30 Days of Thankful

Another November has come and gone and the we listed out things we're thankful for. I really love this little tradition we started back in 2011. Its so sweet to make time to speak out the ways we've been blessed and notice all the good that surrounds us. Hearing things from Zachari and Jonathan's perspectives is really special too and often humbles me to remember to be grateful for all of the little things I so easily take for granted. Without further ado, our 2016 list (in no specific order):

Zachari
Jonathan 
pool
school
lunch
Liz, Annalise & Kathleen (Bonar)
Jonathan
Mama
fall
cats
Papa
anteaters
music
rocks
Jonah
ImmyLou
Ms. D.
food
hikes
church
love
friends
home
car
God
dogs
the sun
food (again!)
pork chops with bacon
gas for cars
Play-doh
Blinntoberfest
gnocci
and then this...

That's right! It says dirt, poop, water & pee...with diagrams.

Jonathan
Nathan (Cates)
superheroes
my tiny pumpkin (that he chose from his preschool field trip in October)
music
Heather, Josie & Paxy (Mohrman)
Papa
Zachari
Jonah
Zachari (again!)
fire
tortillas
strawberries
cucumbers
chicken
water
Mama

Matt
parents
Zachari
Jonathan
Wife
fall weather
pot roast!
Watershed
feeling healthy
playing games with Zachari
beer
hikes
a good job
woodworking 
stories
friends 
art 
music
bike rides

Kelli
twinkle lights
nights by the fire pit
hooded sweatshirts
warm slippers
Apple Music
Spotify
lunch dates with Matty
Fox in the Snow coffee
Hounddogs Pizza
fresh fruits and veggies
Aunt Flow
101 S. Westmoor Avenue
Raymond Matthew Blinn
creativity
wine!
Mrs. Distefano
Ms. Khristina
our car & ZB's repairs
the Obamas
my phone
the iPad
Bethel Music
Patty Griffin
wine (again!)
coffee
ProDoula
Columbus Birth & Parenting
Bekah
Matt's job
Reid family
Cates family
Bekah's natural cancer treatments... and success!
Westgate and our neighbors
all of the amazing food/drink options in Columbus
79˚ days in November!
Zachari Jane
Jonathan Francis
Hilltop YMCA
Advent dinners with Bekah
Zachari's love for J. She's caring, helpful, patient, encouraging and a great friend.
warm, cozy blankets
Andrew Hendrixson
Peter Stevens
the Psalms
God's grace, love, forgiveness and peace
Myca
Jan
Sara
Brooke
water with lemon

Summer Mondays

This is the eighth Monday of summer vacation and Mondays have turned into my favorite day in the last couple of months. With the exception of the 4th of July and last week, our Mondays have been days where we stay home all day long and don't get out of our jammies sometimes til after dinner. Zachari's in swimming lessons on Monday nights at 6:25 so we get dressed for the day in time to get her there and sometimes her "getting dressed" doesn't go any farther than her bathing suit and a coverup. 

This summer has been a gift. I was not looking forward to it as the school year came to a close and quite honestly, I think the word dread is what I used most often. Zachari wasn't looking forward to the break either, preferring to have year-round school with her beloved Miss Washam and all her friends... and P.E., her favorite class. I was nervous about the lack of schedule and routine, the spats that the kids would have alllll summer long, our first summer without naps or quiet time. Silly as it sounds, I was dreading the freedom that summer brings.

But. 

Its been great. I've loved being able to be more spontaneous with our outings because we're not tethered to a schedule or the need to get home for rest time. Yeah, I'd love it if there was a rest period some days, but we just power through and its been great. 

I'm thankful for these last few weeks and I'm looking forward to filling up the remainder of our free days with equal parts lazy and adventure. 

30 days of thankful

I really love the tradition we've started of intentionally listing out things we're thankful for in the month of November. Its made me more aware of all the little things in our days and I've found myself more easily giving thanks for even the mundane after practicing this so often. 

The Blinns have much to be thankful for and these are just some of the things that came to our mind last month. They're in no particular order, just how I weeded through the stack after all the tags were taken off the branches. 

Something fun about this year: Zachari hand wrote all of her thankful tags and Jonathan drew pictures and/or "wrote" out his things too. Its fun having kids sometimes. 


Zachari
Mom
Annabelle
Miss Washam
family
God
Mama
Katelyn
plants
Jonathan
food
Pax
vitamins
Peter
our old house
the year 2015
Nancy
Thanksgiving
Sara's turtle


Matt
101 S. Westmoor
friends
my parents
Zachari Jane
our kids' amazing spirits
Westgate
weekend without kids
bandsaw
CBP - Kelli's new job


Jonathan
Sara Kear
Bob the Builder
"Workers, Jonah & Lindsay, Elys & Zachari's friends. The end."
a bug... and more bugs
dinosaurs
Zachari, my friend
Jesus, Papa, Mama, Zachari
Jesus again!
Matthias and Mama getting to have coffee
boots and rain jackets
the ocean
ham & Cheerios & spicy cheese & raisins & hummus & cucumbers
Zachari, Mama, Papa
Jake
my candy
paper punchers
ABCs & Jesus
Mason, Baby Graham, Layne... & their mom & dad


Me
Jan & Carol Bell
Sara Martin
nail polish
48 hours kid free! - & the Moormans & Kuhns for babysitting
Columbus Birth & Parenting
changing seasons
beautiful, fall colors!
my in-laws
our health
Carla, Kim, Rick & Mike
music, coloring books, sewing
our years in Bowling Green
Mom teaching me to cook
the gift of encouragement
Matt's job
date nights courtesey of the Elys
God's G-R-A-C-E
Life Church & the Forsythes
my best friend & husband, Matt
Andrew Hendrixson
Patty.
beautiful, smart, sassy, creative, wonderful Zachari Jane
riesling
coffee
the beach!
MacCaughey framily
pink-purple-blue-orange-white sunsets
Matt's handiness & creativity
sunny, 70˚ days in November!
lazy weekends with family
Trader Joe's & Aldi
sense of smell & taste
coffee dates with Myca
handsome, charming, silly, curious, ornery, wonderful Jonathan Francis
Reid family
Jenni Stockberger & fam
our new house, great neighbors & a beautiful neighborhood

30 days of thankful

This is the fourth year in a row that, together as a family, we've taken time out in November to list things that we're thankful for. I'm so glad that we've started this tradition and a couple months ago, I realized that it meant something special to Zachari as well. She started asking if we were going to decorate the mantle with "our thankful things" again. This girl remembers everrrrrything, but this particular memory she had brought me joy. Maybe it'll be something we all cherish for years to come and who knows, maybe my children will pass it down to their children one day?

We often talked about what we were thankful for while we were eating a meal which is why several of Jonathan's have a food "theme".  This list doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg as far as the millions of things this family can give thanks for. It is, however, a good reflection of where our hearts are right now in this season and for that - well - I'm thankful!

Matt:
Kelli's cooking
small group
coffee in the mornings
Zachari Jane
my best friend Kelli
a good job
Saturday morning with the kiddos
Wednesday AM coffee with the guys
spell check
our church

Zachari:
dates with Mama or Papa
going to the pumpkin patch with my family
letters and packages in the mail!
my family and friends
Papa
COSI
Jonah
pumpkins
pesto pasta on Sunday nights!
Jonathan getting to have swim lessons with Mama
shows and movies
play dates with Maggie and Marion
friends at my school
snowy, sunny days
Halloween
my room
food
my dolls
Corry helping me swim
dinners
LOTS of fruits!
my best friends Marion, Annabelle, Matilda and Haley
brats!
peanut butter and jelly
my preschool teachers

Jonathan:
Mama
trucks
pumpkins
Zachari
Papa
grapes
blueberries
books
pasta 
bowls
bubbles
paper
sweet potatoes
markers
pool
sausage 
eyes
breakfast

Kelli:
spiritual direction from Deb and Mandy
Central Vineyard
small group
Zachari Jane
Jonathan Francis
the gift of song
the Reids
sex :)
MVNU friends
swimming lessons and our great instructors
Matty Boy!
Monica teaching me how to sew
Kelsie and Kyle Meyers
Sara Kear
Jake
Myca
morning coffee dates with friends
warm, sunny days in November
Zachari and Jonathan's creativity and love for books
Deb Woods and Mandy Shumaker
my Lactation Counselor certification
early, quiet mornings - seeing the sun rise
S-M-E-L-L!
days when the kids listen and play well on their own
Papa working so hard so that I can stay home with J and Z

On turning 33

Another year older. Another year wiser. 

Isn't that what they say? Whoever the proverbial they is anyway. Hmph.


When I turned 30 it wasn't a big deal to me like it has been for some of my friends. I wasn't sad to say goodbye to my 20s, I wasn't depressed to be entering my 30s, it was just another day, really. I was thankful for a new decade and as I've continued to settle into this new age, I like it more and more. I like who I am better now than when I was in my 20s, I like who I think I am gonna become. 

But this year, August 12th came with some melancholy attached. I realized that by turning 33 I was older than my own mother when she gave birth to me. I was two years older than Palmer when he died and a whopping eight years older than Jenn at the time of her death. I realized that it was at the age of 33 (or so we think) that Jesus Christ have His life for mine. I'm not this much closer to my mid-30s. It all just felt heavy to me and so I started the day in a very pensive, quiet mood. 

It was a good day though, for sure. Matty was off (all week, actually!) and together as a family we enjoyed a lovely summer day. Kim babysat for us so we could have an afternoon date, something The Boy had planned. We tried Basil, a super-delicious restaurant in Short North that I fell in love with. The decor/architecture was as wonderful as the cuisine and the company wasn't too shabby either!

The weather was perfect and so we enjoyed walking around to shops before and after lunch for a bit. We stumbled upon this fabulousness outside of a salon and spa, randomly. Being part of Hannah Estabrook's Self Esteem Summer Camp the last several weeks, this sign felt especially poignant to me... and on my birthday no less!

The Boy had quite the surprise up his sleeve for me... A helicopter ride! And what might've been the bigger surprise, is though I am so afraid of heights and never really had a desire to go up in a helicopter and the freaking floor was glass and I could see straight down all the hundreds of miles, I did really well up there! I sat in the front next to the pilot and took in the lovely sights of Fairfield County. I mean, the day couldn't have been more picture perfect for such an excursion. Thank you, Lord!

I think we look pretty cute as "co-pilots"!

Back at home that night, the fam made me a tasty, summertime meal of barbecue ribs and roasted potatoes, onions and mushrooms all made on the grill. The beautiful salad came from our yard with some store bought extras and it was all so deliciously satisfying!

The day ended at the Upper Arlington Graeter's where everyone had a sweet treat but me. I didn't really care for one, but thought it would be fun to go there anyway! I love my sweet lil fam and I love that I am now 33. Here's to a new year!

Family photos

I just got these from Val today - yay! I have a feeling these might be sent out in Chrisamus cards this year! The photos were taken on August 11th and it was so muggy. These were taken just before a downpour too!

Celebrating with the girls

Two nights ago I got to celebrate my birthday with some the most beautiful ladies in my life. I think I say this to pople a lot and I probably blog about it quite often too, but man, I am richly, richly blessed in the friends department. Most of these ladies have been with me for more than fifteen years and their value in my life only increases. 

We went to Basil because I loved it so much on my actual birthday and I sure did order the exact same stuff for my dinner! It was a small group of just seven of us (and baby PJ) for the meal, but afterwards we headed to Mandy's for snacks and drinks and our numbers increased by two. I laughed so much and so hard there my face was hurting, my eyes burned from all the tears and my heart felt so full from gratitude and joy I thought I might burst from any one of my many seams. 

These girls make turning older so worth it and they remind me about the precious things in life that really matter. Thanks, friends. You sure know how to make a girl feel loved. 

Heather, Lindsay, Bekah and Kristina aren't pictured, but with the exception of Linds who was sick, all of those girls did hang out with me that night and it made for a glorious night to remember!

Whetstone Park of Roses

Today we visited Whetstone Park of Roses. Beautiful, mildly warm evening, setting sun, gentle breeze. Lovely roses all over the place, lots of space for Z and J to run and explore. A simple evening outing that I'm glad we made happen. Matt and I were so, so tired today and all we wanted to do was sit around the house and feel sorry for ourselves, but out we went! I told him that it would be better to get out of the house for an hour or so and let the kids play, than to have them chattering and climbing all over us within these four walls. It worked! Not sure how sound my parenting method is, but whatev!

The setting sun and the crisp, blue and white clouds with all the rich green of the trees and the grass was all so gorgeous! These  pictures don't even touch how magnificently the sun seemed to gently kiss the tree tops and how vibrantly it lit up the green fields near the parking lot. I was distracted by all the beauty though and marveled over a god who loves us so much He creates breathtaking masterpieces such as these. 

Here's our family photo from this evening...

And here we are last year, June 10th. My, how the little ones have changed!

Mother's Day

As J cries himself to sleep and Z chatters away as she plays with her MagnaDoodle, I sit here blogging. The daily Quiet Time. A needed time of rest for all three of us. Often something I look forward to, even count down the hours in anticipation of it. 

I complain about my children, my "job", the demands of life with little ones - a lot. More than I should. More than I care to admit. More than I want others to remember me for. The truth is that I don't think there's a heavier, more draining responsibility than mothering a child. Fathers are important too and I'm incredibly grateful for the father that my children have, but being a mother is a different story. We worry more, we know more about our children, we ache with and for them in a way that papas can't. It doesn't mean that moms are the greater parent of the two, its just that we're wired differently and because of that, I feel like this role is super rough. 

Know what else it is? Super awe-some! As in awe-inspiring, leaving your jaw open with wonder, thankfulness, joy and amazement. When I was younger and I dreamt of these days, my life with a husband and a home and small children calling me Mama, I had no idea what I was in for. There's no way to adequately describe what it its like to be given the beautiful gift of being a mother and for me, I've gotten to mother three children now. Only two of them are getting to know me in the day to day life, but all three of them have been nurtured, loved, cared for and valued by me. Children are a gift. Biggest understatement of the decade. For sure. 

Today has been a good day, a simple and normal day, really. Matt's in Bowling Green working on odds and ends at the house so its in prime condition to SELL and the kiddos and I are here at home. Central Vineyard this morning and nice enough weather to walk there and back. I coordinated Zachari and Jonathan's outfits just a little and they looked springtime-adorable. A simple lunch of last night's leftovers and this evening Matt should be home in time to grill up some delicious Whole Foods burgers. We'll have baked beans and a big salad and if I can get to Aldi before it closes, I'm thinking their $1.99 two slices of cheesecake will be a nice dessert. 

Its a gift for this May day to stand out as something more than just the eleventh. I am thankful and proud of the small humans I'm raising. They make my days interesting, my nights a little less restful and all the moments in between create a life that is so rich and full. 

And of course, some pictures...

Before leaving for Central, I asked Z to cooperate for photos... or else! She did, in her true diva style!

And then in her silly style.

Yes, I coordinated their lavendar outfits. Ahh - they're just too much! 

After service there was some monkeying around on the super-fun wheelchair ramp outside the building. Z's sporting the Mother's Day necklace/purse she made for me in her class. 

John McCollum snapped a few photos of the three of us and though this one isn't amazing because Jonathan's uninterested, it was the best of the lot. Go figure!

A selfie on the lawn before our walk home. Little did I know this morning, but J had a bit of a fever. I guess that'd explain his unenthused expression and very rosy cheeks. Mom of the Year, folks. Mom of the Year. 

Anniversary weekend

Over the weekend The Boy and I got to celebrate our 7th anniversary with time away from our kiddos and galavanting around downtown Columbus. It. Was. Excellent. 

We dropped the kids off at Kim and Carla's at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and for the next 27 hours we enjoyed a completely kid-free weekend together! I had been craving some one-on-one time with my husband and was SO looking forward to the weekend. I was trying hard not to have expectations that were too lofty and that would easily disappoint, but the weekend met my expectations and then some. I'm so thankful for our time together!

Because I don't want to forget what almost felt like a second mini-honeymoon, here's a rundown of our day and a half as just Kelli and Matt.  

Saturday:

• Our first stop was for lunch at Cafe Brioso. For literally six months I've been wanting to sit there outside at a table with Matt and sip on coffee whilst watching the busy city buzz past us. I had this romantic idea of doing that in October as the fall chill was settling in, but that never happened. Enjoying a warm, sunny afternoon in the spring was just as good. We hadn't eaten there in forever and that veggie sandwich was just as delectable as I remember. My cuppa joe was perfection and the time to sit and eat a leisurely meal with my boyfriend without having to cut up food or hear whining or fasten J into a highchair was nice. 
• Next, Matty wanted to visit The Vault and the alley where we hung out right after the ceremony (where we snapped the above picture).  We walked around downtown for a bit and marveled at the cool city we are fortunate to live in and we reminisced about our wedding day and how little we knew about life then. 
• Next, Matt took me to this super cool warehouse for about an hour dreaming and scheming and tossing around home decor ideas. I love his creative mind and the chance to be creative with him. One of these days we'll own another house and together we will decorate it just-so. Excited.
• In the late afternoon we checked into the hotel, The Hilton Columbus Downtown (at least I think that's the official name) and it is beautiful! And yes, I took photos of the whole room, but for now, I'll just post these first few that we snapped together.

Our room window looked out to the lobby/restaurant area, this was our view.

• Soon after getting settled into our (very) temporary new digs we um... christened the bedroom and my - it was excellent! There's something so freeing and different and passionate about being able to connect like that with absolutely no chance of a child interrupting things. Love it!
• We were giddy over the beautiful, large shower in the room and we explored it...together to be followed by lounging around in cozy white bath robes provided by the hotel.

• Next was time in the hot tub for me and a few laps in the pool for Matt. Nothing exciting to report about that, except maybe that we had the whole place to ourselves which was kind of great! 
• One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the chance to get ready for our date in a leisurely, stress-free way. I showered after the hot tub, walked around in my robe and then later in just my undies and I just took my time getting ready. I did my hair, got dressed, accessorized and took my time doing it, good tunes were playing from the I-dock and it was lovely. Because we were in a suite we had one and half bathrooms. Ridic, I know. More bathrooms than where I live for real, but whatev! Matty took one part of the suite and I took another and we got ready separately so as to (sort of) have that wow factor with each other when we were all dolled up and ready for the night on the town. It was fun. Its the little things, really!
• We met in hotel bar around 6:45 p.m. and myyyyy goodness! There was SUCH a handsome gentleman waiting for me at the bar, sipping on his classy whiskey with the sun hitting him just so. Seriously. He looked amazing and I was so happy we got ready separately so we could have that silly lil moment.

• After hanging in the bar for a bit, we took the COTA bus to Rigsby's Kitchen for an 8:00 reservation. Matt got an IPA and we shared the Grilled Mozzarella Brochette appetizer which was mighty tasty. Nothing I'd ever dream up on my own to make and not really something I'd be naturally led to on the menu, but our persuasive waitress talked us into it. We weren't disappointed. For dinner Matt ordered the House Made Sausage Pizza while I enjoyed the Sea Scallops (with fingerling potatoes and bacon-wrapped green beans). The presentation of everything was beautifully elegant and everything was yummy. Definitely one of those places that's known for ambiance and presentation with price tags to match so probably not a repeat restaurant for us, but a good choice for the occasion, for sure.
• The weather was so spring-lovely so we took advantage of it and walked back down High St. to the Hiltom for dessert at the hotel restaurant. We were the only peeps in the place which alway seems sort of weird and the apple pie thingy Matt ordered was wildly disappointing and crazily overpriced. Oh well. Ya live and and learn.

• Back in the room The Boy whipped out a big ol bottle of Asti Spumante that he'd smuggled in inside his bag. Sneaky! He wanted to make a toast to our future and reflect on our past together. Precious man. He ended by reading me his would-be vows from our wedding day that he had misplaced. The part that sticks out the most?  "Kelli Marie Shearron, You're my sunrise and sunset... through the trees." ;) We laughed at the cheesiness of it for a while!
• To end the glorious day together we christened the king sized bed once more and whew! It was even more excellent than earlier in the day! (Z and J, I realize that one day you'll probably be reading through this blog and things like what I just typed will make you blush or gag or worse. Get it over it, Babes. You'll be thankful that I remembered the moments like these one of these days and then you'll fall in love and you'll have moments like these with your special person too. So there!)

Sunday:

• We slept in! I think we woke up sometime in the 8 o'clock hour and its funny that at this stage of our lives that's sleeping in, but it was great! And then, to round out the weekend, one more romp in the sheets and good Lord! It was the best that its been in a long time!!!! (Okay, now I'm blushing!)
• We took our time easing into the day and checked out of the hotel around 10 a.m.
• We walked to Cup O Joe on the cap and enjoyed fantastical coffee as we walked into the Short North and explored Philco We had an incredible meal  and we will be going back there soon! I got the Fried Egg Tacos (with chorizo!) and Matty ordered The Traditional. We shared the savory Hushpuppies which were a flavor letdown in comparison to my meal. But no matter. It was a good experience all around.
• After brunch we window-shopped around the Short North for a while, eventually got the car out of the Hilton garage and then we wandered around Franklin Park Conservatory for an hour or more. Again, the weather was picture perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed the chance to get to spend so much time outdoors doing what we wanted to do - a lot of nothing much at all!

• For a late lunch we made it over to Katalina's, another place I've been wanting to try and it was another new restaurant success! I got the Pesto Avocado sandwich which was a light, fresh, felt-pretty-healthy choice,  Matt got the club sandwich. The Shagbark chips that come with the sandwiches are chip perfection!  
• It was a bittersweet to end our weekend together when we picked up the kids between 3:30 and 4 p.m., but all good things must come to an end, right? We're so thankful for the help of Carla, Kim and Maryke for watching the kiddos overnight and taking great care of them and we're so thankful that we got a chance to truly celebrate our marriage together. 2013 was rough for us and that's putting it nicely. Here we are in 2014 now though, a new year, another year of marriage that's beginning and it felt like we truly had joy over our anniversary. Praise God!

Bread & Wine

I feel like Shauna Niequist is my friend. 

In the last couple of months I've read through two of her (three) books and they've been so easy, enjoyable, so sitting-in-a-friend's-living-room-sharing-a-bottle-of-wine kinds of books. I'm thankful. 

LOTS of good stuff in her most recent book, Bread and Wine and again, its one I should probably just buy. For now though, the library copy is doing me well and typing out her nuggets of goodness helps the thoughts stick in my brain a little bit better. 

So, without further ado, a bunch of quotes (with my own emphasis added) from my good friend Shauna. 

pages 106, 107 & 109: What people are craving isn't perfection. People aren't longing to be impressed; they're longing to feel like they're home. If you create a space full of love and character and creativity and soul, they'll take off their shoes and curl up with gratitude and rest, no matter how small, no matter how undone, no matter how odd... it isn't about perfection and it isn't about performance. You'll miss the richest moments in life - the sacred moments when we feel God's grace and presence through the actual faces and hands of the people we love - if you're too scared or too ashamed to open the door. I know its scary, but throw open the door anyway...

page 176-177: The heart of hospitality is creating space...protecting the fragile bubble of vulnerability and truth and love. Its all too rare that we tell the people we love exactly why we love them - what they bring to our lives, why our lives are richer because they're in it. We do it best, I think, with our nuclear family - most of us tell our children and spouses how much we love them easily and often. But that night... we risked the awkwardness of saying tender, meaningful things out loud in front of everyone, in front of our friends, trusting that those words would travel down to a very deep part of someone we cared about...
Sometimes food is the end and sometimes its a means to an end, and sometimes you don't know which it is until it happens... The food and the table and the laughter helped to create sacred space, a place to give someone the gift of words. That's what the night was about - sacred space and words of love.

page 181: Kids aren't vanity projects and they're not extensions of our own images... He's a person, not a paper doll. And we're his parents, not his marketing team. 

page 250: The sacraments are tangible ways to represent intangible ideas: new life becomes something we can feel and smell and see when we baptize in water. The idea of a Savior, of a sacrifice, of body and blood so many centuries ago, fills our senses and invades our present when our fingers break bread and our mouths fill with wine. 

We don't experience this connection, this remembering, this intimate memory and celebration of Christ, only at the altar. We experience it, or at least we could, every time we are fed. During that last meal, that last gathering of dear friends and disciples, Jesus was inviting us to gather around a table and remember, in church buildings and outside of them, during the sacrament of Communion and outside of it. 

When you offer peace instead of division, when you offer faith instead of fear, when you offer someone a place at your table instead of keeping them out because they're different or messy or wrong somehow, you represent the heart of Christ. 

page 251: ...the genius of Communion, of bread and wine, is that bread is the food of the poor and wine the drink of the privileged, and that every time we see those two together, we are reminded of what we share instead of what divides us.

page 252: I believe the bread and wine is for all of us, for every person, an invitation to believe, a hand extended from divine to human. I believe its to be torn and handled, gulped. I believe that we can practice the sacrament of Communion anywhere at all, that a forest clearing can become a church and any one of us a priest as we bless the bread and the wine. 

And I believe that Jesus asked for us to remember him during the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine every time, every meal, every day - no matter where we are, who we are, what we've done. 

If we only practice remembrance every time we take Communion at church, we miss three opportunities a day to remember. What a travesty! Eugene Peterson says that "to eyes that see, every bush is a burning bush." Yes, that, exactly. To those of us who believe that all of life is sacred, every crumb of bread and sip of wine is a Eucharist, a remembrance, a call to awareness of holiness right where we are. 

I want all the holiness of the Eucharist to spill out beyond the church walls, out of the hands of priests and into the regular streets and sidewalks, into the hands of regular, grubby people like you and me, onto our tables, in our kitchens and dining rooms and backyards. 

Holiness abounds, should we choose to look for it. The whisper and drumbeat of God's Spirit are all around us, should we choose to listen for them. The building blocks of the most common meal - the bread and the wine - are reminders to us: He's here! God is here, and he's good. Every time we eat, every time we gather, every time the table is filled: He's here. He's here, and he is good.

page 257: I want you to stop running from thing to thing, and to sit down at the table, to offer the people you love something humble and nourishing, like soup and bread, like a story, like a hand holding another hand while you pray. We live in a world that values us for how fast we go, for how much we accomplish, for how much life we can pack into one day. But I'm coming to believe that its in the in-between spaces that our lives change, and that the real beauty lies there. 

Cuddle Chats

Lately Zachari has really craved quality, one-on-one time with her mama. I'm learning to see it as the sweetness that it truly is, the utmost of compliments, rather than how I started to view it: neediness, inconvenient, even a little annoying. Wait. Did I really just write those words? I am so selfish. My precious daughter, the one we call Baby Girl, she loves me. She misses me even when we're sitting across the table from each other. She likes me. And who am I to deny her some quality time away from the boys and distractions and the mess of a house? Its a GIFT that she wants to be near me. I am thankful. 

Matt's putting her to bed now, they're reading something from The Jesus Storybook Bible and they've been reading it every night since her birthday. She requests it each day and sometimes she wants to read something with me during the day before her bedtime routine with Papa. It amazing how much she's learning through the stories and just soaking it all up. Amazing!

Before bed though, she asked if we could snuggle. I stopped the to-do list in my mind and said yes. And man, am I glad I did! This is the fourth time we've had some time together like this in the last month or two. Its usually after a bath and always after jammies are on and Jon's in bed and there's no boys allowed! - her strict rule, not mine. We get under the covers in my room, turn the lights down and hold hands while we look at each other and talk. The first time we did this we talked about her body - the ins and outs of it, how God made her body to look just so, how she's perfect the way she is. We talked about her beauty - inside and out and together we dreamed of what sorts of things she might be into as she gets a little older. Will she like sports or maybe dance and the creative arts? Will she learn to like to get messy outdoors because of her little brother? Will she learn to ride a bike soon? As we laid there in the stillness of the evening light I saw her grow up right before my very eyes. There won't always be these precious moments with her. Soak it up, Kelli. Soak. It. Up.

The second and third snuggly times we were less serious, much more silly. We imagined silly toothpaste flavors like peanut butter and apple (for Papa, of course) or spinach and kale bites (for Brother, of course). I enjoyed hearing her come up with what were utterly disgusting combos and ones that might actually sell in a store. We also listed off all the things she could do when she gets bigger. A singer, a painter, a teacher, a mama, an astronaut, a chef, "someone who works at AB6 News, like Papa!". I reminded her that she can do anything, be anything, accomplish anything! We referenced the talk about how God made her perfectly and that her brain was so smart, so lovely, so miraculous. Those were fun evenings. 

Tonight we gave our girls-only moments a name: Cuddle Chats. We're official now. We discussed life when I was a little girl which turned into lots of specific questions about Grandma Jane and what she was like. Our time was great and I didn't get too sad, but there was a part of me that grieved the loss of Mom for my baby girl. She misses her, but the two of them never met. There are moments when its as though Mom is reincarnated through Z's facial expressions or 'tude she tosses around. Zachari is so curious about a grandma she'll never know, a mother-daughter relationship between me and her that she'll never witness and a chance to bond that's been stolen from her. It is what it is. Its okay, but for a brief moment tonight it really hit me that Mom is truly missing out and that Zachari is more and more like her all the time.