happy thing 2

my aprons.

honestly, i often forget to wear them while cooking but when i do, i love it.

makes me feel like i stepped out of the 1950's.

(special thanks to Bethany for taking this delightful picture of my apron)

happy thing 1

lets review, i love beds of all shapes and cozy sizes.

happy things

i saw somewhere or another on a blog i was reading, the author was making a happy list. i liked that idea so i'm going to make a list of 100 things that make me happy. and maybe more. but we'll start with 100. hopefully everyday-ish i'll post something new, in no particular order, that makes me happy.

today is it.

well...it's true.

The Clamms

Easter 2010- the whole Clamm Family!

Christmas 2008 before we even knew we were Clamms

i just love them all so much.

like this lovely thought.

yes, please.

sad

short article about the negative affects of t.v. watching for kids...
http://health.yahoo.com/news/reuters/us_children_tv.html

dream

How amazing is this garden? I have to remind myself occasionally that I'm moving to Madrid for 5 years and not for life. I will only be 30 when our cycle is done. I have plenty of life to live and maybe someday I could have a garden like this. HOWEVER, it is often a daily battle to just BE where I am. I often imagine this ideal, simple life where I live in the same fantastically quaint home for 50 years where my children can run around outside, where I can make homemade things and slow down the pace of life, where I can sit on the front porch with my love and drink tea every night. I have to remind myself that what God has called me to NOW is the next 5 years in Madrid, and that's where I need to be. Although it looks nothing like this ideal in my mind, it will be an amazing adventure. And I know I will love it. Because at the end of the day, it comes down to a choice to be content and love where you are.

bonfire

so... we had a bonfire at the clark family residence and it was delightful.

(sorry this post is soooooo long)

it was kind of windy... maybe a bit chilly too...

hellooooo blue kittykat eyes

ok and smoky... maybe it's just bobbi....

sooooooooo many things i love about this picture.

boyfriend + best friend + family = happy ashley

so. many. hotdog. jokes.

nick demonstrating how bake cooks his hotdogs.

love. this.

bestest pally wallys

gratitude

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
—Melody Beattie

slow living

READ THIS...(click here!) I love her thoughts about living life at a much slower pace. This is my favorite quote from the article:

"I've always called it "simple living" because that's what I've always heard it referred to as, that kind of returning to the earth, to the older ways of living. Moving away from the consumerism and microwave kind of world. But, "simple" living isn't really simple at all. It's work. A lot of it. For the most part, I find it enjoyable work. I find that I like rhythm of this sort of life. It's really like slow living isn't it? Everything comes slower. The food comes slower, the heat comes slower, you're living your life just a little slower. And as a result you notice more, don't you? You pay more attention to the seasons. You pay more attention to your consumption. And in a round about way, you pay more attention to your family." (http://moonlithill.blogspot.com/)


(i have no clue who these people are but i think this is the sweetest picture. i think a lot about practicing now a lifestyle that is simpler and slower so that someday when i have kids, and life seems to move faster and faster, i can enjoy moments like this while they last)

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive- to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” — Marcus Aurelius

lunch date

i'm a pretty lucky girl.

garden week one :)

solitude

Last Tuesday was kind of a rough day. So after lunch I packed up my journal, bible and some A.W. Tozer and drove to Nebraska City. For some reason, I almost always end up in Neb City when I need some time of solitude.

Unfortunately, I think the concept of Solitude has been lost a little in our American culture. As an introvert, I've always enjoyed time alone but have only in the past year or so begun to value spending time in solitude. Away from familiar things (i.e. home, or the Mill), away from people in general for large chunks of time so that I can actually let my heart quiet down and spend time sitting at Jesus feet. I would say my times of solitude, although usually prompted by a heavy heart, are never particularly epic. In fact, I usually come away from them with with nothing in particular except knowing that I've been with Jesus, which more often than not, is exactly what i need.

Here are some pictures I snapped last week.