{ i am blessed. }

last night we were going to have another couple over for dinner.

the mrs. is 8 months, three-and-a-half weeks pregnant with their first child. she had a rough day yesterday and they had to cancel.

i stopped at the farmer's market near work on my way home. they just re-opened after the winter and i was pleased as punch to find all sorts of fresh, local goodies for much less money than i would have paid in the grocery store. i was seduced by giant stalks of rhubarb and jolly pee-wee avocados, four for $1.00.

as i drove home, husband called me to suggest we invite two of my former roommates {who are still roommates themselves} for dinner instead. i had been thinking exactly the same thing. with so much good food ready to be cooked, it was a shame to waste the evening. i called, they were delighted, and we had a new plan.

husband ended up missing dinner because a client had an emergency, so it was just the three of us girls. we had a lovely time. the cinnamon-paprika lamb {i'd never made lamb before} was delicious--thanks to the recipe in real simple's april issue--and we sipped strawberry lemonade and marveled at what dried apricots and an onion can do to dress up couscous and chatted about our lives and hearts. husband got home in time for dessert, individual molten lava cakes, and we ended up having a sweet, mellow evening all around.

i love having people in our home. having a dining table, and chairs, and good lighting, makes such a difference in my ability to express hospitality and enjoy the act {which is really a kind of work} of expressing it.

{awesome recipes from real simple help, too.}

i'm so glad that i'm married to a man who enjoys being hospitable even more than i do. a man who also wants to open our home and work with me to make it a warm, inviting place of fellowship and safety and dialogue. A place where Jesus is Lord and King, loved and honored and a friend. i'm glad i'm your wife, mister mike!


this morning i was awakened at 6:34 a.m. by husband kissing me goodbye, heading to a pastoral training conference. at 7:08 a.m. i was awakened again by the sound of dishes being washed and the smell of coffee brewing. groggy and somewhat confused, i stumbled out to find pastries on the table, fresh coffee, and husband cleaning up the last of the enormous mess left from the night before. the training had been canceled. he fried bacon and eggs while i showered, and we had a sweet little saturday morning breakfast, joined by our friend sunshine who streamed through the windows with all his might.

when our tummies were nice and full, husband pulled me to the couch and we analyzed paint chips taped on the walls and narrowed down our choices by a good bit. we both laughed at the number of colors we described as "too poopy"--i've changed too many diapers and husband, well, he's a guy, and i guess that makes him an expert!


we laid on our bed, heads at the foot, me in the crook of his arm, pointing with our toes to the chips we liked or disliked. we fell asleep to the sound of michelle's blog playlist, my favorite background music. {picking paint colors is exhausting.} when we woke up, i called work and discovered that i probably won't have to work today--o happy day!

being married lovers in springtime is so much better than being engaged lovers, or dating lovers. you can do things like decorate our home together, and wake up together, and make breakfast together in your pajammers, and even laugh at poopy jokes that you would be way too cool to make until that man has promised to love you 'til death do you part. it means catnaps in the morning together to recover from breakfast he made for you, and meal planning for the two of us, and having friends over to our house, and being host and hostess together, and making all those little daily memories together, day in and day out.

yes, springtime is for lovers. i'm still one of them.

ranunculus from the plants i bought when i was looking for a new thermostat...i never thought i'd be so easily tempted in lowe's, of all places!