Just Plain Bored

What do you do when you're bored, waiting for the kids to wake up so you can go visit your sister/mother and go to the basketball game? Write a blog. Um, except I can't think of anything to say. So I apologize in advance because I know it probably gets old just looking at pictures, but I'm a little too giddy about my new camera right now.
So have a fantastic weekend...enjoy this first week of December...and Go Tigers (we're playing for third today).

My Latest Love

So I did it...I got the camera. And though I'm completely lost on how to use it at the moment, I've been having fun trying/reading/figuring it out.
The likely first subject of my training?
Bruce Wayne.
But then the kids woke up and the fun has begun. :)
I am in love.

Special Day

For many reasons, today is special. The obvious, that I turned 29 (not so special number but oh well!) and have been blessed to be raised in a home by loving parents who have continually shown me the way of Christ. In my 29 years, I've come to know just how rare this is...and even rarer that they are still happily married.
So thank you, Mom & Dad for demonstrating true commitment to each other, your children, and your relationship with the Lord.
I was watching. :)

SECONDLY, I get to see my precious kids tonight!!!!! They've had a past 4 days of just down-right being spoiled the good ole way in which grandparents are suppose to and I am so thankful they carved out this time, devoting it to loving on Noah and Lincoln. From all I can gather, they're gonna be sad to leave!

Jason and I celebrated all afternoon/night yesterday and that time was seriously PRICELESS...I loved every second of it. It was so nice to go out, Christmas shop for the boys, and not have to worry about rushing home to relieve the babysitter! Oh - and I got another necklace out of the deal :) I say "Another" cause I got one last year, too - I'm liking this tradition!

So how am I celebrating tonight?
Bethany and I are going out to eat before....
Basketball, of course. :)

Go Tigers.

He's Coming!!!

The doctor said today that she might not make it to her next appointment...that baby Tucker is DEFINITELY on his way!!!!!!!
I can't believe I'm about to be an Aunt!
And my best friend in the entire world is about to be a mother...
Now - Baby Tucker - if you'd like to make your entrance on Thursday, we can share a special day and you can bet your aunt Melissa will spoil the life out of you (okay - I'll do it anyway, even if you're not born on my birthday!)
Super excited.

Getting Renewed

These precious things:

Have gone to spend the week in Crossett with these wonderful grandparents:
Leaving mommy and daddy to a QUIET house. Yes, I was sad to send them off, but feel blessed that Gran-gran and Poppa don't live too far away and they can enjoy them for a week! (and that they are happily willing to take on the challenge!!!).

So today, I woke up restful...but quickly made myself "busy" around the house cleaning, laundry, taking out trash, etc...

And ironically, the whole time, I had popped on a Mark Driscoll sermon (which happened to be his Mary/Martha sermon) and became highly convicted while brushing/scrubbing/folding/cleaning that I needed to write "Martha" on a nametag and stick it right in the middle of y dirtied t-shirt. Yes. And, as he discussed, while Martha is not bad, I needed to be Mary first.

So I stopped, got my Mary on, and now I'm back to my day feeling fully refreshed. :)

So far on the kid-less week list???

1. Clean the house (check)
2. Watch basketball tonight with Bethany (kid-free!!!!!)
3. Get the Lincoln tagged/insured
4. Christmas shop with Jason tomorrow night
5. Go on a dinner date with Jason Wednesday night
6. Go ice-skating at the new outdoor rink with Jason (his request actually!)
7. Lunch with my neighbor tomorrow
8. Sleep in a bit more
9. Bible study Wednesday
10. Grocery shopping without kids
11. Help my little sis continue to get ready for baby Tucker's arrival!
12. Watch a movie with Jason
13. Celebrate my 29th birthday this week!
14. Oh - and of course call to check up on the darlings :)

Initiation

We found our diamond in the ruff.
Meet: The Town Car.


You're wondering "How'd they get to it first??!!" I know. :)
She's a 1998 Lincoln Town Car that we purchased a few days ago to replace the new Camry we sold a few months ago. Our goal was to find something under $3500, with no more than 150k miles on it that would just be Jason's car to drive 6 miles to work and back.
We found that and more in this little gem.
We drove to Middleofnowhere, Missouri to get her because she was WORTH it: got it for the price we wanted and the miles were only 77k with a clear title! People - that means it was driven, on average, only 7k miles/year - hilarious.
The funny thing is- yes we the ride is a little "old fashioned" to say the least - but this thing is one of the most comfy rides we ever had! I'm loving it! And because the miles are lower than the Expedition and it gets better gas mileage, it's become our new family car. :)
So how do we initiate her into the family??

Well, we take her somewhere she'll feel right at home:
For the early bird special. :) No jokes here either. We really did. We met our friends Brandon and Bethany at 3:50pm to make the early bird price! And the lot was loaded...we all got some smiles out of that one!

So welcome to the family Mrs. Town Car.

Show Him Off

An old friend of mine from back when I lived in Texas - Isaac Wimberley - had this quote posted on facebook today (which is now on mine) and it has instantly ignited a passion and excitement in my heart upon reading it:

"See your money, your singleness, marriage, talents, your time,
They were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is divine."

I think the main reason is because it represents everything God has been doing in my heart this past year, all wrapped tightly in a nice little catchy, rhyming phrase. :) Perfect. The main word is "Loaned" that is so striking, convicting, sometimes hard to muster...at least for me anyway. How often do you hear the phrase, "Oh girl you DESERVE that!" or walk through your days feeling entitled to something? Lately I've become quick to notice when I use the word "Deserve" and have tried to eliminate it from my thoughts and words. Truth is, we are not deserving of a THING. It's the basis of Christianity. We're rotten, evil little creatures who by the grace of God, have the opportunity to be servants of Christ and thus be made HOLY.
Jesus tells his disciples, "you wanna be like Me? Then serve."

So through showing the world the divinity of Christ with what He has entrusted us, the challenging questions become:

"How am I serving God though my marriage and thus showing Him to those around me?"
"How am I using my talents to serve Him and bring glory to His name?"

And the hardest one, it seems:

"How am I using my money to show the world that Christ is DIVINE?"
A thought that came to me a few weeks ago on this subject was that, when we spend money, you get something in return for it, right? It buys something, thus makes a gain...

So a question I was convicted of for myself that has started helping me in my decisions of how to spend my money is:
"With each dollar I spend, am I gaining more of Christ or more of the world???"

Just some thoughts.