View From My Window

Barefoot. Blonde. Boy.

In celebration of this gorgeous weather we decided to clean! Windows, closets, bookshelf dust... the whole works. This little darling was standing under my window. Cuteness personified. But I'm biased. Judge for yourself!

Just breath, and look at pictures.

Sometimes right in the middle of life. Right when you think your mind is going to explode with everything that needs to be done. Right when you think that you've gotten yourself into a knot so tight... stop. Just breath. And look at pictures. And remember all the fabuous things that make you smile.

Be grateful. There is waaaayyyy more to be thankful about than you think. Try it.

When I do it, like I am right now...  I wind up pinching myself to make sure it's real. And it is.
It's not a dream. It's my life.

-Just few 'smilers'-

brothers chatting outside my window

yummy suppers cooked by sisters

rainy days that make the inside so cozy

red mango with the friend

those random happy texts from friends

curly hair that drives me crazy

little niece's giggles

green grass -- the result of the rain

I spent a whole weekend with these fabulous people. Yep. For reals.

We jam-packed so much into 72 hours, it's amazing any of us came out alive. Look at pictures. Cuz they're cool. and I like them. Check out our page on FaceBook too. 

I spent 10 days in Honduras. And I miss my "cooker ladies"! I would visit them. And they would make me snacks. and laugh at me. and love me.

These kids took a part of my heart and ripped right out of me. The way they smiled. The way they were enamored with blues eyes... they way they loved without reserve.

I miss them.

And I'm grateful to be sandwiched in the middle of a bunch of boys with this girl. Yes, it was karaoke at our house that night. Too much fun. Honest.

  

And every day after work I come home to this place. 

A wonderful house. 

But more than that... a wonderful family.

I love my life. And I love the ones in it. 

What random things are you grateful for this lovely rainy evening?

A Little Over a Year Ago...

...I was out of breath, my quads were on the brink of giving out, my lungs were exploding and I honestly felt like I was going to die.

I looked up at the rocky mountain I was climbing. I looked down at the snow and rocks, the narrow path that had just cost me everything I had. My brothers gave me some advice "It's optional going up, but going down is mandatory." Then I heard these words "Anna, you didn't come all this way to turn around without reaching the top..."

I gathered every ounce of strength I could muster, and shouted "I'm not giving up! Let's GO!"

Every.step.hurt. I felt like crawling into a crevasse and sleeping. forever. But no. My brothers were waiting, ready to press upward. I couldn't let them down. I didn't sit in a jam-packed car, drive all across the flat Nebraska to Colorado and spend countless dollars on gear and supplies to just turn around.

I willed my body forward.

Every thought concentrated on the next step.

And then it happened. I reached the top. of the WORLD. {or so it felt to me}

All my weariness fled. An unexpressable sense of joy welled within me and escaped my mouth in a shrill scream! And I wasn't the only one. My brother did his victory dance on the top of the mountain. The air resounded with shouts of triumph.

That moment on top of the mountain - it's a moment I will never forget.

Write-Up Wednesday {Love Does}

Love Does by Bob Goff
Living a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world

Love.

What even is love? We talk aobut it. Watch movies about it. Sing and dance about it. Sometimes we tend to carelessly throw the word around like it's just a small feeling that comes when you see something cute that you really, really, want!

Love Does will take your view of love, flip it upside down, shake it all around and return to you one of the most exciting and do-able things in life. It doesn't matter your age, race, tall, short, smart, dumb... you can start to do the gift of love.

But here's another word to think about;

Whimsey.

Whimsey, you say. What is whimsey? An oldfashioned word that is rarely used. Almost extinct from our vocabulary. But it's one that is artfully woven through this dynamic book. Story after story is told. Stories that will leave you teary-eyed, or rolling on the floor with your gut cramping from laughing so hard.

Join Bob Goff, an ordinary man with an insane gift for writing in a way that keeps you smiling, flipping pages and thinking "surely this guys life is just a piece of fiction..." But it's not. I called him and talked with him on the phone. No joke.

Bob will challenge you stop writing and thinking but start doing.

Love Does. Love is action. It's the little things in life. Love can reach anybody, anywhere. Anyone can feel it and anyone can do it. This book even takes things a step further. You have dreams? Do them. Stop planning and starting acting.

Instead of writing long paragraphs and delving into complicated greek words, Bob speaks everyday english and tells stories of everyday, ordinary people. But jam-packed through the words and hilirious tales is truth. Truth about love. Truth about how Jesus Himself demonstrated the mysterious and wonderful word.

So stop thinking about it. Buy it. Read it. And leave a comment on how it changed your view of love.




And 100% of the proceeds from his book go to his ministry in Uganda. Read more about it!

"If I had an iPhone"...is a phrase of the past.

You know when you see something, touch it, experience it? When you know right then that you want this "thing", realizing also that you probably will never have one in the foreseeable future, yet wanting it all the same? This item soon clobers the stores, make headlines and finds it's way into women's purses, guys hands and babies carseats. With each new addition you admire the features, watch your friends experience the technology and know think that one day. one day it will be your turn. You talk about it, dream about it, read about it, think about it, ask for it. In fact, you know more about this little device then even some of your friends who own the darling little thing. But you remain just a spectator, very involved, yes, but still just a spectator. This was my own experience with;

The iPhone.

Yes, I am an Apple girl. Through and through. It helps that I grew up on the old Macs. Our home has never known another brand but that shiny apple. And ever since the iPhone came out (how many years ago?) it's been on the top of my "want-list"....that is until yesterday. 2/24/13. And this is {the short version} how it happened.

It was Sunday afternoon drama practice. I had my computer out and was typing notes and doing stuff that props/costume coordinators are supposed to do, when suddenly I noticed my phone was gone. I needed to send a text but when I looked down on the seat...no phone. Very strange. I glanced around--under the seat, on another row. still no phone. The search continued as I looked in my purse, computer bag, the floor, coat pocket. I tried to push it away thinking that it would "turn up" soon, and went back to watching the actors on-stage. A little while later I needed to send another message (of course regarding the drama at hand) and enlisted a little help to find my pink phone. I questioned several young members of the male gender who are notorious for pranks such as this...but to no avail. A friend (Arnie) decided to call it...confirming that it was on vibrate. {later I find out that he was 'in' on the whole surprise...and played his party very well}. Once again in order to prove that I am capable of operating without my phone I returned to my seat.

Not more than 10 seconds later as I'm sitting in the front row contemplating how to tell an actor to "get their face involved in their lines" a strange sound starts coming from over by the piano. Very weird. My mother had just been over there {"why hadn't she gone home anyways?!?" was the thought running through my mind}, and I figured she just put some weird toy in the bench to make some strange noises. Not sure why, but before I could think about anything Josiah walks over and picks up an iPhone clothed in a pretty pink otterbox.

Me: "Oh! That's Lindsay's, she must have left it here."
Someone else: "Answer it!"
Me: "WHY?!?" I knew that a friend had a phone that looked almost identical "This is Lindsay's phone."

*phone stops ringing*
*everyone looks at me*
I'm confused.
*phone starts ringing again*
My mother: "Answer it, Anna, someone might need something!"
I, being an obedient daughter, obeyed.
Me: "Hello?"
Grace {the caller} along with everyone else: "SURPRISE!!"

Me: "What?"
*looks around very confused. noticing Arnie taking pictures. everyone is smiling. awkward silence.*
Someone: "It's YOURS!!"

Me: "WHAT?!? Are you serious?!?!"
I can't even remember what I said after that. But I couldn't believe it! There in my very own hands was my very own iPhone. And the rest, as they say...is history.

My family and friends had pooled their money for an early birthday present. I head overseas in a couple weeks to work in some orphanges and was really wanting a nice camera. And boy did I get it...and SO much more!!!

I'm so blessed. Not because I'm the very proud owner of an iPhone 5. But because I'm blessed enough to have friends {and of course my family is included in this!!!} that care. Friends that love me. Friends that will sacrifice their own resources to give me a 'wish come true'. They invest soso much into my life, in so many ways...and to top it off, they throw in an iPhone. It blows my mind.

Thank you!!!!! A million times over again.

When life gets cold...go to Florida!

I'm so excited about the prospect of getting snowed in tomorrow. {you may be surrounded with the white fluffyness as you read this, or you may be laughing at the forecasters predictions as you head off to work...I'm pulling for the latter.}

BUT

as much as I love snow and all the wonder that accompanies it...

I miss this.

Florida is a wonderful place. I just discovered this two years ago when I flew down for a friends wedding {gorgeous bride pictured above}. And I'm not sure if that was a good idea, because now I feel like I need to visit that sunny place every year. But I'm okay with that. Quite.

My visit was 4-5 days. We jammed packed it with so much wonderful stuff that I went to bed pinching myself wondering if it was all a dream...and when I woke up the sunrise would slice across the lake with such grandeur and wonder that would leave me speechless.
{yes, I stayed at a lake house. yes, I was up early enough to see the sunrise every morning--I may or may not have gone back to sleep...but that's beside the point.}

List of Fantastic Plans/Events;

Starbucks

{Chatitng with the baristas, people watching, talking, planning the day

...it's so much more than just drinking coffee.}

SeaWorld

{pictured below. Bonus: the Fabulous Lindsy was able to come with us}

Dinner with friends

Farmers Market

{best ever. I wish I had a picture of it to show you. just imagine fruit everywhere, enough veggies to satisfy a vegitarian, fresh flowers, live music, lots of people, crafts and do-dads}

Disney

{pictured below. so much walking, talking and laughter...and sore feet. :)}

Orange Groves

{best oranges.ever. no questions asked or accepted}

Settler's Game

Late-night Talking

{knowing you should probably go to bed but instead you sit and talk waaayyy late.

that is when the best conversations happen}

Invigorating workout

{complete with a personal trainer ;)}

Paddle-boarding

{my new favorite lake-side activity}

Lots of SUN!

More Starbucks

Which Wich?

 {"serving the superior sandwich"...and I learned they just opened one in NE!}

Pinkberry

Chick-Fil-A

{chicken biscuits are a must-experience for everyone...this I learned...the yummy way}

Starbucks

BEACH!

{I fed the birds...first and last time I ever do that on a beach.}

Outlet Mall

Little moments

{all those times that made you laugh, smile and just enjoy life...

yep, my trip was jam-packed full of them}

I'm sure I probably left something out...like the AMAZING people that hosted me, and made my time WAY better than I could have imagined!!! 

Thank you, Andrew&Kori

And all the other wonderful Florida people!

A though from Dr. Suess

"You never realize the joy of a moment, until it becomes a memory." -Dr. Suess

I've been mulling this thought over throughout the day. And it is quite true. Sometimes the moment slips by and thinking back and remembering things and reliving them, are almost as fun as experiencing them for the first time. Not quite, but almost.


So when you're contemplating doing something a little out of the ordinary or fun, taking a risk, showing a little extra love, sacrificing for someone else...do it. Make it worth remembering.