The month of August has seemed particularly slow to me. It seems like July was ages ago.  Yet, it's been a pretty fantastic last month of summer. We've been to beaches and islands. Had our fair share of ice cream and park visits. We're transitioning into rain boots and library visits and a good summer cleaning has got this mama feeling a whole lot lighter as we head into the months of schedules and more structured days.

six years :: Marriage

Chicago, Colorado, Minnesota, Helsinki, Phoenix, Mexico

Each year for the past 6 years we've gotten to celebrate our anniversary in a new destination. Either due to a move, a holiday, or a business meeting. The adventures just keep coming.

Of land and sea

This past weekend we had the deep privileged of being a part of our dear friends baptism. We hiked out to a beach and expected great things. We didn't expect the torrential downpour that opened the event, but to be honest, it made everyone a bit silly and light hearted. We were all drenched, but we were there. We were ready to celebrate. Ready to praise God and all of us were certainly awake to his awesome power and wonder

As I took pictures of the baptism, I in between  just watched my children dig around in the sand and waves. I found myself often overwhelmed with the beauty of it all. Seeing my kids love this green earth as much as I do-on a sort of soul level-is something I cherish deeply. See Eowyn's content? I know that content.

It really was a special day. This earth He so masterfully created is absolutely incredible. Both the land and sea.

"Ihana"

If you ever ask me what my favorite word is in Finnish, it's this:

"ihana"

It means lovely, delightful, amongst other things. It finds its way to kind mother's lips, on to cartons of yogurt, into accolades on facebook.

The first time I ever heard these delightful 5 letters was in excitement at marvelous news. Coming from a woman quite lovely herself. The way she said it was melodic. I've since fallen in love with this little word so much I've contemplated tattooing it on skin.

Life Lately :: July 2016

I know this is written in August, but since summer is slipping through our fingers, before it all slipped too far away, I wanted to post a bit about our happenings / happy little nothings to remember from July.