Author Archives: Chayli

•

I've had the bulk of this post just sitting here because I wasn't sure how to preface it. I wrote about three different intros, and they all had to do with being eleven, and it was slightly disjointed and a little strange, and I just wasn't happy with it.

And then I remembered . . . nine years ago today . . . a Starbucks that no longer exists, a rainy night, a doodled-on coffee cup, a handsome boy, and a "yes" finally leaving my lips after literally months and months of praying.

Eric and I met at a Starbucks so I could give him the answer to the question he'd asked two days earlier.

The answer was absolutely yes, and we've been together ever since. 🙂

Those were wonderful days. Dating was wonderful. Being engaged was pretty good, too. Being newly married was amazing.

And then came the children, and more tastes of real life, but guess what . . . I didn't ever want to go back to those dating days or even those newly married days.

This life right here is my favorite yet.

And that's where the feeling an affinity to being eleven came in.

When I was eleven, I wasn't yet interested in the future . . . in driving or graduating or working or boys or marriage or children. I wasn't looking forward to anything major. I also wasn't old enough to be very interested in the past . . . to look back at anything with nostalgia. I was just living in the moment, happy with what I had right then and there.

I kind of feel like I’m there again. I'm not waiting for anything major. Not to graduate; I’ve done that. Not to date; I’ve done that. Not to get married; I’ve very, very happily done that. Not to have children; I’ve done that. There's really nothing major that I'm waiting for (except maybe having a daughter, but that doesn't count because I do have my boys).

And any looking back that I do, while done with fondness, is with the understanding that nothing I ever had before can top everything I have now.

I guess that’s why they call it the good old days.

Not looking forward, not looking back. There’s not some time in the past that I wish I could return to. I'm not chomping at the bit to get to some time in the future. Right here, right now, is just fine with me.

These are the days I'll miss.

These are the good old days.

What an incredible privilege to get to live them in peace and quietness. ...continue reading →

• 4 Comments

•

How do three little boys celebrate Christmas? In many ways, but here's how mine have done it in the first five days of December. 🙂

December 1st: Their mother turned on the first Christmas music of the season, and it was glorious. Sebastian didn't even remember how much he had liked With Bells On the year before and was happily reintroduced.

December 2nd: They went to A Christmas Puppet Show at church. There was popcorn afterward, and cupcakes, and a bounce house, and ornament-making. Alec especially was in his element and came home with this funny little ornament. ...continue reading →

•

I gave myself a gift last Christmas.

I used to listen to Pandora all year long. (I still would but I can’t figure out how to get it back how it used to be and am afraid I have to actually pay something now to go back to the good old days.) But anyway, I especially listened around Christmas time, partly because I didn’t own a lot of Christmas music, and also because it was an easy way to get a good range of Christmas music, traditional and otherwise.

Away in a Manger? Pandora’s got thirty different renditions. That Capital Lights song I’ve loved ever since I heard it on the radio when I was a teenager and can’t ever remember the name of? Just thumbs-up it and rest assured it’ll show up again without having to go searching for it. Casting Crowns’ Peace on Earth? Thumbs-up it on Pandora but also go listen to it on Spotify to your heart’s content because once through is never enough. Dolly Parton’s With Bells On? Well, that one I finally just bought because my boys loved it as much as I did. ...continue reading →

• 3 Comments

•

Since the day we got married, there’s one song I’ve played first every single time I’ve played the keyboard, and I plan to keep playing it first for the rest of my life. That song is “Gentle Shepherd,” and it was sung over us on our wedding day, right after we promised ourselves to each other.

We said our vows, and then we knelt as our dads prayed. When they stepped off the stage, we didn’t stand up. Instead our talented bridal party gathered around us and sang “Gentle Shepherd,” and it is still one of my favorite moments of the entire ceremony. ...continue reading →