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I’m 30 now (thank you for remembering)

January 19, 2012 By 23 Comments

The girls sang “Happy Birthday” to me for four days straight.

Liv colored a dozen pictures and kept announcing, “It’s a present – FOR YOU!”

Kayla insisted that I receive flowers – lime and purple and cherry red.

flowers for my birthday Im 30 now (thank you for remembering) a single carnation Im 30 now (thank you for remembering) birthday bouquet Im 30 now (thank you for remembering)

Tim did the remarkable things he does every day. He did laundry. Loaded the dishwasher. Scratched the girls back in the middle of the night. Talked to me about dreams. Loved me with a crystal love that is rare among men.

My parents brought over a round chocolate cake and a card to their “curly-haired girl.”

Kristen sent me a handwritten letter on beautiful bird-themed stationary. I could almost hear her voice through the cursive. (Miss you).

bird note card Im 30 now (thank you for remembering) cursive card Im 30 now (thank you for remembering)

Three of my favorite friends – Darcie, Nicole, and Dayna – planned a quiet celebration (the best kind). Darcie hosted at her house and served a 4-course meal that easily beat any restaurant in town. (No, seriously).

darcie nicole dayna Im 30 now (thank you for remembering)

It’s nice to be remembered, isn’t it? 

(Thank you to my family + friends).

(I’m thirty and it feels just fine).

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10 years

January 6, 2012 By 35 Comments

You charmed me with your green eyes in 1998. I still remember the way you caught my elbow with your hand as I walked to your car that night. “Stealing my keys, stealing my heart,” your voice pounded in my blood.

You were my first kiss. My first everything. We grew up together – you & I.

High school plays and soccer games, $1 pasta dinners in college, changing careers, and then tiny feet in our hallway.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

wedding night 2002 10 years

Jan 4, 2002

2002 10 years

2002

2004 10 years

2004

2005 10 years

2005

2006 10 years

2006

2007 10 years

2007

2008 10 years

2008

2009 10 years

2009

2010 10 years

2010

2011 10 years

2011

I love you – then, now, and always.

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2012*

January 2, 2012 By 50 Comments

Every morning in 2012, I’m going to wake up with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen.

The best thing about that pledge is that something wonderful always will – because I’m surrounded by the best people ever. [Hint: My Family].

another year lots of new dreams 2012*

These are my hopes + dreams for 2012 and beyond – NOT in order of importance or urgency.  Some are frivolous; some are fantastic. Some are attainable this year; others may take a bit longer. ALL are do-able.

There are 60 bullets on my list - I’m sure I’m forgetting quite a bit.

1. Own the perfect cocktail dress.

2. Write a children’s book.

3. Be invited to the White House.

4. Visit London.

5. Also: Paris.

6. Own a house with a front porch.

7. Run in a Disney 1/2 marathon.

8. Learn to ballroom dance with Tim.

9. Memorize one song for karaoke (and be confident enough to sing it).

10. Hire a personal trainer.

11. Make a million.

12. Be mentored.

13. Mentor someone.

14. Learn how to speak a second language reasonably well.

15. Take a firearms class.

16. Learn to play one song on the guitar.

17. Serve on the board or become a spokesperson for a cause I admire.

18. Be mortgage-less.

19. Have professional head shots taken.

20. Design my own house – from the floor up.

21. Try a stand-up desk.

22. Be best friends with my kids – now and in adulthood.

23. See Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park in Utah.

24. Grow a garden with snap peas, zucchini, and basil (for starters).

25. Get an e-reader.

26. Be published in The New York Times.

27. Decorate my house exactly the way I want it – without regard to the cost.

28. Take a 1 or 2-day photography workshop from a photographer I admire.

29. Teach a college course.

30. Take a survival skills course.

31. Have a super cute swimsuit that I am proud to wear.

32. Straighten my teeth with Invisalign.

33. Obtain better eyesight with LASIK (if I’m not too scared).

34. Have a backyard with a porch swing, a fire pit, comfy seating, a place to eat, and plenty of room to play.

35. Flat stomach.

36. Figure out how to create/invent and sell a product.

37. Collaborate with a university to research something important.

38. Always have enough money to buy good shoes (for my kids too).

39. Run in a race with my daughters.

40. Post a HUGE wall calendar to keep track of birthdays of family & friends.

41. Create and maintain a well-stocked gift closet. Give generously and often.

42. Re-learn CPR.

43. Enroll in a one-on-one class on how to apply make-up.

44. Provide consulting to developers of master-planned communities, shopping centers, cities.

45. Put some of my favorite quotes up around the house – maybe on stretched canvas.

46. Re-create the hyper-organized craft closet I had before we left town.

47. Be a leader in Tucson. Help shape the vision. Make it an even better place to live.

48. Volunteer as a family.

49. Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with Tim.

50. Read a book a week.

51. Start-up more websites and businesses with Tim. *Top Secret*

52. Figure out what “church” looks like for our family.

53. Record 1,000 things I’m thankful for.

54. Finally find the perfect facial moisturizer – one that isn’t full of scary chemicals.

55. Switch to homemade bar soap.

56. Advocate for education and literacy.

57. Explore more of Canada.

58. Get my doctorate (or at least an honorary doctorate).

59. Own an impressive children’s book collection. At least 500books. Only the best.

60. Give birth to baby #3 – peacefully.

What are your hopes and dreams for 2012? Let me hear ‘em. Outrageous or Ordinary. GO.

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December 25, 2011

December 26, 2011 By 14 Comments

We SANG “Away in a Manger” and “O Holy Night.”

We READ the story – of wonder and mystery.

We ATE cinnamon rolls, eggs, berries, cherries, and oranges.

We OPENED gifts, but didn’t go too commercial (as Charlie Brown would say).

Most of all, we were – we are – GRATEFUL.

christmas 2011 December 25, 2011 reading the christmas story December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

What did you sing, read, eat, open, and/or do?

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where I’m from

July 18, 2011 By 27 Comments
me as a baby where Im from

me - 1982

I am from bunkbeds, lemonade stands and yard sales, and WonderWorks.

I am from the brown shaggy carpet, a 3-bedroom brick house with 8 people in it.

I am from the smell of white gardenias, the slippery chill of aloe vera plants on sunburns.

I am from weekly trips to the library and easy smiles, from Robert and Mary, navy SEALs, readers, home birthers.

I am from itchy noses and long legs and Boggle champions.

From ”say, yes Ma’am” and “may I be excused from the table?” and “butt is a bad word.”

I am from Christ-seekers. Swaying to music, lifting your hands up high.

I am from Tucson sunsets and Norwegian accents, cranberry salad and oatmeal fudge and pizza on Friday nights.

From “you can’t date until you’re 16.” From “The Pledge of Allegiance” (with hands over heart) every morning.

I am from climbing up to sit on the roof at night, playing soccer beginning at age 5, and walking down Orange Avenue every summer in Coronado.

I am from kids-are-a-blessing and doctors-don’t-know-everything and you-are-loved.

Where are you from?

* You can find the rubric for the “Where I’m From” writing exercise here. Special thanks to Steph for initially inspiring me with the idea.

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I noticed in the mirror

April 4, 2011 By 57 Comments

I looked in the mirror today and saw distinct wrinkles – right between my eyes and around my smile.

mirror self portrait 2 I noticed in the mirror

(My first thought, I admit, was – “I wonder if I should start using wrinkle cream.”)

Can it be that I only have half a year left to thirty? I swear I’m still eighteen – or at least it feels that way.

Growing older is funny, isn’t it?

mirror self portrait 3 I noticed in the mirror

It’s wonderful in most ways – I wouldn’t go back to THEN if you paid me a million dollars.

I like being older, wiser. I like being married, having children, having a home of my own. It’s good to be a grown-up.

I’m kind of scared too, aware that death creeps up like a bandit in the night – catching us unaware.

mirror self portrait 7 I noticed in the mirror

I am also keenly aware of the fact that the elderly are not treasured in our society. They are swept away, deemed as “used goods.” (Oh, how that makes my heart ache – it shouldn’t be that way, you know).

I want to still be dancing at age 80, laughing at age 90, serving at 100. I want to be the woman with the sparkling eyes – who can still crack a joke and knows how to listen (without judging). I want to be the woman who prays and encourages and smiles, the one who isn’t bothered by crying babies or kids who run too fast or laugh too loud.

self portrait 2 I noticed in the mirror

I want to be the old woman who never retires from living, who still keeps up with the latest technologies, and who is brave enough to still ask questions. I want to be pliable. When someone asks me my age, I want to say it clearly – proud of the years lived and expectant of the years still left to live.

How do you feel about aging? How old are you anyway? Do you use wrinkle cream? (What – I HAD to ask).

* All photos are straight out-of-the-camera, 100% unedited.

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After this year

March 29, 2011 By 27 Comments

queen of hearts chair After this yearPeople ask us all of the time – “Will you go back to Arizona after your 365 days of giving?” “Will you return to conventional jobs?” “Will you write a book?” “Will you go abroad?“

And the answer is: we don’t know. We’re not keeping secrets about it either.

We sold almost everything, started driving…and now we’re changing. I’m convinced that our brains are actually being rewired by this.

It might even be appropriate to say that we’re having a quarter-life crisis. Or awakening. Or something like that.

Perhaps we’ll stumble upon Dreamtown, USA – build a house, create a home, and give to others in a quiet community.

Or maybe we’ll go to a humid place with long winters and no bakeries…because God calls us there.

Perhaps we’ll go back to school. We both have our Masters, but we sometimes dream of MBAs and PhDs.

Or maybe we’ll just stay enrolled in the school of hardknocks. Experience is one of the best teachers, after all. (Travel is a pretty good one too.)

sun flare on the playground After this yearPerhaps we’ll speak about leadership at conferences and churches.

Or maybe we’ll lead by washing feet and telling stories and sorting poopy clothing.

Perhaps we’ll go abroad right away.

But more likely, we’ll have a new baby to suckle and sling.

Maybe we’ll do ALL of that.

What we do know is that we want to stay out of debt. We know we want money to not be our master. We know we want to cherish the closest ones first. We want to put greed behind us and love before us.

Most importantly, we know that we want to hear HIM – His voice in this too-loud world, in our too-cluttered hearts that we are so desperately trying to clear.

But what will that look like? Where will we go? How will we live? THAT – I do not know.

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