Honeysuckle Hill

Allen and I rarely venture beyond the city and suburbs into rural territory, but recently the beauty of fall has beckoned me into wide open spaces. I’ve longed to escape the city lights and get lost in the hills of Tennessee under a blanket of stars. . . Tonight my longing was fulfilled. We ventured to Honeysuckle Hill, a farm about forty-five minutes west of our home. The cool, crisp night air was refreshing. We lassoed fake bull heads, swung on saddle swings, drank hot chocolate and apple cider, rode on a huge trailer behind a tractor with our feet propped on bales of hay, saw three shooting stars, and experienced our first corn maze. We were more interested in searching for private corners of the labyrinth, than finding our way out. I didn’t know kissing behind cornstalks could be so magical. :) It was quite a romantic adventure. The simplicity and organic nature of the country soothed our souls. . . Cheers to love and a much needed escape from the ordinary!

Looks like we captured a ghost in the cornstalks, but it's actually steam from Allen's hot chocolate. . . pretty neat, eh?

Jonah's First Halloween. . . :)

feeble and breathless. . .

I am conflicted, plagued by an inner war of possibility and ambivalence. I struggle frantically beneath the weight of lies and apathy; they sit heavy on my shoulders, grounding the cause that silently cries out from the core of my personhood. I burn. I plan. I toil. I waste away, fear-bound and distracted. I ache to experience solidity of focus and determination, yet I’m prone to wander toward the enticement of pleasure, turning my gaze from the road of struggle which leads to the fulfillment of the passions that grip me. Stagnant, motionless waters of potential pool within as minutes, hours, days . . . months and years pass me by. When will I break free of all that binds and stifles the essence of my call? When will I fiercely arise in fortitude of purpose, fix my gaze and relentlessly pursue all that is required?

pirate ship pumpkin :)

We’ve had such a relaxing, magical day. . . After church we played Frisbee by the lake, skipped stones on the water, cuddled and chatted under a weeping willow tree. The cool, crisp air revived our senses. On the way home, we picked up a pumpkin to carve for Jonah. Allen's family never participated in traditional Halloween festivities, so it was his first experience with pumpkin carving. It brought back a flood of childhood memories for me and observing the novelty of it for him was so much fun! Cheers to love, family and Fall. . . a season that mystically invites us to revel in the wonders of creation and unleashes a flood of childlike bliss in the human soul!





Allen's scary pirate face. . . arrgh! :)

Jonah belly. . . 20 weeks

shades of hope. . .

The baby boy growing in my belly is changing me more rapidly than I ever expected. My waistline is steadily expanding, and my ever-evolving shape is coupled with an intense sensitivity that I cannot describe. Those who know me well are acquainted with the tenderness of my soul. I am easily moved. . . all things are sacred, but in recent days I’ve sensed that my heart is peaked to absorb the divine in all that is typical, mundane and ordinary. The tiniest things trigger tears, not often the sorrowful kind, but tears of joy and expectancy. . . Articulating what I’ve been experiencing is a bit frustrating as I feel my vocabulary is too limited to adequately deliver the stirring within. It’s as if all things are technicolor, riddled with vibrancy. . . shades of hope. . . The atmosphere seems light and playful, full of sparkle and bloom. . . Perhaps, the child stifled in my soul by years of adult masquerade is finding liberation in this preparatory phase of parenthood. Could it be that Jonah will usher me into realms of childlikeness I abandoned long ago and remind me of the wonder and marvel of our existence? Could it be that his sheer presence, even now (though veiled within me), holds revelatory power. . . power to increase my receptivity to the whisper of the divine in every moment? Fascination fills me. I expected to be revolutionized by motherhood, but I did not anticipate this. . . this stirring. . . this profound evolution of heart and soul. . .

It's a BoY!!! :)

Jonah Elliot, our BeAuTiFuL BABY BoY! :)



The cutest bottom in the world. . . :)


Jonah sucking his thumb. . . :)


Jonah worshiping. . . I love that little hand! :)


Jonah's ear. . . :)


Jonah's fingers. . . :)


Jonah's fist. . . :)



Jonah's feet. . . :)