Tis the gift to be simple...

'tis the gift to be free, '
Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right, '
Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.
-Simple Gifts, Shaker Hymn

The days until our trip to Philly are getting short, and I won't pretend that it's not more stressful as the surgery date (next Wednesday - holy $#!+ approaches. But we've been trying very hard to focus on what a blessing this past month has been. You hear people say "every day is a gift" ... and you don't recognize that truth until something forces you to. I'll admit it - I've thought "Yeah, whatevs. I'll get around to enjoying every day just as soon as __________ happens." Fill in the blank with whatever - this pregnancy is over, this tough season at work is past, the kid starts sleeping through the night, the heat of summer lets up, I finally finish this project. But this moment is it - and it's hit us more than ever that we'd best soak it up.

Some of the simple gifts I've been thankful for lately:

• Impromptu, sanity-saving lunch with friends from work.
• Eating overpriced popsicles while Jay and his buddy ran around in the grass.
• Amazing country cookin' at the Foster family reunion. Love some potluck lima beans.
  
• Beautiful - and fun! - family portraits in the Rose Garden (like my new blog header?!)
• Tomato sandwiches
• Great discussions with 2 different friends on the big issues - life, faith, fears.
• Getting a pedicure with some amazing women that I love.
• Luke's toothless grin - that kid is freakin' adorable.
• Going out for gelato. Oh, Henry. How I love thee.
• Showing off the boys to their Peele Hall fan club - I'd like to pretend I won't do that when they're 30, but Miss Betty says it's perfectly parade them around. Forever.
• Cards and sweet notes from friends - your prayers mean so much more than you can know.
  

And on tap for tomorrow night - baseball! Jay's nursery was decorated in a baseball theme, his first birthday party was a ball game in our front yard, and his fave song is the "Old Ball Song" (better known as Take me out to the Ball Game"). So tomorrow evening we're going to celebrate pre-surgery as a family ... and our only question now is whether we want to hand with Muddy the Mudcat or Wool E Bull. And we're going to enjoy every bite of hot dog, sing every note of the Old Ball song in our off-key, musically-challenged way, and savor every second.

And Sunday - Welcome Philly. As hard and scary as it is, I'm going to try very hard to find those simple gifts there, too. These smiling faces keep me going:














(Amazing photos by Grow Photography - love her work!)