Sunday, March 31, 2013

pushing and shoving allowed

happy easter, friends.  as usual, sunday lunch was enjoyed at the washburn manor today.  sitting down at the table with fifteen or so people is always such a reminder of the blessings in my life.  there is such a remarkable sense of community when you have that many people sitting down around one table (or two put together to form one).

papa dubs hid some eggs for the big kids.  big kids = 24-33 year olds.  who says you have to be a kid to enjoy an easter egg hunt?  the egg hunt was moved indoors due to the rain.  we decided to go ahead and hunt for the eggs while the ham finished cooking.  impatient much?  maybe.  so, we all scrounged for baskets or bowls around washburn manor to use as our easter basket.  imagine a dozen big kids standing at the top of the stairs waiting to be released to egg zone.  oh, i should also mention that there was a prize for the big kid that found the most eggs and there were money eggs involved.  there was one rule...pushing and shoving was allowed.  10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. GO!

turns out, even big kids don't hunt eggs well.  after an area would be deemed "cleared," someone else would comb through the area and still find eggs.

i found three eggs.  my prizes:  a reese peanut butter egg, whoppers, and an empty egg.  success.


the cross is enough; one, solitary life

i pray you each were able to gather this morning in worship and celebration of the resurrection of our lord and savior.  as always, i was in awe during worship, as we sang about the power of the cross.  how easily i forget or overlook the depth and meaning represented in the cross.  grace and mercy infiltrates much of my conversations, but what about the incredible sacrifice that was made that enabled those gifts of grace and mercy?  the first song said it quite simply, "the cross is enough...a love like this the world had never known."

{you came down from heavens throne.  this earth you formed was not your home.  a love like this the world had never known.  a crown of thorns to mock your name.  forgiveness fell upon your face.  a love like this the world had never known.  on the altar of our praise, let there be no higher name.  jesus, son of god.  you laid down your perfect life.  you are the sacrifice.  jesus, son of god.  you are jesus, son of god.  you took our sin.  you bore our shame.  you rose to life.  you defeated the grave.  love like this the world has never known.  be lifted higher than all you've overcome.  your name be louder than any other song.  there is no power that can come against your love.  the cross was enough.}


{once in darkness, now in light.  once blind, now you see.  once a sinner, now a saint.  once bound, now free.  that's the power of the cross.  see the chains fall.  that's the power of the cross.  see the chains fall.}
praise the lord for fallen chains, for the bonds of sin being broken, for us being set free from a life of sin.  because of the sacrifice of one man on the cross.  the message this morning discussed the one, solitary life that held more of an influence on this world than any other.  even when our world wants to downplay and deny that significance, the reality is history shows over and over again the depth of that one, solitary life.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

golden birthday

learned something new this week.  golden birthdays - they exist.  who knew?  apparently lots of people, but not this birthday girl.  shout out to the roommate for enlightening me.  i particularly enjoy this little clip from urban dictionary:  "the ‘golden birthday’ is the day where a human being turns the same age as the date to which they were born. all humans will experience this day, whether it be when they are one years old or 31 years old; that is to say, except for a select few individuals born on the leap year – sadly, these humans will never experience the goldenness of such a day and are forced to live out their lives in anguish and despair."

yesterday i celebrated twenty-seven years of life.  twenty-seven on twenty-seven = golden birthday.  pure goldenness.

the birthday wishes trail started with a "happy birthday eve" the night before and continued with the all-loving social media birthday shout outs all day long.  some of my favorite birthday moments are listening to my nephews and niece sing their personal versions of happy birthday.  precious.  those moments get even better when you get to watch sweet daniellah, wearing a "how awesome is my auntie" shirt, sing over facetime.

the birthday wishes go hand-in-hand with birthday meals, obviously.  my carpool buddy treated me to a chickfila breakfast with a large sweet tea, light ice (we have it down to a science, for reals).  lunch was enjoyed with a handful of friends, my everyday lunch buddies (remember where we wrote a lunch song together here?), at arosto fire roasted pizza.  dinner was served at isabella's with about a dozen of my friends (you may remember us celebrating new year's eve there, too!).  so blessed, so very, very blessed.

of course, no birthday is complete without cake (and a delicious cannoli!).  kristi baked a yummo, red velvet cake...homemade.  the chick has great rescue the cake from near destruction skills, apparently.  #whatsbroken?!?!  but seriously, well done!  and it's all about the details, too.  for example:  gold plates and gold candles.  get it?  it was my golden birthday... 

and please enjoy my birthday flowers with me.  purple.  my friends know me so well.  the tulips are certainly brightening up my office, while i'm enjoying the others at home!  i think when i have a big girl home with a big girl table, i will want fresh flowers on it every day!

when i think of flowers, i do not have a favorite that comes to mind.  i like gerby daises and i like tulips, but i am not entirely certain i could identify one or the other as favorite.  task for this year:  identify a favorite flower...maybe.  good thing i now have a florist friend, natasha (aka nay nay).  i'm sure she can help me narrow the selections down.

special thank you to all of my dear friends and family for making my birthday so golden.  be blessed, my friends! 


p.s., friends.  i have a birthday wish for next year...can we please get better about taking more/better group pictures.  thank you.  love you, though!



Tuesday, March 19, 2013

home sick

have you ever been homesick because you're home sick?  that was my weekend. 

i traveled home to pennsylvania (yay pa!) this past weekend to celebrate my nephews' birthday.  it is tradition.  i make my way home each march to help my sister control all the kiddos at the boys' birthday party.  that's no easy feat.  just imagine twenty some boys filling up their cups at the soda fountain...one part mt. dew, one part gatorade, one part root beer, one part pepsi...i think you get the picture.

waking up feeling somewhat sicky friday did not have me looking forward to the drive home.  after a few phone calls and second guessing whether or not i should go, i hit the road.  even then, i thought about turning around a time or two and heading back to my house.  my wheels kept heading north, though.  what should have been about a six hour drive turned into an eight hour drive.  gotta love road trip traffic.  bleh!  half a tissue box later, i made it back in town.  visited with my friend, mary, for an hour before calling it a night and crashing.

saturday was party day.  laser tag with about twenty-five 8-12 year old boys.  bring it on!  my code name for laser tag was really intimidating, really.  aunt randa.  i'm sure they were shaking in their knees!  and they should have been.  aunt randa came in at #4.  i should also report red team (that's me!) won 3 games and the blue team only won one.  to be fair, about seven of the eight adults that were playing somehow ended up on the red team with just one adult on the blue team.  so much for random selection.

on to the next party, family edition.  and this is where i crash, again. spent the rest of the day in bed and on the couch.  waking up sunday morning, i realized i wasn't getting any better and needed to get on the road...without seeing the rest of my relatives, including my grandparents who i haven't seen in over a year.

i cried.  for the first time in a long time, i was homesick because i was home sick.  i'm thankful for the little i did get to see some of their faces, but was so disappointed that i was home, but couldn't really do much with my family.  i'm learning to treasure the time with them.  knowing my family was right in the other room, but i was stuck in bed, was no fun.  thank you to my big sister for trying to help me feel better with a bunch of these goodies.

what makes you homesick?

Thursday, March 07, 2013

still hopeful for a snow day

remember just a few days ago when i mentioned spring was on its way?  i retract some of what i said there.  i was ready for spring, and i still am, but when the threat of a decent snow storm started to linger in the forecast, i jumped on the snow train.  granted, the original forecast may have suggested a larger accumulation, i was mostly satisfied in knowing that it became pretty clear at the start of the week that we would be getting at least some appearance of snow.  and suddenly, i began pairing all my tweets with #stillhopefulforasnowday.  why not, right?

tuesday i left the office saying, "see you thursday," to my office plant.  why?  still hopeful for a snow day.

tuesday night wearing nice, warm, wool socks and my snow boots.  why?  still hopeful for a snow day.

tuesday evening getting excited to see early signs of falling snowflakes.  why?  still hopeful for a snow day.

tuesday evening hoping to see a change in the three hour delay for work.  why?  still hopeful for a snow day.

the beauty of giant snowflakes being caught in the glimpses of headlights is just  charming.  if only i had the talent to capture those moments with my pretty, little iphone, but i cannot.  hopefully you had an opportunity to enjoy those views for yourself!

it seemed to snow all through the night and i snuck a little peak through my blinds as soon as i woke up (without an alarm...the joys of a three hour delay).  those are the moments i feel like a kid as i anxiously walk to the window in my slippers, hoping to see a blanket of whiteness over everything.  still hopeful for a snow day. 

though there was a pretty layer of white, the roads were bare.  alas, three hour delay it was.  and that's okay.  a quiet day at the office, lunch with friends who were gifted a snow day, and a movie with a couple of the girls.  that's an okay day in my book.

how did you spend your snow day (or delay!)?!?!


Saturday, March 02, 2013

les miserables {part two}

more excerpts from my first read of my 2013 reading list.  enjoy part one, also.

{part two}

"however, he asked himself several questions and gave several answers:  'after what he has done for me, if he were a thief, would i save him?  i would anyway.  if he were an assassin, would i save him?  i would anyway.  since he is a saint, shall i save him?  absolutely.'"

"laughter is sunshine; it chases winter from the human face."

"and then he reflected that two houses of god had received him in succession at the two critical moments of his life, the first when every door was closed and human society rejected him; the second, when human society was once more howling on his track, and prison once more gaped for him; and that, had it not been for the first, he would have fallen back into crime, and had it not been for the second, into punishment.  his whole heart melted in gratitude and he loved more and more."

"this little boy never felt so happy as when in the street.  for him the pavement was not so hard as the heart of his mother."

"'i do not know whether it is that i no longer understand french, or that you no longer speak it; but the fact is i do not understand you.'"

"the doctor and the cure had been called.  the doctor had come too late, the cure had come too late.  the son too had come too late.  by the dim candlelight, they could see on the colonel's pale cheek a large tear, fallen from his lifeless eye.  the eye was glazed, but the tear was not dry.  the tear was for his son's delay."

"poverty is like everything else.  it gradually becomes endurable.  it ends by taking shape and becoming fixed.  you vegetate, that is to say you develop in some squalid way, sufficient for existence.  this is how marius pontmercy's life was arranged."

"poverty in youth, when it succeeds, is magnificent in that it turns the whole will toward effort and the whole soul toward aspiration."

"he never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two."

"right is just and true.  the property of right is that it is always beautiful and pure."

"what love begins can only be finished by god."

"you who suffer because you love, love still more.  to die of love is to live by it."

"labor cannot be a law without being a right."

"oh, if the good hearts had the fat purses, how much better everything would be!"

"'you don't need to be hungry, to eat one's cake.'"

"not to want any more of one's cake is no reason for giving it away."

"jean valjean's generosity toward him, javert, overwhelmed him."

les miserables {part one}

it's official.  my first read is completed from my 2013 reading list.  yes, i realize it is march, but les miserables was a hefty read (and to be fair, i technically finished it in february).  unabridged version.  it took time, dedication, and perseverance.  but worth the effort, friends, worth it. sifting through my highlights, i am somewhat surprised at how many little excerpts stood out to me.  as i read them again, it seems just like yesterday that i first read them.  while i invite you to read through these little excerpts, i know many of you have much more better things to do, and that's okay.  these little reminders are more for me anyway.  though it may not seem like it once you start scrolling, i have left out the lengthier excerpts.  you'll just need to read the book for yourself!  see more from part two, here.

{part one}

"whether true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence on their lives, and particularly on their destinies, as what they do."

"'sire,' replied m. myriel, 'you are looking at a good man, and i at a great one.  may we both be the better for it.'"

"bringing jealousy into play, he had brought truth to light by means of anger, and justice had sprung from revenge."

"the beautiful is as useful as the useful."

"i am nothing.  i call myself count nothing, the senator.  did i exist before my birth?  no.  will i after my death?  no.  what am i?  a little dust surrounding an organism.  what do i have to do on this earth!  i have the choice of pain or pleasure.  where will pain lead me?  to nothing.  but i will have suffered.  where will pleasure lead me?  to nothing.  but i will have enjoyed.  my choice is made.  i must eat or be eaten, and i choose to eat.  it is better to be the tooth than the grass.  that's my philosophy."

"the first proof of charity in a priest, and especially a bishop, is poverty."

"no power is without its worshipers, no fortune without its court.  the seekers of the future revolve around the splendid present."

"he saw nothing of all this:  people weighed down with troubles do not look back; they know only too well that misfortune stalks them."

"there are moments when nature seems your enemy."

"the bishop, who was sitting beside him, touched his hand gently and said, 'you didn't have to tell me who you are.  this is not my house; it is christ's.  it does not ask any guest his name but whether he has an affliction.  you are suffering; you are hungry and thirsty; you are welcome.  and don't thank me; don't tell me that i am taking you into my house.  this is the home of no man, except the one who needs a refuge.  i tell you, a traveler, you are more at home here than i; whatever is here is yours.  why would i have to know your name?  besides, before you told me, i knew it.'"

"'you have left a place of suffering.  but listen, there will be more joy in heaven over the tears of a repentant sinner than over the white robes of a hundred just men.  if you are leaving that sad place with hatred and anger against men, you deserve compassion; if you leave it with goodwill, gentleness, and peace, you are better than any of us.'"

"it is an old story.  the poor little lives, these creatures of god, thereafter without support, guidance, or shelter, wandered aimlessly, who knows where?  each took a differing haze that swallows up solitary destinies, that sullen gloom where so many ill-fated souls are lost in the somber advance of the human race.  they left the region; the church of what had been their village forgot them; the stile of what had been their field forgot them; after a few years in prison, even jean valjean forgot them.  where that heart had been wounded, there was a scar.  that was all."

"through suffering upon suffering he gradually came to the conclusion that life is a war and that in that war he was the vanquished.  he had no weapon but his hatred.  he resolved to sharpen it in the chain gang and take it with him when he left."

"liberation is not deliverance.  a convict may leave prison behind but not his sentence."

"'do not forget, ever, that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man...jean valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good.  it is your soul i am buying for you.  i withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and i give it to god.'"

"anyone seeing the two of them go by would have pitied them.  the woman had nothing in the world but this child, and this child had nothing in the world but this woman."

"five years old!  it will be said that's hard to believe, but it's true; social suffering can begin at any age."

"the supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves-say rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

"one can no more keep the mind from returning to an idea than the sea from returning to a shore.  for the sailor, this is called the tide; in the case of the guilty, it is called remorse.  god stirs up the soul as well as the ocean."

"though beginnings might go wrong he was not alarmed, he who believed himself master and possessor of the end; he knew how to wait, believing in himself beyond question, and he treated destiny as an equal.  he seemed to say to fate; you wouldn't dare."

"this people, surpassed by none in might and glory, values itself as a nation, not as a people."

"there are moments when a rope's end, a pole, the branch of a tree, is life itself, and it is frightening to see a living being lose his hold on it and fall like ripe fruit."

"a torn conscience leads to an unraveled life."

"eponine and azelma did not notice cosette.  to them she was like the dog.  the three little girls did not have twenty-four years among them, and they already represented the whole of human society:  on one side envy, on the other scorn."

"the doll is one of the most imperative needs, and at the same time one of the most charming instincts, of feminine childhood.  to care for, clothe, adorne, dress, undress, dress over again, teach, scold a little, rock, cuddle, put to sleep, pretend that something is somebody--the whole future of the woman is there.  even while dreaming and chattering, while making little wardrobes and baby clothes, while sewing little dresses, little shirts and jackets, the child becomes a little girl, the little girl becomes a big girl, the big girl becomes a woman.  the first baby takes the place of the last doll.  a little girl without a doll is almost as unfortunate and just as impossible as a woman without children."

"what a sublime, sweet thing is hope in a child who has never known anything but its opposite."

"it's hard to let go of a mystery once you catch hold of it."

"from dawn on, cosette laughed, chattered, and sang.  children have their morning song, like birds."

Friday, March 01, 2013

spring is on its way

happy march, friends.  and happy early birthday to all my march birthday friends and family.  i nearly do not have enough fingers to count all of the birthdays to celebrate this month, including my own.  so thankful for all the blessings that god showered this world with in one solitary month.  again, happy birthday, kids!

i am craving spring badly.  i know i may be jumping the gun on this one considering this week and next week have had  ice and snow in the forecast, but i can not help it.  i am ready!  i am ready for the chilly mornings and the warm afternoons. 


driving past farm basket, their sign read "spring is on its way!"  another enticement for spring...the perfect, little lunch spot. 
virginia weather can be temperamental, so whether spring is really in the near future or not is still up for debate.  a girl can dream, though, right?

my superficial self is also ready for the sun-kissed look to return.  any of you ladies with me on this one?  i made a fatal error the other night and looked through some pictures from a summer trip a few years ago.  i can hear julia roberts saying, "big mistake.  big.  huge."  why do i torture myself?!?