Sunny December

This December has been overall very warm. I have spent many hours basking out in the sun. It rains a few times a week and gets sunny again. I like it that way: a good mixture of rain and sun. These pictures were taken on a Sunday noon when Lydia and I enjoyed that warm sun.

The sun was so bright.

We were enjoying one of Lydia's delicious smoothies. 

She was coaxing the cat.

Little Buttercup

Such a pretty little girl.

Miko was quite enjoying the sun as well. 

I was really happy to catch Miko's tongue out. 

Yes, very sunny. When I was looking at these later, I was amused that Buttercup was standing up back there. 

Lydia's blond hair shimmering in the sun. 

Most Leake girls go through that long leg stage. 

She was hiding something on her face. 😉

Lydia took this picture of me trying to get my Baxter back. Haha! 

I hope you're enjoying some December sun, too. 

The Little Bag

I've had a small laptop for over two years, but never had a case for it. If I was traveling, I would stow it in a laundry bag stuffed in my back pack. Well, I finally decided to make a little something for it.

In the process. 

Not exactly a bag, but I liked the green against the gray background. 

The finished product.

The pocket to put the extras. 

A zipper. 

The inside.

There it is. 

I Miss You

I miss you. 

A bunch. 

Sometimes I wonder what you be like now if you were still here. I wonder if you had gone to college, where it would be. I wonder if you would be married, have kids, lead worship somewhere. 

I miss you, Micah. I miss your laugh. I miss you playing the guitar and worshiping the Father. I miss your jokes. I miss so much about you. 

You were kind, compassionate, helpful, hardworking, handsome, beautiful. No, you weren't perfect, but you strived to honor your God. 

I want to be like you. 

I want to fight, never give up, love strong, love God, worship Him like you did. 

And, I want to keep smiling. 

The Butterfly.

                                           
                                                 See                                               there.
                                                     It                                             is
                                                      some                                thing
                                                          very                          small
                                                                  yet                  so
                                                                          beautiful.
                     They are multiple, colorful, full of blossoming life all around our gardens.
              We often call these little specimens butterflies, but I think they are like flying petals.
                  They fly and flutter all about in balmy weather, but I have seen them in the rain.
                            Yes, in not so lovely weather, you can still see them out and about.
                                      They come in all shapes and sizes, colors and shades.
                                              Some are bright yellow, others dull brown.
                                                 But they're so lovely in their own way.
                                                                And I love them all.
                                                                          Beauties.
                                        They each have their own special season to bloom.
                           Some come in spring, while others fly through the heat of summer.
                         Some are born at summer's end, and some come in the middle of fall.
                      Some are bigger than my hand, while others flutter about like house flies.
                         They love a variety of blossoms to feed on and different places to live.
                                   I wish to fly free like them, not caring what will come.
                                             I wish to rest in my Master's plan for me.
                                                       Some            day         I shall
                                                          fly               to            Him. 
                                                                       

The Glorious Scenes

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about how much I love seeing things. I guess I have grown an appreciation for things that are often overlooked and uncared for. During the first week or so after my surgery, I did a lot of laying around. I ended up staring at things a good deal. I began to realize how much I enjoy these little scenes. So little and unnoticed, yet often so glorious in some strange way. God created everything for His glory, and when humans create beautiful or even just useful things, they become wonderful. I love to see mankind doing what we're supposed to do. We are made in His image after all.

So, I hope you can see afresh these small, overlooked details of life with me.

A foot loose from a splint. 

This little lunch Mom prepared me.

Sitting outside in warm sun. 

White winter sun on white things. 

A weird, mottled cat licking herself. 

Orange, evening sun on girls. 

Wet--Washed--Hair! It's amazing. 

Sunlight through screens. 

Wearing pants as apposed to skirts. 

Winter sun on this messy desk. There's a lot to see here. Haha!

Oh, the coziness of Mom's little old lamp. 

This desk, again, at a different time of day. Do you see any other differences?

A messy bed with a little dog hanging out. 

A messy dresser with random artifacts of delight. 

OK, yes, this is the third picture of this desk, and we're not done. Lately, this desk has been especially getting my attention. I love all the art on it. There are so many little details here that I have been observing. 

Lamp light again because I really love it. 

A little boom box that is on and playing some good music and a little brown glass bottle. 

Crocheting

Stuffed animals. So cute. 

Creation Screams of Him

The turning of the leaves,

Evening skies lit up, 

And turning brighter and brighter;

Dainty blossoms,

Shining leaves,

Cats in trees,

Brilliantly lit clouds, 

Dancing colors,

Shimmering light through curtains, 

And on and on, creation screams of Him. 

How do we miss it over and over again?

Look up, look around, look away from yourself, and see.

See what He has done, what He has made, who He is. 

And give Him praise!

For He is good. 

"This Dreamer"

I've always been a dreamer.

Since I was a little girl, I have had dreams of doing things and going places. I have also loved night dreams. So, when I speak of dreams I mean both the day dreams that I imagine up in my head and the real dreams I dream while asleep on my old, bumpy pillow.

I have dreams of marriage and mommy-hood. I've had those the longest I think. I would so love to be married, raise a family, adventure together, teach little children about God, have fun with my own teenagers, and watch my own children become mothers and fathers.

I have dreams of moving to another country to live and serve and spread the Gospel. But, if not live, to at least visit places like Romania, Guyana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Holland, the Philippines, and so on. I want to hike all over the Blue Ridge Mountains and see all the waterfalls in North Carolina. I want to explore big, dark woods and find lost treasures.

I also have a dream of owning my own house. Maybe that will happen when I get married, but if I don't get married, I'll have to get my own house some day or the other. There is something wonderful about having a house of your own. You can make the rules, invite the people, decorate as you wish, make it your own.

These are just a few of my dreams. Most of them haven't come true. I have traveled a good deal and been on missions trips to Haiti, so I guess that one is in partial fulfillment.

However, night dreams have always meant a lot to me as well. I don't know why. I guess because a few of them have actually come true or had some significant application to my real life. Some of them, though, are still strangely in the back of my memory waiting to be figured out.

I know I may sound strange or even psycho, but I'm actually not that bad.

Did you know that dreams played a significant part in many Bible characters? I can think of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and even Peter to an extent. I am sure there are many others who I am forgetting about. Joseph stuck out to me recently, maybe because I recently finished reading through Genesis. I was thinking about how I put so much significance into dreams and how it seemed so foolish. Then I thought, "Hey! Joseph was a dreamer, too, and it actually got him somewhere."

I guess I've decided that dreaming is not so bad, if I commit those dreams to God, both the strange night dreams that seem to have real life application and the day dreams that I wish for.

Many of these dreams, most of them probably, will never come true, and that's OK. But I like to see the things that happen in my life and then look back to realize that is what I had always longed for.

So, when you see me, you can just think, "Here comes this dreamer."* Just remember Joseph: not all who dream are crazy.

Can you spot the wild dreamer running through the field?

*Genesis 37:19