Should Be Working

Once again, my to-do list is larger than my motivation level. :) I am going to get to it, but this weekend was such a blur, I just wanted to touch base for a few moments first. I've already accomplished a bit this morning and definitely feel like I'm on the right track for the day, so that's good.

Friday I spent tackling my ATP projects, and accomplished a lot. Friday night we took the kids to Panera Bread (oh, and it was soooo good) and then we went over to Barnes and Noble, also very fun. It was just nice to do something normal and fun with our kids, after Sarah being so sick for so long. Plus, with Pastor and Miss Linda retiring, our life is going to get a bit crazy here in the next few weeks. We needed a family fun night and it was totally worth it. Saturday we got up early and went to church for Trinity Work Day. We worked hard and it was a lot of fun too. At noon, we packed up and headed out to Jenkins Park for Walk To Drive with about 4 other churches to raise money for missions. After that we ran to Walmart, returned some students home, took the van back to the church, and then went home to housework and meal prep for Sunday night life group. Everyone pitched in and that helped so much! After about 4 loads of laundry I collapsed on the couch about 10. Sunday started early, with the usual stuff, only we did a Camp Emphasis video as well, since our camp deadline is only about 3 weeks away already. After church we had SMAC (Sunday McDonald's After Church). Only about 4 students showed up, but we had a great time anyway, stayed almost 2 hours talking, laughing. So fun. Came home, crashed for about an hour and then got ready for life group, which was again, a ton of fun. Everyone left by 8:30 and we were stuffing kids in to beds and doing goodnight kisses. I tried to watch tv for 45 minutes (there was nothing on) and then finally convinced myself to make lunches, wound up in bed by 10. exhausted. Such a good weekend though, reminds me why we do what we do.

The best part was this morning though. I had the kids ready by 7:20 this morning, so we had about 15 minutes extra. So I pulled out my bible and we just did a quick little study on contentment. I have a prayer for your children card that I've been using for about 3 or 4 months now, daily prayers with scriptures, and have been thinking it would be neat to pray with my kids, those verses. So we just did that together, they ran to their rooms and pulled out their bibles, (his camo covered one, her pink and purple leather, so cute) and they wanted to look up the verses (Phillipians 4:12-13) and highlight them and read them out loud from their different translations. So very precious. I want it to happen every day.

Ok, back to work. :)

Photo 365, Photo #40

Yesterday's photo. Eli, all tuckered out and ready for bed. Such a long and filled weekend, but all good stuff. :)

Photo 365, Photo #39

Saturday's photo of the day, from the Speed The Light Walk To Drive (we walked so missionaries could ride). San Jacinto Section raised over $2000, so that was pretty sweet! My kiddos played on the playground and enjoyed our 67 degree weather, thank you Jesus!

Photo 365, Photo #38

feel His peace.

(ps - looking at this photo closer, you can see the budding leaves on the tree in the foreground. Thank You Jesus!! I am SO ready for spring!)

Photo 365, Photo #37

My amazing son and his usual antics. My favorite part about his dream home might be a tie between the arcade and the pizza kitchen. Oh to be 9 again. :)

I guess the laundry problem dates back further than I had originally suspected...

checking in...

Just realizing I haven't done a real post in a bit. I don't have a lot of time, my project list is huge today. Sarah's been home with strep and then a double ear infection on top of strep for the past week. Yep, week. I noticed those white spots in her throat on Wednesday and we've tried 2 antibiotics and a shot since. She seems to be a lot better, no fever, but still has spots as of this morning. Doctor cleared us to try school today, so we are going to see how she does.

So thankful to have a quiet house again. I love, love, LOVE my family, don't get me wrong... When they are away at work and school is the only good time to accomplish anything. It's some wierd drive in me, I have to accomplish things in order to feel like all is right with the world. Sitting and relaxing is very rarely my thing, unless it's at about 10pm after a full day of hard work! :) I'm a freak.

Today, already had my bible study, which has been amazing lately. Also reading (again) The Power Of A Praying Wife by Stormie O'Martian. I highly recommend it, even if you've read it previously, you cannot overpray for your spouse, or children for that matter. Today talked about praying for your husband's work, something that I do often. :) (seriously, we pray in the car every day on the way to drop off at school and work, I pray for him during my quiet time, and he's never set foot on that Sunday morning platform without being thoroughly soaked in prayer, it's kind of a necessity for the job.) BUT, it talked about how some men bounce through their adult lives, from job to job and never really finding meaning or purpose or satisfaction. It also talked about how praying parents can help steer a child towards a decisive career. Not in that you project your hopes and dreams on to the child, but praying that they will be driven and purposeful from the get go. It was a good wake up call for me in a new area of prayer for Eli and Sarah. I pray often for their spouses, for the stickyness of their salvation (they've both prayed the sinners prayer, thank you Jesus), for financial wisdom, their integrity, etc. But that was a good area to add to my list. And with that, I began to realize how little responsibility I've given them at home. Mostly because I think it's easier and faster to do things myself, but I have to slow down long enough to remember that 'easier and faster' is almost never better parenting. :)

Anyhoo, that was a bit of a tangent.

I'm excited for the day. I have an order to work on and get sent off, a graduation cd to scan images and set to a slide show, and a family session to edit, and a kitchen floor to scrub. (ew) And, in my wildest dreams, I'd really love to put all responsibility on hold this afternoon for an hour and scrapbook. Should be a great day. (stay in school, Sarah!)

Photo 365, Photo #36

Actually sharing two photos today, since it's my blog and I can do what I want. :) Sarah asked me to staple these papers together yesterday and I happened to glance down and notice that it was math and it was right. Then I flipped to the second page (took a moment to mentally check it) and my goodness if the little stinker didn't have that huge problem correct as well!! Definitely worth photographing. She's in kindergarten!

Seriously LOVE this song...

(being married to someone a bit more on the structured side of life)

btw - you will want to pause the music in the pop out player at the bottom of the page so that you can fully appreciate Amy Kuney's happy funky composition..

Photo 365, Photo #35

My kids have the most amazing creative minds. These are their interpretations of a castle. Eli's is above, Sarah's below.

Photo 365, Photo #34

As promised, here are my sweet valentines. :) They were good sports, especially considering how crummy Sare still feels.

Also, here are a few more fun surprises from the day...

One of our students made us this lovely card. (can you feel the love??)

And I think I mentioned that Rob and I co-spoke on Wednesday night. We did a lot of really cool illustrations, but the one we closed with was about waiting for your true love, God's mate for your life. I talked about how often times you will have a lot of relationships before you find the right one. And in those leading up to relationships, you'll think it's the real thing, much like it's easy to convince an inexperienced jewelry owner that a CZ is the real thing. But when you find the right relationship, the real one, all the previous relationships will look like cheap imitations in the light of the real relationship. Like a diamond compared to a CZ. When you compare them side to side, you can tell the light and the fire and the quality of a diamond is far superior to that of a CZ. I encouraged them to wait for their diamond, not to sacrifice their purity for a cheap imitation. I passed out a large fake stone on a white ribbon with the date stamped on it, to remind them of it, and then compared it to the ring on my finger, comparing the value; 12 stones for $2.5o at Hobby Lobby or $4000 at a jewelry store. It was pretty cool.

Anyhoo, one of our students grandparents came in at the tail end of our message, and was so impressed with it. She sent this gift home to me this afternoon. So sweet, isn't it? (I love our job)

All Things Lovey (and lots of photos!)

(we've had this statue since we were very first married, hardly anyone ever sees it because it's in our bedroom, but it's absolutely one of my favorite things in our home. Obviously, because I've kept so few things over the years.)

Ok, so today has been an oddity. Quite a productive morning, for a Sunday. (it's really weird) I did enjoy a lazy shower, and then an even lazier bible study. I find that a good soak in the shower and then a good soak in the Word makes for one clean mind and body! What a great way to start a day that is supposed to be all about love..

I also got the laundry sorted, the dishes done, and generally cleaned up around the house. Not there yet, but thought I'd stop and blog for a few minutes before Rob and Eli bust through the door and the world starts spinning at top speed again. Sare and I are home this morning, she's still fighting that strep/virus thingy. Poor gal. She did sleep from 12:30am to 6:30 last night, so that was a bit better than previous nights, but we are both still pretty tired.

Last night Lori and I chatted for a bit, while we worked on our valentines for our loved ones. We also decorated our tables a bit, I'm making pink heart shaped pancakes for lunch, just to do something special. The kids have been trapped in the house for the past 4 days, so it's a good way to break the monotony and do something a bit special for Valentine's Day. I did purchase each of them little tiny valentine gifts; a Polly for Sare, Farkle for Eli, and a R2D2 keychain for Rob. (I set a $15 limit and stayed within it!) Not much, but they'll know they are loved and that's the point.

So here are some photos for you...

The table, all decked out for lunch.. paper hearts, homemade valentines, bows on the chair and my clearance tablecloth from last year. The large red peonies are always on my table, they just make me smile. :)

Eli's valentine. I put verses on each child's heart, we'll look them up together after lunch. Right now they treasure scripture verses, so cool because that's where my heart is also!

Sarah's valentine...

Rob's valentine. I had seen a card at Mardell featuring the salt and pepper shaker from Fireproof and almost paid $3.50 for it, then realized it would be so much more fun and economical to make our own. :) That salt and pepper shaker is from the cake on the Fireproof dinner we did last year.

And then, a few scrapbook pages I did on the phone with Lori in about an hour on Friday. Sometimes scrapbooking and being creative restores my sanity!

These flowers are made from a tutorial Lori found here. Could have been way cooler if I'd had some more exciting material or silk even, but I'm really trying not to find excuses to shop right now. :)

And this page has been bouncing around in my brain since I found the laundry line paper last year sometime. We always joke about the laundry fairy at our house. :)

Ok, and very last thing.... This is a comic strip that has just had Sare and E cracking up. Click on it to enlarge it so you can read the words better. I so love my children's sense of humor!!

Photo 365, Photo #33

Yesterday's POTD is from Sarah's perspective. I found her mismatched family of Pollies on the side of the bathtub last night. And I know from previous questioning that she would tell me that they are posed for a family portrait. :) I only wish I had photographed it the time before, she had about 15 Pollies arranged in the corner of the tub, each windowed beautifully. I was inspired, large group photography is tricky! (of course, it's easier when their smiling faces are painted on!)

About todays Picture Of The Day, I can't wait to take it. I always take this annual photo, have since the first year Sarah was born and Rob was at school all day. (I think it was his 12 hour day when he didn't even see the kids) Anyway, now it's a tradition and it's so fun to see their growth each year!

You can find more old Valentine's pictures here, and here. For some sad reason, I haven't blogged them all. bummer.

PS- please contine to pray for Sare, she's still under the weather with lesions on her throat. Probably returning to the dr. tomorrow if she doesn't make dramatic improvement in the next 24.

Valentine's Fun.

Had a wonderful evening last night. Feeling super blessed to be so in love with my husband. :) Plus he looked really cutie last night, dontchya think?

Today I'm still comforting a sickie Sare, she was up multiple times in the night. I called the doctor this morning, because her amoxycillian doesn't seem to be cutting it for her. They said it may be a virus presenting itself as strep, so antibiotics won't really do much if that's the case. If she still has the lesions on her throat in the morning, no church activities tomorrow. That's probably good, because she is so weak and so crabby. oh dear.

In a couple hours I'm headed to Baybrook for a free party I won at Bare Essentials. Rob actually put my business card in the drawing and I laughed when he did. But they called me a week later and so today about 5 of my friends are heading out to get free makeovers and a goodie bag. Should be fun! :)

Photo 365, Photo #32

I know this is a bit of an odd photo, but I just need to share how excited I am for Rob's and my date this evening. So excited that I went ahead and laid out all of our clothes for this evening. (and even went ahead and ironed Rob's shirt). I honestly can't remember the last time Rob and I went out on an actual fancy dinner date. Sure, we do Thursdays (not this week) and I adore Thursdays.. I'm convinced that Thursdays are what make our marriage so special. But we usually try to keep the Thursday tab to a minimum.

We just don't do the fancy dinner thing, and have NEVER done the fancy dinner thing for Valentine's Day. Ha ha, even when we were dating... That first February of 1997, I was fasting from sun up to sun down because it was lent (kind of ironic because I've been on fasting kick again). Anyway, Rob picked me up and I was starving. He didn't make any reservations. He did bring me a gift, flowers, I think. And we went to Red Lobster. I was really concerned about the cost, because we'd only eaten there on the lunch menu after church. We were seated and got our menus out and were floored by the cost. He was trying to be manly about it, but I was all, 'You can't afford this and it's not worth it' so we eventually decided to evacuated before we ever ordered. I bet that waiter was left wondering why we left. :) So we got in the car and drove around Sioux City looking for some place good to eat. As usual, we couldn't make a decision, and wound up having Pizza Hut about an hour later. I was so hungry I didn't care anymore! :) So, we've never really had a good history with Valentine's Day. I think that kind of set us up for a rough start.

Two years ago we did go out with our church to Sartins Seafood and had all you could eat crab. But believe me, if you at all remember the photos, it was far from romantic. And last year, we put on a hugely romantic Fireproof Dinner, but we were both working the kitchen and the details through out. It was beautiful, but not at all for relaxing or romantic for us.

Rob and I are just too cheap to go out for dinner big and fancy just the two of us. But this year, the church has organized a dinner to Pappadeaux's, the sister restuaraunt of our very favorite place in Kemah that washed away in Ike and is no more. We've never eaten at this location, but Pastor promises that it is as good as the Kemah place, only minus the incredible view and ambiance. So we are going tonight and I am making it a big deal. We going to get all cute, have a babysitter coming, and I rented Love Happens for when we get home, all fat and happy. I can't wait! Happy Valentine's Day!

PS - I'm the official photographer for the evening, so you know I'll have photos to share!

the Not-So-Thursday

So, bummer of a Thursday today. Sarah's got strep. Rob's under the weather, but doesn't seem to have strep. Eli just told me his throat hurts. total loss on RobnAnna day. Oh well, we have a date tomorrow, if everyone isn't sick that is. Pappa's Seafood with 35 of our closest friends from church. Should be a wonderful time. and I found a new red sweater at Target while I was waiting for Sarah's prescription to be filled. AND it was on clearance. Yay! Pictures tomorrow. And hopefully, LOTs of productivity!

Photo 365, Photo #31

Coolest Valentine ever. Totally going to have to store this puppy in my brain for next year. :)

Photo 365, Photo #30

very uncooperative child yesterday. This is supposed to highlight her necklace, my cheap knock off of a necklace she spied in Fredricksburg, TX last July. It cost $58 and mine cost under $10. Needless to say, it's big and clunky and she loves it!

Photo 365, Photo #29

Sarah prepping her valentines for her class.. We made these special flower valentines out of scrapbook paper hearts, pencils and straight pins. She's pretty excited about her big day.

Photo 365, Photo #28

gotta love the timer button and a tripod! These ladies are part of the book club at Trinity. We've been meeting for almost 2 years now, and read so many good books along the way! This was Mrs. Linda and Grandma Betty's last book club, as Pastor and Mrs. Linda have announced their retirement. I felt the need to document the evening. :) I've learned a lot from these ladies the past two years!

Heart Treasure

(images from the book, 'the Other Side')

I found the coolest book at the library on Saturday. It's called "the Other Side" and features pairs of drawings throughout, each featuring one side of a two sided story. I was fascinated instantly, and had to check it out and bring it home. Rob and I both have studied the book. It's such a cool concept. One example is a girl looking out the window, studying the world. You flip the page and see the world looking at the window, studying the girl.

This book got me really thinking. About how life is all about perspective.

In worship, on Sunday morning, we were singing about heaven and I started thinking about this book again. I pictured us, our church, worshipping the Lord, reaching towards heaven in faith that God is up there soaking it up. For a moment, I felt like I got a glimpse of the other side of the story, all of heaven, reaching down towards us, ministering to us. (shudders) How cool is that?

Went home after church, picked up the book again and started talking to Rob about what a great illustration it would make to teach our students a bit more about worship. Then I started thinking about life in general and how here, in this world, we are stuck on just one side of the page. There's a whole other side that we can't even flip! Do you know what I mean? We can't even see the rest of our story! It makes so much sense. Of course we struggle when things don't go our way, when heartache comes or disease or even death. We can't see why we wrestle with problems or addictions or rough relationships. But the reality is, we can't see that other page, and I trust that it will make a lot more sense when God reveals it. For sure I've seen enough 'hindsight' in my own life to see God's hand of protection all over it. I can't even imagine how much moreso it will be when He can clearly paint the entire picture for me. What a glorious day that will be!

Honestly, I personally feel a little like the book right now...

So much going on in my heart and my life again. And ironically, I'm not in much of a position to share it. I laugh at that, because years ago, when I started this blog, it was supposed to be my place to vent. (oh, and I did, it's not pretty!) If you were to go back to the beginning, you would read my rants and raves about trivial nonsense every day stuff. Lots of posts about lack of space and lack of money and all that I was not happy about in my life at the time. I've grown a lot since then. (five years ago already) One of the biggest changes has been in becoming a pastor's wife. I've learned that I can't just vomit my feelings all over the world wide web for every one and their brother to read. I do leave those first few months public though, because I believe it's a testament to God's grace and His ability to grow us.

It's a little strange to me, how often as a pastor's wife I'm required to hide things away in my heart; information, hurt feelings, injustices, etc. In my youthful niavety, I thought that being a pastor's wife would mean being completely transparent and utterly honest. Please note, I am not condoning lying in any way, shape or form... I have, however, learned a lot about discretion. And wisdom. (I have a long ways to go in both those departments) I am always surprised at how many things I just have to hide in my heart, and store away until I can work it out with God, or until He chooses to reveal it. I often think of Mary, in Luke 2:19 "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." I can relate to her, knowing some of God's great secrets, His treasures, and not being at liberty to share it all with the world. There is a secret joy in sharing your heart only with the Lord. Another verse that has taught me a lot lately is Proverbs 25:11 "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." I have always struggled with holding my tongue. Not very lady like and certainly not very godly. I'm excited that God has been working on me in this area of my life.

It certainly is journey. And I am always grateful that He hasn't given up on me just yet. :) You either, in case you are wondering.

blessings.

Photo 365, Photo #27

Youth Life Group Super Bowl Party. We had a lot of food and a lot of fun! Love my kids.

Photo 365, Photo #26

Caught this precious moment today at lunch. Love how she's squeezing and he's not that into it. :)

New Layouts

Ok, so technically a bunch of these are old layouts. A few years ago I attempted a scrapbook calendar. Yeah, not my thing. I think I got as far as about 6 pages and never finished it. But I did really like those 6 pages, so as I've been organizing and cleaning and pitching and I thought I needed to add these odd-sized 9x9 pages to the family scrapbook. So I tweaked them a bit to fit in my 12x12 book.

And then the piece de resistance' --- I love the way this page turned out! I had started it while my mom was here a few days ago and I was thrilled to have a chance to finish it.

I also completely cleaned out and organized my office area today. Now I need to get my act together and start working on taxes. (blah) I've never been a big fan of February, but doing your own taxes really bums out the whole month. I tend to get a bit crazy while I'm figuring out our taxes, but don't feel like we can afford the $300 or so to hire a professional.

I did feel like I accomplished a ton today, so that's pretty cool. And tomorrow I have a photo session with a 5 year old boy. I can't wait! I've missed working with people outside of my family. :) January was very slow and I'm ready to bust out of my slump.

photo 365, Photo #25

I have a thing for salt and pepper shakers. If you've seen the movie Fireproof then you'll understand why. If you haven't seen Fireproof, well, you need to. :)

Photo 365, Photo #24

Yesterday went by very fast and I literally only took 2 photos. But I've been meaning to share this artwork over our bed for a while. These photos are from last years anniversary pictures. I placed them on painted brown canvases, and then embellished them with Prima flowers and metal paper trim. Very simple, but it's some of my favorite art in the house. :)

Momma Visit 2010

Eli and Sarah were invited to sing at Goldenaires last night. And we showed the photos from the 90th anniversary. It was a pretty special evening.
Our two oldest (yet young at heart) Goldenaires.

And now our time with Mom.

And these are in no particular order...
Scrapping at the kitchen table.
Rob practicing with the kids for their Goldenaire singing last night.
The inside of the Fiesta store...
Beautiful blue-eyed boy in front of the blue door.
Saying goodby at the airport...
The cookbook I learned to cook out of. All my work with the 90th cookbook inspired me to ask Mom to bring it so I could copy a few recipes out of it. This cookbook is well-loved, right?

Finally got to check out the Fiesta store in Galveston. Pretty cool. Got a new mixing bowl and Mom gifted us with some ramekins.
Mom snapped 2 really great family photos for us.
Saw this blue wall and it was absolutely inspiring. I'm dying to do a family session down in Galveston now. There are so many cool spots!!
LOVE this one. best pic of mom and I in YEARS.
beautiful, albeit COLD day at the beach. We literally hopped out so Mom could say she'd been and to snap a couple photos.
Cute pic of Mom and E, same side booth sitting. :)
LOVE this photo of me and Rob. Eli took it. He's really developing his photographic eye. (yay!)
And we so enjoyed Saturday lunch at Cheddars. Yum. (kids were annoyed by the sun in this photo)
Grammy loves By Design. Don't we all?
One of the highlights of the weekend, everyone sprawled out at the kitchen table with their bibles open, sharing favorite verses.
playing games as a family on the living room floor.

spent a lot of time in the car. Good snuggle time with Grandma.

Sarah got her fair share of snuggling too. :)

Looking at the family scrapbook. Such a sight for sore eyes, my mom loving on our kids.

enjoying some green grass again here in Baytown. It's such a good sign!

Sarah wearing her oh-so-diligently-sewn-on-one-at-a-time button shirt for 100th day of school. Can you guess how many buttons I sewed on her shirt? :)
Mom being all crafty at the kitchen table.