snapshots o' summer

A Civil Wars concert in LA with some of our best friends. Words cannot even describe how amazing.


Father's Day with the best daddy ever.

swimming lessons for two little wanna-be mermaids.

the cutest band of VBS-goers you ever did see. (Rosalie, Annabelle, Emma, cousin Faith, our sweet neighbor girl Hayley, and cousin Jason)

Lots of fun and laughs with Auntie Lydia (we love having her here everyday!)

Piggie-tails on a two-year old blondie. I die.

Playtime outside (when it's not too hot) and pockets full of posies. Gorgeous blue eyes and sun-kissed cheeks.

A shaven and shorn but oh-so-sweet puppy dog, who likes to snooze in our cool house and wait around for the lovin' we will inevitably give her.

Tomato plants growing large, corn growing tall. And we await the bounty.

a day trip to Cambria, alone, for the two of us. happiness and wonder. love.

summer-y and much-shorter haircuts for these sisters. chop, chop!

also: rompers and dresses and great big smiles. all-around cuteness.

trips to the library (it gets us out of the house! it's cool! it's FREE!) which always results in three little readers all in a row, and me smiling at the very sight.


this summer is flying by in quite a blur. But it's a happy, sunshiney, memorable, colorul, mellifluous, lovely sort of a blur. 

And we'll be soaking up every last little bit of it that is left.

There's a band in our garage...

... and they rock.





They rock HARD.
I like to say that they are the bestest band ever.
However, I might, perhaps, be slightly biased.


This is Ryan. He plays the piano and sings. I could listen to him play all day long... he's amazing. (He's also Emma's piano teacher, and does a marvelous job at that too)


This is Luke... he plays the rhythm guitar and is one of the newer members of the band. He's also our brother-in-law! I was thrilled when he joined the band, because it meant Jessica (his wife, Jeremy's sister, my best friend) and I get to be "band wives" together.


This is Zack, or Zachary, as I like to call him. He plays lead guitar, and sounds like Jason Mraz when he sings. Sometimes he sits on our couch and just plays and sings, and I love it.


This is Jake. He plays the bass guitar, which came about when the band needed a bassist, and they asked him if he wanted to do it, since he was already here hanging out every week anyway. He said yes, even though he didn't really know how, and learned how to play it in no time at all. Quite impressive. He's also dating my sister, which makes me very happy. Hooray. *big smile*


This is Jeremy, whom you all know as My Husband. I also like to refer to him as A Major Hottie...especially when he plays those drums. He's so good at it, so passionate about it, and I love to watch him play.


One day while they were practicing, I went out and took some random photos of them. I'm certainly no photographer, but I really had fun snapping away while I listened to them play.





guitars are so pretty!


so are piano keys.


"TOO MUCH METAL FOR ONE HAND!"





Oh, these guys.

They're not just a talented group of musicians who happen to make music in our garage.

They're men who have a passion for the Lord, who love to praise Him, who use their gifts for Him. They've become friends with whom we love to spend our time...laughing (a lot) and talking, encouraging each other, and sharing in each other's lives. I refer to them fondly as "my boys". I'm not actually sure if they even know that, but it's how I've come to think of them as time goes on.


They're family.
And I'm so glad they're here each week to jam in our garage, fill our house with music, eat my cookies, make us laugh, and just be a part of our lives.

Rock on, guys. Rock on. :)

(you can find them online here, if you're curious and you'd like to know a little more about them as a band. Or, you can like The Damascus Project on facebook!)

just a little project

oh hello, were you expecting a REAL blog? like one about our actual life? with many cute pictures of everything that's been going on? sorry. today is not your day. maybe some other time. stick around. :)

Not too long ago a wonderful friend of mine had a birthday, and I really wanted to give her something handmade... she's the type who appreciates that sort of thing very much, and it always means a lot to her. And I must say, it was a real delight being creative with her in mind, because she's a poetic soul who loves whimsy and looks at everything in the light of beauty.

I'm sure there's many people who could have made these ten times better than I did, but I most definitely loved making them.

What did I use?
random paint colors I had sitting in my garage
three medium-sized wooden plaques from Michael's, approx. $1 each.
rub-ons I had sitting in my craft drawer
an Anthropolgie catalog
ribbon from my ribbon jar
glue
a brushed-on coat of polyurethane to protect it all and make it nice and shiny

If you're assuming that this entire gift took me all of $3 to put together because I already had everything else on hand... you would be correct. hooray! Sometimes the time and thought that goes into a gift is more important than how much it costs, I think. (hopefully my friend agrees with me, now that the truth is out, wink wink)

Here's a closeup of each one. The lettering, the birdcage, the key, and the typewriter are all rub-ons, and everything else is cut out of the Anthro catalog. (I had way too much fun going through and cutting out pretty things... now I know why my girls just LOVE to do that with magazines!)





the green one is my favorite, I think. :)

I'm currently working on a few other handmade gifts right now too, for Christmas and such, and I'm loving it. What sort of craftiness and creativity are you up to this month? Do tell!

The Evening Cookie Club*

*Like the Breakfast Club, but much less angst-ridden. Also, we really do have cookies, unlike those poor teens who were never served one bite of breakfast.
*We don't actually call ourselves that. I just made it up right now for the sake of a title. Lame.

Let me paint you a picture: it's a Friday night. The house has been (mostly) picked up, the kids are not too far off from being in bed, and there are cookies baking in the oven. Soon, our house will be filled with guitar playing, singing, talking, much conversation, and lots of laughter.

It's all thanks to this group here:


This is what our weekends look like now. I say "weekends" because not only do they come on Friday nights, they come on Sunday nights too. One night a week just didn't cut it, what with all the fun we have.

It all started with band practice (my husband plays the drums in a band) being held here at our house on Saturday afternoons, which turned into a few of them staying late one night after practice, which turned into Sunday night get-togethers for hanging out and recording, which turned into Friday night get-togethers just for fun and Sunday night get-togethers for recording (but they still have fun then too, don't worry).

I'd be pleased to introduce you to the gang. They're a lovable bunch.

This is Ryan. He's the one who actually started up the band, and is a piano-player and singer extraordinaire.... really, he has a gift. It's amazing. And, most recently, he is also Emma's piano teacher. So exciting! He's kind-hearted and friendly, humble and sweet, and we like him lots.


Here's Zack. I chose this picture of him, because it's just so very Zack-ish. He keeps us all laughing with his dramatic flair and funny ways. His guitar playing is wonderful to hear, he's a connoisseur (totally had to look that word up to know how to spell it) of many things, and he's always handy for a good quote from Chesterton or C.S. Lewis, a deep discussion, or a Jason Mraz song, depending upon your mood.


Meet Jake! We met him when Zack happened to bring him along one Sunday night, and now we couldn't imagine our get-togethers without him. He's thoughtful and appreciative, laid-back and funny, sweet and generous, with an obvious love for the good things of life.


This is Ryan too! He's the newest addition to our little group, so I don't know quite as much about him yet... but he's great to have around, and is yet another talented musician. Let's hope we don't scare him away!


This lovely girl is my Ashlei. She and I go way back, back to the days before I was even married. I was her piano teacher, she was my Little Chica. She's my dear sister Lydia's best friend, our families are very good friends, and we share a sister-in-law, a niece, and a nephew. Really, she feels like a sister to me. She's clever and beautiful and altogether fabulous, and I'm so glad I get to hang out with her more now. 

Plus, it's good to have a girl around! You know, someone with whom I can snuggle a bit.


I'm pretty sure you all know Jeremy. I'm married to him. He's quite good-looking if I do say so myself! (and I do say that. All the time, actually.) I snuggle with him, too.


These young people are strong believers in our God, and it shows. They're passionate about their faith. It's inspiring to be around that.
One of my favorite things is how they fill our house with such wonderful music. There's almost always someone playing a guitar or on the piano or singing.


And all I have to do is bake some cookies or something! I'm definitely getting the best part of this deal. :)


It just makes me so happy when our little home is filled with people, enjoying themselves and the blessings of great fellowship. I love that they want to stay until the last possible minute (it's been years since I've stayed up past one in the morning this frequently!) and look forward to coming back when they do leave. It's a privilege and a blessing for Jeremy and me, and I'm always humbled by how truly grateful they are.

I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for each of these amazing people, and how He will use this time together in each of our lives, for our good and His glory.


Our door is always open for this crowd. And I'm certain there will always be a good time to be had!

our door is always open for YOU too, friends. just come and see! :)