Waiting with laughter...Also, a picture post (July 20-August 2).

We're housesitting for the next several weeks for some members of our church and they have this hanging in the basement:

i used to wait for a sign, she said, before i did anything. then one night i had a dream and an angel in black tights came to me and said, you can start any time now and then i asked is this a sign? and the angel started laughing and i woke up.
now, i think the whole world is filled with signs, but if there's not laughter, i know they're not for me.

There are several situations in my life right now that I feel like I am sitting around waiting on. I'm not necessarily waiting for a sign--more like an email or a phone call or for the bread to rise...(I'm making homemade bread...Kristen will be proud...). I'm waiting for some kind of change to happen. Really, I'm waiting to change myself. But God is reminding me (again...) that I am not in control of this situation. He is. And in the meantime, though I am tempted to try to change myself, I really know that nothing will happen until He is ready.

So I'm trying to learn to enjoy the waiting. To learn patience. And to take it with a dose of laughter.

How lucky I am that I am surrounded by friends and family and a wonderful husband who will make me laugh.

Speaking of, here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:

July 20, 2009: This is our first "official" crop from the garden that we actually got to eat. (We gave away our first crop of green beans to a neighbor...). We didn't eat any of it until later in the week, though...

July 21, 2009: We met Uncle Dave and Uncle Jim at a delicious restaurant "Fogo de Chao". It's a Brazilian-style meat restaurant and it was amazing. Basically they had the best salad bar ever, they walked around with meat on spits and cut off whatever you wanted onto your plate (like 13 different choices!), plus the side items were pretty amazing as well. It was delicious food and it was really great to see Uncle Dave and Uncle Jim!
July 22, 2009: Apparently next to our grocery store on Wednesday nights there is a farmers market with fresh vegetables, food cooked on the spot and live music. Who knew?
July 23, 2009: I worked at Polaris during the day on Thursday and Friday. After work I went to the dog park while I waited for the bus. I love dog parks! This little guy was my favorite for the day.

July 24, 2009: I know that you all are probably skeptical that we actually have friends because I never have pictures of them. It's just that I usually forget while we're hanging out to take one. Nevertheless, we do have friends, and on Friday night Jordan and Valerie came over for dinner and to watch Citizen Kane. Which was amazing. And reminded us eerily of Michael Jackson...

July 25, 2009: When we got home this little dead guy was waiting for us in the yard outside our apartment. I almost stepped on him. Since I hadn't taken my picture of the day yet, Luke prodded me to take it of him (ew, gross). Luke also wanted it to be Sunday and Monday's picture...Anyways, next to the dead cat is a beer bottle. Luke's theory is that curiosity did not kill the cat--alcohol did...and that, my friends, is my husband in his prime.

July 26, 2009: As previously mentioned, I made apple butter and biscuits for our small group. These are the apples before they were apple butter. It actually turned out really well (and smelled deliciously like fall in the process...). I really like making things in my Crock Pot. A whole lot. I could write a poem...and it would start out like that. It would be a way cheesy poem...

July 27, 2009: Again, I forgot to take a picture of our small group eating the apple butter so this is the end result. I made 30 biscuits to take...there were six left. Success indeed! Also, Luke brought me flowers and our wedding pictures came in the mail. All, of course, had to be included in the photo of the day (according to Luke).

July 28, 2009: We ate our first batch of okra. Fried, of course, like good Southerners. Honestly, before I got married, I never thought I would ever fry okra...I do like the way this picture looks...like little stars of flowers on a cutting board.

July 29, 2009: I left Luke alone for Thursday and Friday so I cooked him dinners to eat while he was alone and made him eggsalad to eat for lunches. I was cooking and chopping all day...but this is the result!
July 30, 2009: This is my wonderful Grandma who was delightfully surprised by all of her children on Thursday night for her 85th birthday party! Isn't she beautiful? And adorable?

July 31, 2009: My sisters and I went to State College (where Penn State is located) to eat with my other grandma on Friday. We drove around the campus after lunch and stopped to take a picture with the beloved Joe Pa.




August 1, 2009: My Pappap arranged bikes for my sisters, Luke and I to ride through the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, which was absolutely gorgeous. It was such a pleasant ride! And also we went to Eder's Ice Cream (6 cones of homemade goodness for less than $10...beat that Cold Stone...). A trip to visit Grandma and Pappap is not complete without Eder's, and we just had to introduce Luke to it's wonderfulness. Christie's face pretty much captures the excitement of us all. I couldn't decide between these two pictures...

August 2, 2009: I know that most of you have not been to Hoss's before, but my grandparents (all around...) love it. I was in Pennsylvania for four days...guess how many times I ate Hoss's amazing soup, salad and dessert bar? You guessed it...four. Good thing I love both salad and soup (and I do...oh so much!). I actually really didn't mind. Their salad bar is pretty delicious.

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Christie got me a Pig plush from Pearls Before Swine as a present. He rode in the back seat on the way home:


Pearls Before Swine always makes me laugh. So here are two for you to end with:

Also, if you want to see more weekend pictures you can click here.