Beautiful Song

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what’s on our table

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Art comes in many different forms. For me, making a pretty plate with local food is one of the ways I unwind. When I try something new, and it looks appetizing on the plate, it makes something in my heart feel alive. Here’s what’s been on the table at the Brankshire home this summer. Best part? Most of the vegetables came from a tiny little patch right outside of my door. Can’t beat the flavor of food that was picked 10 seconds before it hit your table.

What’s been cooking for you guys this summer?

Bedtime Stories and Prayers

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It was winter when Scott and I found out that our family was going to grow by two little feet. We were thrilled.  He hoped she’d have blue eyes. I hoped she’d love books. When late summer rolled around, and we finally got to meet our little munchkin, it turns out we both got everything we wished for and so much more than we could have hoped for. She has beautiful blue eyes, and she is every bit as much of a book worm as her mama.

Yes, Charlotte really loves her books.  Sometimes the love is greater than the book is able to handle, but we’re working on that.

Last week, I pulled out Bedtime Stories and Prayers to read with her before a nap. She was so excited about the new book. It had big eyed puppies and kids, squeaky pages that looked delicious.  And stories! What was there not to love?

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I thought the book was adorable. It is filled with these sweet, gentle images of little ones and their pets.  I’ve always liked Dandi Dailey’s artwork for children, and so it was very easy for me to fall in love with the artwork in the pages of this book of night time prayers and poems.

I actually think I might have liked the pictures better than the actual words, though. The poems are cute, but the words feel a little forced in order to make the rhyme work.  The sentiments are sweet, but maybe it just wasn’t my favorite style of rhyme.

I do wish the pages would have been made out of something sturdier so little fingers could more easily turn them without the danger of them tearing, too.

That said, with a little creative license as I read it, I can see this book being a part of our library for a long time. I love the idea of prayers just before nap and the sweet pictures definitely make this one a keeper.

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions by Tyndale House Publishers*

The Beauty of Broken—a book review

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“There’s no such thing as a perfect family.” If I’m honest,  I don’t like that sentence even a tiny bit. If I’m still honest, I’ll admit that it is true.

We’re all a little broken. Either by our choices, by our parents’ or grandparents’ choices, or sometimes just because life is broken. It’s ugly. It’s messy.

It can be hard to lift up your face and look the world in the eye and admit that you don’t have it all together. It is for me. 

But, the good thing about being broken? It is the perfect thing for finding The Source of inner strength. It’s the perfect thing for finding what true beauty really is—something that shines out in spite of the less-than-perfect way our live story often goes.

In Beauty of Broken, Elisa Morgan shares her story. And how brokenness shaped her story—and ultimately, how God used it to create a kind of beauty in her life.

I appreciated Elisa’s honesty, and the encouragement she gave to not be ashamed of our stories, even if they are broken. It could be that the brokenness that Satan meant to destroy us is the very thing that God will override and use to be one of our greatest blessings.  And that, I think, is really beautiful.

*I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Book Sneeze. The opinions are mine entirely.*

a tradition is born

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It’s been a while since it’s looked like Christmas here.

Last year we were in California. I had only just dragged in the Christmas Boxes when we got our tickets and I had to drag them back out to the shed again. The year before that I had worked a super stressful job and was too exhausted to feel much Christmas energy.

But this year…this year was different. It’s Charlotte’s first Christmas. We don’t celebrate in all the same ways that a lot of people do. But there’s something about lights and sparkling things that make winter much less dreary.  Scott loves Christmastime.  I love creating memories and looking forward to our little traditions. That’s what makes it so special.

We hauled in the Christmas boxes last Sunday and decked our little halls with lights and christmas cheer. It takes a long time to unwind the lights and hang the sparkles on the tree, even if it is small.

When the l ast the last candy cane is hung, and the last bit of garland is wrapped around the tree, THE moment of the evening arrives: we light the tree for the first time and put the gold star at the top to remind us of the Angels who sang at Jesus’ birth.

Charlotte gets to do the topper, Scott says. He took her in his arms and helped her tiny (grabby) fingers hold the gold star for a minute and then they put it on the highest little twig right at the top. She likes the sparkle and babbles in approval.

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Our tree is done. It’s beautiful. And just like that, a tradition is born.

what I love about autumn

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For most of my life, I didn’t like autumn.

I didn’t like anything about it–not the cooler nights, or the frosty mornings, or the single day in which most of the leaves fell. It was depressing. The abbreviated intro into yet another long, dark, cold Alaskan winter. It felt like I was watching Summer’s dying breath and it always made me sad. Snow quickly followed, and Alaskan winters aren’t always really that much fun.

Well, four years ago, I moved just about as far away from Alaska as I can get and still have autumn. For the first time in my life, I think I’m starting to learn to love it. Here’s a few of the reasons why.

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  • The air gets this delicious autumn scent and feel to it. Not too cold, but just cool enough for you to know that it’s not summer anymore.
  • The sky is so blue. I don’t know if it is scientific or just my imagination, but it feels more vividly blue in the autumn. Pair that with a few puffs of white clouds and the hills on fire with color below and you have something so breathtaking it is impossible to capture on camera.
  • The hills are alive…with color. The leaves turn gold. And red. And orange. And yellow. All at once. I sometimes can hardly bear to drive because I just want to look at the hills and try to soak in the beauty of the autumn moment. If you haven’t seen the Appalachians in the Autumn, you need to put it on your bucket list.
  • Apples and pumpkins. Well, mostly the apples. But pumpkins are everywhere this time of year and it really seems to add just the right touch of autumn to the landscape.
  • Thanksgiving is coming! I feel like everything about autumn here makes you feel festive. It’s like it is gearing you up to celebrate the goodness and beauty of the entire year up to that point, and making you feel more aware of how much you have to be grateful for.

What’s your favorite thing about Autumn?

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