Rest.

Hello,

This past week Sam and I were both on spring break. We decided a few months ago to also take this week off our second jobs. Therefore, for the first time in what seems like forever, we had a week with nothing to do! We were encouraged to take this week and not schedule anything -- which is extremely hard for both of us. Before we knew it, we had scheduled dinner dates, coffee dates, and time trying to "catch up"with people. It took everything in us to cancel those plans and finally take a much needed sabbatical. But.. we did it! And it was awesome.

Resting is really hard for us, and we struggled at the beginning of the week with what resting (with each other) "looks like". By the end of the week, we were a little teary eyed as we reflected on the week of intentional time with each other. Engaging with each other in real conversation, not the daily (in passing) conversation. We found ourselves delighting in listening to a record without multitasking, going on walk that was just for enjoyment, and spending time loving each other well. We haven't felt this way since our honeymoon, and it so refreshing. We feel rested. That being said, tomorrow we jump back into the daily struggle to communicate in between our four jobs, and finding the tiny cracks of time to spend intentionally with each other. We see the need to take time "away" from our busyness, and be present with each other so we hope that we become better at scheduling that time.

All to say, this has been a week of resting, delighting in each other, celebrating God's magnificent creation in wonderful food, breathtaking art, snugly naps with Ethel, and walks in beautiful places. We are thankful for a week of rest that has helped us realize our hastiness in life and the struggle to be intentional ... but the beauty that comes from slowing down.

Lots of love,
Sam, Katelyn & Ethel

 

We started the long process of cleaning the basement and organizing our "stuff" for our move. We were on a roll, so we decided to spend 10 hours on Monday cleaning... the final product felt great! We gave 50 bags to Goodwill, and have a good amount of stuff that we will be selling at a yard sale in April. Yay for productivity! That may not sound particularly restful, but it felt so good when it was over.

 We spent a morning at the St. Louis Art Museum. It was fun enjoying beautiful art and enjoying intentional time together. Lunch at Chipotle followed, and dinner with a good friend/pastor (the one that married us), James. James was in town for the LIFE conference meeting, and we enjoyed dinner and wonderful conversation at one of our favorite restaurants -- The Tap Room. 

 We also enjoyed a 48 degree day of park hopping and apartment hunting! 

Spring break would not have been complete without some snuggle time with the cutest twins in town. I spent an afternoon drinking Starbucks and enjoying Mariah and the babies this week, while Sam got some school reading done. Of course, he couldn't pick me up without a little Caleb time.

Thursday night of spring break, we spent a night at the beautiful Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. The hotel was built in 1922 and has hosted every US president from the 1920's to 1990's. It has also been a venue for many famous musicians, and the Miss America pageant in 1956. Needless to say, its pretty swanky. We enjoyed dinner at Eau Bistro in the hotel (most amazing fettuccine and sea bass ever) and a movie to follow at the Chase Park Cinema (inside the hotel).

 To end our spring break on a great note -- Mom and Dad Haist came to visit! We enjoyed a meal at home on Friday night when they arrived, and of course good eatin' the rest of the weekend. We went to one of our new favorite breakfast places, Half and Half, on Saturday morning and then spent the rest of the morning at the breathtaking Cathedral Basilica. There is NO paint in the Basilica -- its all mosaics, making it the most mosaic filled cathedral in the world. Then we enjoyed seeing a matinee movie at a creepy theater in the afternoon, followed by dinner at Sugarfire Smokehouse. Unfortunately, our weekend was cut short by the impending snow storm. Its already coming down pretty hard!

 And of course -- an Ethel picture. Not just any Ethel picture, but the perfect picture to sum up our week of rest. We're pretty sure Ethel does not struggle with with the ability to rest.