Time with Momma

Last week Mom up-and-skipped out on work just to hang out with me a day. We had such a good time. Which i would say is typical for us if we are not shopping together. So since we both dislike shopping, we did none of that.

The morning started with a nice long walk around the park pond and back, ate breakfast, and washed a car together. Then we set off (after showering, of course) and went to the Billy Graham Library. Mom and I were both excited, but i think in no way prepared for how much we would enjoy our time learning about Billy, the BG Ministry, his wife Ruth, but mostly about the eagerness of a man to get to know and love his Father and Savior more than all else.

The tour was estimated to last 1.5 - 2 hours. Yea, we were there for a little over 3 hours. Some of the rooms had video and testimonials, but mostly were filled with scripture and truth, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The setting of the library is in a barn that represents the childhood of Billy who grew up on a dairy farm; and funny enough the intro to the tour is given by a cow. Here are some pictures:

I have such a beautiful mother. Or bobba, as i call her.

her name was daisy, i believe. mom and i had differing views on whether she was real or not when we walked in. then she began to talk. mom had high hopes i think.

ruth graham's high school bible. she was in china for most of her years as a child while her family was living there (i'm pretty sure for missions).

Ruth tombstone engraved, "Finished with Construction--thank you for your patience."

The house Billy grew up in. It had been moved, but it's true location was only a few miles down the road.

To back track this summer excursion, i wanted to post some pictures of my time with Leslie in Whidbey Island. What a place of beauty, of small town life, of hard work, and uniqueness. I say this in all truth. And the most beautiful towns on the island were seriously smaller than my school campus i think.


Spending time with Leslie (whom i never call Leslie actually), is always being at home to me. And it's espcially true that being with her means sharing life with her, which is something i truly love. No matter what she is doing, wherever she is at. Like this past time we walked pikes place market in seattle and went to the acquarium (which rocks), harvested Lavender, walked the pebbly and sea glass filled beach, slept under the countless stars, did yard work, ate wonderfully including swiss chard at every meal, drank coffee, and watched the sunset on her roof, talked, laughed. so here are some pictures from the trip.





summer seems to be beautiful everywhere aslo. homemade ice cream is full force. and i've finally made it to the settling down half of my trip to NC. tonight was spent with Mom, Dad, and I with Margie and David at the Pizza Hut. there are no restaurants here that aren't irreplaceable, but the memories us and the White's have at PH are irreplaceable. even tonight...i was trying to frisbee a salad bowl to mom across a few tables, but instead i threw the bowl right upside Margie's head. Thank God she laughed cause i thought i'd done caused serious damage. fortunately there was none.


this morning dad and i went fishing. caught tons of pen fish, and 2 black drum. Jeti walls are bangin'. The way the waves splash up are so beautiful. Dad caught a crazy lookin' eel thing, that we will ask no questions about. He was slimy and eely, but fun. and yesterday we visited Gramma Edith and Aunt Joanne with Richard, Susuan, Wayne, and Estelle. They are a rowdy bunch. Especially since Gramma's 90th Bday is coming up.

7.21.08

with a breeze coming off of the old atlantic ocean, it's really not too hot. the comfort of being around old friends and family makes for wonderful conversation and laughter. it's good that some things don't change so much.

i'm in wilmington now for a couple of days. it's crazy to think that my little cousin is about on day 3 of her marraige that she is still celebrating in disney world. i'll never forget the look on her husband joe's face when those doors opened and she walked down the isle. he cried. i and all the bridesmaides cried. then lisa started tearing up. i love love stories.

life has been crazy for quite a while, but funny enough since all my old roommates are not here i have some time to reflect on what's been going on the past few weeks. unfortunately with all of the traveling i've spent close to zero time with mom and dad. that's more acceptable 2500 miles away, but not if your in the same state. so i'm glad to spend time with them soon.

have you seen batman? it's a pretty good movie. i'm sure that most everyone would like it. lot's of action and heath ledger does a bangin' job. however the highlight of the movie for me was getting a message that my friend Rudy had her baby...Kajsa Joy. She was born a healthy baby 7 lbs. 6 oz. I'm so excited to see her sometime when i get back!

Here are some things that I am in anticipation for:

• spending large amounts of time on the beach.
• seeing more friends here in wilmington (some newly married)
• Dad's coming and seeing gramma Edith
• Seeing Merilee in WV. Being a part of her community and getting to know up close the people and place around her, and share life in the same place for a few days.
• Momma's home cookin'.
• dancing with momma.
• Sweating! Really that is a lot harder to do in Colorado.

There are some fun things that are coming up in the fall too. All that i am excited for, but i'm trying my best to make sure of the time that i have here is spent here...sun a blaze, blanket fully spread, and 50 spf lathered on the pastiest white legs you've ever seen.

yesterday lauren said, "yea, calli you are pasty." and no laughter followed. she was dead serious.

a quick run-down:

in 5 hours Raleigh takes me to the Denver airport where i'll head to see Leslie for 5 days in Washington. There will be some Seattle sight seeing with much time on Whidbey (going to work at the lavender farm, do yoga, camp out, laugh, eat wonderful and fresh garden food).

Then Leslie drops me off on the 14th for a red-eye flight to myrtle beach where i'll stay with Leslie's sister, Lana, and her friend Sarah, for 2 days. i think that i may have mentioned that Lana is getting married in september, so it will be so nice to catch up and see facial expressions with THE spectacular story i'll ask her to tell. Maybe twice.

Then to Concord, where cousin Lisa is getting married to Joe. Whoop whoop. And hopefully this will be the first pit-stop to post pictures.

And to think this is only a third of the trip to NC.

I'm looking forward to it. To seeing friends and family. To seeing the beach and sunrise hopefully. To Sundrop and Dill Pickle Chips!

Tonight was such a wonderful night though (I have to mention it.) Friends, tacos (both fish and beef), blueberry-peach cornmeal crusted goodness & ice cream, so...so much laughter, a slight attempt at cornhole, and seeing the pink colorado sunset over the mountains. I can't imagine any other way i would have enjoyed this night more.
I am blessed.

oh shoot.

today is july 7. raleigh gets back from california today! i'm really excited. glad to see her, share stories, laugh, cry maybe (but surely tears of joy), and get back in time for a 3 Amigo's party at the Tillman Ranch.

i've learned a lot from being at home alone here for the past 12 days. life stays busy for the most part. i think that these times of solitude are few and far between and highly unappreciated (especially by someone like Calli Edwards).

it's uncomfortable being alone. just me and God. now granite, i did a lot this past week and a half. spent time with friends, hiked, cooked, cleaned in circles, and learned to play the guitar a bit. doing all these things were great, enjoyable, fun. but at the end of this "alone" time there is one question that i have been left with, "how can i practically change my life so that i can be closer with God? to allow me to listen better and more frequently (like a habit that becomes natural)? that is easily interruptable by God? that today i am different than yesterday and tomorrow different than today in obedience ("Be holy as I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16, Lev 11:44)?

a friend of mine was telling me that the more she got to know God, the more separated she felt from this world. she followed by saying, "you'll begin to see that." i laugh now thinking of how true that is. but if we are striving for holiness that shouldn't be a secret. being holy is to be set apart--set apart to sin and impurity, and set apart to God (who is not of this world). NASB notes.

There is a Derek Webb song, "This World", and there is a line that says, "This world has nothing for me; this world has everything."

I know the truth of those words because of both learning the hard way and God's willingness to give me understanding. I believe with all my heart that God will show us that this world has nothing for us without us needing to find out on our own. I believe it. I've seen the fruit of it. Still seeing it.

Praise the Lord! So the one question that has turned into a series of questions, I am left to wrestle with, leaves me hoping to be ever-changed by the answers (like them or not) that are revealed in time.

BY THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST WE ARE SAVED. 1 Peter 1:19. Precious blood.

July 4th...2008

July 4, 2008 was spent with the Tillman family (well 3 of them...Bob, Becky, and Reade) and Gramma Carolyn. I arrived midday to meet the ladies at the grocery store to follow them to the cabin. When we walked out of the store, I think that Reade's words were, "You know you are in Rye when there is a horse when you walk out of the grocery store."

So we took some pictures of ole' Nelly.

Reade and I spent some time down by the creek before talking getting Gramma Carolyn to show us around her old stomping grounds. She taught us so much. Each story was so rich with emotion. Like every word made each memory more and more real. This is just a piece of what we learned:

She moved to Rye from Kansas after her father spent the previous summer building a lodge for their family behind her grandparent home in Rye (though still a 25ish minute drive from the cabin). Apart of Roosevelt's attempt to reboot the economy after the Great Depression this lodge was built to be surrounded by cabins for vacationing. Food would come from the lodge, add on the rent, and that is how Gramma Carolyn's family tried to make end's meet.

She told of how they lived off of the land from a big garden, only making a trip to the nearest big city once a month.

I loved watching her tell stories.

the field behind her grandparents home

the lodge (quite unoccupied by anything but bats)

Gramma Carolyn's playground...on a cliff! she must have been a fearless child.

the outhouse perfectly centered between the lodge and the cabins

reade and gramma at the creek after cooling our feet!

Afterwards we went back, painted, some napped, then had hotdogs and shared stories over a fire. It was such a neat night. A great July 4.

It's been a long time since i've spent the 4th firework-less. I'd recommend it. There's just something about quiet. Something good i'd say.

7.03.08

Gardening Haiku

seeds soundly sleeping

till rain and sunny days knock

who'da thunk: snap peas!