Living Out of Breath

Phew.  I mean it's a bloggy blog world out there.  Pretty pictures, nice words, amazing things done and created.  I'm overwhelmed by it all a bit right now.  I can hardly keep up with my water quota needed to produce milk, let alone a nice picture paired with a witty blog post.  So here it is, drum roll please, a nice real glimpse of our beautiful life.  

We had visitors.  Grammy and Poppy.  Look at all those blue shirts and blue eyes! 

Coen has the best big brothers.  Look at that, forget picture books, the baby is moving right into chapter books.  

Lucas had a piano recital.  That's him on that big beauty of a piano.  Can I just say that getting our family ready for a piano recital was a beautiful thing for me?  It was.  I didn't realize it would be.  But halfway through it all, I realized that it felt just like getting ready for a ballet recital.  Fancy clothes.  Quiet observation.  No yelling, cheering, or go team! type open mouth pumping fists activity.  Not that I don't love myself some good sports action.  But the solitude of the unspoken beauty in the arts is something I thirst of and drink slowly.  

There he is, the youngest cutest piano player in the bunch! 

Earlier that same day, the boy graduated from kindergarten.  Big ol'day for that one.  

Our baby sleeps in odd places.  Do you see him?

We live by a lake, practically on a lake.  We've been swimming there, jumping off of boats, and tubing.  Yes, I was on a tube screaming, while our baby slept in his car seat behind the driver.  Like I said....out of breath I've been living.  

Beau traveled for about a month.  That's him on Skype talking to us all, even Coen caught on by the end....smiling at the computer.  Such a modern babe, that one. 

I have handsome fun boys.  

Mamma came to visit! Just look at her, she's beautiful.  She serves and helps....because she loves Jesus. And that's what makes it all the more beautiful.  It's worship to her.  

My BFF at Jaime Lenhart Photography came and held my baby, played with my boys, cleaned my dishes, baked some fish, and took amazing pictures of our family.  She's a cool cat Mama by day photographer by night type.  I knew her in braces, so that makes me super cool too I guess. 

Here's a couple of my favorites, they're probably not the *best* ones as far as an onlooker would choose.  But I love what they capture.  

Motherhood.  

Family.  

My husband.  I love this picture.  We just celebrated 10 years of marriage.  And isn't he handsome?  I love how little he likes to put on that stuffy uncomfortable uniform especially in the heat, but did it with a joyful heart for me and these pictures.  I love when he smiles and I see new lines shooting out from his eyes...I don't see age.  I see history.  I see the not so pretty nights at 2am where he's held each of our boys while I sleep.  I see him on a razor scooter doing races even though he's jet lagged and is more sleep deprived than me.  I see his Bible worn and tattered, sitting next to an empty coffee mug as I arise in the morning.  And I know he was up long before any of us, but also was the last to bed the night before.  I see him fold laundry and do dishes, while I try to have a conversation with him.  Me, sitting nursing.  Us, talking amidst hot wheel races.  I see him lead us, love us and protect us...all by serving us.  Not by claiming he knows what he's doing or ever sitting down on the job.  I see him fighting for a family that is more than surviving.  We are thriving.  I see him encourage us, stop and pray for us, even through a computer screen across an ocean.  I see this man and I love him.  

And that's us, friends.  Like most bloggers, at the end of it all, I ask....have I captured anything?  And I say no.  I've captured very little here.  The rest is being lived.  Which is so much sweeter than a screen...I can hear the laughter, taste the brownie batter, smell the summer air, and kiss the real faces.