Luce, LuLu, Lu...

Lucy Renee Shaw

Sweetest thing in the whole world. Seriously. I could hold her for hours. Actually, I have been known to hold her for close to two hours...

The funniest thing is that Lucy makes the same faces as Jenny. It is so cute and cracks me up. I never think newborns look like anything/anyone other than red. (You know I am telling the truth...newborns are not very cute.) But this little girl is adorable. No. How dare you call me biased.

I feel like I have a lot to live up to. All of my sister's children are beautiful. Like, beyond normal cuteness. What if my kids aren't cute? What if they are kind of...ugly?

I'll cross that road when I come to it.

9/24/10

"Since no one is perfect, it follows that all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection. Yet they were accomplished, somehow, all the same."
– Lois McMaster Bujold

Bella Giornata

Udine, Italy.

That is where my heart has been all week.

And yet, I have so enjoyed this week, here. In Florida. Doing what I am doing. Getting up at 5AM. Driving to school while it is still dark and then watching the sun rise. (Clarification: I do not drive to school that early to watch the sun rise. That is just how it works out.) Anyways. Being present. Feeling the day. Living in the day. I used to watch the sun rise over the mountains from my kitchen window in Udine, while I made coffee in the morning. God would always get at my heart with the beauty of each morning. I longed so much to be able to open my arms to the day that was before me.

I feel so blessed. God is so faithful. Life is so good. I don't mean perfect. It's not perfect. Perfection is not the goal. The goal isn't to never have a bad day. The goal is to enjoy the good ones. The goal is to appreciate each day for what it is. The goal is to be able to open my heart to God and to life and to the people around me. Did you hear me? The goal isn't perfection.

Gasp.

Gulp.

Listen, sometimes you just have to let go. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking about it so much and just live your gosh darn life!

When you're pursuing God with an earnest spirit, I believe that these things are going to work out, because God is working them out. You don't (I don't) need to think about this so much. Trusting God isn't about figuring it out and then "resting in God". Trusting God is about resting (not being anxious about your life) because you know in your heart that God is in control even (especially) when you can't figure it out.

So. Let it go. Just go live your life. Stop thinking about everything so much. Stop worrying about how it will all work out or if things will ever change. Are you earnestly pursuing God? Then chill out, he has you. If you're not pursuing God, chill out. He has you....(But...start pursuing him.)

And yes. I know the last three paragraphs were pretty much me repeating the exact same sentence over and over again. But you see, people like me need people who will repeat the same three words three times over. (i.e. "let it go") Also, I do know that you aren't supposed to start a sentence with "and". Deal, friends. Deal.

my sister, Jenny (her husband Jeremiah took these beautiful pictures)
My adorable nephew, Aiden
Pretty, little sis, Ashley
Lovely friend, Senny
Sister, Megan (mom to Aiden, Mikayla, and wife to Chris-- pictured below)
Me and my sweet friend Carli. We had quite a few laughs over our party--(which we decided to change to "eating outside together with friends on a Saturday") thingymajig. Love her so much. Oh, and holy crap it was hot! Dear sweet Florida...my three year plan to finish school here and move far far away might change to a three week plan if fall doesn't come quickly.

Sticky Word Sunday

...Words that stuck with me throughout the week.

But first I just want to apologize (to all my non-existent readers out there) that so many of my posts are just a sentence or two long. Okay, glad I got that off my chest.

Earlier this week I was leaving a store and walking back to my car. When I got to my car, a truck had just pulled in next to my car and out hopped three young girls and their dad. I saw one the younger of the three girls looking at my car for a minute, then when she saw me walking up to it, she looked at me and said, "I like your car!"

This might sound dumb...but I just thought it was the sweetest thing in the world. It was such a small thing, and yet she made my day. Some little 10 year old girl out there thinks my dinky little gold Saturn is cool.

True Story

Today after working out I bought a diet coke. Liquid of champions, my friends. But my arm muscles were so tired from lifting weights that I couldn't open the bottle cap. Consequently, I had to stare longingly at the cold diet coke in my hands for a full 30 seconds before I could work up the strength to twist the cap off.