When You Find Yourself In The City...

Saturday was supposed to be spent in Chicago...the whole weekend actually...culminating in a U2 concert. Well...everything, and I mean EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong as I was actually planning the specifics of the trip.

I mean...as this is posting...Crystal and I should be listening to some live U2 at Soldier Field in Chi-town...but alas...I'm here in the valley ;)

Anyway...I thought I had covered myself quite well...done an amazing job for Crystal's birthday by planning this trip last spring, buying tickets, and alotting a budget so we could truly enjoy ourselves...despite the fact that school is in full swing.

So...with all my "eggs" in one basket...the basket was taken from me...thrown to the ground and spat upon...the "eggs" shattered along with it...we didn't go.

The weekend worked out though...quite well...which means we probably weren't meant to go since the weekend spent closer to home went very smooth...was fairly stress free.

• 12 West in Farm-town is an amazing place to eat...great atmosphere, great food, and fairly priced....
• Bauhaus Kaffee is fantastic for coffee, a great cookie, and live music on Friday nights
• St. Louis Art Festival in Clayton proved to be a blast...art + food + music = awesome

The only thing that may have been a little questionable was...this older gentleman I walked past while at the Festival.

Now...mind you...it was in the city...so......yes.

I was pushing Sarala in the stroller as we were walking around, persuing the various art booths and eatery options and I saw these legs + stiletto's heading my way.

Now, I'm normally not one to check out the chicks, considering I AM married...but I was trying to get Sarala's stroller over one of those things that covers a bunch of wires...and I notice these heels and legs in my line of sight.

As I look up to see who it is...so I don't run them over;)...out of curiosity...I find that it is an older, quite old gentleMAN who was wearing some very...short...shorts, a scarf, beret, but was rockin' a full Santa-esque beard and stiletto's.

I imagine he would get mistaken for Santa...if Santa wore heels and showed some leg ;)

Apparently he's about comfort...as I am not about passing judgement, but I was thrown for a little bit...the equilibrium rocked as this is something that one wouldn't normally see around AV and I wasn't quite prepared.

So...just remember that when you're in the city...that...you're IN THE CITY!

Happy Face Song...

Happiness. Joy. Contentment. Peace. These are all words that describe Sarala. This is a picture of a happy face that must be drawn every time we color. And...for some reason Jason Mraz's song "I'm Yours" is known to her as the "Happy Face Song" and she sings it out everytime it plays. I love it...every minute of it....

Tonight we had the chance to take her shopping with some of her birthday money. She ended up picking out some Play-Doh and a movie..."The Emperor's New Groove." The appreciation and happiness she displays whenever she gets something makes it incredibly tough for us not to want to give her everything.

Joy. Plain and simple joy. Hours spent at the kitchen table making various food items out of Play-Doh, serving them to mom, then making some more. The other night she had me make a mouse in the midst of our culinary creation...she then proceeded to "cook" it. Man...we had a laugh. She realized the ridiculousness of cooking mice and...we laughed until we cried.

Tears. Tears of joy. These are the moments of life that I cherish...around the kitchen table...cooking mice. Despite all the issues that seem so big at times...God has provided a sanctuary, place of rest and restoration. God has blessed us so much...beyond measure...through Sarala.

There has been a theme running through my summer blog posts. I've spent the last couple months trying to find peace...actively looking for it, not knowing or realizing that I had it right in front of me...in the form of a Play-Doh mouse grilled, complimented by Play-Doh fruit snacks. Sarala loves fruit snacks;) It has been amazing to lose myself in our nightly Play-Doh sessions and to remember what it's like to laugh, cry, imagine, and smile.

The journey has had twists and turns but I find myself having grown a little...matured maybe...not letting things bother me as much as they would've not too long ago. It's there...all around us...at work...home...school...wherever...amazing God-colors.

I leave myself with this:

I must choose joy, peace, contentment, happy along the journey.

How about you? Where is your peace...joy...happy?