some of my favorite February things

• I let Liam wear his bee costume to Target. We found Valentines candy on clearance that day.
• Watching the grown man at the gas pump next to us... he had a head full of unruly curls and wore a grey peacoat... and was practicing his ninja moves. He was crouching and squatting with his arms waving around his head and chest. This was for God and everyone to see and he did his routine with no sign of inhibition. I felt like I had found a kindred spirit, only I didn't even roll my window down to tell him that he had moved my soul. What would come out of you if you weren't working so hard to keep your alter ego under wraps? Ash said he'd try some pop & lock. I could be a ballerina. That ninja who drove away in a baby blue ford taurus from the 90s nearly unleashed something in me...

• My friend carried all her supplies for our MOPS steering meeting in a bag with great big green letters that read, "DON'T PANIC. I'M ORGANIC."

• Ash and I went on our first date in FOREVER last week. We hired a babysitter and went to a favorite pre-kiddos restaurant for dinner. We had tickets to watch a dance company at the Performing Arts Center. This particular dance co. had been a compromise for me and Ash. I had wanted ballet, but easily let Ash choose Soul Street Dance Co. because I'd still get to be in the PAC. So we bought some really great seats super close to the stage. And I really did enjoy all the break-dancing and pop & lock. I was truly impressed. Only, Soul Street was brought up by The Alaska Junior Theater, so we were surrounded by children burping, picking their noses, dancing in the aisles, and making Scooby Doo noises. Charlotte and Liam would have loved that place that night... there I sat, on my first date in forever, wishing we'd brought our kiddos.

• I read 104 of Emily Dickinson's poems and didn't understand even one. What is that woman trying to tell me?

• We're reading Little House on the Prairie these days.

• A friend/mentor sat on my couch this week and reminded me of what it means to hope for reconciliation. There's a friend I've been missing for awhile now and sometimes it's tempting to think, "This still hurts and I'm done letting it hurt. I'm done hoping." But that's not being faithful. A friend loves at all times. I needed to be peirced with the truth that God brings restoration. I want to always expect that and be ready for it.

• I was fitted for a bridesmaid dress (that I will wear when I am seven months pregnant). Anita is getting married!

• Beautiful, deep red strawberries have found their way to our local grocery store. I think I have Mexico to thank for this delicious Valentines and Safeway to thank for so thoughtfully placing the dipping chocolate right next to their sweet produce. Chocolate covered strawberries have always wooed me.

• My baby will let me have an americano again. January was a sad month when the thought of coffee made my stomach feel squeezed. Long Live February!... and yet... here's to March!

"A still- Volcano- Life-

That flickered in the night-

When it was dark enough to do

Without erasing sight-

A quiet- Earthquake Style-

Too subtle to suspect

By Natures this side Naples-

The North cannot detect

The Solemn- Torrid- Symbol-

The lips that never lie-

Whose hissing Corals part- and shut

And Cities- ooze away-"

Emily Dickinson