Laughter

God will let you laugh again; you'll raise the roof with shouts of joy

Job 8:21 MSG

I recently read this scripture in one of my devotionals and it really resonated with me.  It was not so long ago that I remember crying out to God in such pain and confusion about the direction my life had taken.  I wondered if I would ever be happy again.  As I read that scripture, I smiled and thought "He is faithful!"  I find myself laughing, enjoying each day and looking forward to the future again.   

As I continually filter my thoughts and actions through the word CRAVE, I have found myself growing closer to Him, but in a different way because I am now sharing that with Richard.  It's neat to share my prayer requests with him and vice versa and then to pray about it individually and come back together and share what God has shown us and for it to be similar.  I've never experienced that before and I think it's so cool!! As I continually try to crave Him daily, I am surprised at the places I find Him when I am looking...a child's hug at school, 'I love you' in sign language on a bumper sticker,  a perfect song played at the perfect time, the sunset...

...and through it all I hear Him whisper 'I love you'!  I feel so blessed for the laughter He has put back into my life and for the ways He still pursues me and shows His love.

D-Now

Richard's friend Charles asked us a few months back if we would be interested in helping out at his Disciple Now weekend.  Of course, we said yes and have been so excited for this weekend to come.  We spent most of the weekend at a camp ground site in cabins. There was good music, good preaching and a lot of fun!! Richard spoke Friday night and I really enjoyed hearing him. It was the first time I have really heard him preach to a group and I was amazed at how easy he made it look. He has a great sense of humor and a strong foundation in scripture and both of those are evident when he speaks. It's hard to put into words, but seeing him up there, teaching scripture and being so passionate about God and His Kingdom made me fall in love with him just a little more. 

On Saturday, we left the camp grounds for a little while to catch the Baylor women's basketball game. It was a great game and it was fun to spend some time with his family. Then it was back to camp for the final worship service and small groups. I don't know why, but I am always taken aback when God uses me.  It is a very humbling experience and I am thankful He chooses me to help Him with His work.  The whole weekend was a lot of fun and seeing God move through the lives of those teenagers was the best part!!


Last minute preparations

Sic 'em Bears!

A Wicked weekend

Another busy weekend!!  We started Saturday at Koby's basketball game.  Richard's dad brought suckers for the boys, which kept them entertained for a good portion of the game, so that was helpful!

Richard is not the coach, but assists where he can so that was fun to watch him interact with the team.

Koby plays great basketball!!  He is fast and aggressive and scores many of the team's points!  It's always fun to watch him play.

Then it was time for a quick nap before we headed out to watch Baylee play!! 

Baylee did great, as well!  She is very aggressive on the court too and really is an asset to her team!  Richard has done well in raising good athletes that also value sportsmanship.

Immediately after Baylee's game she and I headed back to my house to get ready for Wicked! We met the girls at Baby A's for dinner and then it was off to the show!  We had such a good time and I think Baylee really enjoyed the theater!!  But how could you not LOVE Wicked!!!

A day in Austin

The boys and I spent Saturday down in Austin. We started at Zilker Park and played on the huge playscape there for awhile.  Then they wanted to ride the train so we did that, too.  Of course, they wanted the seat in the back and they both loved being able to wave at all the people we passed.  After they were worn out on both of those activities we went over to try Gourdough's specialty donuts.  There were so many combinations to try.  The two we choose were the Flying Pig and Miss Shortcake and they were soooo good!!  We will definitely be going back!!  It was a great way to spend a Saturday!!

A long weekend

It was nice to have a three day weekend.  The boys and I got to spend the whole weekend with Richard and the kids.  Richard was nice enough to give up his bedroom for the weekend so we all would have a place to sleep.  We hung out with some of his friends on Friday night, had dinner with his parents on Saturday night, enjoyed church and lunch with more of his friends on Sunday and went to the zoo on Monday.  It was a jam packed weekend, but it was so nice to spend it all with good company!

All the kids playing on the hay bales

Baylee and Auri (Richard's niece)

Another one of Richard's silly faces!

Baylee and Koby had school so we took the three little ones to the zoo.  They were hard to keep up with and moved from one animal to the next before Richard and I could even get to the cage to see it, but it was a lot of fun! 

A wonderful surprise

During nap time on Friday, my co-worker called me over to the office.  I wasn't sure what she was going to need, but when I got over there, she pointed to some flowers on her desk and said they were for me.  At first, I didn't believe her, but she showed me the card and they were for me!!  I opened the card and read a sweet message from Richard and immediately started to cry.  I have never received flowers at work before and I just felt so special!   When I brought them back into the classroom, my co-teachers all wanted to see them and my boss even called over from across the street to tell me how pretty they were and that she was happy for me!!  I don't think guys realize what a big deal flowers are, or at least for me it's a big deal.  To think that Richard was not only thinking about me, but took the time to call a flower shop, choose something gorgeous and have it sent to my place of work to surprise me means so much.  I feel lucky to have found someone so thoughtful.  What a great start to my weekend!

My 2012 word

A couple of weeks prior to Christmas I started thinking about what my 2012 word was going to be.  As much as I loved 'Adventure' last year, I wanted something a little more challenging, so I started to pray that God would lay on my heart what area He thought I needed to work on and what my word should be.  I started getting a feeling about the direction that I wanted my word to be geared toward.  When Daniel left, I spent so much time in the Word and talking to God and looking for God in everything I did because He is all I had left.   Now, 3 years later, I find myself slowly slipping into old habits.  With work and kids and church and the fact that things are "good" I find myself more self sufficient and not leaning on God as much.  I still talk with God and spend time with Him, but I can honestly say that I don't have that same yearning to just be with Him.  I am also finding it tricky to have Richard in my life, but striving to keep God my first love.  It's so easy for me to substitute Richard into that spot that only God can fill and I don't want to do that.  So I started thinking about how I can go back to that desperation of loving God with all of me, without being in such a traumatic time.  So after I had that vision in my head, I started trying to think of a word that would encompass all those thoughts.  One Sunday in youth we talked about 1 Peter 2:2  "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation"  Once I heard the word crave, I thought that might be a great word!!  I continued to pray and see what God laid on my heart and during one of our many trips to the store, I saw a huge display for the new Kellogg's cereal...

...and that was all I needed to see!!  That would be my 2012 word!!  It still amazes me how in your face God can be if we just take the time to look and listen!  I pray that this year will be filled with learning how to CRAVE God through the good times and, that as my life moves forward with Richard, I will always be able to keep God as my first Love.

Happy 2012

Happy New Year!!! I spent New Year's Eve with Richard and the kids. We went out to his parents land and road four wheelers a little while, which was fun! Then went back to his house for dinner and fireworks! The kids loved the fireworks...especially Kelby. Richard couldn't even get one lit before he was bringing him another one to light! The boys played basketball and the girls played Dance Party on the WII and before we knew it, it was 11:50pm! We got our glasses ready and the champagne for me and Richard and the sparkling grape juice for the kids. We counted down and then it was 2012!!! I already have so many hopes and dreams for this year and I am certain 2012 will be a memorable year!!

Riding around the country

I learned how to do a waterfall braid and Baylee let me practice on her hair...I think it turned out good and looks great with her highlights!!

I seem to always give Richard the camera to take a picture of us and then once he takes it, I immediately look at it, only to find one of a million funny faces that he does. It always take 5 or 6 tries with him to get a real smile!!  That is one of the things I love about him...never a dull moment!

FIREWORKS!!!

Ringing in the 2012