It’s a beautiful, blitzing-hot day here in the Deep South. 100% humidity, temperatures in the high 90’s… from 10am to 10pm. It is often in the nineties even at 9pm. This is real summertime! And it’s not even July and August yet…
And amazingly, this year I don’t feel like I’m going to die everytime I step outside in the heat, like I did the past 3 years here. Sure, it makes you sweat the second you step outside, even in the morning.
Maybe it’s the public pool across the street that I can look at anytime I feel hot and see all the kids having the grandest time.
But even more maybe, perhaps it’s because we have a house of our own now, and it’s so fun to work on it and do stuff outside that the heat is a side item? We’ll see. You all hold me to it that I don’t get to be a grouch by the end of the summer! :)
The one cool thing this summer heat does is bring sudden thunderstorms. It’ll be a clear-blue sky, sunshiney and bright one minute, and then we’ll suddenly hear thunder. No sign of rain whatsoever, but thunder. And often within 5 minutes, we’ll be in the middle of a DOWNPOUR, thunder scaring the daylights out of unsuspecting people [that would be me. The guy across the street couldn’t stop laughing when I jumped from the thunder surprising me when working out in the yard], lightning dancing…
I love it. Even if I’m not always prepared for it. :)
Reminds me of growing up in the jungles of Belize during rainy season. This is just a small taste of that, but I love it.
My mom would call my sister and me out onto the thatch-roof porch, and we’d sit there with all the jungle-rain wildness pounding down around us. “Let’s go watch the rain!” she’d always say.
And ever since then, I love to watch the rain. There is something so soothing and refreshing and rejuvenating about it. Makes my soul feel washed even as it washes the ground.
Zoe knows it now too. Knows that I’ll say, “Let’s go watch the rain!” every chance we get. Especially now that we have a delicious front porch to watch it on.
Yesterday was one such day. This time I wanted Baby to experience it firsthand.
Ben was home yesterday and Monday with no work. A little scary, not knowing what’s going to happen to us, but we were enjoying the family time together! So I conned him into taking a few pictures of Olivia.
She loved it too. Her little Baby-Giggles made my heart dance!
She would lift her face to the sky, and raise her arms above her head to catch the drip-edge, grinning all the while. It was as if she was thanking Jesus for such a fun time!
The contrast of baby patties against adult hands just melts me…
Thunder cracked during our rain-dance. When I first moved here, I couldn’t believe how LOUD the thunder was! Almost the loudest you’ll ever hear!
Ben caught my surprised face on camera. Baby was taking it all in stride.
I was so thrilled with how delighted she was with it!
And this picture SLAYS me. Baby Girl, how can you be sooooo beeeeauuuuuutiful??
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Soooo. Ghost writer appears again. Not technically ghost writer, but I’ve almost dropped off the pages of blogland. Do I need to make proper introductions with everyone again? :)
I’ve so enjoying catching up with a lot of you the past few days. For months I hardly spent any time online, and it’s been so fun for me to catch up a bit – so even if I didn’t leave you a comment, it was great to “see” you again!
This past winter was the craziest I’ve ever had. Unexpected circumstances, busy schedules, sick children, myself being sick numerous times… It felt over the top. And any leftover energy I had felt like it needed to go to my family, not to blogging. With fixing up a house, being gone more days a week than staying home, my girls needed to have the best of me, not blogging.
Now? I would love to get back into blogging again. It’s such a great outlet for me, lets me meet all kinds of great people, learn all kinds of great things…
I do wonder when I’ll have time. I can’t spend every afternoon on the computer while the kids are napping, as I did today. So, not promising weekly posts, although sometimes they may come more than once a week.
It’s been good for me to take a break though. Helped me reevaluate who I am as a person, what I blog about when I do blog, question where my identity lies…
I am first of all a Child of the King, and that is what I want to portray first of all in blogging. Whether or not my posts speak of Jesus personally, I want Him to be visible through the message and pictures. I am a woman, and I am God’s woman first of all.
Secondly, I am a wife. My husband rocks. :) In the past few months I have seen more sides of him than in the past almost-5 years of marriage, and I know I am so so blessed! And he is a GENIUS when it comes to woodworking. And many other handyman things! If I ever get some house projects completed around here, I’ll show you what he can do!
[sneak peek: see the butcher block countertop that my husband MADE in the kitchen?? behind the LIVE ginormous magnolia?]
Thirdly, I am a mother. What an incredible privilege this is for me! Not the most glamorous job description in the world for some people, but I know this is where God has placed me, and I am so thankful! Zoe, or “Sweetie”, age 2, and Olivia, or “Lovey”, age 1, are the delights of my heart. They are the high calling upon me right now, and it is an honor!
Fourthly, there are many things are I love to do – I am a hands-on person! Music, arts, interior design, landscape design, amateur photography… these are just a few. But they are just that – things I DO. They are not who I am.
I am defined first of all by my Jesus, and I live out of that relationship in all aspects of life.
So, it feels a little bit like I’m starting over with blogging. :)
My wish for you all and for myself –
that you would experience JOY in the everyday things,
and
that you would FLOURISH just where God has gently placed you…
-clarita
Welcome Back! I missed your posts! Love the story of rain…personally, I do not appreciate thunderstorms…amybe it’s passed down from my mom who’s deathly afraid of them! Glad you’re instilling the love for them in your daughters…
Nice to see you blogging again! When we were down in Tennessee last summer for vacation, we were caught in a HUGE thunderstorm, and it was the loudest thunder I have ever, ever heard! We have thunder, but not as loud as I heard down south! Also, you have those gorgeous, gigantic magnolias! How beautiful they are! And you’re wondering how your baby girl can be sooooooo beeeeeaauuutiful? Because of her Mom! You are so very pretty! I too like to sit and watch the rain. We often go out on our porch and just sit. We have had lots of rain the past two weeks up here, and lastnight I sat on the porch and read the girls a story during a light drizzle. There is just something so cozy about watching the rain fall. The counter your husband made is very nice. I have a carpenter husband too, and I love having him around to make anything “wood” that I want! It’s so convenient. =) Well, my comment is turning into a post in itself, so I’ll end here! Hope you have a great week! =)
So excited to see you on here some more! altho’ I’m gonna be honest and admit I was disappointed there were not more pics of the house! :O)not that I expect you to have time for that,it’s just that your mom was telling me some about it, and it sounds absolutely fabulous! what a feeling of accomplishment when you complete such a big project yourselves!
I totally hear you on the craziness of the past winter. sometimes I think it should be the beginning of spring, instead of almost summer! my/our winter was hard in more ways than one, but somehow you get thru those sort of times…by the grace of God.
i love your defining list of yourself. sometimes stepping back from things (blogging included) really helps put things into perspective. I find that the times when I’m most overwhelmed and exasperated with myself and my lot in life, it is because I have my identity and my priorities out of whack. like you said tho’ when we live out of our relationship with Jesus, the rest of our relations and all of life falls into place.
happy, humid Wednesday to you!
♥~Rachel
So good to have you back! //You always inspire me//
When I was home in SC to visit earlier this summer, it was already v.e.r.y. h.o.t! I had forgotten how hot it feels compared to the (what feels to me like) mild summer weather here in Ohio. I do hope you have central air!
The pictures of you and Olivia are incredible!
Great definition/preface for blogging. I think there can be ‘peer pressure’ and expectations (in various ways) in the blogging world, and it’s a challenge to not fall prey to it. To maintain the unique characteristics of who we are in Christ, I think, is crucial!
Welcome back Clarita! And, i am looking forward to a virtual tour of your house then sometime when you get time! =)
Fifthly, you’re a SISTER. And I’m suuuuure glad you are. :) So happy you posted again. It does my auntly heart good. Amazing pictures of the beautiful Olivia. Her hair is getting so long and her eyes are just gorgeous and… and… and she’s just growing up! Makes me SO EXCITED to see you guys in just a few weeks. Not that I wasn’t already, but now it’s over the top. I think I shall start counting the minutes right now. Almost a whole week of togetherness at your house? *sigh* So perfect. Love you!
ME too, I want that tour of the house, cause I know it’s gonna be good! Baby is adorable! So maybe you can turn the photography over to your man, looks like he got some awesome shots. I’m happy you’re back, I always love seeing your photos, and the things you create. I’m just ready for that warmer weather, it’s been kinda chilly and rainy here, but that steamy stuff would get old after awhile. I remember those summer days in DE. and dreaming of my MI summers, so I know a little of what you feel, made me homesick.
Oooooo, it is so good to hear from you again!!!! I missed you a lot. The weather there sounds so much like Texas! I’m surprised how much difference there is between here and there since we’re not all that far apart. It’s not HUGE, but enough to be significant. The pictures are darling…treasures for you because any mommy and baby pictures are (and you are so beautiful!). Olivia is .darling. darling.
Time away from the web is sooo good for me! I’d love to talk with you more about what you’ve been thinking and some rumblings I’ve been having. I’ve been re-evaluating, but for me an even bigger thing was photography. I’ve had a pretty big break (partially intentional, partially not) and it’s helped me realize that though I was trying to keep priorities as you listed them, I wasn’t really living them that way. Lots of other thoughts, too.
I hope you have time to blog more soon, because I really can hardly wait to see pictures of the house finished!! I’ve had the itch to come back down, too. :) (but please don’t be sick next time. ;) )
Oh, btw, where and when in Belize? I was in Cayo in 2001-2001.
Gorgeous photos of gorgeous people (that’s how that baby girl turned out so gorgeous btw). That first picture especially is just a winner all the way around! You are so beautiful! I love the way you defined who you are as opposed to things you do. It is so hard sometimes to separate them and to remember that we are valuable to God and to people b/c we are a person, not b/c of the things we do. Maybe it would help if we would all work at celebrating people for who they are as opposed to what they do for us???????????????? I don’t know. I just keep wondering why it is so hard to keep that value system in place and what I can do to make it easier for myself and for other people. So GOOD to hear from you again!
love your title. and just watched the sound of music again… for like the 50th???? time and still love it. :)
I love listening to the rain too on our front porch but a few wks ago I really frieked out when the thunder and lightning hit at the same time and it was so loud i lost the hearing in my one ear plus felt the inside of my body sortof shake and i jumped off the swing and ran inside. Later Vange discovered the tree right beside our porch got struck by lightning and I’m a little scared i’m scarred for life. Or at least i won’t be out when it’s a big electrical storm.
Your pictures are adorable and I can’t believe your little girl is so big. I too am looking forward to seeing pictures of your cottage and I’m relieved with you that you’re moved and life has become a bit more sane for you.
We just moved to NC a couple months ago and I can relate to the heat and thunder! So loud and wonderful:)
So good to hear from you again too! Xanga-land has been pretty quiet but I appreciate people not making it the priority in their lives. For those (NOT talking about you, btw :) who have time to read everyone else’s blogs but never post …… :) Speaking of lightning and thunder, it was banging pretty hard on Tuesday evening. Seemed like I was barely staying 1 step ahead of it as I left work and town. Lois’ co-worker lost a dog that was hit by a bolt of lightning that evening. Close lightning scares me a little. Years ago we had a collie that was within 100 ft of a pine tree that was struck. Ever after that he would go bonkers when a storm was close by and our front door got pretty scratched up from him being desperate to get in the house.
i always love when a new post of yours comes up in my xanga feed! :) beautiful pictures. beautiful mom. beautiful baby. little girls are just.so.precious. ;)
@missmimy –
@Elizabethmarie_1 –
@foreveranoatneygirl –
@clearlyhis –
@dreamstillcometrue – you kidding me? HOW did I miss the sister/friend/daughter part in all of that?? My bad!
@Izzysgal –
@twofus_1 – I was in Belize from 1983 to 1987. Long time ago! My parents were missionaries in Crique Sarco – at that time accessible only by dug-out canoe from Punta Gorda, then 3 hours back into the jungle. Primitive as can be. My mother was a brave woman, that’s for sure!
@smilesbymiles –
@singingrachel – Thanks for catching the title. :) I’ve watched the Sound of Music X amount of times too, and still love it!
@HeiDiLaiNe –
@justcallmeM –
@lovinbloggin –
To all of you – thanks for welcoming me back! It sure is fun again! :)
Pictures of the house… Do you really want to see unfinished pictures?? There isn’t one room that’s entirely done yet. I have a feeling the rooms will sort of evolve the next few months… Maybe I’ll post little snippets here and there rather than entire rooms. :)
You’ve inspired me to take my kids out onto the porch when it starts raining!
I loved your thoughts about our identity and what is most important in all of that. So true!
Cute pictures too! You look so young! Now I am wondering how old you are?
fun to hear from you again. I love rain too… esp. here! I often will take the girls out on the little verandda and watch the rain, so soothing, relaxing, yet invigorating too!
@appalolly – ha ha! I look 18, right? I’m often guessed that, and people think I’m a teenage mother with two kids. :) I’m 27.
Beautiful pictures of beautiful people, and to think that I get to spend the day with them today!!(: So excited!
After our conversation the other day about blogging, I’ve done alot of thinking about who I am as a person, who I am in God etc. So this post really struck home for me! You have a sweet sweet heart, and it comes through very clearly on your blog! Love you!
Welcome back! Missed your posts!
@erlinyoder – Oh Linda, YOU are the one that is pure gold. That’s what I often think of when I think of you – pure gold! I treasure you so so much!! And… so so much to spend the day with you yesterday! :)
so happy to see you’re back! can’t wait to see pics of the house. Have a great week…