"Old Friends are best

less you can find a new {blog} friend

to make an old one out of"

From "Maycation" with blog friends Sarah Markley & Kristen Cheney.

Necklaces by Lisa Leonard.

MAYCATION!

today is the first day of "the most wonderful time of the year," 

MAYCATION!

"school's out for summer," and we'll be on maycation at the in-law's casa on bass lake!

for the next 14 days i will be found;

lounging on the beach

life-guarding (swimming is only for the young and brave.  the lake is still cold)

slathering young wakeboarders with sunscreen

on a ski boat waving the orange flag 

overseeing the construction of sandcastles 

(someone has to make sure they follow county building codes)

devouring fudgebuckets

markley girls & jones kids sharing a fudgebucket, maycation 09

 

bulking up my muffin top with junkfood

visiting with friends who have become family 

(our first visitors are blog friends with families- idaho mom & the best days of my life)

visiting with family who have become friends!

i HEART maycation!

and tell me when can you come for maycation? 

A few of my favorite things- Part 1

Growing up my least favorite thing about returning to school after Christmas break was the dreaded question, "what did you get for Christmas?" It wasn't because I received bad gifts (except for Purple Christmas 1992, when I received purple pants, purple boots, a purple purse, and other hideous purple items), it was just because up to that point I really liked my gifts (even the Pumpkin Patch doll I received when all the other girls were gifted the popular Cabbage Patch doll). I didn't like comparing gifts with the others. I didn't want to compare mine, I wanted to continue enjoying them.
Even then as a little girl on the school playground I wanted us to celebrate with each other the gifts big and small we'd each been given.

As I've grown I've aimed to become very intentional in the gifts I give. I have truly experienced, "that it is greater to give than to receive." I LOVE to give.
I am blessed from start to finish! Beginning with the "aha" moment the gift comes to mind, the process of creating, the moments of anticipation as the receiver opens the gift, and finally that moment when they discover they are known and deeply loved! Even now I tear up just at the thought of how WONDER-FULL that is!

Sarah Markley, from the blog Best Days of My Life explains it like this:
"In my own personal love-economy, gifts are important. I like to give them, I like to receive them. But it has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with knowing."

Over the next few days I will share with you gifts that share how we knew loved ones, and gifts that showed we were known.

Here are two ways I "knew" loved ones this Christmas.

I COULD NOT wait to give my sister her gifts! My sister and bro-in-law are in the process of adopting two darling little boys. She has had her eye on my Lisa Leonard mommy necklace that I wear, proudly displaying the names of my 3 loves- Noah, Emilie, & Josefine.

Look at her happy face below when she received her own mommy necklace!

In addition I took all of the photos taken of the boys since they received them and surprised her with a BLURB book.
I can't wait till they are officially ours, so I can finally share with you how stink'n ADORABLE they are.

I have scripture that God placed on my heart to pray for each of my children when they were babies.
Emilie's scripture comes from Ephesians 3:17-19

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (18) may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (19) and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

This scripture speaks of God's immeasurable love. I want my sweet girl to live in that. She will be reminded to do so as she wears her own Lisa Leonard necklace with her word "immeasurable" on it.

Did you give or receive a gift this Holiday Season that expressed "knowing?"

AND for the chance to win your own Lisa Leonard necklace, visit here to enter a GIVE AWAY!

It's vlogging, duh!

today in video blogville you'll get to spend the day with us in balboa, followed by beach play with with sarah markley, and wrapped up with dinner in san clemente with good friends steve & melanie (cromwell) crutchfield.
enjoy!

video blogging week airs now!

okay so here you go! video blogging week airing not the next week (as mentioned in this video) but the next next week... "many are the plans of a man's heart, but the Lord determines his steps." so my plans changed, all i can do is roll with it! hahahaha...ROLL WITH IT! get it? michael is in a wheel chair...it's so much funnier in my head than it is here on blog post.

so here's what you do-
start uploading the video (it will take a while).
go pop yourself some popcorn.
pull up a cozy chair.
and then enjoy this clip (okay mini-movie) from the monday and tuesday of video blogging week.

Real Friends

I am BLESSED by Real Friendship.