Birthday Lunch

These sweet ladies all took time out of their busy day to come and have lunch with me, it was awesome! We had such a wonderful time!!

Bonus!!

While I was cropping today's pages in iPhoto I noticed these pages from earlier in the year that I hadn't shared. Also, I have a couple more that I haven't photographed yet, so maybe when I get that last page finished, I'll snap photos of them all and get them up on here. :)

Birthday Scrapping

Well, I hit the big 32. And despite gaining two age spots this year (grrrr) and numerous additional moles (double grrr) I've seemingly survived the transition from 31.

Rob made it special, on Monday he blocked off the day for me and took me shopping at San Marcos Outlets, where I found several new (CUTE) t-shirts and a couple pairs of Fossil earrings on clearance. Then we went to Plato's closet and I found a pair of shorts and a light brown summer cardigan (big shock there) as well as a super plaid pair of Rocket Dogs that will be awesome for camp in a few weeks.

On Tuesday, I shuffled everyone off to school and then proceeded to drag out tons of scrapbooking stuff. Lori and I sat on the phone on and off most of the morning and early afternoon, and I produced four finished pages, with a big start into a fifth (hoping to finish it up later today). We had a blast. I really do miss my good friends that live around the country, but I got phone calls from two of them yesterday, and it made the miles melt. As much as I long to hug their neck or go shopping with them or sit down to a meal with their shining faces across the table, I am so grateful that they are in my life, and that God has brought so many new friends across my path here in San Antonio. He has built a beauitiful life for us here, and I have the double blessing of keeping my long distance friends while adding to my local friends. Today I get to go to birthday lunch with a bunch of San Antonio ladies and I'm really looking forward to it!!

So here are the first four pages from yesterday's adventures. :) Hope you enjoy!

new camera documentation! (which I am LOVING it!)

This page takes it for the most work, I stamped all those flowers and cut them out, but I love it! Totally worth the effort.

Remembering our adventures in Hill Country this past fall.

documenting my ridiculous love for my iPad.

Mother's Day gift..

Rob hit it out of the park this year with these two sweet figurines, a boy and a girl. They've already found their place of honor on my shingle shelves in the living room. :)

Will it matter in ten years??

Will it matter in ten years??

So the other day, one of my sweet and mostly innocent children did something exceedingly brainless. Shocking, I know. My reaction was to fret about how Rob would react, mostly because the offense would affect him more than me. I was with a dear friend at the time and she said, so simply, “Will it matter in ten years?” Her comment threw me off kilter, I believe I had to ask her to repeat it. “Will it matter in ten years?”

Well, no, truth be told. It won’t. And honestly, it probably won’t matter in ten days. In six small words she altered my parenting worldview. I spent the rest of the evening turning this thought over in my head. How much time and anxiety and effort have I spent through my lifetime on things that wouldn’t matter in the long haul? Especially when it comes to my children.

Instantly I thought of how this ten year thinking would altar my daily priorities. Dishes and laundry suddenly didn’t seem as important as conversations and laughter, family Bible study and prayer. I was reminded again how my time with my own children (already six and ten) is slipping through my fingers like sand. How much time have I spent on the ten minute plan in lieu of the ten year plan?

Then I began to realize how looking at the big picture would affect parenting a teenager. Little things could slide, if we learned to identify and prioritize the ten year plan. Taking out the trash, cleaning their room? Not so big of a deal as being honest and making God-honoring choices.

You know what I’m talking about. Sometimes we just pick on the little things in our children, especially our teenagers. Take a moment to think about it, are there some things you can let go? Maybe take that time to affirm them instead of reprimand, or better yet – catch them doing something that does matter in the ten year plan.

I find myself often quoting the first part of Ephesians 6 to my children; “Honor your father and mother…so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” As parents we tend to overlook the rest of the context of this scripture. There are directions for mom and dad too, “… do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

So I encourage you to keep the long term goal in mind when it comes to your teenager. Take some time to identify your ten year plan, write it out and post it somewhere you can regularily check in on your progress. Hold yourself accountable to it, and let your teenager in on the plan. The wonder is, as they see you consider the ten year plan, they will learn to consider it for themselves. It may help with longterm decisions like tatoos and girlfriends and indebtedness.

Praying for you friends, as we consider the ten year plan.

Happy Anniversary Baby...

I've been slaving away on this project for hours and hours. But I think the end result is worth it, what do you think??

In case you are wondering, the top stitching a cross-section of a tree. It has 13 rings, one for each year of marriage. The heart of the tree symbolizes our dating/engagement season. The twig sewn below it, well....

Back in Febuary of 1997 Rob and I had one of our most fantastic dates ever. We lay out under the stars (in the cold night air) on a deck at Intervarsity Camp. We held hands and realized that night that we had begun planning our future together. It was an amazing evening.

The next morning, he came to breakfast with something behind his back. He told me that he was so blessed by our conversation the night before that he wanted to bring me a token of his love, a flower. But being February in Kansas City, there were no flowers in bloom. Instead he found this twig and he presented it so proudly.

My heart was melted. Obviously.

14 years later I still have the very twig. And (by the grace of Jesus) our love has grown into a fine and mighty oak tree.

13 things I love about Rob..

(in honor of our 13 years of marriage)

1.) His love for the Lord. This was the very first thing I noticed about Rob, he passionately serves his Savior. I had never met anyone on fire for Jesus to that extent.

2.) His sense of humor. He has such a wonderful sense of humor, and it's so perfectly aligned with my own, we wind up really setting each other off. It keeps us from taking life too seriously. Also, he has the best high pitched laugh when he's really tickled. I'd love to hear it every day!

3.) His astute sense of right and wrong. Rob has a crazy strong sense of justice. It makes him fight for truth and stand up for the weak. It makes him passionate and determined.

4.) His gentle nature. I love watching him play with our children. You can see the tenderness in his heart. I love it when he holds me if I've had a bad day or even a bad moment. You can also see this in his worship. He's so open to the things of God, it melts my heart.

5.) His willingness to grow and change. We've hit some bumps along the way, and neither of us are perfect. He'll take an honest look at himself and strive for better.

6.) His passion for ministry. This guy is ministry minded. He loves people, he loves the church. His mind is always churning; how can we do this better?

7.) He is a tireless worker. For the ministry, for the family, for any project he's put his mind to. He has a very strong work ethic and everyone he works with is blessed by it.

8.) He loves me. That sounds simple, but I see so many lackluster marriages, and I am so thankful to be smack in the middle of such a great one. Rob constantly tells me that he loves me (the end of every phone call, a gagillion times during the day, before we go to sleep at night and first thing when we wake up in the morning) and I know by the way he says it, he really means it. It's incredible to me that we can be married for so long and still be so incredibly in love with one another. We never get sick of each other, or need a break, in fact, even when he's away for a little while, I miss him! Working together in the office this year has probably only made this stronger, which is a miracle in itself!

9.) He challenges me to grow. Rob will never leave me where I'm at. We are always trying to love each other and our kids more. If I'm in error, he's the first to tell me, and lovingly discuss how we can do better. He challenges our children and students to grow, too.

10.) He engages in conversation. We have had so many incredible conversations over the years. Many of them long after midnight laying in bed. He is my favorite person to talk to. We've solved the world's problems many times over by now, I'm pretty sure. Especially this past year, with me taking Berean, he's been an incredible tutor and mentor.

11.) His giftings in areas that I'm not gifted in. God really knew what He was doing when He brought us together all those years ago. Rob and I compliment each other perfectly for ministry and I'm so grateful that he fills in all my gaping shortcomings.

12.) He's in touch with his inner child. Take a walk through his office and see all his Star Wars toys, or browse through his many games on his iPad, find him wrestling our kids on the living room floor. He knows how to relax and have a good time. This is why he's such a great youth pastor, because in some situations, he really hasn't grown up. I mean this as an absolute compliment. He still loves to play, and it makes him a great daddy, too.

13.) He is my favorite. And when I tell him that he always answers "you're mine", it makes me smile every time. He's the one I want to share all my secrets and joys with, the one who makes me laugh, who holds me tight, who whispers sweet nothings in my ear. He'll wink across the room at me, he'll give me that look that still makes my insides jiggly. He shares my highs and my lows. He is my better half and I will always, always thank God for that!!

Favorite Scripture.

"You hem me in -- behind me and before; You have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wins of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:5-9

I have loved this verse for years. Over a decade in fact. I came across it today as I was preparing my shiftAM lesson and I want to put it someplace I will never lose it. It speaks to me because I am always a mess, and yet God is constantly hemming me in, pulling together the places I unravel, making a neat edge where I would otherwise be torn. He brings beauty out of rags. I love Him so much.

In Tha Motherhood...

heard this song on the radio and I could just so relate. Love my kids!