Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Home

It's been a significant week in our little world here. Our little family of three took some much-anticipated adventures. Around the world. Trevor to China (so amazingly thrilling, I wonder about a hundred times a day what he's doing, seeing, experiencing, thinking). Karis and I took this chance to vacation in Bismarck, our favorite place to find refreshment and encouragement. To laugh and lounge and think and connect. It's simply the best, full of history, memories, family, beauty. Every corner, every road, every landmark has meaning. Karis is starting to make lasting memories in my hometown, and I just know that Bismarck will forever be a special place in her life.

I'm thinking about home tonight, I just watched a movie where the characters are on a journey to find the perfect home to raise their yet-to-be-born daughter.  I love the characters' search for home, their reflections on life, their perspectives on parenthood, reflections of memories from childhood. Most powerful to me this time was the reminder that (cheesy as it may sound) home is where your heart is, where memories are, where memories can be made. I feel so thankful to have many homes . . . pieces of my heart deposited in different places, in different houses, with different people. As I sit here and miss Trevor in the home we share, I'm remembering with gratitude that he is an integral part of the heartbeat of this home (read the Karis-isms to see that she realizes this also).

And this Holy Week (well, any week really) it is good to acknowledge that ultimately, Heaven is home. C.S. Lewis is known for writing about the concept of joy and of yearning - that the joy we experience in life offers fleeting glimpses of the deep ache in our heart that only Heaven can fill.  That we yearn for constant joy, that we yearn for "something more", and that hole in our heart has only one place to find fulfillment. A good reminder for me as Lent draws to a close.

Speaking of Lent, this blog post is one I found to be so full of truth. I have blamed my lack of Lenten discipline this year on the weather (so unseasonably warm), but really this sense of lack is a reflection of what Lent IS. It's not about me, my efforts, my striving. It's God, grace, growth.

From the mouth of my babe lately:
- "Uppa daddy" (when seeing him on skype - so beautiful)
- "Go see daddy in computer?"
- "Go see daddy in picture!" (when looking at pictures of him)
- "Daddy's home!" (said with a hopeful note in her voice whenever we're driving home - you notice the theme here, she misses her daddy)
- "I have nails!" (painted nails continue to be a hot topic)
- "Bear. Scary" (my dad had a bear hide in the garage that she saw right before we left . . . she continues to process that experience)
- "Can you believe it?!" (I must say this a lot)
- "Remember that one?" (again, I say this often, Karis says it when she finds an old toy or book that we haven't used in a while)
- "I had fun with my cousin Courtney" (precious)
- "Go the fun way?!" (with pleading in her voice, asking to go around the block to the alley when we arrive home - as opposed to going straight to the alley. Why?)
- "Lukas don't take away my bike!" (said with a fierce voice and stern expression)
- " (insert dog name) not going to jump on Karis"
- "What IS it?" (pointing to anything she can't identify - latest fascination was the air freshener contraptions in some of the commodes in Bismarck)
- "Come on in!" (when she sees neighbor Bonnie anywhere near our house)

I write all these down, and I fervently hope that I can always remember her voice and inflections and expressions while she says all these things - the girl is chock full of personality and cracks me up all the time.
This pic would make more sense if you could see that she is eating dinner at her picnic table.

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