Breathing in the sunshine all weekend.

We finally got a little relief from all the rain and clouds this weekend. It was beautiful out – almost felt like summer, with warm temps and bright sunrays. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend, enjoying a Friday night bonfire in our backyard with Eugene’s brother & friend, TJ {Espn’s godfather.} ;)

Of course, I had to roast a marshmallow to make it an official bonfire…

I like to sit & stare at the fire for hours. It’s so mesmerizing.

     

I didn’t get much sleep Friday night, but Saturday morning I made a cup of green tea, pulled out my Bible & sat on the front steps in the warm, bright sunrise with the pup. That’s all it took to feel real rest & peace, regardless of how much sleep I got.

I wish I took the time to do this more mornings. God’s Word seems even sweeter to me in the slow mornings.

While the pup sprawled out as he usually does, I turned to Psalm 31.

See that big penciled “X” by the chapter? When Eugene & I went to the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon, our last full day there. we were riding a bus for a few hours back from Samana Peninsula to the city of Santo Domingo to meet with some missionaries, do a day of service, & talk with them about their life and mission. {Eugene & I have talked about maybe doing mission work someday in the DR.} I remember listening to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida on repeat. I don’t really know what that song’s about, but I just kept hearing the line “Be my mirror, my sword, my shield, missionaries in a foreign field.” Anyway, I was also reading my Bible on the long bus ride, praying for the people on the bus that I thought were so far from knowing the Lord. However, when I looked at the local woman sitting next to me, she too had a Bible. I pointed to her Bible,and then to mine & smiled {I don’t know Spanish, so nonverbal was my only option.} She smiled back, quickly grabbed my Bible and pencil from me, and started turning the thin pages and crossing off her favorite chapters – Psalm 31 being one of them. We passed my Bible back and forth sharing different special passages.

In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge…come quickly to my rescue…You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me…Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love…How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in teh sight of me on those who take refuge in you…Psalm 31

It was so neat of God to use that’s woman to connect with me. Two years later, I still smile whenever I turn to a page in my Bible marked by the Dominican woman’s “X”. I love to read the passages with her perspective in mind, trying to imagine why the words spoke to her through all the hardship she faced in the DR, and I can’t help but appreciate that those same words speak to me, right where I am, in the midst of my personal struggles in the US.

The pic above is of a little Dominican girl, Angelica, who wanted us to take our picture with her while Eugene & I were four-wheeling through. We met many interesting people on our honeymoon, but I see her, as well as the woman on the bus, and another man in the airport as true angels we met in the DR. {Oh, and don’t judge the hat…gotta protect my head with Eugene’s hat from those nasty, smelly, used helmets we were given to wear. Ha!} 

Okay, moving on to the rest of the weekend. Saturday afternoon, it was FINALLY perfect baseball weather – just in time for the last game for the season! Eugene’s team won, finishing with a record of 14-14 {improved from last year}, and his pitcher even broke the school record for wins.

{Coach Eugene giving signs.}

 

I also mowed the dandelions lawn with our new push mower that my dad scored from a coworker for free, Eugene weed-eated {should it be weed-ate? lol} with our nice $30 weed-eater we snatched up at a rummage sale. I pulled lots of weeds, plated some more tulip bulbs and a forsythia bush, added new house numbers above the garage & finally replaced the crusty, old brass outdoor light. {As stupid as it sounds, finally replacing that light was a wondrous thing!} I’ll post more this week on the DIY house numbers and my improving wiring skills for the pretty new outdoor light.

Saturday night we embraced the feel of summer with dinner too: grilled chicken salads, mashed potatoes, and McDonald’s ice cream cones. :) Mmmm.

And finally {sorry this post is ridiculously long} on Sunday we made the rounds at the local home stores to look at some different flooring options for the kitchen.

We think we’re going with sheet vinyl. We know it’s not the nicest option out there, but it offers some good benefits for us - it’s durable, easy to clean, and cost efficient for our budget {remember, we’re not using a loan for all these renovations; it’s our precious savings}. We thought about doing porcelain or ceramic tiles and grout, but it’s a lot of work, hard to clean, cold, and not very gentle on the legs. We nixed hard wood because of the hardwood that runs throughout the rest of the house. We want to refinish our wood floors dark someday, but we don’t want the kitchen floors to clash or try to match them to the current or future stain of the living room floors. {Complicated, I know.}

Finally, on Sunday night, we watched August Rush. This movie was SO good! If ya haven’t seen it, you must.

{image source}

I love movies that make me and breathe in deeply and smile once the credits start rolling. :)

It was a lovely, full, summery weekend indeed.