Oh Green How I Love Thee, let me count the ways...

It is greener than green here right now.

So many colors of green that some of them don't even register on my color scale.

Have I mentioned before how much I love the color green?
My favorite color used to be red. Red is really still a favorite, but my most favorite color these days has got to be green. How appropriate that this Christmas child's favorite colors would be Red and Green. Funny side note, for my High School Graduation my mom and dad dressed in Red and Green for me. I so wish I had a scanner so I could show this classic picture of Greg and Ellen sporting red and green for this x-mas child. It was pretty great.

When asked by my friend what my favorite part of moving to Washington has been I said, The Green. Without a doubt this State that is known for being the "Evergreen State" really is beyond Green in more ways than one.
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And Green is a popular color right now, but then come to think of it, it has been a popular color for quite some time.

Kermit the Frog was wrong. "It's not easy being green" he sang, and I would have to say it is really easy to be green. I wear green all the time and it's totally easy. (Big Smile) Totally easy to wear green.

Now to be "Green with Envy" that's a different story. That is not easy at all and I would argue, it could make one's insides get all tied up in knots if not careful with that kind of green.



"Going Green" has got to be the most popular term that the color green is getting attention for right now. This recent fascination with green really makes me laugh sometimes. Such a trendy thing that really has been around for quite a while, only it was called "being a Hippie" before it got main streamed and marketed.




I am glad that "Going Green" is so popular and I hope it proves to be not just a trend but a life long change that we all get behind. I mean after all it really is worth it to do what we can to keep this earth as beautiful as possible for as long as we possibly can. If you believe in the myths that surround the year 2012 then it might not be much longer that you have to keep up the appearance of "Going Green"!

The pictures are all here on 180th Ave in Redmond. Taken just this morning as I was walking around enjoying my freedom of being a Stay at Home Mom for just a few more days.

For those not on FB, I go back to teaching this Wednesday, at a great little school called Life Preschool in West Seattle. I am going to miss my quiet mornings here with the green, but all good things must come to end... or not. Glad the green is going to be around a while.

This Little Light of Mine

I love days like today. It is perfectly grey outside right now, and feels like rain is on the horizon. Not that, that is any big deal because...Well, rain is usually on the horizon here it is Washington after all but this is a rabbit trail and I am now getting back to what I wanted to talk about. This kind of day makes the colors of green that surround this place stand out even more. The beautiful and bright colors from flowers explode with brightness on a day like today.
On my walk today this is what the grey reminded me of, follow me as I process out loud;

It reminds me of what Jesus says about our light's that shine. They can't be hidden. When the world around us is so grey and morose, no matter how we try to disguise the light with-in it can't be done.



Which makes me think about all the times in the past when I have met someone for the very first time, and I know, that I know they have that light within them. How is it that I know that?
I think it has something to do with days like today. When everything else is grey it's easy to spot the colors. The colors can't help but stand out.



Then I get to thinking about the song, "This Little Light of Mine" that we teach our children. The part about "Won't let Satan blow it out, NO I am going to let it shine" makes me wonder how is it that some of us have let our lights go out? I mean, I know that from time to time mine has gotten very, very dim, and I know those were times that I wasn't standing close enough to the Son/Sun to have His reflective image bounce off of me. But to be completely blown out, that would take some blowing. Some huffing and puffing, to blow this house down. Okay, now I am just getting silly... but you get what I mean.




I have let my light get dim in the recent past. I want to learn from that time and hopefully not let it happen again. I think it comes from staying on the vine with branches or something like that ?

Please enjoy some of my most favorite photo booth shots.

I've Wasted Too Much Time...

On caring about what other people think.

On my stupid pride.

On placing expectations on myself that neither my beloved family has for me nor my friends have ever thought of having for me.

On places instead of feelings.

On looking at the size of my pants, shirts, or for that matter scales in general.

On things instead of people.

On places I didn't really want to be, but stayed for some sort of obligation.

On feelings instead of truth.

On debates about theology, religion, and church.

On being "right".

On life in general without MUSIC, ART, CREATIVITY, and what makes MY HEART SING.

On the couch instead of on the road.

On NOT caring about what REALLY matters.

On looking for the big events and in the process missing the everyday little "big" events.

Tulip Festival 2010

AKA Photographers Dream Come True


We set out on Saturday to check out the famous Tulip Festival that happens every April in the town of Mt. Vernon Washington. The drive to get there for us coming from Redmond is about an hour so I made sure to pick a day when the sun would be shining and I would have plenty of time(or so I thought :/ ). Last Saturday seemed to be the best day. What I didn't expect was that on top of the 2 hours just to get there and back , there would be another 2 and half hours of sitting in our car with bumper to bumper traffic. However, despite all the time spent in our car it was worth the 2 hours we got to walk around and see such beauty. SO, like everything in life if it's something good that happens every year you have to be prepared to share it with others, and to sit in TRAFFIC! Next year I will be sure to bring a kite to fly, sunglasses for all, rain boots for all(well these we brought the boys just refused to wear them) a picnic lunch, lots of things to do for the kids while we sit in unmoving traffic, and most importantly my Giant.






So as not to deceive my faithful few readers, although the day may have looked as if it was picture perfect it was not. My boys were a constant reminder to me that I might not be cut out for parenting two male children. They were a royal pain in the a** and I was about to seriously lose it with them before I realized I was in public and in Washington no less where I might be reported to the CPS. The girls were bickering the whole time about the boys and I had to bribe half of them with ice cream to smile in the pictures. I knew I had lost the battle when Sol after totaling his shoes in a big mud puddle looked up at me with a big smile on his face and said, " I don't care if I don't get any ice cream".
I was reminded of how difficult the life of the single parent must be without having my better half there to back me up. And by the time the very long car ride home came about I was feeling like quite the schmuck by making us all late for a dinner date with our new friend. (Hope she can forgive me for not only this but for doing her dishes as well, so as to appease some of my guilt).

Still after all these set backs I do plan to go again, but never again as the ONLY adult!!

You know your old when...

How you know when you are old;

When you have programmed NPR on your car radio.

When you are more anxious to have those joint vitamins in the morning rather than the brand new box of Lucky Charms.

When you are more concerned about what America is going to do with Health Care Reform, than the fact that a movie about Vampires is coming out soon.

When you listen to Billy Joel, Duran Duran, or Bryan Adams.

When you have a deeper love affair with your bed because of the rest that it brings than the fact that you get a chance to practice “fake making out with your pillow” ( Don’t try and pretend that you don’t know what I am talking about there people).

When your fiber comes in a powder form drink rather than a box of raisins in your lunch.

Feel free to add to my list....

High Lights and Low Lights

In our family almost every night we have what's called "high light and low light" time. This is where we share what was the high light of our days and what was the low point in our days. SO here you have our high light and low lights of the Scofield's Spring Break 2010







Some high lights from our Spring Break-

My mom and sister Jenny finally getting to come see where I have been living these past several months.

Surprise visit from Dan and daughter Shane( who like a typical princess Shane left her fuzzy pink slipper behind)

Mom and Dad's renewal of vows in celebration of their 40 years of marriage.

Watching Brother Jeremy in the Wizard of Oz performance.

My niece Savannah calling Uncle Moses "Your Prince"

Two Easter egg hunts for the kids: One organized and carried out by sister Gina despite the Tornado like winds and the other by New friends in Seattle in Ms Sue's backyard.



Snow in Carson City.

Playing, Talking, Visiting with all friends and family in Reno, Sparks, and Carson City.

Seeing the Gore family not once but twice in the span of one week.




Some Low Lights from our Spring Break

Having to leave Moses behind to work and slave away at a job that doesn't deserve him.

Driving through the snow to get back home.

When my niece Savy started to cry when we drove away, dagger through my heart !!

Coming home to 20 plus loads of laundry.

Having to say good bye. I don't like good bye's.

Spring has Sprung

It smelled so sweet when I walked out my front door this morning.

The smell almost knocked me over, and again I was hit with another surge of gratitude for what a safe haven this place has become to me.

I keep having these moments where I cry tears of joy.

It reminds me of when my children were babies and I would look at something on them like the dimples in their fingers, or their chubby little leg, or their fuzzy head of hair and my eyes would well up with tears of joy. I was thankful for their health and the miracle that was their brand new life. That's what I am talking about that keeps happening here. That's what I mean by a surge of gratitude. Do you ever get those surges?

Around every corner I am pleasantly surprised with a new flower, plant, or explosion of color, and I am thankful for the new life.
It has been a HARD winter. Probably one of the hardest I have ever experienced. Of course I know it was hard because of our big move, but more than that there was so much that happened this winter in my soul. I had a kind of a reckoning in a way. I realized some things in my life that I had let die, or I had buried and those things needed to be brought back to life. NO one could do that but the Creator of my soul. At the same time, there were some things, habits in my life that I realized needed to die.
I went around taking pictures of all the new life that is exploding all around me. As I was leisurely walking around I prayed some quiet prayers to my Creator and went on my merry way.



Then, in reading Psalm 23 today (twice) once in my daily readings, and again in a journal that a good friend gave me, and then with Green is The Now- by Chris Heifner, coming on my IPOD while I was driving, well needless to say I got the message. HE has led me beside quiet waters. HE is restoring my soul here. I Shall NOT and am NOT in want of anything more than this.

Sundays, Church, Family, and Community

Sundays. The day of the week where most people either go to church or sleep in and relax at home. It is a day for families. It used to be that many families had Sunday dinner at Grandma's house and everyone brings their favorite dish to share. You get a chance to re-group for that day, for a few hours you remember who you belong to in this big world and it brings comfort. You got a taste of community. Then dinner is over and everyone hurries home to wherever they live to begin their week.

To me that is what going to Church is for. A chance to re-group and remember what family you are from. Where you come from, what you believe, and where you are going together. Churches come in many shapes and sizes. Just like families they have different traditions, cultures, sounds, and histories. Sometimes churches aren't called churches. I was a part of a VW church, whose Pastors are very dear friends and have given me and my family a sense of community and belonging that has been vital to our growth as human beings. We didn't meet on Sunday mornings but still when we gathered I felt just as refreshed as I did on any given Sunday morning after church.



For me this idea of church and sunday mornings has changed so much over the years. It used to be that when I was the child, I tried to do everything I could to get out of getting up and going to church with my mom and dad and rest of the family. Now I am the parent who is trying to get everyone up and motivated and out the door in time for church. Sometimes I revert back to being the child, shh... don't tell my children I said that. Really I am not quite sure why that is that I have reverted back to childhood in recent years, but when it comes to going to church, I just know that at some point church became a chore. Something I checked off my list of things to do in a week. It's not a chore but rather a gift that shouldn't be taken for granted.

I remember when church was the highlight of my week and the pinnacle of my social interactions as a teenager. When I was finally able to go to the church of my choice my sister and I would drive 30 miles from Carson City to Reno to go not only to church on Sunday mornings but then again to an evening youth church that night. I met people and families then that I am still friends with today. I met and married my husband with that family or church. Then we moved on to find a church closer to home and one that we chose together.
That family supported us through the early years of our marriage and into the years of parenting. It was a safe haven and a place that we were healed from so much. I am still good friends with those family members/friends. Finally before moving here to Seattle we became a part of a city on hill or the Hillside family and those years...well they were like nothing I have ever known or will know again. Those years taught me so much. I never thought I would find a place like it.

So you see, Sundays for me have never been just another day.

And now as a parent I don't want my children to grow up and think that Sunday is just another day of the week either. However, I don't want them to be the children that dread going to church and so it is hard for me to find the balance there.



Recently, I have been so incredibly blessed to have found a group of people at Bethany UCC in Seattle.
They are a beautiful group of people that come from all over the world. Today I sat with tears of joy for this church and for the churches before this that have walked along side me and my family for many years.

I am a better person because of some of the people that my life has crossed paths with in these churches, families, communities and clubs. I am full of hope that church really is being redefined for my whole family and that healing is ahead because of it. I am thankful for those who spend their days looking for better ways that they can serve their community whether it's through the forum of a church or not. YOU are to be commended if you are counted among one of those people who is serving your community, church, family, club. I pray all of God's blessings on you for this and many more of the things you do to make the world, our world a better place.

Namaste.

Books, Pictures, Gardens, and More Books

I do believe I am having withdrawals from not being enrolled in classes right now.

Hurry Quick, read that last sentence before it disappears forever never to be mentioned again.

The absence of involuntary reading that is imposed on one when they are in school has left me wanting. So I have been reading everything I can get my hands on. I even picked up a copy of my daughters series of the Twilight books (Eclipse) and read it in a day. Those of you that know me, know that was a desperate cry for help. Here is the list of the other books I have read in the past few weeks and my own book review of them;

The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Club (*****)

The 13th Tale (****)

Eclipse (**)

Wuthering Heights (*****)

Persuasion (***)

Irresistible Revolution (****)

Those are the books I have devoured recently. And now our newest (friends/neighbors (for 2 weeks)/first members of our community up here) Erston and Blue gave Moses and I gift cards to our wonderful used book store here. We went yesterday on a nice little date while waiting for the kids to get out of school and here is what we picked up;

The Pillars of The Earth

Everything Must Change

A New Earth

Till We Have Faces

Learning Italian



More guilty pleasures. Just for fun here is the list that Moses picked up;


Far Out (101 Strange Tales From Science's Outer Edge)

Choosing and Keeping Chickens

A Diet for A Dead Planet




The picture at top is of Erston and Blue (as promised to Allie)

Middle Picture is my starter plants for my garden that are coming right along. I already have about 8 sprouts. This gardening thing is so exciting. I will be in awe if those tiny seeds actually end up being food we can eat. It's just SO COOL!!

Last pics are of my garden in it's current state and just some of the signs of spring around here.




This flower bush hangs over the garden and the pictures hardly do it justice because the color is just so beautiful. Funny thing about living here is that because of the back drop being gray clouds and mist a lot of the time, colors just seem to be that much brighter.


I hope the colors are getting brighter where you live too. Can't wait for Spring to fully explode.

Monday Afternoon and Simple Pleasures

I made myself a cup of Cinnamon Apple Spice tea and thought to myself, "self doesn't tea just make you feel smarter?"
Somehow it does. Like the English accent. When a person speaks in an english accent to me they just sound smarter doesn't matter what they are saying. Anyway, this particular cup of tea is comforting me in more ways than one. Warming my hands and making me feel as though everything is going to be okay. Do you ever feel that way about a certain food or drink? If so isn't it interesting how food and drink can have that effect on a person?

Simple thoughts like this have been on my brain lately. I have been reading a lot of books (of choice) recently. I am not in school this semester and I am left with the urge to read something, anything, and everything all at once. Some very recent books have been set in a time frame long ago, and so my thoughts have been about what it must have been like to live in the days of the great depression, holocaust, and or even living in this day and age but in a war plagued country.

I take for granted at night that my belly is full, my feet are warm, and that I won't wake in the middle of the night by sounds of bombs going off. Maybe a thought or two has hoped that a tree wouldn't fall on this cozy little cabin in the middle night, but that is a story for another day. Also I don't want to worry my mom if she is reading this so let's move on.

So the simple pleasure of having a cup of tea seemed blog worthy to me today. Thankful for tea, thankful for warmth, thankful for the simple joys in life.

Erston and Blue

They call us Urban Homesteaders.

We call them Hippie Accountants.

We found each other through a mutual friend Craig.

They have a passenger bus, 1940's stream line, fully metal hollow tube, that now holds all they own.

We had some land for them to park said bus for a few days before they head out on the road on their big adventure.

They garden, make their own wine, beer, tea bags, relish.... you name it, they make it.

We want to learn to do these kinds of things.

They have "hello" time. Every night at 9pm they stop what they are doing, whatever conversations they are having with another person and re-group to say hello lover.

We admire that.

They have no children, only a cat named Sketch.

We have 4 children who love them and are already learning so much from them.

The world would say we are crazy.

We say we are new friends and that settles that.

The conversations have been long, inspiring, and helpful.

I will be sad when they leave.

Irresistible Revolution

I can honestly say that there is no other book that has challenged me to the core of my being(other than the Bible o.c.) than Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.


I mean, I thought I was a decent Christ follower before reading this book but after reading this book it made me wonder if I was following christ with a little 'c'. A christ that just fit into my lifestyle and what I thought a "christian" looks like. A little christ that you put in your back pocket and only pull out when it's convient or you are in need of something, like a genie in a bottle. I feel like I have been following a little 'c' christ all these 20+ years after reading this book.

He paints a different picture of Jesus and what it means to be a Christian. A good, beautiful, exciting, but oh so challenging picture of Jesus. This book made me hear Jesus teaching in a different way and he made me fall in love with Jesus even more than I already was. I don't know if it was just that I had the ears to hear this message but I heard it loud and clear.

I warn you now though, don't read this book unless you want to be compelled to help someone, anyone, in need of help.

It's not the kind of book you can read and shelf without doing something about what it says.


Don't read it if you want to still wear Nike shoes and not feel guilty about it or if you want to keep shopping at Wal-Mart.

If you were ever at any point in your life somewhat okay with war, you won't be after reading this.

If you thought the death penalty was a good way to deal with hardened criminals you wont after reading this book.

There are so many nuggets in this book and it has left me wanting more as crazy as that sounds because I do still feel quite beat up by it. But it was the kind of butt-kicking I was looking for. It is the kind of hit in the jaw that makes you wake up and get a second wind. It is what I needed for this time in my life. Just when I thought I had nothing left to lose, turns out there is more I could and should lose. Matthew 16:25

Tenacity

Tenacity or being Tenacious has become one of my new favorite words recently.

A while back, actually maybe it was like 3 years ago or more, a good friend of mine told me and the Giant that one of the reasons we were still together is because we are both too stubborn or tenacious to give up on each other. It really is so very true.

I have a strong will. I am not one who likes conflict but if I feel strongly about something there really isn't anyone who can make me change my mind.

A year ago I started talking with our banks about our mortgage in Sparks. I told the bank people that my husband and I needed help. I told them that we couldn't make the fatty mortgage payment that we had due to job changes. I told them that not only could we not make that payment but that it wasn't really financially a smart move for us to stay in that home for what we bought it for. They told us that they couldn't help us because we hadn't missed a payment in that said year. I told them that is because we missed payments elsewhere so that we could pay that ONE big payment and hopefully save our house. I told them we cashed out our retirement, used all our savings, every bit of our tax returns, to stay in that house that year. They told me they couldn't help until we were delinquent on our payments. Delinquent is NOT a word that I like. I was tenacious with our house payments for a year that was one of the most stressful I have ever experienced. I was tenacious about doing everything I possibly could do, talking to everyone I could, writing letters to everyone I could, taking side jobs to pay for groceries, turning hobbies into jobs to pay for bills, and going without health insurance still to date. (Something that before used to scare the CRAP out of me but now not so much, a topic for another day) To say that we were "Robbing from Peter to pay Paul" would be and understatement. So to hear on the other end of the phone that all my hard work in trying to save this house for our family was in vain was very discouraging. It was also relieving at the same time to hear that I should stop paying this payment that had sucked the life out of me and my family for far too long. So last May we stopped paying our fatty mortgage payment in exchange for an amount that the guy on the phone told me to pay. We started to pay the payment he told us over the phone(never got it in writing, ALWAYS get in writing) and in that time the bank said they would review our loan and get back to us. They got back to us, in the form of a foreclosure notice posted on our house 2 months later. When I called the banks to say, "What up?" they said they had no record of this payment arrangement but that they could make another one to the tune of just a few hundred less than our original fatty mortgage payment, to which I replied "CLICK"!!



Before all of this went down I told my Giant that if we did lose this, our 3rd house that we had owned over the years, that I didn't want to be reminded of it everyday. I didn't want to be in the same town where more of this might happen to others that we know and loved. I told him I wanted to move to the Pacific Northwest area, something we had talked about doing for a lot of years but never had the guts to do. We had nothing left to lose. It is a terribly frightening place to be in life, having nothing left to lose because it turns out... there is always more that could be lost.

So here we are in PNW and we love the area but what we have lost is more than I can put in words.

Funny thing is, because of the God I serve I know that what was lost will be found, what has been robbed will be returned, what has been broken will be fixed, what has been sick will be healed, what has been taken away will be, WILL BE restored to us. Of this I AM SURE.

Maybe it won't come in the form that it was before. Maybe it will be a more simplistic lifestyle with less worry and stress. Maybe it will be in the form of finding more truth. Of living out our truth.

Finding who I really am and who I want to be is what I really hope to come from all of this. My thoughts, wants, and desires are being purified in this process. I have never been more thankful for my husband and my own God given tenacious spirits.

"Tenacity is more than endurance, it is endurance combined with the
absolute certainty that what we are looking for is going to
transpire. Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the
weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme
effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be
conquered." Oswald Chambers


I REFUSE to believe that MY HERO has been conquered!!

A Little Blaggin

The Sun is Shining.

The Birds are chirping.

The kids are playing outside in the Creek.

My hubby played hookie to Love on me.

I just discovered the Genius feature on my itunes and am listening to the songs unfold (what a great feature can't believe I am just now discovering it).

Had an amazing time with some very good friends, the Days and their precious twin girls, last night over a Julia Child's Beef Burgeon dinner, and stayed up talking to the wee hours of the night.



Enjoying the writings of one Shane Claiborne in a book called Irresistible Revolution.

Looking forward to going tonight to see Urban Hymnal with buddy John.

I am sitting here doing what The Giant would deem Blagin, instead of Bloggin it's a combo of bragging + blogging.

A girl should be allowed a little blagin rights every once in a while don't ya think?



Dave Matthew's A Long December just came on and it made me think, it's been a long winter... a very long winter. I am ready for some spring, can I get an AMEN!! Maybe this year will be better than the last.

Warning... sad blog ahead, Reminder that LOVE is ALL YOU REALLY NEED

I have met a new friend named Anita. She is one of the mom's that stands around and waits with her child until the bus comes. We have been making small talk for weeks now. She had seemed really shy so I was careful not to overwhelm her with my somewhat overly friendly personality( thank you Trista for that).
Anyway, yesterday we talked a bit more about her life here. In the previous weeks we talked about all the usual small talk things. I knew that she had recently moved to WA also, but from AZ. We had talked about the warmer weather in the States we came from, and the lack of moisture that we left behind, stuff like that. We had talked about how busy boys can be and the joy they bring. We talked about school and about the fact that it is hard to go back to school when you are older. She is enrolled in some classes right now as well. What we didn't talk about is why she moved back to WA.
Well, yesterday she told me that she moved here because her husband recently passed away in October and all of her family is here.

I was shocked and instantly so emotional about it, but I held it together because the kids were still there. She said she didn't want to tell me because she didn't want ME to be uncomfortable. She has a son in kindergarten who Isaiah plays with and Chloe is his big-helper at their school. After the kids got on the bus, I tried to hold it together in front of her, but I am sure she saw my eyes well up with tears. We both had stuff to do that day so we walked our separate ways after that, and when I got home I really started to cry. I can't imagine that kind of pain and sorrow. I called Mo to tell him about it, and also just to tell him that I love him.

It reminded me that you never really know what might be going on in others lives and not to jump quickly to conclusions.

That night when Mo got home I hugged him a bit longer and started to cry again.
No matter what happens in life in the moments that bring struggles and hardships we have each other.
We have each other. We can call each other through out our day. We can stare at the other person as long as we want. We can say I love you. We can fold their laundry and not linger longer for their smell because we can smell them later in the flesh. We can hear their voice. We can hold hands. We can kiss. We can LOVE unselfishly and enjoy life together. The good and the bad we can experience it together.

This is a gift and my friend Anita reminded me of this yesterday. Not that I had forgotten this, but it was an even greater reminder to not take a single moment for granted.
So don't forget, let it be a reminder for you as well to "say what you need to say" to the ones you LOVE. LOVE it's all you NEED.

Life in general

* I woke up this morning to a very quiet house. It was after 9 am and no one was awake STILL. My kids sleep in now. It is an amazing thing but if I let them stay up later like I did last night because they didn't have school today, they actually sleep in. There was a time when no matter when they went to bed they were up no later than 7am. I remember those days and Moses and I used to get into fights about whose turn it was to get up with the babies. My kids are not babies anymore, and the proof is in the pudding, they sleep in. Sure sign of a big kid house is when everyone sleeps in. Anyways, it was nice and I enjoyed the fruits of my labor in letting them stay up close to midnight last night.

* There was a thick cloud of fog outside my window this morning. I really LOVE fog. I really LOVE waking up inside this cozy warm cabin, looking outside at what feels like one of the most beautiful campgrounds I have ever been to, and remembering... "Oh yeah, I live here now."



* We went to Oregon for our Mid-Winter break. It was so nice to see our friends that are like family, the Gores. To be around the people that you love and people that love you is a gift. One that I will never take for granted again.

* I still love Oregon. I love the people, the vibe, the fact that you don't have to pump your own gas. I am happy that I am only 2 hours away from one of my most favorite cities in the world Portland. Seattle is growing on me though and although it is distinctly different than Portland, there are some similarities. Mainly, the water :)

* Valentines Day my honey gave me the gift that keeps giving. He bought us a membership to the Chateau Ste. Michelle Vineyard. I think inspired by our friends the Gores who have a membership to Sweet Cheeks which provides that at least once a month they have an automatic date to go pick up their wine. The Chateau got voted the best Wine of the year by a Wine magazine(can't remember the name of the magazine) this year and it is not only one of the prettiest spots on the planet, but also some very good vino. Bonus is that it's only 20 minutes from our house. I can't wait to share this place and some of their product with all my loved ones.



This bar of LOVE soap was Mo's gift along with a case of his favorite brew, chocolates, and card of course. This bar of soap smells so good and it just made me chuckle so it was necessary that I bought it. Plus the owner of the shop where I got it in Seattle was just too cool and waited to blow dry her hair until she got to work. This made me smile. We had a whole conversation about how now that I live here in the PNW I have to blow dry my hair or it never air drys. I prefer to air dry my hair but it doesn't really work up here. Bummer! Still getting used to my new environment in more ways than one!!



* Presidents Day today and the kids are now playing guitar hero. All 4 play even though we only have 3 instruments. Em on the microphone, Sol guitar, Chloe Bass, and Isaiah finds some sticks around the house to bang in place of the drum set which one day we might get but right now have no room for, nor the talent for it to really be utilized.

* I am outside on the porch sipping my coffee, bloggin, and thinking WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LIFE!!

Times are Tough, God is bigger

It is good for me to remember (and maybe for you too) when times are tough that the Creator is bigger, so much bigger than the trials, economy, health situations, wars, earthquakes, and all that is in this world before me right now. In reading My Utmost for His Highest (still my favorite book to remind me everyday of important things) good ol Oswald had this to say;

“Nature to a saint is sacramental. If we are children of God, we have
a tremendous treasure in Nature. In every wind that blows, in every
night and day of the year, in every sign of the sky, in every
blossoming and in every withering of the earth, there is a real
coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to
realize it.” Oswald Chambers



It is important for me to step outside and get rejuvenated by creation and the Creator. Sometimes my imagination does get starved. It is hungry for something more.


Isaiah 40:26

“Lift up your eyes on high and see! Who has created these? He who calls them by name; through the greatness of His might and because He is strong in power, not one is missing or lacks anything.”



I am beyond grateful that greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world. I am thankful that someone knows my name. Knows my strengths and weaknesses. Knows my needs. He knows my needs and in that I rest secured.



I don't know where you are at in life but if you are in need of a boost don't forget to look around next time you step outside. Although it is winter right now and all the colors of summer are a thing of the past maybe if you look close enough there might be the signs of life like a bud on a tree, or a little sprouting of the lilies that are to come. Take a moment and remember times are tough, but God is bigger. Remember that although nature might lie dormant right now this too shall pass.
There will be life again. And remember like the rising of the sun that you count on everyday, you can count on the FACT that the Creator loves to give life to what once was dead. Speak to the dry bones in your life. Speak to the death that surrounds you and then sit back and watch as He who is faithful turns death to life. Winter to Spring. Sorrow into laughter.

This was me speaking to my dry bones.

Bullet Points on Superbowl Sunday

I am afraid I may have lost the 2.5 readers that I once had due to lengthy preachy blogs so for the sake of hanging on to the few faithful readers I have I will try to keep this blog down to fun short bullet points;

There is nothing better in the chip department as Tostitos Hint of Lime white corn chips. Mixed with salsa that has cream cheese and avocado and one begins to feel life is worth living again.

Speaking of life and it truly being worth living ,The Giant and I have started taking St. John's Wort. It's a vitamin used for anxiety and depression. I am hopeful it will help.

Me and my kids have gone twice to a church called Bethany United Church of Christ in Seattle. Aside from this church we only tried one other mega church in Everett that was good but just not the right fit. Anyway, back to Bethany UCC, I really like this community of people(no Hillside because nothing will ever come close to you, still I am interested in getting to know this group better) and believe that they are on a track I want to get on.
Emma is not quite on board yet because we sing out of hymnals and she says, "It smells like old people" but I reminded her today that I want to keep going for the things they value are similar to my own. It's different from anything my kids have ever experienced as far as church goes, but to me feels vaguely familiar to my old Catholic days but in all the good ways.

My car has been out of commission for the past 3 weeks. Flat tire, brake lights, another Flat tire and then something engine related that not even the Giant wanted to tackle. We brought it to a local mechanics shop and for under 500.00 I am on the road again. It feels really nice, really nice. I am grateful for my car the Ford whose name is Beastie Boy.

I have discovered quite a bit about myself in this move. One of the things that I have discovered is that I have taken the feeling of comfort one has in being known by others for granted. It is hard and gets old very quickly to always be the new person. It is also quite humbling and has taught me again the value of hospitality.

I don't really watch football AT ALL. Most everyone who knows me knows my true sport of choice is baseball. I am watching today though because well there is nothing else going on, and I am rooting for the Saints. I remember visiting New Orleans a few years back with Moses and it was 2 years after Katrina, still the devastation was so great and it was an eye-opening experience to see what this city has been through so that is why I vote GO SAINTS!! For no other reason and for a completely non-football related reason but there it is. GO SAINTS!!

Pic of the view we have up our hill, pretty amazing.

LOVE and ?

"There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only LOVE" Don Juan DeMarco

It is a funny way I suppose to begin to describe what love is by quoting such a silly movie but it begins this blog by asking questions. Rather than try to tackle the daunting task of describing LOVE I would instead like to ask some questions about it. I like questions. Questions are good. I wish I asked more questions and thought of better questions at appropriate times. (I wish I had better answers also because I always seem to have a better come back answer long after the conversation is over but that is a topic for another time and also one that Seinfield tackled quite well)
So, I ask What is sacred to you?
Of what is your spirit made?
What is worth living for?
What is worth dying for?

Would you say Don Juan’s answer is true? I would.

I can’t really put into words all that is LOVE. It just is what it is. SO many feelings, actions, emotions all wrapped up into one word.
The bible attempts to say what LOVE does ; Love is patient, Love is kind, etc. but that is only what it does. Its says who LOVE is- God is love. So we have from the book of all books what it does and who it is. Do we really need more than that? I don’t really, but for the sake of this ongoing conversation let’s ask some more questions about LOVE.
If we were to break it down with the four all time questions;
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Then I suppose we have half the answer from the bible. I suppose the When and the Where is up to us. When do we practice love or feel it lived out in our lives. When do we experience it’s wonderfulness? The bible also says in 1 John 4:12 that when we love each other we have seen the face of God. I really believe that is true. There is nothing quite like seeing love in action. When I do see love in action it is like a “little piece of heaven on earth” (as Tommy Griner said on my wedding day) being acted out right in front of you.
And then I guess that only leaves where does it happen?
Where does it happen most? It’s not what love feels like or what it is to find love in the strangest places that I am asking here but where does it happen for you? That question is different for everyone but for me the where is really wherever I am I see love because I choose to see love more than anything else on earth. I choose to see LOVE.

"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live"

"Love is not blind it simply enables one to see things others fail to see"

" You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear"

"We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love." Mother Teresa

"Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is." Gary Zukav

Choosing to see Love.
LOVE IS A CHOICE.

LOVE.

<3 This time of year (February) provides one of my favorite candies. You might think I am talking about chocolates, but you would be sadly mistaken. Nope, I am talking about conversation hearts. Not only do I love the way these candies taste but I really love the words, WORDS mean so much, ya know.
Words can go a long way for me.

In keeping with the theme of words and the month of February I have declared this to be love month. I know there is a certain day that some would say was made up by Hallmark to make money and I don't disagree with those people(my husband) who think this way. But, I would like to say that just because this month might just be another attempt to dip into your wallet doesn't mean I have to celebrate it that way.

For me this month is going to be all about LOVE. Love is something that should be celebrated. It is a beautiful thing to find love in another person or life-long mate but I am talking about more than just that. More than the dreamy romantic love I want to celebrate LOVE in all ways. Love for people being the most important.

I want to everyday this month think about and really express with words how much I love the people in my life and so as my own challenge and just for fun I am writing one person a day this month and telling them that I love them.

I am inspired by the John Mayer song, Say What you Need to Say , but also taken much more of my inspiration from a book that says quite a bit on the subject of love.

So here's to LOVE I say. Celebrate LOVE it's worth every penny, energy, thought, time you spend on it.

LOVE-
Fully
Deeply
Sweetly
Passionately
Unashamed
Compassionately
Creatively
Totally
Surrendered
Kindness
Mercy
Grace
Without End
More
Better
Unselfishly
Generously
Without Words
Beyond Boundaries
Stronger
Tirelessly
Patiently
Gently
Laughing
Longer
Simply
Perfectly

LOVE.