{ Weekend with Friends }

Disclaimer: All the good photos in this post were taken by Tim or Anna...I kinda borrowed them from Anna's blog. Thanks, Ann!

Anna, Chelle and I have been friends since we were wee little things. Actually, Anna is two months older than I, and our parents were friends before we were born--if I remember correctly, I think they even took a birth class together! It is one of the biggest blessings of my life that the three of us have not only stayed in touch, but have remained close friends for nearly three decades. Though we haven't lived near one another since early 2001, when I moved to Seattle, the companionship of these women as we navigate life--far from one another geographically, but close in our hearts--is an immeasurable treasure.

As husbands and children have gradually been added to the mix, it's become harder and harder to get together. That we were able to coordinate all our schedules and spend a weekend together is nothing short of miraculous! {Especially when you consider that only times that all of us--husbands and kids included--have ever been together were at my wedding and Anna's wedding, nearly three years ago!} Also providential is that Tim and Anna have a house big enough to comfortably house six adults, three kids, and two babies.

The whole group

Fun at the park

Katy Grace napping

Look--Mike put the baby to sleep!

One of many highlights for me was seeing Mike bond with the babies. He hasn't been around teeny tiny babies much, but he and Katy Grace took to each other and she spent a lot of time in his arms. And goodness, that little girl loves to talk--she babbles all the time! It's adorable and hilarious.

Some more highlights:

Finding prose and poetry us girls wrote as teenagers

Cooking together

Long chats over coffee

Beautiful weather

The guys enjoying beer and cigars

The kids' happy chatter

A nursery full of toys and laughter

Delicious food

A lazy Saturday with no agenda but to soak up one another's company

Oh--and did I mention that I got up on Saturday morning to find that they were having a "baby breakfast" in honor of Miss Peanut? Handmade buntings, homemade cinnamon rolls, fancy fizzy drinks, gorgeous flowers, and the cutest itsy-bitsy baby girl clothes you ever did see! I was so surprised!

Love these shoes that Annabelle found for Miss Peanut!

This photo was literally taken at midnight...just sayin'.

The whole weekend was a lot of work--especially for Tim and Anna--but so, so wonderful. Mike and I didn't even know if we could make it 'til a few days before: Mike's grandma passed away earlier in the week, and the funeral just happened to be the day before we were to leave. I'm so thankful that we were able to go. Hopefully we can do this again...and again...and again...over the years!

{ Snapshots }

: : Moments I don't want to forget, from late August/early September 2011 : :

: : Labor Day BBQ with this sweet friend and her dear little man-child : :

Isn't he the most impish little fellow you've ever seen?

: : Community group girls' night, complete with cheese AND chocolate fondue {fondid? fondone? fondelicious!} : :

Krissy making cheese fondue

Someone borrowed my camera and used it against me...

I don't remember how we got on the topic of using pantyhose as a mask/disguise, but Joanna and Kalie took it one step further by creating a conjoined pantyhose mask. Props to you ladies!

: : Our table, set for a dinner party with friends : :

: : Pottery Barn lookalike lamp: Base from Target, lampshade from Tuesday Morning, recovered with burlap and grosgrain ribbon. I love it. : :

: : Lavendar on the mantle : :

: : My other new lamp, a sale find at Cost Plus World Market : :

Isn't the little owl dear?

I know better than to say things like, "I promise I'll post again soon!"

Seems like every time I say that, weeks and weeks go by before I log into blogger.

There are lots of big changes--some for sure, some just thinking about--at our fingertips. Last Sunday we helped launch a new church. It was the first of many Sundays where we'll begin setup at 6:30am and finish at 2:00pm. Tonight Mr. Husband and I are starting an intense sort of Bible study/recovery group that runs for eight weeks. Pray for our hearts...that we'll be open to Jesus and that He will move us and change us in big ways during this time.

All this to say, don't be surprised if posting is a little less than regular. There's a whole lot of life going on right now, and it's cutting into computer time! Which, I suppose, isn't a bad thing at all.

{ Mrs. Mike }

A few weeks ago I received an excited-but-mysterious message from Courtney. The gist of it was, "I found something at an estate sale that's perfect for you! Give me your address so I can send it!" If you know Courtney, if you've been to her house, if you've visited her etsy shop or seen her booth at Farm Chicks, you know that her eye for perfectly sweet + vintage is impeccable. {My chalkboard window? From Courtney's Farm Chicks booth.}

I had no idea what Courtney could possibly be talking about. When her package arrived in the mail, I tore it open and--Mike can testify to this--emitted a very loud, high-pitched squeal upon recognizing the contents:

First edition--1947!!

Let's take a closer look at the image on the front cover:

Mrs. Mike  is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it as a teenager and positively swooned over the true story of a 16-year-old Boston girl traveling to the Canadian frontier in search of a better climate for her health. Her romance and marriage with Mike Flannigan, a Canadian Mountie, and their vivid, sometimes heartbreaking life at his remote northern outposts is absolutely gripping. While Mike and I were dating, the idea of perhaps someday being his Mrs. Mike made my heart flutter...and when I was thinking of a name for my blog, Mrs. Mike was the obvious choice. I've wanted to read it aloud with Mike for such a long time...and now I can!

Thank you, Courtney! You were right: it's perfect.

{ Girly Trip! }

A few weeks ago I trekked across the state for a long weekend with two of the dearest girls, Chelle and Anna. {Please excuse a small happy dance: Anna started a blog last week! For joy!!} The official excuse: Anna's baby shower. The unofficial excuse: We three, who have known each other since we were wee, are scattered across the entire breadth of Washington, and the fact that the second of us three is about to become a mommy made us all somewhat crazy to spend some time together before this Major Life Change. Please ignore the fact that we've been scattered across the entire breadth of Washington for nine years--I was a teenager the last time the three of us lived near each other. And though it was five years ago that Chelle told us she was pregnant with Annabelle, there's something unexpectedly more immediate about Anna having a baby. Perhaps it's that Chelle is a little older than Anna and I. She married first; of course she'd have babies first. Anna and I have unintentionally crossed a lot of major milestones at nearly the same time. She was born two months before me; our moms were pregnant together and we've literally known each other all our lives. Last year, Tim and Anna got engaged three weeks to the day after Mike asked me to marry him. Their wedding was two months after ours. And now, Anna is crossing the threshold into vastly new, uncharted territory without me waving my arms semi-hysterically either shortly before or shortly after her. It's kind of an odd feeling. I've realized that I had a vague idea in my head that we {meaning Chelle, Anna and I} would all have our families at roughly the same time, and we'd all live in the same area. I don't really think about how far apart we live because it makes me too sad. But this whole baby thing? It's hard to ignore when Anna {whom I have not seen since April, when babycakes was completely unnoticeable from the outside} greeted me at Chelle's house looking like this:

We all spent the first night at Chelle and David's home. There was uncontrollable laughter. Late-night conversations. Early-morning conversations. And oh, the things I learned about pregnancy and sleep and sharing a bed with a pregnant woman! It's really quite funny: Several years ago, when I was in ultrasound school, Anna and I were spending the night at Chelle's house, sharing a bed as we always seem to do. Apparently, in the middle of the night I sat bolt upright and began talking about "the baby" and waving my hands over Anna's stomach. Apparently I was taking my OB/GYN courses a little too seriously.

I've also realized that in all the talking, visiting, catching up, chatting, entertaining little people, eating, giggling, and et cetera, I took miserably few photographs. This makes me really sad! It was such a fun trip, a gift straight from God's hand, and I came away with very little pictorial evidence of it. Here's what I do have:

Isn't Jack-Jack mischief personified?! I love his wispy little mohawk...his flannel-plaid-lined overalls...his spunk...the way he yells at the top of his lungs as he runs around the house...his sweet, sing-song talking when he wakes up in the morning...just everything. Jacky-boy, I love you!

This is one of my favorite photos from the long weekend. Anna is the most gorgeous pregnant woman. Seriously stunning. And Jack crawling around on the table, pleased as punch, grinning for the sheer joy of living.

Our basil breakfast strata (recipe here). Soooooo tastylicious!

I spent the last two nights of my trip at Anna's house, about two hours from where Chelle's family lives. It was really special and I will always treasure that time! It was my first time staying at Anna's since she and Tim got married last fall. Needless to say, a whirlwind tour of their home the day before their wedding is very different from spending two days there! I hadn't spent any time in their town, either, so it was great to do a little sightseeing and get to know Anna's new hometown. It makes talking to her so much more real: I can picture where she is, where she's going, what her surroundings are like. I'm also really grateful to get to know Tim better. Previously, the only times he and I had met were (a) at my wedding, and (b) at their wedding. This weekend was much more "normal" than our previous encounters! Tim and Anna are so cute together: From Tim's passionate football-watching to Anna's evening snacks to their pet names....just so perfect. *sigh*

Don't you love this sign, outside the church where Anna's shower was held? And don't you agree: Stunning pregnant lady???

I'm so sad this is the only decent picture of Michelle from the whole trip! Maybe the fact that I forgot to take photos is a sign of impending old age?