All These Years

This is Momma's birthday breakfast :)

Yes.  This photo is real.

I can't hide it, I am so proud of cooking my first omelet!

7:00 on Sunday morning found us 4 sisters in the kitchen,
chopping veggies, mincing garlic, preparing herbs,
and whisking eggs to the sound of
Nat King Cole singing from Emma's laptop.

... it was still early for some :)

We then paraded over to the Little House where Mom and Dad were deep in a planning session for Mom's long dreamed-of landscaping on our farm.

THEN, came the birthday party... stay tuned for part II!!

On the Inside

Dear Father in Heaven, must life be so hard?  Must every step I take be riddled with challenges?  Must every hope, every dream, every whisper of happy things, be marred by old pain and older despair?  What is it You are saying?  What is the cry of Your heart?


I am listening.  You have my attention.

And I hear it, in the stillness of the tears that are balling up in my throat, I hear His words, simple, unchanging....


Press forward.  Don't despair.

I am with you.

So I shall press on, because, beyond everything that seems so close and weighty now, He stands, immovable, unchangeable, truthful.

And I know that my heart and hope is in His hands.  No matter the battle on the outside, I am safe on the inside.


With all my heart,
Emma

Joys of July

Tomato soup for lunch.  Sliced tomatoes for dinner.  Canned tomatoes for winter.  I love July!!

the Surfboy

Matt is a surfer.

He makes his own wooden surfboard.

And goes adventuring on the lake!

Dear Poet

My dear poet is turning 21. 

(^photo by Rachel Leigh)

I love her so much.  She inspires me and encourages me in so many ways.

She is beautiful and loving.  

What a wonderful sister I have.  

A poet, cook, seamstress, and songster.  She's an artist in all these things.  

I love my dear Emma! 

-Grace


p.s. Birthday dinner pictures coming soon!

Little Grace

My little Grace turned... 16??

My little Grace?  You mean... my talented, accomplished, brown-eyed beauty little Grace?

Happy Birthday precious sister!!

Emma and Johanna

(photos by brother James)


POST SCRIPT:  And yes, we will be scheduling your birthday photo shoot soon, Grace! :)

Knowing

The scent of warmth greeted my weary senses when I entered my room last night. The clock said 12:41, and after a cramped 8 hours in a car surrounded by pouring rain, the sweet touch of home pulled hard at the tension twisted through my frame.

I put away my things, and curled up under my blankets, my head against a pillow that had afforded me little rest on the trip, now embracing my sleepy brain.

Mom let us sleep in this morning, sleep so blessed, so comforting, that when I rose my mind was at rest. I was ready to begin again, to court the duties of the day with determined strength. But it did not last long. Those duties began to rush in.  Math, so much Math, thoughts of the coming weekend and all I must do to prepare, of the coming weeks, even the coming months, and all the things for which completion seems impossible.

I feel as if I am in the car again, caught in a never ending waiting, waiting for all these burdens to fall, waiting to be done with them, so that I may move on.

But there is no peace in waiting, in waiting to reach a goal, in waiting to see my visions realized, in waiting for my own Mr. Knightley to bless me with his presence, in waiting for God to clear my head of my own weaknesses and fear.

There is no peace here. None.

So I must stop waiting, stop waiting and start doing. I must press forward, move my feet toward the light, no matter how far away it seems.

And if I need stop, to be still, I will not be waiting, I will be knowing. Knowing that I am safe in His presence, knowing that no matter the future that nudges my present, nor the past that has shaped where I am now, I am wrapped in the blessedness of the moment. I am bound in a warmth I cannot express, and my heart can be at peace.


From the bottom of my heart,

Emma

Note:  I wrote these thoughts after a long trip home from Arkansas the weekend before last.  Looking back, now, at the wisdom the Lord gave me, I am blessed again by the love no mortal man can describe.