Twenty-five candles

We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend with my daughter in her little tiny town. It was everything a Thanksgiving weekend should be ... family and great food and time to sit and relax. And ponder. I took a drive one day into the mountains and soaked in the golden leaves and collected some pine cones and evergreen branches. And I did a little research on Advent. 

When I was growing up we did not talk about Advent. Or if we did, I missed it. Advent to me was opening up little cardboard calendars with chocolates inside ... it was nothing more than a countdown to Christmas.  

I decided that I wanted this year to be more simplified. More about the thought behind this season than the frantic pursuit of gifts and bringing down the boxes and boxes of ornaments. 

I decided I want it to be more about Advent. I read here about the way this family celebrates Advent.

via

I tried to find an wooden advent "wreath" like they used. But couldn't. So I decided to make my own. 

One candle for each day until Christmas. The tall candles are for the Sundays leading up to Christmas and one for Christmas Day. Each day I will light one candle, read a scripture and say a prayer. It is a way to stop and reflect; to focus on what is important to me. 

I read that the candles represent Hope, and Love, Joy and Peace. Can't we can all use more of those?

"Arise, shine;

  For your light has come!

  And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 

  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

  And deep darkness the people;

  But the LORD will arise over you,

  And His glory will be seen upon you."

                  -Isaiah 60:1-2

Saturdays, creating a wedding and new beginnings

There is something about Saturdays that just because it is Saturday, it feels different. If I am meeting with a client on a Saturday, it just feels more casual, even if it is not. During the week I would never do this, but on a Saturday if I am meeting a client, I do not feel the need to dress up as much. And I might not even shower (shhh!). I love Saturdays. I don't feel guilty to watch television during the day ... or take a nap. It is a day to refresh. And not matter how hard the week was ... you get to start over on Sunday. Kind of like a new year. Or a new season.

 

Wedding images via 100 Layer Cake

I spent this Saturday with my latest wedding client - a darling girl whose wedding is going to be spectacular. Oh, how I love working with my brides :)

Engagement photos by Duane Peck

This is going to be a barn wedding and it will be filled with vintage furniture, gold candelabras and naked cakes on peach pedestals. We planned and made some changes and worked on specific details. And these will be used:

There is something very magical and exciting about planning and creating a wedding. They are new beginnings. It is not just about this one day. It is about a the fresh new start as a couple beginning their life together; a coming together of two ... joined as one. A new season of their lives. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday! 

“[T]hat old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air ... Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year's mistakes had been wiped clean by summer.”
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

"Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

Behold I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it? 

I will even make a road in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert."

-Isaiah 43:18-19

Life is short

"Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
    so that we may grow in wisdom."

- Psalm 90:12

I attended a funeral this weekend. Funerals are never easy, but this one was particularly hard. It was for a wonderful woman whose life was cut shorter than one would expect. Or hope for. Afterwards, a friend of mine said he thought funerals are a way for those of us left behind to examine our own lives. I felt the same way. I wondered while I was listening to all the accolades and beautiful stories and wonderful ways they described this person, "What would people say about me?" I want to be the kind of person that someone would say, "She never said a harsh word about anyone," or "She loved unconditionally."  The thing is, I am not those things ... I am flawed and imperfect and struggle through life like the rest of us. I have made mistakes. And will make many more I am certain. But then I am reminded that life is not about perfection. It is about love. And grace. 

I recently read an article written by a nurse who worked with patients who knew they were dying. When she questioned them about their regrets, these were the most common:

1.  I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2.  I wish I didn't work so hard.

3.  I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4.  I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5.  I wish that I had let myself be happier.

The article made me think back to a number of years ago when another young woman, a very good friend of mine, was dying and how we had talked about the importance of living a life with no regrets. That is not an easy thing to do, I think. But something to strive for. 

Thanks for making this world a better place, sweet Mimi.

May the love you poured out onto all of us here on earth be remembered forever. 

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

A thoughtful gift

We had a fun little birthday party a few months ago ...

 Target made it easy to make it festive. Did you see their "Oh Joy" decorations?

It was my oldest daughter's 30th birthday and for her gift I helped her fix up her house a little bit. We did it in stages a few weeks before her big day, so when it came for her actual birth day, I wanted to give her something special to open but I didn't want it to cost a lot. 

And I wanted it to be thoughtful. 

I decided to give her a gift of 30 quotes. You know how I am obsessed with quotes, right?

I thought it would be fun to give her enough for one a day for 30 days. I found them on Pinterest and printed them out on my computer - each sized to go in a 4"x6" frame.

I dug through my supply of frames and found one I thought was just perfect. The idea was that she could change them out for whatever mood she was in.

She placed the frame in her entryway.

You can see the quotes (and the sources for them) here.

I love that she took one of the quotes and put it in another frame.

She is a lot like me - she likes to put quotes around her house to remind her of things that are important.

Have a great Sunday and hug those close to you. We were reminded the hard way this week in our neighborhood and community that life can be cut short in an instant. Love is all that matters.

Best Frenemies

We have a dog and a cat. 

The cat belongs to my youngest daughter. He was a birthday gift to her when she turned fourteen (she is now twenty-four!) from a good friend of hers. He was kidnapped from a nursery as a young kitten and even after all these years seems a bit "feral". In fact, some days I would describe him as just plain wild. When we got him we named him Jack. But after my daughter and I went on the road trip last summer and listened to the book on tape, "The Life of Pi", I re-named him Richard Parker. That tiger in the book IS Jack. 

Richard Parker is a beautiful cat. He looks sweet and adorable. But he pounces and scratches. And bites. He loves me so much and just wants to cuddle and be right next to me ... but then for no reason he will attack. I am always fearing he is going to kill attack me. 

Our dog, on the other hand ... this "big, tough, strong Pit Bull", is the sweetest, most lovable dog we have ever had. Milo was rescued from a shelter when he was about 9 months old. He was my oldest daughter's graduation gift from grad school. She had wanted a dog all five years of school and I promised her that if she waited, I would get her a dog when she was all done. When she began to search for a dog, I told her ... "Hey, just in case this dog ends up being 'our' dog, can you please not get a male dog or a Pit Bull?" But that girl had a tender spot in her heart for Pit Bulls and as it turned out, she fell madly in love with Milo ... a male Pit Bull mix. And it also turned out that he was just a little too much dog for her at the time and he did end up being our dog. 

Our previous dog, a Golden Retriever Mix, would chase Richard Parker around the house and Richard Parker feared him. So when Milo came to live with us I was not sure how he would be around the cat. But Milo was the sweetest dog and just wanted to have a brother and a friend. Richard Parker on the other hand ... is not always as nice. Last week Milo was sitting in our courtyard looking outside and Richard Parker joined him. I thought they were going to sit down together and I grabbed my camera to take a photo of them sitting together. It still warms my heart and amazes me, even after all these years, that a dog and a cat can get along. 

But that is not what happened. Richard Parker attacked ...

And sweet Milo retreated.

Richard Parker stole his spot.

And Milo let him. 

It reminded me of some very profound words ...

 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. 

 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return."

-Luke 27-36