Trip to Dothan

The girls were absolute angels for their first airplane trip. I felt like they were old pros.

And besides the fact that I got "felt up" by airport security (Have any of y'all had that happen?! I've heard the jokes but I was not prepared for the, um, intensity and thoroughness. I could not stop laughing the whole time. I was totally inappropriate.) for the sippy cup in my carry-on, the whole experience was uneventful...even fun.

This little baby was marvelous. Thank you for your prayers. I feel sort of ridiculous now about how anxious I was.

It's hard to describe how wonderful it felt to be. home. I stopped in for a visit with my friends in our old neighborhood. I love when familiarity rolls over you like it never skipped a breath.

On our way out of town, Bryan asked us to drop by his studio for him to try out some new lights he'd gotten for taking natural-looking photographs (It was way more technical than that, but that's the gist of what I came away with). We looked a bit bedraggled after a hard day of playing, but I never miss an opportunity to be a part of a A Bryan Photo. He is so awesome. You can see a few of his shots of the girls here. Thank you Bryan! It was a blast and an honor, as always.

Then, we headed down to Dothan. All my sisters came home for the weekend, along with their husbands/boyfriend. This was the first time in a really, really long time, that we've all been under one roof... It felt bizarrely wonderful and normal. Although normal is not what comes to mind here:

Watson was leading everybody in a football workout in the front yard.

I smiled when I saw this rolling by the house. Not something I've seen a whole lot of in Seattle :)

Kendall tried to drop a subtle hint or two to the only remaining "boyfriend" in the group.

I'm not sure he took it quite the way she wanted him to ;)

Sometimes my camera gets hi-jinked. I'm not sure what Taylor was trying to capture here, but I know what it captured for me, "Oh my! Look, there are boys in the backyard with Dad!" It still feels surreal to see the men we all hoped would come one day, be real in this day.

I spent much of the time doing this:

On the phone with Jeremiah, the only one missing to make the joy complete, trying to describe all the houses I'd been seeing.

On Saturday, Dr. Maddox invited our whole big Clark family crew to come out to the farm for a horse drawn wagon ride through the woods.

And they weren't just any horses. Meet Heidi and Maggie:

Two of the cutest Clydesdale horses you'll ever meet.

They're both rescue horses.

And my girls couldn't resist a little time on their backs, despite the availability of a perfectly good wagon.

'Ol girls had quite a heavy load to carry. This isn't even everybody. A total of TEN adults and two chicken wings. Keke baby, we're not in New York.

These guys were staying far away from us. Who could blame them? I wouldn't have wanted to be strapped to our raucous party either.

Dapples and Popon "hemmed and hawwed" us together for a bit.

There was something magnificent about seeing these girls work their way through rough cut wooded trails. They seem like they should be clipping across pavement through a parade. Instead, it felt like we were using them in the way they were made to be used.

Until we wore them out, utterly and completely.

And hopped out and walked for a while to give them a much needed break.

Sashey met us after the ride, so we could meet Coco...

...her new friend who she's trying to train to barrel race.

On their first ride, Coco apparently stopped to try and drink water off the top of the barrel. She's come a long way!

We also celebrated my Dad's 53rd birthday!!!

My Dad with his brother, Uncle Alan. Does anybody else see George W?

We had a huge crowd of extended family, and my Aunt Sheila prepared a Mexican fiesta to satisfy my Mexican-loving heart. Unfortunately, I blanked out on taking pictures. Thankfully, Caroline snapped a few for us.

Grandma and Grandpa made their famous homemade icecream.

I looked at a lot of really wonderful potential homes while we were in Dothan. I'm still excited about what God's going to do...but He hasn't done it yet. I thought He was gonna, but apparently he didn't get my memo with the schedule ;)

This was my lap on the plane ride home. We're all feeling pretty drained, but thankful for sweet family, friends, and home.

Soaking It Up

We are soaking. it. up. over here.

What? You may wonder. Or why is my child wallering on the concrete with her feet stretched up in the air? Just trying to take in every last drop of this that we can:

We have had three gorgeous days in a row. And not Jeremiah-kind-of-beautiful days, but REAL blue skies and sunshine.

I can hardly get myself out of a window, even when I'm inside.

I realized how hungry I was for sunlight and blue skies on Monday morning when I was describing an Alabama fall day in my book.

Milton was in the raging height of her fall season, with skies the color of blue flame and as painstakingly bright. Alabama springs are smug in their warm sweetness and demure flowers, but fall brought a beauty that was as sharp as her crisp leaves and nipping winds.

I must of sat there for a solid five minutes trying to think of just the right word to describe the color of the blue skies painted in my memory. I wrote and erased several different phrases, trying to taste the blue of our Southern skies. I had begun to wonder if the blue of the sky really existed or if it was all in my imagination. The next day, I was reminded that they not only exist, they even exist in Seattle.

I wanted to take a break from playing building blocks on the porch with the girls to thank y'all for your prayers. We haven't left town for Dothan yet, but God has already answered your prayers for wisdom for us...in an amazing and vivid way. I'm not ready to tell the story yet, partly because it's not over, but I believe I will be back eventually with a story that will speak of His provision.

God is good, and so is sunshine! We're basking in it all.

Light Heart

After the last couple of blogs, I thought we might could all do with a happy one :)! Not that they haven't been happy...just maybe some light-hearted happiness. What could be more light-hearted than flying a kite...and eating chocolate?

This Sunday was a typical Seattle day:

I have laughed at Jeremiah, because he's started calling these days "beautiful." I hear him on the phone all the time saying, "Yeah, it's beautiful here today!" I look out the window, thinking maybe I missed something. When I question his truthfulness he says, "Baby, it's all relative." I guess he's right. Rain is not actually falling and for us, that's a beautiful thing.

So on this beautiful Sunday morning, while I was getting the girls dressed for church, Jeremiah packed us a picnic lunch and threw the kite that the girls got for Christmas into the back of his car. After the church service we went to Gasworks Park to have a picnic and fly a kite.

I'm really glad Jeremiah didn't tell us the plan, otherwise I would have taken play clothes for the girls and I wouldn't have gotten these shots of the adorable dresses that Moogie and Sashey gave them for Christmas. I love the bright colors of their dresses and the grass against the charcoal sky...That's one good thing about this weather.

(I think the dresses came from here, but my MIL got them at a little shop in Dothan, AL, and I didn't find them on the website, so I'm just not 100% sure.)

Some new, and already dear, friends of ours joined us. They have a little girl named Hannah.

Can you tell they're from the South too? Most people in Seattle don't dress their kids in cutesy dresses. You can pick us out pretty quick around here.

After the kite flying, we were all nearly frozen (I didn't know to bring play clothes OR jackets), so we went to a coffee shop to warm up. And then, we went to a chocolate factory just down the road. We'd heard about Theo, but never gotten to experience it for ourselves.

You can smell warm chocolate as you walk down the sidewalk. It's almost impossible not to go in.




And then, piles and piles and piles of free chocolate for the sampling...it was like a dream.

Thanks for all your sweet comments on the last blog. I love y'all. Thanks for sharing in our lives and adding a beautiful richness. Happy week!