Some days, I want to give up on people altogether. You know those days – when it seems like every car cuts you off {or flips you off}, the guy with a cart-full jumps in the express line, the grocery cashier hates her job and tells you all about it – when all humanity is disgruntled and angry.
BUT, on days like today, I believe that there are folks out there who really love people, who care about strangers, and who are willing to help others in times of need.
It all unfolded at Super Target, standing in line at the end of a longer-than-it-should-have-been shopping trip. I unloaded everything onto the conveyer belt, and noticed the person who stepped in line behind me – a woman who had nearly collided with my cart only 10 minutes earlier in the cereal aisle when she wasn’t paying attention. I stepped forward to pay for my groceries, made small talk with the cashier, and then out of absolutely nowhere, Sam totally and entirely explodes. Now, he’s only 16 months old, so I’m not totally familiar with public toddler tantrum protocol. I immediately picked him up, feeling entirely embarrassed {my face was red as a tomato}, and quickly shoved the change into my purse to head out. As soon as I turned toward my cart, the woman who’d been behind me in line was now standing in front of my basket {how the heck did she get there?!?} and was loading the cart full of my stuff {not just groceries…you know how it is at Target}. I started thanking her profusely, and all she said was “We’ve all been there, honey.” She turned my basket toward the door, and walked back to take her place in line.
I know, to most people, loading someone’s groceries into their cart might seem like such a small, unimportant task. But to me, this stranger’s random act of kindness saved me from what might have become an emotional breakdown in the car. She gave me something I never would have asked for, but God provided as inwardly I was pleading for some grace in that moment. I’m overwhelmed with thankfulness, and reminded that the impact of a small gesture can be great, indeed.
Your patience is rewarded. Here revealed: Sam on a surfboard.
he dreams big
The past 5 weeks have been an absolute blur. It really does seem that just last week we introduced Sam to the beach, learned how much sand will fit in a diaper, and ate Maui Tacos for the first time. Can it really be time to say goodbye to dear old Maui? Onward and upward. What the heck does that mean?!? In order to memorialize our favorite experiences here, I’ll leave you with the top few:
- Kihei Caffe. No, I did not misspell “caffe”. Their french toast with coconut syrup is DIVINE.
- Hookipa Beach. Home to our most peaceful moments on Maui.
- Iao Valley. A photo can’t do it justice. 360 degrees of cool, lush, green, living beauty. And, a river runs through it.
While here, we have had the opportunity to see and do so much. I’d love to post pictures of every beautiful beach, rainforest, valley, and volcano that we’ve visited, but I’m still in Hawaii, and busy work will have to wait until we return to Dallas. Bob has updated his blog a few times with pictures of our trip, if you want to check it out.
Tomorrow, we fly to the “Garden Isle” of Kauai for our real vacation. No, the 5 weeks we’ve spent on Maui does NOT count as vacation. Argue all you want…it’s my blog, I win. So, Bob finally gets to take a week off work and play with me & Sam on the beach! Really, I’m excited for several reasons:
- The hotel has THREE pools and a waterslide. Am I feeling like a kid again? YESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!
- The hotel has a spa. Hawaiian massage, here I come!
- Kauai is home to Hanalei Bay, where they filmed the dock scenes for LOST. I’m sure Bob will go snorkeling for bits and pieces of the submarine that John Locke blew up.
I realize as I write the list that I could go on and on about my giddiness for this trip. Most of all, I look forward to some sweet bonding time with my guys.
We’re all desperate for rest, and for this steam engine to pull the brakes and stop for just a moment. So, when I sign off tonight, we’re both turning off our cell phones and the computer for the next week. Something about detaching from all our connectedness seems so freeing! We have conversations about tweets, what we read on facebook, this text message, that blog post. I’m hoping this disconnection will allow our brains to detox from all the clutter we absorb from the internet every day.
All you friends back in Texas, be ready to eat at Matt’s with me! I’ll have 1.5 months of Bob dip and crispy tacos to catch up on, and you KNOW I can’t do it alone. Can’t wait to be with y’all again!
See y’all on the other side!
Arriving February 2010.
I have to start this post with a heads-up: there are about 4 days worth of beach pictures not here, because we took them in a format not currently compatible with viewing on my computer. So, the only beach pics you’ll see today are from my iPhone. Not to worry, all your dreams of seeing pictures of Sam on a surfboard just might come true! Decent beach pics coming soon…
I won’t spend a lot of time talking about what we’re doing, since everyone’s told me they pretty much just want to see pictures. But for those of you who ARE interested in something other than seeing Sam in a swimsuit, here’s an idea of what we’ve been up to this past week.
We arrived last Saturday, and after a long day of traveling, finally settled in to our apartment in Kihei. It’s in a great location – right across the street from Safeway and Starbucks, where Bob works every day. Our back porch (or lanai, if you want to get all Hawaiian about it) looks out at the gas station, which I must say is one of the loveliest I’ve ever seen, with palm trees and flowers all around.
View from the Lanai
We took Sam to a beach right around the corner from our apartment, and his first experience in the water was just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. At first, he couldn’t take his eyes off the waves, pointing and smiling at them. Then, when we set him down in the sand, he dug his fingers in (just like he did with his birthday cake!) and started to get excited. The best moment was when we placed him at the edge of the water, and the wave washed all around him. I can’t even explain it, so here’s a picture that captures the emotion:
First Wave
Oh yeah…did I show you our sweet ride? It’s a ‘93 Nissan Sentra that has most definitely seen better days. When we put the pedal to the metal, we can get that baby to go 45 MPH!!! Let’s just say, the drive up Haleakala yesterday was a long and winding road. Here she is:
Our Maui Cruiser
And in the background, you can see our apartment…our window is right above the white van! Speaking of Haleakala, we chose to drive up the side of the volcano as our first weekend excursion. It took us about 2 hours, and Sam and I were not happy campers (poor Bob!). Both of us had a case of carsickness, which might have had something to do with the million switchbacks and hairpin turns it takes to get to the top! Of course, once we arrived, it was gorgeous. Seriously, the crater on top looked like we’d landed on the moon! Here are a few pictures of that journey:
Only halfway there...ugh!
Meditation at the Top
Mel & Sammy Magdalene
Other than that, Sam and I get to play a lot during the day while Bob works. As soon as he is done at 4pm, we head to the beach pretty much every day. So far, we’ve explored some of the southern Maui beaches, and we’re planning on heading up the coast and trying out all of them! I purchased a pass to the Maui Ocean Center (aquarium), which Sam loves! As with most aquariums, there is a giant glass tunnel where you are surrounded by sharks, sting rays, barracuda, and other huge fish. This is really his favorite. We zoom through the entire exhibit to get to the tunnel each time. Here’s a picture of him about to get gobbled by a shark:
Look out, Sam!
Well, we’re headed out to do a little snorkeling! Aloha, friends! More to come next week!
Things in the Sutton house have been exciting and chaotic since the end of May. At the end of May, we finally got out of our house that we’ve lived in for the past 2.5 years. There’s nothing like moving to make you realize how much stuff you accumulate over the years! Even having a yard sale to get rid of tons of junk, we still amazed at the items that we continue to carry with us from place to place. At the end, we lost the ability to determine if each item was “keep” or “toss”, so we put them all in a giant box and The Salvation Army came to pick them up off the front porch. It was so great…I really recommend it. Also, it feels really good to be bumming off of our families for a month or so. I could really get used to this free rent situation!
So, we moved everything in to storage, and are right now in Houston getting things ready for Bob’s gallery opening! Bob has been working overtime to finish editing all the images and getting them printed. When they were delivered, the reality of it all kicked in. I mean, these pictures are really huge! It was so cool to see, because for years we’ve been looking at the images on his computer screen, and something is just lost when they’re so tiny on. So, if you’re anywhere near the Houston area, we’d love to have you join us for the gallery reception on this Saturday, June 27 at Xnihilo Gallery.
When we get back to Dallas next week, we’ll be celebrating Sam’s FIRST birthday! Can you believe it?!? I seriously feel like it was just last month that I was blogging about his birth story. This year has really flown by, and we’ve loved {almost} every minute of it. There were so many days that I found myself questioning what the heck we were doing with a baby. There were days that I felt unfit, depressed, lonely, and overwhelmed. Thankfully, the bad days have been outnumbered by good ones filled with laughter, sweet moments, and big milestones. We are so excited to celebrate our precious {not-so-baby} boy! I’m hoping he’ll face plant in the cake.
And last {but certainly not least} we’re about 3 weeks from our Hawaii trip! We’ll be on Maui for 5 weeks, then we’ll spend a week on Kauai. I know, I know. It’s a little crazy. But since when have we be been a color-inside-the-lines family?!? Really, I think it’s a dream come true for Bob. He’ll be working his day job from 6am until 2, when we’ll jump in the car and go explore the island. What will Sam and I do all day? Great question. I have no clue. Any recommendations? {Aside from working on my tan} I’m thinking of finding a fun aquarium we can frequent. Having a 1 year old at the beach may prove to be quite the adventure. I’m picturing sand in every crack on his body. Have you seen him? He’s a chunk, like the Michelin tire man. I really cannot imagine a body with more hiding places for sand. Maybe I’ll just let it collect and wait to give him a bath until the last day.
Let the chaos continue!
Five years ago today, I woke up with more excitement, nerves, and anticipation than any other day before. I can still remember it so clearly. As a procrastinator, I had stayed up late making my bridesmaids’ necklaces, and was trying desperately to figure out what to pack for the honeymoon {apparently most women do this like, a week in advance}. My sweet friends came to my rescue, running last-minute errands for me and generally helping me pull my frazzled self together as 7 o’clock neared.
I remember wondering what Bob was up to. I got my hair done at a salon I’d never been to before, with no clue exactly what style I wanted. People darted in and out of the bride’s room as we put on our last coats of mascara and blotted our lipstick. One of our talented friends played piano in the lounge…I wasn’t allowed to go since Bob was there. The minutes passed, pictures were taken, it was time.
I waited with my dad at the back of the sanctuary behind stained glass doors. All I could think was “I’ve gone to church here my whole life and never knew this waiting room existed!”. The music played, and I could see through one of the clear glass panes as our family and friends walked to the stage. Silence. Cue the music. Wait for it…open the doors. Dad walked me down the long carpeted aisle to stand beside the man I loved.
Five years ago today, we made a vow. A commitment. A covenant before God to love each other no matter the circumstance. Five years has brought rich life experiences: we’ve lived in 4 cities; worked as ministers, interns, nannies, data producers, and photographers; we’ve gone on countless adventures, the most recent of which is parenting; we’ve had big fights, and worked for resolution; we’ve mourned losses, we’ve celebrated victories. Better or worse. Richer or poorer. Sickness and health.
Today, we raise our glasses to celebrate five beautiful years, and to the years still to come. Bob, I can’t imagine a better person to walk through this life with, hand in hand.
To you, Moosh. Cheers.
Last night at small group, I mentioned that Bob is about to leave town for a week, and that I typically have trouble sleeping when he’s gone. I have a wild imagination, and picture bad guys lurking outside my house, just waiting for me to turn out all the lights {which might not be so strange in our neighborhood – we know of 3 shootings in the past 2 years}. So, I leave all the lights & the TV on, and take my computer, car keys, cell phone, and some type of weapon into the bedroom with me. I finally fall asleep around 3am once I’ve planned 2 or 3 escape routes. Luckily, I’m not alone. It seemed like most of us get a little jumpy when our spouses leave town. It’s funny to me even as I type it, but that’s reality.
So back to last night. Around 2am, Sam started crying a little bit, which is typical between his sleep cycles. I laid in bed waiting for him to stop, and my mind drifted back to our small group conversation about bad guys in the night. All of a sudden, I heard this CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! of metal against concrete. Of course I freaked out, heart pounding, totally sure that some creep had dropped his crowbar on our back porch. I didn’t have the courage to go check it out, but I was for sure not going back to sleep {would YOU?!?}, so I went into the living room and found myself lost in blog-land.
I ended up at my friend Anne’s sister-in-law’s blog, where I became inspired to try something crazy {same crazy as groceries for $200/mo, or cloth diapering}. Susie has just started this routine getting ready where, instead of shampoo and conditioner, you use a baking soda/water mixture, then an apple cider vinegar/water rinse. And since 4am is prime time for making decisions {thinking cap on} I decided to go ahead and try it. I have a really sensitive scalp, and have had some allergic reactions to different hair products. I’ve tried certain natural/organic products that claim to help, but my scalp knows better.
The idea behind this is simple – stop putting chemicals in your hair, and the natural oils in your hair will eventually balance out. It’s like using chapstick…if you use it a ton and then quit, your lips get super dry, and you think you need more chapstick. But, if you stop using chapstick for a week or two, your lips will adjust and you won’t need it anymore. That’s the idea behind the hair thing.
The basic recipe is this:
Step 1: 1tbsp baking soda + 1 cup warm water. Mix, pour over wet hair, massage gently into scalp, rinse.
Step 2: 1tbsp apple cider vinegar + 1 cup warm water. Mix, pour over clean hair, rinse thoroughly.
I’ll say this: I was a little skeptical stepping in the shower with my two cups of homebrew, but it really did work. I expected tangly, greasy hair that would dry all funky and not style well. The vinegar rinse was really amazing at natually conditioning and removing tangles. I’m not kidding. When I got out of the shower, I thought my hair felt a little softer {possibly grease?} than usual. Once I dried it {didn’t use any products}, my hair was so soft and shiny! It’s a miracle. What’s even cooler is that once your hair gets used to it, you can wash your hair every 5 days or so. I’m only on day one, so we’ll see about that. I’m telling you, I had to try it for myself to believe it, but I’m sold!
Quick wrapup:
-Pros: cheap {pennies per wash}, eco-friendly {no chemicals down the drain, no wasted plastic packaging}, fast {takes about 10 seconds to pour the stuff & rinse it out}, good 1st day results
-Cons: more work {mixing your own before each shower}, lingering vinegar scent {lasted until hair was dry}
Oh yeah, and if you’re wondering what the metal clanking noise was at 2am, one of our tall metal outdoor candlesticks fell over in the wind. Mystery solved!
Earth & Sky Dip Bowl by papapots on etsy
It all started in 8th grade. I had signed up for all of my classes, and had room for a couple of electives. So of course, I chose choir {don’t judge…everybody did it} and ceramics. Now in my 8th grade mind, I was a little confused about ceramics, and thought that I had signed up for a pottery class. I walked in on the first day, totally expecting to sit in front of my very own spinning wheel and create the most beautiful, symmetrical vase you’ve ever seen. In actuality, I was handed a slab of clay and taught how to make a pinch pot. Remember those? My mom still uses the one I made for her rings. Anyway, it was a far cry from what I had envisioned, and thinking that pottery was simply out of my reach, my dreams of becoming a master potter were shattered {along with my dreams of becoming a zookeeper (2nd grade) and an astronaut (3rd-12th grade)}.
Fast forward to 2009. One day, Bob and I were discussing hobbies. I realized that although I have a lot of hobby potential {sewing, crochet, painting, running, biking…all buried in my hobby graveyard}, nothing currently excites me enough to spend free time on it. Nothing, except for POTTERY. So, in his thoughtfulness and general awesome-husbandness, Bob surprised me by enrolling me in a 6-week pottery class for my birthday. I am SO EXCITED! Starting May 9, I’m totally going to be a potter! My 8th grade self would be so proud of me! And, I promise to show you what I make. No pinch pots allowed!
Aren’t these house shoes adorable? They were on the front page of etsy today, and I can’t get over how cute and comfy they look. Plus, they come in several different styles & tons of fabrics & colors. They’re like the new, hip version of your mom’s Isotoner slippers. These would be great as bridesmaid gifts, or mother’s day presents (May 10…don’t forget!). If you’ve got a little time to kill (and who doesn’t on a slow Monday?!) head over to the elephant and chickpea etsy shop and stroll around.
