1 year

Some years blur together in their tedious sameness. Nothing changes. Some years rush by at warp speed, leaving you breathless and constantly trying to keep up. This has been one of those years. In the space of one year I have:

gotten engaged
bought a house
gotten married
gone back to school
gotten pregnant
...and all the living life in between.

Blessings all, don't get me wrong. But I occasionally need to give into the desire to just sit back and watch the world go by for a bit.

first comes love, then comes marriage...

yup you got it, 7 weeks gone. We're expecting our little bundle of joy and whatnot May 12ish.

I'm Alive

what I love about marriage...

After a really long, horrible day, Dave sat and listened to me vent for 30 minutes. Then he didn't tell me what I wanted to hear, he told me what I needed to hear...from him.

GIMP action

Thanks to my sis-in-law, Rhonda, I created this snazzy new trademark for my department's maps!

You Might Be a Hippie If....

Dave and I are occasionally accused of being hippies (although neo-hippie might be more accurate, see bottom)...

So here is my Jeff Foxworthy list of hippie-esque "might-be's"...all of which we can answer with a resounding "YES"!

You might be a hippie if....

-you have Kombucha in the closet

-you own more bicycles than cars

-you forget how to drive said car due to the fact that you walk or ride everywhere

-living in a commune would be ideal

-you have a garden that provides you with a summer's worth of produce

-you forage in the public spaces in your town (apples trees, plum trees etc)

-you don't own white flour or white sugar

-you feel passionate about politics and causes (and organize events for both)

-you plan on sneaking chickens into your yard (give it to the MAN)

-you brew your own spirits (libations)

From www.happyhippie.com (I'm so not kidding)

"Neo-hippies, some of whom are sons, daughters and grandchildren of the original hippies, advocate many of the same beliefs of their 1960s counterparts. Drug use is just as accepted as in the "original" hippie days, although most neo-hippies do not consider it necessary to take drugs in order to be part of the lifestyle, and others reject drug use in favor of alternative methods of reaching higher or altered consciousness such as drumming circles, community singing, meditation, dietary practices, and yoga and dance.

The neo-hippie movement also inspired festivals and workshops that advocated alternative lifestyles, clean and sustainable energy, and unadulterated foods. Nambassa is also the tribal name of a trust that has championed sustainable ideas and demonstrated practical counterculture and alternative lifestyle methods since the early 1970s.

The neo-hippie movement has also morphed into the 'Green Movement.' The Green movement is a political and social movement which advocates goals common to Green parties, including environmentalism, sustainability, nonviolence, and social justice concerns. Supporters of the Green movement, called Greens, adhere to Green ideology and share many ideas with the ecology, conservation, environmental, feminist, and peace movements.

Some simply advocate ecological living is a life philosophy. Proponents of ecological living aim to conduct their lives in such a way that they have an all-encompassing awareness of earth and its processes. Each choice made under such a way of life requires a consideration of the consequences of the choice, and the way that the decision will affect the environment and all living things within it. Ecological consciousness and care for the earth are of paramount importance in the decision-making process."

My Answer

Ephesians 3:14-21 (New International Version)

A Prayer for the Ephesians
14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.