Saturday, July 30, 2011

thursday night lights

A lovely summer evening spent in our friends' the backyard
to enjoy our Thursday night dinner together:

{inna}'s birthday!
horseshoes.
Roasting hotdogs.
Potato salad.
Fresh fruit salad.
S'mores.
Homemade Pie.
Singing out love-songs to Jesus.
Jammin' with a celloist, guitarist, & the piano.

{charles}'s first s'more.
{breezy} & the lovely birthday girl, {inna}.
My love roasting me some dinner.
{dima} roasting his marshmellows.

A time of singing out a love-song to Jesus.
{isaiah} rippin' it up on his cello.

Friday, July 29, 2011

strummin' at chit.chat.cafe

They're getting better!


lesson #2
more chords & practicing basic strumming techniques.

Learning:
D - D7 - A - A7 - Am - G - C - E - Em - E7 - B7



In honor of {mercy}'s b-day Charles took us out for Fro-Yo after our lesson today.

Happy Birthday {mercita}!
(and to your twin sis {grace} as well!)

pick me! pick me!

It is a very rare day indeed that I should be the winner of a contest... but a friend of mine in Texas is opening her own etsy shop to showcase her handmade purses & bags and needed a name for the shop. A few days ago she posted her dilemma on fB and offered a cute bag as a reward for the entry that she picks as the name. We could enter as many times as we wanted with a new name so I shot out a couple names that I thought she might like and SHE PICKED MINE! Yeah!!! :) Woo Hoo!!!
ByAmyWithLove
My new bag will be coming in the mail very soon:


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

terrific triple t!

Triple T's have returned in all their glory and splendor.


Welcome home {liya}! We've missed you!

[insert cell-photos from gmail]

Sunday, July 17, 2011

raindrops on {rosie}

Following a wonderfully sunshiny July Saturday
we were treated to a day of pouring down rain.

It is no secret that the highlight of the day
was a chance to reunite with a long-time friend: {rosie}
We hadn't seen each other
(with the exception of via facebook)
for over 10+ years.
Since then she's gotten married, had three darling boys, &
hasn't lost her awesome sense of style.
She is also a very talented photographer.


Having come down this way to shoot a wedding only just the day before, she fb-ed me that she was in town & couldn't resist redeeming such an opportunity to see her! She had a little time before needing to get to the Union Station, so I picked her up from her hotel, took her tax-free shopping & to the Elephants Delicatessen for a quick grilled cheese & soup lunch.
Perfect for such a dreary day.
sharing an umbrella. . . can't believe it's been 10+ years!
[photo credit: Rosie's iphone Instagram]

Friday, July 15, 2011

how shocking!

POP! SPARK! BANG!
* AHHH! OWWIE!!! ~ CRASH! *
then darkness.


That was the sound coming from my over heated hair dryer this afternoon.
It was incredible and scary at the same time. Of course, I screamed. 'Cuz I was scared and because I was shocked. Literally and figuratively speaking. And it hurt. And I was then in utter darkness as I managed to pop a circuit as well. Thankfully I had just pulled my hair dryer away from my head before it happened. Otherwise I would have had to put my hair out in the lou! So long hairdryer. R.I.P.


I can't believe that it completely severed the cord on the interior.

Monday, July 11, 2011

ambitious blogging

You'd think that not having a TV would help me be more of the blogger that I am meant to be, but no... I still am a little behind... though almost caught up... only to take a break again, I'm sure. :P But that's just how it goes.

One day, I imagine myself as a bonafide blogger. You know, one that actually Blogs for the day that she posts. None of this blogging-the-backstroke stuff. I mean, there are probably just about enough hours in a day to sit down, up load some photos, with a little blurb here and there to give my readers a delight in their google-reader. Right? Well, maybe not. Maybe I could do a week at a time. Even that might just be a little too ambitious.

For now, I guess I've just got to settle for what I do... a little here, a little there... blogging-backstroke when I realize I've fallen behind. Still, I can't thank you all enough for putting up with me. . . Your google-readers must portray me crazy (like when a new post pops up with an 'old' date). But we can still be friends, right? *wink*

Sunday, July 10, 2011

and all that they could see. . .

My lovie & walked down through the neighborhood to see what there was to see. . .
A lot of the stores on NW 23rd were having sidewalk sales.
A street musician serenading the passer-byers:



Stopped for a cold one during happy hour while sitting outside people-watching before trekking over to the local super market to see if the blueCircle had any interesting movies. [to prevent my blog from coming up when people google the true name that is opposite of this] Since when did the price change from $1/day a movie to $1.15/day. They make an extra nickel & dime with every purchase. Total scavs!


It was a lovely hike back up our hill together.
If we keep up our weekend events in exercise form
we may just get back in shape. *yeah*
A nice cold shower awaited us at the top of the hill.

An amazingly large tree trunk on our way home.

Settling down to watch Beastly. . .it was ok. I mean, how many more ways can you write a modern-day beauty & the beast?

Saturday, July 9, 2011

biking buddies

Took a bike ride out on Helvatia Road.
Gorgeous sunset.
Amber waves of grain.
Good friends.
Gummy bears.
Everything sandwiches.


It is gorgeous out there, especially in the evening light.
We met a nice lady named {chris} & her mother {marlene}
who told us we can park at their place anytime we come biking out this way. *grin*

~ only wish I had my actual camera. ~
These ones from my cellphone just don't do it justice.
Will have to wait to get some of the pics we took from {becky}'s camera.

Friday, July 8, 2011

the p.d. [plant doctor] extraordinaire

{herman} is Dr. {emily} P.D. [Plant Doctor Extraordinaire]'s newest patient.
He is a transfer from my parents' place.


{herman} was clipped from the tops of my mother's kitchen plant and placed in new potting soil on Friday. Hope he will thrive in my 'clinic'.


Below are some of his room-mates:
{zebedee}

la-la-la-rockstar

{mercita}'s first guitar lesson.
She's gonna be a star.

Trading some guitar fingering for some boba tea.
Mmm... nice summer treat.

[photo from cellphone]

Playin' the D-chord.

Keep up the practicing {mercy}!
You'll form those callouses in no time.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

the w.h.o.l.e. truth & nothing but the truth

Due to a number of things, (which I have outlined in a post that I have chosen not to publish just yet, because in all they boil down to the Lord's sovereignty anyhow), both my {dh} & I are without employment. Whenever I thought of my transition from serving into something else, I never dreamed it would be at the very same time that my {dh} was graduating from college and also looking for work, but that, ladies and gentlemen, is our case. In a perfect world before such a transition, my {dh} would have been steadily employed. And then I, for one, would already have a job lined up that I would be transitioning into, or perhaps I would be heading into grad-school, or even better, I'd be being driven to the hospital to deliver my baby. Well, none of those things are happening or currently even a possibility on the horizon. Needless to say, it has put a strain on things and I find myself crying without notice on some days when a do-weller asks, "how are you?" or "how's the job search going?" I don't even like to crawl out of bed in the morning, because immediately upon waking up I am bombarded with thoughts about how are we ever going to make rent & bills for next month even with all the little odd-jobs I've managed to pick up. Nothing seems enough. Am I depressed? Perhaps, I mean it's probably perfectly normal to crack under this kind of strain, but even so, it's never a joy to experience.

Today was one of those weepy days.

Stress upon stress was weighing upon me from the time I woke up. Then having gotten an even later start due to a kink related to deadline for another project related to truth school, I mustered up the strength to head out the door. There was not a dry moment for my eyes during the entire drive over to a sister's house that I had arranged to clean today. Pulling into her driveway I managed to wipe my eyes even though no one was supposed to be home inside anyways, but to my great surprise I was greeted by {g.b}, a dear 83yr-old sister whom I admire and love very much and who happens to have been a good friend of my {granny} as well. When she asked how I was, the tears began to fall... and I admitted that it wasn't going so well. Then I began to tell her a little about what was going on with and within me. She asked what she could do, and I just asked for her prayers. She listened to me throughout the time I was there and spoke to me of other things as well. Her companionship during this time was such a blessing. She reminded me to Praise the Lord and to Thank Him. You know, not just for the good things, but the not so great things. Like, "Thank You Lord, I'm so weepy." It made me kind of laugh to say it. She said that Praising and Thanking help us to realize the blessings in all things... especially the things that we typically don't consider blessings and are tough to go through.

I truly felt so blessed to have gotten to spend those hours there at the house while I cleaned just fellowshipping and praying and praising the Lord with her. It's like I was getting my feet washed just by being with her. The Lord knew just who I needed to see that day.

More of {grandma bobbie}'s words of wisdom:

God is completely WHOLE.

Well.
Happy.
Obedient.
Loving.
Energetic.

and He's making us the same as He is
in life & nature, but not in the Godhead.
So we too are becoming completely w.h.o.l.e.
Drop by drop.

Say it out-loud:

I am well.
I am happy.
I am obedient.
I am loving.
I am energetic.

Regardless how we feel, we should declare this divine fact and enjoy it as our reality.

Praise the Lord!
Thank You, Lord, for everything!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

w.w.w.

{w.w.w.}
= the Washing of the Water in the Word.
SSOT Prep lunch

Gathering the YP together to eat lunch,
read & memorize the word,
play together in the sunshine.
Happy Wednesdays!
Good days, Sunshine!

the children are wet!
[photos from phone]

Monday, July 4, 2011

july fourth twenty-eleven

A late lunch at the {goly}'s with {hans} was a great way to kick off this 4th.
Not to mention {markar}'s watermelon mishaps that ended with a bang. haha.
{erik} even got to walk one of the {goly}'s goats. lol.
I believe her name is whatever the Russian name for Maria is. *grin*

Then {erik} & i got down to the waterfront early stake our place.
(ends up being pretty prime seating).

Are we having fun yet?
{inna} joined us, followed by {emily} & {oscar}.
(somehow I didn't get any pics of them!)
The sidewalk was packed with children lighting off fireworks.
Then dusk began to fall. . .
WOOO HOOOO!!!!!



{inna}


Happy 4th of July everyone!!!