Just found this post that I thought had been accidentally deleted! It was supposed to be posted back in Feb! Never too late, i say! :)

It's been almost a month since I came home from Florida, but the memories are still warm. :) As I mentioned in the earlier post, I went to Florida to surprise my friend Kimberley for her 40th birthday. I arrived on the 21st, her actual birthday and then her husband pulled out all the stops on Friday of the next week with a surprise party that included five other friends from out of state! It was quite a joyful time! My friend Kimberley is the most extroverted person I know, which makes close friends surprising her even more meaningful.
The week began with my friend Brendan picking me up from the airport. He was kind enough to drive me down to Kim and Henk's to surprise her and have dinner. Here he is showing his true feelings in his very stylish apartment.

Kim teaches dance. Here she is with her level 1 ballet class.



And this face is priceless. We all have those days. :)


Henk is a talented artist and photographer. Here he is teaching a class in his home.


Here is a watercolor he made for Kimberley's birthday.

And they have two gorgeous children: L and A on this blog!











These children know how to eat their veggies! :) Before the dreadful frost that Florida got in January, their grandparents, who live right next door, had a thriving garden. L and A enjoyed eating the remaining broccoli off the bush!




And here are some photos from the amazing surprise dinner that Henk threw! What an artist he is!
Kim and kids waiting for Henk to come pick us up for the surprise! :)













L had too much party.


And what Florida trip would be complete with a beach trip!?

Anne ( a good friend of Kimberley's from Kansas City dancing days) was one of the highlights of the series of surprises!















Dancers unite!






Other favorites.....

Maple sugaring...this is LATE!

May 1st. Can that be true? In a little more than a month I'll be off to Europe....!
It's so green around here now. The torrential rains helped with that. :)
There are many things I could have blogged about in the last month....but since I'm such a backed up blogger, I'll post a few of my favorite March photos. My neighbors headed up the 2nd annual "sugaring" endeavor in our back yard. For those of you not familiar with this process, it involved gathering sap in buckets from sugar maples and boiling away the water until we were left with maple syrup. :) It takes about 40 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup. Now you know why it is so expensive!! Liquid gold!
Here are some of my photos from the sap boiling and the celebration pancake breakfast! What a gem of a neighborhood I live in! Truly blessed!

Bringing kindling for the fire....


The neighborhood children love getting in on the action!




Two years worth of pancake breakfasts! We've had pumpkin, buckwheat, buttermilk, banana, and blueberry! No Bisquick here! :)












And here are my FAVORITE photos from the group: An example of the range or "grades" of syrup we boiled. Aren't the colors spectacular!?

Enjoy your "liquid gold"! :)

Contentment

I've been thinking a lot about contentment lately. I had a lovely lunch time chat about this subject with my friend Charlotte yesterday as we sat out in the sun by the train tracks behind her work. We decided that we need to really pray for the grace to live joyfully in the place where we are called to be right now! The single people want to be married and the married people miss their "freedom" -- the girls with the stick straight hair (like me!) want to have a beautiful head of ringlets and the curly tops wish they had my hair --- to use an age old cliche, the grass is always greener on the other side. Now, I'm not saying that many people don't find themselves in very challenging situations that need to be addressed and alleviated. I'm not advocating being passive in your life, but what I am saying is that we all could use a large dose of thankfulness. There has been this video going around about this man who was born without arms and legs yet is filled with joy and the love of Christ. He has a powerful ministry that includes working to stop child sex trafficking (http://lifewithoutlimbs.org/). I've met people myself who find themselves in gut wrenching physical and emotional pain, yet are more positive than everyone else for whom the going is easy. All that to say, I'm making a stand to be passionately THANKFUL!! And honestly, that can't happen when we have our eyes on ourselves all the time. I need to change the focus.
I'm vowing today to not miss the beauty of today... to take pleasure in the details and the "mundane"...to notice the smell of the air as i walk to my car...to notice the crocuses persistently pushing their way through the hard ground....to look into someone's eyes and honestly listen to them...to enjoy that warm shower...I just forget so fast. In an hour I will probably find myself wistfully wishing for some part of my life to be different. But for right now, I'm choosing to be content and to notice the little details.
Here are some of those little details that can be so easily missed....

The miracle of a bud







The beauty of a face..... I love faces. :)










Nature's artwork....






And most of all....people who love you!


Thanks mom and dad....:)

I'm settling in after a long day of Montessori training up on the north shore. It's always lovely to see all my fellow teachers in training. However, what was particularly lovely was the evening walk I took on Crane's beach tonight. Perfect sweatshirt weather. The sea breeze was refreshing and the long rays of the sun created elongated shadows as they hit the dunes. It was a perfect evening. I love the beach in the off season. I'm not a fan of the blaring music, barely clad girls, and beer coolers that summer brings. The beach is given the chance to restore itself over the winter and has an unadulterated beauty in the early spring. I am a New England girl through and through. I will always love this place. Tomorrow I hope to go again and will bring my camera to capture some of the beauty! It is supposed to hit around seventy degrees tomorrow! Unheard of for this time of year.
As for photos, which must accompany every post on a photo blog, here are some black and white film photos I took during a college photo class. My friend Erika reminded me of these the other day, and so I will share them once again. :) Although I know I will likely never get into a dark room again, I enjoyed learning about the traditional processing methods. It's truly magical the way projecting light and a collection of chemicals create an image (I know, so technical! :) )

This photo was taken in the late afternoon with full sun on the grave stones. The over exposure allowed for the gravestones to still be seen when the contrast was pushed. I take no credit for this image because it was a truly accidental result in the processing.


This is Erika feeding her little daughter.


And here is her daughter. I love this shot. It makes you wonder what is capturing her gaze.


I couldn't believe I captured this photo. I just caught her enjoying the sun as it warmed her face.




View off the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA


Below the bridge


I love when trees lose their leaves and the shadows become pronounced












My father really needs to kick this habit, but it made for an interesting photo


I'm off to dream land...please enjoy your Saturday, wherever you may be. New Englanders, you have no excuse that's good enough for you to not be outside tomorrow (that is unless you are inside all day doing Montessori training like me! ;) )