To Take Along, Too

After the rigors (and rewards) of discovering Just What I Needed, it was off to High Country.

Aside: Did you know the term designates the area of land laying above the piedmont but below the timberline? And what's a piedmont, you ask? Don't know. But I'm smitten with the term "High Country" anyway because a sojourn to Summit County always include an interlude from sanity into the bliss of a Rocky Mountain High. Or, in 60's terms, I dig it.

This year, we sold our outgrew-it timeshare; but, since not traversing to the "Got Oxygen?" altitude of circa 14K feet was a no-go, I set out to find a gem in Dillon. What I hunted up led to this shot Zitz took from our back balcony deck.

I brandished a similar shot to my brother while visiting in Iowa. His snappy comeback? "Hate you."
Well, I'd not fall in love with me either if this was dangled in front of my living-in-IA face (no offense, home state...it's hard to compare).

We trekked up with the Zitzmann's and our collective 8 children to take over our two adjoining condos for a few days of summer fun. Catching a getaway with this treasured family isn't a novel concept since we've hit a few over the years, but this was our first longer-term overnighters endeavor. In dating terms, I'd guess it'd be akin to the first trip away together. And, let me tell ya, coordinating 8 kids, 4 adults, 5 meals, and all the sundries related, is no small feat. But "fun" emerged as the label of the day, and good times (and good memories) were made by all.

We hit Keystone Village to feed the giant rainbow trout and geese on the lake.

Judd's hands looked like this most of the morning, accompanied with a rather urgent, "Need more food! Need more food!" Of course, he fed them one kernel at a time.

We also did a week bit of hiking along Sapphire Point where we emptied the bag of sunflower seeds - a local favorite that's one of those "might be outside recommendations but the rangers smile on it anyway" scenarios. 

 From toddlerhood, Grace had a way with the four-legged variety of friends...then along came Elijah showing the same zing for fur and wing.

But this was our first experience watching Judd render the same mojo. Their personalities are so different from one another - it's a joy to see a not-too -shabby commonality bloom between them.

Off the beaten path (but starting in a paved parking lot, go figure), the hiking path leads to this grand shot...one you've seen each year if you've been a Renderings reader for a while.

 

We even snagged a shot of just the two of us on "the rock" - aka the spot where everyone takes their Christmas card picture. I don't recall having one like this since before Gracie. Thanks, Zitz.

And, to make the outing perfect, Elijah took my hand while we hiked along a stretch together...

...which is another marking of a faithful Rendering reader - you know how I love snapshots of my kiddos' hands and feet. Someone asked why last week: I posted on FB that it was because, one day when they're big, they'll be reminders of how they once were so small.

No trip to the Point would be complete without this annual shot:

I've been taking it since Elijah was a wee one - I could line them up in a row to see the age progression of Big Daddy and Little Bebes. Love that.

Before we knew it, it was time to begin the next leg of vacay - the 900+ miles to Iowa.

This year, I was determined to remember to grab this view heading down and out. 

I'm always a bit wistful at this point, with the miles of High Country stretching behind rather than ahead. 

But my spirits lift knowing it's not a one-time wonder, but a place we can escape to time and again.

Which makes me sad for out-of-state visitors, but glad I live where I do...

and that we have friends-like-family to take along, too.

Knee Deep

We've been on vacation for 11 days.
I checked email twice.
I turned on my cell phone once.
We ate out almost every day...and I cleaned up after meals just twice. Twice. (!!!!)

We drove 1800 miles.
Stayed in two hotel rooms.
And went swimming 6 times.

Throw Ups: 0
Colds, Fevers, Ague, Plague, Massive Infection, or Otherwise Disastrous Health Episodes: 0
Major meltdowns and/or blowups, adults or children oriented: 0
Laughs out loud: 10, 000

There were friends we missed; events we RSVP'd "nay".
Facebook, Gmail, Voicemail, and the post all carried on without us.

But, for 11 days with family and friends, we ran away from the real world.
Lived knee deep in the waters of one kind of Never Never Land.

It was my own kind of paradise.

"Knee Deep" 
Zac Brown Band

Gonna put the the world away for a minute
Pretend I don't live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away

Had sweet love but I lost it
She got too close so I fought her
Now I'm lost in the world trying to find me a better way

Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Wrote a note said be back in a minute
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody gonna miss me anyway

Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishing my condition ain't ever gonna go away

Cause now im knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/z/zac-brown-band-lyrics/knee-deep-lyrics.html ]
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

This champagne shore washing over me
It's a sweet sweet life living by the salty sea
One day you could be as lost as me
Change you're geography
Maybe you might be

Knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Come on in the water it's nice
Find yourself a little slice
Grab a backpack of lies
You never know until you try
When you lose yourself
You find the key to paradise

A Place to Grow

It seems there are always a few bits of sublime which escape from the trappings of a midwestern girl's mind - and are recollected quite swiftly, I discovered today, through a drive down a highway in the Heartland...

...where it's green. And lush. Think resplendent, sun-kissed tops of trees trunked far longer than the generations of farmers tilling around them. These groves aren't the tall and proud of California or the pungent pricklies of Colorado; rather, these are the gnarly old men of the forestry retirement village, knotted with age but medaled with valor shown in the tales they tell of old.

...where it's moist. Yeah, on the blades of grass. In the molecules of air. And within every pore of skin.
They call it humidity: I call it a cruel sense of atmospheric humor.

...where it's smelly. Because of the soybean plants. And the cow pies. And the pig pens.
But it's not all foul: there's also the smell of fresh-cut grass and wildflowers and generally unadulterated, non-city, "desmogged" midwest tipped with tinges of sun tea and thunderstorms.

...where it's friendly. Five people...in a row...said, "Excuse me" for reasons I've yet to explain: I find myself heady, nevertheless, after the experience with comparatively utopian social behavior. Don't even ask me to comprehend the foreign craziness that lurks behind the random "Good morning"s thrown at me: good-manner overload! (Sorry, Colorado: you are lacking on this one).

...where it's history. It's my town - "where I was born, where I was raised, where I keep all my yesterdays" - and where I'm shoring up a few more with the next generation...like catching fireflies for the first time tonight.

In the weeks following, you'll be forced to endure an onslaught of photos documenting these very renderings but, in the meantime, I'll be pondering how the sublime really isn't when it shows you how you've changed, evolved, gotten bigger and (maybe) grown up, too.

Cuz I'm in I.O.W.A.

And it's "A Place to Grow".

Says It All

This lady is good.

A good, good, good, good gem.

More than that, I simply have no words.

Which, for me, says it all.

Me and Zee

Just What I Needed

Disclaimer: This one's a wee windy, but I found I had so much to say. So I'm throwing in the grace chips and asking you to hang on with me. Also, high-five to all the pics contributors since I took nary a one.)

This week's time found its biggest filler in Vanguard's annual VBB (Vacation Bible Blast). This was my 11th year to serve arm-in-arm with some truly fantastic men and women who, despite knowing most of them for more than a decade, never cease to amaze me with the depths of their willingness to reach the hearts of children. I'm so thankful for every heart that taught, nurtured, and (yes, even) corrected my three children this week: they are the better and deeper for it.

Every other year, this team of leaders (championed and headed by Ellen G) creates our very own week's worth of curriculum (usually written by Miss Mandy, whom you most recently read about for her efforts to promote The Adventure Project...holla, M!). This was an off-year so, in my mind anyway, a bit of a lighter year as we used some standardized material themed "Big Apple Adventure". And so went the way of the set designers, t-shirt makers, craft creators, and snack stylings: New York City merged with teaching kiddos to connect faith and life...with great memories and deeper understanding of a most-excellent Father. (Check out the pics at the end to see for yourself).

But here's the nugget for this post, the one "a-ha" that hits me across the forehead every year. Yes, every year (I'm a forgetful learner in some circles, people). The kids don't care if the iron-on won't stick or if their cookies are generic or name-brand. They don't think twice about the length of their name-tag cord or if the design of registration tables is line-flow friendly. They certainly don't consider the hours of labor it takes to iron those labels, collect those cookies, cord those name tags or arrange those tables. No, they just want to sing. And dance. And jump up and down while they scream out the lyrics to "Our God is Greater."

This is why, every year, when I stand at the back of the auditorium and watch circa 200 little hands and feet and faces do just that...tears stream down the face. Because, see, I'm not all that kid-oriented. Or, at least, I'd hadn't always been. But then I became a mother. I know, now, that's made me far more kid-oriented than I could have ever conjured on my own. It's opened my eyes to the truth that our communities, our cities, our nation, and our world are not in our long-term hands but in theirs. (Which makes those possessing such a heart outside of motherhood all the more inspiring).
 
That heart relished my daughter leading on the worship team this year: listened to her tell me how she felt closer to God doing that (tears right now coming down the face). Which reminded me this week:  

I'm living a privilege. 

My whole life is a privilege. It's hardly perfect, certainly not without hardships and struggles. But realizing you're living a privilege isn't about absence of difficulty: it's about the bigger picture of gift, of breathing in and out in the midst of more than you ever dreamed you could have. It's seeing the hardships of life as part of the privilege, as part of the adventure.

Which makes me want to sing and dance and jump up and down 

while I shout out the lyrics to "Our Great is Greater." 

So, thanks, VBB for the heart-check.

It was just what I needed.

 

(l) Now that's he's 3, this marked Judsen's first year participating (he's with his buddy, Boston). His teacher, Miss Melissa, provided an ideal inauguration...thanks, lady!
(r) Grace and her worship team cohort, Devon)

 (r) With Miss Eileen, children's leader extraordinairre.

 Brooklyn house: Grace watching the Drama skit

 The Worship Team (there's Miss Mandy on the right)

Brooklyn House...with Elijah in the blue shirt center

This One's a Gem

I have a special term of endearment for quality women I have the privilege of knowing: I call them gems.

Yesterday, this gem turned 24.

The Lovely 47 got together for dinner, destination her choice. Not fancy enough for ya?

Well, we bought her dinner (some dates don't even do that, I remind you).

And I made her a purse. Because she's trendy and cool like friends in their almost-mid 20s often are. It'll be the perfect date accessory.

Of course, it will likely accompany her on a date with this bag's owner...Miss Becca - because she had a birthday just recently and finally received her purse, too.

Yes, yes: I know it's cheesy. Still, I can't help but love that two of the
perfectly-gifted pleasures of my life now have perfectly-paired purses to sport.

Smile.

Sooooo, the food was good...

 and the company, as always, was even better. Which seems fancy enough to me...really, to us all.

 The Lovely 47 (l-r: Becca, Lynne, Jess, Michelle "Zee", me)

Because celebrating the day God sent this gal to earth was the best of all.

Cuz she's hysterical. And a giver above and beyond your best, broadest definition of the term. She's a spigot of genuine love and authenticity. With striking eyes that truly are a window to her soul. And what a soul you are, you gorgeous friend.

You remind me why I came up with the term of endearment in the first place.

Because, seriously, folks....
          
                      this one's a gem.

You Might Find They Make You Happy

Well more than a year ago, I wrote an entry entitled "'Happy' Is Just a Word" where I reflected on the literal meaning of the word "happy". I also gave a shout-out for some of my fave entries in the book 14,000 things to be happy about by Barbara Ann Kipfer.

I'm still reading this book. (said in dry tone)

But I can't help it! It's the text I grab when I've got two minutes (and I mean that precisely) and just want to be happy. To think about happy. To be thankful for what makes me happy. And with 14,000 items, I can't imagine one could ever actually complete the book given that, by the time you reach your 50th bullet, you can't remember the last 45.

So, in the continuing spirit of summer fun, here are some new entries for your consideration:

• the piping of a piccolo (because that's what I played in high school marching band)
• no-turning back solutions
• fresh clean sheets and blankets on the bed
• fog: technically nothing but a cloud in contact with the earth
• a stream-of-consciousness list
• reading all night and sleeping all morning
• having someone request the pleasure of a dance
• "More Isn't Always Better"
• closing your eyes and breathing in
• a seasonal collage of pictures of your house

And, just as before, I'd add that some of my own give me some further grins:

• the smell of each of my children when I hug them after they wake
• the smile of a good friend who's listening to you struggle to connect with someone else...while she knows exactly what you mean
• that the first gift Craig gave me in marriage was his name
• "the greatest thing is simply to love and to be loved in return"
• writing paper with my last name engraved at the bottom in the drawer alongside thank-you cards boasting the script "craig candice grace elijah judsen"
• fountain pens with purple ink and fine nibs
• the exact right amount of creamer in my morning coffee
• cool breezes on a hot day
• the love of a good man...whom I also call husband

 Think of some of your own....maybe even write them down. Make a list of 14,000 of your own.

You may find they make you happy.

The Prettiest Picture of All

"The Lovely 47" is what my sweet friend, Becca, calls the group of us gals in Life Group 47.

Our church expresses care, community, and connection to one another through the medium of Life Groups which are, essentially, little pods of families you can join across city, age, gender, and family demographics with the hope of finding smaller, more intimate relationships within a larger family of believers.

If you love family, then you love this concept.

And it's hard because (is there a mockingbird in here?) relationship is hard. But this group of fantastic women bless me just by letting me know them; they are unequivocal proof that an investment of love made through the gesture of friendship yields only monumental rewards.

 (l-r, me, Zee, Becca, Lynn, Jessica)

Into their lives, I am welcomed to come inside and sit for a spell. Within their families, I find example and sacrifice beyond self. In their company, I find wisdom, insight, perspective, spunk, bouts of hysterical giggles, gentility, encouragement, silly candor, and spontaneous hugs with love galore. We are meandering the cobblestone roads of life together...and I am loving our journey.

Recently, we spent our Mother's Day evening getting pedicures then sipping wine and margaritas over some yummy eats.

As you can see, our toes were gorgeous...

...but the way we bring His light out of one another...

...while sharing a few laughs along the way...

...well, that's the prettiest picture of all.

If You See It As a Home

We are well into the frenzy of warm-weather activities and, in common with the theme of my last few posts, summertime calls for giving some much-deserved attention to the eaves and ells we call a house. Because the heightened temps better support the outside musts a house demands, summer is the season of grass, garden, and glistening glass galore...which explains why, in the last two weeks alone, I've reseeded, fertilized, and conditioned the front and backyards, planted new bushes, and had the entire outside (and some of the inside) windows polished and gleamed to a sparkling shine. (And, though it didn't fit into my alliterative "g" pattern, the entirety of the upstairs carpeting has been soaped and sucked to a like-new buff. There's nothing like making fists with your toes in newly cleaned carpet, you know).

Why all the fuss?

We used to have a tradition of celebrating our house's birthday. I adopted the practice from a friend of long ago who'd raised her children into adulthood and who, with reflection and contemplation, graciously shared with a group of us the practices she found made a real difference in the dynamic of her home. Amidst some of her sillier ones like Upside Down Day on April 1st or serving Green Eggs and Ham on St. Patrick's, the house birthday party had a heartfelt impact on me. What better way to reserve time for reminiscing our fondest memories of a year gone by in the place where our stories begin?

Then Judsen came along, a mere two days before the house did three years prior. Now, I love butter-cream cake and singing Happy Birthday but, seriously, one can only take so much beehive whirlwinds in the space of 48 hours. So now I'm pondering how to remake that tradition...and one way is to get the entire Team Covak involved in giving back to the structure that gives us so much. So the kids weed and water, plant and prune while Craig primes the mower, spreads the corn gluten, and lays strips of new sod. Together, in the big and small, inside and out, we say thanks to God for the gift of this house...and learn some work ethic in between.

In a downturned American economy and with global crises raging worldwide, we are blessed to have a beautiful home warming us in winter and cooling us in summer. We've a French-style fridge housing healthy morsels and a washing machine and dryer to clean our coverings. Each of our children have their own room filled with pictures and toys and trinkets of adventures  past. Pictures hang on the walls and books stand on the shelves while friends flood the front door and gather 'round the table. A good life flows from a home that, without these abundant gifts, would merely be a house.

That's why I fuss. Why I pour into its care: because this house is more that eaves and ells. It's our home, one in which we'll see our children come to age - it's the nest they'll one day leave. And I want to see it standing, proud and loved, decades from now, knowing that we preserved it not because it was an investment, or an address, or a slip in the postal boxes. But because we loved it. Loved our family in it.

Because it is possible to love a house...if you see it as a home.

It's Summertime!

I know summer has officially begun for a number of reasons:

1. It's finally warm here. And the statistic that the Springs sees 330 days of sunshine per year is seeming a bit truer these days.
2. No more twice-daily walks to school twice, early-morning choir practices, lunchbox menus, and endless paperwork to sign.
3. My morning cup of coffee is taller, sipped longer, and enjoyed outside because of #1 and #2.
4. My stack of paperbacks has grown from 0 to 12 overnight. Taxes paid for our public library are my favorite investment.
5. My Kindle is locked and loaded with a Queue just waiting to be devoured on a road trip.

But let us not forget the biggest signpost on the road to summer: the songs!

I love music...truly love it. Yet, it's during the summer that I most link music to mood. I listen to it more. I sing it more. I put it on in random places more often and take more of an effort to enjoy it with the kids. This, I've surmised, is likely because (much like my reading) my listening tastes bend toward fun and ridiculous which lends itself more easily to equally fun and ridiculous behavior.

Prior to the age of Facebook, you might never know this about me...unless you were woefully trapped in my kitchen, my car, my backyard or stuck running alongside me on the street. Outside of these circumstances, the world was largely safe from my lyrical renderings. Now the status update bar querying, "What's on Your Mind?" seems the perfect place to post the eclectic and often giddy phrasings from some of my summer faves - as they come to ear.

Post some of your own! I know I'll be watching to discover some tunes heretofore overlooked while I get a sense of what your day, your hour, your moment is yielding.

It's fun! 

It's ridiculous!

It's Summertime!

Just In Time for Summer

.So refreshing.

Six inches shorter.

Just in time for summer.