Forty Years

Last Friday was my birthday. Now, I'll state right up front that I love my birthday - a lot.  I am shameless in the appreciation of a day spent celebrating that I'm alive.  I always feel a little bad for people who dread their birthdays and the passage of time.

I had that struggle the year I turned 25.  By that age my Mama had had both of her children.  At 25 I was single, had been for over 7 years, and no love interest in sight.  I was thinking, "What am I doing?"  Then I looked around me. I spent my 25th birthday in Seoul, Korea. I spent that year experiencing several different cultures, learning to be polite in 3 languages, and embracing quiet moments with Jesus.  It was a beautiful, and painful year.  And that was the year I decided not to dread the passing of another year, but to revel in the celebration of it.

Like every discipline, I have to reestablish it from time to time.

This year, my husband was out of town.  He didn't want to be out of town.  But he was.  So, from 18 hours away he orchestrated a GREAT birthday present.  Many of you were a part of it.  Thank you.

I love dancing - of all kinds.  On the week leading up to my birthday friends and family posted dance videos to my Facebook Timeline. So, I woke up on my birthday and checked Facebook for the first time in a week, and got to watch people I love dance, to remember some inside jokes, and be amazed.

That was the first step in the revelry... and it made the rest of the day so much easier.  In a very true sense, I was not alone all day - even for the few hours that day when I was by myself.

 So, please, enjoy a few of these with me.

 

My friends Amy and Jadin choreographed and performed this for my birthday.

 

This one never fails to make me laugh, I love his transitions!

 

 

A classic, and the way I like to spend rainy days.

 

 

Words just can't express...

 

 

But for my very favorite you'll need to go to my Facebook.  My Mama won the day.  Just the chance to have on video the true freedom of who she is... and dancing to one of my favorite songs.  Twisted by Joni Mitchell!

 

Thanks everyone. I had a great day, it ended with Carrieann (who lives 1/2 the country away) knocking on the door that night to surprise me.  I screamed.  Multiple times.  We didn't stop talking for 2 days.  So much life to celebrate!

 

KTV

 

 

Progress

Oh boy!  I started the year out with the intention to blog every week... my last blog was in January.  It is now the last week in March.  Sigh.  No, not sigh, PROGRESS.

I am participating in a group study, going through Lisa Terkeurst's book "UNGLUED".  She talks a lot about "imperfect progress", and I am trying to grab hold of that idea.  The Lord truly knows (and so do I) that I AM imperfect, I am trying to hold on to the truth that stepping toward my goals and not meeting them is progress.

So, in the spirit of that, I am going to share a quilt I finished in February.  Then I'm going to do something that is difficult for me, I'm going to share the story of that quilt.

I started this quilt 10 years ago.  I completed 3 others before finishing this one.

For obvious reasons, the pattern is called "Starry Night".  I think the variety of stars is so much fun to look at!

This star is a nod to the joy and fulfilment I found in being a stage manager, I still miss that part of my life.

I'm very excited to have finished this project, as I said it's taken me just under 10 years.  The "why" is a difficult story for me to share.

When Andy and I went to South Africa, we went fully expecting to get pregnant during our time there.  This quilt began as my "Prayer Quilt" for our baby.  Africa was a difficult and rich time in my life. I accomplished things I never would have considered possible, I created intricate sets and staging out of nothing, made lifelong friends, experienced cultures some people have never heard of... and we did not get pregnant.

I finished hand piecing the top of the quilt 6 years ago in South Africa... and folded it away.  I was beginning to feel helpless and hopeless in this particular journey and I couldn't hold the quilt in my lap and work on it without having those feelings rise up in me.

It stayed folded away until January of this year.  I brought it out and finished it.  I am still not pregnant, and some days that seems even further away than it did when I folded my work away in South Africa.

However, I am no longer accepting "helpless and hopeless" in my life.  I am far from helpless. I am a capacitous, creative, loving woman with a deep abiding joy in Jesus that is my strength.  I am not hopeless, I am growing in hope. 

So, I don't know where this journey will end, but I am digging for my joy and my hope every day... kind of like getting a garden ready for Spring. 

To that end, I put the quilt up in our bedroom.  It's a baby quilt so it fits perfectly on my red bench.

 And I see it every morning when I wake up... and I smile.

 

Joy and Hope!

 

Karlie

something new

It's a new year, 2013 is gone and I sing  great big "Hallelujah!"  In fact, we had a group of friends over on January 3, and all of us brought something from 2013 to burn, never to be thought of again.  For so many of us, 2013 had brought with it really hefty trials - deaths of loved ones, family struggles...AAAAAAHHHH!  They are burned and I'm not going to resurrect them by naming them again.  For great reading on this subject check out Calista's blog.

So instead, I want to talk about something new.  This week I've been pretty purposeful about finding something new to focus my attentions on.  I have picked up quilting again, after a hiatus of 2+ years (I feel that definitely qualifies as something new).  When my friend Amy turned 13 I promised her a quilt...she graduates this year, I should probably finish it :)!

So, at this time that I'm looking for new ways and new things to focus on, I came across this post from my friend CarrieAnn:

January 6

I, CarrieAnn Baker, hereby promise to make a small work of art for the first ten people who comment on this post and say "YES, I want in". A 'like' alone is not enough of a commitment, nor is a comment about thinking Pay It Forward is a great idea.
You must in turn post this as your status update and make something for the first ten who comment on your status.* The rules are simple: it has to be your work, made by you, and the recipient must receive it before 2014 ends...

Now, I have a few "CAB originals" and let me tell you, I was IN!  So, I posted my own promise.  I have a list of people to make a work of art for, and I'm going to set about doing it.  And I'm pretty nervous about it.  It's one thing to make a work of art for someone that you know, or that you know is going through something specific.  That's hard enough.  But to make something for someone that you know through someone else, or someone that you haven't had a chance to interact with in decades...that's a whole new kind of nervous.  So, it definitely falls under the category of "something new".  I'm putting it out there!

So, not a lot of pictures this week, just a little accountability.  Feel free to ask me how it's going, and I'll post pictures as they are ready.

And what is YOUR something new?

KTV

The Wedding ~ Day 2

As I write this post, I am celebrating my 12th Anniversary.  To be honest, it still surprises me to realize we are in double digits. We're both so young! ;) Aren't we?! 

Our wedding anniversary falls in the time of year when people are naturally given to contemplating the year that has gone before.  That has always been an important part of our anniversary celebration - talking over the year. Giving time to really look at the good, the bad and the ugly and how we've come through it.

I was very reluctant to do that this year.  There have been so many things that fall under the "The Ugly" or "The Bad" categories.  Who wants to spend time looking at that?  So, this year we listed only the "The Good", and heading that list is my brother's wedding.  So, here we go with DAY 2 ~ the actual celebration.

After seeing the set up for the party the night before, I wasn't sure how they were going to make it special all over again for the actual wedding day.  Silly Karlie.

Remember Kadi, the girl who gave us all jobs and helped us to bring Ardilla's vision to life?  I think I forgot to mention that she handed us all a blueprint ~ I mean the lady had it together.  This is her:



Kadi, taking a quiet moment to write a "Love Note" to the newlyweds.

 And also behind the scenes, Benjamin's "Men of Honor" and long time friends, Meghan and Gabe.
Meghan is brilliant ~ her wedding present was to have Kadi there, helping to make the wedding happen, for a whole week.  Pretty amazing present, if you ask me. And Gabe filled his role beautifully - you always need the person who will stay solid in the face of whatever happens.



Meghan and Gabe waiting for the groom to arrive.

You'll remember on Day #1 that Jack, Bob, Sue, Andy and I were all decorating and setting up the party space.  Look at what Meghan and Kadi were doing:

Throughout the trail to the ceremony...

...we were guided by little still lives of feathers...

...and flowers attached to the trees.  Who needs breadcrumbs!

The site of the ceremony had so much natural beauty that little was needed to make it perfect.

 

However, there were some practical issues that these ladies settled as well.  The ceremony was short and beautiful, most of us stood throughout it.

my cousin Kacie, her baby Charlize, Aunt Robbie and Uncle Roger

 There were some considerations to be made, and 6 chairs were set up for my Aunt Brenda (foreground) and Mary, Ardilla's grandmother,

Also, for my Daddy (the father of the groom),

Daddy's the one with the camera.

 And for Mama (the mother of the groom) and Pete.

Aren't they sweet?

 They really thought of everything, and that helped the ceremony run smoothly and allowed the beauty of the moment to shine.

the bridesmaids

the groomsmen

Our dear friend, and Benjamin's mentor, Bob Runyon, led the ceremony.

my brother wrote the entire ceremony...

...including his vows.  This is where he started to cry, and therefore, where I did.

The exchanging of the rings.

"Ardilla, you may kiss your groom!"

Bob said, "By the authority given to me by you two and no one else..."  Aren't they a striking couple?!

and so sweet.

 After digesting all of that beauty, we all walked back to the party area from the night before.

Best EVER guest gifts.  Benjamin and Ardilla made individual cups BY HAND for each guest.  On the bottom of each it says, "a+b"

Instead of a guest book.

The bar

 Remember the tables from DAY 1?  They added lace tablecloths, house wine, and place settings.  It really was perfect.

 So we had a lovely meal, sitting and chatting and enjoying each other

Best friends for a long time.

And then came the dancing!!!!

Benjamin and Ardilla started it off.

 We broke for a few speeches

 

 

For some cake

 

 

 And then some more dancing

 

This lovely couple welcomed Ardilla as part of their family and home from the time she was 11 years old.

 

 oh yeah, we had fun!

If you want to know more about Benjamin and his work, you can start here.

ktv

Victory and a Wedding

Hallelujah!  I've finally figured out how to sign in to my blog!  You KNOW it's been too long, when you can't remember the exact combination of email and password to log in.  It's been 9 months, and I'm not going to pretend to play catch up.  Let's just say that there is a lot going on in my world right now - and leave it at that.

However, I do want to share my brother's beautiful wedding.  I asked my lovely new sister-in-law as I was taking a  bajillion pictures and she gave her permission.  They got married in Virginia on October 19.

I love how Benjamin and Ardilla kept the whole thing simple and real.  There were no pretensions, no pretending.  The "dress code" was basically your own interpretation of sharp.  It was a 2 day party, and it was a PARTY!

 

 

This is what  we started with...Well, this and a gorgeous setting.




Friends from our childhood, and friends from Benjamin and Ardilla's present came together to help decorate the outdoor arena.  This is the afternoon of "The Party ~ Day 1".

Ardilla had a vision, and we did our best to give it life.  Now, our best may not have been good enough, but thanks to the organization of Kadi Franson we came pretty close!

 

The vision required a lot of stretching and climbing ladders - I decided it was a good time to take pictures! :)



"Now how do we make these look random?"

My wonderful husband...

...and my hero from childhood.  My friend, Jack Kouwe.

So, while Benjamin and Ardilla were away, getting all the legal stuff done, we stretched, climbed, hung, strung and generally defined the party space for Night #1. Lanterns were hung over bigger bulbs and strings of fairy lights defined pathways. We also unstitched burlap sacks for table coverings.   It was so much fun!  Andy and I had the chance to work with Jack, and another couple from my childhood Bob & Sue. 

 

 I've known Bob and Sue my whole life - in fact, Bob sang the majority of the music at my wedding.  My WHOLE life!  When Andy and I pulled up to the cabin, I walked up to a woman directing the parking of another car and introduced myself...it was Sue.  sigh.  Obviously, it had been entirely too long (12 years) since I've seen her.  So, having jobs to do while we got used to each others' company again was PERFECT (thank you, Kadi)!

 

 

Here is the space when I left.

 

So, Andy and I went back to our "digs" to rest, shower and change and when I came back, this is what it looked like:

I LOVE that she went around and found beautiful fall leaves to decorate the vases.  It was perfect!

Every table had flowers and candle light.

THIS was awesome!  A "Grilled Cheese Bar", everyone made their own, they kept the grill on and you made a sandwich for yourself as you wanted to.  This was on top of the burgers, brats and dogs.

And let's not forget this was a party.  There was a bluegrass band:

 

The Beer Ticks

 

They were great, and there was a whole lot of square dancing - with a caller who taught us as we went.  I'd love to show you pictures of how much fun we had...but I was too busy getting swung around and dosey-doing! :)

 

I'll share more about the beautiful DAY 2 next time.  I hope you enjoyed visiting it (and allowing me to REvisit it), it was one of the happiest times of 2013 for me.

 

Karlie