the eye of the hurricane

oh my.

it has been awhile, right?

i have a billion blogs swirling in my head, and just haven't had the time to sit and make it happen.

so here you go.

 a little smattering of my life and mind until i can sit and actually do this thing.

but something is better than nothing, right? :)

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i am finishing up week two 

of three out-of-town weeks.

we've been making our tour of the central valley,

first in modesto with jeff's family, then to davis for a wedding,

then i headed to fresno while jeff spoke at a camp up in oakhurst.

tomorrow we will be at hume lake with our students for the week.

whew!  i'm kinda tired ;)

here are some instagram shots from our time so far

(i seriously LOVE instagram. like, if i were in third grade, i'd totally marry it)

it has been awesome to visit with friends and family.

next week we'll be staying in a house with about 4 other families 

(and 7 kids i think?) 

at hume, so it will be totally bananas, but lots of fun.

i'm really looking forward to being up there.

but i am also looking forward to being home again.

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speaking of home....

the house situation.

no, we still don't have one.  which is a bummer.

but we are trusting that there is one out there for us!

we'll be diving head-first into house-hunting after hume.

our lease is up on august 24th,

so between the 12th & 24th we need to find a house, finish packing,

move, and paint/clean our current house.

easy breezy, right?

it's been nice to be away from all of it,

feeling like there is nothing i can do,

so i shouldn't stress about it.

it was a welcome respite from the constant craigslist-hunting and house-visiting that was our july.

but i admit, 

the last two days,

 the reality of what sits in front of me is starting to feel a bit daunting.

so i am praying for peace.

and trust.

i truly believe this is about so much more than a house.

i know that god is trying to teach me some lessons here,

and i really want to learn them.

because i don't want him to need to teach me again ;)

so i am praying that i will let go of control, trust him with our lives,

and enjoy each day he has for me.

....and also that he has a home for us.

and maybe even one that we can love to live in for awhile.

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one of the stinky things about our move last summer,

was how far away from our family we are now.

in the last year,

we've had two new nieces.

i've had the opportunity to photograph both of them in the last two weeks.

they are pretty perfect.

adalyn elizabeth was born july 10th.

aren't her lips the most beautiful things ever?

and miss macie lynn is already ten months old!

she is happy smiles and crawling everywhere.

of course it was wonderful to see all our family,

but it was extra special to get time with these new little girls.

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speaking of photography,

i have been working crazy-hard on a new photography website.

i think it's going to be pretty legit.

i had no idea how hard putting a website together was!

things like code and domains just send my brain into a fog.

but i'm pushing through and can't wait to launch it-

probably after we find a house ;)

you have to promise to go check it out when it goes live, k?

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is there a statute of limitations on a blog?

cause jackson did surfers healing in june,

and i'm still trying to get around to editing the pics & making a video,

and i co-threw a fun baby shower last month.

is it too late to share?

considering 4th of july is now officially a month behind us,

i think that one is getting the axe for sure.

but you may be seeing some past-date blogs in the future.

sorry 'bout that.

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i need a home-cooked meal.

i am totally over fast food.

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i just found the most beautiful burnt-orange cardigan at anthropologie.

sigh.

totally had a dream about it.

has anyone else ever had this kind of obsession happen over a piece of clothing?

(for the record, this thing is so much cuter in person.)

(sidenote.. going on anthropologie's website does nothing for someone who suffers with contentment issues.  

you have been warned.)

anthropologie- why must you make such beautiful things?

i kinda wish i could set my house on fire and just live in anthropologie.

(not really. but you know what i mean)

actually, if we don't find a house, just moving into that store may be a viable option.

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my eyes are blurry.

i really need new contacts.

mine are like a year and a half overdue.

that will have to wait until after we find a house, too.

do you see a recurring theme?

i think september is going to be busy.

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so basically to sum it up 

(cause i'm really tired)

central valley road trip, no house, cute nieces, blog failure, new website, coveting heart, blurry eyes and bloated stomach.

any questions?

i'm off to hume lake tomorrow.

little-to-no internet or phone for the week.

i'm kinda okay with it.

so...... i'll see you later, alligators.

and if you think about us bachmans, we'd love some prayers.

because right now, i think we are in the eye of the hurricane,

and it's about to get all kinds of crazy in a week.

xoxo

shara

wanderlust

exactly one year ago today,

i was on a plane,

headed toward the most amazing week of my life.

for our ten year anniversary, 

we traveled to the riviera maya in mexico and stayed at the secrets maroma resort.

heaven i say.  heaven.

all inclusive perfection.

today i just cleaned charlotte's vomit off my kitchen floor.

if i'm lucky, i'll make a trip to target.

i admit it.  i am sad today.

i want to go somewhere.

i've had a major travel bug for awhile now.

i have this incredible desire to see the world,

but life (and silly little things like finances) just keeps it from happening.

my sweet grandad always called it wanderlust.

yep. i've got a bad case of it.

and today it's especially itchy.

a few weeks ago, i was with some girlfriends having the conversation

'what is your favorite country you've been to'?  

i had very little input,

other than what i've seen on the amazing race.

so i thought,

on the anniversary of my best trip ever,

i'd make my top-six-places-i-want-to-travel list.

(i could have done ten, but that seemed boring for you. so.... i narrowed it to six.  but i do have ten places :)

in order:

the mediterranean.

i am super fascinated by the italy/greece region.

i want to see all the ancient ruins,

ride on a real gondola (not one of those around balboa harbor)

and stay in one of those cities on the hillside,

like in sisterhood of the traveling pants 2.

(yes.  i saw it.  what?)

it looks like the perfect combination of beautiful & historical.

not to mention... i like me some italian food.

paris.

this one seems like kind of a 'duh'.

i mean, who doesn't want to go to the most romantic city on earth?

the closest i've gotten to paris is walking through the paris hotel in las vegas.

i'm guessing the real thing is a little better, eh?

i want to sit on a sidewalk eating cheese & bread.

marvel at the eiffel tower.

walk along the seine at sunset.

pretend i'm cultured and discuss paintings at the louvre.

fiji {somewhere tropical}

my trip to the riviera maya gave me a taste for the tropical.

laying on a beach sipping a delicious drink?

yes please!

i'm not even totally sure if it's fiji.  i'm not up on my 

'where-is-the-best-place-to-get-all-tropical',

but i'm thinking fiji is pretty great.

i want to stay in one of those huts right on the water.

for reals.

(but how do you use the bathroom in one of those things?)

prague {old europe}

i saw them go to prague in an episode of the amazing race.

i decided at that moment it had to be added to my bucket list.

it just looks like one of those magical cities.

(although if i'm going to prague, i'd like to stay for awhile and tour the rest of europe, too.

so tack on switzerland, germany, england, etc ;)

and i'm not sure what that castle is. but i want to go to a castle.

because this girl has some inner-princess issues.

(it's probably a church or something, but i know there are castles around there, and i will find them!)

rio {south america}

i think south america looks pretty amazing.  

costa rica, brazil... i'd love to see all of it.

but at the top of that list is rio de janeiro.

i'm not sure if it was the movie rio or the clip from breaking dawn

(i need to start watching better movies)

but i want to go there.

hawaii

sometimes i think i'm the last person on the planet that hasn't been there.

i want to go to a luau.

hula dance.

hike up a volcano.

and yes.  lay on the beach. with warm water lapping my feet.

and i wouldn't say no to a tropical drink ;)

so there you go.

places i wish i was on a plane to today.

(although i would be overjoyed to be on a plane back to secrets maroma, too!)

don't get me wrong... 

i LOVE my life.

i love where i live, my family, and all god has blessed me with.

but let's be honest...

life with three kids is rarely glamorous.

 it is really nice to get away.

see all that god has created on this earth.

and come back refreshed and ready for everyday life.

i really do want to see the world.

i realize there is a lot more history & culture than orange county has to offer.

so someday.

i'm going.

who wants to come along?

where are your dream vacations?

where have you been that was just amazing?

today, let's all have a little wanderlust.