euphoria on an island

i am wonderfully filled up after the recent weekend.  i am busting at the seams, quite honestly.

the Emerson family joined us on Bainbridge Island this weekend for the Memorial holiday - we spent the mornings, afternoons and evenings living on the deck overlooking the downtown Seattle skyline... sipping wonderful drinks and watching the kids run up and down the hillside -- whether rain or shine, the kids lived outside.

we woke to fresh brewed coffee and wonderful breakfasts which lead to easy lunches and playing at the beach which rolled into quiet time and naps whilst the adults began contemplating the wonderful drinks that would best compliment the sunshine outside and conversations at hand... it was absolutely wonderful.

no one was left wanting for anything - other than another couple of days together.

Reese loved standing in the rain...

Kate and Riles in the rain...

Kate and Regs in the rain...

Relaxing together under the couch pillows...

Playing with the crabs they caught at Waterfront Park...

Reese and Benjamin eating breakfast this morning on the deck...

... eating breakfast.

Kate and Regs eating breakfast this morning...

Katie had the idea... Kyle cut the fabric and Jess spent hours sewing bears for Katie and Regan.  Such fun!!

Reese, Regan, Katie ... Benjamin, Riley and William... the 'troop'!

... we'll do this again.

rewind

this post will demand that i rewind back to our weekend and tell stories of the fun on bainbridge -- but as for now, this will suffice... the park today, before getting on the boat to come home, was wonderful. Ryan, Kyle and Max had already taken off and Jen and I corralled the younger kids, packed a lunch and went to see more of the island... we ended at the park at the marina.

mom and dad

Engagement Photo '72

today is my parents' 38th wedding anniversary and this year its hitting me harder than the past years.

perhaps its that i've just recently spent 10 days with my parents watching them do what they do best - partnering with each other and doing life together.

my Mom on her wedding day '73

my Mom fell head over heals for my Dad when she was 14 and he was 17 -- although three years apart in age, they were only a year apart in school due to my Mom skipping a couple years early on in her eduction.  on their first date my Dad showed up at my grandparents' door with a picnic basket and blanket... i would have loved to have seen my grandpa barclay's face!  from that moment on my Dad has not stopped pursuing my Mom and romancing her.  they were married at 20 and 23 years of age in 1973 in Bellevue and two days later traveled across the country having graduated college and ready to start the Army life -- my Dad was an Optometrist in the service immediately out of college.

they had geoff in '75, me in '78 and David in '82 ... and due to their persistence (clear my throat) they shockingly had a baby in '93 -- my wonderful sister, Hannah!

this recent weekend i was in kennewick with katie, william and benjamin and i got to visit my parents' church.  pastor Mark was in the midst of a series called 'The Vow' and was preaching on the importance of pursuing your spouse as you once did... there were so many nuggets of wisdom and moments of shocking honesty - at one moment, Mark was explaining to the women the importance of 'surprising' your husband once in awhile and had the audience in an uproar of laughter... my Mom nudged me and motioned toward my Dad... he was laughing so hard and smiling so big - and he was BLUSHING.  it had me smiling from ear to ear knowing that that is exactly what they have in their marriage -- a desire to pursue each other and serve each other at all cost... and to be quite honest, its never bothered me; its never embarrassed me... its always been something that people appreciate and find notable and most often, long for in their own marriage.

my family in '82

i'm not just talking romance in the sense that makes your ears turn red -- i'm talking about the things that bring tears to your eyes or make you stop and ask questions of your own relationship... they sit on the deck every night sipping a glass of wine together whether summer or winter; dinner at the table every evening and the coffee is prepared every morning -- their life is built around being in relationship with each other and keeping the doors open to communication... although i'm sure they've been isolated from each other at times emotionally, the home and life they've created demands they daily set aside any pride and work through their differences to get to the root of what God has for their lives, in the moment, together.  they've raised each of us kids that way... if not by words of instruction, then definitely by example -- you could ask any of my siblings. 

dad, mom and hannah '2011

the last 48 hours of being home has been a wonderful experience for me... my desire to pursue my husband, encourage my husband with words of affirmation and do a good thing for my husband the minute i think of doing it instead of just intending to thas me excited!!  and you can bet, once we're over the cough crud that's going around, i'll be ready to surprise him when he's least expecting it.

mom and dad, thank you for setting for each of us kids a beautiful example of what marriage is ... and though you're human and not perfect, you've been intentional in creating for each of your children what it looks like to partner with the Lord and build a home that brings Him glory - it began with keeping your eyes on Him and secondly, Dad not being able to keep his hands eyes off Mom... (clear throat) and visa versa.

I love you so much - Happy Anniversary!

... and Mom you're gonna love your getaway.  as always, Dad's surprises are the best.

 

its sunny out

so lets do everything that is sunny...

playing with the hose to movie nights on the deck

the baby bird

i'm not a mom who's quick to come to my child's aid - cause the likelihood is that they've got their mind made up that they cannot accomplish what it is they are fully capable of accomplishing.

i'm not a mom who's always excited to see what it is my child wants to show me - unless its William because his show and tell is usually few and far between and to be quite honest, is fascinating if not inventive as well - because to be quite honest i've seen it all before and i'm hoping to mold for my child when its most appropriate to vie for someone's attention... the bets aren't on the smoothest rock you found in the garden.

understandably, the appeal for attention says something about my lack of playing puzzles on the floor with my child, baking with my child and in turn, allowing umpteenth hours of AWESOME be branded into their minds by watching Star Wars IV, V and VI this last week.  (oh wait, and twice since we've been here they've watched Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones) - but all this is beside the point for the time being.

this afternoon i sat on my parents' covered patio in the afternoon heat... katie and will had just woken from quiet time and ben was still asleep in the back room - fan on, cool, crisp sheets and the shade drawn... the perfect summer nap.

all was blissful as the kids ran in wide circles around the yard and disappeared for a moment here and there to check the flower beds out front for bugs... when all of a sudden, Katie came to the patio panicked and stammering.  She asked me to come see what she had found.  This panic was different, the stammering was actually new and so i followed with intrigue in my step i might say...



and this is what they had found

so not unlike Michelle O'Shea attempting to rescue a Chihuahua from a busy intersection, i did what any mother would do.

at the request of my two eldest children, i beckoned my Mom's help and grabbed the extension ladder... when there was no possible way of using it to get me close to the nest (nestled under the eaves and hidden behind a tree too dense to penetrate with a large ladder) i mustered all my natural instinct and found. a. way. of getting this bird home...

in my demin mini skirt i scaled my parents' two story house one roof at a time... from front stoop to top of garage; from top of garage to top of house; from top of the house over the peak of the house... and down the other side...

and the children looked on while my cape blew in the wind, my copper bracelet blinded them in the sunlight and my tight, rubber boots gripped the shingles on the roof.

i slid the bird close to its nest and looked down at katie with a smile and a wink...