the story of one day

i feel great this morning. today is the deadline for a 20,000-word writing project i have been working on for the past few months, and by God's grace, i wrapped it up and submitted it yesterday. needless to say, i slept very well last night!

in the busy-ness of writing last week, i apparently took a week off from blogging. i needed it. BUT—triumph!—we had my family (minus my brother) over for lunch last sunday and i took pictures then. thankfully, i have five good ones, so they will be my five for the week—all from one day. hey, i make the rules, so i am allowed to bend them. and since this project is kind of turning out to be a visual diary of the year, five pictures from one great day is fine with me because the only thing i really did last week was pack up my laptop and a lunch and visit libraries and coffee shops to get that thing done.

these pictures tell the story of a family tradition we like to call "second sunday supper." or something like that. the point is that we get together once a month (wait for it) on the second sunday. ;) it is one of my favorite traditions and i hope we NEVER stop doing it. we rotate houses, and this month, it was our turn to host. here we go!

capture2011: no. 136 :: 7.10.11 :: the fatted calf

we usually collaborate for the meal. i made tacos and rice and cut up some fruit fruit. yes! when ben walked in the kitchen and saw this he asked if i had "killed the fatted calf." nope, just a super-juicy watermelon! tyler brought some amazing guacamole and salsa, lauren brought a beautiful salad, and kristen made a scrumptious trifle (we happened to be celebrating my mom's birthday this month but really, we eat a pretty over-the-top dessert every month, birthday or not).

capture2011: no. 137 :: 7.10.11 :: view from the top

even though we all go to the same church, we go to different campuses at different times. playing, snacking, and raucous laughter (at least from me) are usually involved as we wait for everyone to arrive.

capture2011: no. 138 :: 7.10.11 :: pure bliss

this picture—and what it represents—makes me so happy. seeing family around our dining table is just such a wonderful thing. when we were renovating and decorating, this was the goal: to have a comfortable, beautiful, welcoming place to do things like this. so thank you, God, for family and a place to gather.

capture2011: no. 139 :: 7.10.11 :: good eats

yup. my sister-in-law lauren is the absolute queen of salads. just look at this guy: delicious and gorgeous.

capture2011: no. 140 :: 7.10.11 :: comatose

after the meal, we head to the living room for more playing and talking and laughing . . . and more eating. this month, my mom opened her presents, we ate dessert, and slowly slipped into a food-induced coma. it really is the best. can't wait to do it again next month! and the month after that, and after that . . .

i love my family! i'm off to do the laundry and dishes that were pushed to the back burner last week! stay cool and thanks for reading. :)