I lift up my eyes to the hills

We are back from our lovely night away. I could really get used to this whole celebrating-the-anniversary thing.

And according to Savannah, we now have a "new house".

She was in love with the hotel room, the pool, the elevators, and the fact that she could run up and down the halls unhindered. Upon entering our room, she immediately dubbed it our "new house". And since we have returned home, she has asked no less than 10 times when we're going to go back to our new house to go swimming.

Obviously, it didn't take her long to become accustomed to a life of leisure.
















Ricardo and I enjoyed a romantic candlelight dinner Thursday evening while some friends of ours watched Savannah. It was a nice little steakhouse, and I really wanted a steak.

Ok, that is not entirely accurate. I wanted Ricardo to get a steak so I could steal a bite off of his plate, while also enjoying something else of my own.

Me: So! What are you getting?

Him: The burger.

Me: Really! Wow. Not a steak? Really?

Him: No. The burger.

Me: Man. I was really hoping one of us would get a steak so I could taste it.

Him: Well, you go ahead. Get a steak.

Me: I don't want a whole one. Just a bite.

Everybody does this, right? Eat off the plate of the hubby? I'm quite sure I'm not alone in this. Hubby is not overly fond of my habit, but he indulges me, and now even knows to offer me unsolicited bites. He let me taste his burger, and it was delicious. A Kobe beef burger, so it had a little extra class to it. And I know he really, really loves me.....because he really, really loves his burgers, and to forfeit a bite for the sake of the wife speaks volumes.

The resort is on the east side of town, close to the mountains that hem our city in on that side. Rachel at Badgers on the Loose had just requested that I post some pictures of the mountains, so since we were so close, I snapped a couple of shots. Here you go, Rachel! Hope it doesn't make you too homesick. :)







When I first moved here, the mountains were the first thing I fell in love with. I remember promising myself that I would never take their beauty for granted, and that I would look at them every single day and feel the same awe that I felt the first time I laid eyes at them. I would repeat that verse to myself from Psalms 121, "I lift up my eyes to the hills..."

Gradually, I stopped really seeing them. I started using them only as a landmark, an easy way to remember my directions...."if you're going towards the mountains, you're going east". I would stand at my kitchen window which directly faces them, and fail to notice the grandeur that once took my breath away.

Then I read Rachel's comment a few days ago, and realized how much I would miss those mountains if I had to leave. It's so, so easy to take for granted the beautiful things that you are surrounded by every day.

So, again, I promised myself I would take the time to stop and look and appreciate a little more. I sat yesterday evening, pool-side, as the sun started to set. It cast its glow upon the mountains and painted them a beautiful coral-red color, and it was the most gorgeous and peaceful thing I had seen in a long time. And, again, I was reminded:

I lift up my eyes to the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

Maker of Heaven and Earth.

Psalms 121:1-2