sudden good-byes

Last week was hard. No two ways about it. Hard.

Tuesday evening, while eating dinner with Erik, I got a phone call. The worst kind. The kind announcing the sudden death of a friend. A good, loving, not-old-enough man.

He was 41, fit, and passionate. He was playing racket ball at the sports club {that's how fit he was}, and he suffered a massive heart attack. The attack stripped him from his sweet wife and his two teenage kids. Devastating.

We were honored to have served beside Scott Ondracek in the youth ministry at our church. We were blessed to have him film our wedding with his growing business, Crazy Pickle Productions {a videography company he started with his wife} ... for free. We were privileged to call him a friend.

He was a man involved in nearly every aspect of our church; while his ministry stretched far beyond the walls of the church.

I don't understand, and I must come to grips with the fact that I most likely never will. I must simply rest in the knowledge that the Lord called him home.

next to the oranges and the lettuce …

this one time, a photographer friend of ours wanted to take pictures of us in a grocery store.  so we said ok.  it was to add to his portfolio.  very glad we could help.

i mean, who doesn’t want cute, creative pictures taken of them? 

total. blast.

that man in the plaid down the produce aisle, what a catch!

eight–zero

introducing the newest member of the eighties club … my dear, sweet grandma!  she would seriously roll her eyes at me for making such a big deal about her 80-year-long accomplishment called life, but oh well.  affectionately referred to as “Omie” by her grandkids {it comes from the german word for g-ma – Oma! – yup, I’ve got a little deutsch in me}, she is one of the absolutely sweetest and most dear women in my life. 

thank the Lord for 80 beautiful years!  happy birthday barbara richardson!

one, two, three, 4!

this weekend marks the birthday of our country.  call me a patriotic nerd, but I love the fourth of july.  I’m not going to be sporting a flag pin or anything, but maybe a cute sundress that resembles the colors of the flag {sans the stripes and stars}.  not only am I grateful to all the men and women who died defending our freedoms {from the revolutionary war and on}, but I am also grateful for 3 day weekends, family, and BBQs {I know, that’s the totally selfish part of the why I appreciate the 4th}

don’t these treats make you love the colors that describe “American Patriotism”?

images via

yup.

they also make be think that God must love color … why else would he make such pretty & colorful foods to eat?  berries {both blue and red} have made their way onto my shopping list.

Happy Fourth of July!

aloha!

ever thought it would be nice to move to hawaii??  {I’ll just assume your answer is yes, whether you’ve been there or not}  well, guess who is moving to the tropical island of oahu.

nope.  wrong.  not me. 

next guess???  it’s my sister!  yay for her.  boo for us.  I already have to deal with a 7 hour drive between her current residence and my own.  now I have to account for a 5 hour flight {driving no longer optional} and a time change.  when she I’ll be waking up, she’ll still be sleeping.  see how this might cause some difficulty?  {forgive me for being selfish, but come on!}

all in all, I’m super excited for my big sisty.  in just 3 weeks, she will walk down one last isle {her first led to her high school diploma, the second led to her bachelors degree, the third led to her husband, the fourth led to her masters degree – how many isles can you walk down in a lifetime?  although, I think elizabeth taylor still has her beat}.  anyways, this one will lead her to her PhD.  her doctorate.  the little 5 foot 2 inches of knowledge has conquered the world of academia in the highest way possible.  such a brainiac.

and 3 days after she officially become Dr. Kristy Collins, she hops on a plane with her hubby, also known as Dr. Collins, to fly away to the land of sandy beaches, tropical fruits, and warm water.  I guess 28 years of schooling deserves the change in pace that hawaii will soon provide.

all that to say, this weekend she is coming to visit ME {the fact that the rest of the family will be seen on her trip up here does not take away from the fact that I am convinced she is coming to see me and me alone} just one more time before I watch her fly away. 

yes, we are both aware of the fact that we have abnormally large mouths.

and her “sister/maid of honor” pic is way better than the one my photographer got.  lame.    

betch ya didn't know ...

that we moved.  yup, it's true.  i know i've been a little absent from the world o' blogging, but i'm going to use the move as my primary excuse.  and maybe a lack of interesting things to say/write/update.

it all happened pretty fast and turned out to be a great thing.  one thursday morning, i received a phone call from our landlord {i.e. my grandfather}.  he hesitated as we stumbled through his request to ask us to move out of the place i have loved so dearly ...  my entire life.   well, it was time.

we had already made the decision that we needed to move ... blame the gas guzzlers for the decision.  it was far and a lot of work, but we loved the opportunity we had to live up there ... 10 acres, garden, orchards, and lots of memories.  but alas, my grandpa made the difficult decision {aside from our personal decision to move} to sell the beautiful homestead we call The Ranch.  being 83 and the primary caretaker of his dear wife, he just couldn't keep up two houses at a time.  it's not on the market yet, but within the month, strangers will have the opportunity to tour the home that encapsulates nearly every vivid childhood memory i have.  ahhhhh, i'm trying not to think about it.

moving on.  we found a townhome perfectly located near church, friends, and work.  with a yard.  fit for a dog.  wow.  and a garage.  fit for a contractor.  {ok, maybe it's a little small for a full blown contractor, but it's still near perfect for now}  the place is great and has everything we need.  it's close to everything, which means less driving.  less time sitting strapped to your vehicle.  more time sitting across from each other eating a relaxing homemade meal.  needless to say, we are in heaven.  we can actually take naps on sunday afternoons.  we can do laundry before small group.  we can play with the pup before dinner.  we are in heaven.  {i think i already said that}

we still get up at the same time in the morning, which means we have time to make breakfast together.  share what we are reading with each other.  we eat healthier too.  MUCH healthier.  i have been making smoothies every morning {full of the protein power Erik got out of the gym when he tried cancelling our membership - notice the work, "tried"}.  here is proof of our newfound love of the smoothie:

My new favorite thing ever.  greek yogurt.  honey flavored.  perfect smoothie filler.

i know, when i said i moved, the first thing you wanted to see pictures of was my blender and random contents from my refrigerator.  i totally read your mind. 

in much less exciting news, i'll try to post pics of the new digs soon.

hi, I’m julie and I live in sunny california

finally.

I may not live in sunny southern California, but I do live in California.  even if I do call the northern region my home {although it’s a long state and I’m not even that far north}, we are still accustomed to a significant amount of sun come june.  and I’m sorry that many of my posts seem to be occupied by the weather, be it an over-abundance of something we’re not used to – but think about it, what else have we got here if not our weather {and mountains and ocean within just a few short hours} – a bunch of crazies {mind you, that’s coming from my Christian-relatively-conservative perspective, if you haven’t noticed}. 

aaaannnddd, I digress.  today is day 2 of nice weather.  soon to be hot weather.  bring.it.on.  I haven’t heard so much whining from grown adults in a long time.  well, at least on a topic that doesn’t have to do with politics.  april showers brought may flowers … and then more rain.  too much in fact, that the flowers couldn’t even be appreciated.  it was really quite tragic, if you ask me.  

all that to say, I’m gonna enjoy me some sun.  not sure when, but eventually I will break away from the midst of the desk that establishes me as a “career woman”, in order to enjoy that huge light source we call the sun.

I promise, I won’t complain about the heat until at least September, when it shouldn’t be here anymore.