The Shift.

Well Summer...I wouldn't say you exactly listened to our plea from our last post...the shift has officially started. Buuuut you did hold out for us for Michelle's shower this weekend, and for that I am in your debt! (18 people in our little house would have been a little too cozy so we were really needing to utilize the backyard)

Crystal and I had such a fun time planning and preparing for an afternoon of showering our girl and it was a a pleasure to see it all come together.

These two lovebirds are enjoying their last few months before becoming a Mr. and Mrs and I for one can't wait for their Mexico wedding. Are they not the cutest ever?!

Sunday we awoke to weather that officially felt like fall. A crispness in the air. The shift has begun.

A shift to football Saturday's, to more dresses with tights and less babies in rompers, to slowing down a bit and hunkering down at home. A shift to something new.

This is what I love...the changing of seasons and all the possibility that comes with it.

A fresh start.

New ideas, new plans and new adventures.

Looking especially forward to this shift. Welcome Fall.

Hold on.

Perhaps Wilson Phillips said it best. "Hold on for one more day."
In this instance I'm speaking to you Summer.
Hold on.

We are enjoying you so very much and we aren't quite ready to give you up. August and September have been so very lovely here, and while it seems the rest of the world is welcoming your friend Fall in with open arms...these arms remain folded shut to him. Stores tempt us with their cozy sweaters and boots, Starbucks tempts us with their delicious pumpkiny seasonal flavors, and even some trees are trying to trick us into thinking he's here by the changing of colors and shedding of leaves.

And while I have to admit Fall is my favorite of all seasons, I don't want him.
I want you Summer...for just a little bit longer.

We enjoyed a wonderful summer-filled Labor Day weekend in Walla Walla with my mama. Our days were filled with parade watching...

Go Big Blue (Yes, I joined in the fight song with the gals. From the side of course, I'm not a crazy person. Aaaah, the glory days...)

Hammock laying and book reading...

Catching up with old friends...

And lots of grammie time.

Yes Summer...you have been good to us lately. We have loved playing on the swings...

Playing in the dirt...

Endless games of Peek-a-Boo...

Playing in the water...

Splashing in the water...

Have I mentioned we love the water?

Because we do.
And we love the sandy tooshies it gives little girls.

So please Summer? Hold on for us? Look! We're even asking really, really nicely!

Today.

10 years ago.

Like so many people I remember exactly where I was today, 10 years years.

Senior year of college, coming downstairs from the live-out house lovingly name "The Whiskey" where I lived with 5 girlfriends, ...the television was on and Ailie was on the phone. It was early, but I always took the early morning classes so that part wasn't unusual. It was unusual for anyone else to be up besides Cabe, who faithfully made it to the gym in the mornings, rain or shine. Ailie's boyfriend, now husband, was working in D.C. and called her early to alert her about what was happening.

From that moment on, we were glued to the television. Classes didn't happen that day. Our hands instinctively covered our mouths in shock and horror as we watched the second plane hit. What was happening? Is this for real? I can't believe this is really happening.

From that moment on, we were changed. Our eyes were opened to the cruelty of the world. Our nation grieved and mourned all we had lost. We prayed.

Today, we will remember.

A young man who was 14 when he lost his fall on 911 said today, on these anniversaries we choose to not focus on the loss, but rather celebrate the life. Quite a wise young man.

And so today, I will say a thankful prayer to all those amazing men and women who worked to save so many in the aftermath. I will say a hopeful prayer of peace for those families who are still working through their loss.

I will do the things we so often take for granted and think about how very fortunate we are to have our freedoms. Things like working in the yard, going for a run, getting groceries, rocking my baby to sleep. Simple things really, but big things.

I will shed a tear at the State Farm commercial during the Seahawks game with the children singing "Empire State of Mind" to the firemen.

I will listen to Country music, because I mean, really...no genre really pulls at those patriotic heartstrings like Country music.

Yes, today indeed we will remember. And while it can be daunting and overwhelming to think about all the hurt, and problems, and hatred there are out in that big bad world...there is also a lot of good. And as my sweet dad always reminded me, if we look for the good in the world, we'll find it.

It's there.