Sassafras

If I had to list out my favorite five places in the world, Sassafras (the Harwell lake house) would definitely be included. Maybe even top three.

I don't know, maybe even number one.



Either way, we are really grateful to Andrew's parents for being so generous with their place.

 

We spent last Thursday-Saturday there before Easter weekend and though we were missing Patrick, Leslie, and their crew, we had a restful weekend spending time with Andrew's parents and our little family.



We also retrieved Samford after his three week vaca at Baba's. (Thank you Baba and Grandan!!) W was pretty excited to have his brother back.



We roasted s'mores and hotdogs, caught some fish, read books (started and finished Sparkly Green Earrings, which is a short and fun read for you other mommas!), meandered around the lake... and just did lake things. Which means we did a whole bunch of nothing.

I don't know about you, but my heart needs a little more nothing in our lives.

Lake visits also means Sarah visits. She's been a best friend since I met her my freshman year of college working at Camp Marannook. My heart also needs a little bit more of bests in my life, too.

Andrew and I found ourselves planning and rearranging to figure out when we could come back. We forget how much we need the lake until we spend a weekend there.

 

Being there made me think, "I need to be still and quiet more" and "I need to get away more" and "I need to stop doing things all the time"... and I found myself resenting my life at home. But now that I'm back in "real life" (and by real life I mean I'm running to the potty every 10 minutes with a two year old... and he is sitting on the potty doing nothing as I type... and he will pee on the floor the minute I take him off the potty... but I'm not complaining, I promise.)... now that I'm back in this real life, I am reminded that I have access to that kind of rest at any moment I choose. Even when I'm paying bills or chopping broccoli... Jesus gives offers a quieting of my soul. Because He promises abundant life... for all of life.

Getting behind in posts is overwhelming. Africa feels like it was three years ago! Since we've been stateside, here are a few things that we've enjoyed:

Time at the lake... we especially love when we get to enjoy it with family. (My parents even got to come for the 4th of July!)






Speaking of my parents... we also got to make an ATL trip with them, so of course we checked out the Varsity's greasy burgers!


It was so sad to be away from our "son," Samford, this summer.... so we've enjoyed being around him again. He always provides a good laugh with his vibrant personality.


And finally, the thing I've enjoyed most is just being in our home! The older I get, the more of a homebody I become. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that we basically left our house as soon as we moved in. I realize that I neglected to put any finished pictures of our home on the blog... so here's a few:


This is our entry.... I have to brag on my hubby. He is an INCREDIBLE craftsman. I showed him a picture of a table I liked in Pottery Barn and he put this together from scratch. How lucky am I?! I also should add that I've been wanting a bonsai tree a couple years now... guess how long this one lasted with my any-shade-but-green thumb? A whopping two weeks.


We are already enjoying hosting in this room... I love the feeling of "home."


In case anyone who read my short-lived design blog wondered what happened with my beloved iron horse... he received the place of honor in our living room right smack dab on the coffee table. I love him even more today than the day I bought him.

Well, that's all for now folks! Tomorrow morning we are headed onto campus! First day of class is finally here! We'll be handing out Crusade cups with the football schedule to advertise for our ministry and hopefully get to meet some students. I love the fall! We wait in high expectation of what the Lord will do this year. I pray I am faithful to document it on this blog.

Top Ten...

Our wonderful sister-in-grace, Leslie, reminds us every time that she gets the chance that we haven't updated our blog in over a month. I'll have to admit that one of the superficial reasons is because we can't find our camera charger anywhere and so we are sitting on zero pictures to post. Who really reads a blog without pictures? Since we are lacking compelling photographs, you are going to have to settle for an equally-compelling list. How about one consisting the top ten things that have happened in the past two months?

10. I (Elizabeth) have started to take a class at a local church called "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement" and love it! (Andrew's parents caught me the one time that I decided to skip.) It really is something I look forward to all week... what I have gotten from it is all in the name: a great perspective on mission work.

9. Andrew has made the statement that his life doesn't really revolve around football! Wow! I wonder what events could have birthed that attitude? :)

8. I got to celebrate with Mom on her birthday! And had the most fabulous weekend in Murray seeing a ton of my friends, eating at Matt B.'s, feasting at Dumplin's, and even attending Mr. MSU (Where my mother happened to be the star of the show! Don't ask.)

7. We have started hunting for a home... but this is lower on the list because nothing has really stood out to us yet. Surprise, surprise: The Auburn market has not been affected like most of the U.S. and hasn't given us a whole lot to work with.

6. We've put out a hammock in our front yard that my parents got us in Nicaragua and have spent many late afternoons and Sundays relaxing and reading in the gorgeous weather.

5. We just got back from a staff retreat at which we began to put together a rough draft of a training manual for our students to debut in the Spring. It was a refreshing time to spend with our staff team, who are like family to us, and a great time to reflect about our ministry.

4. Samford is starting to stay off of the carpet on his own. I love that dog with all my heart (I promise), but this accomplishment is HUGE in my book. On this I would also like to add that we bought a new vaccuum... a super, ultra, deluxe, something or another dirt devil and it truly has brought life change. Truly.

3. Andrew took me to see Wicked at the Fox Theater in Atlanta!!!! I could go on and on, but this could have been the most amazing thing he's ever done for me. I loved every nano-second of the night and I'm not sure that I blinked once during the show. This was my first Broadway show and I think it will be hard to top. The acting, music, ambiance were all stellar. To top it off, Andrew loved it too. He will say "I LIKED it" in response to that, but he really did love it.

2. Brooks (our handsome nephew) turned one!! We had so much fun celebrating with the Harwells in Birmingham at his first birthday party. That little man inhaled his cake. He has the sweetest disposition of any baby I know (just like his big sister!) and Andrew and I love him like he was our own! It's the truth. And Madelyn was as cute as ever. Also, my beautiful sister celebrated a birthday, too! (19th in fact!) I was sorry I couldn't be with her, but she only goes out to the movies when Andrew and I come into town anyway! I love her very much regardless!

1. My parents bought a new house!! It is the most beautiful house in Murray in my opinion and they have every right to be as proud as they are. It is downtown Murray, a little white house with the most picture perfect front porch you'll ever see. The history behind it is so fun... and Allie and Dad are convinced that there is a ghost living there (but a friendly one!) We loved staying there (in Allie's loft) and can't wait to see what memories this house will be a part of.