Picture Project Post, May 15-May 27

Man, I'm moody and dramatic at 3:30 in the morning.

In other news. I gardened for 4 hours today in the mud. I almost got everything planted! And, my trip was even completed with a trip to Urgent Care for a tetanus shot, after scraping my finger on a rusty nail coming out of the shovel I was using. I did see a splendid view of the Potomac Ridge on my way to and from, though, so it made the shot in the arm worth it.

I got blissfully dirty and brutally blistered in the garden today, and on the way back I got lots of smiles from those I passed by. I didn't realize until I got home that it was because I looked like this:

And my overalls and garden shoes looked like this:

I was a site to see! And most people in the city don't often see it. That's true.

Despite my dramatic post on Monday/Tuesday, I have been thinking about what it means to praise God lately (reading the Psalms will do that to you...), and I've been thinking about the different themes about praising God that are mentioned in the Psalms. There's praising God because He has done good things (period); praising God because He has done good things for me; and praising God because He has done good things for others. So basically, we are never to stop praising God. Even when we don't feel like it. Additionally, I read this verse today:

"They who seek the LORD will praise Him." (Psalm 22:26b )

Which is different from the traditional "Those who seek the LORD with all of their hearts will find Him". Which was a really good thing for me to think about. Sometimes I seek the LORD and if I don't hear back then I wonder what part of my heart isn't in it. Maybe it's the praise part. And maybe it doesn't matter, because if we praise the LORD, we will find Him in some form. I've been waiting for a lot of answers and getting a lot of non-answers. Maybe I need to focus on praise...even if it's not easy. There's also that verse in Psalm 15 that says that those who will dwell on the Holy Hill will keep their oaths, even when it's hard. It also says a lot of other things that we should do that I do a really horrible job at...

But anyways, here are the pictures from the last 13 days. It's gonna be a long one, bear with me.

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May 15, 2009: While I could have showed you another nature picture of a rainbow or a pretty sunset, instead I will show you this picture of a VW Bus. I have always wanted an old VW bus. The dangerous kind with the engine in the back. Because they are awesome, pretty much. On the way to Charlotte on May 16, 2009 we saw a train of three VW Buses. It was pretty awesome.

May 16, 2009: My daddy graduated on Saturday! This was, hands down my favorite picture of him that day. He looks so distinguished, yet just like daddy all at the same time. I'm so glad that Luke and I got to be there to see it with my mom and my sisters.

May 17, 2009: After the graduation ceremony we headed down to Waves, NC on Hatteras Island with the Teater family for a week of beach fun. On her morning run, Jenny saw a dead sea turtle, which was later confirmed by Mom and Dad T., so the rest of us decided to take a walk. There were not one, but TWO dead sea turtles. This is the first one we saw. Note the looks of both disgust and excitement on the faces of the siblings (you can click on the picture for a better view). (Note: They were supposed to be looking sad.) Luke later helped save two sea turtles. The first because he picked up some trash floating in the water and the second he helped back to the water because it was stranded on the beach. I have such a sea-turtle lovin' man.

May 18, 2009: The first of two rainy days at the beach. We read lots of books (well, I read one book...and I'm almost done with The Brothers Karamazov...), watched my two of my three favorite movies (Amazing Grace and The Painted Veil...Dear Frankie was absent from the mix), and ate delicious food. Such as this Seafood Boil prepared by Mom and Dad T. It was delicious. Plus, it was poured out on the table and you ate it with your hands, which makes everything more delicious.

May 19, 2009: Rainy day 2 wasn't so much rainy as cloudy, cold and windy. But it cleared up in the afternoon. We took the yucky beach-weather day as a perfect day for a ferry ride to Ocracoke and exploring the Ocracoke and Hatteras Lighthouses. Here's the whole fam in front of the Hatteras Lighthouse.

May 20, 2009: The weather finally cleared (even though it was still pretty chilly) and we spent the day walking on the beach and sitting by the pool. I also got some quality time with these rocking chairs on the third-level porch, which had a magnificent view of the ocean, which you can kind of (but not really...) see here.

May 21, 2009: A much warmer day, we spent it on the beach and playing pool volleyball. Luke and I also splashed around in the (FREEZING!) ocean. I love the ocean. This is the walk back to the house that we stayed at, which you can see in the distance. It was separated from the ocean by a gigantic dune, which was fun to run down, but not so fun to climb up. The beach was wonderful. Have I mentioned that I only put on shoes like three times the whole week?! I was barefoot like 95% of the week we were there...brilliant! We also saw a gorgeous sunset that night, which is depicted above in the picture in my heading.

May 22, 2009: It was the last day spent on the beach, but it was a beautiful day to do so. The Teater men went golfing, and the Smiths and Mom T. sat and walked on the beach enjoying the last day at the ocean. Jenny even got in the water with me. It was splendid. Christie and Jenny left early evening (sad day!) so Christie could go to Elon's graduation, and Katie, Luke, Kevin, Mom & Dad T. and I walked to the sound for another glimpse at a beautiful sunset. This time we were accompanied by a frisbee. The picture is of Katie's mad catching skills. And the beautiful sunset. It was a perfect last evening at the beach.

May 23, 2009: Katie and I got up wicked early to walk on the beach and talk about life and culture shock and Kenya. We saw this gorgeous sunrise and it was a perfect last view of the ocean. That's Katie in the distance. I took a lot of pictures with tiny people and big sky. And I like them.

May 24, 2009: As previously stated, the church through my dad a surprise happy-graduation party on Sunday. Words cannot describe this picture, but I love it. Whenever I ask Luke to take a picture of the sisters he always takes about 30 of them, capturing the whole "getting ready for the picture" sequence, which usually involves some goofiness and silly faces. The picture pretty much shows all. And I love it.

May 25, 2009: We left on a rainy Memorial Day Monday. I was pretty not happy and homesick before I even left. Not only did I not want to leave my family, but I did not want to leave little Ted. Apparently, he was pretty apathetic to the whole situation...he really just wanted me to let him down. But he's cute anyways.

May 26, 2009: Dad S. sent us home with a half of a water-melon, which we thoroughly enjoyed Tuesday night. It was delicious. We even wore the appropriate colors for the occasion (accidentally...of course...).

May 27, 2009: As previously mentioned, I spend the day gardening, and this is what our garden looks like in it's current state. We have a row of watermelon, a row of okra, three rows of beans and a row of tomatoes. We have room for some more tomatoes and some cucumbers, which I will probably plant later this week. Then we'll be all planted up and ready to start growing!

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If you would like to see more pictures of little people and pretty sunsets you can click here. You'll also find other beach pictures and pictures of graduation festivities there!

long.

the rain is falling hard outside. every once in awhile there is the quiet rumble of thunder. the rain speaks to my soul tonight in voices that i haven't heard in quite some time. in ways that i can't explain, but rather feel somewhere in the deep corners of my heart.

i've learned, in the past week, especially, how important communication is and what a beautiful art it can be when it is not lost in the meaningless lines of texts, aim, facebook, blogs and other forms of modern-day communication--where words are flippantly sent out without consequence, and the body language or depth and tone of voice is easily lost, wrongly interpreted and simply absent. what are we becoming?

and yet, recently, every aspect of my life seems to be some how devoured in silence.

not even the phone rings tonight. and i don't dare turn on music, lest the quiet voices of the rain stop speaking.

tonight there are no mice and no ants, just bugs flying around the office. big brown bugs and little tiny knats. who knows where they come from or why they are here. and if they could think they would probably wonder the same thing about me.

tonight i am unbearably homesick.

we read the play endgame by samuel beckett in my first year drama class with professor strong. lately, i've remembered how wonderful the last monologue by clov, one of the actors on stage is...

...They said to me, That's love, yes, yes, not a doubt, now you see how...How easy it is. They said to me, That's friendship, yes, yes, no question, you've found it. They said to me, Here's the place, stop, raise your head and look at all that beauty. That order! They said to me, Come now, you're not a brute beast, think upon these things and you'll see how all becomes clear. And simple! They said to me, What skilled attention they get, all these dying of their wounds...I say to myself— sometimes... you must learn to suffer better than that if you want them to weary of punishing you— one day. I say to myself—sometimes, Clov, you must be better than that if you want them to let you go—one day. But I feel too old, and too far, to form new habits. Good, it'll never end, I'll never go...Then one day, suddenly, it ends, it changes, I don't understand, it dies, or it's me, I don't understand that either. I ask the words that remain— sleeping, waking, morning, evening. They have nothing to say...I open the door of the cell and go. I am so bowed I only see my feet, if I open my eyes, and between my legs a little trail of black dust. I say to myself that the earth is extinguished, though I never saw it lit...It's easy going...When I fall I'll weep for happiness...

don't worry, friends. it's not all bad, and i know this. i've been homesick before. i've felt silence before. i've struggled with identity before. and i've (shock) bemoaned the present condition of society as a whole and the general direction that it's headed before. and i know that while sadness lasts sometimes for what seems like ridiculously long periods of time, really unfailing love, comfort and joy are soon to follow.

and really, my sadness is of a selfish nature...

additionally, pearls before swine have been delightfully funny the past 13 days. I was trying to figure out my favorite one. I think I have to go with this one:

But really, they are all so funny, you should just go and read them here.

I'll admit, my journal entries of late have been a strange mixture of both Pig's and Rat's...

The original intent of this post was to leave you with some beach pictures--without, of course, giving away any of the picture of the day secrets, which will most likely be posted tomorrow...or some other time this week. So, I will leave you with those. Besides, I should get back to work.

I took over 400 pictures throughout the week...it's kind of hard to choose the favorites...after I do my picture post I'll give you the link so you can see the rest of them...ha! all 400...most of which are not of any interest at all...

My dad graduated from his doctorate program on May 16 and we were all so proud of him.

This is pretty typical sister time. Jenny and I lashing out in goofy displays and Katie and Christie beautifully tolerating us and laughing along. I really love my sisters.

Three of the sisters on the ferry to Ocracoke Island with wind-blown hair.
We saw two light houses that day. And some beautiful displays of oceanic power.

While we had two cloudy and rainy days, we also had several sunny days. I took this picture with my eyes closed and I was a little bit proud at how well it turned out.

Since we were at the Outter Banks we were pleasantly situated within walking distance of both the ocean and the sound. Both of which provided magnificent sunrises (pictured above) and sunsets (pictured below). The picture displayed with my heading is my little sister, Jenny, in the water during one such sunset.

(It looks like we're standing in front of a backdrop!)

As a surprise, the members of the church threw my dad a surprise happy graduation party. It was a complete surprise to my father, who was both delighted and incredibly surprised. It takes a humble man to walk into a party for him and not realize that it's a party for him until the crowd applauds him. I really love my dad (and my mom, too, I just don't have a picture of her except above...I could have mentioned it then, too.)

There were never such devoted sisters...

I'm not going to lie, I feel much better now, after getting out of my own head. Maybe I will turn on some bluegrass after all.

I hope everyone is sleeping peacefully...

...wow that was a long post...i've thought about editing out parts of it...to make it shorter...and as not to appear as dark and morbid as i do...

...but, it all fits. weariness and searching with the knowledge of joy and comfort in the future...

so i'll leave it. and send it out into space.

Picture Project Post--May 3 through May 14

It's early...or late...and it's reached the point where some are rising, and I'm counting down the minutes until I get to go to bed. The birds are chirping and the sun is just beginning to turn the sky shades of pastel colors. The people are starting to move, going on their runs, meeting at the corner Starbucks, you know, the things city people do.

Don't ask me why, but at this time every Tuesday and Friday mornings I fight the urge to burst into loud song. This morning I succumbed. Why not, I'm the only one here...

"...little town, little quiet village, every day like the one before, little town, full of little people...waking up to say....Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour...there goes the baker with his tray like always, the same old bread and loaves to sell...every morning just the same, as the morning that we came to this poor provincial town..."

People in DC think they are above the little village. But they aren't. And I find myself, like Belle, looking at the people and singing

"There must be more..."

Unlike Belle, I hope I can do a better job at engaging those around me instead of alienating myself from them. Lately I haven't been doing so great at that.

It seems to get longer and longer between my posts. It's not that I don't have thoughts. I have lots of thoughts. Just not a lot of motivation to write them down at present...

Here are some things that I've been thinking recently:

.Omar al-Bashir appeared on my homepage yesterday. He looks so normal. What separates him from other sinners. Nothing, really. Just the magnitude of the crime. But Jesus died for him just like he died for me. My sin killed Jesus just as much as Omar al-Bashir's sin killed Jesus...and doesn't his sin, in a way, become my sin when the United States...my country...does not take a firm and active stand against his sin? What is the place of societal sin, anyways?

.this article makes me think a lot of different things. good and bad. i don't know how i feel about the grouping of "white evangelicals" that seems to be happening a lot recently. and sometimes i feel like when i read this i think "i'm so above that"...but as a "white evangelical" what part of the blame do i take for that thinking...and should i say "i'm better than that" or should i say "i'm sorry that that seems to be the case, let me tell you how JESUS is better than that".

.i've been thinking about what it means to wait on the LORD. i read in the psalms the other day about how david wants his soul to wait on the LORD like the watchman waits for the morning. what does that mean? i do not think that my soul waits on the LORD like i wait for the morning during my overnight shifts. what would it even look like for me to do that. to have my soul full of patience, service and dependence on the LORD?

.the more i hear about war, the economy and governmental reform the less i believe in all three. i want to be an anti-economy, anti-government pacifist who just goes around loving people. in theory. in practice, i have no idea what that looks like. but i think it looks a lot like Jesus and the early church.

so, without a lot of elaboration, those are some of the many thoughts running through my head...

and now, here are some of the events that have been running through my week.

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Sunday, May 3, 2009: It was the first of many dreary and rainy days, but this dogwood outside of our church looked pretty (prettier than captured in the picture...)

Monday, May 4, 2009: The second of the dreary days. And somebody left their stuffed dog outside. It was a pretty slow week (except for one momentous occasion) and I think you'll be able to tell in my pictures...sorry!



Tuesday, May 5, 2009:
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad S.! It was a big one...25 years! Congratulations on a wonderful marriage! As for Luke and I, it was a pretty quiet night. And I colored. And it was fun. You can't tell, but it's a scene from The Little Mermaid when they are floating in the blue lagoon...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009: Since I was too tired to make a "Cinco de Mayo" meal, we had a "Seis de Mayo" instead. =)

Thursday, May 7, 2009: Luke and I went out to eat in Adam's Morgan before I had to go to work. We ate at this pretty nice restaurant, with this weird neon sign out front. Luke looked up at it and said "Well that's tacky..." and it was.

Friday, May 8, 2009: After getting very little sleep after my overnight shift before having to go into my other job, and then losing my metro card, on top of a pretty rough week in general, it was slightly therapeutic to stop and play with the caterpillars on the way home from the metro.

Saturday, May 9, 2009: I know, I know, I have a lot of pictures of Luke this week. We went to play Frisbee golf on Saturday and it was pretty fun. The course was in the woods, and it was pretty tough, but really pretty. I thought this was a pretty good action shot.


Sunday, May 10, 2009: Happy Mother's Day, Moms! Luke and I went to the garden. Luke got to plant his watermelon seeds. We'll see if they grow...I'm pretty skeptical. Luke is pretty excited...
Monday, May 11, 2009: I was cleaning and getting ready for AMANDA to come up (HOORAY!) so I didn't have a chance to take a nap. These things got me though my overnight shift. Even though I don't like using caffeine, you really can't help it some nights...




Tuesday,
May 12, 2009: Waiting and watching for Amanda to come! If nothing else, we do get some pretty gorgeous sunsets out our little bedroom window. And they light up the entire room (and sometimes the whole apartment, too).
Wednesday, May 13, 2009: So, confession. I've wanted to get my nose pierced since my junior year of high school when my friend Brittany turned 18 and went to get her nose pierced. And on Wednesday I finally did! With Amanda! I think I really like it, too! It was definitely something that I'm glad I did. And I'm so glad I got to do it with one of my best friends! Before she moves all the way to the Washington across the country...

Thursday, May 14, 2009: Both Amanda and I had a lot to do, so we hung out around the apartment and just enjoyed the mutual company. Goodness, I love that woman. =)

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I'll leave you with this bit of Disney wisdom:

When you look under the rocks and plants and take a glance at the fancy ants...and maybe try a few...(you eat ants?!)...the bear* necessities** of life will come to you (they'll come to me?) they'll come to you.

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*I never know if it's the "bare necessities" like it's supposed to be or the "bear necessities" because Baloo is singing it. I like the idea of it being a play on words, but still spelling it "bear". So that's what I did.

**Luke and I are heading to the beach for a week with our families. Out of the necessity for quiet, getting back together and listening to God, and just for an intentional time of enjoying my family, I will not be taking my computer. See you all in a week and a half!

Picture Project Post, April 22-May 2

Luke sat straight up in bed this morning, and with nothing but concern, urgency and compassion in his voice said "If the mice want to leave, why don't they just come in here!" He then said, "I need a drink of water" and fell back on the bed with his head directly on my stomach. After some prodding, he got up, got a drink and then went to bed. I hope those mice got everything figured out.

I think that bluegrass music is wonderfully complicated and simple all at the same time. And I love how classical music is beautifully complicated. These two types of music have filled my nights (and, lets be honest, my days too) these past several weeks. And that's okay with me.

I want to live in the Wild West. Oh, so terribly. You know, like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Only life for me would be much more real and much less horribly acted. But you really do have to love Dr. Quinn.

Luke and I just got new cell phones. Luke is recording his voice mail message for the first time since he got his first cell phone in high school. You all should call him and tell him how professional and nice it sounds. He's having a hard time. I like it when he listens to it and laughs. It gives him tiny wrinkles around his eyes. I like those wrinkles.

Well, enough for the mushy love stuff. And for thinking about how I want to live in Colorado circa 1860. And for how bluegrass and classical music sum up my existence. On to the pictures (which I know you all have been anxiously awaiting...)

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April 22, 2009: It was a gloomy, rainy day, but on my way back from Child Trends I saw this delightful woman with a splendid umbrella that brightened my day.

April 23, 2009: This little bike (parked at the metro) summed up my day, which was full of cute children at both the preschool observations and my commute to and from work.

April 24, 2009: Stopped at Chapel Hill on the way to the lake house to spend the weekend with family. We got Cosmic and [B] Ski's and walked and talked with sisters (and I include Amanda in that category, quite naturally).

April 25, 2009: After a relaxing and rejuvenating day at the lake, we went to a UNC Baseball game with the Smith Parents, the sisters (pictured here) and (for awhile) Kevin. We cheered the beloved Diamond Heels onto victory, just like in the days of yore.

April 26, 2009: On the way home, Luke and I stopped at the Stonewall Jackson Shrine. It is the place where he died. The whole thing was surprisingly (and somewhat hilariously...) reverent. Luke said that the look on his face (which I find quite humorous) "depicts his conflicting emotions perfectly".

April 27, 2009: I GARDENED! In the community garden down the street. I spent 3.5 hours there getting blissfully dirty and building a path between our little half-plot and our neighbor's full plot. This is the first time the plot we were assigned has ever been used, so my time on Monday was spent digging up years and years of weeds. These are the majority of them, enough to fill a huge wheelbarrow! I can't wait to plant things and eat the things that I plant. And the whole concept of a community garden, I think is incredibly beautiful on so many levels.

April 28, 2009: On my way home from work I saw this in the Columbia Heights Metro Station. It's a Pepsi Advertisement that says "Together" and under it somebody but a bumper sticker that says "Tooth Decay", complete with Pepsi signs as the "o's". The best part was that a girl who looked like she was in somewhat of a rush stopped and came back to take a picture of it with me. We shared a laughing moment. I think she might have been a kindred spirit (Anne of Green Gables, anyone?). Unfortunately, she was going the other way on the metro.

April 29, 2009: One of my favorite things ever is corn on the cob. Luke and I got some of the "first of the season" and sat eating corn on the cob and listening to bluegrass music with the windows open and the sounds of our neighborhood and a soft breeze drifting through our tiny apartment. The city isn't so bad sometimes.

April 30, 2009: Luke and I went to the Library of Congress to see Peter Brown, an expert on Early Christianity and Monasticism give a lecture on poverty and early Christianity in the Monasteries. It was really interesting. Peter Brown was delightfully old and had huge glasses that kept slipping off his nose. He had a soft, melodic voice with a mixture of accents from England, Ireland and America. And he made intellectual jokes that were actually funny. The intellectual world both intrigues and disgusts me all at the same time.

May 1, 2009: Who needs sleep? While all you weaklings were sleeping I was building this desk. It's the third desk I've built for Polaris. If nothing else, my time at Polaris has given me an accurate picture of what working at a non-profit looks like. No one else to build the desks for you, you build them yourself.

May 2, 2009: It was Latino Heritage Day at National's Park today! Luke and I got there early to get $5 tickets and free Los Nacionales t-shirts (which we are sporting in this picture). We didn't actually sit that close to the field, we were just sitting down there for batting practice. Luke just found out that our starting pitcher (who is from the Curacao, he represented his heritage well) is 22. Today he led the Nationals (or should I say Los Nacionales) to a 6-1 victory over the Cardinals. He pitched the entire game! Luke is wondering why he is only working in a consulting firm =)

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In other news, Happy the Hippo from the Washington, DC Smithsonian Zoo is moving to the Wisconsin Zoo to make room for the new elephant exhibit. It looks like Luke and I are moving to Wisconsin!