1000 Gifts: 301-320

-The Sixteenth Installment of 1000 Gifts- 301.  Roadtrips with my Love

302.  A local grocery store, familiar and known

303.  New running shoes

304.  Karaoke

305.  Chex Mix

306.  Brown Sugar'd Cinnamon Rolls

307.  The Beach

308.  Summer weather long-awaited

309.  Free wine-tastings

310.  Wet firewood and prolonged family memories

311.  A husband who prays with me

312.  Neoprene Band

313.  A beautiful hike

314.  A deep-cleaned bathroom

315.  Ivory Springs Soap

316.  Reminders of my weakness

317.  Two years of marriage

318.  Chicken Fajitas

319.  A night off from the kitchen

320.  "My Utmost for His Highest"

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In My Kitchen

There are no great boasts of creativity on my resume, no grand skills of which to claim.  There will be no gallery to hold my art, no historian to quote my philosophies, no choirs to sing my songs.  I bear no special skill for rhetoric or athleticism.  There is nothing particularly magnificent to share.

There is, instead, another chip in this no-longer-perfectly manicured nail polish.  These hands are so dry and cracked now.  The feet ache and the back moans, "Sit down," and the head spins and the sink fills and empties, fills and empties.  The fridge clears and the stomachs cease their growling.  From nothing, something comes.

This.  This is it.  This is how I love, this is that for which I was created.  There is no doubt of that in this place.

While there may be, in so many ways, nothing at all of note to share; it is in this place that I know He meets me. This place with porcelain sink and cast-iron pan -- this, this is sanctuary.  This place where I taste Creation.  This place where, if only for a moment, I see in part the creating of something from dust.  And He walks with me.

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Seaside

As mentioned here, we spent seven glorious days on the beach in Seaside celebrating my mom's birthday.  We couldn't have ordered better weather... it was the perfect blend of overcast and sunny, giving us ample time to relax while still allowing plenty of beach-time.

The third night we were there, we successfully convinced our parents to have a fire on the beach.  We had, after all, brought plenty of s'more supplies and didn't want them to go to waste.  And, after the experience we had in Pacific City, we knew we had to share it with my family.

For Mom's birthday, my Dad had arranged for a special dinner at EVOO, an incredible restaurant in neighboring town, Cannon Beach.  It was, quite possibly, the single most epic food experience of my life.

The View from our Room

Our Little Birthday Redecoration

My Wonderful Parents

Due to school schedules and such, all of my siblings (and husband) had to leave a few days early, so I was able to spend a few days with my parents. All to myself!  We went for an incredible hike and ended the day with some authentic gelato - imported directly from Italy!

It really was an incredible week.  It was a sweet reminder of how blessed we are to consider our family friends.  A week of card games, beach combing, boardwalk running, food cooking, reading, and just, plain being together.  Such times are becoming fewer and farther between as we all *sniff* grow up and go our separate ways, making those times we do spend together that much more precious.


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1000 Gifts: 281-300

-The Fifteenth (!) Installment of 1000 Gifts-

281.  Sleep

282.  Water

283.  Productive lunch breaks

284.  Company on a long run

285.  Reuniting with new/old friends

286.  New Car!

287.  Half-baked brownies

288.  Elsie Rose

289.  Half days

290.  Travelocity

291.  Old shoe friends

292.  S'mores

293.  Sunsets on the beach

294.  My dad

295.  Aloe with Lidocaine

296.  Party planning

297.  Fudgesicles

298.  Gold Bond Lotion

299.  Kelly Anne

300.  Extended family

Such Grace.



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Something About Home

We just returned from a wonderful, week-long vacation.  It was great and awesome and ridiculously refreshing to spend seven days with the people who know me best. Seven days on the beach.  Seven days with my family.  Seven days of great food. (Because, it is the Schlects, after all)  Seven days that absolutely made this summer.   I'll throw some pictures up here once I get them all organized.  It was a wonderful, wonderful week.

And yet, there's just something about coming back home.  The place where familiar smells hit me like a wave when I walk through the door.  The place I can navigate blindfolded. The way everything is where it should be, the way the soap lathers and cleans just right (yes, I am an Irish Spring enthusiast), the way there's just enough room in the produce drawer of my fridge, the way the knives are perfectly sharpened, the familiar scent of the pillowcase, the uneven way my oven bakes on the left side, the comforting way his hand shapes to fit mine...

Our home is simple, but our home is ours.  And, for now, it is home.

While I love adventure as much as anyone else, and my wanderlust is far from satisfied, there is something incredibly comforting in the familiar.  It just fits.

Today, I am thankful for this familiar bed, for this familiar kitchen, for his familiar arms, and for His familiar faithfulness.



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Two Years

   

 

 

I can hardly believe it has been two years; and what a wonderful two years it has been.  So fun, so crazy, so goofy, so busy, so blessed. So very thankful for the treasure I've been given in Cole.  Such outrageous Grace!



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