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10.05.2010 Catch Up

Love and Marriage-Children 6 Comments

I feel like it’s been a while since I just told y’all what was happening around here. Some of you have been kind enough to ask, so I thought I’d fill you in…

First, how I hung those pictures.

There really is no magic to it. I feel silly even showing you what I did. All you need are a hemp ball (which the girls so graciously unrolled for me :)):

Some good quality black mats:

This was actually the most difficult step. Because they are free hanging, you want them to be good quality. However, mats can get expensive and you must keep in mind I was trying to make my husband happy. The best deal I found was here. I am happy with the quality–good and sturdy. And yes, I bought all 100, but it was significantly cheaper to buy in bulk, and I have the ability to change/add pictures whenever I want.

Some crazy glue and clear tape:

A board, painted the same color as your wall, and screwed in place. And these little hangey down thingeys to tie your hemp to (I haven’t searched these out for best prices, but that’s the first website I found). They have a lip that goes behind the back of the board and a hook on the end.

I wish I could be a little more help with this step, but these items were already here when we moved in–and the reason for my different way to hang pictures.

Some weights to tie on the bottom:

I took the girls to the beach and let them collect the rocks.

As for the pictures, I ordered 5×7 glossy finish. I would think I would prefer matte finish, but I just don’t. I like the gloss. Something about them looks more finished to me.

I don’t have any pics of the process, but I just used the tape (easily removable if I want to change out photos as well) to secure the pictures in the mats. Then I used books laid at either end of a long piece of rope to lay things out on the floor as the would be on the wall. I wanted there to be a straight line of pics across the top, but the rest to look scattered.

After scattering and re-scattering (in a state of OCD madness) until I was happy with the color distribution, family member representation at eye level (yes, I took it that far), and placing landscape shots way up at the top…I used the Krazy glue to secure the hemp rope to the back of mats (And spent two days pulling flesh off my finger-tips to try to get rid of all the dad-gum glue stuck to me).

If you notice, while I measured the lengths of each rope, I ended up adding some length to the top as I was hanging. Just tied two ends together and trimmed the extra pieces as much as possible. I did the same thing at the bottom to get more rope to secure our rocks. I’m just telling you, that you don’t have to get stressed about things being exact. Rope extends, thank you Lord!

Moving on to life. The girls and I went to support Jeremiah in his race a couple of weekends ago.

I learned, yet again, that they do things a little differently here in Seattle 🙂

This weekend, Jeremiah’s Mom and Dad came for a visit, but I’m going to do a whole blog about that later.

The girls have started school.

Ashley actually took them to school on their first day (pictured above), because it was the one day I was back in Alabama for a wedding. I had some anxiety about not being there, but Ashley handled everything perfectly and I realized I am not needed nearly as much as I think I am :).

They are loving school. Pace because she’s just like that, and Mary Aplin because it’s the first time in her life she’s had her own friends and hasn’t just hitch-hiked along with Pace’s. Every morning when we pull up to the little church where their school is Mary Aplin screams, “School!! My class! My friends!” It makes my heart happy and helps me justify the ludicrous amount of money we’re paying for 3.5 hours, 3 mornings a week.

And while they’re at school, guess what I’ve been doing?? Writing. It’s scary to say. I’ve been trying to be disciplined about it. Really give that time when the girls are away to writing instead of exercising, or cleaning the house, or going to the grocery store, or paying bills… Obviously, those things still have to be done, but I am trying not to do them during that precious window. I drop the two little chicken wings off and get a big fat grin on my face thinking about the time that lies ahead. And then, it passes so quickly. It’s a lot of the reason for the major decline in blogging. I’ve been trying to put my writing efforts into the book more than the blog. That’s hard sometimes too. I get blog itch that I try to tell myself not to scratch 🙂

I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to get it published, but I am learning so much–and loving so much. I suppose the only way to learn to write a book is to do it, so I’ve given myself permission to write a first book. And to be ok with the fact that it’s not some wonderful piece of literature, but it’s my best right. now. The creative high that comes from typing away with one idea in mind and finishing in an entirely different place than expected, is a heady thing. To watch characters dance across the page in their own skin. I’ve been allowed a small taste of what Michelangelo meant when he said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

To feel that I’m being led on a journey. The thankfulness I feel for a Creator that allows me the gift of creation. The body-numbing satisfaction of watching the pieces finally slip into place. Those feelings make the writing worthwhile, truly, if nobody ever reads the words but me.

And it’s frustrating. On the mornings when the words clash and clang instead of rolling smoothly. When a character won’t cooperate as I’d like and the words sound typed instead of spoken. When my descriptions sound contrived and inserted. It is a finicky craft…which makes those glimpses of perfection all the more satisfying.

So, I hope you’ll keep coming to visit here, even though I am blogging much less. I hope that one day I’ll be able to share it with you all.
09.28.2010 Discovering Discovery

Nature and Embroidery 7 Comments

I think Seattle must have the best park system in the world. There are over 400!!! of them, and I feel the need to see each one. This past week, Jeremiah went to try out Discovery Park. We had heard it was a good one, but we did not know it was 534 acres, over 11 miles of trails, and a slice of true wilderness right down the road from us. He came home like a kid on crack-rock, saying no matter what I was going there the next day to take a run. My husband can tend towards the superlative, and I sort of smiled and told him I’d be sure and try it out sometime. (Thinking in my mind that I had way too much to do on Sunday to take a long run, and surely he was just over-zealous, seeing as how he had not experienced all the parks the girls and I had.) The next afternoon, when he offered to watch the girls AND cook dinner if I would just GO, I finally left the mile-long list of things I was trying to accomplish and went. Wondering what kind of wonderful notion had possessed my husband :).

It was the. most. beautiful. run I have ever taken. Deep green forests, glorious seclusion, to rocky beaches, to a lighthouse, a jaunt on the sand, white sailboats over the deep blue water, craggy daisies and fall’s bright berries, back to fern forests, and then the sad return to my car. I actually laughed out loud throughout the run over how shockingly beautiful each new turn became.

I arrived at home to my husband grilling hamburgers and teared up as I thanked him for the best gift I’d been given in a long time. “Told you,” he said with a big, knowing grin on his face.

I was eager to take the girls back, so that they could experience Discovery as well. I soon learned that there is a reason for the deep seclusion…you can’t park anywhere near the beaches. You literally have to take a mile or so hike in order to reap the rewards of the secluded beach. But these two little chicken wings were eager for the adventure:

It was a long go, and there were some serious hills,

But that first glimpse of the beach they’d been working for, made it all worthwhile:

As a parent, I am not sure there are any joys greater than watching the wonder of your children as they delight in new experiences

And learn to love one another

With the promise of a lighthouse and more sandy shoreline, we resumed our hike.

We met a frightful, eight-legged creature along the way:

That big sister, in her apprehension, convinced baby sister to touch

And when baby sister tried instructing her elder, she was accosted instead 🙂

Finally, we found the lighthouse.

And we stood at the pinnacle of our journey and talked of sailors long ago who would have crashed into these very rocks if not for this sturdy beacon, shining through the darkness

I asked it they would like to move into this house and become the new light-house keepers. Sounds enchanting to me.

They thought playing sounded much more fun

It was a wonderful, wonderful experience I hope they will never forget. I know I won’t.
09.21.2010 Lies and Submission

Love and Marriage 13 Comments

Do you ever lie to your husband? Are you ever tempted to lie because you want to appear to be submissive? Let me give you an example from our life:

I believe God places a desire (in most women) to make their house feel like a home. I believe God puts it there, which certainly makes it right. Our Creator forms within us a desire to create–to make our earthly dwellings a (albeit meager) shadow of the heavenly one He has prepared for us. The problem I run into is that He also asks that we be good stewards of the money He entrusts us with. I don’t know about you, but I have trouble making a beautiful home without money :). There is no “decorating budget” at our house at present.

So, what is a girl to do? I was about to move into a fully furnished home. Amen, what a blessing! However, while it is a blessing, it is also strange to be surrounded by things that aren’t ours. Especially since the couple we are renting from have an avid (AVID) love for the Orient. As in, the wife has written textbooks about the Sung Dynasty, and her husband devotes a large part of his retired life to collecting Asian art and textiles. There are also total libraries filled with books written in Chinese. I can value their passion; I can appreciate the art and clothing of a different culture, but it is in not my personal shadow of a heavenly dwelling 🙂

When we walked through the house before moving in, there were decorative robes and long tapestries written in Chinese hanging from the walls. All I could see were Mary Aplin’s peanut butter and jelly covered fingers running by and smudging their priceless collectibles. They offered to take down anything that made us nervous, and I smiled and asked that they please take it all down (Have you met Mary Aplin?!).

They did take down the valuables, but that left me with a whole LOT of blank space on the walls. I knew I couldn’t fill it all, but the big gaping area over the fireplace where a Chinese painting once hung just screamed “Fill Me!! Fill Me!!” While it was screaming at me, I received a little brochure in the mail from Pier 1, with a picture of a mirror that sent off a little spark in my heart. I started doing internet searches to see if I could find one similar on eBay, or Amazon, or a random knock-off anywhere. I tend to get obsessive when I get my mind set on something. Finally, I call our local Pier 1 “just to see,” I tell myself. Keep in mind, this has all happened over a couple of frenzied hours, and I have not informed Jeremiah that I even have a desire to fill a few wall spaces.

The nice lady at Pier 1 puts me on hold while she goes in the back to see if they have my mirror in stock… … …Not only do they have it, but it’s ON SALE!! I ask if they can hold it for me, but the answer is “No,” not for a sale item. The only way they can hold it is…if I buy it. I looked down at the coupon for another $15 off I held in my hand. I thought back to all those mirrors on eBay, none of which were as pretty or as cheap, and I swiped it. I caved under the sales pitch. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing my mirror, even if it did mean making a (for us) big purchase without asking my husband.

As soon as I hung up the phone, the dread hit me. How was I going to tell Jeremiah? It’s not as though you can easily hide a big mirror hanging over the fireplace 🙂 So here’s when the lie happened over our innocent little dinner table:

Me: I feel like we need to put something over that huge open space above the fireplace. Don’t you? It just feels sort of stark in the house with all the empty space, and I think that is probably the most important space to fill…

J: Ummm, have you looked around the house to see if there is something lying around we could stick up there?

Me: Pretty sure there’s not {What on earth does he mean? Seriously, I am thankful he is not in charge of decorating.}, and I found this really beautiful mirror at a great price from Pier 1. It’s on sale and I have a coupon.

J: We’ve been spending too much lately with the move and living here, let’s just be content. We have a great house, the last thing we need to spend money on right now is a mirror.

And there it was. Sunk in the water. My lie of omission, thinking I would manipulate him around to my way of thinking, not happening. And my mirror waiting on hold, already purchased, right down the road. What bothered me the most, was that he was absolutely right. I didn’t need that mirror right now. If I had consulted him, like I knew I should, from the outset, I could have been spared the lie and the buyer’s remorse. Why is it easy to lean on my husband in the big things (like whether or not to move to Seattle, or where to go to church…) but much harder to relinquish control of the small things?

I didn’t say anything to him at first. I was too embarrassed about being caught in my lie and unsubmissiveness. However, conviction crept up on me while I washed the dishes and kissed the girls goodnight. As Jeremiah and I sat in bed, I debated how I could ease the blow on myself, and finally decided that I should just be honest:

Me: I lied to you.

J: About what (His face is turning red, like he’s imagining some huge scandal)?

Me: I already bought that mirror I told you about at dinner. And I’m not sure if I can return it, because it was on sale.

J: Why in the world didn’t you just tell me you already bought it?

Me: Because I knew you would be more likely to agree if you were part of the decision. I know that’s manipulative. I’m sorry. {And now I am crying over a stupid mirror} I’ll ask if I can take it back.

J: I don’t want to be a person that tells you “No” all the time. I don’t think we should get it, but you decide.

What a beautiful picture of the grace God offers us. Even though we screw up, and think we can hide things from Him, and think we can make a better decision than He can…He’s still there, waiting for us to stop wallowing in our mistakes and just confess and ask for forgiveness.

After all that grace, you’d think I would have found a way to return the mirror wouldn’t you? Weellll, I got there, and I’m afraid I loved it even more in person. He had told me I could make the decision…And I convinced myself that he would be glad one day. How could he not love such a beautiful mirror at such a great price?

As a sort of an apology, I devised a much cheaper way to decorate the even larger wall space:

Which serves the dual purpose of helping us fight our homesickness. And the pictures reflect off that lovely mirror above the fireplace 🙂