Star Wars.
Dinner.
Toy Store.
Cake batter ice cream.
(With gummy bears of course.)
Great conversation with a 4 year old.
Singing Kanye West in the car.
Shark Tales.

What more could you really ask for?

We got home from having ice cream and Daddy was at a basketball game. Michael turns to me and says, “Welllll, it’s just you and me babe!”

Love.This.Child.

Happy weekend!
Krysta

Today.
I want a small, simple home.
With a claw foot tub to soak in.
With creaky floor boards.
And homemade quilts on our beds.
I want old toys for my children.
Spinning tops, wood flapping ducks, and building blocks.
I want mismatched furniture.
And treasures found in a world traveled.
I want to frame love letters my father left for my mother.
And let them dance across our walls.
To remind me that love most certainly does last for eternity.
Today.
I want a garden.
To make dinner from something I have nurtured and sustained.
I want green grass.
Like, the really really green kind.
That I can prance through with bare feet.
And lay down in for afternoon dreams.
I want a porch swing.
Like the swing Stacy and I used to sit in.
Summer nights, endless hours, belly laughing.
Today.
I want the people I miss all in one spot.
To sit around my kitchen table.
In chairs I’ve collected from flea markets.
And sorted colors of dinnerwear.
I want to crank jazz music while I cook for them.
I want laughter to fill the air.
And a good bottle of red wine to share.
For deep conversation.
While early morning hours creep in.
Today.
I want the ocean.
Sand.
My Tiffany blue beach cruiser.
With a basket and a bell.
To ride until my legs get tired.
For Brady to ride beside me.
And talk about our future.
And stop for an iced coffee.
Today.
I want to read an endless pile of books.
The ones I have no time for.
I want a date with my camera.
To take pretty pretty pictures.
I want to walk to the cigar shop.
And pick out the most perfect cigar.
The ones I used to buy for my father.
Just to have.
And for my mama to live next door.
To love on my babies.
Today.
These are my thoughts.
For a simple life.
With the people I love most in this world…

Many many years ago I gave my dad a scarf for Christmas. It was intertwined with cream and black yarn and was a bit “fancy” to wear with his business attire. He was incredibly difficult to shop for. He never wanted anything and would give you no answers when you asked for gift ideas…other than the occasional something or other he had spotted on the Food Network. So, I bought him a scarf and much to my surprise he loved it and wore it incessantly throughout the winter months. A week after he left, I was putting things away in the front closet and sitting neatly folded on the top shelf was his scarf. His silver hair was still nestled in between the stark contrast of cream and black, his scent resonating, still, after months of being put away. I remember sitting down right there in the front entry with the afternoon sun beating down on me for what seemed like forever with tears that seemed endless…

I have clung to this silly scarf like a lifeline. I have tucked it away in a special box for safekeeping. I have buried my face in it many times and breathed him in with visions of our previous life flashing before my eyes. The other day I gently brought it out and heartbreakingly so, his scent was gone…leaving me with yet another reminder of how we are all still climbing and falling and, at times, suspended in the foreign space that is between.

I don’t know how time has continued to march on. All I know is too many days have passed without him and far too many remain…


*Milwaukee, 2007*

Adorable.
Chubby.
Eatable.

My best friend’s little man Brodie. We spent the day with them yesterday and he was looking all cute rocking his Superman onesie. Mikey thought he just HAD to have that onesie to match his Superman shirt. It’s like the gift that never stops giving at our house.

How absolutely beautiful is he?

Well, I think we all remember the post a few weeks ago in which I shared Michael’s infatuation with his Starwars lightsaber. Uh let me tell you…so much has happened since then. Daddy did indeed make a special trip to Target so he could have a lightsaber as well. I have watched many battles, used my body as a shield to protect my lovely and very breakable treasures, and witnessed Brady almost lose an eye. It aint pretty. It has gotten so bad that Brady actually had to tell Michael the other day that he could not play or even say another word about lightsabers. The child is obsessed.

Yes, this is a day in the life of Krysta Manthe.

So, the other night while we were at the grocery store, I had a secret to tell Michael. I was going to let him know that our friend Jim (whom he ADORES) was going to come over and have dinner with us. The conversation went like this:
Me: “Mikeyyyyy..guess whhaaatt?”
Mikey: “What?”
Me: “Someone is going to come over and have dinner with us tomorroowwwww…”
Mikey:”Who?”
Me:”JIM!! He’s going to come over and play with you!”
Mikey: (long silence)
Me: (waiting)
Mikey:”Wellllll…..(pause)….I’m gonna have to hide my lightsabers from him den.”
Me: (laughing hysterically)

We came home from the grocery store and I heard no word about the adored lightsabers. He did not play with them. Didn’t battle. Didn’t mention them once. I thought this was a bit odd…

BUT, with good reason. As I was getting ready for bed, I reached over to grab lotion from my nightstand. Underneath my nightstand sits a white box with magazines and journals resting on top of it. I noticed that Mikey did indeed hide his lightsabers from Jim. They were stashed against the back of the wall behind my journals. Smart boy I tell you. I was a bit flattered too that I was the chosen one to guard his most prized possession.

* Brady and I seriously laughed forever. I had to pull the lightsabers to the front so you could see them in low light. Too funny that boy. *

So there you go. No stellar photography today, but a bit of clean comedy to tide you over!