december one

via graphics fairy

today is the first day of december?

unbelievable how fast time goes by!

i read an amazing post today; 

kristen wrote about lowering expectations 

for this christmas.

so often, i have the expectation of having

the perfect holiday, the perfect vacation,

the perfect family, the perfect house,

the perfect outfit,

the perfect _____ you fill in the blank!

this year our middle daughter, son in law and our soon to be 

four year old grandson

 will be 

in another country as they serve as missionaries!

i have had a hard time

shopping for gifts.

because i will be sending them money instead of a gift...

(they are missionaries and can use financial gifts more than trinkets!)

our extended families are having parties early

and so the actual day 

will most likely be 

pretty low-keyed.

don't get me wrong,

we are planning to celebrate!

our youngest daughter is driving 12 hours to 

get home in time!!! :)

& we will have our oldest daughter & her sweet family here,

which means we will also witness the magic and excitement

of christmas through the

eyes of an adorable two year old!!

so,

i will try to leave that idea

of the perfect holiday,

perfect family,

the perfect christmas tree,

the perfectly decorated house

the perfect table 

filled 

with perfect food...

i will leave it all

behind.

i will concentrate on

being thankful for what

i have.

because if i really take the time

to look at all that i have

in my life 

and what is truly important...

then it is easy to say;

life is lovely

may you have a wonderful holiday season

and take time 

to count your blessings &

to name them one by one!

i wish you a

merry christmas!

wear

*i love this cream sweater which 

i found at a little boutique

it seems to get worn

 usually once a week! (if not more)

*a new off the shoulder sweatshirt from etsy :)

love the scripture, and just had to buy it! ;)

I found her here.

'my treasure' necklace is from lisa leonard.

*blouse is vintage-
 i found it

while thrifting :)

the scarf

 is a hand me down from my daughter;

when they down sized before

moving for missionary work

in austria

jeans from old navy

and the shoes?

oh yes, i love these

thrifted red heels! :)

just a peek into

what i have been wearing this past week:)

i have begun

hauling out my cozy sweaters

and scarves

in preparation for 

the fall weather.

what about you

what do you love to wear for fall?

making every single moment count

excuse me while

i am on a self imposed break 

this week.

my daughter, son in law

and three year old grandson

leave this sunday 

for two years

all the way to vienna, austria.

yes, that means

after today it is

three days.

i am;

savoring

storing

and enjoying

every single minute.

taking lots of photos

and trying to keep myself

together

until monday!

i will be back

in full force

next week

until then,

know that i am 

trying to capture 

as much time and memories

as possible!

shining

always...

*wear it tuesday*

it has been a

very, VERY long time since

i have posted anything

about what i have worn.

i took a couple pictures
 with my phone 
of the outfit
i wore monday
on a coffee/errands date
with the hubbie,

and decided to share it

today
for a 

wear it tuesday
 post! :)

the cute bows shoes

  (originally from target)

are from my daughter who

is moving to vienna, austria

to become a missionary along 

with her husband and my grandson.

click here to read about them

she has been giving her sisters and i 

some of her things-

i snagged these shoes because

i have the same ones in brown and LOVE them.

the dress and leggings are from target 

the sweater is from 

a small boutique 

in seattle. 

my bangles

are

thrifted-

happy tuesday
dear friends...
it is a new day
let's shine!

holding my breath

my daughter and son in law
have been in NY since friday-

they are there for a
mission training seminar
for two whole weeks,
before the big move to
vienna, austria

our grandson is here for the
first week and then the
other set of grandparents
will have him the final week.

he was sick for the first
few days with a stomach virus
and so it was pretty hard
for this granny.

i am not used to having
sick little ones and then
missing mommy & daddy
added to his misery & mine!

how hard it was for me
to hear him crying because
he didn't feel good and
ask for his mommy or daddy,
i felt so helpless.

he is feeling so much better!
amazing how fast little ones
can rebound, isn't it?

playing with vintage lionel trains

that were his gramps' 

making a house under the dining table while

little miss olive keeps him company. ;)

he absolutely adores the

new little kitty,

little 'miss olive'

as the days go by

and the time for them

to all move away 

draws nearer and nearer

i feel like i am holding my

breath.

i am torn

i believe in my

daughter and son in law

AND their call from our

loving and faithful Lord;

to go into the world and shine their light,

by becoming full time missionaries-

i really am SO VERY proud of them

proud that they can drop their nets.

that their faith is so strong 

that they can sell pretty much everything they own,

because really they are only possessions

right? only earthly possessions...

they have heard the call 

and are following and obeying!

but, as i look at my grandson

this week;

i feel a bit torn

like i need to hold on tight,

maybe even holding my breath a bit

and savoring as much as i

possibly can of that sweet little face

so this is where my

thoughts have been lately;

torn

between the excitement

i know my daughter and son in law

are experiencing by moving

to not only another country

but, the excitement of completely

obeying the call

and then of course the 

other side of the double edge

sword is that they are moving

VERY far away and not only

will i miss them very much

but most assuredly

i will miss that sweet little boy

who calls me 'granny'

philippians 1:3-4

I thank my God every time I remember you.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always

pray with joy...

savor

he asks his mommy
if granny can be the one
to snuggle, pray and put him to bed....

i am rubbing his back
as he starts to relax
and his breathing slows
a half smile on his little face

in the barely lit room
with the light reflecting off his profile
he looks exactly and i mean exactly
like his mommy did so many years ago

in that moment,
i am struck straight through the heart
with a memory

twenty-six years ago when she was a
little two year old, red-headed girl
she could not fall asleep unless her mommy
rubbed her little cheek until she finally fell asleep

one night my in-laws were over and it was bed time
i was a bit frustrated because, tawni needed
me to 'rub' her cheek...
after she had fallen asleep,
i came out of her bedroom
my mother-in-law, this woman
who had raised five boys and two girls...
this wise woman says to me,
"enjoy it honey because, one day she will
not want you to rub her face anymore"

i specifically remember thinking,
"oh yeah, sure" because, at the time
i was smack dab in the middle of
mommy-hood and all those mommy duties
that go along with raising little ones...

i couldn't see beyond where i was right then.

it seemed as if it was always going to be like this.
that our little family would not change with time.

then, something happened,
 i blinked.

and in that blink,
in that flash,
in that instant

i blinked, and those three little girls
grew into three beautiful women
with lives and dreams of their own.

as i am rubbing this little grandson's back,
i actually thought back to the words of my mother in law,
and consciously took a long, deep breath,
drew it in and then i
just savored the sweet moment.

as i gazed at this angel's little face
all relaxed and dreamy,
i thought about how he along with his mommy & daddy
will be moving at the end of july to austria...
which means there will not be nights like this
where i am asked to rub his back,
to watch as his face relaxes and he drifts off to sleep.

so now on this day;
i will treasure each and every moment
every single minute that i am blessed with.

i will be thankful
ever so thankful,
i will remind myself to
soak it all in...

savoring
just savoring
this moment.

nothin' but blessings

we have been blessed
by amazing weather!

thursdays
my youngest grandson
is here on the farm,
so i can watch him
while mommy works...

we walked and played on the farm
and oh yes, that eagle was soaring again!

then the other grandson joined us
for a few hours to play!

saturday
our daughter, son in law and
grandson moved into
our guest cabin on the farm.

they will stay in the cabin
for the next two months
while they prepare for
the big move to austria
for missionary work.
(their lease was up at the house
they rented)

loading up my husband's truck
they drove that half an hour
with a jam packed truck!

when my daughter drove up
(yes, she drove that rig)
i had the song, "and they loaded up
their truck and they moved to
beverly... hills that is"  ha.
it was quite the sight to see!

they are not keeping much
because they are not taking anything
with them, but suitcases to vienna!
some of their possessions went into storage
and a LOT of it is being sold via
craigslist and garage sales!

sunday
after church we decided
it was time for some relaxing
and family time.
we had a nice big bonfire
and roasted hot dogs and
marshmallows for s'mores!
it was a lovely way to unwind
after a busy weekend.

even an impromptu soccer game was had! :)

a weekend filled with
blessings

and you?
i hope you had a blessed
weekend as well and took time
to just be thankful!

a picnic in the park

letter p~

i have what i guess one
might call a 'bucket list'
of sorts...
things i would love to do as a family,
before our daughter, son in law
and grandson move
to Austria, in july-
if you want to learn more about their
mission i wrote about it in this post
or you can read their blog: seantawn.blogspot.com

here are a few things on that
'bucket list'-

*a picnic in the park after church-
so we can enjoy a family hike &
croquet or bocci ball...

*i would love to take a drive up to
mt. baker and visit picture lake;

it isn't a very far away from
where we live
we have been there many times.
it is amazing!
i would love to share this
with the family again-

*i am trying to plan a weekend get away
to our favorite cabins at
thousand trails in laconner, wa!
which means we could
walk along the beach on the pacific ocean!

picnics, parks, picture lake, pacific ocean...

yes, this is part of my bucket list
before i have to say:
so long. fare well. auf wiedersehen. good-bye. 


i plan to treasure as much time
as possible...making memories.