Missing In Action

My world has recently been consumed with LOTS of activity. The good news is it has NOT been unpleasant:) My cousin's wedding was great fun. If you're curious to see pictures you can see them here. It was a long trip only because I was freaking out during the plane rides. I flew a lot has a young child...never realized I had a problem with flying. Oh well, now I know! It wasn't too bad but I wouldn't like to have to fly often.

Last weekend we went to the beach! It was glorious. We drove down with Noah's sister Laura and her boyfriend Zach. It made the 9+ hour drive so much quicker to spend it with another fun couple:) It gave us a chance to pick on Zach, get to know him better and become obsessed with the Yellow Car game. Here are a few highlights...

The really big sand castle...and burying Phil. Entertainment compliments of our boys:)

The ladies. Gorgeous.                                         The youngest boys. Hysterical.

My sister and I doing Cotton Eye Joe on the boardwalk:)  And my mom and I.

Mini golfing and the whole crew. Who would have thought vacationing with your family AND your in-laws could be so much fun?!

Today was spent catching up on all of the housework that I got so far behind on. How does it all get away from me? Grocery shopping, dishes, MOUNTAINS of laundry, cleaning, etc. Noah and I did do a walk through of the house today. We did a little dreaming, a little planning, a little fixing...our result? Motivation and a chosen color to finish our next bedroom. The nursery:) No no, Jennie isn't pregnant, but we've decided that this is our next feasible project and Noah just happened to buy a green shirt that was the exact color I have been envisioning for that room and could never find. We also ripped down (finally) our very..um..pink and lacy curtains that were hanging in our living room and front room. The space looks so much bigger, but I now I have to figure out what to put there...

This has been a season of learning for me. Learning a lot and messing up more. It is tempting to get discouraged and just give up, but this isn't the first time God has put me in a place like this. He's teaching me to really live and not always be frustrated with where I am in life. He is teaching me that I still have a lot to learn and that it will be easier when I trust Him. Do we ever finish learning to trust? It certainly seems like I am never going to learn:)

It's been a rainy day broken with brief bursts of sunlight in between the showers. I love how the trees sparkle right after a rainstorm when the sunlight reflects off of the watery leaves. Our house is much more private during this season. All of the surrounding trees have their foliage back and we can barely see through them to the neighbors house anymore. I think I like it. It's quiet on our street. And yet we often hear laughter from the kids that live across the street. I like those sounds:)

We had our own private lilac festival these past few weeks because, to our utter delight, we have lilac bushes growing along the south border of our property. Made my day! Whoever reads this should come over. The only thing that makes this house more beautiful is people in it:) So come see us at our quiet little house on the hill!