Little did she know...

I did a bit more "cheating" for this week of pictures. I prefer to call it "borrowing" from other days. ;)  11. create my sister is really great at creating teachable experiences that are woven into every day moments. 12. night life technically, this was sunrise. but in my mind, same same. 13. musical the baby cousins. also, my focusing skills are lacking. 14. happy day Uncle Jon is the best. 15. cuddle 16. discover 17. the boss good thing he's cute. 18. oops don't worry, I helped her up. 19. special all of my plant babies come from special people in my life and from special times in my life.  20. silliness singing songs during missionary conference brings out the silliness in the adults, as these kids soon discovered. 21. favorite photo this is not a picture of my favorite photo (how would I ever choose?), but it is my favorite photo that I took that day.

Technically, it's EMS week, which means we (I don't actually know who decided) set aside an entire week to celebrate ourselves and our coworkers and to do fun things for the community! I just like to use it as an excuse to post some ridiculous meme's. ;)  HOWEVER.... last week was Law Enforcement Officer's week. And that's kind of a big deal around here, too. In (belated) honor of that, I present to you a conversation: Do you think you would like to be a cop when you grow up? J: I don't know. I haven't made up my mind yet. I think it would be good because you can help people, but it also would be scary! I watched COPS with my grandma, and those people are crazy! What do you think the best part about being a cop would be? J: I don't really know. That's a hard question.  But I know what the hardest part of being a cop would be: making people hold still. They can be creepy. It would be hard! J: ...

three days, three things: nieces and nephews. warm days. big brown eyes. (pleasecomebacksummer) gal pals. reunions. weddings road trips. nonsense brothers. new memories.

"...to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." -A. A. Milne  Winnie the Pooh How did time go by so fast? Saudades already, Brasil...

i forgot #11! (except not really. i just skipped)  Thankful for this study. And how it talks about the reality of our sinful, sinful selves and asks the hard, probing questions that cause you to look deep and then choose what your response will be.  Thankful for the group of people that meets every Sunday night and opens hearts and shares struggles and takes time to pray together about the burdens and the joys. Thankful to see Christ being lived out in front of me in such a tangible way. God is good.  Thankful for the excuse that a hockey game provides to get together with friends and  yell our lungs out and and eat junk food and laugh over coffee afterwards.  Thankful for the group of kids who keep me accountable. They humble me every single day with how blessed I am to know them and how huge of a responsibility I have to be committed to investing in their lives. They make my Wednesday awesome.  Thankful for a sister who m...

Do you ever find yourself taking a step back from the moment and saying "wow, i just really love this!"? That happens to me more often than not, and last week was no exception. I was privileged to spend [almost] the entire week with two different youth groups. We did a lot of outdoor lovin'. Hikes. Grilling. Camping. We also did a lot of learning and talking. We serve an awesome God who loves us in a crazy way.  I have known for quite a while now that spending time with kids is one of my favorite things to do, but this week was just a big reminder of how much i LOVE it. Probably in part because I am secretly rebelling on the inside against being a responsible adult. :) 

this boy. and his boots. we're both middle children, so I am pretty sure that makes us equally awesome. he's the best for cuddling. and laughs.

this summer is already almost over, and I am not sure where all the time went! it's been a beautiful time of warm nights and lake days and hiking and camping and grilled food and work good times and a lot of bonding with the road and various sunrises/sunsets. the brasil brother has been back for almost a year which means that in a month, he heads back with his little family. i can't even say how awesome it's been to know they are accessible to sms or call or see. great times to renew and build on those relationships. here's a little bit of summer according to my phone. ok, so maybe it's a lot bit. bear with me. baby sitting adorable children road trip numba one to KC to visit some graduating peeps suuuushiii!  hanging with the niecephews in the sand hills [and their rooster]   lots of quality time on the road full moon, plus the ambulance. good times the broski's graduated and we had reunions lake, lake, lake in...