thankee

for:

• morning runs
• mr. manly
• good books (Population 485)
• food: falafel, grapefruit, and pita pizzas--to name a few
• General Conference
• beautiful terraced hills growing hundreds of olive trees
• laughs
• one-eyed stares
• family prayer
• sleep
• writing on here again (it's been kinda a long time)
• an April 6 outing to Bethlehem (Christmas for real!)
• anticipation of swimming again
• lizard friends (well, I wish they really were my friends. why do they have to run away as soon as I come near?)
• words, like these from Gary Paulson:
  "I tell young people to read like a wolf eats. Read when they tell you not to read, and read what they tell you not to read. Kill your TV--they're fun to shoot. However you kill it, kill it. Then where you had TV, read. Carry a book with you. Read on the bus. Read under the covers at night. Read any book with you. Just read."

married and jerusalem

all in a week.

And I'm too lazy to write much, so I'll direct you here to what Andrew wrote.

I will say that it was a most beautiful day. And I'm still a fan of Mr. Smith (translate: I love him). Yep yep yep.

I'll have to write more later.

We're starting up a blog (rewandlyn.blogspot) together. I don't know how much you'll find on it now, but look for more to come.

We're just settling in (trying to beat the jet lag game). Andrew starts school in a week and we're trying to find me something to do volunteer/service-wise around here. We've found a few things and hopefully something will turn up.

Laters.

it's february

third already. I have three minutes to write before going to get my hair trimmed. I ran with Marmee this morning. Didn't see any deer friends. Ate two grapefruit (do I pluralize with an s or not? I'm not sure...) and some scrambled eggs for breakfast. Yum. Did some reading and a little cleaning. Today we're going to the temple with our padres and Sierra. She got here late Monday night and we spent most of yesterday with her and Eli. Arlette, Samuel, and baby Sarah arrive today. We're pretty much done with all the planning. We have a little grocery shopping to do and a few other things to accomplish, but we're almost there.

Less than three days!

Huzzah! does not even begin to capture how happy and excited I am, but, "Huzzah!"

Happy Wednesday!

the day after our first date

I wrote this in my writer's notebook:

"What has made this week good is that I'm at peace with myself. I'm happy with who I am. I'm not vain in this--I hope. But I really feel like this week I've been mostly living up to my potential. I'm not living for show or for anyone else. I don't have anything to prove to anyone but myself and my Maker. So no pressure."

I've been reflecting for a while now about the words I penned that first whirlwind week. I'm grateful I wrote because it's quite nice to look back on.

Today I'm so very thankful for Andrew who makes me feel what I described. There wasn't ever any pressure with him. I'm so comfortable and at ease with him. I'm my true self when I'm with him, and that means more than I can even begin to describe.

I'm also thankful today for running and swimming, for peace, for sleep, for students, for friends, for family, for love, for prayers.

unspeakably happy

Yep, that's me right now.

Happy Wednesday!

rushingwriting

The sun's light has left me for its western ways leaving me with a desire to compose a paragraph about how I'm feeling in this moment. Things are really shaking up for me. Big change is coming. Happy change is coming. I feel like I sense only a hint of everything that's going to happen. I was released from my calling in my ward today. It felt so strange to walk home without my binder in hand. It feels even stranger to know I won't be looking at a new ward list practically every week. I already miss my dearest dears. I feel afloat. I'm on top of something so light that I can't capture any fluff from it to take a good analytical look. I know none of this makes much sense, but this is me right now--not making much sense even to myself. I have five days left of teaching my lovely students. I will miss them. In two weeks I will be a wife. I will have a husband. In three weeks I will be in Jerusalem. I won't be here. I already miss my famdam; maybe Guya's right about this whole bittersweet taste. Yep, big change. But peace fills me up that it's alright. It's more than right. Right? Yes. So when I lay me down to sleep in a few hours, I will kneel before I close my eyes. I will pray. I will thank. I will thank forever. Even when I'm not kneeling I will go about my day remembering to have my heart drawn out in gratitude. At least I hope to remember. If I find myself forgetting, I will plead for aid to remember, to never forget all the blessings--countless they are. And so it all comes back to thanks. It always circles and cycles round. Thanks to the Father, we will bring. For he gives us everything. Merci. Spasibo. Gracias. Gratzi. Danke.

thanks for the sun

Why I Wake Early

by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.

Hello, you who made the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the

miserable and the crotchety –

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light –

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness.