{ Comparisons and a Sumtumn Wreath }

I know, I know. It's been a really long time. I get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of vacation photos to wade through, then life gets busy, then we go camping, then I have more photos to wade through--ack! I'm slowly learning that there is no such thing as a "busy season." It's a busy life, period. Occasional hiatuses {hiati?} from blogging are an inevitable part of our busy lifestyle. I want accept these unplanned "breaks" from blogging with joy--isn't it awesome that the people and relationships in my life are more important than the internet?--rather than feeling guilty for "neglecting" my blog. Which is not to say that relationships via online channels are less valid because they aren't always face-to-face...I think you know what I mean. Emily at Jones Design Company wrote a post yesterday that totally resonated with me. If you haven't already, please read it here. She expresses so poignantly one of the double-edged swords of the blog world: feeling bad when you compare yourself to other women as expressed on their blogs. I encourage you to read her post in its entirety, but these paragraphs especially stood out to me:

"It is a constant struggle for me to be able to look at other’s successes [on their blogs] and be genuinely happy for them without that little nudge of insecurity to creep in. And on the other side, it is a challenge for me to look at my own successes and not feel like I am somehow better than another.

To be in that place where I am fully confident in who God made me to be and have no need to compare myself is where I am headed, but I am not yet there."

source

Amen! All that to say that the guilt I feel when I think, "I don't blog often enough!" is based purely on comparison with how frequently other bloggers post, not because the Lord told me to blog X number of times per week and I'm not.

A whole slew of posts about Kauai are coming up in the next few days--making time to blog is my treat for myself after spending all evening yesterday doing laundry from our most recent camping trip. I'm finishing up the last load as we speak--honestly, I think it's number ten--even our blankets and pillows were saturated with campfire smoke! But tonight I want to share our front door wreath with you. Almost as soon as we returned from Kauai, I was overcome with an almost physical urge to make a wreath. A sumtumn wreath. It's not quite autumn; goodness knows we've barely even tasted summer weather in the Pacific Northwest. But I wanted--I practically needed--to make an autumn-ish wreath for our front door. An end-of-summer wreath. A sumtumn wreath.

Jones Design Company tutorials to the rescue. {Honestly, this post is not a plug for JDC. Emily has no idea who I am. I just happen to love her tutorials.} I followed her easy directions for the ruffle wreath, added a few satin flowers, and voila! A sumtumn wreath!

Now I'm off to wade through vacation photos and share the glories of Kauai with you all over the next few days!