A few days ago, Marie turned three and a half. Tomorrow, Clara will be one and a half. And later this week, my handsome husband will be 32. In a few short months, we will have been married for five years.
Right before Tony and I got married, I had a very distinct feeling that for a brief moment in time, we were suspended, overlooking the life in front of us without actually moving forward. I knew that as soon as we said our vows, life would suddenly accelerate. I sensed it would happen, but I didn't know how right I would be. The weeks, the months, the years are absolutely flying by. There's not a thing I can do about that reality, and though I wish so much that I could slow it down sometimes, I know that all I can really do is make sure that although it's flying by, it's not slipping by... I want to rest in the little moments of our days and breathe in the tiny things that shape our lives. I do that well sometimes. I just sit and stare at the girls as they play, or I let myself really laugh at the hilarious things they do and say rather than always trying to shape and teach and mold. Today, Marie and I played a game of I Spy while we sat in traffic, and it was blissful. I can't possibly explain why to anyone in the world, but in those moments, there was absolutely no where else I wanted to be. THAT is being truly present, and it fills my soul to the brim.
We had a fantastic summer. We set out at the beginning of the summer to be open to the possibilities that presented themselves, to try to explore more of Oregon and spend time outdoors, to be fully present on our visits with family, and to fill our weekends with friends and activities that took us outside of our daily life. And we did a good job at all of those things.
We camped twice (we meant to do more, but I probably wasn't as open to the idea as I meant to be), saw some pretty places in Oregon, did little hikes, spent time with family, had BBQs and picnics, made new friends, got closer to old friends, spent tons of time in the backyard, swam in the ocean, swam in the lake, swam in the pool, ate good food, ate a lot of hot dogs, survived without putting our A/C unit in, and generally had a lovely time (all without getting any major sunburns!). My sweet husband is laid back and always up for anything, and I've tried hard in my 30th year (I think it's actually my 31st technically...) to be more like him in those ways. So much of the fun we've had and the memories we've made have been because of him and his wonderful can-do attitude. He's inspiring, and I know he will always make anything work.
Now we're enjoying a lovely fall. The colors here are completely beautiful and I'm realizing how much I love this season. The rain has been minimal so far, so the crisp air and darker days have actually been comforting. The changing of seasons is a blessing and one that my soul craves.
There are way too many pictures from the summer to post even a good sampling, so perhaps I will go back and write posts for each trip/event in order to remember them someday. For now, I will just choose some random ones that I love.
God is so good. And I don't just mean that things are going really well for us. They are, and that's also because God is good. But things won't always go really well, and God will always be so good. His love, his mercy, his comforting presence--he's just so good.
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