pop-up ice cream...

Staying home isn't a hard task, but missing your people is a different story, and we knew that by May, some people were missing all people. And so... when Eric came to me with one of his What if we... ideas, we figured out a way to make it work. He is, forever, the idea man, and I suppose one secret to our marriage is that if he dreams it up, I try to figure out how to make it happen.  

We named our "shop" Wilbur's South, in honor of our family run Massachusetts ice cream shop Wilbur's North. I even made t-shirts, because I had plenty of time. We decided on a simple menu, with just a few flavors, added some balloons, just for fun, and mapped out our route. 

We were on a mission, to spread a little joy to some of our favorite people... and it was more than we could have imagined. Everyone was assigned a job, and as our family/friends came out to the driveway, Cam unfolded the table and menu board, I strung up and set out the decorations, and Eric organized his serving area in the trunk. There was wonder, laughter, and many, many smiling faces. 

Our first stop broke all the rules. Sweet MK was too excited, and there was no way she was keeping her distance! She want to help, and she wanted a hug. Her Mom said you are the first real people we've seen! Eric scooped while MK looked on, and then we chatted and laughed together before packing up and making our way to the next driveway. 

In two weekends, we brought our little ice cream shop to over a dozen driveways, and would have done more, but the timing just didn't always work out. We forgot to take pictures at every stop, but there were smiles everywhere {well, almost everywhere... there was one little that wasn't sure about it!}. It was exhausting, but we loved it! 

We have always known that ice cream=happiness, but these driveway visits were more than we even dreamed they could be. In the days after our adventures, we learned that the gift we had given, in doldrums of quarantine, was much more than a sweet treat... it was a connection, it was Light, it was love.

some weekend smiles...

Our weekend weather was beyond gorgeous.
Blue skies... really crisp air. My favorite.

I was happy for us, but couldn't help cringing over the weather up north.  My friends are over the snow, and I giggled at one of the titles of the albums posted on Facebook: Pictures that anyone not living here might enjoy.  She typed it in ALL CAPS, and I could hear her frustration across the miles. Yes, I think they have had enough.

kim, i hope you don't mind that i borrowed this!!

While my up north friends were busy being snowed in, some of my local friends were being crazy-brave and rappelling down an 18 story hotel for a fundraiser.  Really.  I was standing there at the bottom, to take pictures, to catch her if she fell!  {I had already volunteered to be on call at 5am if she needed a get-away car!}  And when she arrived at the base, she was smiling and said I want to go again! Sometimes {most times?} stepping out of our comfort zone is the right thing to do.  I was so proud of her, and her husband was beaming.  I love when you can see true love!

look, macie kate! gramma lolly & grampa wally are just fine!

I could not stay in on such a beautiful day, so I called my Mom and we went for a walk.  I took my sweatshirt off, and put it back on. Just when I would decide I was too warm, along came a cool breeze that had me zipping up again. We walked the path, and along the water.  With the beautiful weather we were surprised not to see any wildlife... just some evidence!

And then, yesterday, I finally got my hands on my photos from last weekend!  I am so thankful I thought to hire a high school student to snap some shots. I would never have captured every moment! I'll share the whole day soon, but for now, here is a preview of the JOY!

I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love and adventure... and maybe chocolate!
This year Eric gave me an orange... and I love it so much, not just for what it is, but the thought behind it!

meeting macie kate...

I had a surprise visitor at work the other day...

She is seven months old, happy, beautiful, and she has been officially theirs since just before Valentine's Day. And to hold her in my arms, bounce her on my lap and watch her legs wiggle and hear her sweet giggle is pure joy.  It makes me remember the days when my kiddos were that small, and the way you cannot suppress a smile or an out-and-out gale of laughter at their reactions to the world.

But this was not our first meeting... last fall, when I was {thankfully} on an upswing of health, and she was just six weeks old, I got to see this tiny miracle face to face, heart to heart.  Her Mama placed her in my arms and quietly said You prayed her here... and as I was humbly brushing off the statement, I fell more in love holding sweet Macie Kate in my arms.  Who could not?

I was certainly one of many who prayed this little miracle into our lives, into her full-of-faith family.  Together our prayers roared through the heavens, heard.  And I can only imagine that the YES! God had planned was given with a smile and a chorus of angels singing all around Him.  This story, Macie Kate's story, authored by the One who made heaven and earth, is one of the most beautiful love stories I have even been witness to... and it goes on.  It goes on as she grows, as her family grows, as her brave Mommy & Daddy navigate the newness of each and every day.  I am truly amazed by these two... their faith, and their willingness to step out and bare their hearts to this tough world.  But most of all, I am thankful... for the blessing this sweet bundle of joy is to her Mommy & Daddy, her family, and the rest of us who have fallen in love along the way...

i love you, macie kate!!!

tears for two...

Some days they can collide.  Sorrow and joy. 
I was thankful I had tucked this into my pocket... because my heart was churning and I could feel the tears coming...

Those tears of sorrow caught me during church, where I am stripped raw of me and all that remains is the thinnest skin... so open to God and what He has to teach.  Cam leaned over and smiled about one of his favorite songs... Shine, Jesus Shine.  And that was what did me in.  One year away from this earth, and I am so missing her.  I see her face in photos and smile, and oh I know she is home... but some days I wish for her perspective and grace and light... and the way that she could shine Jesus into this messy life.  My voice was caught up in silent sobs, but I followed along, letting Jesus shine through my smile as I caught those tears in the hankie I carried then...

: :

With a flurry of planning and whispers of excitement, we caught her totally off guard.  Only home from her Macie Kate travels two days, we surprised her with a Grandma shower.  I don't even recall if we yelled surprise when she opened the door and her mouth fell into an "O."  I was so filled with joy at her arrival.  The tears slid down my face as she made her way around the room, hugging the women who had helped hold her up, prayed with her and for her... and for her family.  Oh there was joy in that room!  For hours we laughed and listened to stories... and enjoyed our grown-up tea party.  And later, when she called me to say thank you, a tear or two more slipped on by that embroidered hankie as we relived the day...

 His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

-Psalm 30:5

friday letters...the mcmiracle edition

Dear Friends,
Do you remember this story?  I promised you it would be worth being a part of... and as I prayed, from miles away, I saw God's goodness and grace unfold in one of the most beautiful love stories.  For any and all prayers you offered along side of me, thank you... from the bottom of my heart.

Father God,
Thank you for orchestrating such an amazing story for this family, and for blessing them with such a precious gift.  Along this journey's path, my faith stretched and grew, my soul ooohed and ahhhed, and again, I am totally in awe of you.

Dear "Kim"s Arizona Crew,"
What a community this was and continues to be!  I am so thankful for technology and the "groupme" app and the opportunity to ride along in Kim's pocket.  Your prayers for this family encouraged me along in my own, and as we waited together in the virtual waiting room, in prayer and on our knees,  we were second in line to watch this miracle (mcmiracle!) be celebrated.  It was an honor to be there with you, and I look forward to meeting more of you in real-life!

Dear KK & John,
I continue to be in awe of your faith and your courage.  From here it seemed you never wavered in that faith that this sweet baby girl would be yours... and I hoped it for you with every bit of my own heart.  I love the little pieces of this story that some might see as coincidences, but we saw as gifts and reassurances, God writing another chapter.  The respect and grace you showed to your birthmom and her daughter reflect your manta... to Love like Jesus. And I am so, so glad that this sweet girl is yours... forever.

And KK, this part is for you...
The time will come, when you are sitting with a group of women, and they will share their labor stories. Sweet friend, you have one, too.  It is as unique and beautiful as you are.  Your labor was of the heart... seventy-two hours of wrenching heart-labor, as you prayed, waited, hoped and wondered... will she be mine?  I hope you tell of the prayers coming from the waiting room, and the 35-plus women praying in your Mom's pocket.  I hope you tell of how love was instant, and the look on your husband's face when he first saw her.  I hope you share that first text She's here, she's perfect! , and that your whole world cheered with laughter and tears when the papers were finally signed and she was truly yours.

Dear Macie Kate,
Oh sweet, beautiful baby... you are so loved.  You are the gift we've been praying for all along.  And you were born into one of the best families on God's green earth.  Yes, it is the truth, and I am so thankful to know them.   I cannot wait to meet you!

And if you want to read Macie Kate's birth story, written by her Mommy {make sure you have tissues!} complete with pictures, click over to Inloveness Photography!

a {mc}miracle on the way...

I have this sweet couple,

their story & their journey wrapped up in my heart and prayers... 

Over the last months I have been amazed by how they are fully relying on God to be the author of their life, and just how God is writing the story of their family.  When each bit of news comes my way, it stops me in my tracks.  God is so big... so BIG!

John and Kristen have known from the beginning that they would grow their family through adoption. They have been open to many adoption paths, checked every box their hearts led them to, and have prayed like crazy, knowing that God would bring them their child, in His time.  And now... a baby girl is on the way.  He is piecing together the most beautiful story, one that leaves me breathless and filled with joy.  

It is no secret that adoption is expensive.  New jobs, extra jobs, thirty-one totes and their savings have brought them far.  But not quite far enough.  I know that God has even this in His control, so I share their story, and wonder if He has planned that you might be a part of it, too.

If you click through this link{ http://mcmiracleadoption.blogspot.com/p/family-profile.html }you will pour through the pages and photos that matched John & Kristen to their birth-mother.  It is a peek into their life, souls and prayers... and the future they are planning. You can follow their journey on facebook, or on their McMiracle Adoption Journey blog.  I promise you that this story is one worth being a part of.  Even if God has another plan.  Would you join with us in praying for this new little life?  for John & Kristen as they wait?  for their entire family and circle of friends as we wait with them? 

And if you feel moved to do more... there is a $5,000 matching challenge going on through the end of July.  Little by little they are about half-way there!  Click here to find out more!  **update: The $5,000 match has been met!!!!  But they are still about $6,000 away from their total goal!**