Thursday, March 30, 2017

Lent with Claire: understanding sin + our Resurrection Eggs

We're continuing to have some really great conversations with Claire about our observation of Lent. She's asking great questions and making connections between different parts of the Easter story to one another, as well as making connections about things that we do in our daily lives because of the Easter story. 

However.

We had a conversation last week that was pretty telling about her understanding of sin. It went a little something like this:

Erin: What are some examples of sin, Claire?
Claire: Um...disobeying? 
Erin: That's right. And being unkind to Lily. Or saying things that aren't true. Or being ugly and disrespectful to Mommy and Daddy. Everybody does sinful things like this. Every single person except one. There's only be one person who never did those things. Do you know who that was?
Claire: Claire.

We, apparently, have some work to do in that department.

I thought I'd show you the insides of our Resurrection Eggs, in case you were wondering what our process looks like. Again, they're designed to be used in the days leading immediately up to Easter, but we start them at the beginning of Lent so that we can spend a few days on each one. I think it helps with such a young learner to have it repeated so much.

The set of Resurrection Eggs that we are using contains 12 eggs: 11 containing symbols and an empty one.

The contents.

1. Leaf. This one represents Palm Sunday. We sing a "Hosanna" song when we open this one. It's Claire's favorite.

2. Bread (oyster cracker). This represents the Last Supper. 

3. Silver (coins). This represents the money Judas was paid to betray his friend.

4. Purple cloth and thorns. This represents the robe and crown of thorns used to hurt and humiliate Jesus.

5. Whip (rope). This represents the beating Jesus received (really bad spankings that hurt Jesus very badly).

6. Cross. For this one, we talk about how Jesus was made to carry his cross up the hill but that he was hurt so badly and it was so heavy that another man had to help him. She's extremely interested in Simon.

7. Nails. This represents the nails used for Jesus' hands and feet.

8. King of the Jews sign. This represents the sign that Pilate hung on Jesus' cross.

9. Sponge and spear (kitchen sponge and toothpick). These represent the wine Jesus was given and the spear used to pierce His side. This is significant because they fulfill prophecies.

10. Spices. This represents the spices used on Jesus' body for His burial. 

11. Stone. This represents the stone used to seal Jesus' tomb.

12. Empty egg. This represents the empty tomb!

I know we're doing this for Claire, but it's quite good for me, too. It's a great, regular reminder of the elements involved in Jesus' death and resurrection, which is very appropriate for Lent. Does anyone else do these, and if so, do you use a different set up? I'm open to adapting this, if another/better setup is out there.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Pretend book club: The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

Y'all. I am on a roll in the reading department. Again, let's be clear: I am not reading prolifically or anything; I'm finally just reading again. First, I read Lauren Graham's book Talking as Fast as I Can, thanks to Amiee's Christmas present. Then, I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society because we had Audible credits (SOOOO GLAD I DID THAT). Next, I started reading The Awakening of Miss Prim, thanks to Mrs. Tidwell. However, a couple chapters in, I had to take a hiatus and read (i.e. listen on Audible) to another book...because a friend of mine offered to introduce me to the author who happens to be her neighbor and friend.

At the beginning of the school year, Women's Bible Study at church also started up, and one of the ladies in my small group (side note: I'm actually a small group leader) led the plenary session on the first day. She did a fantastic job, sharing a few different stories of the power of the Bible in bringing herself and two of her friends to faith. One of the friends she talked about was Rosaria Butterfield. I recognized Rosaria's story immediately, having read an article about her years ago (I think I read it in Christianity Today but don't quote me on that). I chatted with Donna later about her talk and about her friendship with Rosaria, and Donna asked if I'd like to meet her one day. Of course, I would! Important to note: she lives 3 minutes from our house. THREE MINUTES.

A couple of weeks ago, we were finally able to nail down a time to meet, and I realized that, while I knew the basics of her life story, it would be a good idea to read her book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: an English Professor's Journey into the Christian Faith. And by "read," obviously, I mean "listen to it on Audible." I started listening to it one afternoon during the girls' naps while I was working in the kitchen, and y'all. I couldn't stop! I burned through that book. It was riveting. Her life story is so interesting + her storytelling is captivating. She is so articulate and pithy. 

Some things that I particularly enjoyed about the book:
1. Her transparency. She shares such personal and difficult parts of her life; things that had to be painful to revisit and recount. Her vulnerability is admirable and makes her very relatable.
2. Her way with words. To say she's articulate is almost not giving her enough credit. Her arguments are so well-reasoned and well-spoken. As a former English professor, she shines in her conveyance of meaning.
3. Her honesty. Rosaria has a way of cutting straight to the heart of an issue or a question, identifying the elements at play, and addressing them in a comprehensive and direct way. She writes about many uncomfortable issues...but things that need to be addressed and examined. It was so thought-provoking to me to really spend some time thinking about issues that she raised about the church and Christians and how we operate (or should be operating).

I loved her story because it is just that: her story. I love stories. It's my favorite type of reading (as opposed to instructional or philosophical or the like), and it's how I file away information. Listening to her recounting her story and sharing things that she learned along the way was encouraging, confrontational, thought-provoking, and fascinating. Overall, I loved her book.

By the time our evening to have dinner together rolled around, Brad (who had also been listening to the book) and I had a long list of questions and topics we wanted to discuss with her, knowing that we only had 2 hours (babysitter/bedtimes/timelines) and that there was no way we'd get to talk about it all. We arrived at her home and immediately fell right in. Two of their children were at home, as well as two house guests, my friend from church and her husband, and later another friend of theirs showed up. Good thing their table sat 10! 

Even with all the people there, she was so gracious to sit next to Brad and me, answering all our questions and providing very insightful commentary on our thoughts and conundrums. I had read this article that she wrote several months ago for The Gospel Coalition and was interested in hearing more of her thoughts; I'd mulled over that article for days after I'd read it, and it was so helpful to talk about it with her. She also talked with Brad about some issues relating to education/academia/college campuses and answered other questions we'd had after listening to her book. I felt like I was sitting in a favorite professor's class and was able to ask any question I wanted without the threat of an exam on the horizon. It was so fun, and I was SO SAD when our time was up. 

BUT THEN she said, "Since we're neighbors, you should come again!" And I think she actually meant it! Now, help me think of a way to make that happen, guys. I have MORE QUESTIONS. Also, she's funny. And spicy. I just enjoyed chatting with her (so did Brad). Another friend of ours from church knows her and her husband and had told Brad (pre-our dinner) that "the Butterfields are the real deal." I can see exactly what he meant: they have an expansive hospitality, a commitment to scripture and living out the Christian life, and are just neat people to spend time with. If I hadn't loved the book before dinner (which I absolutely did), I would have afterward just because of how much I enjoyed our visit.

She describes her life story as an "R-rated testimony," which made me chuckle. It's definitely salty in places and probably makes a lot of readers uncomfortable- both her pre-conversion life and values AS WELL AS her commentary and criticism of Christian culture and her varied experiences with the church. And maybe even her exhortations to Christians on how we need to be thinking and engaging. In spite of (or maybe because of) these things, I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a read (or listen). Then get back to me and tell me your thoughts. 

And your ideas for orchestrating another visit. Because I realllllly want to.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Lent with Claire: car conversations

One of the hopes and prayers I had for Claire during this Lenten season was that the things we're doing and talking about with her would "click" and sink in. Working through the Resurrection Eggs, memorizing Psalm 51, and doing a weekly craft or activity are all in place to help us talk with her about the gospel. I don't know if these things, particularly, are prompting her, but oh my goodness is she asking questions and thinking. 

We've been attending the Wednesday night Lenten services at church, and Claire has been requesting to go into "big church" with us. I know she's not understanding the full meaning of the devotions, but she's listening (while coloring and sticker-ing). She'll catch certain phrases that are said and ask about it. Last week, Allen was referring to the details of the fall and the curse, mentioning Adam and Eve. Claire asked (in a very loud whisper) if we were talking about Adam and Eve and the garden and the snake? She later heard him say the word "ash" and asked if we were talking about ashes/would we be getting more ashes on our heads. She's definitely listening.

On the ride home, she hit us with some direct, insightful questions. Questions like why can't I have the bread and juice when we go to the front of the church? Why did Jesus have to bleed? Did it hurt? Why did he die? Why do people die? When will we come back after we die? Why did they put Jesus in the cave with the rock in front? Could Jesus see in the dark while He was in the cave? Who moved the rock away from the cave?

Y'all. It takes us 8 minutes to get home from church.

Brad and I worked very hard to answer her as simply and yet as thoroughly as we could. It was a stretching experience to put such difficult concepts into language and imagery that a 4-year-old could understand. It was definitely a good thing for me to process my thoughts through that filter and to be stretched to think well. I'm sure we'll be talking about these things many times over the next few weeks as she continues to mulls things over.

She's making progress with her scripture passage, too, learning new vocabulary along the way (i.e. blot, iniquity, transgressions). We're learning each verse with hand motions so that we can help prompt her when she gets stuck. Maybe I'll try to video it soon. She's doing a great job...when she's not being silly. Bedtime brings out the silly in FULL FORCE.

The Resurrection Eggs are also going very well. She asks to talk about them at every meal (although we pretty much only do them at dinner), and she is remembering the meanings and connections so well. The problem is that she wants to play with the eggs in between meals. We've compromised by allowing her to (me) and being ok with (her) shaking them. Bless.

We're actually still working on last week's craft. It's not a difficult one, but it takes a little bit of time, and we've been interrupted quite a lot. Hopefully, it will get done this week, but if not, we'll just keep working on it. I am not forcing crafts; I do not have the energy for that, guys.

Are any of y'all doing any Lent-specific activities? Or, could any of you think of a better solution that Resurrection Egg-shaking? The thorns on our crown of thorns item have been falling off systematically...

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Letter to my Little Lily: 11 Months

My sweet, sweet Lily,

You only have one more month before your first birthday, and I can hardly handle it. This year with you as a part of our family has been such an overwhelming blessing to us (especially me), and I find myself grieving that it's almost over. But then I think...it's just the beginning! No need to grieve! And that is such a happy, happy thought.





This month you've actually been crawling (a normal crawl, not just your army crawl) a little bit, and it's so cute. What's not as cute is that you are into everything. And you're really stealthy and fast, so we have to watch you all the time. You are always trying to get into the coffee bar, which you know is off-limits, and we are always having to drag you out, you stinker. 




You not only pull up now (on anything and everything), but you also cruise. You cruise all around the house. Oh, and another super fun little trick you've developed is pulling up and cruising around your crib. We've had to lower it twice in the past month because of this. The funniest part is that you can both sit and stand up in a mostly-asleep sleep state...but you can't lay back down in the same state. Sometimes, we'll come up to see why you're crying, and alas, it's because you've gotten yourself up and can't reverse that process. And you're crying because you just want to sleep and can't understand why that isn't happening anymore. It's sad and funny all at the same time. Also, a personal sleepy time favorite of mine is that you sleep on your tummy with your booty up in the air. It's the best.


Pulling up everywhere. Even when I corral you in my tub.

Cruising around your room. Forced into queendom by your sister. You weren't quite sure how you felt about it.

Cruising.



Bottoms up.

Oh. You've also learned to pull up and CRAWL ONTO the bottom step. We had to break down and put up the baby gate. We really hate using the baby gate, and yet here we are. We also had to start using the cabinet locks again, as you have discovered those suckers open and have such interesting things inside. You are a curious little learner and want to know what cleaning supplies taste like and how plastic containers work.



Some fun little developments (actually fun) are that you can now drink from a straw! And hold a bottle! And suck from our reusable fruit/veggie/yogurt pouches! This has revolutionized snacks and meals for us. The best part is watching how proud of yourself you are. Daddy also got you interested is getting your own Cheerios out of the little Munchkin snack cups. You still make a massive mess with them, but you at least have some autonomy over your snacks, which makes us all happy.


Eating your yogurt like a champ!

Using the snack cup! And wearing Claire's chosen accessory for you.

Unfortunately, you've had several colds this winter. Fortunately for us, though, you LEARNED TO BLOW YOUR NOSE. It's awesome. You don't do it every time we hold a tissue to your nose, but you do it regularly enough that we know it's not a fluke. Praise hands!



This month, you've also learned to clap, cross your fingers, make a fish face (although I think this one just happens to you- I'm not sure you know how you do it), and you've started trying to give us (open-mouthed, very slobbery, not-really-well-aimed) kisses. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. You usually go for my chin. It's precious. You are also a Master Mess Maker. You can make a massive mess in such a short amount of time; it's disheartening how quick you are in destroying the living room. Bless us. On a cuter note, you still try to mimic sounds or silly faces that we make (so, obviously, this is how we spend a lot of our time). This is something you and Daddy do a lot. And...drum roll...your first word was "hi!" You say it often when you wave. It's not always very distinct, but you're pretty consistent with it, so we're recording it as the first.


Mess-making in progress.

A favorite story of mine from this past month: I came in to get you up from a nap one day, and when I walked in the room, you were laying on your side, waving at your little bunny Wubbanub. Maybe the bunny is your first pretend friend. I kind of hope so.


The Wubbanub in question.

We love our life with you. You are such a funny, darling little cuddle buddy. Or a dragon-muffin (ragamuffin?), which your sister called you the other day.

XOXO,
Mommy


Week 45

Week 46

Week 47

11 Months. Literally the best I could do. And this is with Claire sitting in the crib with you HOLDING YOU DOWN. 

And now, this month's weekly picture outtakes:

Oops. Don't know how Koala fell over.

Whirling dervish.

RAWRRR!

BWAAA!

ARGHHH!

The uncropped picture for this month's "official" picture. Note Claire holding you down. LILY. We can do better than this, girlfriend.

Buckets of fun. :)

Friday, March 10, 2017

Lent with Claire: Resurrection Eggs 2017, memory work, and first craft

We did a version of Resurrection Eggs with Claire last year and decided to do them again this year. I made some adjustments that I hope will make it even more effective for us this year. Like last year, rather than just doing the eggs for a couple weeks leading up to Easter, we're going to do them for the entirety of Lent, spending a few days on each egg so that the symbols and meanings will sink in for her. I'm hoping she doesn't get too bored with it. We'll see how it goes and adjust as we need to.

Our Resurrection Eggs. Claire calls them our "Hosanya" eggs. The first egg is a leaf, representing Palm Sunday. We sing a "Hosanna" song when we talk about it, and it's her favorite.

We've also chosen our passage to memorize with her: Psalm 51. It may be too ambitious, but we're going to give it a go. She has an amazing capacity for memory work, so we decided to aim high. First verse is already committed to memory!

Along with scripture memory, we're adding a new hymn to our bedtime routine: "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." We've been singing it with her for about a week now, so she'll probably start joining in in the next week or so, if she keeps to her usual song-learning pattern. Our choices of scripture and song were pretty carefully considered, so we hope that they work together in a significant way in her little heart.

And...I'm going to try weekly Easter crafts again this year. Claire loves crafts, and I like to reinforce learning opportunities. So we'll give it a go. If you follow me on Pinterest, you've probably seen me pinning away at Easter crafts and activities. My theory is that if I pin a LOT of things, I can narrow it down to a few really good ones. Or maybe I'll just end up cluttering my "Easter" board. Who's to say? I'm not sure this week's was so much a craft as an "activity." We made some Easter-related items out of play-doh and talked about them as we went along. Please note: sculpting is not our thing. 

Her working face.

Our cross


Our cross and lamb. Lamb-ish type creation, rather. Doesn't matter- we talked about Jesus being the Lamb of God. That's the important thing to focus on, guys.

Next week's craft is actually more craft-like, and I'm hoping to add another couple of verses. We'll see how it goes!

Monday, March 6, 2017

Pretend book club: The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Several years ago, when we still lived in Boston, we were preparing to go to the beach, and I asked my Facebook friends to recommend some books for beach reading. Since becoming a parent, I've found that I don't know what to read so much anymore. Which is embarrassing, given that I have a degree in LITERATURE. 

My friend, Mrs. Tidwell (I'm 97% sure it was her), recommended The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer, a book that I had heard of but knew nothing about. All I knew is that I couldn't actually ever remember the title because it was such a mouthful. I didn't end up reading it that year, but I remembered the recommendation.

At Christmas this past year, I saw that Amiee had the book with her, and it made me think that I should finally pull the trigger and read it. Now, I still have the issue of just not having time/opportunity/energy to polish off too many actual books, but I do love a good audio book, and we have an Audible account. I downloaded it in January and got started.

When I first started it, I was a little disappointed because it is written in letter-writing format. I recognize that this is a legitimate storytelling style, but I don't always love it. However, I was sold after the first couple of letters. It is incredibly well done and so engaging! Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. The characters. The characters are so colorful, funny, and have such depth. Every single one. Even characters that don't "speak" are so vivid and real (there are several of those). They are so likable (or really unlikable) and full of personality. The relationships between the characters are so interesting and touching. They're interwoven together so so beautifully. Juliet, Sidney, and Isola are my favorites. And Amelia. And Susan. Never mind...I like most everyone.

2. The setting. Now, generally speaking, I greatly prefer not-sad stories. I'm just not that good at processing fake grief when there are too many real opportunities for grief in this life. That being said, I loved the ebb and flow of the happy and sad in this book. Guernsey is set in England/the British Channel Islands immediately after World War 2. You cannot have a story set anywhere near a war that does not have sad elements. You just can't. So, fair warning: there are some really heart-wrenching moments that made me cry. Hard, sad, appalling stories of how people treated their fellow humans during the war years. But, this book is so well-balanced with beautiful, kind, and funny story lines to offset the hard. I would be crying and laughing within minutes of each other. Bonus: I loved all of the snippets included about the resourcefulness of those who lived through World War 2. It's fascinating and empowering to think about how resilient and smart humans can be when they need to.

3. The cleverness. In writing a book completely in letter format, the authors have to be incredibly creative in tone, word choice, and flow. It's so well done in Guernsey. I love the witty banter and the varying lengths of the letters; some are looooong, containing stories and descriptions while others are short telegrams, comprised of concise, sassy retorts. Such good words!

It's such a beautiful story, guys. I've listened to it FOUR TIMES since January. Four times. I'll put it on while I'm doing laundry or cleaning the kitchen or doing whatever else needs to be done. It's like they're my friends who keep me company while I do chores.

Have you ever read it? Listened to it? What did you think?

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Around here lately: February 2017 edition

And just like that, another month of quotables is in the books. Enjoy!

There's something tickling my throat with a crab.

I really like Lily. But I want her to take a nap. (Lily was supposed to be napping but was making lots of noise instead)


She still loves to do this at Home Depot.


I'm sorry, Mommy. I couldn't hear you because of Lily. (They get up to silly- and LOUD- shenanigans in their shared bedroom.)

We need to worship Jesus because he rose from the dead.

Lily can play with my purse. The beads are inside, and Lily is safe. (We've been teaching Claire to help monitor areas for unsafe/too small items. She had been playing with some small beads but had zipped them up inside her purse. Thus, Lily could safely play with the purse.)




That's the baby hand and that's the mommy hand. (The hour and minute hands on the clock.)

Mommy, I'll teach you how to skip fast when you grow up.

Our house is banging down. And tearing apart. There are spider webs outside my window. (Our house is in excellent shape. The one tiny cobweb outside her bedroom window is, apparently, very concerning to her.)




I ran out of sleep.

Erin: Where is your kitty cat?
Claire: (lowers voice to creepy whisper) It's a mystery.

Excuse me, Mommy Daddy, but Lily is doing the thing she's not 'posed to. (Lily can't get away with anything.)




Lily's doing a nice balance. (Said the day that Lily pulled up for the first time.)

Foreign cookie (she mis-heard the pronunciation of "fortune cookie")

I'm taking picture of y'all because you guys are so cute. (said to Brad and a professional photographer as they were talking)


This is what I deal with when trying to get pictures...


Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-ten!

King Darius is going to make Elsa melt.

(while driving in rush hour traffic on the way to the airport)
Claire: What do you keep stopping?
Erin: So I won't hit the car in front of me.
Claire: And so you won't break the car?

I think Lily is nice, and I want to keep her because she's my friend.




(about her birthday party)
Claire: What kind of company will I have?
Erin: *lists little girls who are coming*
Claire: Um, what kind of husbands do they have?

(referring to a ballet dvd she likes to watch; she calls it "The Matching Girls")
I'm doing Matching Girls, Nana, but it's tricky to coupe while you walk.

Where's my fevver doctor fing? (She meant thermometer)

I have to get this chip out of my shoe.


My corralling system while I dry my hair.


These pants are strong for my toe to go through. (She was having trouble getting her legs into her leggings. BTW: we do not believe leggings are pants. She just doesn't know the word "leggings.")

I love you very much, guys.

Brad: Do you know what animal this is? (a porcupine)
Claire: Yes!
Brad: What is it?
Claire: Let's call him Dave!




(to the tune of "Humpty Dumpty")
Donkey, Donkey sat on a wall!
Donkey, Donkey had a great fall!
Then Rapunzel took him to the doctor.

(attempting to quote a character on Planes)
Claire: "Aw, my iPad, man!"
Brad: Claire, it's "sky-pad."
Claire: "Sky, my iPad, man!"

(eating her first Sweettart) It's spicy.




I like flowers in the world! (meaning: best in the whole world)

Claire, up to shenanigans
Erin:Toes, stop eating the puzzle or we'll have to put it away.

I just really like Lily my friend.


A birthday present


Erin: Persevere, Claire! It's like "just keep swimming!" (from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory)
Claire: I think Dory and God are telling me that!

Will you bring Lily back? (every night when I get Lily out of her crib for one last feeding before I go to bed)

The propeller is my best friend. (which was cute until followed by "give it back! You can't take it! I won't calm down!" *stomps foot*)


The "propeller"


Erin: Lily, you're so sneaky!
Claire: She's the SNEAKIEST kid.

George is a PROBLEM SOLVER!

Did you know coffee table are hard to hit your head?




Erin: It's bedtime soon.
Claire: But I'm grubby and need a bath!

The lips need some sun. (She is very confused about what to call tulips.)

Mmm. This is the best syrup ever. Oh, syrup on my shirt. I can get it. *licks shirt*

Ballet DVD: Think of somewhere you want to go.
Claire: I want to go to Minnesota to TAKIA'S house! (Takia is Tim, my brother-in-law.)




I'm the Queen. Don't touch my hair while I'm the Queen.

Erin: Can you always be my little bear?
Claire: No, because I have to grow up and get bigger.
Erin: Can I always call you my little bear?
Claire:Yes. That would be OK with me.

Barbara, explaining to Claire that Bill (my urologist father-in-law) was talking shop with Tim (my urologist brother-in-law).
Barbara: They are talking about urology. Can you say "urology?"
Claire: My-ology.
Barbara: No, URology.
Claire: MY-ology.




Fer-mom-of-ter (an evolved pronunciation of "thermometer")

Erin: Here, Claire, sit over here.
Claire: But I want to be tucked in.
(i.e. sandwiched between Brad and me on the couch)

Lily crying.
Erin: What happened?
Claire: I don't know. I fink she has a tooth.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Ash Wednesday 2017: Lent with Claire, year 2

Today was Ash Wednesday, which officially begins our observance of Lent. I've written about Lent for a few years now, so anyone who has been reading for a while is familiar with the Boswell participation. I added the tag for last year's Lenten posts at the end of this one, if you want to go back and read through some of them. 

We've been planning out activities and practices to do with Claire again this year as we work through this preparation period. My plan is to write about it again each week, so hopefully, you can follow along in this year's journey. We're trying to be really thoughtful and strategic with our activity choices so that it will be age-appropriate and meaningful. Our first Lenten activity was to make a (loooong) paper chain that lasts until Easter. She responds really well to visual markers of time, so I think it will aid our daily discussions.

She attended her first Ash Wednesday service tonight, including receiving ashes. We had some really good conversations with her about Easter and Lent and the reason that we receive ashes. Those are big topics for a little girl, but she is very thoughtful and asks good (and really hard!) questions. It's definitely challenging me to think hard about my answers and creative ways to express them to Claire.

I hope we have wonderful things to share about Claire's participation in Lent this year; she's so terribly interested in spiritual matters right now, so I'm hoping this increases her knowledge and understanding. Today, we began with this...

Genesis 3:18
By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread,
til you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Boswell beach trip 2022: part 1

Just another friendly reminder that I'm still playing catch-up. Clearly, it is not currently July... We made another annual trip to Tops...