This November

"When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow." 

-Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

A few weeks ago, someone encouraged me to make note of all the things we do now in our day to day life because once kids come along, you forget what you did before the craziness. Since life itself is a constant adventure, here is a glimpse into our day to day life this month, when we are not traveling.

Finished: the book Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist and our church holiday craft boutique
Installed: a new furnace and air conditioner. well we didn't, but the company we hired did.
Marriage: the most joyous season yet as anniversary #5 approaches
Planning: a spring trip with my sister; her first time out of the country!
Painting: the guest room + someday nursery, Lord-willing
Resting: in Thanksgiving right now, with Advent soon to follow and the HOPE we have in Him
Giving Thanks: for the Gospel, new mercies every morning, the sweetness in marriage, and family and friends
Needing: more grace. grace upon grace. "Grace isn't about having a second chance; grace is having so many chances that you could use them through all eternity and never come up empty." -Shauna Niequist
Living: sorrowful, yet always rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10)
Watching: FRIENDS Thanksgiving episodes
Cheering: on our Green Bay Packers of course!
Working: a whole lot of work events coming up
Cooking: baked brie with balsamic, apricot preserves, pecans + rosemary and homemade soups
Eating: lately, comfort foods and Trader Joe's Pumpkin Ice Cream as a treat
Quoting: Shauna Niequist again and again. "Bittersweet is the idea that in all things there is both something broken and something beautiful, that there is a sliver of lightness on even the darkest of nights, a shadow of hope in every heartbreak, and that rejoicing is no less rich when it contains a splinter of sadness."
Procrastinating: cleaning the shower, doing laundry and painting trim
Gifting: Christmas funds to the nieces and nephews 529 plans
Loving: cold weather, snow and flannel
Listening: to Rend Collective's Campfire Christmas album on repeat
Excited: for getting + trimming the Christmas tree, Mrs. Meyer's Iowa Pine dish soap, Hotel Tonight's Black Friday $7 hotel rooms, and small business Saturday
Dreaming: of a white Christmas and flying Singapore Airlines Suites
Wishing: the water in the backyard would freeze for ice-skating and skiing
Looking: at record players to play vinyls
Intriguing: Camp in my Garden here
Preparing: to read Good News of Great Joy and The Dawning of Indestructible Joy this Advent
Eye On and Saving: for this tentsile and Amex points for the Singapore Airlines suite for two.

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours.

Austria // Hallstatt

Austria Posts

Adventure Awaits in Austria

What I Learned Traveling Solo

Overnight Layover in Chicago

Wien

Introduction to Hallstatt

Hallstatt

Mauthausen Memorial

Melk Abbey

"Oh, these vast calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever."

-John Muir

Hallstatt very well may be my favorite place in the world right now. From the cool, crisp air to the fall colors. The smell of wood-burning stoves. The sound of the constant trickle of water from the stream through town. Sipping cocoa at the cafes. Wandering and exploring aimlessly. Narrow cobblestone alleys. The hidden hiking trails and mountains. The peace and tranquility all around. It is hard to describe, but there is a sweet simplicity about this place that cannot and will not be forgotten. So with that, I am at a loss for words and will let the pictures tell the story and take us back to this fairytale village once again. I am a dreamer at heart after all...

so let hope rise. and darkness tremble in Your holy light.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off life autumn leaves."

-John Muir

"But if you can find it within yourself, in the wildest of seasons, just for a moment, to trust in the goodness of God, who made it all and holds it all together, you'll find yourself drawn along to a whole new place, and there's truly nothing sweeter." 

-Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

The blessings of those mountain days will be with me for a long, long time.