Blessings

I know this song has been circulated for quite some time now, but it's just so good.



Tomorrow's Friday!

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A Day at the Beach

Don’t you just love weekends that stretch on and on as if in a magical continuum of awesomeness?  I do.  This last weekend was one of those “time-stands-still-because-I’m-in-my-happy-place” kind of times.

Well, after a wonderful Friday and Saturday, our good friend Dani came to spend Sunday with us.  She showed up early enough for cinnamon rolls for breakfast and the grand tour of our place. Then we hit the road headed West.  Driving over the pass, we were pelted with driving rain, but the moment we stepped out of the car and onto the beach, the rain seemed to stop altogether.

Dani and Me

The Mr!!

Cannon Beach :)

A week ago, Dani posted her Bucket List on her blog; and I found a few that we could ‘check off’ while she was in town.  So the Mr. and I found some kiddy-sand toys and a kite to help make all of her dreams come true. One item on her bucket list was to build a sandcastle - moat and all! And, boy, did we build a sandcastle!  Complete with a drawbridge to span the moat and everything!

My Beloved and Me

Our Epic Sandcastle

Dani Filled the Moat

We flew kites, bought salt water taffy, sent messages in a bottle, ate ice cream, and talked and talked and talked.  Let me tell you, this girl is pretty rad.  We SO loved spending this time with her… a sweet reminder of home and of the blessing of friendship.

After church and dinner at Imbrie Hall, we had to say goodbye.  It was such a fun time of fellowship – tough to get back to reality this week.  (Especially with the Mr.’s new job schedule. 4:30am wake-ups = Yuck!)  Ah, but we are thankful for the job...  :)

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Look What's Hanging on My Wall....

I love Scrabble & I love my husband.

Happy Tuesday...  :)

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Published ( !!! )

As alluded to over here, I was asked to be a contributing blogger for Head Count - The Chronicle of Higher Education, after the regularly-contributing author read this little 'ole Blog-oth.

My first post went live today.   And for my Groupie-Mom, you can find the article here.

Sweet.

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Guinness & Flowers

Remember how it's been a rough week at work and how the Mr. just finished his first year of Optometry school and how we've been married for 10 months?  Well, the Mr. decided to celebrate by whisking me off for a romantic weekend in downtown Portland!  

He took me to the oldest restaurant in town (133 years old!) followed by a little shopping, some Guinness (a first for us both!), and a night at a charming hotel.

At the Oldest Restaurant in Portland

On Saturday morning, we ventured out to Portland's Saturday Market for the first time since we moved here.  It was about time!  We enjoyed an amazing Gyro for lunch, listened to funky music, and ran into one of our friends who was selling his handmade pottery. Awesome.  And we found some rad fresh flowers...

It was so nice to spend this time together... I'm thankful for this thoughtful man!  Sad to see this weekend come to an end...

Today we took a trip to the beach with one of my favorite people... but more on that later.  :)

Happy Sunday!

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Summer Nights

 

Dear 65⁰ Weather,
You make me wanna bust out the flippy flops and summer dresses... just sayin'.  But freals, I just LOVE these summery spring nights.  This last week has been a doozy at work, so the nice weather has been quite welcome.  In fact, the Mr. and I even got out for a few evening runs and some great tennis.  Oh boy, do I love that man! We even happened upon a little league baseball game.  Summer, are you on your way? 
Now bring on the ice cream and tan lines!


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Overdue Post: Mother's Day Weekend

Last weekend was one for the books.

Though I am admittedly tardy in this post, last weekend was still one worth documenting.  On Thursday night, we helped Carrie and Everett pack up the last of their belongings here in Forest Grove (resulting in one of the most tightly-packed U-Hauls I have ever beheld!) and drove up to Sunnysie, the Mr’s hometown, together.  I have to admit, I did cry a little at the sight of their empty house – though Carrie was quick to mock my tears as she reminded me that we’d be seeing them in a mere 3 hours when we all reach Sunnyside.  We sure miss them already.

All the Boboths at Melange

Friday was spent catching up with friends in the area, golf for the boys and a trip to the salon for the girls, and playing Settlers of Catan.  Sunnyside is such a restful place to be.  On Saturday, we headed to lunch at a cute café in Yakima to celebrate Mother’s Day with the Boboth family.  Afterwards, we headed to one of the Mr.’s best friends’ wedding.  It was really fun to reconnect with old college friends.

Mr. & Mrs. Horsley

Then we had to say goodbye to C & E. Boo.

We headed up to Spokane to surprise MY mom… and arrived at 10pm just in time to catch her walking out of the school play she was attending with my dad.  I have not heard her voice hit that decibel in quite some time.   Like I said here, I LOVE surprises.

We returned to my parent’s house for homemade cookies and conversation late into the night. I told the Mr. that we should stay up all night to make the most of every second that we had there. Besides, I can never go to bed early when I’m in the same house as my little sister. She’s, like, awesome.

Sunday began with our annual Mother’s Day breakfast of bran muffins and orange juice.  Don’t think we don’t try to spoil our mother, she actually requests bran muffins. I love our traditions. J We headed to church, followed by brunch with my grandparents and aunt.  Never a dull moment. Our time in Spokane was far too brief, yet extraordinarily sweet.  What a gift family is!  We sure missed having everyone else there… especially Brian and Kelly.

Happy Mother's Day!

*Almost* the whole Schlect family...

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and the ‘goodbye’ would have been much harder if we didn’t have Memorial Day weekend to look forward to… can’t wait to be home again!

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Late Night, Date Night...

Tonight, I had the gift of time with the Mr.  He joined me on my evening run, we had a nice dinner together, and ended the night with an unexpected run to Walmart and Goodwill.  We could have spent hours roaming the aisles of that treasure hunt store.  The Mr. walked away with a sweet tennis racket and a catcher's mitt... we'll have to make Goodwill a habit.

Also, we found Reese's ice cream sandwiches at Walmart... WIN.  A great end to a great evening... and 10 months later, I still love holding his hand sitting on the couch watching a movie.

Mr., I have so much fun with you no matter what we're doing.  Whether we're wandering the aisles of Goodwill or walking miles and miles just talking... Love you to infinity and beyond!

PS - We are now 4 days away from our legendary trip to the coast with our awesome friend, Dani!!

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On Mothers: Boycotting Mother's Day

I’m protesting.  I am not writing a blog about mothers because it’s Mother’s Day weekend… I refuse to celebrate the lovely women in my life merely because Hallmark tells me to.  Marketing is lame.

No, I do not write about mothers for all those reasons; I write because I must. Mothers (and dads too!) are truly the unsung heroes of society. They are the formative voices in our lives to make us who we are, the shapers of the next generation.  I have been blessed beyond measure by the moms in my life.

I have two amazing grandmothers who raised awesome kids. You can read all about them over here.  Seriously though, the legacy of love of these two women stretches far and wide.

They were BOTH there when I picked out my dress!!
Such a special day...

When I got married, I gained another grandmother.  She is a woman of grace, kind words, and arms that are always poised ready for a hug. I felt like I was a part of her family before we were even engaged.  Such love.

With Grandma & Grandpa Plant at our Wedding

When I got married, I also gained a mom.  I used to wonder if it would ever feel comfortable to call anyone other than my own mother, “mom”.  Now, I do.  In my sweet mother-in-law, I have found both mother and friend.  I feel like a daughter in every sense of the word. She has taught me so much in the 3 short years I have known her.  I am thankful for this woman of God who raised such an incredible son.  I know that I am treated so well by the Mr. because of this woman.  What a blessing she is to me!

Now, for the woman who changed my life.  My momma.  Words cannot express how much this lady means to me.  I know what it means to be a woman of God because of her example.  She demonstrated true submission, love, and respect as a wife.  She taught me how to choose a stellar husband by her example.  (My dad is a man among men.  See?)  She showed me the relentless love of Christ as she unconditionally and relentlessly loved me when I was difficult to love.  She sacrificed the glory and status of being a ‘career woman’ to invest in us.  She taught me what it meant to be a friend; and she cried with me as I learned the difficult lessons of friendships.

My mom is my groupie, one of my biggest supports.  When I had an event, she was there.  When I wrote and recorded a CD of songs, she listened to it over and over and over again, memorizing every word.  When I started liking a new kind of music, she tried to ‘appreciate it’ too.  When I excelled, she celebrated; when I failed, she pushed me to look towards achieving the next victory rather than dwelling on the negative.  This woman gave me the confidence that I have today.

She tolerates the endless teasing that her children send her way with the utmost grace. And you'll notice that I don't have a plethora of pictures with her in them... that is a very practical demonstration of the way Mom lives her life.  Not vying for the spotlight, happy to let her children shine.

Fanny. Pack.

Beyond being an awesome mom, she is an amazing woman and friend.  Just ask anyone who knows her… they will speak of her endless servant’s heart, her love for Christ, her selfless hospitality, and her AMAZING cooking.   She is far too humble to admit this (so I have to do it for her), but this woman is the embodiment of Christ’s love.  She is constantly taking meals to those in need, and is always quick to open her house to hoards of people. (Her record for a sit-down dinner? 27 adults!) Wowza.

Pretty much, my mom’s cooler than your mom.

So that, my friends, is why I refuse to write a blog on Mother’s day… the “Moms” in my life deserve to be celebrated ALL YEAR ‘ROUND.   Even though this Hallmark day is a good reminder, make sure you tell your momma “thank you” in September too.

Love you, Mom. My cheerleader, my comfort, my best lifelong friend.

PS – Again, my concision fails.  However, this entry is still an inadequate picture of the ways these women have touched my life. 

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Three Incredible Guys!

Dear Beloved,
Congrats on finishing your first year of Optometry School!!  I couldn't be more proud of you and all of your hard work over these last nine months.  You never cease to amaze me with your discipline, determination, and work ethic.  Thank you for working so hard for our future. I am so looking forward to this summer - now that we can reclaim our evenings and weekends!!!

You really are my bestie; and life with you is a dream. I have SO much fun with you! Like our duet last night of "Endless Love"?  Yeah, move aside, Lionel Richie & Diana Ross! Be still my fluttering heart...  Love you to infinity and beyond!  Now go enjoy a congratulatory beer.

Dear Big Brother,
Congrats on finishing up your second year of Law School and on your pending interview in the coming weeks! I am so proud of you and all of YOUR hard work! It thrills me to see your hard work paying off... NM would be lucky to have you!  I miss you like crazy and look forward to the next time we can beat you and your amazing wife in Euchre! Love you so, Bri.

Dear Brother-In-Law,
BIG Congrats on passing your National Boards Exam!  We are so excited for you and proud of you! (If younger siblings are allowed to be proud of their older siblings...)  We have every confidence that you will be a great eye-doctor; but, we are going to miss you and your gorgeous wife a TON.

(Psst, I'm related to some pretty awesome guys, huh?)

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Great News!!

We are now just TWO weeks away from Dani Weekend!!!   I pretty much can't wait to spend some time with this incredible lady...

Just sayin...

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