10 million miles

For Ryan’s birthday last night, Ashley watched Vivienne and Lia while Ryan and I enjoyed a Genovese pizza over at Facia Luna. After pizza, we headed over to the pool where I handed Ryan his big present and told him to close his eyes as I lead him up to the gate where our musician friend, Ed, was waiting on the other side. (Why at the pool? Because Ed’s adorable 13-year old son was doing his boyscout star boards there.) When he opened his eyes and saw Ed, Ryan must’ve known right away what was in his big box… since, for years, he has envied Ed’s mandolin-playing skills. After opening his present, Ryan received his first speed lesson from Ed. When the lifeguards authoritatively swung their whistles around to close the pool, Ryan and I headed over to our friends’, Chris and Colette’s, place. There, we prayed for and blessed the 33-year old mandolin-wielding stud. When we returned home with a DQ ice cream cake, we sang “Happy Birthday,” tucked the little girls in bed, and played a rousing game of Dutch Blitz with Ashley and Meagan (her BFF). Happy Birthday, Ryan!

1. That I got my hair cut!

(And I learned to stand with one hand on my hip if ever on the *end cap* of a photo. You know how the person on the end always looks like they have a thicker arm than they really do? Be the proactive end cap! If you are being photographed with a group of people and you are on the end, pop your elbow out to flatter your arm a bit more. Hey, why not?)

2. That we have an amazing young woman living with us for the summer!

Meet Ashley, a former student of mine from Grace Prep. Ashley’s an intern for Pure Freedom this summer. When we found out that she needed a place to stay for the summer, we snatched her up right away. She’s joyful, more child-friendly than Chuck E. Cheese, and helpful. We love having her around!

3. That I received my first-ever blog award from Sarah at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee!

This award is “dedicated to many who nourish and enrich the spirit and creativity. They see dedication, creativity, camaraderie, joy and above all, ART, much art. I wish that this prize is entertaining to all those bloggers and to bloggers who day by day share this space and enrich it a little more each day.” ~Arte Y Pico

So, I pass the award on to a selection of artists, each one of whom specializes in a particular slant of art…

1. Jan at All Full Up on Crazy

Breath of Fresh Air Art.

Through her blog, you will suddenly long for a shopping spree, find the beauty in the incredible decorations she is choosing for her knock-out home, and fall in love with her gorgeous sons. (Also, a special recognition to this high school friend who inspired me to blog in the first place.)

2. June Fuentes at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Enrich The Spirit Art.

Enjoy June’s generosity of inspiring music, gorgeous artwork, and enriching posts about loving people well.

3. Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles

Make a Chair, Hang a Frame, Take a Photo Art.

If Heidi doesn’t inspire you to beautify your life with your own bare hands, I don’t know who will.

4. Crystal at Money Saving Mom

Buy it for Less Than $0.37 Art.

Until I began reading Crystal’s blog, I didn’t know that frugality is thrilling.

5. The Dervaes Family at Path to Freedom

Eat it Out of Your Front Yard Art.

May we all replace a grass canvas with something that looks more like a vegetable.

Now for the rules:

1) Select 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter the language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) The award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico“blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award. (I removed the link because the blog is in Spanish and I have no idea what it says! I don’t want to link you to something that may contain questionable material.)

5) To show these rules.

I admire Ryan’s countless daddy-skills, but one of my most treasured is that he memorizes Scripture with Vivienne every night (Lia will join in soon!). I’ve sat out in the living room night after night, listening to the two of them learn the fruits of the Spirit, Psalm 23, Psalm 100, The Lord’s Prayer, and - currently - Isaiah 58. This joyful discipline has already enriched and taught our family, ministered to dozens of people at a local retirement village, encouraged a neighbor recovering from back surgery, comforted a great-aunt who is walking with her husband through cancer, and reminded many people of God’s powerful Word.

I love the legacy that Ryan is building in our children. I filmed tonight’s session to shamelessly show off my wonderful man’s hard work… and encourage all of us to hide God’s word in our hearts.

[ Javascript required to view QuickTime movie, please turn it on and refresh this page ]

Lesson #436: Don’t anticipate another person’s word and fill in the blank for them prematurely. You are bound to have guessed incorrectly. You are bound to have guessed something more negative than what s/he intended to say in the first place.

(Although I have been learning this lesson left and right lately, I can’t think of any real-life examples. So, enjoy my extreme examples instead.)

Jooji: “I got my haircut and I think I look…”

Lesson learner: “uglier?”

Jooji: “No, actually, I was going to say thinner.”

Or…

Screech: “I had this odd feeling about the villain in that movie…”

Lesson learner: “Oh, I bet you felt like you could relate to him, huh?”

Screech: “No, actually, he reminded me of the next door neighbor’s cat who nibbled up my pet mouse.”

This week, I hope to look through our emergency bin in the storage room and make sure it’s up-to-date and complete. I’ll also open the impossibly-sealed super-duper flashlight that we have in there. (Who wants to be searching for a pair of scissors in the middle of a blackout?) And add some nutritious food to our boxes of cereal and cans of soup. (If I remember correctly, I have a box of Reeses Puffs in there; my reasoning at the time was that it would be a fun treat in the midst of any emergency!)

A simple checklist:

* 3 gallons of water per person

* 3-day supply of non-perishable food

* first aid kit and medications

* extra clothing (including diapers for little ones)

* flashlight with batteries

* radio/weather radio

* family documents

* a Bible, a good book, and games

If you don’t have an emergency kit, consider using one of those big plastic bins on wheels; it’s easily moved from one place to another and could fit in the trunk of your car. Also, I think it’s wise to have a backpack ready, too, just in case you can’t lug the bin with you.

And Jesus arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. - Mark 4:39

Before:

After:

Photography and Hair Styling by Vivienne

First, get inspired by watching this video:

Then, you might want to check out the Path to Freedom website.

After that, you might want to read Last Child in the Woods.

An excerpt from the first chapters that I’ve read:

“Unlike television, nature does not steal time; it amplifies it. Nature offers healing for a child living in a destructive family or neighborhood. It serves as a blank slate upon which a child draws and reinterprets the culture’s fantasies. Nature inspires creativity in a child by demanding visualization and the full use of the senses. Given a chance, a child will bring the confusion of the world to the woods, wash it in the creek, turn it over to see what lives on the unseen side of that confusion. Nature can frighten a child, too, and this fright serves a purpose. In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace.”

After that, you might want to turn off your computer, plant a grape vine, and climb a tree.

This post is dedicated to Aunt Erin, who planted these grassheads with Vivienne and sang a song on our answering machine called, “Water the Grassheads”.  I hope she’s proud of their progress.