spring break

The boys bounced into my bed.  "It's snowing!!" they squealed.  As we all ran to the windows, I thought, "But I thought it was springtime!"  It's unusual for our city to get snow in general, and all the more unusual after daylight savings time changes.  But as we flung open the curtains, we saw wet, large flakes of snow.  This photo shows you the irony of blooms and blossoms shivering under a blanket of cold.

The snow of Friday gave us much to enjoy while we looked forward to guests. Good friends visited us this weekend, and together we celebrated spring break with hope and relief.  I appreciate having space and heart to accommodate sleepovers and much-loved friends and family.  As I folded out the futon downstairs and made the guest bed, I felt thankful.

We've nearly survived yet another wet, cloudy winter here in the northwest rainforest.  It's time to enroll in summer camps and consider vacation plans.  In only a couple months, we can start packing for camping trips, comparing s'more recipes, and grilling dinners.  The flowers are peeking up from the mulch, and rose bushes are budding with life.  I survey the work ahead, and feel thankful.

What spring break would be complete without a trip to the beach?  Kids (not the Kenobis, thankfully) even ran into the surf barefoot.  A big hole in the sand provided hours of fun.  A peanut-butter and sandy-jelly sandwich provided a great lunch, topped off with hot chocolate and cookies.  As the kids ran down the dunes, I smiled at the sunny, blue skies and took a deep breath.  Life, with all its ups and downs, twists and turns, uncertainties and work... it is good.

There's much to enjoy in this season.  Kick off your shoes and soak it in.

love,

mamatoo

thank you art

Give a man a fish, and feed him for a week.

Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.

(Chinese proverb)

Friends taught me to fish yesterday.

I was invited to share the day with two friends who are enormously creative and generous.  They make handmade cards and stationary.  These cards always add the perfect touch to a well-timed gift, a kind thought, or a needed encouragement.  Learning this art was not as smelly as fishing, but almost as messy.  

When I first heard they were card-makers, I made some comment about not being "crafty."  I think the cards are beautiful, and the cardmakers are artists.  I don't mock it, but I don't do it.  That's my reaction around most artists - I love it, but I don't consider myself capable.

They could have shrugged it off.  They could have felt hurt to not share interests.  They could have basked in superiority.  They could have, but they didn't. 

Instead, I was invited to learn.  In a wonderfully tidy and welcoming home, my friends openly shared their supplies and ideas.  Bins of colored paper, rubber stamps, bits of ribbons, and catalogs were spread on the dining room table.  While the boys played with a friend in the next room, we created pieces of art. 

We laughed over coffee, and lunched on pizza.  We folded and sliced cardstock and used clever gadgets with strips of glue.   We squinted our eyes at each other's work, offering suggestions or compliments.  In the end, I was reconnected to my inner creativity, and I had something to show for it.  Here are some of the handmade cards I made, each unique and ready to share love with another person. 

I have no grand plans of starting a new hobby, or gearing up with the bins of supplies.  I'm just no longer intimidated by the fishermen.  Maybe, just maybe, I am one of them.

thou shall not covet

I am just back from a wonderful vacation to see my parents. It was relaxing, plenty of time, and yet altogether too short. Don't worry - it also provided a lot of material to share. (Heard daily amidst much laughter: "You've just been blogged!") While on vacation, Mr. Kenobi and I continued a fun tradition of daydreaming together. We ask hypothetical questions, like...

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Why?

Our answers have changed over time, though thankfully they include our present home. Since having children, we both have wanted to live near(er) our parents. Mr. Kenobi's clan is mostly on the west coast, while mine are back in the midwest, so it's impossible to be next door to everyone. With wonderful work out here, we've ended up closer to the Kenobis. While I love them dearly and appreciate my children growing up near them, I long for the similar closeness to my own parents & siblings.

Sometimes I think it would be good enough if we were within a day's drive of my family - near enough for the long weekend or holiday, close by for a quick trip back and forth, not so far that we'd need airplane tickets and layovers.

In our little dreamy conversations, one constant remains: Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman is a beautiful, accessible, and perfectly sized town (in my opinion) with everything we'd need. Except work. There aren't a lot of jobs for either of us - especially Mr. Kenobi - back in Montana. So, I daydream about the mountains and the town where I met my husband, and perhaps I romanticize it too much, but it remains a place I hope I'll return someday. At my worst moments of dissatisfaction and ungratefulness, I think that everything would be alright if I just could move to Bozeman.

It's not true. Geographic therapy rarely works.

Yesterday, I spoke to a friend whose son received great news: he has been accepted to MSU-Bozeman. We had talked to him about the school, encouraged him to consider it, and we join his parents in excitement for this achievement.

Today, another friend called. She is moving soon. Yep, she's also headed to Bozeman, MT. Her husband got a job with a great company, and they are madly packing for their new adventure. I am thrilled for her. Both of their families are in Montana, so their children will finally be an easy jaunt to Grandma's. This job and move is an answer to many years of prayer and waiting.

And in other news... this afternoon, our local weather forecaster (with glee?) commented that, "we should now be seeing the real start to our rainy season, after this little break of sunshine moves through..."

So you know what I'm thinking, right? I'm happy for my friends. Of course, they should be warned: they are headed to a place where several feet of snow may pile onto their walkways. At least I don't have to shovel rain, right?

Right. I probably wouldn't mind the snow, either. Even amidst the drifts of Montana snow, the sun shines nearly all winter long! I do admit I'm prone to envy them. This is where I needed to write and share the news with you.

God lovingly and firmly instructs us not to covet the homes, possessions, relationships, or opportunities He has given to others. I believe it's because envy gets in the way of us trusting His wisdom. If we covet what others have, we can't gratefully recognize our own gifts. May I remember and believe this in my heart, and may I have many more trips East in my future! :)