ABG Lights Exhibit – Bruce Munro/7th Anniversary

We celebrated our 7^th wedding anniversary this summer!  Gosh time flies, in some ways it is hard to remember back to before we were married but it also doesn’t seem possible that it has already been 7 years.  We have a tradition of eating dinner at TWO Urban Licks which was incredible again this year as always.  It continues to be one of my all-time favorite spots to eat in Atlanta. 

After dinner we headed to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to check out the Bruce Munro lights exhibit.  At first we walked around the sculpture installations and while beautiful left us a little disappointed.  Then we went down the canopy walk and saw the newly expanded section of the garden and understood immediately what all the fuss was about.  It was like a magical forest of lights that was living, breathing, and changing colors before our very eyes.  Think about the magic and joy in watching a firefly light up in the evening sky and multiple the effect times a couple hundred thousand.  The fiber optic lights were weaved along the ground in mesmerizing, chaotic, and organic patterns.  The fibers joined together in clusters in places and it reminded me of blood vessels or flying over cities as night with the lights flowing out from the center and into these standing bulbs.  It felt like a dream or a movie.  I was completely swept away by it.  It was made even more magical but walking hand in hand next to my favorite person.  At the end of the path we sat on a bench and talked and enjoyed being surrounded by the dancing lights.  I took some photos on my phone but these that were taken by my friend Matt Haynor are light years better so hopefully this helps capture some of the magic for you to see.  

Road/Sky Warrior - Crazy Travel Schedule

In a 6 week period from July 1st through mid-August I had traveled for 4 of 6 weeks.  It started with vacation beginning in 12 Mile and then went straight into chaperoning high school camp in Florida.   After that it was an intense travel schedule for work: Seattle for 4 days, home for just over a week, back to Seattle 4 days, home for a week, and then to Texas for a leadership summit.  This summer was me living out of a suitcase for the most part and gave me a new found appreciation for regular weeks at home with Kyle and Divot.  The drastic change in my travel schedule is definitely one of the areas I have been struggling to try and control.  Even my suitcase was asking for a break when the handle snapped in half on my way home from one of my Seattle trips.  Here are a few pictures from my summer work trips:

Lost My Voice

I have missed writing these posts, I got lost in the inertia of work and all the other things going on in our lives.  It’s been almost 3 months since I posted and that makes me sad and also reflects how out of sync I’ve felt.  I think amidst the stress and all the change I lost my way and lost my voice a bit.  I’m excited to recommit the time to maintaining this blog because it means a lot to me and I don’t want to forget all the things that are happening now.  

Change

If you want to really test what you are made of try selling a house, buying a house, moving, and changing roles at work all within a month.  I had no intention adding a change at work on top of an already busy season in my life but an opportunity presented itself and I said yes.  In the midst of a tough first 5-6 weeks in the new role I think I forgot about the part where I said yes.  I felt overwhelmed and out of my depth and felt like this stress and anxiety just happened to me.  Admittedly it would have been career limiting to turn it down but I still (though extremely briefly) weighed the options and took a step through a new door.  When I get stressed I tend to look back at the door that just closed and romanticize the situation I just came from.  Suddenly everything about the old thing seems worn in and comfortable.  My memories of it assume a golden glow and the edges soften.  By comparison the new feels foreign and unwelcoming and each interaction is examined under a microscope.  During change time has a way of speeding up and slowing down simultaneously and the result is disorienting.  As with all things though once enough time passes (which varies completely by situation and person) things start to settle into a rhythm and then that rhythm starts to become more familiar.  As I continue to adjust I have found a few things that helped me greatly:

• Anchor Points – there are a few things in my life that keep me grounded.  For me it is my faith, my husband, my parents, and our adorable dog.  I can have the best day or the worst day and those things help me stay glued together when it feels like I’m coming apart at the seams.
  
• Humble/Hopeful – I found a company I love that their mantra is when things are going well stay humble and when things are tough stay hopeful.  It has really been resonating with me.  You will have good days and you will have bad days and there is a place and a purpose for both in your life.  Bad days help you discover who you are and what you are made of.  Good days help reinforce the choices and people in your life.
  
• Silver Linings – there is always something to be thankful for in any situation.  I am been traveling a lot for work and it’s been hard, harder than I thought.  But I took one day last week as a chance to go see a beautiful waterfall in Seattle and another day I met someone in person who I had worked with for 5 years.  It did not take away my homesickness for my husband, dog, home, and my gym but the trip had values in other ways that I’m trying to appreciate in their own way.
  
• Let it Go – I never really had control and I’m never going to have control.  My intense focus on trying to feel in control is exhausting and fruitless.  I can control a small subset of things and I owe myself and my family to make the best choices I can in those areas but the amount of things I do not control is a much longer list.  I’m trying to buckle up and enjoy the ride more. 

Small Group (finally!)

I am so excited to say we are finally joining/starting an adult small group.  After 8 years of serving in the student ministry, leading small groups, and mentoring we are finally committing time to our own spiritual growth and community.  I could give a million excuses about how we didn’t have time before now and how busy we stay but truthfully we never felt like we had the right timing and group.  I am very hopeful and optimistic that this group will help fill a couple holes in our lives that have existed for a while.  We don’t have a lot of other Christian friends so sometimes the advice we get and the interactions we have doesn’t hold us accountable to our faith.  As we’ve grown older we can see how busy everyone is and we’ve seen that there are many times when family and your church family are the only people who consistently come through when you need them.  We haven’t invested enough in building adult relationships within our church family and we are so excited to make that more of a priority.  We met once already to talk about what we were all seeking out of the group and realistically what frequency we could meet.  The other couples have young kids (several of them each) so it makes scheduling and location challenging.  Christina, Andy, Joel, and Angel are all people I respect tremendously and I’m looking forward to everyone being able to be open and supportive about the real challenges we all face and help build one another up in our faith.  Our first official meeting is next Monday the 10^th!  

Comparison

“Comparison is the thief of joy” – Theodore Roosevelt

I have witnessed this first hand in my life and the lives of my friends.  There will always be someone prettier, more talented, wealthier, in better shape, and with more potential.  The problem with comparison is we simplify ourselves into one attribute at a time and compare that single attribute to other people.  Through a difficult summer for myself and some of my friends I’m coming more to terms with the idea that we are all a unique and vast combination of attributes.  I have gifts and I have flaws, and so do the people I love.  All these things have taken shape and grown overtime into the fabric of who I am. 

I fear I will struggle with comparison for the rest of my life but I do keep trying to strive to appreciate the gifts and talents in others and to get better about seeing those things in myself as well.  I want to appreciate the little things more and feel content in the present moment more often.    

House Progress – Outdoors

Part 3 (final part I promise) – are you still with me?

Front Yard – 0%
Kyle's dad gave us an old hedge trimmer so I got to release some pent up stress by taming the large bush by our driveway.  I should of done a before and after that thing had developed a mind of its own.  We’d like to put in some lights for the path, probably solar but there is an outlet for the plug in ones if we decide to go that route.  We’ll also be adding a UGA garden flag to proudly declare our loyalty and alliance to red and black.

Back Yard – 10%
We finished our first big project of building our fire pit.  Now we need some more river pebbles to fill out the rest of the area and some chairs.  I found some plastic Adirondack chairs at Lowe's or Kroger that will be good for the short term although long term we'd like to upgrade to wicker or wood Adirondack chairs. Kyle dreams of a bocce court next to the fire pit area which sounds awesome to me.  We got bad news during the inspection about the deck so our plan for next summer is replacing it and building our dream deck complete with screen porch as well as some open deck space.  I want to add those light strands above it like you see at restaurants and all over Pinterest.  

(I can't wait for this gorgeous hydrangea bush to bloom!)

Garage – 0%

It is in major need of paint and storage solutions.  My dad is going to paint it for us as a housewarming gift.  The plans for storage include some shelving and installing some hanging tracks for storage on the walls.