Fall Fun

Though not leaving for Kenya on our anticipated date of September 8 was disappointing, we have also been thankful for the extra time here before we leave.  God knew we needed the break in our crazy pace of life even if we didn't want to admit it.  This time has allowed us to slow down with our planning, prepare mentally and emotionally for the move we are about to make and spend sometime enjoying the gifts God gives us with the seasons. 

Here in the Midwest there is nothing quite like fall.  The vibrant colors of the leaves turning when the air turns cool and crisp is something that this California girl never gets tired of.  God is such an incredible artist, isn't he?  Each bright orange and yellow leaf is a wonderful painting He has created for none other than our pleasure.  Isn't it crazy how God likes all of the colors? Pinks and purples in the spring with the waking up of new flowers, greens in the summer and almost florescent yellows and oranges coupled with deep reds in the fall.  So breath taking.

Since we will be missing out on these colors for the next couple of years Dan and I have been out and about having fun taking pictures and creating memories.  We also have learned to explore the self timer function on our camera so that the two of us can be in pictures together.  This has been the source of much laughter and entertainment.  One of us figures out how to prop the camera up just right using sticks, scraps of paper or whatever we can find to get the picture framed the way we want with the other one standing in the distance.  Then the self timer button is pushed which inevitably leads to full-on sprints to get to the other person, turn around, try hard not to look breathless and windswept and place a smile on your face all before the 10 seconds is up and the photo is snapped.  Needless to say - this process has lead to some pretty interesting pictures along the way and we have created some good memories doing it. 

Can you tell which one was the runner?

 

Picture of the cutest man on earth!

Love the color in this one.

This last weekend we decided to go out and take some last final fall pictures before all the leaves are gone with the changing seasons.  I had thought about wearing tennis shoes given all of the running involved with this process....but vanity in me decided that black, healed boots went better with my outfit.  Running was a challenge, but I was getting better at mastering sprints in heals with each picture.  What a great work out! Well, that is until the camera caught this little mishap.



The look of pain. I had to blow this one up big so you could see my trying to smile and not cry face.

The swings picture was going to be so cute!  Then my left ankle decided not to make the turn in the woodchips as I sprinted over and tried to take a seat on the swings.  Rolled ankles are never fun. 




For those of you that know me from my lacrosse playing days know that I have a long history of a bad left ankle.  This scene is all too familiar.

 

 

Welp, that was the end of my sprints for the evening.  Thankfully only a minor sprain and I can still put some weight on it.  Going to have to scale back on the running for a while.  

Packing

Packing, cleaning out closets, selling furniture and getting rid of unnecessary items that have been stored for years, sorting through old paperwork and shredding bills from 2003....yep, this has been life for the last several weeks.  What do you do with that half burnt scented candle that you like? You can't move it with you half way across the world, you can't sell a half used candle, does anyone else want your half used junk? What about a bottle of old hairspray or a partially used bottle of lotion? What about all those CDs you collected in college that were so cool at the time, but haven't been listened to in years?  The list could go on and on.  If we were just moving states many of these things would move with us, but moving overseas makes you take a much harder look at all your "stuff" and really evaluate its worth.  It is sort of a long, slow, deep purging process. 

Packing

Just had to put in a plug for these. Discovered zip-lock vacuum seal bags. Totally crazy. This is our queen sized comforter and 4 decorative pillows. These little inventions definitely make packing much easier.

You know the many "cleansing" diets that are out there?  The ones which make people drink weird colored juices hoping that this will make their insides pretty again? Our packing process has nothing to do with juices, but it has everything to do with cleansing.  We are cleansing our outsides.  Getting rid of the junk. Ever so slowly we are seeing the results. Rooms are getting emptied, things are given away and a few precious items are being stored.  This outward cleansing process though, also seems to be giving me an inward makeover as well.  As I evaluate each item my grip on things begins to loosen.  Learning to let go has been hard and at times heart breaking, but also freeing.  The outside results are clear to anyone who walks into our home, but I think my heart, my insides are getting cleansed too.  Funny how that works.