This week

It's been a bit quiet on KirkHaven,

but not in KirkHaven. There has been much going on, in the here & now and below the surface.

Its been a weird week for me emotionally. I feel like I'm fighting a 'heart war' on two fronts...the same hurt, from two completely differing circumstances/situations. Like many people, my initial reaction is withdrawl when I am hurting. And when you try to live your life authentically with transparency, sometimes its hard to know how much to say. Sometimes silence is best until you can sort out the source. I am learning...when a wound erupts, when the old feelings flow, when you can see them coming - I, we, need an 'other-world' remedy. Nothing of this world will soothe.

But in the mean time, in the middle of the praying and the questions and the sorting through the heartaches that this journey of life brings each of our ways, there has been beauty. I am overwhelmingly blessed. Here are a few of those moments this past week.

Belle on Father's day; she's so, so, so excited to meet her friends at the beach.
I wanted to give Aron the gift of an amazing day, so I contacted some friends to arrange a day at the beach & most importantly (for him) a game of ultimate frisbee with a group of guys.
I think there were 10 or so that played; the thrill of a pumping heart and the rub of healthy competition was good for his soul.

This week my first mate (belle) is oh-so-excited to be able to sail the high seas at VBS

Admiral Aron & the Scurvy Sea Urchins

Today was 'Crazy Hair Day'. After donning his goldy locks, Aron asked me if he looked like Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall. I don't know about that, but Barby K. & I agreed its a little creepy how 'pretty' he looks in it!

All the girls in the nursery were 'wild' over Lion Cub's crazy hair.

And the big teenage girls were smitten with his mane too.

He has no fear these days; he bounds up a flight of stairs often before I realize he is out of my sight.

And now has 6 teeth!

Daddy & his very happy girl.

ejk

In the words of...

one Don Paul Kirk....

"Simple."

We are easily entertained.

ejk

you should see the other guy...

Judah got in a fight with the side walk.

His lips look & chin look good compared to his upper gums. The sidewalk took a slice of the gum from his tooth to the roof of his mouth.
His mouth was full of blood. I, being the experienced nurse, grabbed a cool cloth and tried to hold pressure to stop the bleeding... then handed the baby to Aron so I could lay with my feet over my head to keep from passing out.
I can clean up vomit, I can start IV's, I can clean wounds down to the bone, I even caught an old man's poopie the other day before it hit the floor (gloved hands, of course)...but if my baby is bleeding, you can find me fighting the urge to faint out in another room.
It didn't help that floating in the puddles of blood in his tiny mouth, I saw what looked like a tooth...which actually turned out to be a sliver of almond from the granola we had been eating.

aye aye aye...

ejk

lakey lakey

After arriving home a bit late from work, we decided to implement Code R-e-l-a-x:

So for 5.98 we had 2 simply delicious meals for a perfect evening picnic on the lake.

Click here for your own coupon & we highly recommend the double cheese cheesesteak.

ejk

Spicy Glazed Salmon

So our buddy, Phil, went fishing in Lake Michigan over Memorial Day weekend.

He loves to fish, but neither he or his wife like to eat it.

Poor Phil & Mistey. Lucky us.
We were the gleefully happy reciepents of fresh salmon fillets. And were they ever delicious!

I tried out a new recipe, and Aron & I both agreed it was delicious (and so very easy). So, I'll share it with you in case salmon is ever on your summer menu.

Spicy Glazed Salmon

1/3 cup peach preserves

1 1/2 teaspoons chile sauce (preferably Sriracha)

3 green onions

2 cups rice, cooked

1. Microwave preserves until just warmed, 10 - 15 seconds. Stir in chile sauce. Transfer all but 3 tablespoons of mixture to a small dish and set aside to serve at the table.

*Note: I don't keep peach preserves in the house. But I did have peaches. I peeled & then steamed 2 peaches. Then pureed them with sugar to make fresh peach preserves. This was SO good. Also, I didn't have the recommended chile sauce, but I just used the Frank's Red Hot I did have.

2. Season salmon fillets with salt (I recommend a little butter as well). Grill fillets on medium heat zone for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grill green onions on medium-low zone until sear marks appear (about 3 min.) Remove onions, chop, and stir into the rice. Set aside and keep warm.

3. Brush fillets with some of reserved peach glaze. Using a metal spatula, flip each piece. Continue to grill until flesh is cooked - 2 to 3 minutes. Serve salmon over rice and with dish of reserved glaze.

Enjoy the deliciousness.

Thanks again, Phil, for an awesome dinner. Aron said it made his week!

ejk

You Are

My friend Kaylee Dexter tagged me on this poem she posted recently on Facebook. Kaylee is a high schooler at our church and has an awesome heart for God, which is obvious once you read this poem. It stirred my heart toward heaven when I read it, so I thought I'd post it here on Kirk Haven:

You Are
Father, you are beautiful.
I see you in my daisy patch.
Your face is in my bouquet of smiles.

God, you are magnificent.
I feel your power in the storm.
Majesty is in your purple electric heavens.

Lord, you are forever King.
I hear your commands and know where they belong.
Life is just a prequel to my true beginning... or end.

Christ, you are sacrifice.
I smell your painful, saving scent.
You gave your last breath so I could speak your words to the end of the earth.

My Jesus, you are risen!
I taste freedom in your life!
You tore the veil, now forever you are with me, dancing in my heart and singing in my mind.

By Kaylee Dexter, June 4, 2010

APK

whole lotta life

to catch up on.

the lovely.

and the wild.

I am shocked over & over again to find him clawing at the dirt as if it were gold. My Lovely used to hold her hands up and whine when a few specs of dirt would find their way on her porcelain hands. Parenting a boy is so different in a wonderfully fun way.

He wears the dirt as a badge of honor.

Beaming, I hold him up as a trophy to show his daddy what the boy has gotten into.

He is as passionate about his baths as the dirt. This is a good thing.

The wierd

& the one who vanishes into his 'shell' when the camera erupts.

the friends.

Judah & Chase are buddies. They follow each other around roaming from one adventure to the next.

Chase & his daddy, Phil.

And their main squeeze momma, Mistey.

Belle LOVES her, almost as much as I do!

He's a super baby. Skeptical? You should see him hang from a bar sometime. Strongest baby alive, I bet.

the delicious.

The grillmaster with his sirloin perfection.

And summer in a bite:

This is graphic representation of the compromise of our marriage. I could do without the steak, he without the loaded salad, but together a perfectly balanced portion of just what we need.

the transcendent.

Looks ordinary enough. Infact, Aron is standing in our laundry room. But this particular night he grabbed his guitar & started playing right where he was through the songs of our life. We were no longer in our yellow little hall, but somewhere magical, a distant land we've never seen, yet so familiar to the heart. We need to go there more often.

the sleepy.

or the not so sleepy one, freshly bathed, oh so squirmy during story time.

a whole lotta life.

thank you, Jesus.

you are LIFE.

you are in every moment,

by you & through you & for you.

ejk

It's friday night,

We lounge watching Wheel of Fortune (yes, we are too young to enjoy this show, but we do...thoroughly).

Vanna White (who by sheer math is too old to look that good) floats from side to side harkening the correctly guessed letters to appear.

Aron & I stutter our attempts at solving the puzzle. Another set of correctly guessed letters.

Isabelle, in awe, "That lady has magic hands."

ejk