Quiet time (subtitled: reflection and thankfulness)

There's an enclosed garden next to the Japan House that I've never wandered through before, in fact, didn't even know it existed until I happened up it's exit gate then worked my way around the outside to find the entrance gate. Said gate: I like the slate welcome mat, the open gates, the foliage. I like it all.

I slowly wandered through, thinking about all the great things in my life. I only snapped a few pictures while I was in there (including several where I was using the timer and trying to grab a pic of myself. Yeah. That didn't go so good, but the outtakes make me laugh.). Not that there wasn't gorgeous scenery to be captured, I was just letting it all wash over me. Every morning I make time to enumerate and give thanks for blessings, large and small, in my life. I do it at other times throughout the day sometimes too, but I think I'd like to incorporate it into my evenings on a more regular basis, just like the morning ritual. It was nice walking through this garden space and letting my mind wander wherever it needed to go. Ultimately, no matter what else might be bothering me, it always seems to end up coming up with the good things in my life. And for that, I am thankful.

Outdoors

It's no secret that I like to spend time outside. When I'm feeling good, when I'm feeling blue, when I'm just "just". Besides being bitten by buggies, what's not to love about the outdoors? I can hike, walk, sit, read, whatever, and simply reflect on all of the things in my life. I've been spreading myself too thin of late. I've been paying a high price for it too. The bright side of it all is that I've forged stronger relationships with some of my friends. The sad side is watching some friendships fade. One of them I'm already missing bunches and one of them isn't bothering me much at all. Strange that. Ultimately, I have no power over these things. It's been a hard lesson, and I typically have a hard time letting go, but I also know that even if I ran after someone, like in those movies that always have happy endings, that it wouldn't turn out that way. So I let people I care for walk away. Isn't that the right thing to do?

Here was one of weekend moments of peace, cut way too short by the buggies.

From Flickr (and a little more)

Direct from Flickr, photo called "I lied":
Text that goes with it: The optimistic me is the real me. Last night, when I said that things suck I was focused on trees, not the forest. Caught this shot today. My daughter left her sparkly glitter shoes in the living room, where the sun struck them and spread the light everywhere. This is me. I believe in possibilities. I am probably stupidly optimistic, but, honestly, I don't care to change that about myself. Deal with it. :)

The rest of the story: I guess there's not really much more, except to say what I've said elsewhere on the interweb: I have the best friends in the world. You sustain me in broad strokes and small gifts. In big bear hugs and little smiles. In kind words and good advice.

Thank you. I hope that I can somehow repay the favor.

a picture worth a thousand words

And I really don't know what to say.

Road trips

Haven't had one of these shots in a while:We were on our way back from the Sugar Creek Arts Festival in Normal. I love this festival. They actually have artists who display oil paintings. Not just one or two, but booth after booth of paintings! I like the other stuff too, but when I'm looking for stuff to put on my walls, I want oil on canvas.

This picture was taken on Route 150. That's right, we took the old road home. I was planning on taking the highway, but it was blocked by police, so I turned around and headed for the two-laner. Found out this morning that the road was blocked because of a tanker truck that had rolled and caught on fire. My sympathy is with the family of the driver, who didn't make it out of the truck. Then I look at my two little angel/hellions, as pictured above, and I want to hold them even closer.

outdoors

Jasper asked me last week why I go hiking without him and Julia so much. Good question. Julia didn't used to like hiking (three steps into the woods and she would ask how long until we got to the car). She did great last time I took them to Kickapoo in Illinois, so this past Saturday we went to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. It was wonderful. We hiked for somewhere between 2 1/2 - 3 hours. The kids did great. I was none too smart in that each of us had shorts on instead of long pants. We were fortunate, though. No rashes from the poison ivy or poison oak for any one of us.

I need to do this more often with the kids.