Life of a Pilgrim

Observations from the past week

One week ago I left my Perspectives class early with my head swimming under the pressure of an oncoming cold. Since then, I’ve taken up permanent residence on the couch…today will mark the first day I will venture beyond the mailbox since that day. Below are my observations from the week, none of them particularly profound, followed by a few pictures to perhaps redeem this otherwise insignificant post. We moved into our house in late November, and while for the most part our yard currently looks like one giant weed factory, there is one bright spot…a gorgeous flowering cherry right outside our front window. Of course I didn’t grab the camera in time to capture it at its peak (uh, the brown edges on the flowers add a nice artistic touch, right?), but I did manage to drag myself off the couch the other day to capture a few shots–a task all the more important due to the fact that my husband has threatened to tear out the tree. Now anyone who knows Jeff knows he has an extraordinary (perhaps over the top?) love of all things green, and especially trees; however, he has concerns about the proximity of this particular tree to the foundation of our house. Here’s hoping the tree can remain…now onto my observations:

• The human body can produce a ridiculous amount of snot.
• When one is going through an average of one box of kleenex per day, the brand does matter.
• Misery really does love company.
• Marrying a man who can make a mean pot of soup was a very wise idea.
• Marrying a man who brings home flowers with the ingredients for said soup was a very wise idea.
• Being laid up sick on the couch does not decrease (if anything increases) the frenetic flip flops of our baby girl.
• One can spend a decent amount of time debating whether 48 hours of severe food poisoning (while pregnant) or a week of a severe head cold (while pregnant) is more tolerable.
• DayQu*l and NyQu*l are God’s gift to the sick. It’s a shame these cannot be consumed while pregnant.

Hello? Anyone there?

I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to list the excuses or try to explain the reason for utter silence the last…has it really been eight months? My goodness. I must admit, part of me has struggled with what to make this space. In China the opportunities for stories, photographs and reflection seemed endless. But now? Life in the States? Days filled with church, errand running, work, small groups…where is the extraordinary in that? How do I speak out of that to edify, challenge, entertain and engage others?

And yet, that is exactly why I return to this blog this Saturday morning. I want to return to that seeking of the transcendent within the mundane of life. That glimpse of eternity within the common. That pursuit of beauty and truth when tempted to view all as ordinary. I want to be compelled to pick up my camera more often, to worship and to marvel as I seek to capture one slight fraction of the complexity of creation.

And so, if there is anyone still out there, I ask for patience and grace as I stumble to find my words again. Something tells me there may be more ample material for both images and reflection very soon though.

Yes, while this space has been silent there has been a lot going on. And in about two months a sweet little girl will be making her arrival.

Sunday Snapshot {Fleeting Summer}

Canon Rebel, Canon IS 28-135mm, f7.1, ISO 400, 1/320, edited in Photoshop CS5

For the life of me, I do not know what has happened to the summer. Jeff and I entered the summer with grand plans of what we wanted to do. We accomplished task number one quite handsomely: get married.

{A little sneak peek…more of the special day to come.}

A few other things have been checked off as well…go to the local water park, pick cherries, pick blueberries, relax on Lake Chelan.

But the weeks have slipped away with many of the desired activities sadly neglected. One of those activities is the hiking we dreamed of doing once the winter snows {finally} melted from the mountains. However, while the mountains are by no means far from us, and the snow has been melted for quite some time, a week ago we had yet to make this dream a reality. Hiking requires intentionality and planning…two things that in our lazy summer days have perhaps not been our strong suit.

We attempted to correct that error this past week. Jeff took some time off mid-week, we got off our bottoms, and headed about three hours north and west.

And it wasn’t long into the hike that we were saying, “Oh my word, we need to do this way more often.”

It’s amazing how therapeutic it is to slip away from the hustle and bustle and noise of civilization and into the beauty of undisturbed creation.

Where flowers grow not because they were planted, but simply out of delight in what they were created to do.

And long {somewhat} arduous climbs are rewarded with tucked away reservoirs of stunningly clear {and cold} water.

Water so clear that you can watch the fish dash about.

Yes, indeed, this is a sweet balm to the soul.

Here’s hoping for greater intentionality to indulge in that balm more often.

Sunday Snapshot: Married!

It was a stunningly perfect day in a breathtaking location. MUCH more to come…all I have is a cell phone capture from someone else at the moment. But for now, it’s off to San Diego with my new husband!

Vacillating

I am now less than four weeks away from the wedding. And I’m pretty much vacillating every day every hour between this philosophy:

And this philosophy:

Most of the time I’m managing to stick with philosophy number one…but then there are moments I start to calculate everything that must be done in the short time we have left leading up to the wedding, and, well, it becomes quite easy to shift into philosophy number two.

I had a “now panic and freak out” moment at Pike’s Place last weekend. We’ve been planning for awhile to pick up dried flower bouquets from Pike’s to use in our reception centerpieces. The bouquets are ridiculously affordable and ridiculously beautiful. We’d been to Pike’s a few times in the past few months, and were told the bouquets would still be there in May. Imagine, then, my dismay when we arrived and all those beautiful dried bouquets had been replaced by live ones. Live ones that would be very much dead by the time the wedding came a month later.

And so I stood in Pike’s Place, on the verge of major waterworks spilling from my eyes and quite close to panicking and freaking out. But, I’d say lucky for us if I believed in luck, we then managed to find the last of the dried bouquets hidden here and there. And while I didn’t have as much choice as I may have desired, I’m just thrilled that we {hopefully} have enough for the centerpieces.

Once my freakout moment was over (for that day hour), I was able to truly enjoy and take in the sights and scenes of the market through my lens. One of my favorite captures of the day was of this man perched in the midst of the crowds.

Sunday snapshot: A vineyard Mother’s Day

It seems like the only posts I can get together these days are Sunday snapshots. I guess such is the nature of life leading up to a wedding. Wedding busyness has only been compounded by my dad’s recent move to Wenatchee…into a house that must be completely repainted inside (in the midst of ongoing renovations nonetheless) before the rehearsal dinner is hosted there. Let’s just say this painting novice is becoming quite the expert, and is developing a particular talent for taping and cutting in.

Yesterday, however, Jeff and I traded in our paint brushes for wine glasses.

In celebration of the day we took his mother to the nearby area of Lake Chelan.

We started out with a picnic lunch.

And then moved on to the main event: wine tasting.

The area surrounding this glacial lake is dotted with vineyards, most of which boast their own tasting rooms.

Our first stop was perhaps our favorite in terms of scenery. The setting was simply spectacular.

I’m quite excited to see grapes on the vine for the first time later this year, but for now there’s just early growth.

We sipped on a refreshing bottle of white at this first place, and enjoyed a friendly game of monopoly deal.

At stop number two, it was a couple tastings and then a flight of reds and flight of whites.

Stop number three boasted a few more tastings, including a quite excellent cabernet sauvignon that now resides on our wine rack.

And then stop number four, our final stop, added a nice Malbec to the collection.

It was a beautiful day with stunning scenery, and splendid company. A day in which I was reminded once again how incredibly blessed I feel to be living in this little corner of the world.

Only downside of the day? The rather pronounced tan lines I developed. Tan lines that most likely would show up in certain dresses. Certain dresses like, oh you know, a wedding dress.

Strange tan lines or not, I can hardly wait for the day I marry this man. Just about a month to go!