This past weekend was one for the books.
I smiled so much that my face hurt every night.
I was BEYOND blessed to spend Friday morning until Sunday afternoon
in the gorgeous Pismo Beach.
I drove up with two dear women,
both of whom are named Melanie.
{at the gum wall in SLO}
These girls bring me so much joy!
It was such an honor to be able to talk at them
and listen to them for hours and hours.
I love people.
I love their words so much, too.
Our weekend involved no rigid schedule or plan.
We quite literally meandered our way through the days.
We watched gorgeous sunsets.
The viewing of this one involved the consumption
of copious amounts of Gushers and Goldfish.
We really are kids at heart, err stomach.
There was a little airplane that accompanied the falling of the sun.
The pilot came closer and closer and even waved at us,
doing backflips and showing off.
But then this big ugly pelican monster decided to imitate the plane and fly straight at us.
{have I mentioned my fear of birds yet? yeah not so much a fan}
Lots of pretty awesome people watching
went down, as we were able to
walk everywhere in the small town.
On Saturday, we decided to explore San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.
We found a place where you can feed Seals.
{SAY WHAT?!!}
I got to throw ranky, stinky fish parts at this little guy.
{lookin' yummy eh?}
And he and his friends caught every single one.
They were born at Sea World, in captivity,
so they can't be set free in the wild.
They did all kinds of silly tricks.
Oh my goodness it was just so much fun!!
What a great experience!!
We watched some movies
(Titanic and Water For Elephants)
and talked
and laughed
and ate
(we cooked all of our meals together)
and snacked
and talked
and slept
and talked
and laughed.
A lot.
The timing of this weekend was a significant blessing to each of us.
How wonderful that our Lord knows our needs?!
His timing is so beautiful to me.
Experiencing incredible peace and a lack of stress
really reminded me of how important it is to
intentionally REST.
My mind and heart and body
often process life at a speed that is much faster
than necessary.
I am learning how to handle this phenomenon
as I experience greater levels of pressure
in school and life.
I'm still very much a youngster,
the canvas of my life is still very empty
of color and design,
as I am seeking to develop into the big girl I hope to be some day.
However, this last year has involved
extensive stretching
of my heart and mind.
I feel that I have grown ever so much.
This adult skin still doesn't fit very well.
But I'm getting there.
In many ways, this weekend
revealed to me how important it is to be
aware of this growth, and to celebrate it with people.
And God's glorious creation.
Oh I also learned two new things about myself this weekend:
1) I love beach towns.
2) I could quite literally stare at the waves crashing on the beach for hours.
(Looking back, I actually realize that I have down this
many many times throughout my life)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday evening, on the way home I stopped at a friend's home.
We adventured around town,
driving and exploring
and eating wonderful food,
while talking of God's presence in our lives.
We finished the evening enjoying
so much creative, beautiful music.
My little heart felt near overwhelmed
with the amazing gifts that God has given to others.
I am so thankful for friends who choose to receive and then give,
rather than hoarding their blessings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Monday holiday was spent
traipsing through Laguna Beach with my family.
Such a lovely place.
Such a lovely bunch of Rhodeses.
{relaxed and sigh-happy is this little Maddy}
