bits of sunshine

a tiny letter

dear ones,

after the {waiting} post, i decided i should post an update.  our living room is now mostly put together and feeling like christmas.

and we have been enjoying spending time in this cozy space reading and visiting and listening to music and even opening some presents two nights before christmas - because why not.  we had a box of small gifts from some far-away friends.  we had so much fun opening those that we decided to let the kids open the presents that were games and toys and we opened our stockings.  ben and i were realizing that we are all home together for some days - we should enjoy some of the gifts that we bought for the kids.  it was really fun to just make the decision and to enjoy a few gifts together.  it was very merry and bright. 

we've also been having some really great conversations during our advent readings about what more there is to the christmas story than the simple sunday school stories.  good, thoughtful questions and words that we are sharing.  

when ben and i decided to do some redecorating, we wanted our living room to be a more welcoming space, a space where we would want to spend time.  it is.  and we fill it with candlelight and music and books and coasters for coffee cups and laughter and art from friends and all the good vibes. 

bless you, and bless your spaces, my friends.  love, e 

blue

lake, water, sunshine, but cold enough for ice

blue 

the four of us

smiling, laughing, moving, breathing 

making merry and bright 

waiting {in my living room} and {in my heart}

there are two sides to the living room right now.

this is the side that feels merry and bright.

this is the side that is making me feel like i have to remind myself to take deep breaths. we are not moving. we are redecorating. and the bookshelf will eventually arrive. the piles will have a home and we will be able to hang pictures on the walls again.   

these past months have been characterized by waiting.  waiting for test results. waiting to hear how the school days will look for the kids. waiting for bookshelves. waiting for lab work. waiting for couch arms. waiting for test results again. waiting. 

and now we find ourselves in the season of advent, the season of waiting. though we have long been in a season of waiting, a season of strange days bleeding together from one turn of the earth into another tilt of the earth in a way that we have never known before. and this year i find that i am immersing myself in preparations for advent and christmas and the coming new year with with a fierce and deep need to be present in the moments and connected to my people. i am willing to stay in the awkward moments to come out on the other side with understanding. and i seek to grasp the love that descended to bethlehem some two thousand years ago, a love that is not easy sympathy, but a burning fire whose light chases away every shadow, floods every corner, and turns midnight into noon. there is plenty of midnight that needs the light of a full moon or a noonday sun. may we know fierce love; may our corners be flooded; may our midnight be as noonday in the light that will never be overcome by darkness.