Here we go.

[Munich, Oktober 2012]

After a few weeks, a whole lot of tears, and driving through tiny villages praying for a German equivalent of Best Buy, I found a computer--(so it's all in German and the keyboard is a real booger... it'll do.)--And boy oh boy does it feel good to feel my fingers tap the keys furiously, letting my stories pour themselves out into every ounce of allotted space. So much has happened, but there is still so much to share.

I'm writing a book. Does that sound as pretentiously rude to you as it does to me? Ugh. I hate that. But it's true. And I'm doing it because, well, why not?

Earlier this week, my dear friend Lauren said that I was born a storyteller. And honestly, I'm starting to think it's true. Because after my sauna drama--oh, it's as good as it sounds. Trust me.--and making a tram of Germans laugh at something I said, (You guys, that's a feat. They're a tough audience.) I've gotta start passing these tales on. God has to be throwing them my direction for someone's entertainment.

Sometimes my life is like a Lifetime Channel television series. Not NBC or CBS, or even Disney. No, it's like a Lifetime Channel series.Yeah, exactly.

But we all love Lifetime, right? ...

Oh, it feels so good to be back. 
I've missed this.
I've missed you.

Let's do this.

Kaputt.

My computer took an unfortunate turn for the worst recently so I am currently trying to sort things out!

I promise I'm still here, just missing you all like crazy.

Until soon!
(come on, little computer!)

All the happiness...

[Bavaria. September 2012.]

I find that little kids are such remarkable resources for wonderment and ideas for writing and life. I love listening to them talk so expressively and excitedly about things we consider mundane, such as getting to capture grasshoppers later in the afternoon, or create a castle out of Play-Doh before lunch is served.

Every time we go somewhere in my car, I love to play my Mindy Gledhill Anchor CD. (You know, the one with my wedding song on it? ;) It's amazing to see how the boys settle down and just listen. The other day, after turning it on, they sweetly said "Oh, Anna. This is my favorite music. But only if you sing along with it!" (They said it in German, which made my heart melt into a puddle on the floor twice as fast.)

I wish we were able to foster that child-like wonder longer in life, rather than becoming more jaded, less satisfied by the most simple of things. The world needs more people who can explore and experience life with the hope and interest children are filled to the brim with. (This is not an excuse for adults to act like children, mind you. Instead, a perspective from which one can look when uninspired, disinterested, cynical, hardened by the trials of everyday life.)

It's easy to become guarded, weary of life. Being an adult comes with a lot of stress. But I think it's so important to keep the child-like trust and happy-go-luckiness alive and well within ourselves.

I hope you find yourself in awe this weekend about something, and that you find excitement in something we usually find so normal, (like treating yourself to an ice-cream cone, with sprinkles--because sprinkles make everything so much better) and most of all, I hope you find yourself laughing like a child this weekend. The kind of laughter that you just know comes from your heart, and is healing your pains and worries with every gasp and squeal of happiness.


xo-

I wish you all the happiness
That God gives freely if you ask
Mindy Gledhill, Hourglass

The Conversation

Have you all seen this show yet? It's phenomenal. Amanda de Cadenet interviews many famous women and asks them fascinating, open, honest questions. It's refreshing to see celebrities push the carefully formulated PR answers aside in an interview and allow themselves to be exactly that. Themselves.

It's much more interesting to hear such things from these ladies, and to learn from the lessons and advice they give. It's inspiring, really.

You can watch all the episodes here. (They even work here in Germany, so I'm quite sure they should work nearly everywhere!)

The website is now a daily read for me. It's full of great stuff.

On a slightly different note, it is Mental Health Awareness Week, something I hold very dear to my own heart.

For those of you suffering from a mental illness, please know that you are not alone. Please reach out to somebody and know that there are many, many helpful resources out there. 

People with mental problems are our neighbors. They are members of our congregations, members of our families; they are everywhere in this country. If we ignore their cries for help, we will be continuing to participate in the anguish from which those cries for help come. A problem of this magnitude will not go away. Because it will not go away, and because of our spiritual commitments, we are compelled to take action.-Rosalynn Carter 

For those who have dwelt in depression's dark wood, and know its inexplicable agony, their return from the upward out of hell's black depths and at last emerging into what he saw as "the shining world".-William Styron

{Quote of the Week.}

Sponsor Love: Cheerfully Charmed

Before I left for Germany, the lovely shop Cheerfully Charmed became one of my blog sponsors! Unfortunately, I have been swamped with everything being brand new and the lack of wifi in Europe (it drives me bonkers, I tell ya!). So I haven't had a moment to show off the lovely necklace they gave me!

But I will do so soon, as for now, I wanted to share the beautiful picture of the necklace above I found on Design Love Fest's blog.

Stripes + baubles = perfection every time.

{Quote of the Week.}