A little break is always a good thing. In this case, my mid-summer hiatus has been a welcome reprieve. Almost two weeks ago, those of us whose summer job was to grade the thousands of standardized tests worked ourselves out of a job (my mom came up with that, isn't she clever?). So upon finishing my part of the grading, I packed my suitcase, loaded my car, and headed for my favorite place on this side of heaven - Pinecrest Camp. :) I've been a counselor for the teen choir and orchestra the past 4 of 5 years, but because I thought my summer employment would occupy me through the end of July rather than mid-June, I declined the offer to counsel again this summer. But with the change in my schedule, I decided to catch what I could of the week known as Campmeeting. In many ways, I was able to enjoy the mid-week services with less pressure than I normally would have. And though I hadn't played my saxophone since last year's Campmeeting, I blew the dust off of it (almost literally) and picked up where I left off. It's like riding a bike. :) On Friday afternoon, I found a wicker chair on the porch of one of the chapels and relished the peaceful sights and sounds of the campground. (Note new profile picture). Learning lessons that God is a verb, not a noun, that He wants me to ARRIVE, not just show up, and the reality of living a Holy life were embodiments of God's promise to draw near me when I drew near to Him, which I felt closely during my few days of retreat.

After leaving Pinecrest, I headed south to spend time with my folks. My dad's side of the family had a reunion over the later part of the weekend, and I joined in on the family togetherness on Sunday morning. Dad volunteered me to sing and play piano, but I didn't mind so much. :) The rest of the week went just exactly as I hoped - I earned my keep while at mom and dad's! Their garden is literally blooming with wonderful produce, so I was able to help pick green beans, snap, and later can them for us to eat throughout the year, along with picking green bell peppers, yellow squash, okra, and cucumbers. We'll hopefully have fresh corn on the cob soon, too. When visiting my grandma, we picked plums and peaches in her backyard - the plums are preserved in the form of jelly, which makes my toast all the more happier throughout the year. Just before the 4th we managed an overnight trip to Branson and saw the group SIX in concert. Six brothers, with no backing band, providing ALL the vocal sounds, and a tremendously high energy show made it a lot of fun! Even though we were there near the holiday weekend, we could tell that the suffering economy and high gas prices are really effecting the tourist flow that is usually the summer norm in Branson.

I must say, the 4th of July is my second favorite holiday and in my opinion, it's the summer equivalent of Christmas, minus the presents and baby Jesus, of course. What other time of the summer do you have the excuse to wear holiday-themed clothes, go to parades, get off of work, eat watermelon (though I don't really care for it), and shoot off fireworks? We were fortunate to see not only one, but TWO town fireworks displays this year - one with mom and dad's church family, and one with our own family. I attempted taking pictures, but it's so hard to capture them when they're in their colorful glory. Regardless, check out my photo blog for some vacation hiatus photos that visually capture the past few weeks.

My pastor reminded us this morning that God promises freedom - John 8:31-32. Something he said really stood out to me, "there is a difference between believing THAT something is true versus believing IN something that is true." Ultimately being a modern-day disciple of Jesus leads to His truth. I'm reminded of the shirt Sally used to have when were were in college that said, "I believe in God. And He believes in me." Yes and amen.

On the book front, this past week I finished Mark Twain's classic "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight." I can't honestly say that I ever read "Tom Sawyer" from cover to cover before now, so this was a good exercise for me in enjoying the older vernacular Twain employed for Tom, Huck, Injun Joe, Becky Thatcher, and Aunt Polly. As for "Twilight," oh my goodness. I had heard about this new vampire-themed series by Meyer, saw that they have been on best seller lists, and after hearing some rave reviews, borrowed it from one of my new MLS friends before leaving town. She told me it would be addictive...boy was she right! Harry Potter move over - this is the new wave of teen literature that I couldn't put down. (How's that for a pitch?) Now I need to borrow "New Moon!" Before leaving mom & dad's I also frequented my favorite used book store and bought "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg for $1.87. What a bargain! It was definitely a pre-teen favorite of mine, which can now be added to my growing library of favorites/Newberry medal winners. As I ponder my direction in the MLS program, I just might have to become a young-adult librarian...I kind of like that idea.

There's something to be said for routine, even in the summer. And I think I've found it. In the past few weeks since school adjourned, I applied for several part-time jobs around town, not receiving positive results from any of them. After Kim, a friend from church, clued me in to a position she knew of through her work, and a few interviews later, last Monday I started working a full-time summer job grading standardized tests for the State, and technically for the University. I admit, looking at a computer screen and grading over 1000 questions (the same question) every day is a little mind numbing, it's still a decent paycheck and I get to sit down and be in the air conditioning, so I can't complain. I've even made a few friends, which is always a good thing, and a reminder of how small the world is. Arriving at work every day by 8:15 has proven to be an interesting challenge. In each of the jobs I've ever had, arriving at the same time (especially before 9:00 a.m.) has been a non-issue, so I'm chalking this one up for the memory books! Due to about a 20 minute commute, dealing with both 8:00 and 5:00 traffic, I've quickly discovered that packing my lunch and setting out my clothes the night before makes my morning much less harried. Today we finished a huge portion of grading so tomorrow will be bring about training for a new test and working with a new group of people. Bring it on.

Over the past few weeks, I've been able to do some fun things with some fun people. Some of them have been:
- taking a mini road trip to Bolivar with Aarik & Brooke. Seeing the Daveys and eating lunch at Kathy's Pasta made for new memories and reminded us of the past. And when did the Walgreens pop up on the corner of Aldrich and Springfield?! The wheels of progress continue to turn...
- a few weekends ago my family and I attended a Cardinals game (beating the Astros, I might add), and the next day we journeyed to Branson to see the new musical based on the life of Noah. It was a sold-out sneak preview and had very few technical glitches, so the performance perfectionist in me was relatively at ease through the show. The weekend also included spending time with family, having lunch with Addie, and doing some shopping on the way home.
- before Aarik and Brooke ventured east for the summer, we, along with Kyle, saw "Young @ Heart" at the RagTag a few weeks ago. Older people being exposed to modern music, and marveling at the resilience of a "can do" attitude made for a heartwarming movie-going experience. Last week I finally got around to seeing "Prince Caspian" with Markli - see Facebook for fun photos. I had heard mixed reviews for Narnia 2, as I saw it advertised in one location, but left the theatre thinking it was pretty good. I had re-read the book a few weeks ago to refresh my memories of the C.S. Lewis classic, plus I'm a big sucker for comparing the book to the movie, and this time was not an exception. While there were several liberties to the visual story line, I didn't feel like any of them were out of character that conflicted with its literary inspiration and really loved the Regina Spektor song "The Call" that helps conclude the movie.
- For the 82nd consecutive year, my family met for our annual reunion this past weekend. This was the first year without my grandma, but her presence remained close and dear. My mom and I chuckled at the memories of her in a dither worrying about fixing enough food to fix when people would stop by her house. She needn't have worried - food was in an abundance and I was proud that I took the time to engage in conversation with some family members I previously had not gotten to know very well. The thought came to mind on Friday night, this is who we are: broken and wounded, transparent and vulnerable, and yet reliant on one another as we reach out to each other year after year. As I grow older, I desire to continue the tradition of meeting together yearly, which my great-great grandpa desired for his family to maintain. There's something about our reunion that always makes me feel like a kid. The feel of cool grass between my toes, which often results in receiving my first bug bites of the summer, the marvel of seeing the first lightening bugs flicker in the twilight sky, the assurance that my belly will be full of good food, and the happiness of sharing who I am with those I love always does my heart a world of good. Enough to last me until this time next year.

My summer reading list is coming along. Monday I finished "The Inner Voice" by Renee Fleming, and since then have dabbled in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," "Dandelion Wine," and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" (so excited about David Sedaris' new book "When You're Engulfed in Flames"!). While I was in Springfield a few weeks ago I cashed in my last few dollars on a Borders gift card and redeemed a 30% off coupon to buy this year's Pulitzer winner for fiction, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz. It now joins my ever-expanding to-read list (sooner or later...). During our family reunion weekend I was so pleased that my cousin Linda from Dallas was in attendance again this year. She and I had a lovely conversation about books on Saturday night after stuffing ourselves with fish and hushpuppies. I couldn't imagine a more perfect evening.

After a wonderful night of music, fellowship, and being stirred by the Rob Bell "Breathe" Nooma video at church, this is what my week looks like halfway through.

Over the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about Mother's Day...a day devoted to the women whose suffering brings us life and their continual help in sustaining us throughout life. I checked on Wikipedia (such a handy resource) for some historical information regarding Mother's Day, both in the U.S. and around the world, and was pleased and surprised to see that it has origins in political and religious causes. Check it out to learn more.

Five days from now I will celebrate my 27th birthday, and as I grow continually older I remain so thankful for my mom. She's one of my best friends and dearest confidants. This has been my mom's first mother's day without her mother, and that makes my heart so sad. I know it's inevitable that I won't have my mom around forever, but I still need her presence, encouragement, and wisdom to bring perspective to my life. There are many days when I wish I could feel her arms around me, hearing her tell me just how much she loves me. But since I don't have that luxury as often as I would like, our phone calls, (often as I drive to or from school, courtesy of our cellular family plan), have to suffice more often than not.

Both of my grandmothers and my mom have demonstrated wonderful examples of love and generosity before me. I hope to be a mother someday (after Prince Charming has arrived, of course) so I can share in the tradition. I feel like I would be a pretty good mom, which points to the fact that when that day comes, I'll hopefully be ready. And for the record, I want to be a station wagon mom. Not a minivan mom. Station wagons are so much cooler. Really. Our family never had one, because what good is a station wagon with only one kid? But anytime I got to ride with a friend in their parent's station wagon, well, it just made my day. All that space in the back to roll around, take a nap, or play during a long road trip? Oh, it was so much fun! Ideally I would like to have more than one offspring, to warrant hauling them around in said station wagon - preferably a VW or Volvo. If I'm going to be driving a non-sedan, I would prefer to do so in style. :) I often envision myself looking in my rearview mirror, picturing Kool-Aid smiling faces, hearing them tell me about their day or singing along with a song on the radio as I drive them to violin lessons or baseball practice. (I would like cultured and all-American kids, please.)

But before all of this happens, I should probably learn how to change a baby's diaper before the car and accompanying children materialize. It's a good thing I have approximately half a dozen friends, with either newborns, or babies on the way, so I can get some good practice. Or if nothing else, I can simply bring a hand-knitted gift item, hold and coo at the baby, give s/he back when they start to get fussy or spit up, and keep envisioning the day when I will have one of my own to cart around in my station wagon.

Here's to mothers - past, present, and future.