Monday Rambles.

• We had a lazy weekend. It was so nice. My best friend came into town and stayed with us. We took a trip to the Farmer's Market and managed to walk away this time with just Chai tea. Although, next time I am definitely buying the rasberry honey spread my best friend got. Delish.
• Today is beautiful. Blue skies and green all around. It is a good day to celebrate the life of someone really special to our family. My parent's neighbor, Irene, passed away and today we celebrate her reunion with her husband in Heaven. She was like a grandmother to us. I am so glad I went to an afternoon tea with her back in December. Those memories are cherished.
• Audrey is going through a big attachment stage right now. It's like she flipped a switch in the last two weeks and has decided on only a handful of people that she wants to go to. Oh, and the toddler room at church, that's such an ordeal for her right now. So, anyone with toddlers (around 18 months), please tell me this is normal and just a stage and it will pass quickly.

Audrey enjoying a 'cup of tea' outside.
• You have tomorrow marked on your calendar right? I'm sure in big bold print. We get to find out the gender! I can't believe tomorrow has snuck up on us like this. I keep getting asked "Do you have a hunch? What do you think it will be?" I am not good with 'hunches.' But based on the symptoms I have had that have been really similar to my pregnancy with Audrey, I'm guessing a girl. (Major morning sickness and high baby heart rate.) Oh, and maybe, just maybe, I took one of those silly online tests about gender prediction. According to the test we have a 70% girl and 30% boy. And just so you know, one of the questions was "What direction does your pillow face, north or south?" So pretty much, I put zero faith into that silly test. But, I would love to know what you think we might be having!

Rambling is now over. Hope your day week is full of love and small moments.

And this is how I spend my afternoon...

Yesterday was a special day. It wasn't intentional, it just happened. And now that day has it's own place in my heart that gives it an extra beat.

And this is how it was spent...

I went to an afternoon Christmas tea and cookie exchange at my dad's neighbor's house barn. The neighbors I grew up with. The type of neighbors that only seem possible in dreams anymore. The neighbors that have become family. While Audrey (and her cousin Jonathan) roamed around the most beautifully decorated barn and explored, I spent time chatting with women who have really lived.

Audrey was fascinated with all the candles. Fortunately, most were battery-operated.

At each tea kettle (there were at least 5), a story was written about the significance of each one. If you could read the story above it would have said something like this: the tea pot has a rose on it which represents my husband buying a rose for me every Saturday the year we were married in 1946 for .50 a rose. (insert tears here, sweetest story e.v.e.r) After sharing the story with me, my neighbor, jokingly, said I put this up to remind him what he did way back in the day.

A woman of great wisdom and a reflection of Proverbs 31, Irene. I grew up visiting her and watching her hang her clothes out on the line, which she still does, now in her 90's.

This is me and Irene's daugher, Peggy. She and her husband live in a finished barn behind my dad's house. You know, the one with the donkeys. I would listen to donkeys every single day to have a neighbor like her. She is amazing and has a heart of gold. She never could have kids, but we were like children to her. She is truly a mother to so many. I want to spend more time with her and listen to all her great stories of living in Europe while her husband was in the war. She has been to Russia, Israel, Germany, Holland...pretty much everywhere. But her favorite place is at home taking care of her husband, her mother, and many animals. Living the simple life.

Let me just say, um, delish.

Cousins looking for the donkeys and horse out the door. I am so glad I was able to share Audrey with the most beautiful older women both inside and out.

This is what Christmas time is all about. Making memories. Sharing all the joys God has blessed us with.