around the corner, and I know there will be some that take me by surprise. Graduations, dances, birthdays, camp, visiting missionaries and plots for Romania. Campaigns and bonfires and more!
I don't know which things will come to pass and which will be replaced by something better. But I can say with full assurance that it will not be a dull autumn by any stretch of the imagination!
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