2024

Man must say goodbye in diverse ways, 

daily learning a new tongue.

When full day comes, he'll rise up swift

and need no tutor for hello.

2024 was a hard year both individually and as a family. When we cast our bread upon the waters, it did not return, but new grain grew pliant and green on the opposite shore. Bereft of sister-friends and Grandma Owen, my older children have walked a lonely road, and though I can't set their feet on softer ways, I can haltingly speak our Hope. One day, we'll have no separation. One day, we'll have only hellos.

God continually remakes the face of the ground, and He "is making all things new," a promise in the present tense, but sometimes new looks less like bright dawn and more like stiff boots that ease only after miles of walking. One result of aching feet inside new boots was my blogging desertion. I bought an amazing camera right before Annika was engaged but haven't used it for anything more than hasty snapshots of birthdays and the like. I've used my crummy phone camera significantly more than my fancy camera, which also lessens my desire to blog. Slapping on phone pictures that I took to text to my children hasn't seemed worth the time, and light commentary seemed daunting, but if I don't start, shotsnaps might bite the dust. 

Here's your warning that for a good bit, shotsnaps will be worse than a badly executed Instagram account, but I have children for whom this blog has worth, shabby snapshots and all. So, starting where I left off 18 months ago, here's August of 2023. 

After the old is up, shotsnaps, too, can be all things new.

August 2023

 

August's offering is a mish-mash of crummy snapshots, nearly all taken on my phone. I made an excellent decision to spend all that money on a fancy camera, huh?

I started new-to-me seeds in the spring of '23, and larkspur and snapdragons were two stars I added to the Must Start Every Year list. Snapdragons became a favorite flower I never knew I had, along with strawflower, another new addition.

Judging by the pictures, August of 2023 was a good month for flowers and children near flowers.

Also, mudballs. 

I Can't Boss Bumpkin Around Anymore (August 2023)

 

Mildred turned twenty-one years old in 2023. It's so strange to look at these pictures now, since she's a married women who lives down South and is now twenty-TWO. I definitely can't boss her around anymore. 

Millie always tries to blow out the candles before I can get a picture, which explains her mischievous expressions in the following birthday breakfast pictures. 

HA! Got'er. 

After a long, exhausting day of living as a full-fledged adult, this beauty sat down for her birthday supper feast. 

 And double HA. I got'er with the evening cheesecake, too. 

We love and miss you immeasurably, Mildred. I even miss you bossing me around (because anyone who knows us knows that she didn't need to turn 21 in order to boss her mama). <3

A Romantic Getaway (August 2023)

 

Nothing makes a Romantic Getaway romantic quite like a box of Happy Shapes. 

We didn't even buy the cereal! Still romantic.  

This post is comprised entirely from phone pictures I took and texted to my children while John and I were on an overnight trip to Rome. I suppose I should try to edit them someday since they're the only evidence of our trip, but when pictures are this terrible, why bother?

John surprised me with a trip to Capitolfest! We watched classic films for a day and a half straight and ate ice cream in the dark. The only thing more romantic than Happy Shapes is eating ice cream with your best friend in a movie theater. I loved every minute of this trip. John is the greatest.

I took a picture of ice cubes for Millie, who exclaims, "Aren't they just so cute?!!" over ice cubes like no one else I know.

Book earrings, also for the Bumpkin.

The theater was gorgeous and full of lovely architectural and art deco details. I couldn't help but take crummy snapshots to send to the girls.

All of the silent movies had live music as their soundtrack, with professional organists and live sound effects, and the curtain opened and closed over the screen for each show. ROMANTIC.

I caught John using the working phone booth to call me...while we were on the same floor. 

Also romantic. 

And here's a picture of a handsome, defeated man. While waiting for the first show, he pulled out some board games. Anyone who knows my history of gaming with John knows that I win one out of every hundred games, and that only if I'm lucky. 

Guess what, folks? Not only did I get to spend time alone with this gem of a man, but he let me beat him in one, solitary game. I'm the luckiest girl.  <3

And if you find it funny that this, of all games, is the only one at which I beat John, it's okay. 

I think it's funny, too.

Aidan Goes to the Eye Doctor (August 2023)

 

Once a year, Aidan sees an eye specialist in Syracuse. Usually John and I make a date of it, but this time he had to work, so Aidan and I flew solo. 

Like many pictures I take on my phone, the main purpose of these was to text to family members so they could be jealous of our good fortune. 

Jim Thorpe From the Phone (August 2023)

 

My sister Sally from Ohio (a.k.a. Aunt Sarah J.) hatched a plan to bring us to Jim Thorpe,  nearly all expenses paid. The older three girls were gone at darn Poiema, but the rest of us had a few days of getting away from all things wedding. I didn't know how much I needed the respite until we were on the road, and my heart soared to be riding away from all the chores with most of the people I love best. I don't even think I took my big camera on this trip, because these are all from my phone. That's how invested I was in taking high-quality pictures like the one below. 

My brother Pete's doctor's office building has two apartments above the office, and one of them was without a current renter. Sarah and the boys stocked the apartment with beds, chairs, furniture, books, and toys, and made our stay there a true delight. 

We ate our first-ever Domino's pizza thanks to her generosity, too! This was one of the highlights of the trip.

John sent Piper and Luci and I on a date for coffee, so we sent a picture to the oldest three to-- how did you guess?-- try to make them jealous.

We stopped at Rainbow's End for candy and then the library. Sticky fingers and books are a winning combination!

Sarah is an incredible cook with an enviable ability to season and spice, so I took pictures of the food to text to the girls who were down South. I can't remember if I sent them or not, so hopefully these terrible snapshots will still make you three jealous a year and a half later.

Talking in their backyard while the kiddos played in the pool was another highlight. Bliss for my children.

And, YES, that bright thing infringing on the corner of the frame is indeed a bouncy-house.

Spontaneous purchase of a bouncy house to delight children and cousins alike? A resounding YES.

This is Sarah in a nutshell.  (And now you all wish you had a Sally from Ohio, too.)