the lovelies that keep me up at night.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.  ~ Helen Keller, American educator There are so many beautiful things in the world.  There are so many wonderful creations to see, explore, touch, and wonder.  Do you notice them?  I have made it a point in my daily walks to notice more about the world around me.  Beautiful places. Here is a very, very small sample of what I encounter on a daily basis.  I try to really appreciate it all. Solitude. The smell of honeysuckle makes my life instantly positive. A small pond through the branches. Sometimes this isn't easy to do.  When I have a negative encounter with people, when I feel snubbed by those I love, when my mind simply won't let me s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n. enough to enjoy - all these things make it difficult to see this amazing world for what it is.  But I try.  While all these people and situations exist, there are others who exist who add joy, peace, and patience to my life - a

Good morning, friends (even if it is only myself who reads this.   I’m still a pretty decent friend to myself, I must say… ;) It’s been a bit of a crazy past two weeks in Oklahomaland.   I am constantly amazed at what this weather does.   For example, the early afternoon, was sweet and nice, like this:   Now, exactly one week ago, it was not.   It didn’t look too ominous heading from our new home in the grasslands to our old home in the city:   The nice lady at the tollbooth asked us where we were going.   When we said “Oklahoma City” she replied “do you kids realize what’s about to happen there?”   While we had our weather radio on and were aware, I didn’t honestly think things would hit close to us.   Surely it would dissipate before it got to Oklahoma City, right?   But as we were driving into capital city, we realized otherwise.   We rolled into downtown OKC with tornado sirens going off and meteorologists screaming on the radio to “Get down now!   Take sh