Bathroom Window

This morning,

 a chilly 7 degree Saturday, 

I lift my bathroom shade to see this.

 After pausing a moment in awe

 I notice the ice forms 

an uncanny reflection 

of the outside world.

I begin to think about a conversation I had last summer 

with a neighbor who is Math professor at a Chicago University. 

 He spoke of how mathematicians are still exploring 

the mysteries of numbers and repeating patterns in nature.  

Within the hour the window design

 evaporates into the cold morning air. 

And it is gone.

Stop. Rewind.

Stop. Rewind. Press Play at the same time.  The scenes fly by in a strange fast forward, except reverse, direction.  The VCR plays the movie back, or forward, until you find the scene you want to replay. Remember those days?

This old blog, like an old VCR,  has been tossed into the closet to gather dust with the summer sunscreen and beach bags.  For the last three months life in these parts has felt like living with both the PLAY and the FF button pushed. Before the first snow falls I thought I'd push the STOP button.  Share a few pictures from our Iphones. Rewind. Replay a few frames from the Little Family in the Big City.

It is hard to believe we are in our fourth year living on Chicago's North Shore.  We love living on Maple Ave. and are thoroughly enjoying being back in a house with a yard and a puppy!  The contentment plane has finally landed in Chicago, and we have much for which to be thankful.

Some Summer Pictures

Bozeman, MT

Once again summer seems to be traveling at breakneck speed.  With a move, a new puppy, and some travels thrown in for extra spice, I feel like I can barely grasp the days before they are gone again.  Here are a few pictures from the last month...

Camp!

A week ago I put Rynn on a bus with a suitcase and a backpack

to travel more than five hours to camp in Wisconsin's North Woods.

It was her first sleep away camp experience,

and it more than exceeded expectations.

We got to join her on the last day of camp for Family Day-

a day to share in a rodeo, a ski show, and cookout. 

Eleanor is already convinced that she is going to be on that bus next year.

School's Out

And so let summer begin...

It has been a cold and stormy spring.

But the weather cooperated just long enough for the annual tradition 

of hitting the beach on the last day of school.

Daisy

Friends, meet our new Boxer

DAISY.

Nope, I'm not growing a beard.  

Just enjoying my favorite snack- mulch. 

I have this perfect little 'J' on my back 

that my mom thinks makes me the perfect fit for Jason.

He likes to call it my very own cowboy boot.

My family is pretty much smitten with me.  

And it isn't hard since I'm pretty amazing- 

already sleeping through the night in my crate

 and going the bathroom outside.

I'm super laid back, sweet, and think the world is pretty amazing.

I think I've brought a calm on this whole house 

that makes my people smile all the time.

Now if only they'd let me on that sofa...

Girls on the Run

For all my runner friends or family, for moms of girls, for people who care about loving and raising girls, for people who ever thought about putting on a pair of running shoes, and for those who do run and know how it feels...this post is for you.  For the past two months Rynn and I have been participating in a club at her school called Girls on the Run.  It is a nation wide non-profit that uses running as a means of encouraging girls to be strong, confident, and kind.  On June 1st we will join 14,000 other girls and their running buddies to run a 5K in downtown Chicago. It is the largest 'girl-focused' race in the country.  Yesterday, we held a little mock 5K around the school to practice.  Here are some of the photos...

Moved Again!

 “Weary or bitter or bewildered as we may be, God is faithful. 

He lets us wander so we will know what it means to come home.”

 - Marilynne Robinson, Home

Crazy Hair Day

 Today was CRAZY hair day at Central Elementary School.

Rynn went for a bold approach- 

a duck nesting in her ponytail.

Eleanor took a more subtle route.

There were some moments of panic walking to school.

Wellies in Wilmette

It is a bit soggy in these parts.

We got so much rain today 

that Chicago's major Interstates closed, 

and so did school!

Who says you can't have 

some outdoor adventure in the suburbs?

The flooded park at the end of our street

 provided a little "flood day" entertainment.

What started as a simple frog hunt...

Montana

Sometimes a girl needs a little change of scenery. 

In Like a Lion

Happy Birthday Eleanor!

I'm Eight!
And check out the snowballs
 on my school playground today!

Double Digits

Ten.  A Decade.  10.  

More than half way to eighteen.

Happy Birthday, Rynn!

Feb. 26, 2013

The Year of the Snake

I've been craving a bit of color lately

cultural color

physical color.

  Chicago's Chinatown was the perfect recipe.

This afternoon thousands packed the streets of Wentworth Ave.

to welcome in the Year of the Snake.

The girls and I decided to join them.

Snow Graffiti

Tired of winter?  Try some "snow graffiti" to liven things up.  My girls are keeping it real by making the best of the snow and cold.  Snow boots, snow pants, and mittens required at recess.  Piles of shoveled snow on the playground upon which to climb. No snow days in these parts...

I decided today that as

painted toenails are to Atlanta, 

Chacos are to Chattanooga,

bangs & tattoos are to Portland, 

the long down coat is to the Midwest. 

 For two years I've mocked, shunned, and refused to buy one

 ...until last week when temperatures plunged to single digits.

I now know who the real fool is.

Me.  

There is a reason people in Chicago

like to wear sleeping bags...

Part of the Story

The last couple of nights our girls have been asking for us to read the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis.  At the close of one chapter they beg for us to read more so they might hear again the next twist or turn of events which are around every corner of Joseph's life. My children remind me how God uses story to capture our hearts,  to call us to himself, and to give us a bigger picture of our own lives.

I listened to a sermon this morning while folding our endless mountain of laundry which seems to build faster than the ice on lake Michigan.  In an introduction to the book of Genesis, Rankin Wilbourne speaks about the life of Jacob.

He says this,

"When God tells Jacob 'I will go down with you into Egypt and I will bring you back up'... Jacob could not know what path, what arduous back breaking, heart breaking path to God’s promise being fulfilled that would be before him...

The Lord only gives the promise “I am God, I will be with you, and I will bring you up again.” 

We never get the whole story. If God were to tell us all that our future holds, all the lacerating twists, all of the surprises, we’d be so paralyzed that we couldn’t get out of bed.  Instead God just gives us the same promise, 'This is headed somewhere.  This story is going somewhere, and one day it will all make sense, but until then remember, “I am God.” Do not be afraid. I will be with you.'

Your story is part of THE story which will one day redefine your own, and grace will no longer be a word or experience but a way of seeing what is unseen until you see yourself and the world differently, because the Lord has been your shepherd all the days through."

(Listen to the whole sermon here http://pacificcrossroads.org/teaching-series/genesis-a-baptized-imagination/)

More Photos

A Sunny Saturday+ My Family+ 20 degrees warmer (25 instead of 5)= 

Much Better Pictures of the Lake

Splash!

What Cold Looks Like

 We are deep into our third winter in the Midwest.  

That little blue dip, in the middle of the weather map 

on the back page of the newspaper, is where we call home. 

 It is COLD right now.  

What does cold look like? 

This morning I took these photos 

while standing out on the frozen edge of Lake Michigan.

The view of land (and the Evanston Lighthouse)

The view of the lake ...
the Northwestern students on the left
 give you a little perspective on the sheer amount of ice
that builds on the beach.