Winter Wonderland

I'm not usually a big fan of winter, but the last couple weeks have been truly beautiful.  I am continually reminded of the beauty of our Creator as I drive to and from work -- from the stunning sunrise mirroring the full moon still in the sky in the morning to the blanket of snow perfectly coating every tree branch...I've been loving it!

Isn't He beautiful?

Tradition

I come from a family of few traditions.  (Last year's family Christmas gathering consisted of a Wii tournament,  no tree, no stockings...you get the idea.  This is not at all a bad thing...we have a great time, just different from what most people expect!)

But, don't worry, some of my closest friends are the traditional type.

Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" again with my Andrea (all the Charlie Brown holiday specials were "must-sees" in our college dorm room) and sharing it with Miles for the first time!

Cutest pumpkin I've ever seen!

And then, Sarah and I participated in our annual "Take Silly Pictures with the Meijer Christmas Decorations" tradition.  We're weird, I know...

We actually got a head start a couple weeks ago with the winter hats....

Cheap entertainment...what can I say?

The holidays are officially here!

Ready or not...

...Here it comes!

While Facebook's all abuzz about apple cider and donuts and hoodies, I'm not ready to give in just yet.  I have kind of a love/hate relationship with fall.  I love the colors and the crispness and the apples and the cider, but I just hate to see summer end AND it also means that winter is on its way (and winter always comes way too soon and lasts way too long).  It's bittersweet, I guess.

I learned awhile back (well, maybe just a couple years ago...) that it's inevitable.  Summer will end whether I like it or not and fall will come...then the dreaded winter.  And I can be mad about it, but it doesn't stop it from coming.  Or I can come to terms with it and try to enjoy it.  It's hard, though.  I have to do a lot of talking myself into it.  So, I'm trying...but I don't think I'm there quite yet.

Summer, don't go!  I want more of this...

 

View of the Bay on bike ride from Petoskey to Charlevoix

My lovely parents

Surprise along the way...c'mere deer

View from a coffee shop in Charlevoix...made it under cover just in time for a rainstorm!

 

 Mackinaw City

 Well, we had planned on walking the Bridge...

...until we got up at 5am and it was cold and rainy and we wimped out!  Dad and Grandpa braved it, though! Good thing we didn't actually buy the t-shirts! ha!

I got to ride on a fire truck! :)

Oh summer, don't go.  Not yet.

Plant Sale Up Close

Don't Let It Get Away...

Spring is finally here!  I seem to appreciate it more and more every year.  After so much waiting and anticipation, I just want to drink in all the beauty of the green grass and the new leaves and the beautiful flowers.  This year I have been particularly enamored by the tulips.  (Now, this is quite the development seeing how much I hated tulips -- and all things Dutch -- when we first moved to the Holland area! Just ask my parents.)  

There is a certain group of tulips along the driveway at work that I just LOVE.  There are little clusters of  yellow and red and pink and orange and I think they're just perfect.  Every time I drive by I just want to stop and stare. I wish there was some way to bottle them up.  They make me so happy, but at the same time I feel a twinge of sadness...for I know the beauty is temporary.  In a couple weeks, they'll wither and fade.  Then it will be another whole year before I'll be able to enjoy them again.  

Why is it that we can't fully embrace joy without a little hint of sadness?  Every good thing in life seems to come with some sort of string attached.  But I suppose I wouldn't appreciate the beauty quite so much if it were there all the time.  

So I try to be aware...to notice the little things...to enjoy them while they last.  And to marvel at how wonderfully creative our God is!

Lots of Laughs

This last month has been crazy...working 10+ hour days, 7 days a week...going, going, going.  And now it's all over.  The Festival is done and I feel like I'm coming off the summer camp high all over again.  It's great to have free time and to get back to normal, but it's also a little bit of a letdown.  What do people do with free time??  I also have next week off....I don't know what I'll do with myself!

Highlights of the Festival:
Learning LOTS about tickets, website updates, merchandise sales and tons more
Seeing Bill Cosby
Watching a full house of inner-city school kids clapping and dancing at a kids concert
The amazing teamwork among our staff
Our wonderful volunteers
Seeing the support and excitement of the community
Watching almost 1000 people throw rubber chickens!

Life has been crazy this past month.  Friday will be my first day off in about a month!  Update coming soon!