Beautiful Life – Page 15 – Skies of Parchment

January 2, 2012March 20, 2013

Home Sweet Cottage

we’ve returned!

the long journey is over.
the last boxes are unpacked and thrown away.
the suitcases are stowed up in the attic.
the little cottage sweet and cozy and drafty as ever. :)
the memories of traveling over 6000 miles in the last 3 months very real.
the question of “what world are we in now??” by a certain 4-year old is over.
the time at ellerslie so precious and treasured.
the christmas season is experienced and past.
the new year was brought in with a strep-throat child
[not even a sniffle for three months, now southern allergies strike hard].

it’s so wonderful to be back.
hellos are being said to friends and family and neighbors.
“new” toys are being discovered by the girls – ones they forgot they had. :)
corners are being organized and cleaned
– ones that were abandoned in pregnancy illness.
the lovely christmas pictures mailed to us are hung on our refrigerator and we smile back daily at these celebrities.
goodness, it was fun to have so much lovely mail!

the past three months have been some of the richest of our lives.
such deepening of our faith,
strengthening and fortifying of our souls,
enrichment of our marriage, bonding of our family,
making of many new sweet friendships.
we loved every day spent there.

i think we could have stayed forever :)
but the Lord has called us home and that is where we gladly return.

it’s so hard to describe our past season in a nutshell. perhaps a few quotes would sum it up better than i can:

“The Christian life can only be explained in terms of Jesus Christ,
and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you
– your personality, your willpower, your gifts, your talent,
your money, your courage,, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice,
or your anything,
– then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it.” [
major ian thomas]

“To believe in Jesus Christ is not just a mental acknowledgement,
but a disbelief in all other systems on earth, a repentence and a turning unto God,
and a literal giving of our lives and everything we are to Him.”
[eric ludy]

it was just so full of Jesus. and although i leave and am in a different place,
i still want my life to just be full of Jesus. that’s all that matters.
what a high, unattainable impossible desire. possible only through His enablement and Spirit.

i am really looking forward to reconnecting with many of you,
now that we have internet once again. :)
it was a positive thing, to have a season of being removed from so many distractions with online things,
but i was ready to connect socially again, since in some ways we felt like we dropped off the planet!
and i am looking forward to connection again through this little bit of online space.

thanks so much for those of you who thought of us and prayed, send notes and messages and cards and packages…
it really was so special to us!

our tradition of sending out christmas pictures was held off this year.
our money allotment went toward schooling instead. :)

but for those of you who want a picture, here’s a happy new year greeting from the little clan at the cottage!

[north carolina / september, 2011]

Happy New Year!
~ clarita

November 23, 2011March 7, 2013

From the Foot of the Rockies

Um, hi! It sure feels funny? strange? hands-behind-my-back-saying-a-shy-hello? coming back after almost two months away, hardly even popping my head in to say hello between now and then. This internet “fast” of sorts was not intentional really, but no internet in our apartment has definitely made it a reality. :) I must say, for the most part, it’s been a lovely refreshing time. I’ve taken the kids to McDonald’s once a week or so and I check my email and messages while they scamper around the play area, but other than that, I have no idea what’s going on in the online world. :) But in another month or so, I will be happy to be more of a regular (which for me is not “regular”) again!

Several people have asked if I could do an update on our lives in the West… A few details, some pictures, just so they know a little bit of what’s going on. Soooo, when I’m not even eight weeks full of exciting life adventures I can be long-winded. Now when I feel full and overflowing, this could be a real challenge to keep it concise and not miles long! I’m not sure I’ll even promise to try. :)

// Olivia and Zoe at Estes Park, Colorado. Early October. //

Just as a bit of background, the beginning of October our little family packed up, loaded up, left south Georgia and drove over 1600 miles in three days, over 27 hours of driving time, two motels, with two kids 4 & under, and arrived at our destination in lovely northern Colorado.

Whew. If that makes you tired reading that, well, just imagine being the mother of those two little ones outside and one inside, actually living that out. :) The trip went exceptionally well, and I had even forgotten to buy a DVD player for the kids. We sang and read until we were almost hoarse, and sang silly songs the top of our lungs until the father in the front seat drastically raised his eyebrows.

We loved seeing the changing season as we drove. Zoe came up with this sweet poetic line that I just loved~ she must never have seen brightly colored leaves on trees before, because she said, “The red trees are sooo beautiful! They look like dancing twirling girls!”

Our reason for the journey was Ellerslie. It is a short-term Bible Training school begun by Eric & Leslie Ludy. Quite a few people know them as the authors of When God Writes Your Love Story but they have authored over a dozen books altogether, and then Ellerslie was birthed in the summer of 2010.

Attending the school was a dream of ours, yet we thought it impossible for a while. It is no small feat for a young family to pack up and leave for almost three months. Unlike being single and just easily leaving Mom & Dad’s house, this required months of planning and preparation, and ultimately, the hand of God working in amazing ways to enable all the details to come together.

// Zoe also started school in Colorado.
I can’t say we’ve been very faithful, but she has absolutely loved it! //

// Chloe Barkman, the coloring book you gave Zoe is the most adorable I’ve ever seen! //

// Cold mornings make tea drinkers out of us all //

It still feels like a dream to actually be here. Ben was the one that signed up for classes, and we rented a small furnished apartment nearby where I could stay with the girls while he was at school. After about a week of being here, one of the girls who graduated from a year of Ellerslie offered to babysit the girls every morning if I’d like to attend classes with Ben. Would I?!? It was more than a dream come true, because I never expected to be in class, although I privately cried big tears of longing.

So that has changed the face of us being here, drastically. No longer did I have long days at the apartment, wondering what I’d fill my time with for 9 weeks. Instead, we’ve all been getting up early, and try to be out the door by 8am Monday-Friday. Ben and I are in class until noon, then I bring the girls home for lunch and naps, myself often resting or reading (no internet, remember? it’s amazing how many books can get read!), and attending 1-2 afternoon classes with kids in tow. We pick Ben up from school around 3:30, eat dinner at the apartment, and then often head back to the school for the evening activity/session. Just to give you an idea of a typical day.

// Husband was beyond thrilled as we came upon several massive elk in Estes Park //

// Lily Lake, Colorado //

It’s a busy season of life. The early mornings have been a challenge because I was still quite sick with the pregnancy until about two weeks ago, plus had an awful reaction to antibiotics I was put on which made me so sick I thought my end was near, or my baby’s end was near. It was a rough two weeks of recovering just from the antiobiotic reaction. Thankfully, that is all past, and I now am feeling wonderfully healthy and actually have energy again! The second trimester definitely has been better than the first. :)

And the busyness… With a family, this is a schedule that could not be had for long periods of time. But for this small select season, knowing this opportunity is so rare and treasured, it has been wonderful.

// Olivia at our “Monkey House”, ~~affectionately~~ wryly named after the gigantic gorilla found in a closet. he was drug into the living room for a few days, but i have not allowed him to stay. not my idea of restful decor. //

It’s very special too, because I have always wanted to go to college and God never allowed those doors to open. I pushed hard, but the lock was fast for many years. Now, it’s rather humorous, because I never would have expected to be a mother of two children, pregnant with my third, and be going to classes! But it really feels like such a gift, and now I get to go to a Bible Training center with my husband, as well as live in beautiful Colorado for three months!

This time of focusing on Jesus Christ, and having so much concentrated study has been precious. Anyone that is a mother of young children knows how much pouring out of self that requires, which is a wonderful and yet exhausting part of mothering. So often my longing for time just with Jesus far exceeds the time I actually can spend with Him. These weeks out here have been so special, and although this isn’t the schedule that life will be after we leave here, this is a treasured, treasured time, and I’m soaking in all that I can!

It is a stretching, challenging, soul-searching time. Learning to know Jesus more fully requires a stripping away of everything that we are, until He is the only One that can fill us. It’s been good, SO GOOD, but the true good only comes when we intentionally move out of the way and allow God Himself to have His way with us. That is sometimes painful, sometimes with tears and struggle, but good, so so good…

And Colorado, beautiful Colorado. We are about 40 miles east of the Rockies, and can see them from where we live. We drive straight toward them on our way to school, and I never tire of looking at them. It seems they are different every morning. And I have yet to get a good picture.

The altitude has been something for us to get used to! Going from hardly above sea level in the deep south to almost 5000 feet above is no small change! A few days after we got here I attempted to take the girls on a walk in the stroller. The combination of being so sick with my pregnancy and hardly exercising for a period of time, plus the high altitude, plus a very. flat. tire. in the stroller made me huff and puff like I never before remembered doing! Embarassing! So a few days later I went out by my lonesome and was able to actually run for quite a while before tiring, and felt that I had perhaps redeemed that earlier walk. :) Although you must remember for “running for a while” is relative. I shan’t give details.

// Olivia asleep in the car seat after running outside most of the day //

Just several weeks after arriving, and still in October, a most lovely winter storm came through and dumped a glorious eight inches onto our little town. Zoe and I thought we died and went to heaven. :)

It was especially neat for Zoe and me because last winter she heard about all the snow that the northern states were getting, and was just tragically sad that our almost-Florida state never even gets flurries. So she declared one day that she was going to pray that we’d live in a place that gets snow. I thought it a sweet, although impossible, prayer from my precious daughter. But what do you know, but a year later we are [temporarily] living in a place that got eight inches of snow not only once, but TWICE, so far, along with another dusting.

So, please indulge me as (drumroll please) I share a bit of answered prayers of a child.

// the neighbors ran out with a sled for us to borrow, after [apparently] watching us attempt [and fail] to sled with a cookie sheet //

// the apartments where we are living. we’re on a second story //

// eating snow is the most fun ever //

And, truth be told, our entire family went and played in the snow. Because, how could we possibly miss out on the fun of a four-year old who thinks snow is God’s smile in physical form? And, truth be told, I quite think the same. :)

// hoar frost, just breathtaking beauty //

One of the wonderful things about being here is that every Tuesday is Kiddo Night. By interpretation, that also means that every Tuesday night – once a week!! – Ben and I get a date night! We are going to be so spoiled out here, no joke. And not just is it a date, which in itself is wonderful, but within 15 minutes there are endless options to choose from for inexpensive but wonderful dates. Scores of coffee shops, including Starbucks, Panera Bread, other one of a kind shops, as well as scores of frozen yogurt and ice cream shops, as well as……. let me just say, we are LOVING it!!

// not on a date night, but a rare picture of just the two of us //

We’ve done just a few little crafty things, the girls and I. Just a few, because time is short, but both Zoe and I love doing projects together so much that we pulled a few little things together and used what we had.

// inspired by my sister Claudia, and by a student at Ellerslie, a personalized journal. stickers, magazine cut-outs, a quote, a glue stick and mod-podge. jenny k, recognize that ever-so-lovely sticker? :) //

// i love this quote //

// zoe was so excited about this project, and dug out a magazine [thanks, Shelly! :)] and did her sketch pad cover //

The girls have made a fast friend, another little girl also babysat at the same time weekday mornings.

And as if life at Ellerslie and Colorado is not exciting enough, two of my sisters added over-the-top excitement by coming to see us for a few days. Truly, I feel as if I have THE best sisters in the entire world. I have no idea why or how I’m so very blessed, but I love them so much it hurts.

// oldest, youngest, and third-born. they make me want to have four girls in a row so my daughters can experience what i do!//

// Ervina was a radiant newly-engaged, so one afternoon was spent at various bridal shoppes //

// next spring and summer should be quite exciting – my other sister [not pictured] is since engaged to be married is March, Baby Yoder is due to arrive in April, my other sister’s wedding in June, and Ben’s brother’s wedding in June as well! I think we’ll move north for all the excitement. ha! //

My girls absolutely love their aunties, and Zoe just sobbed and sobbed when I drove away with them to take them back to the airport.

// they make us so happy. //

And the baby on the way, oh yes, the Yoder Baby! He is alive and growing. And thus making me grow as well. He must have quite an active personality, because I felt him move for the first time a little shy of 16 weeks, which is the earliest I’ve ever felt a baby in my womb. [And no, we don’t know if he is a “he,” but Zoe is sure she has a little brother on the way…]

My sisters took a few pregnancy pictures while they were here, but showing them almost make me blush, because I feel like I’ve so suddenly popped and look quite pregnant. People that saw me two months ago? Well, two months makes a big difference. :)

// downtown Windsor, kiddos window shopping in the background //

// and to continue with my sister Ervina’s lovely idea of a fruit for a visual, the baby is a bit bigger than this but it was the closest thing I had to use impromptu //

// and the two people who fell in love and married six years ago are still in love //

Thanks for sticking with me, if you read this far! :)

And a huge thanks to those of you who have been praying for us and our time out here. That really means so much to us, and we are so grateful for that!

A huge thanks to for those ever-so-sweet cards and notes and even packages!! Let me tell you, it is fun to be remembered at home on your birthday, but to be remembered so far away, even when my birthday is a few days off, is so special! It’s my last year in my twenties… I shall enjoy it to the fullest! :)

A lovely Thanksgiving to each of you! And may Jesus be honored and worshipped not just as the Giver of all good things, but as the Giver of Life, true life, eternal life even in the here and now!

~ clarita

p.s. My little Mary Kay business will be joining the sales of the Thanksgiving weekend, and Friday through Monday (25th-28th) 20% will be taken off your final purchase at www.marykay.com/claritayoder, as well as free shipping to your home.

October 4, 2011March 20, 2013

The Debut of the Plum

The countdown is on!
Wednesday morning we leave the land of cotton and peanut fields and head for the great Rockies.
I’m excited. We’re excited! About what the Lord will do in us through our time at Ellerslie.
I know it’ll be stretching, and thrilling, and growing…
and we are so grateful to God for opening up this doors for us!

One last post before we head out…
I’m hoping we’ll be able to pick up Wi-Fi from someone else in the apartment complex,
but that’s wishful thinking. :)
If not, I’ll hope to pop in and out now and then to say hi!

[a little autumn touch]

[I love little lanterns]

[some favorite toys ♥]

[cookies from a friend]

[little girls’ bath toys]

[fresh fruit]

[auntie from far-away who do fun tea parties]

[sets of piggies]

[ a grouping of three]

All these pictures had some common thread… anyone catch it? :)

They all are groupings of three.
Symbolizing, showing, hinting that….
well, we’re thrilled and excited and humbled
that God has heard our hearts’ desire and has granted new life!

I’m so humbled though,
because I know I am only one among many women who have desired a child.
Why God has chosen to grant our desire and withhold it from others is a mystery.
I don’t understand it, but I receive with an open hand whatever it is He desires for our family.

Beyond the excitement, I have been quite sick the past month
[thus the real reason for my hiding my face].
A lot of the time has been on the sofa or in bed.
It’s definitely been a challenge with preparing to leave
and with all that has needed to be done.

Friends and family have been beyond caring and helpful, and I don’t know how to thank them enough.
They’ve been Jesus’ hands and feet to me the past few weeks!

I know the sickness will not last forever.
But I will ask for your prayers the next few days with traveling and the many hours and miles to go…

But sickness or no sickness, we are greatly anticipating Little Wee Baby next April!
[or, as late as I go, it’ll probably be next May :)]

[eleven weeks and counting]

~clarita

October 1, 2011March 20, 2013

The Asheville Family Vacation

“The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ”
~Erma Bombeck

It’s the last Saturday when Ben is working a long day, trying to finish up the last of the jobs before we head to Colorado… next Wednesday.

Three months worth of toys and clothes and living will be packed into a white suburban and we’ll drive 24 hours out west where we’ll spend the next three months in a two-bedroom apartment. Exciting? Yes! Scary? Yes!

There is SO much to do in the next few days. I’ve hardly begun packing, because there is so much I can’t pack until the last day or two. I keep asking God for a calm heart and mind, because it looks a bit overwhelming to get everything together in the next 3 days…

So I took the girls to a local festival this morning – good, old-fashioned redneck country festival. It was great fun. :) Maybe just to escape the feeling of all that needs to be done. And then I sit down and blog. Why? When there is a myriad of things to work on? When I could at least bring in the laundry that’s been hanging out for the past, um, three days. Or double-check my packing lists, or…

Well, for one, the girls are napping, and who wants to disturb sleeping children by packing? :)

For two, I just found out this week that our apartment will not have internet access, so I suppose I’ll be going on an online fast of sorts. :) I’m sure I’ll run to a coffee shop or the library, but we’ll only have one vehicle, and trying to keep two little children quiet while I’m on the computer doesn’t sound like my idea of relaxing. So, I’ll be popping in and out, but not as often as before.

So I had thought that I can just do some catching up online after we get to Colorado, but since that’s not going to be happening like I thought, I wanted to do two most posts before we leave. Here’s one, and we’ll see if I get the other one up. :)

Going back a month again…. (thanks for not minding!) Family vacation in Asheville, North Carolina!

We’ve done ocean vacations mostly, and that’s great fun. But we decided to do a mountain vacation this time – and loved it! The beautiful Smokeys were such a restful and relaxing place to stay for a long weekend. My parents rented a house (vacation rental by owner) on top of a good-sized range, and the view was beautiful from the long front porch!

It had been 6 months since I saw some of my sisters, and 2 years since a family vacation. We just loved every moment of being together! Being with my family is one of my favorite things in the world!

Most of the time was just spent together at the house… Plans were being made for hikes and such, but it rained one day, and was really hot another, and Barkmans can get long-winded when it comes to family time… ;)

A few went to see the famous Biltmore Estate the last day, and I was really hoping to go as well, but had gone to bed with a terrible migraine that still wasn’t better the day of the trip, so we had to miss it. That was a bit disappointment. Probably the only disappointment of the weekend though, so it was okay. :)

There is something so refreshing about being with family… when you know you can be you and be real, and don’t have to worry about how someone is going to take you, or if someone is going to hold a grudge against you, or if the weekend will end in chaos. I’m so blessed to be part of an imperfect, but loving family!

So the rest of this will be long on pictures and short on words.

We made cake pops…

Little girls snuck food with their aunties on the kitchen floor…

We played games until late at night…

Evenings were beautiful on the front porch…

Aunties taught neices how to make faces…

Aunties loved on little neices…

I think someone likes me… ♥

Oldest brother, youngest sisters…

Children ate uncontrolled amounts of candy…

And we did a photo shoot one afternoon. One thing about my family – there are cameras everywhere!!

At a sapphire mine, holding a sapphire embedded in a rock…

Sister pictures were taken…

Mother and daughters pictures were taken…

Brother pictures….

Six-of-Us pictures…

Father & Mother pictures…

Attempts at family pictures were taken… goodness, it’s difficult with this many people!

Zoe and Olivia snapshots were taken…

Attempts were made at pictures of our little family of four. You’d think it would be no big deal, but just check out some of the pictures that made it on the camera…

“the floppy-knee child” “the run-away baby”

“the hand-tugger”

“the case of the missing baby”

“in need of grace”

And at last, a few that might be okay!! :)

And we’re left with more lovely memories of family time and laughter and talks… God knew what He was doing when He created family!

“Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”
– unknown

“In some families, please is described as the magic word.
In our house, however, it was sorry. ”
~Margaret Laurence

Today, enjoy your very own family – the quirks, the sweetness,
the wonderfulness that makes them YOURS!
[even if you’re in one of the above moments, “in need of grace.” :)]

~ clarita

September 24, 2011March 7, 2013

Ohio Trips & Tales

So it’s another Saturday where Husband is working in order to finish up jobs because we leave,
and when my wonderful sister Claudia was here for the whole week
and we are still in mourning over her leaving this morning,
and where the girlies think their mother is not nearly so exciting and fun as Auntie Claudia,
and where I’m thinking of happy weeks gone by.

Do people even do a post about things back a month or so ago?
I rarely see them, but the past month has been sooo wonderful and full of good things
that I just want to recap it and remember it all over again.
I feel out of the loop with blogging, so let’s see how this goes…
This is going to be more of a narrative than anything, just so you know. :)

It’s been a busy month – two trips, and some visitors inbetween.
I’ll start with the trip to the lovely state of Ohio!

Our entire trip was filled to the brim with friendships and family.
Just so so fun!
Our main purpose for the trip was to attend the Barkman Family Campout,
an annual tradition with my dad’s family and one we rarely have been able to attend.
And while we were traveling anyway, visiting some friends we rarely get to see.

I jotted down little snippets from our trip as it went along. It started out with…

… Zoe’s accident in Olivia’s car seat minutes before leaving. (!!!) With no time time to wash the seat, we stuffed it with towels. Hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do, gross though it is.

… a stop at Cracket Barrel some hours into the trip. We always stop at the said restaurant, if Ben has any say about it. Good old fashioned cooking, that’s his favorite. The waiter brought out the expensive glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice that we ordered and wondered who it went to. “Well, we all ordered one,” Ben joked, as he likes to do with dry humor, just wanting to the waiter to know how much we love that O.J. A few minutes later I burst into gales of laughter when the waiter brought out THREE more glasses, and Ben’s faces was a mixture of terror and astonishment as the $$$ signs danced in front of him. “I can’t pay for all those juices! They’re terribly expensive!” Apparently not everyone knows when he’s joking. We paid for the 4.

… Olivia’s accident in the same car seat on top of the said towel while sleeping. Seriously. We dug out more towels from the camping stash for the weekend. Traveling sure is different with kiddos. :)

… laughing and laughing with Zoe and Olivia in the backseat as we sang silly songs at the top of our lungs like, ” Down By the Bay” and “Five Little Ducks”.

… priceline-ing a hotel. Disappointed by the old Ramada, but you know, although I’d much prefer a Hampton or something of that quality, a good reminder that all is temporal. As Ben reminded me jokingly to cheer up my disappointment, “Just pretend you’re in Asia [with my sisters who were still there at that point] and then this would be really nice then!” Very very true.

… Zoe’s excitement over the hotel. She was telling all her friends before we left about the hotel. I don’t think she ever remembered staying at one before. :)

… Oliva woke up the next morning at the hotel before anyone else and was so disoriented. She bolted for the door and had we not grabbed her who knows where she would have ended up.

… finally arriving in Bay Village, Ohio, to visit my dear aunt and uncle Dean and Grace, and my cousin Katherine! They treated us royally, and we had a splendid day together. Grace does so well with making guests feel so special. There were orchids on the bathroom mirror. Chocolates and a welcome note on the guest bed. Even a rosette on the toilet tissue, made from the tissue itself.

My Aunt Grace and I are as close in age as she and my mother, so she’s always felt like a big sister to me.
I love her so dearly! She is the epitomy of her name ~ so gracious and sweet and beautiful!

… Olivia made herself right at home by squatting down on their patio and doing some serious potty business within 1/2 hour of arrival. That child never ceases to embarrass me.

… enjoying a beautiful walk through a nature preserve or park, seeing unafraid deer.

… Uncle Dean treated us all to ice cream at a little shoppe right at the edge of Lake Erie.

Ohio Vacation! 024

… yard saling with my aunt Grace Thursday morning. Finding a Bitty Baby doll (American Girl) for $15, after just mentioning less than a week before that I would love to find one of those, but never dreaming I would! Also finding a lovely collection of the Little Kelly’s and some of their play things for $2 -saving them for our long trip out west. Quite a few Usborne books about animals and the world for a dollar or two each. Seriously, yard sales in my aunt’s area of unbelieveable!

After spending a day in the northern part of Ohio, we headed south a bit…

… and I met this lovely woman for the very first time at Wallhouse Coffee!

Jenny has been someone I have long wanted to meet, and each time I attempted it before it just didn’t work.
I was holding my breath on this trip, but plans worked for a teency-weency hour together. In between her little girl needing to go potty twice and my littlest peeing herself it seemed like five minutes. :) I loved her instantly. She is just as real and sweet as her blog, and I counted it an honor to meet her in real life! I think we could have talked hours if given the opportunity. I hope one day! :)

And our little girls played together as though they’d known each other for years. It was so precious.
I was so happy they got to meet each other.

Our trip continued, and we spent the night at the sweet home of Jared and Dora. We have long been friends, and have made memories together at Bible School, in Asia, in Ohio, and Pennsylvania. She is one of those people that make me laugh like few people can, and is just a sweetheart! She and Jared treated us like honored guests. We just had the best time, and wished it could have been longer! ♥

Friday morning we wound around the hill country of southern Ohio and arrived at the Barkman Campout!
Beautiful weather for most of the weekend, much cooler than our Georgian weather, and wonderful company.
This family numbers over 60 people, and yet is such a close-knit family.
My grandparents had one daughter and seven sons, and they are tight as can be.
I absolutely LOVE being with them.
We can talk honestly and we can laugh until tears stream down our cheeks.
Such a great bunch.
It makes it feel as though everything is right with the world. :)

Six of the seven brothers. My aunt and her husband are in Africa as missionaries, and weren’t able to be there.

These brothers are such clowns. Here they are trying to intimidate the younger generation before the annual ball game by belting out, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

The girls just loved it too. Even though they rarely see this side of my family, they found friends right away.
I loved that.

One of the uncles, who was telling Winnie-the-Pooh stories, sounding exactly like all the characters.
Children weren’t the only ones entertained!

My grandfather, the patriarch of the family, with the youngest grandchildren and great-grand.
This picture is so precious!

We were tent camping all weekend, and awoke Sunday morning to thunder and then rain.
Thankfully, there was a large tarp that we all huddled under and that was big enough for most of us to stay fairly dry. :)

But we were so so thankful for the mercy of God when a bolt of lightning struck a tree 30 feet from where the entire family was standing. It didn’t even sound like the normal thunder, it was just a huge CrAcK that made the ears feel tingly. Amazingly, no one was hurt, even though people standing in the direction of the lightning saw the balls of fire rolling down the tree, and even though there was water standing everywhere on the ground. We all smelled the burnt smell, and were so sobered as we realized how tragic that could have been. Seriously, several, if not many, of us could have been wiped out with that powerful bolt of lightning. Truly, death and life are in the hand of God, and no one goes before the appointed time…

Our final stop on the way home was our friends Daniel and Anita, and their three beautiful children.
They lived in Georgia for 2.5 years, and we missed them so much when they moved back to Ohio!

I love this picture. They posed entirely on their own, Blake giving directions to Zoe as to how they should stand. Can you tell he has very affectionate parents? :)

We were going to drive as many hours as we could after leaving their house, and then stop by the road only long enough to sleep enough to drive again.

That idea only lasted one hour of driving time, and then we parked in a McD’s parking lot and spent a MiSeRaBlE three hours before we finally broke down and got a hotel at 1am. :) That was the best thing we could have done, and we were all happier the next morning for it!

And that’s the recap of our lovely week spent in Ohio… It all worked out so perfectly in between Ben’s jobs and getting to be with all the wonderful people we saw.

I came back with a full heart, and lovely memories!

Friendship, and relationship, truly, are life’s sweetest gifts…

~clarita

August 16, 2011March 14, 2014

Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade and Such

We’re off the rest of this week for a trip up to the northern parts, to leave the land of the hot and scalding and to hopefully get a happy little taste of weather to come. :)

This morning, actually, we woke up and the temperature was in the 70’s. That’s not happened for months and months – it’s been 80’s and 90’s for months on end! We had doors hanging wide open ~ it felt like autumn is coming!

We are so anticipating time with dear friends and family, and even the road trip time as a family. Preparing for three months in Colorado is big on our minds, and Ben has been working hard in order to prepare us to go. I understand it’s a season, and I’m fully supportive, but I will be very happy when we can have evenings and weekends together as a family again. :) But usually anything good takes sacrifice, right?

Letters.
From Cambodia. From my two sisters. ♥

Olivia.
This little girl has boundless energy and keeps me on my toes from morning till night. She does bring boundless laughter to us though, and I think I laugh at her more than I’ve ever laughed at a little kid. And, to be honest, I probably get more exasperated at her too. :) She’s turbo power in a mini-body.

I tried to take a shower on Saturday night, after a rather hairy day of taking care of children and Ben working long hours an hour away. I thought if I just finally make it to the shower I’ll keep my sanity. The girls had their baths, the house was mostly cleaned up, and I was ready for a little bit of peacefulness. Olivia had refused a nap all day, so she was tired beyond reasoning.

I was finally in the shower, girls playing outside the restroom, I thought. My loofah was all nice and sudsy, and it was that wonderful feeling of “all will be well with the world.” I don’t know about you other moms, but when I get in the shower, I just like to to be nice and quiet, and a chance to be all alone. For five minutes. I love my children dearly, but the shower is off-limits when I’m in there.

There were repeated commands of telling the girls to close the door and hey hey hey, play nice with each other. I lathered up one leg, ready to shave, when I heard the door swing open and both girls came in, Olivia needing to go potty. She hoisted herself up on the big potty, and I looked out the shower door just in time to see a stream hitting not the potty, but shooting out over the seat, onto her pajamas, and onto the floor.

Lathered leg or not, I was out of the shower, adding more wet (though of a different kind!) to the floor as I assisted the ending of that bathroom use. Then, because she had messed herself up, I just stripped her completely and brought her into the shower with me. First time for that, and she was thrilled.

Zoe saw the excitement of the moment, and before I knew it another little girl joined us in the shower. First time for her too. There were lots of giggles and squeals and they were really so happy and excited about how the day was turning out that I tried to join their mood too. :)

But that’s sort of how my days have been… I would not make a good single mom! And I’m so thankful that I’m not!

Zoe.
Zoe brings a different kind of style to the family. She’s big into getting herself dressed, and after I questioned this particular outfit and the matching ability, she assured me that “It matches just right! See, there are flowers on the top and flowers on the pants!” Oh, yes. Weak laugh. Flowers and flowers. Why did I not catch that? Real laugh follows. Oh well.

I won’t even stick a sign on her that says, “This child dressed herself!” :)

Pancakes.
We love making pancakes… We found a wonderful recipe that uses all whole wheat, and they are wonderful!

Lemonade.
The fresh-squeezed kind.
We absolutely love this, and keep it in the frig almost all summer long!

Recipe:
4 lemons
2 cups sugar
1 gallon sized container

Slice lemons very thinly, taking off ends and throwing away.

Put lemons and sugar in the gallon pitcher.

Taking your hands, squeeze lemons and sugar all together and until they are a sticky mess and it smells delightful. Do make sure your hands are freshly washed.

Let sit at least ten minutes, and up to a half hour. This helps the flavor be strong and sweet.

Mix with ice and water, fill to one gallon.

Sit on your front porch, or have a friend over, or just sip it alone. Delicious!

Note: be sure to take the lemons out of the lemonade before you refrigerate it. Leaving them in will result in a very bitter rind taste.

Also, if you’re trying to watch your sugar intake, you can cut the sugar to one cup and add 1/2 teaspoon stevia powder, and mix as directed. I personally don’t care for this as much, but it does still give you fresh lemonade if you can’t have much sugar. Or you could use only stevia and increase it to 1 teaspoon.

This is also just wonderful if you slice a few strawberries and let them float on top. It gives a sweet lemony strawberry flavor and colors it pink without much effort.

And this was a very short post, for once in my life. :)

Happy week and weekending to you all! We’re off to a fun-filled week – first time out of state all summer
[very rare for us!]. Time with my dad’s side of the family, that I rarely see with living so far south. Time with friends that we love so much. Time with a dear aunt and her family. Friendship is such a precious gift!
Excitement reigns high!

And we’re off!

~clarita

August 9, 2011March 7, 2013

I ♥ Salt Life

“I speak it to God: I don’t really want more time;
I just want enough time.
Time to breathe deep and time to see real and time to laugh long,
time to give You glory and rest deep and sing joy
and just enough time in a day
to not feel hounded, pressed, driven, or wild to get it done – yesterday…
To have the time to… go out to all air and sky and green
and time to wonder at all of them in this light,
this time reflecting prism…

“And this, this is the only way to slow time:
When I fully enter into time’s swift current,
enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention,
I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here.
I can slow the torrent by being all here.
I can only live the full life when I live fully in the moment…”

[a. voskamp]

Time.
Something that every single person has been given the exact same amount of.
Some people have been given more riches than others.
Some has bigger houses, more expensive cars, things some might envy.
But time. We’ve all been given it equally.
The challenge is to live it fully.

Never before has time seemed to pass me so quickly.
Whether it’s that I’m actually much busier
or that having active children makes me feel busier
or that I overcommit myself, I’m not sure.
But this thing I know: I want to take the time to enjoy my time on earth.
Not flippantly, not selfishly, but intentionally.
Being purposeful about being a mother. Being purposeful about being a wife.
It seems the latter is harder to do these days.
Not because our relationship has grown stale – far from it! –
but because several children make it harder spend time just alone. Just the two of us.

Ben’s birthday was Saturday, and in keeping tradition,
I asked him what he’d like to do on his birthday.
That’s the main question around here:
What do you want to do?
Not, What do you want me to buy?
Of course, no one will deny a gift is lovely. Not ever!
But time together is what makes memories, not usually gifts.

He decided that a day on the ocean is what he’d want.
His mom and sisters so kindly agreed to keep the kiddos for the day, and we had us a date!
Thank you so much!! It was the best gift!

Time.
Time to slow down and enjoy the little moments with each other.
Time to live in the moment.

[google images]

August 6th fell on a Saturday. Perfect.
Taking off during a week day wouldn’t have been an option, so this was wonderful!
We could have celebrated later, but there’s something lovely about celebrating that very day.

We have a small boat that Ben purchased a few years ago.
A sheriff’s sale purchase. One his wife didn’t find out about until later. :)
Times have changed since then. :)
It was an actual sheriff’s boat to patrol the waters. ‘911’ is still faintly visible on the side.
One day we’ll paint it, but until then, it floats just fine. Nothing fancy, but it’s a boat.

Saturday morning found me packing chicken salad and salsa and chips and fruit.
It found Ben loading chairs and checking the engine and hauling an extra can of gas.
By late morning we were at the Jekyll dock, putting the boat in, and giddy with excitement. :)

[toward evening, when a storm was rolling in]

Living close to the coast has wonderful advantages.
We’re inland far enough that we don’t have the coastal breeze, resulting in great heat for months on end.
But down by the coast, there are islands, and sandy shores, and constant breezes.
And we were going to the coast!

On the way there, I was sort of laughing at all the “salt life” stickers on everyone’s back windows.
Basically, it means you love the coast and water and all that.
One thing about the south: what one person does, many many people do.
I was laughing because I like to be more original:
if someone else does it, that’s usually reason enough to not do it!
Remember this little tidbit…

There are quite a few islands closeby.
The larger ones are more well-known from Eugenia Price’s books: St. Simons, Jekyll, Tybee…
and then there are some smaller ones, more unknown.
Quite a few not even accessible by land/bridge/car, only by boat.
The private islands and islands only water-accessible I’d never been to.
Since Ben has had a lot of work [construction] over on two of them throughout the past year,
that’s where we headed.

[shore line hardly visible off in the distance: first destination]

[same short line, the sandy outline a bit more clear]

A hundred memories flooded my mind as the breeze from the speed of the boat
and the salt water hit my face. I spent four years in Belize as a young child,
and lived in a remote location that had no roads connecting.
All our transportation was river and ocean for several hours by dug-out canoe to the closest town.
I remember traveling with my dad as a little girl, and how exciting it was.

[for a minute I thought I was on a tropical island, but the pine trees brought me back to reality :)]

As Ben crossed the sound, where the water from the rivers meet the ocean,
there were bigger waves, spraying salt water, and the boat felt like it lifted off the water.
There was just a hint of danger, a thrill of adventure.
So many places on earth man has tried to tame, but the ocean, never.
It’s wild, and untamed, and it will always be so.

[the second island we came to, and spend most of our time at]

[finding conch shells to take back for the girls]

So what did we do all day?
Well, we took fishing poles and [tried to] fish, but there was nary a nibble or bite all day.
I think it was too hot.
But it was great fun anyway, stopping sometimes to cast and fish a spot along the marsh,
or trolling the motor and letting our lines out the back.

We rode along the IntraCoastal Waterway most of the time, rather than far out in the ocean.
Our boat was fairly small, and to go out too far is rather scary [to me]. :)

We stopped once, and watched a group [pod? school?] of dolphins played all around our boat.
They are such graceful sea creatures, and always look like they’re smiling.
Also, it’s comforting that when dolphins are near, sharks are not.

See, the Georgia coast has the largest shark breeding ground of anywhere along the east coast.
Yep. And it’s been reported that Great Whites have even been seen off the coast a ways.
Okay, a long ways. But still!!
And almost everytime we’ve gone fishing along the coast, we pull in sharks.
Small sharks, only several feel in length, but still… SHARKS!

So even though I just love the water,
and would have loved to jump overboard the boat to cool off,
I didn’t.
Call me chicken, I know, because shark attacks are very very rare.
But I’m just afraid I’ll be the one they pick for their rare percentage,
since mosquitoes pick me over everyone else all the time. :)
So, I just wade. It’s ridiculous, I know, but what can I say?
I’m not scared of much, but I AM scared of sharks. :)

So, instead of jumping overboard into the ocean, we went exploring on one of the islands.
I would have loved to go island to see the remains of this amaaaazing mansion…

[Carnegie Mansion]

[Brown’s Guide to Georgia]

All the building supplies were taken by ship to the island, and then built.
There was no road/bridge then or now.

It was burned, it’s thought by arson, and now it’s in ruins.
But even the ruins look amazing.
I think ‘photo shoot’ when I see these pictures!

[photo courtesy of holtwebb.blogspot.com]

But the mansion is inland too far, and we had no bikes or transportation to get there.
One day. :)

But instead we just explored along the coast.
Pulled our boat onto the shore, and jumped on the sand.

There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of these little fiddler crabs racing along the shore.

Eugenia Price made famous the Spanish moss and magical lighting of the islands.
It really is breathtaking!

There are a few palm trees. :) Mostly pine and live oaks that must be hundreds of years old.

It must have not rained for a long time, or else the ferns on the branches would be vibrant green.

When we walked inland, there was a real “wild” feel to it.

I told Ben I feel like Robinson Crusoe! I love a bit of adventure, and this day was full of it!
But much more fun than Crusoe must have had, because I had my best friend with me!

It felt as though we must have been the first people to ever be there,
even though there were traces of other human visitors before us.

There are wild horses on the island, from when the mansion was occupied and there were working plantations.
We saw signs of them too, but sadly, nothing other than their “discard piles.”

Our trek to the interior didn’t go too far, because it’s so wild and tangled.
Plus, it’s infested with chiggers, a souvenir we did not want to come away with.

This tree was laying completely sideways at the edge of the water,
fully alive because its roots got water! So amazing and strange!

I think the coastline must have extended much further at some point, because there are so many trees on “stilts”.

After several hours out, we heard thunder rumbling in the distance,
and even though we couldn’t see storm clouds, we both knew they can roll in fast.
And we did not want to cross the sound in any higher waves then we did before!

We headed back to shore around 5pm, and as we were docking, this is what was coming:

Thankfully, we missed the storm and even the wind before it became too gusty and dangerous.

But it was a lovely day, and a thousand lovely memories to last us past the day!
We felt like two young kids, carefree and enjoying every minute
of our day together.
It was Ben’s birthday, and I told him several times I shouldn’t be having so much fun on his day!
All smiles, he said it was his best birthday ever. :)

We said we could get addicted to days out on the ocean. :)
Perhaps we’ll have to make it a yearly tradition, on his birthday…

And by the end, I was telling Ben,
“You know, maybe we should buy one of those ‘salt life’ stickers….” :)

“I can only live the full life when I live fully in the moment.”
[a. voskamp]

~clarita