underneath. {Project 52}

I love to read, but I don't own a lot of books. For the most part, I like to read books once. I like to borrow books. I like to pass books on when I'm done.

But I've noticed a trend lately. I've started to accumulate books. Pretty books. Inspiring books. Books that are both pretty and inspiring.

I'm enjoying creating an office space for myself, carved out in the corner of the basement. I threw sensibility to the wind and bought myself a pretty blue desk. I hung some favorite words on the wall. I found a comfy office chair from Costco. I cleared a space of honor for my pot of colorful pens. And I started stacking up my pretty + inspiring books on the shelf right where I could see them.

Oh, and I bought myself an owl. (If you must know, he spoke to me, straight from the shelf in the garden section at Target, and asked if he could come home.)

So now he sits. And underneath him sit my books.

I've either read these books or plan to read them soon. I like the people who wrote them. I respect them. I admire them. The books themselves -- the words inside them -- are game-changers. Life-changers. They inspire me. I hope they will inspire you too.

A Field Guide to Now: Notes on Mindfulness and Life in the Present Tense, by Christina Rosalie

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp

Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World, by Bob Goff

Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith, by Jen Hatmaker

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, by Jen Hatmaker

Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life, by Keri Wyatt Kent

What We Talk About When We Talk About God, by Rob Bell

Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way, by Shauna Niequist

Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life, by Shauna Niequist

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, 
by Brene Brown

Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed, by Glennon Doyle Melton

Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table, by Shauna Niequist

P.S. They're not just for show - I'd love to lend you my copy :)

P.P.S. What's on your bookshelf right now??

story. {Project 52}

Here's a bird's eye view of our picture-a-day blog.

967 moments {some big, some small} that tell the story of the past two and half years.

A very special story. Our story.

Some days it seems like a chore - to pick up the camera and frame a shot.

Some days it feels like there's nothing new under the sun, like there's nothing special about this particular moment in time.

But it's become a habit now and I'm hooked -- it's a way of capturing the kairos, a lens through which to view our gifts, a medium for acknowledging the extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary, a vehicle for telling our story.

967 moments.

967 moments and counting...

everyday moment. {Project 52}

Since this boy was old enough to toddle around the house, he has been fascinated by cars. Even now, as an eight year old, when many of his peers have moved on to iPads and video games, our house is still frequently filled with the sounds of his homemade vrooms and the rumble of plastic wheels. 

I know one day I won't find Hot Wheels scattered across the living room or lined up along the kitchen counter, and I'll long for an everyday moment like this.

{more Project 52 posts here}

First Quarter {in Review}

Well, here we are three months into the new year. I daresay it's been a bit brutal, but with the sunshine starting to peak through and temps climbing up past 40 (heat wave!), I think we will live to see another spring. Here's a quick glimpse into our first quarter 2013.

{January}

We capped off a holiday-season-to-forget with a trip to urgent care. It's all fun and games until someone falls on their head at a Christmas party and goes limp. Thus concludes, Christmas 2013. Better luck next year.

1. I've been trying to run some more, after some time off due to an injury and in terrible Michigan winter conditions. It's been going so-so, but the YakTrax have proven helpful on more than one occasion.

2. A bright spot in our January, our first glimpse of paradise.

3. These pillows make my heart sing. They now reside in Basement-ville.

4. From the look of sheer joy on her face, it appears we may have neglected to take our third child out in the snow often ever. Oops. Good news: she loves it.

Christmas cookie do-over, just in time for a little shin-dig. My favorite sort of friends are the kind who don't bat an eye when you serve them Christmas cookies in January.

{February}

When life gives you snowstorms, learn to slide like a penguin. This was the plow pile in our yard from our driveway. See that street light in the background? The snow in our yard has yet to melt completely.

1. Best Friends necklaces. Remember these? I was not prepared for this phase of life to be starting already for our 6 YO.

2. Love me some Church. Sacred moments shared over a long table at a brewery in Rockford on a Friday night.

3. Snow piles! Again, cannot get over the snow piles.

4. Poor Mady, as the last child home with Mama, she has no choice but to run all over town with the ladies, doing who knows what (always very important work, I can assure you).

Oh, this little girl. She fills our hearts to the brim with joy. We decided on this day that if we can't beat Winter, we might as well join it, so we took the big kids ice skating. She fell down more times than I can count, but she was fiercely determined to figure it out without our help. (Love him too.)

{March}

Take that, procrastination, perfectionism, and Seasonal Affect Disorder. This is exactly the bit of visual oomph I needed as we wait out the last few days (weeks?) until spring. A few free printables, a $5 canvas from Home Goods, a couple Ikea frames, and we're in business. {Oh, and I received a tweet back from John and Sherry mid-progress!}

1. A date night with my main {little} man.

2. A quick field trip to a favorite local studio. We left with our arms full and our hearts inspired.

3. My idea of heaven on earth: an entire floor filled to the brim with paper goods. (Local peeps; it's happens twice a year!)

4. Bracket business. Ella learns from one of the best.

Here is the very definition of cabin fever. Our Friday night entertainment consisted of cheering on our favorite toddler while she rode laps around the house, cyclecross style (cow bells included).

Winter, it was nice knowing you. Hello, Spring!