Summer please hurry!

So much to write about and so little time...it's the story of my life lately. There are many things I'd wanted to share with you on here, but taking the time to sit down isn't easy. 

Lately I've kept so busy with work and other things. It's actually such a blessing to have work! But I must say I do look forward to vacation this summer. I am already dreaming of spending an afternoon down by the creek at my parents place, soaking in the sun.  :) 

I saw this photo randomly and just had to share it...doesn't it just make you want to be there right  now, dipping your toes in the cool fresh water on a hot summer day!

.....Summer please hurry! 

My love's birthday :)

In order to surprise him, I actually planned a celebration for the night before. Saturday afternoon he was in Oxford singing with the choir, after the performance he caught a lift home with Nat and Trav.  They kindly let us use their apartment. Of course he was clueless that they were my accomplices. :) So when they told him on the way home they needed to stop by their house to pick something up he wasn't expecting anything. Several of us were waiting inside with the lights off. 

He had a big surprise and we all loved seeing his reaction.

We had a great meal, chatted, played games, and just enjoyed being with great friends.

It was a fantastic evening and loads of fun!

The cake in the making...

He sure can make me laugh!

Beauty in the eyes of a child

This week I read an article that I found fascinating. It reports on an experiment carried out in a Washington D.C. metro station. Joshua Bell, one of the world's most well known classical musicians, took his Stradivarius violin, laid out the case in front of him with a bit of change in it, and started playing. I hidden camera captured the whole experience. He played for nearly a three quarters of an hour, some of the most technically challenging and musically brilliant pieces while commuters rushed past.
The results were shocking. Over a thousand people passed during that time, and only 7 people took even just a few minutes to stop and listen.

"If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?"  


"There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away."

If you want to check out the article and the videos, here is the link. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

It seems that despite how old and wise we may have become, there is always something we can learn from a child. It's no wonder that in the bible Jesus talks about children so often and he said in Matthew 11:25 "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children." 
Jesus even went so far as to say "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matt 18:2
Maybe today we should try to look at the world from the eyes of a child and find the beauty and appreciate the things we so often pass by each day.


Just a note - this photo is one of the dear orphan girls that I looked after in Romania. Her life has been anything but easy, and yet she taught me so much about patience and perseverance, and the the courage and happiness she held onto inspired me. I hope to see her again and see how she has grown. 
You will always be in my heart Mirela! 

Lunch anyone?

Here is lunch I made friday, just thought it all looked too yummy I had to share :)

And in case you are wondering, it also was quite tasty! :)