Gem-tastic

I'm a girl. I like sparkly things. Lucky for me, my oldest loves crystals. He collects any quartz he happens to stumble upon while playing outside. This made gem mining, while in Boone, North Carolina a no brainer. I didn't hold high hopes. I mean, you pay this store $10 for a small bucket of dirt or $20 for a large and then you belly up to a mote like trough of water and sift through scoops of dirt. I was quite sure that I was paying $10 per child for the experience. But lo and behold, my oldest uncovered 2 rubies (1.5 to 3 carats) that mind you, look like ugly dirty rocks until cut and polished, a few fools gold pieces and some other beauties. My youngest scored beautiful amethyst, smokey quartz, topaz and more.  Even better than their treasures... they had so much fun and now I get to see the sunlight stream through the sparkly gems every time I do dishes (I moved them to the kitchen window after taking these pics). And I am reminded - beauty from ashes. 

Reminding myself of that truth found in Isaiah is worth more than all the rubies in the world. xo

gem illustration above via tumblr

TGIF Cougars

"Warning: Do Not Feed or Tease the cougars." ha ha ha ha. Clearly cougars don't like being teased.

Happy Friday homies. I have never been so happy to see the weekend. zzzzzzz

image by the talented Fish Fotography

Reading is Fun

It's gotta be one of summer's best kept secrets... the library. It's free. It's got rockin' A/C. It's got puzzles and movies. And, it's got stories out the yang that let the imagination soar. I love it.

When is the last time you visited your city's best kept secret? xo

Summer Exploration

School was out Friday and Monday. We did a little park exploration after donuts. Is there any other way to start the summer? New parks. Bare feet. Climbing trees (and poles). Races down empty creeks. Yup, that's a pretty good start.

After spending a lot of time in the hospital with my Mom and Dad, it was good to get out and smell the fresh air and laugh with my boys. I will try to imbibe every drop of life this Summer, taking nothing for granted. How did you kick off Summer? xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Poverty in Sudan

Last weekend the family and I participated in the 2nd annual Goat Run; a Seed Effect and Empower Sudan fundraiser benefitting Sudan. I absolutely love Seed Effect and the work they are doing; so it was kind of a no brainer to attend. And who the heck doesn't want to see some crazy grown-ups racing with goats? I mean...

As if the goats weren't enough, there were food trucks, bounce houses, face painting, temporary goat tattoos and medals! (The hubs took home one of those bronze beauties.) Thank you Seed Effect for an amazing start to our weekend and for helping families in Sudan get a fresh start. Y'all are the baaa-st (best). xo

all photos by the talented Andrew Slaton

Burundi, Africa

I know nothing should surprise me anymore. But it does. The hubs was in Africa last month, teaching on conflict resolution and leadership. While he was there he snapped a few pics. I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

Not only is Burundi lush and green, but it's people have so little and yet are so full of joy. Amazing. I have so much and still struggle with contentment. 

What surprises you these days? xo

Farm Livin'

 ...is the life for me? I tend to romanticize things. Some call it day-dreaming. Some just call it crazy. I call it surviving 12 hour one-way road trips while on snack, movie and entertainment duty. I can't help it. I stare out the window mile after mile counting cows and imagining what life would be like on a farm. How simple. How beautiful. How intimate. And I'm quite sure, the farms that my imagination conjures up are also miles away from reality. But, a girl can dream...

Oh, and just in case you're wondering... I'd don frocks like this...

images: floral, southwest, wellies

See? More fairytale than real life. Oh well, it passes the time on the long open road. 

Do you have an imaginary dream life? xo

Cross Country Skiing

We came. We saw. We fell a lot. But it was SOOOO much fun. My SIL (cutie on the left) took these photos with her iphone while we were getting a cross country lesson from my FIL. We did the 5 mile loop - woot! And then the SIL and I got her car stuck in a snow drift that came up to my knees. It was an awesomely fun day - stuck and all.

 Seriously? Does he even look happy? We made him do a retake...

Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Have you ever gone cross country skiing? Pizza or French Fries down the little hills? xo

2013

I'm finding it a bit difficult to look back at 2012 with jubilation. It was a hard year...

my dad was diagnosed with leukemia

we sold our first house (that held lots of memories and a kickin' garden)

we stayed in 7 different homes over 2.5 months while renovating our new home and being jerked around by the city

the hubs and i felt extremely distant from each other for a season

and i turned 40

And those are just the "highlights." I wish I could look back and say it was a great year, but it wasn't. It was hard - really hard. Yes, some amazing things came out of those trials; but I'm ready for the storms to pass and my rainbow to appear. Yesterday I got word from my Mom that my Dad's leukemia has returned. 2013 is not off to a good start. I need rainbows and adventure - no more whammies. 

Sorry for being a Debbie-downer today. Just thought I'd share my heart in case any of you are having a tough time choking down everyone's happy go lucky year end reviews. You are not alone friends. Life is hard, but God delivers rainbows for all that are willing to hold on and seek Him. Hold on tight and let's do this! xo

*2012 image - source unknown

*2013 - mountains, rainbow, sleepingbags

Goodbye 2012

Wow. As I type this I can't believe another year has come and gone. My babies are getting bigger by the minute and as much as I would like to stop time, I know that their growing up is inevitable. For now, the only thing freezing is my hiney! It is cold up in the mid-west. It has snow all day today and I am loving it. 

I'll be back New Year's Day with a look ahead at 2013. I can not thank you all enough for supporting Pure and Noble and reading this little blog of mine. You guys are seriously the best. Big mooey mackers (movie style kisses) to all! xoxo