changes

Wow, so much has been going on. Thanksgiving was a long trip, well worth the expense of energy. We drove to Indiana to reunite with my Dad's side of our family. This is a yearly tradition... I did this every year growing up. I love Columbus. It is a remarkable town; the architecture is amazing. You can read about this special place here-- it is a small town, but has works by some of the finest modern architects in the world, including I. M. Pei, Harry Weese, and Eero Saarinen. "Columbus ranks sixth — after the more predictable Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Boston and Washington — among the top 10 U.S. cities for architectural design as selected by the American Institute of Architects" (taken from this article in the Chicago Tribune).


Church was beautiful on Sunday morning in celebration of the advent season, and we had a house full of friends on Sunday night (see pictures). I only took a couple; I wish I had taken more. It was a sweet time... a fire, beautiful music, good food, time for lingering.


My little girl has been sick, and I am a little bit too. She has been needing lots of holding and snuggling, which is nice because she normally doesn't like to snuggle. We have been taking it slow and putting work on the back burner.


My computer crashed while  was in Indiana. I think it was just a problem with the screen; Trevor recovered the contents of the hard drive for me. Anyway, the whole experience caused me to evaluate my relationship with my blog and really my business in general. Then I read this article written by Ann Voskamp on the role of a Christian blogger earlier today... scroll down until you see the bold text 'How might Christians blog?' It was so healing to my soul. So much is murky for me (especially lately) about blogging, my work, how they relate to my big three priorities (Jesus, Trevor, Piper)... even just the first point about the Hebrew word 'Avodah' was really encouraging to me. And I am so convicted. In a hopeful way... the way that God brings conviction and reproof. It is life-giving, not condemning.  In light of that, I kind of stripped down the blog a bit, just as a visual reminder to remember what God is teaching me. I wanted to change the followers widget more, but it is resisting my tricks (but not for long. I will be victorious.)


And friends, I want to introduce you to Clare. She and her husband Josh own the farm that we are hoping to move to. They built everything on it with their own two hands.  Did I mention that Clare built a cob house by hand? Yah. You can read about that and see pictures of the process here. It is a beautiful place and it would be a dream come true to live there! I am watching to see what God will do. Our house is listed on Craigslist. You can see the posting here. If you live in Athens, consider telling your friends about it being for rent (or consider moving in yourself!) At first I was hesitant to tell you about this possibility... but I would rather people know and be able to grieve with me if it doesn't work out. Our dream of having a farm has been developing over time for so long, and it is exciting to think that a small start might be taking place sooner than we thought. Even if we can't stay there long term, I am so longing for that lifestyle of simplicity and beauty. This is part of something larger that God is doing in our family... turning our hearts toward him and each other. I am hopeful.


And if it does work out I am going to totally freak out and go crazy with joy. And then I will post hundreds of pictures of the farm and all its beauty.


Don't worry-- I'll keep you posted :)


I'll be selling at a couple of craft fairs coming up in December, which I'll post about soon. AND I am shooting a wedding for an awesome couple, Renita and Kerry, on January 1. Exciting stuff, people. (I really don't know how to talk about business stuff without it coming off like self-promotion. It is probably annoying and I am sorry.)


xo
paige