Lost and still lost...

I hate losing things. It's the worst am-I-this-out-of-control feeling for me. Because I am a fantastically organized girl, so to misplace something just doesn't work in my world.

So, pretend that a girl was on vacation last week and say she lost her husbands two hundred plus dollar internet card. This would make her bonkers, right? Right.

All this means for you blogland, is that we don't have internet at home until this tiny little important computer part surfaces. And it just has to. Because I actually remember thinking, "that's a good spot, because what if I lost this thing..." while putting it in a zippered pocket of my laptop bag. But alas, it's gone. Along with my inner-peace.

My dad had a box at church for lost and found, and being clever, charming and witty, he had written in his scribbly Paul Harrington font "Lost and Still Lost." I can't wait to find this little guy. Or find $200 laying on the street. Either would be fine at this point.

A quick trip to the farm

On my way to the wedding, I stopped by our family farm and got to see Sarah and Brooks, my cousins who have been in New Zealand for the last two years. I am so excited to have them back in the states and can't wait to see them a whole lot more now. Kathy and Mark came from Minneapolis for the evening and we played with super sweet and wonderful baby Ida (Sarah and Brooks') and husked corn for the cows and we ate clams that Mark brought. And by " we ate clams" I mean, I watched other people eat them.

Hej is Hitched!

I went back to Minnesota this weekend for the lovely Heidi Elizabeth Johnson's wedding. It was a glorious celebration. Everything had been prepared with great thought and great heart. I went to Gustavus with her, worked at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp with her and we even attended Luther seminary together. The wedding was filled with friends from back in the day and it was so great to reconnect.

Hej and her hubby, John.

Hej was one of those radiant, calm, enjoying-every-moment bride. It was so fun to watch her soak in her big day.

We each drank our beverages out of these mason jars. The wedding was outside at an orchard in Stillwater, with beautiful, worn barns and lots of colorful gardens spread around the property.
The wedding celebration concluded with a square dance. So super fun, and so super hot. The whole day was fantastic. Congrats Hej!

Vintage Baby.

I am taking a Photo Editing class right now and just learned how to vintage hand-tint my pictures. I'll tell you what...not all pictures should be vintage hand-tinted! Rory and I do not look very good washed out with rosie cheeks! But Sonna does. So I'll share this picture from two winters ago.

A Reading Rainbow book recommendation

I just finished a book I began late last night. That's the sign of a good, good read. I'm sure many of you have read this one, but if any of you have not, I highly recommend this is quick, fast paced story that offers so much to chew on.

It's all about hell and heaven and the conversations that might lead from one to the other. There is so much to take away from this book, but my favorite is a new image of what hell might be like. Lewis writes of how quarrelsome everyone is:

"As soon as anyone arrives he settles in some street. Before he's been there twenty-four hours he quarrels with his neighbour. Before the week is over he's quarrelled so badly that he decides to move. Very likely he finds the next street empty because all the people there have quarrelled with their neighbours- and moved. If so he settles in. If by chance the street is full, he goes further. But even if he stays it makes no odds. He's sure to have another quarrel pretty soon and then he'll move on again. Finally he'll move right out to the edge of the town and build a new house. You see, it's easy here. You've only got to think a house and there it is. That's how the town keeps growing leaving more and more empty streets." (Lewis, 10)

I've always thought of hell as 'apart from God' but this offers such a visual of what existence would be like without the relational tools God has give us such as forgiveness, reconciliation, patience, honesty and kindness. Without these gifts, we are only left with our selfish demands and trying to live with everyone else's selfish demands. In our own lives we see our own and everyone else's selfish demands everyday, but thank God for the ability to work things out, for honesty and truthful communication, and that God created us to be relational beings, set up in communities so that we must learn how to use these God-instructed gifts.