AM pictures

Ok, so day three of school we were actually ready a little early today. And Sare looke so cute, we decided to whip out the camera again. She and E both got much needed hair cuts yesterday. We won't call these retakes, but they were super cute.

I liked this one of E and S - but they both look so serious, it's humorous.I love this one of Sarah and her daddy. Too bad about the truck in the background. I noticed it as I took it but decided the shot was worth the truck. She doesn't hold a pose for more than 2 seconds. And no, I'm not exagerrating. Two seconds on a good day. You are praying on exposure, cause by the time you've set it, she's on to something else. punk.
I love this shot of us. I can finally see how people say she looks like me.
And this one is really neat, even though Rob accidently shot in manual and didn't know to change any of the settings, I realized it right after he took this first photo. I decided to share it anyway because I really like the expressions. Plus, it's nice to be reminded once in a while that I'm going pro for a reason, right? Maybe even too that he can't do everything better than I can. te hee.

Coming Up for Air

I hate it when I get in downward spirals with blogger, it saddens me. Sometimes life's too busy to sit down and document it and generally that's when it most needs documenting!

First off, today was awesome. Jennifer and I stole some down time and ignored our responsibilities for the day to run down to Baybrook for a little retail therapy. Honestly, it wasn't really about the shopping, it was more about taking some time for us to talk and enjoy each other's company in the absence of kiddos, hair and photos. All things we love and enjoy, but sometimes it's important to just focus on spending time together instead. So we started at Ulta and just wandered around looking at all the fantastic ways to attempt beauty. Wow, that was really eye opening, wandering around a hair/makeup place with a beautician! I feel more glamorous already! I tried the Bare Minerals makeup today. I've wanted to try it for a long time and had been all geared up about 8 months ago to purchase the kit, but it's not available in the lightest shade within a kit. I hesitated and went with PUR instead, which I've liked for the past 8 months, but doesn't cover as well as the Bare Minerals do. Check out our picture today after my makeover and tell me what you think. The longer I've had it on, the better I like it, it's really held up well through the day. I haven't bought it, just went home with a free sample to play with for ten days, so that's cool.

Then we wandered over to the Marshalls Home Goods store to drool over shoes and hand bags, any girls weakness, right? I did find a fantastic Liz Claiborne bag to replace my lime green one. It happens to have a pink polka dot interior with lots of sections, so that's perfect. Also, I found a couple pairs of really inexpensive flats for the Sare Bear, I still hadn't gotten her school shoes. She's actually asleep right now, so she hasn't seen them yet, but I'm sure she'll be psyched!

Speaking of Sarah, she said the funnies thing this morning. We've been working on memory verses and she said "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be shaved. Acts 16:31" hee hee. Rob and I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. :) I'm pretty sure I'll have no trouble remembering that verse, what do you think??

So Jennifer and I then went to Olive Garden for their soup and salad. That was a great idea. We had this wonderful discussion about denominations and belief systems and the overlying idea that Christ is the only way and maybe all that other stuff is not so important. It was really fun. And the food was yummy. It was a great day.

and we are wrapping up, getting ready for church tonight. I've got a fun game (of course) for youth group. Eli and I are going to play Wii for a bit. I need to work on some paperwork, but that just doesn't sound fun, now does it??

I Love Jennifer

I know I've previously uploaded this photo, but I need to just love on this girl. I was having a moment this morning and really needed a talking to. She called me and just encouraged me beyond belief. Aren't you thankful for friends like that? Sometimes I forget how many wonderful people God has put in my life and I sit there and wallow in my own stuff when any one of those friends is just a phone call away. sheesh! When am I going to learn that lesson? But anyway, Jennifer just really built me up this morning and I am really thankful to her!

First Day of School

It's crazy that Eli is off to second grade this morning and Sarah is starting her first and only year of pre-K.

This morning was really rough. And it was crazy, not that I was under prepared or anything, just a tough morning. I was up early, like an hour and a half before they left. But they were both just pokey and Rob was mopey and I was trying to keep the environment encouraging, kwim?? It was a tough start though, but we got everyone out the door and only 7 minutes behind schedule. That's not too terrible for our first day, is it?? (we have a built in cushion for time)

But they were behind and I wanted to take pictures and Rob was bugging me to wait till tomorrow. I was adamant that it wouldn't be the same and I didn't get up at six am to miss taking the traditional 'first day of school' photos!! grrrr. So, we got them. And everyone left in a flurry.

And then I was all alone.

:)

In A Funk

Yeah, so you might have noticed I've been pretty quiet on the old blog lately. I guess when I am stewing in my own funk I try real hard not to spread it around too much. I figure it doesn't really help to drag everyone else down. Once in a while I just get that way, it lasts a few days or week or something and then I just start to pull out of it and feel better. Not even sure why I'm being this forthright now, except I think I'm on the other side of it and it feels good.

I've spent a lot of time examining this funk and I think it's the result of several things. First and foremost, I've been really homesick lately. That's a bit ridiculous because I've been a grown woman for a long time. I literally moved out of Mom and Dad's house when I was 17, so we'll just leave it at "that was a long time ago". I don't know, when we first got here 14 months ago it felt far from home, but it was this great adventure. And it's not like we lived in Iowa most recently, we've slowly been migrating south (like a flock of birds) off and on for the past decade really. But my family, my friends, were always like 8-10 hours away. And until recently, you didn't have to be a gabillionaire to afford a tank of gasoline each way, right?? But now we've been here a while and the realization that it's a 17 hour drive each way and I don't know, $600 in gas just kind of boggles my mind. And really, it's not even the place. I mean, Rob's my family, Eli and Sarah, and they've been my family for a long time now. Home is where they are.

But lately I've been thinking about the leaves starting to turn and Indian summer setting in, red apples ripening in the orchards and the smell of the fires when people rake their yard. I can envision the first snowfall (I really do love snow - how it makes the world all pure and white and perfect, even for just a few hours) and I can even hear the crunch of too-cold snow beneath your feet later in the winter, when it's been there for months. I even miss that! I'm crazy, I know.

So last night, I'm at this youth pastors convention. Let me tell you, no one parties like youth pastors! Even in the hotel, I can pick out the yp's from all the rest of the regular folks. We are the 30 somethings who dress like we are still hanging on to highschool, kwim?? We've got our intensely highlighted hair and our skinny jeans (heaven help us with that the second time around) with our bright flats or cute pumps peaking out from super dark denim. None of us look like we belong in this ultra-swanky hotel, right?? Seriously, that's the perk of being a yp, twice a year you get to pretend your somebody and stay at the Marriott. It's pretty hip.

If you didn't know us by our grossly exaggerated dress code, then our technology would give us away. You'll see the tell-tale white ear buds hanging from earlobes, notice an unnatural flurry of texting happening in our everpresent cell phone, and the truly 'arrived' ones are distinguished by the softly glowing apple on our all-precious Macbook. :)

Hey, I'm not mocking them, I'm one of them. It's just a unique group, that's all I'm saying.

So we get going last night. Our DYD Marty Burroughs opens up. He's amazing btw. He's really taking Rob under his wing, and that's been fun to watch. In fact, he gave me a huge hug today to 'welcome me to the family' with his warm honey Texas drawl. I had to cram down my northern-ness - since we really aren't big on huggy-touchy - God's really stretching me in this department. :) I'm a work in progress people, please love me in spite of me, ok??

This amazing youth worship band ministered to us all this weekend. They are students from San Antonio, Westover, I believe. They just went to Nationals and they were crazy good. Worship was amazing. Marty talked about being in a desert and quoted Isaiah 43:18-19 and it just spoke to my heart.

18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

The verses just hit me where I was at. First of all, lately I've been really focused on all the mistakes I've made in the past. I mean, seriously, all of my adult life has been under my little microscope lately, and all I can see is mistake after mistake. I've wondered how God can even use me?? Even typing that seems so cliche, but I'm just telling you where I was at. I felt beyond parched. Like an old dried up riverbed - with deep cracks where the water has just evaporated up out of the ground leaving nothing of value, nothing useable. And when I fell into worship, I mean emptied my heart in worship last night, I literally could feel God's Spirit, His very Presence pushing over my heart, over my dry and thirsty life. It was like a rushing wave of His goodness, restoring the river, washing over me. The imagery in my mind was astounding. I felt wet - His presence was so real. I cried so hard, not an unhappy cry, but the life giving, pour-your-heart-out-before-your-God kind of cry. I was sucking in air between my sobs like a man gasping for air after almost drowning. It felt so good. I had needed that for so long. Can you relate??

So thinking about my old useless riverbed. I am reminded that God brought us up from the clay, that He fashioned us out of dirt. Genesis 2:7 tells me this.

the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Even a dry and dusty used-up creek bed... that's an exciting new beginning for God.

Cool, huh?? (God loves a challenge, I guess)

I also felt like God told me some things during that drowning in His presence. First of all, I need to plant myself where He has me. I need to stop longing for things past. I'm probably remembering them better than they were anyway. I need to be grateful for the life I have now, because it's truly an awesome life, don't you think?? So what does that look like? I need to stop telling people I'm from the Midwest, like it's some qualifier or disclaimer or something. Besides, most folks can figure it out the first time I drag out and 'aye' in any given word. They don't need me flaunting my differences. So I'm on a new kick. I'm from Texas. kay? I'm not giving up my good ole Iowa heritage, I'll still be whipping up Iowa food and talking too fast, but I'm not going to wear it like a badge of honor anymore. I think it annoys people and puts up walls. I need to stop focusing on the differences between here and there and instead embrace the commonalities. And with that, I apologize for my Iowa-ness from here back to June 07. I wish I had adapted as fast as Rob (wow, have you noticed him? if I didn't know better, I'd almost think he was raised in Houston. He's seriously this close to carrying hot sauce with him, ya know??) but I'm going to do my very best from now on. I'm even trying to get over the one-way feeder roads (God bless em) and embrace it as my personal opportunity to boost the Texan economy! ;)

Also, I need to stop beating myself up over past mistakes. The verse says 'forget the former things, do not dwell in the past'. I can do better. I can start today. With God's help.

I really need to be more intentional with my time. God has given me 24 hours each day, and I need to use it wisely while He tarries.

So I say all this to say I'm excited! My storm has past and I am wading with God again and enjoying the afterglow of His supernatural presence. I'm ready for tomorrow and all the excitement of this next year in ministry. I'm super pumped about theLOFT and realife and all the cool things we can do at Trinity. I feel like we have just gotten our feet wet and there is so much more to come.

Another cool thing I'm going to start doing is carrying my small 'The Message' in my purse, so when I have time waiting in a line (esp the car line, we back to that starting on Monday) I can just pop that book out and get right to it. I'm terrible at memorization, but I'm a big reader. :) Maybe if I read it all the time it will get buried in my heart and mind. Then when the people around me bump into me, Jesus will just come spilling out.

I'm excited.

Can you tell I'm excited???


ps - we did some awesome worship songs. like healer. sweet. and inhabit our praise and came to my rescue. wow. very moving.

New Pages for Lori

Not so thrilled about this first page.  It started strong, but went downhill from there.

I really like this one though, but it's wierd that I went ahead and scrapbooked about 30 now, even though it's still 9 months away, but I've been thinking about it, so I'm scrapping about it.
And this page is super simple, but the colors really worked for me.
Eli slipped me this note the other day and I just loved it.

Stumbled Across This

Saw this and thought it pretty much sums up this presidential race for me. I'm dreading November 8th because my values insist I vote for someone. sheesh.

Rob Shared Today

This article.  I was excited to read it.  I hear people take the Lord's name in vain all the time and it bothers me so much.  Especially when I hear pastors say it from the platform!  OUCH!  I think we need to hold our Creator's name reverant, remembering the power and glory that He posesses.

Anybody remember the movie Lion King?  I love the part where the hyenas are plotting and they say the name "Mufasa" and it gives them chills.  That's how I feel about the Lord's name, it should give you chills when you think about his Awesomeness, His righteousness, and His holiness. I think we need to respect His name.

anyhoo, just my two cents.  hey, it's my blog, right??

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God." 
—Exodus 20:7, NIV

I couldn't keep from grinning as I took my seat. Friday had arrived. My favorite class with my favorite teacher was about to start. And just before class, I found out that I got a lead part in my school's fall musical. It was a great day … until I overheard my name. Andrew*, a classmate two rows behind me, was saying to someone: "That Jason Lawrenz is such a … " As my head turned, Andrew realized I could hear what he was saying and he quickly changed the topic, but the damage had been done. No, he hadn't said much more than my name, but the way he said it was offensive, angry and mean. It hurt a lot. I also worried that he'd done damage to my reputation—all because of the way he'd said my name.

Looking back at that experience, I think I caught a tiny glimpse of how God must feel when someone misuses his name. In fact, God is so concerned with how people use his name that he gave us the third commandment: "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name" (Exodus 20:7, NIV).

Obviously, God takes his name very seriously, and he doesn't want anyone misusing it. So, we should probably ask ourselves, "How do we misuse God's name?" To answer this question, we need to dive into a little history.

Centuries before Moses and the Ten Commandments, God chose Israel to be his messenger to the world. In ancient times, messengers were usually associated with royalty. Kings regularly used messengers to communicate with other nations. When a messenger delivered a message, he would first announce the name of the king who sent him. This official announcement was very important. Once he used the king's name, his message carried the authority and power of the king.

So, if the messenger delivered an inaccurate message, then he had "misused" the king's name because he said something with the king's authority that the king never told him to say. Additionally, the messenger's inaccuracy reflected poorly on the king and caused the king's name to lose some of its power and authority.

As God's messenger, Israel received the third commandment as a charge to use his name faithfully. This meant delivering the right message. God still uses messengers. He has chosen you and me to deliver his message to the world, and our message is the Gospel—the Good News that Jesus came to rescue us from our sins.

Let's bring this back to the commandment. The verse says that we shouldn't misuse God's name. Since we are God's messengers, misusing God's name means acting or speaking in ways that keep others from hearing the gospel message. This includes using God's name as an ugly swear word, but it also includes stuff like having pre-marital sex, drinking, gossiping behind someone's back, spreading lies, or treating others rudely. Doing this stuff doesn't align with the message of God's love, so it keeps our friends and classmates from hearing that message. And worst of all, misusing God's name like this will hurt him just like Andrew hurt me when he spoke my name so offensively.

Being commanded to consistently act and speak in ways that honor the gospel message is a huge challenge. After all, we all mess up. But there is a big encouragement for us: The Bible says that Christians are a "chosen people" (1 Peter 2:9, niv). God has chosen you and me to be his messengers, which means that he believes in us. He believes that we can be effective messengers.

So do you desire to be the King's messenger? If you do, then take a moment and ask God to help you. Ask him to give you the strength you need to honor his name with your words and actions. Then go into the world as a Christian and share the message of God's love. This is how you use his name in the right way. This is how you become a true messenger to a world that needs the true message.

Oh, and I found it.  :)

rough day

You ever have a day when you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed??



Yep.

That's me today.

First off, we woke up to a phone call that Rob's grandma (90+ years of age) fell yesterday and broke her hip. She's scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning, they were going to do it this morning but her blood was too thin. Please be praying for her. Thankfully, we saw her when we were home in May.

Then we realized that we forgot to haul the trash out last night, only to find a happy little trail of ants making their way into our garage this morning. The thing about ants in Texas is that you really don't know if they are fire ants until they bite you. :)

And things kind of went downhill from there.

But we did have a good time at Incredible Pizza in Pasadena. We also had some great conversations. And I really enjoyed book club tonight.

I could tell that I was vulnerable when I went to Kroger tonight though. Ham and Swiss made it into my cart, along with microwave carmel corn (hey, it was bogo) and a bunch of $1.00 snack size candy. But to my credit, we are enduring a viewing of Lord of the Rings tomorrow night and hopefully some good 'really bad leftovers' (codeword for chocolate and candy) will make the whole affair more tolerable.

so, good night at last. Tomorrow's Tuesday and I'm fairly certain I'm scrapbooking. Even amongst the mess in my house. details.

Random Things My Kids Say

(Lori thinks this needs to be an ongoing post.)

*I was getting my shower finished up and ready for the day.   Eli runs in and asks me if it's ok if Sarah is done with her breakfast and can play with him.  I say sure.  I runs back yelling to Sare...

"Sarah, Mom said you can skip breakfast and play video games instead!"    great.

*Eli and Sarah are discussing her upcoming birthday. Eli is being the wiser older brother and says..."

"Sarah, you know that your birthday is not about the presents, right?"

Sarah looks him square in the eye.

"I know Eli. My birthday is about me."

*Eli and Isaiah are talking about going to the movie Space Chimps. Eli is asking Isaiah if his Dad can take Eli with because he can't go. Why can't he go?

"Because my mom spent all her money at Burger King."

(remember how I lost my debit card earlier in the week? I had spent all my cash on supper last night. silly boy.)

*We were in Hobby Lobby the other day. Sarah picked up a bell and was carrying it around like she was going to chuck it in the cart the first moment I wasn't looking. Eli says (in his loudest speaking voice possible)

"MOM, Sarah's shoplifting again!"

Oh, moments when a mother cringes and pretends those aren't her children tearing up Hobby Lobby right then and there.


Then there's the time I'm in the dressing room with Sarah - trying clothes on her. She puts her hands on her hips, emphasizing the offending skirt and says

"I can't wear this, Mom, it's LAME."

Opinionated little stinkers, aren't they?

Party Pics

This beautiful gal is Jennifer the hairdresser, cakemaker and it all rolled into one! You'll see in a moment that she did a fantastic job! She also helped host so I was free to be photographer! (oh, and I'm wearing her dress!)This is my mentor and friend - and boss too, Mrs. Linda. She's our senior pastor's wife and she's been an absolute inspiration to me! (and she doesn't like having her picture made, so kudos to her for being a good sport!)
These gals are neighbors and close friends - side by side all the time, Danielle and Heather. They help me with the kids so often, Sare and E go to Danielle's house, but most of the time Heather goes over to help. I'm so appreciative. Oh, and a ton of the party supplies came from Danielle, she used to own a party supply store!

This lovely gal is one of Sarah's friends parents and pretty new to our church. She and her hubby are getting baptized tomorrow, yay!!

Here's Sare right before she blew out the candles on her sandcastle cake.
Here she is giving it her all, it was tough because she was at least a foot and a half from her little face, so she had to be really windy!!
She was pretty proud of herself when she finally got it!
This was her single bite of the hula girl cake that Jennifer made. Oh, but it was SO YUMMY. (I snitched a bite too) Notice her pink nails. :) I love the details.
And this is Baby Mallory, you may remember her from a previous photo shoot. She's grown a bit! I just love this baby because she reminds me so much of my own babies. I could just zerbert on her cheeks all day if they'd let me! :)
We wound up putting the kids out on quilts with their food, having a carpet picnic in the garage. The girls are oon the pink one, the boys on the blue, of course!
This group was staying dry. That's my friend Tiffany on the left, she left before I thought of taking individual pictures with the gals. :(

I told you, these two girls are always together! :)
This is the group of kids. They didn't really cooperate with the camera, but that's cool, it was more important that they were enjoying themselves.
The birthday girl really enjoyed this caterpillar until it met it's untimely end. Someone accidently ripped it's head off. Oops.
Faith is secretly a mermaid. (don't tell anyone)
Eli had a blast. He's gotten so much braver this summer!
This is Sare's friend and classmate, Madison. She's adorable! (also from the Danley shoot)
The kids loved jumping off the board.
Sarah's special hula cake.
Sarah and Mrs. Jennifer with her beautiful cake.
Sarah and Faith. That was Sare's special birthday outfit, she was pretty psyched about it.
Pastor and Linda - they were so gracious to share their home. This was at the beginning of the party and you can see it was looking pretty grim out!
Eli and his posse. left to right - Isaiah, Eli, Grant.
The birthday girl in her Fancy Nancy hat, I found on clearance at Target.
Me and my special kiddos.
Eli got a few birthday surprises too!
Including a special cake from Mrs. Jennifer. Recognize the robots?

Grateful

Today my baby turned four.


I mean my baby, the one we cried and prayed and waited for. The third pregnancy after two miscarriages - the second child I didn't know if we'd ever have.

She turned four this morning at 7:42am.

And of course, she did it with her usual flair.

the
apple
doesn't
fall
from
the
tree


now does it??



so today has been a celebration of all things Sarah, and really, much more than that.

first off, she woke up this morning. How did we know? At 7:40ish I hear "EEEEeeeeeee!" from the other side of the house. Followed by the pounding of tiny little running bare feet. "thump" into our bed - "Mommy, it's my birthday!!" followed by wet kisses.

every person should be so lucky to awaken to such joy!

Anyway, we worked on food for the party this morning, and did presents, and she took a leisurely bubble bath in Mommy's princess tub with strawberry scented soaps. Then I carefully did her nails (fingers and toes of course) and we set off for her pool party, in the pouring rain and thunder. We set up in Pastor's garage, food and cake and presents. The guests came and after about a half an hour we deemed it safe to be in the pool - even though there was still a consistent sprinkling going on. All the kids had a great time. I think the adults had an even better time? It was so neat to see our friends all hanging out and enjoying each other. I looked around and just realized how extremely blessed I am to have so many friends after just a year of living in Baytown. Even the party itself, happened because of the generosity and creativity of my friends, and I'm super grateful. I certainly miss my Lori's and my Kimmie's and my Kellie's and the Sheryl's and the Carol's and the Tricia's and the Karen's and all the other wonderful people who have touched my life over these past 29 years, but the beauty of leaving old friends is that you get to keep those friends and make some brand new ones. It's an ever-widening circle. I'm so grateful.

Oh, and I'm going to post some pictures really soon, I promise. :)

Schlitterbahn

We gave the words 'family fun' all new meaning on Monday.  As grumpy as I was about spending the money, I'm so glad we did!  The kids had a blast, and Eli and Sare seemed to enjoy themselves too.  :)  Naw, we rode a ton of rides as a family.  That Sarah is fearless.  We did drops and spins and darkness and she took it all in stride and screamed for more.  Eli rode the cliffhanger - where you drop off the side down a vertical chute and loved it.  We were there from shortly after ten am till almost close - at eight pm.  And I didn't even get burned, guess I'm finally a Texan, eh?

The coolest part is that we went with my hairstylist/friend/cake maker extroidinaire, Jennifer and her family.  We had such a good time sharing responsibility for our kids and just hanging out/chatting in the slide lines.  I totally recommend going on an outing like this with a friend, it really made it fun and we all lasted longer.  Definitely got our money's worth!