"Storm Warning"

Just had to share one of my new favorite songs. And the artist with the smooth vocals?

Just a baby!

http://youtu.be/m5MPxz-8e6A

Open Hands

My computer is currently not in working order so I am at the library checking up on my banking, email, and facebook--you know, all of the important things:) I came across this quote and just had to share. Hopefully I will be back with more photos and a better post soon. Enjoy.

“when a woman has a kingdom heart, she has an active understanding of what matters most to the heart of God. she lives in the balance of passion and contentment. she learns to love well, give without regard to self, and forgive without hesitation. the woman with a kingdom heart may have a duffel bag full of possessions or enough treasures to fill a mansion, but she has learned to hold them with an open hand. hold everything with open hands. i don’t think we are ever allowed to grab hold of anything or anyone as though they matter more than the kingdom of heaven. when you hold relationships with open hands, then people come in and out of your life as gifts of grace to be cherished and enjoyed, not objects to be owned and manipulated. and then when you hold your dreams with open hands, you get to watch God resurrect what seemed dead and multiply what seemed small.” -uknown



catching up



It has been a busy 5 weeks since returning from Haiti, and life has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. The husband's gone for a few days working out of town, so I had a few moments to catch up on the blog.

Jake took me golfing for the first time. I got to wear one of my new visors. I'm a decent putter. My swing needs some work. And we haven't gone since. Maybe this fall.

I am not a good eater in the summertime. My appetite is very small and random, so I have been eating a lot of salads and on nights when I don't have to worry about what someone else is eating, like tonight, I have cereal.

A couple of weeks ago I spent the weekend in Traverse City celebrating my friend, Shannon's 40th birthday. It was complete with giant wine glasses, dancing, and fake tattoos. Ya know, the usual 40 yr old stuff.

Last Thursday I headed to Nashville for my friend Tiana's wedding. I finally got to get to know her future husband and spend some quality time with her preparing for the big day.

She was a beautiful bride. Like, belonged-on-the-cover-of-vogue-beautiful.

And what does the bridesmaid with no date do? (J stayed home.) Why, take pictures of herself in the bathroom and send them to her husband of course.

Hope your summer's going well, friends:)

Not to be forgotten:

I've been home from Haiti for almost a month now. Before I returned I had a few fleeting thoughts:

'Don't forget what you've learned.'

'Don't revert back to old, selfish habits.'

'You have it made.'

Oh, how easy it is to forget. Out of sight, out of mind, right? I am determined to not let this happen to me. I see how easy it is to forget such valuable lessons taught to me by the Haitian people and become concerned with "first world" problems. Often times, our problems could be referred to simply as inconveniences. If you were born in America, you are already blessed.

I brought home a few small souveniers to spread about the house as constant reminders of my time spent in Haiti. I bunched them all together for a photo:

1. The handmade woven bracelets are a popular item there. I paid $2.00 for a little boy to make my navy and white "Karlee" bracelet.

2. My sweet new friend, Manes, gave me the black and orange Haiti bracelet. He also gave me one to give to Jake:)

3. The WWJD bracelet is a common bracelet in the U.S. but this one was given to me by one of my new young friends, so it's special.

4. I purchased the hematite cross necklace from a nice young man who makes and sells jewelry to fund his college education. He was a Mission of Hope high school graduate.

5. The wooden egg jar (I think that's what it is) was also gifted to me by Manes. It was given on our last night and I later found a sweet letter of encouragement and thanks inside.

6. The small canvas painting was another item I purchased. I loved the native women carrying essentials in baskets on their heads surrounded by the water and palm trees. I added it to my little gallery wall, next to other pieces of original artwork.

And that's it for my little treasures. Do you collect any specific souveniers when you travel? If so, what are they?

wet & wild



We have been having some summer fun over the past month. My parents recently bought a boat and they have really been enjoying it. Thank God for a hot summer. Above are some photos from the 4th of July and another hot, sunny day out on Higgins Lake.

new around here

A designer purse, except it's a fake. Would never fork over the money for the real thing. And it was a gift from Mom. Bonus.

The perfect summer pink Essie nailpolish. Mod Squad to be exact.

And Little Bee by Chris Cleave. A good, but hard read.

O's Guide to Life. Just for the pictures.



"My heart's so full I don't even need makeup."

One of the children at the orphanage stole my camera and snapped this.

"My heart's so full I don't even need makeup." Quote by me, mid-week in Haiti.

Let me just tell you what a humbling experience it is to go to a foreign country, without all the comforts of home, work in the crazy heat, and not spend any time in front of the mirror. Some women are just natural beauties. I am not one of them. I'm not saying that so everyone will politely disagree, I'm just being honest. There are a lot of people who can go about their daily lives makeup free. Not me. I have a ton of imperfections and choose to cover them up with makeup. But in Haiti? You don't wear makeup. You hardly brush your hair. At least I didn't. A couple of the girls on our trip only showered one time in a week. Now, I didn't take it that far. I showered daily, but I certainly was not concerned with the way I looked, nor did I care what anyone else thought. And to be honest, it was kind of freeing. So, let me encourage you to take a day, weekend, or even a week in a foreign country, to go au naturel. It feels good.