{pretty, happy, funny, real} Spring! Easter! Pinatas!

| a weekly capturing of contentment in everyday life |

Oh my, our world is full to overflowing with good things and hard things and in-between things right now.  How's that for specificity?  I imagine your world is much the same, and you get me. Right?

Here's quick photo diary of a few moments I'm rehearsing from the past couple of weeks.

A few photos to practice contentment this week

| pretty |

He is risen (and He thought up tulips)!  Hallelujah! 

| happy |

I felt special responsibility as a godmother to capture the quintessential Texas spring photo of adorable children frolicking amidst the bluebonnets.  On the left, you see that one child humored me.  On the right, you'll see the other child was having none of it.

Godparents Club: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

I can't remember if I've mentioned on the blog that our daughter Kendra became a godmother when she was still a teenager.  She and the sweet Lucy Scout bonded when both of them were new to Austin and so Lucy's parents asked Kendra to be her godmother.  A couple years later, Brian and I were honored for the same request for Lucy's little brother Emmett.  We often ask ourselves how we got so lucky!

We took advantage of the week that Kendra was home for Spring Break to plan a morning adventure at the wonderful Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  I've decided that we should call ourselves the Godparents Club, and will henceforth name all future collaborations likewise.  We've also discovered that we need a 3:2 ratio now that Brian and I are so old and out of practice.  

If you live in (or visit) Austin, spring is THE time to visit the wildflower center.  Admission is reasonable, and Kendra got a student discount (kids 5 & under are free).  Before we even got inside the main area, we happened upon a nesting mama owl.  I'm not sure the binoculars actually helped L & E see the owl, but they sure had fun trying. The flowers are lovely, the walking trails just the right amount of work, the observation tower worth the climb, the cafe tasty and the children's garden imaginative and delightful.  

Of all that goodness, though, the swings are the absolute best.  You have to walk quite a ways to find them, but it's worth the trek (especially when you're little enough to let someone carry you back to the car when you're tuckered out).

Gosh, we're going to miss these kiddos.  (their parents too!)

| funny |

Second Annual Friends Easter Feast

Last year they came to our house, this year we went to theirs.  I am not exaggerating when I say they got robbed.  May I also recommend you all go out right now and find yourself a friend with culinary school training?  

Also, they make me laugh. A lot.  Laughter belongs near the top of the list of ways to practice resurrection.  We feasted (lamb! leek fritters! chili queso! corn pudd'n!), hunted for colored eggs (lottery ticket prizes!  winner gets a kitten!), and whacked a pinata (lollipops!).  

| real |

My people 

It's beginning to dawn on all six of us that very soon we're going to be separated by thousands of miles.  As in, over shawarma at the Peace Bakery & Deli right after church on Sunday. As in, at any given moment one of the six of us had our head in our hands, bawling our eyes out.  I'm really grateful for the hospitality of the restaurant owners who gave us a quiet space to talk over all-you-can-eat pita and hummus.  (An aside: I'm thankful for the Resurrection sort of peace that makes a way for us to enjoy food prepared by our Middle Eastern neighbors on Easter Sunday. May that peace be known across the globe.)

I'm not going to lie.  This stage of parenting (or should I say, "family-ing"?) is really hard.  I have been humbled quite a bit in my assessment of myself as a mother.  Humbling is a good thing, though, and I've never been more grateful for the extreme privilege of sharing life with my husband and kids.  And I've never been more grateful for a Christ who bridges the gaps of our imperfect love, and saves us all.  

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Have YOU captured any contentment this week?  I'd love to hear about it!

| Join in at P,H,F,R to see other wonderful people practicing contentment. |

{pretty, happy, funny, real} in a life-changing February

| a weekly capturing of contentment in everyday life |

"Weekly" is not exactly accurate since it's been over a month since I posted anything other than the devotional Lent daybook posts.  I'd like to say this was an intentional fast for the season or something, but that wouldn't be true.  

The real reason for the lack of personal posts is that February was cray-zay.  I spent 17 of the 29 days out of town (sleeping in about five different states), and I spent a total of 8 days sick in bed (literally). On the few remaining days, we visited with a few friends, went to work, marked Ash Wednesday, and accepted a new job in a new state. 

What?!?  Keep reading, friends.

A few photos to practice contentment this week

|old friends|

A visit with an old friend

We have not seen A. for probably 8 years, before living in Austin was even an idea in our heads.  One of the most serendipitous moments we've experienced since moving to Austin was the day we met a new family at Christ Church, and in our first conversation discovering that they had lived with our friend across the world in Asia.  Not only did we discover we had a mutual friend, but we learned that this very family had been one we'd prayed for when A. sent the requests about their daughter who was seriously ill.  And here she was -- in Austin -- miraculously cured and full of life.  The whole thing came full circle when A. came back to the U.S. and visited all of us in Austin.  

We enjoyed a breezy dinner out doors and caught up on stories.  It was especially sweet for Natalie - who had prayed for A. with her Sunday School class in NY when she was little - to ask more grown-up questions about life on mission.  

Beautiful.

| Central Texas ministry retreat|

ministry retreat in Central Texas

At the very beginning of the month, we spent a few days at a retreat center with a small band of church friends, training in a new ministry offering. There was just enough time for me to get out for a late afternoon hike.  I accidentally went far beyond the trail, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff.  I got to watch the sun set, and it was gorgeous.  Then I hustled back while there was still a bit of daylight because I'm still terrified of all that creeps and crawls in Texas.

|Connecticut interview |

St. Mary's-by-the-sea Park

Fairfield, CT

I've mentioned over the past year, somewhat between the lines, that Brian and I really did not know where we would end up working once he is ordained into the Anglican priesthood. Last summer it became clear to us that we would not likely have the opportunity to rector a church in Austin, we prayed hard about church planting outside of Austin vs. interviewing for Rector positions outside of Texas.  As part of that discernment process, we sent resumes to a few hiring churches.  We wanted to get a sense of what other Anglican churches in the U.S. were experiencing, and what needs they were expressing in terms of pastoral leadership. 

Two of the three locations followed up with Brian with several Skype interviews.  After each conversation, Brian was energized not only by the questions, but also by the earnest hearts of the church members in this hard task of searching for a new priest.

Much to our amazement, both churches invited us to interview in person within one week of each other.  In theory that sounds logical -- back to back interviews.  In practice it was emotionally and physically exhausting. Not just because of the toll of air travel and meeting large groups of new people for weekend-long intense conversations, but the greater exhaustion came from the love we felt for each location.  We hoped to be chosen -- as any normal human would -- but we also agonized the choice.  Our choice to respond, to leave Austin, and, essentially, to leave behind one of the congregations we met and prayed about, in addition to the church we already serve and love here in Austin.

It surprised me how hard that felt.

Providentially, one of the dear members of the church in Connecticut handed us a homemade loaf of Rye bread on our way out the door Sunday afternoon.  And so, we had chunks of bread and glasses of wine for our hotel room dinner that night.  While it started to snow outside our window. And it was very, very good.

Of course, one of the perks of interviewing in Connecticut was flying in and out of our favorite city in the world.  And, not only that, we got snowed into Brooklyn for two nights because our flight home was cancelled and the next available flight wasn't for another two days.

Oh darn...

We made the most of our added time, traipsing through sleet, wind and snow for a delightful belated Valentine's Day dinner at the excellent Franny's.  This photo shows our dessert, but the rest of the meal was utterly fantastic as well.

 

The rest of our time in NYC

• the quintessential NYC Italian eating experience, in which I was the only female in the crowded cafe and we found out we had to pay cash when we're already through the line and the little Italian owner-guy told Brian "It's OK. Eat it before it gets cold! You can pay me later." (which we did, of course)
• Waiting out the pouring rain inside Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn
• Reading, writing, people-watching in the perfectly buzzy The Greene Grape Annex coffee shop (across from Greenlight)

| Virginia interview |

A day and half after returning to Austin from Connecticut, we headed out for our second weekend of interviews in southeastern Virginia. 

This church was dear and we fell in love with each person - from the two-year-old to the 91-year-old couple.  They are a small band of people who love Jesus, love each other and love their town and we will keep praying that God sends them exactly the right shepherd to join them.

| Maryland sister visit |

When we looked at the map and realized how close we'd be to my sister's new house in Maryland.  How could we miss the chance to visit?  And I can't stop looking at this picture. (we were recreating this one before my niece Ellie was born). This picture represents so much prayer and so much courage from my brother-in-law and sister.  We give thanks to God.

| Denton daughter weekend |

Mother/Daughter event with Kendra

After catching up with two days of work back in Austin, I loaded up my podcast playlist and hit the road to Denton for a weekend with my daughter.  Her sorority hosts an annual mom's event, and we've begun a tradition of getting a hotel room and hanging out for a whole weekend. We got time to trip around town a bit, hitting up the huge used bookstore, a couple of cute cafes, and meeting up with Kendra's roomies and their mothers. Another highlight of the weekend was helping Kendra prepare her support letter mailing for her mission trip to Kenya this summer. 

On Sunday I visited Kendra's church with her, and loved the opportunity to worship with yet another Anglican church earnestly seeking to love God and neighbors well.  

As I said, it was a full month with some life-changing results. We are grateful, excited, nervous, sad and eager.  I imagine I'll be talking a lot about it all here in the coming months. In the meantime, here's the basic announcement in Brian's words:

Big News for the Murphy Family | Christ Church website

Have YOU captured any contentment this week? 

 I'd love to hear about it!

| Join in at P,H,F,R to see other wonderful people practicing contentment. |

{pretty, happy, funny, real} in January

| a weekly capturing of contentment in everyday life |

Today I'm inserting a little "normal" {p,h,f,r} post before the Series of Fortunate Events finale (the wedding!) I really and truly can not believe that we're in the final days of January. I know everyone says this, but this time I really mean it. How is it possible? We began the month in what we call in these parts "full twirl" - holidays, family & friends and wedding festivities. We're ending the month kind of quietly, which has its own profound beauty. Brian and I are headed to a retreat center with a small group of Christ Church friends intent on learning new ways to come alongside lonely and overwhelmed people. January brought a lot of goodness, with some moments of sharp sorrow interspersed. Through it all, we hope to be grateful.

A few photos to practice contentment this week

| pretty |

Morning light in two locations

I was caught by the January morning light on a table centerpiece in my house, and then in the mostly-empty church sanctuary during Friday morning Epiphany prayer service.  

| happy |

Slow Cooking Saturday

It's been too long since we've made a good, old-fashioned meal for company. When Brian talked with two of his co-workers (whom we'd wanted to have over for the longest time) about what we'd eat, they decided to each bring one part of the meal and we'd prepare it all together.  I guess the idea came when Brian bragged about his (amazing) GF Chicken parm, and they wanted to know how he made it.  So why not cook all together?  Bekah made a hearty, delicious salad.  Sarah & Drew brought the most delectable homemade ice cream I've ever tasted.  (better than non-homemade, too!)  We had to fight with the kids to get our fair share of that yumminess.

Visiting the Newlyweds in Houston

I promise we waited a whole two weeks!  Long enough for them to actually want company, we hope.  We filled the back of our van with remaining wedding gifts, furniture and odds & ends they'd left behind.  I loved seeing their sweet apartment, their wedding gifts in use (note the lovely cobalt blue glass in the foreground above).  They made us coffee in a new coffeemaker, and we sat around and looked at the gorgeous sneak preview pics their wedding photographer posted.  

| funny |

Wedding pics & gifts

Speaking of wedding photos, I tried to snap a pic of us all trying to look at the same exact pictures at the same exact time.  It wasn't an exact science, but it was worth a try! There was one gift left unopened - this dreamy Nespresso machine from my sister-in-law's very generous mother.  Don't you love that reaction?  

Brian's church office

No, he did not order this nameplate for himself. Yes, he has been known to say this about himself on occasion

Making mischief at Aunt T's house

Even though it seems like it's been months since our family visited from the Northeast, I keep stumbling on sweet little reminders that it wasn't actually that long ago.  Take, for example, the original artwork on the pillow case above.  

You've heard of Making A Murderer?  Here's our spin-off: Making A Mischief-Maker.  Judge for yourself and start cranking out the conspiracy theories.  I, for one, am still not sure which sweet angel is responsible.

Whodunnit: Cade or Ellie? from Tamara Hill Murphy on Vimeo.

| real |

Kendra made the Dean's List!

We are | real-ly | proud of her.  Also, I'm learning that mothers never stop wanting to cover their refrigerators with their kids' accomplishments.  Someone once told me that God has a picture of each of us on his refrigerator.  I'm pretty sure that was metaphorical, but I totally understand the parental impulse!

Epiphany dinner with Christ Church staff

Someone recently asked me what these years in Austin have meant (assuming we'll need to move again for my husband to serve as Rector after his ordination).  Austin has been about healing, hope, hardship, growing up to be more like Christ and more like our truest selves.  I said a lot more than that.

This group of people -- the Christ Church pastors, staff and their families --  are forever imprinted on our hearts and intertwined in our way of seeing the world.  Sometimes Brian refers to this staff as "lightning in a bottle". In other words, it's almost impossible to gather in one place or to hold onto for very long. For this brief time in our lives we were part of something really special. I want to celebrate that, even if we won't be together for much longer. The kingdom of Christ has no end, and our hearts will be forever held together with this group of people.

Have YOU captured any contentment this week? 

 I'd love to hear about it!

| Join in at P,H,F,R to see other wonderful people practicing contentment. |