On Monday Afternoon {in Florida}

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

Outside my window right now, the Atlantic Ocean stretches beyond my sight's end. The day is sparkingling clear, a bit cold and brightly beautiful. Definitely the way to begin a vacation.

::listening to 

the music coming from a wonderful tabletop carousel that has Sarah utterly enchanted. Sounds of The Nutcracker fill the air as my girlies make donut holes with my Aunt Diane. Happy morning!

::clothing myself in 

I've been thinking and think about Kelle Hampton's wise words. She said,  "I like dressing up. It makes me happy. Skirts, cute heels, red lipstick, hats. It's art to me, and I do it because I like it. I used to make crap up like "I had an appointment" as if I had to have a reason to wear a cute blouse. You know what? Sometimes I wear them in my house. On Saturdays. When I have no place to go. Because it makes me happy." Getting dressed in the morning can be a matter of pulling on whatever clothes or it can be our first opportunity of the day to express creativity and maybe make a little art. Dressing as art? I think I can see it that way. I'm wearing new jeans--ones that fit--and a long sleeved shirt with a blue batik print. Mike noticed the shirt first thing this morning and commented on how much he likes it. See? Art? Works for me.

::giving thanks for

Safe travels. Thirteen hours in the car. Mike drove the whole way and it was really a good trip. Really.

 

::pondering prayerfully

It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.-- St. Thomas Aquinas 

::clicking around these links

No clicks this week. I'm on vacation :-)

::turning the pages of this book

Nikon D40 for Dummies. I plan to read this tonight. The whole thing. 

::thinking thoughts as I go about my daily round

I'm flitting from my mother's house to my aunts' houses. My family knows how to rock interior design. It's crazy how beautiful these homes are. So, so much to see and absorb and love. Art, furntiture, cabinetry, fabric. Sigh. Truly beautiful here.

::creating by hand

I stitched a pillow cover all the way down here, just sweet square from Loulouthi Needleworks. It makes me happy just to look at it. The very first part of my grand bedroom renovation. Yay!

::learning lessons in

vacationing. 

 

::encouraging learning 

it's art history all the time here. We are blessed by beauty.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

after we leave here, I'm going to adjust the schedules offering by this awesome website to every one of our Disney's days.

::begging prayers

for peace, patience, and safety.

::keeping house

it's all about keeping the van organized

::crafting in the kitchen 

No cooking for me. We did have a Trader Joe's treat at every state border crossing. The girlies gathered Meyer lemons from the tree in my mom's yard this morning. Then, they squeezed them to get plenty of juice for lemonade.

::loving the moments

of being together in the sand and the sea under a bright blue sky.  

::planning for the week ahead

Did I mention that we're going to Disney World?