five finds friday. (an unusual candle holder & a great movie)

We start back to school in August.

So it feels true when I ask – did I even have a summer?

I mean, yes – sure. It was fantastic. But it was FULL.

London and I both said the craziest thing this week.

We said something insane like, “It’ll be good when school starts again. Life will maybe slow down a little.” Because when school starts, at least we’ll all be home more.

funny

On London’s actual birthday this week we spent the day shopping and eating out. That meant we saved her family birthday dinner for a different night this week.  She also decided she would rather save her birthday cake to eat when we had the family dinner all together.

And so, there we were, at bedtime, realizing that we hadn’t actually had any candles for London to blow out on her birthday. (Because, again, the candles were planned to come later, with the cake.)

Well, no one in our house could bear the thought of London finishing her sixteenth birthday without blowing out some candles of some variety.

Bergen to the rescue. He gathers everyone together and comes out with a lit candle – and we all sing happy birthday to London.

But do you know what he found to stick a candle in – his improvised option?

A hard boiled egg!

flavorful

At the restaurant of London’s choice, we ordered an appetizer – tots and pimento cheese.

Not only was it a winning combination – but the presentations was all fun.

Who knew eating tater tots with chopsticks was actually the perfect way to consume them?

fashionable

Tallulah got a new collar.

Isn’t she fashionable?

faithful

Although it did rain on my birthday and the view I wanted was blocked by thick fog, our stop at Caesar’s Head on the drive home was a beauty.

A couple of my precious children enjoy hiking far far less than I do. They’re okay with verbalizing that to me. One in particular just honestly cannot understand what I see in being outdoors and in walking along trails.

I tried to explain it. I’m not sure I can, entirely.

But being on a hillside, seeing a grand expanse, walking down a shaded trail, standing on the shore at the edge of an ocean – all of those places make me feel the same way . . . small.

Small in the best appropriate way.

Small in this big wide wonderful world that is full of so very much good and so very much hard.

Small and in need of a God. The God who created all of the Big.

I like being reminded.

feels

One of London’s birthday requests was to go see a movie at the theatre with me.

(I mean, that was easy, right? Take my sixteen year old to see a movie? No problem. Although, the real truth is – I have seen far more movies with my kids than I would have ever seen if I was without kids. I’m not actually much of movie buff but I have a bunch of kids who love to watch and talk about movies. So – I try to relate and I watch more movies than I’d like. For love.)

At any rate, the movie we went to see was Yesterday. The premise is that a struggling musician discovers that he somehow is the only person who has ever heard of The Beatles.  He passes off their songs as his own. Naturally, this skyrockets him to fame. (All of that is in the trailer so it’s a no spoilers sort of post I’m writing.)

It was such a pleasant film. There was a little language, but mild in my opinion. The story was different in all the right ways. And it was full of charm and good vibes and sheer enjoyable watchability.

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