my soul delights

2011 Flashback: July through December

2011-12-30T21:45:00.000-06:00

So, it's now 2012 and I realize I've still got the second half of 2011 completely untouched in my flashback plan. So, rather than a post per month, I'm going to give you a true flash flashback. A couple lines per month and a few pictures for the year all in one post. Enjoy!

(I could insert that my New Year's resolution is to post on here more often, but I won't lie. I enjoy doing this at my leisure and right now, as I've mentioned before, being on the computer at home any more than I have to is not something I typically choose to do in my leisure time. I'm sure you understand! :) )

July
July was great! We celebrated our nephew, Kyler's, 6th birthday in the first half of the month, then finished it off by going to Cali to visit Daniel's family and go to his cousin's wedding. (pic below of Daniel and said cousin, Rebecca. Yes, that's an earring in his ear. It was short-lived - guess being in L.A. got to him. ;) ) Lovely wedding and great time with his family! Got to visit Six Flags while there and it was a blast!

August
While in Cali Daniel received a phone call with a job offer from a fantastic banking software company. He, of course, accepted and began work there in August. Since then he's become a supervisor in the department he works in. So proud of him!

September
I traveled quite a bit for work in September and Daniel was so sweet to take care of the dogs and keep things moving without me. I visited Antlantic City and then Houston and Galveston. I loved Galveston! We were just there for a short time but I wouldn't mind visiting again, for sure. If you ever go, be sure to stop in at La King's Confectionery - great old-time, 1920s style candy store. They even have the classic soda fountains where they mix the syrup right there before handing it to you in a classic soda glass.

Left: The hotel we stayed at in Atlantic City has an atrium with a variety of Miss America gowns and crowns in the lobby. This is the very first Miss America and her crown on display.
Right: Walking along the boardwalk in Atlantic City, it's fun to think of the history that's there. And of course we took the time to put our feet in the water! :)

October
My birthday month! My birthday fell on a Saturday so we had a great day of just hanging out together. The weather was gorgeous so Daniel and I went to Branson Landing and walked around for a while, had lunch at my fave restaurant down there (Cantina Laredo) and then did a little outlet shopping and ended the night with a movie at home. It was great! The next weekend our house was full of 8th grade girls from our church as we were a host home for Disciple Now (actually called Engage at our church). It was a great weekend and we were so thankful for the opportunity to get to know the girls and to open our home.

November
While Daniel went back to my hometown to stay with my family and go deer hunting, I had the opportunity to host/drive Angela Thomas while she was here for Fresh Grounded Faith. This was my third time serving as a host/driver for this even and what a blessing it is. Daniel didn't get a deer this year, but he's going to keep at it! We had a great Thanksgiving with his family. We planned to do our first 5k together at our local Turkey Trot but I ended up sick Thanksgiving morning :( Thankfully, we weren't doing dinner with his family until evening so I basically slept the entire day which helped a ton. We got up at 5 a.m. the next day because we'd picked out and saved for a couch at Ashley Furniture and we knew they were giving 25% off purchases made from 6 to 7 a.m. on Black Friday. So, we got up, bought our couch and then went right back to bed. I crashed most of the day Friday as well which was definitely needed.

December
It definitely feels like December flew by pretty quickly. It was truly pretty low-key for us overall. One weekend Kyler came and stayed the night with us which was super-fun. He was determined to stay up 'til midnight but he came about an hour shy. Of course his mom wasn't super-excited about that but I told her that's what aunts and uncles are for. ;) Then we got to watch him score a point and have an assist at his basketball game. Christmas was fantastic. We were thankful to have December 23 off of work to be a travel day to Van Buren and then spent a great weekend visiting my family, immediate and extended. After breakfast with my dad on Christmas morning, we headed back to Springfied to spend the afternoon with Daniel's family. Then, we finished off the night like anyone else who loves horses would - we went to see War Horse! :)

Left: Uncle Daniel giving Kyler some tips before the game.
Right: We took this picture in my car one night. It's not great quality but you get the idea - we have fun together! :)

2012
And now it is January 1 and we're at the start of a new year. This morning at church we sang a song that I think was great for remembering years past and looking forward. It reminds us we're never alone. No matter what is going on around us and if we're in the highs or lows of what life brings, I'm so thankful that we never walk alone and that God is soo faithful. May you find Him surrounding you today and into the new year!

June Flashback

2011-11-30T22:03:00.000-06:00

June started out with our SIX YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY on June 4th! We celebrated by attending a wedding, of course. We had originally hoped to go on a big trip for our anniversary since it fell on a weekend but since the Lord blessed me with my new job, vacation time is not an option yet; plus, as mentioned, we were preparing for a big event at work. So, we went to a wedding and then drove through Andy's Frozen Custard and rented a movie. Regardless, we celebrated our love and how far God has brought us over the years. And pray for many more years of learning, loving and growing together!

June 12th I was on my way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for my first ever RCI Annual Convention & Confectionery Industry Expo. The convention and tradeshow are the entire week so we left on Sunday and returned Friday night (by the hair on our heads we made our flights!). My first RCI event was fantastic. The whole week I'm pretty sure I was asleep by 2 a.m. and back downstairs by about 6:30 a.m. but I was going on adrenaline. The people of RCI and in the confectionery industry are fantastic and I couldn't ask for more!

While there, of course, we had one night to quickly do some touristy things so we had dinner at the famous Primanti Brothers. Yes, it's a turkey sandwich that has fries on it and then it was cooked on a griddle. Delish!

The first night we got to attend a Pirates game with a bunch of RCI folk. To get back to the hotel we rode a boat across the river. The pic below is not great quality but you get the picture. :)

The Monongahela Incline is a must while in Pittsburgh! The view at night was spectacular.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to do some traveling while working and to meet and work with so many great people. And yes, I (and my family and friends!) enjoy the chocolate too. :)

May Flashback

2011-11-02T21:57:00.002-05:00

**I started this post over a month ago and hadn't published it because I needed to take time to rotate the photos. Well, I still haven't done it but I'm publishing it anyways. :) Enjoy the sideways photos! :)

My mouth just dropped! How in the world am I so many months behind on this!? I'm sorry, friends. When I'm on the computer all day at work (not complaining because I still love it there, thank You Lord!), I just don't feel like more computer time when I get home. Tonight I opened my personal email and my Google reader and I have 60+ email messages to sift through and 780 unread items in my reader. Now, mind you, many of those emails are those daily deals emails which don't do me any good if I don't read them on a daily basis to see what deals are out there. :)

Anyhow, here is a good catch-up post for you and I've already got two more in the works. :) As far as life now goes, we are doing so great and couldn't be more thankful for God's faithfulness.

Flashback time!
May for me was very busy at work as we prepared for our June Annual Convention to be held in Pittsburgh. At the end of the month, Daniel and I took a road trip to visit our friends that had come to Ozark/Springfield in April. On our way to Illinois we made sure to stop by a Nicaraguan restaurant we'd found online a while back ago, Fritanga.

We also had to visit one of the chocolatiers of the association I work for that happened to be just down the street. (sorry, no chocolate pictures. We ate it all! :) ) But here are the pics of our food. It really was delicious!!

Our time with Shane, Brittany and kids was even sweeter than the chocolate. ;) You might remember

from my April flashback that they have three kids (and now a fourth on the way!). It was truly a blessing to watch them and the godly way they are parenting their children. We learned a ton about what Biblical parenting looks like and were very encouraged and challenged in our own lives. And Daniel was a big help, jumping in to entertain and help out whenver and however needed. That was a blessing to me, for sure, and hopefully to them as well. We're so thankful for the gift of these friends!

April Flashback

2011-08-03T21:26:00.000-05:00

April seems like forever ago. Thankfull, I made some notes in my draft post forever ago so I remember what all happened in April. It was a full month!!

1. Soccer
Kyler played soccer again this spring. Fortunately for us, his games were in Ozark so I made it to all but one or two of them. He and his team improved sooo much over the course of just a few weeks.

2. Visiting Friends
Our great friends, Shane and Brittany, plus their three kids came to visit in April as well. We hadn't seen them in more than 2 years so it was soooo good to hug their necks and meet their two littlest kiddos. (Their oldest was just 5 1/2 months old last time they visited.)

Me with our other good friend Christy, Brittany, and the Drury three. So sweet!

3. Visiting Friends - from Nicaragua!
Daniel's dad came to visit in the spring and joining him was a sweet family from Nicaragua. They are preparing to be missionaries and so came here to learn English and receive some triaining. We had so much fun with this family - and with Daniel's dad, of course! (somehow, there are no pics of him on here!)

4. Celebrating Birthdays
Birthdays were not lacking the month of December. We remembered my beloved friend, Kaitlin's, birthday on the same day as my dad, celebrated my sister's just a few days later, my Aunt Brenda had one in there, and then Daniel and my grandma share a birthday!

While it kind of stinks that I'm just stuck in 'always behind' mode on this blog, it is kind of fun to stop and look back.

Hope you've enjoyed this edition of the Alvarez Flashback!!

March Flashback

2011-06-29T20:35:00.001-05:00

March started with a work trip to San Francisco. The event we had last week in Pittsburgh will be in San Francisco next year, so I had the opportunity to go on the planning trip with my boss, Kelly.

It's really a very pretty and neat city. We didn't have a ton of time to do touristy type things but we did spend some time driving around to get a feel for the city for planning purposes.

The Golden Gate Bridge - wow!

Alcatraz - we didn't visit but I hope to tour it next year. This was my view of it from the piers.

We visited Muir Woods - the winding road makes it not an option to take our group to, unfortunately. Beautiful, nonetheless.

The view of the bay from our hotel room....

Again, so thankful for my job and the opportunity to do a little travel. It's been a little weird not traveling with Daniel since he's been my travel partner since we met my freshman year of college. But, hopefully, he'll get to join me on some of the travel or at least tail-end it so we can have a few fun days together at the end of some of my events.

Are you impressed? Two posts in a week!
I'll try to keep it up but no promises. ;)

February Flashback

2011-06-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

Since I'm so far behind, I'll give you just a few words of what's up now and show you some February flashback pictures.

I just got back from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Friday night from my work's Annual Convention. It's the major event we plan each year on behalf of candy and chocolate makers across the country. Each night (err, morning) as I went to bed I could do nothing but thank the Lord for this job. What a great group of people! What a great opportunity to use my skills to help business owners! And, of course, chocolate! ;)

I don't have as many February pics as I'd hoped. Here's the rundown:
We started out with lots of snow in February. I actually did have a picture of this but didn't want to revisit the cold - even in pictures!

Daniel and I (plus Noah and Kobe, of course) went to hometown of Van Buren for Valentine's Day weekend. We enjoyed some great family time and I had the chance to visit with lots of great Van Buren peeps by going to their first ever Upwards games. It was not only great to see so many hometown friends, but also to see this awesome opportunity for lives and families to be impacted by Christ through the Upwards games. See what I mean here.

Here's part of my "second family" including bro Jeff and two of his five precious girls, Grace and Chloe:

Honestly, I don't remember much else about February events at this point. I'm going to go now so I can attempt to work on a March recap before August!

January Flashback

2011-04-09T21:33:00.000-05:00

Apparently not much was picture-worthy in January because I only have three pictures from the entire month. The major news in our home was the Lord opening up a new door of employment for me. It was in His perfect timing, as it always is.

I'm the new Marketing Manager at Retail Confectioners International, a trade association for chocolate and candy makers across the globe that's headquartered here in Springfield. We don't make the chocolate/candy - our job is to serve those businesses that do. I'm really excited to be there and so thankful to God for the opportunity. Our local business journal even interviewed me about my new job. Check it out here.

Well, that's the gist of our January. :)

⁹ I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.

¹⁰ For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 57:9-10

Two of the three pictures I took were of a gorgeous sunset that I watched from our backyard deck. Enjoy!

December Flashback

2011-03-17T22:17:00.000-05:00

Hi friends (and family)! The next few posts will be flashbacks over the past few months since I've been out of touch. Enjoy!

Daniel's brother, Steven, graduated from Missouri State University:

I worked long, fun hours at my work's longest annual fundraiser, a Gift Wrap Booth at the mall. This is a snapshot of one of the many great groups of people I got to work with (the great folks here are all from Corporate Business Systems):

Somehow I don't have any pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas with our families. Sorry! Guess by the end of the Gift Wrap Booth month, my brain was a little fried. We were blessed to have Daniel's family and even some great friends to our home Christmas Eve for a fantastic meal and then Christmas Day we woke up, had breakfast and headed to my sister's to eat Christmas lunch with my family. A blessed time was had by all! And we were all blessed as we remembered the reason we celebate - JESUS!

Oh, I know why there are no pictures. We have video! We were dance all-stars with the Michael Jackson Wii game and Dance Central for Kinect. Maybe I'll post some video soon. ;)

Weekend Update

2010-11-23T21:08:00.000-06:00

The past two weekends have been full of all kinds of fun!

The weekend of the 12th was not only the first weekend of deer season (Unfortunately, we've got no meat in the freezer this time around. You'll get it next time, honey!), but it was also Fresh Grounded Faith here in Springfield. If you've not heard of it, Fresh Grounded Faith is a women's conference hosted by Jennifer Rothschild. It's a fantastic Kingdom-focused event put on by area churches that partner together. Jennifer goes all over for these events. Anyhow, each event has special guests and this time around was Tim Hawkins (hilarious!), Abby Rike (Biggest Loser Season 8), and Michael O'Brien.

We're blessed to not only be Jennifer's hometown, but the church I go to is also her home church. She and her husband were even the teacher's of one of the college department Sunday morning classes Daniel and I went to back in the day. We're so thankful for them and their example of love and godliness!

My friend, Tanya, and I were Abby's (and her mom) hostess/driver for the weekend. What fun!

(me with Abby and her mom, Billie)

L to R: me, Paula (our women's minister and fabulous lady), Paula (dear friend - we used to teach together in the youth department), and Tanya (a new fabulous friend and co-hostess for FGF)
So thankful for the multitude of godly women God has placed in my life!

Speaking of great women, my dear friend, Marilyn, came all the way from Van Buren to go to the conference and stay the night at my house. So thankful for her and that she could make it up here!

Now for this past weekend. It was filled with youth and more fun as we had our annual Engage Weekend (typically known as Disciple Now :) ). It was great to have a group of senior girls who "get it" and are seeking to honor and glorify the Lord. Thanks, Lord, for the opportunity to serve you this way!

Here's to serving in the name of Jesus and having fun!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Fall Fun

2010-11-04T22:12:00.000-05:00

I'm still alive, friends. :) It's really not on purpose that I post once a month, I promise!

Last month Katie and I took Ky to one of our local pumpkin patches. So fun!

Fun and family - that's what we're up to these days!

Kyler + Flint = Showstoppers!

2010-10-05T20:22:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure of spending the entire weekend going to PBR events here in Springfield with my family. (For you non-country folk, PBR is Professional Bull Riding. ;) ) The grand finale - Kyler not only was the PBR Fan of the Night on the last night, but he even got to go out to the middle of the arena and dance Michael Jackson with Flint!! Just watch the video and you'll get it.

Needless to say, I'm a proud aunt!! And we were all hooping and hollering, of course. And, he was on national TV! PBR plays on a channel/station called Versus and they showed a clip of him dancing with Flint. So fun!

Family Time in California

2010-09-22T21:34:00.000-05:00

I've decided to not worry about being caught up on my blog anymore. Last thing I need is another thing to add to my to do list. So, the fact that these pictures are from nearly a month ago doesn't even bother me. :)

Just over a month ago Daniel received a call that his sweet Tia Mayra had passed away (his dad's sister). She'd been battling cancer for quite some time. She's a fighter and bypassed all those dates the doctors would give the family of her life expectancy. But on August 20, she went home to be with the Lord. It didn't take us long to decide we needed to be in California with the rest of Daniel's family for the memorial service so off we went to L.A. with Steven and Evelyn. While we wished the circumstances for the visit were different, we were very thankful for the chance to spend time with his family. We were also extremely thankful Daniel and Alvaro had had the chance to spend some time with Mayra earlier this year. Without a doubt, God is good ALL THE TIME.

Here are lots of snapshots for you!

River Rats

2010-09-02T20:15:00.000-05:00

Daniel and I went home (to Van Buren, of course) a few weekends ago to get our last taste of my beloved Current River for the summer. Aaaah....relaxation at its best!

(We took some friends and fam from Springfield with us, too. That's the unfamilar faces you see in the pics. :) )

I Present to You...

2010-08-21T20:16:00.000-05:00

Mr. and Mrs. Josh Johnson!

That's right, we have a new addition to the family. We're so thankful for the work God is doing in Katie and Josh's life and pray they always seek to honor and glorify Christ alone. And for sweet Kyler, that he'll be in a home filled with love. Congrats - we love you guys!

(The wedding was a private ceremony with immediate family and then there will be a big celebration reception with the rest of the friends and family next weekend. I'll be sure to post those pics as well. :) )

Happy Birthday, Steven!

2010-08-14T22:51:00.000-05:00

We went to Olive Garden last night with Daniel's family to celebrate Steven's 23rd birthday. Lots of laughs were had by all!! :)

Happy Birthday, Steven!! We love you!!

L to R: Daniel, me, Tia Mary, Tio George, Steven, and Abuela

(Spanish to English: tia = aunt, tio = uncle, abuela = grandma)

Evelyn took the photo and Keila was on her way. :)

Noah has been published!

2010-08-09T21:25:00.000-05:00

That's right, Noah is one of the cutest pets in the Springfield, MO area! And I have the published magazine picture to prove it.

I had submitted his picture online a while back ago. The original is on a disk somewhere or I'd show it here. He's licking his nose so his tongue is sticking out perfectly and he's obviously enjoying the snow. Soo cute! Sorry, I digress. I received a copy of the magazine in the mail which I thought was odd because it is a free publication. As I was looking through, I yelled to Daniel that Noah is in the magazine (why they mailed it to me, I'm sure)! So fun! If you're curious, first place was a Weimaraner standing by a bush. I think Noah had him beat, but I'm just a little biased.

Kyler is 5!

2010-07-26T21:32:00.000-05:00

Amazing to me that he can be five years old and going into Kindergarten this fall. We love Ky so much and pray he grows to be a man after God's own heart. Here's to your 5th Birthday (which was actually July 11 :) ), my sweet nephew!

He's Growing Up!

2010-06-30T19:08:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe this little guy....

Is this little guy....

Slip 'N Slidin' Fun

2010-06-28T21:57:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago Kyler called to see if he could bring over his Slip 'n Slide to play with Uncle Daniel. (I had told Daniel how excited Daniel got when he saw one for sale, so she and Ky were happy to share his Diego slide.) We had lots of fun and ended up with plenty of grass cuts from sliding off into the grass!

I hope to have some video up soon. Soo much better than the pictures!

Of course, as much fun as this was, we had to get one where we could race! The next weekend Daniel bought a 3-person Slip 'n Slide complete with flags to grab at the end. This time Katie and Josh joined in the fun. :)

We Are the Champions

2010-06-18T18:25:00.001-05:00

I'm sure the neighbors could hear all the yelling from our house last night as we (well, Daniel) celebrated the Lakers winning the playoffs. When he called Steven to celebrate I could hear the yelling through the phone across the room. As you probably noticed in our family pics , we are a Lakers house. Daniel was born and spent the first 9 years of his life in L.A. So, yes, we both had our jerseys on last night like good fans. :)

Daniel and Ky getting ready to watch game 5 :) (phone picture quality, of course!)

My Cool Parents

2010-06-14T22:29:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad just returned from their vacation in Destin, FL with some great family friends of ours. Of course, they had a blast and are now trying to adjust to "everyday life" again. So glad you enjoyed yourselves, Mom and Dad! You deserve it! :)

Here's to great fun and great friends!!

Hope

2010-06-07T17:59:00.001-05:00

I don't want to take too much from this video to preface it. I will let you know it's 27 minutes long, but I definitely encourage you to take time to watch it when you can. I was reminded of so much. We serve a God of hope - when all seems hopeless. We never drift toward anything good. Grace, true grace, can only be shown to others through the power of Christ. Wherever you are in life today, take hold - OUR HOPE IS IN THE LORD!

FYI: I found this through Justin and Trish's blog called Refine Us.

Thankful

2010-06-04T06:03:00.002-05:00

Dear Jesus,

Thank you. For teaching me (continually and still) that I can't control anyone but myself. For providing for our needs daily. For giving me a husband who loves me AND tells me. For your Word that directs, comforts, and gives us all we need. For the Holy Spirit that convicts us and leads us to repentance. For the example of true love that you showed us through dying on the cross for our dreadful sins. That depiction of love is what drives us daily. Your example reminds us that love is not easy. But it is deep. It is real. It is a choice, a commitment. It's staying when running seems like an option. Love is sacrificial. It calls us to put others first. Lord, thank you for the fun, the laughter, the memories (and the ones to come!).

Thank you that today, because of YOU, Daniel and I are celebrating our marriage of five years! We love YOU so much and give YOU all the glory!

Riding Away

2010-05-25T21:25:00.002-05:00

My dad surprised Daniel for his birthday back in April with this riding lawnmower. While we don't have a huge hard, we have a pretty good incline for a pushmower. So, Dad was very excited when he saw this in a yardsale. He cleaned it up and even gave it a personal touch (see the Alvarez on the front?). :)

As you can see, Daniel was extremely excited and surprised. Thanks again, Dad! We love you!

Playing Catch Up? Not Me!

2010-05-22T22:03:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know it's been a while since I've been in touch. I'll skip the usual been busy why's and go right into some fun photos for the next few posts. As they say, a picture says a thousand words! :)

Daniel went to visit family in California at the end of April so I took advantage of the opportunity to head home again and spend some great time with some family. My lovely cousin, Mandy, came over along wither her daughter Addy and two dogs. Yes, we had four dogs in my parents house! Of course, mine were huge compared to hers. Mia, a teacup Chihuahua, is 2 1/2 lbs and Duke, a Shipom (Shih-tzu/Pomeranian mix) won't be more than 10 lobs but is a 4 lb puppy now. As you'll see below, Kobe found a great friend in Duke. They were soo cute!

(This last one is horrible quality because it's from a cell phone, but it was too great not to share!)

How Beautiful Are Your Feet?

2010-04-28T19:15:00.000-05:00

Our church held its missions conference (Global Impact) over the past two weeks/weekends. The first weekend was focused on our local missions partners, and this past weekend was a Missouri/USA/International focus. Of course, as the Lord would work it, the lesson we taught our students in small group this past Sunday morning focused on a passage that was our Global Impact theme a couple years ago.

⁸But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ¹¹As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
¹⁴How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (bolded by me)
Romans 10:8 - 15

The question we were challenged with before and that the girls and I challenged ourselves with this week: How beautiful are your feet? We're called multiple times to go and share the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. But, are we going? And are we sharing Him in our own backyard? As the passage above says perfectly, how can they believe in Him if they aren't told (and shown, so our daily living is a party of it)? One of the missionary couples that spoke this weekend has been working with a people group in Africa. Before their work, there were no known believers in this people group. Because of their obedience to the Lord, they have been used to lead people to Christ and they shared numerous stories evidencing God's work there. Their feet are beautiful, are they not? I was definitely challenged (and convicted) over the past couple of weeks as I reviewed my own life. My prayer in sharing this with you is that you, too, will be challenged. Do you go? Or are you just comfortable where you are?

I encourage you to ponder and pray: How beautiful are your feet?

And, if you don't have a relationship with the Lord, I implore you - He loves you and wants to save you! Surrender to Him today, and you'll never be the same. Leave me a comment if you'd like to discuss this further.

Blessings to each of you!

Belated Birthday Post to My Beloved

2010-04-26T22:49:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I didn't get a post on here for Daniel's birthday - it was last Tuesday, the 20th! Sorry, honey!

We did have a great time together for his birthday, though. We gorged at Cheddar's (it's ok because it was his birthday, right?) getting the amazing spinach dip and even topping it off with a yummy cookie monster. Seriously, we hadn't had a cookie monster since before we got married so we enjoyed every bit of it! Then we followed our tradition of walking it off across the street at Best Buy and the neighboring stores. :)

I'm so thankful the Lord brought Daniel into my world. Every day, I love him more and more as we continue to learn and grow together.

Happy belated birthday, sweetheart! I love you so much!

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him." Genesis 1:27a

P.S. Daniel also happens to share a birthday with my grandma, my mom's mom. Happy 80th birthday to you, Grandma! I love you!

Soccer 101

2010-04-20T00:41:00.002-05:00

My nephew, Kyler, is playing on his first sports team this spring and we're all excited it's soccer. So fun to watch the little guys run up and down the field!

Fun facts from the first game: Ky went to the middle of the field and started doing push-ups - his coach thought it was great. He told my mom she needed to yell, "Go, Kyler, Go!" I watched the video my mom recorded, and believe me, she listened to him and yelled for him the entire time! :)

I wasn't there for the first game, but I made it to the second so that's where these action shots are from.

Then & Now

2010-04-13T22:00:00.001-05:00

I told you while I was home over Easter I got to see some people I hadn't seen in a while. So, I thought it'd be fun to do a then and now post. Now remember, the now pics are of the day we all got up early for the city-wide yard sale (early for a Saturday, ok?). :)

In the order I saw them:

1. My wonderful friend, Ashlee, a great friend since gradeschool. I was hoping to find one of those gradeschool pics of us, but I didn't think I'd be able to get to it for a post this week! I know which tub of photos they're in, I promise! :)

2. Cameron - I love this little girl! (I guess she's not so little anymore :) )

3. My cousin, Shelby. She lives in Oklahoma and I used to go stay with her and the fam when she was little. Now, it seems like I'm lucky to catch her every two years so this was great!

Happy Birthday, Sis!

2010-04-09T11:28:00.002-05:00

Horsin' Around

2010-04-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

A Weekend at Home

2010-04-06T20:21:00.001-05:00

I know, home is really here in Ozark now, but I'm pretty sure I'll always say, "I'm going home" when I head back to good ol' Van Buren. Since Daniel had to referee soccer Friday night, Noah and I headed to Van Buren by ourselves. Besides the fact that the ENTIRE drive back was in the rain, it was a perfect weekend.

Saturday morning: Got up early for the city-wide yard sale in VB. Got to see lots of people I hadn't seen in ages and it was even Jolly Cone's opening day for the season! So, I got my strawberry, vanilla Mountain Dew at 9:30 in the morning. :) (I don't normally prefer Mountain Dew, but these are awesome!)

Lunchtime: Mom, Dad, me and some family friends went to a local restaurant for some great food.

Early afternoon: Dad and I went for a great horse ride together! I'm embarrassed to say it'd been years since I last rode a horse, so this was way past due.

Later afternoon: Mom and I went for a run to prepare for our 5k coming up in 10 days. We went to a nearby lake (loosely called a lake, but whatever) and it was a beautiful run!

Evening: Drove through Taco Bell on our way to my grandma's (mom's mom) to see my younger cousin that was in from Oklahoma. Quick visit but well worth it!

Later evening: Got home about 9:30 and sat up watching videos of my nephew's first soccer game and his Michael Jackson performance for my mom and the video camera. Lots of laughs! Crawled into bed for some rest at about 11:30.

Sunday morning: Got up to get ready for church. We joined some of my Dad's side of the family for their special Easter service. Through drama and music, they did a beautiful job of reminding us of the cross and the resurrection. It was powerful, to say the least!

Afternoon: Now to my grandma and grandpa's (dad's parents) house for dinner with the family. We sat outside in the beautiful Spring weather, watched the kiddos play in the dirt, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was lovely!

Early evening: Got home to pack, get Noah ready, and head into VB on our way out.

Last stop: Jolly Cone for supper! I wanted to see my aunts that live in VB, so Mom and I met them and a family friend at the Jolly Cone for a quick bite before I hit the road again.

Whew!! It was packed full of goodness and blessings!! Thanks, Mom and Dad for a great time!

Don't worry, pictures to follow! :)

Because He Lives

2010-04-04T09:49:00.002-05:00

Rejoice with me today! An old hymn says it perfectly:

"Life is worth the living, just because He lives!"

Not So Fast Friends

2010-04-03T21:33:00.001-05:00

As I said, Noah wasn't so keen on Kobe being a permanent member of the household. He wasn't jealous, he was just anxious and totally freaked out by him. He's finally figured out Kobe is just another dog and loves to play as much as him. Yay!! They crack me up, too. Noah loves to paw - always has - and he doesn't get that Kobe is so little that when he paws at him he throws him to the ground. So, I still have to keep an eye on them to be sure they're playing fair. I always knew that Noah would enjoy having another doggie friend in his life, and I'm super excited he and Kobe are going to make great brothers! :)

Grandmotherly Love - Nothing Like It

2010-04-02T18:37:00.001-05:00

We were so blessed to have my grandma (my dad's mom) in town to visit us last weekend. My grandpa went to Kentucky to fish with the boys so Grandma came to Ozark/Springfield with my mom. Friday I was able to meet them for lunch at Red Lobster and then Mom and I took Kyler to a rodeo while Katie and Grandma rented a movie and stayed in. Then Saturday, she got to go to Ky's first soccer game. What a blessing she got to be here for that! We shopped a little and then Mom and I took her to see the beautiful Branson Landing. We walked around, enjoyed the view of the lake, ate some BBQ at Famous Dave's and then headed back home.

You're probably sick of me saying this, but I'm so thankful for the blessed family time Daniel and I have had with each of our families lately. We don't take a minute of it for granted!

2 Timothy 3:15, 16
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-04-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

37

2010-03-31T21:31:00.002-05:00

That's how long it took me to run my 5k training tonight. 37 minutes. Not as good as I'd like, but considering I haven't run 3.1 miles - that's how long 5k is - in months, I guess I should be satisfied. Saturday, April 17 I'm joining my mom and hopefully lots of other folks for the first annual 5k to support the Lending a Hand Cancer Fund back in my hometown of Van Buren, MO. I'm very excited to go back and give my support to this worthy organization that was formed to financially help people in Carter County who have cancer. It's pretty new - since August of last year - so I'm also excited to go back and hear exactly how they're operating and what they're doing to help the families in Carter County. Plus, hopefully I'll get to visit with some Van Buren friends that I haven't seen in ages. Tiffany, one of the founders of the fund and a cancer survivor, and I actually have known each other since kindergarten and graduated High School together so it'll be great to see her again. And, of course, Van Buren being a small town, I worked for one of the other founders and the third founder - her twin sisters and I have also been friends since kindergarten so she was like an older sister to me (and she, too, is a cancer survivor)!

My mom, Katie (my sis), and I went shoe shopping this weekend for the ideal running shoe. We each got a pair so we can take the best care of our bodies while running. It's amazing the difference a good pair of shoes can make! I ran in mine for the first time tonight and they felt great!

Hats off to the Asics Gel-Kayano 16!! Check it and other great Asics shoes here.

Welcome Spring

2010-03-24T20:50:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited Spring is officially here! I actually started planting a couple of weeks ago when we had a wonderfully warm Saturday - I couldn't help myself! I spent $6 at Lowe's and got these beautiful purple pansies as well as some daffodils. I'm so excited about the daffodils - this is my first time so I hope they make it to bloom! They've grown quite a bit since this picture, for sure.

And here's a sneak of what's getting ready to bloom for the first time in my garden - a lenten rose! I'm so excited! A wonderful friend from work gave this one to me last summer, so this is my first!
This is now (or 2 weeks ago, actually):

This is what it should look like in bloom. Isn't it lovely?

Welcome Spring! We've been missing you!

Kobe: Our All Star

2010-03-22T22:07:00.002-05:00

For those of you I left wondering on Friday, yes, we got a puppy! Daniel's been going back and forth on wanting his own dog for a while now (Noah is technically mine), and March 13 he finally found his beloved Kobe. After Kobe Bryant, of course. For those of you who haven't visited his blog to know, he's a huge Lakers fan. Of course, you probably gathered that from my family photo at right. :)

Anyhow, he's a boxer mix. The mom's a full blood boxer, but the dad is unknown. They saw a beagle running around so he may have some beagle in him. He definitely walks like a boxer!

Noah is still not sure what to think about him. The first night he had some major anxiety about it and wouldn't even come to Daniel or me if we smelled like Kobe. He wouldn't even take a snack from me! He just sniffed and walked away. He's getting better. As I'm typing he just walked up to him to sniff him out and he tried to play with him earlier. Basically, Kobe sat and watched as Noah ran circles around him! We're hoping they'll be great friends soon!

Brian's Tourists Stops

2010-03-21T22:07:00.002-05:00

Of course, we had to be sure Daniel's cousin, Bryan, visited the typical tourist stops while here. :)
(Sorry the Branson collage is a little small to view on here. Click on it and it'll enlarge for you. Enjoy!)

We had so much fun while Bryan was here and hope he makes it back to visit again soon.
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of family and the precious time we've gotten to spend with our families recently!

Meet Kobe

2010-03-19T11:56:00.000-05:00

I have so much to catch you up on. Our trip to Branson with Daniel's family. And the new member of our household! But, for now, this sneak peak pic will have to do, so I can get outside and enjoy this beautiful day!

Surprise!

2010-03-08T21:05:00.001-06:00

Last time Keila came to visit, it was a surprise to everyone but Mary (Daniel's aunt). This time, Daniel, Steven, and I got to be the one's in on it. So, on Sunday the 28th of February we surprised the family.

Can you see the disbelief in Daniel's grandma's face? She literally stood there for at least 30 seconds! And then came Mary and then came Jorge. It was great!

And then, the following Thursday her brother, Brian, flew in and surprised everyone (but Daniel and I knew!). It was great because Daniel's family thought they were going to pick up his dad at the airport, and then it was Brian! Unfortunately, I don't have photos from that spectacular surprise because I was at work. Just imagine! :)

Mine

2010-03-07T21:53:00.001-06:00

Mine. From an early age we learn to use this word to proclaim what belongs to us, or at least what we think belongs to us. How much of our life is really ours? If we claim to be Christ-followers, none of it is; this is what we were reminded of at church this morning. As Paul so perfectly said in Galations 2:20, we have been "crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

This means when we give our lives to Christ, we surrender it all. We lay it all down and choose to live by faith, not by our own fleshly desires. The life I now live is no longer mine; it's His. Totally His to do with what He desires. I'm ready, Lord. Live in and through me.

To hear this morning's teaching from Ben yourself, just visit here and choose 2ndeleven. (If the sermon "Mine" is not showing up, give it a day or so since it was just recorded this a.m.)

Coming soon: See how Daniel's family reacted to our surprise at their door - his cousin, Keila, is back! (see photos from her first visit here) And this time for good! Plus, I'll share some photos from Saturday when we took the fam to Branson Landing. Check back soon!

Last Weekend

2010-03-06T10:17:00.001-06:00

**I have lots of catching up to do. We've been without internet for most of the week, but I have more to share. These photos are from last weekend. What fun! More to come later this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday! Hope it's as beautiful as ours! Now off to the park with Noah...

Getting Organized

2010-02-25T22:46:00.003-06:00

I've decided to start working on Spring Organizing.

Step #1: Jewelry

Earrings. Check. Next up: necklaces

I love the way these necklaces are organized yet on display. My plan is to do something similar with fabric attached to the back of the frame and then hang the frame in my bathroom.

Photo credit and directions go here.

Another beautiful inspiration I found here.

Do you have a fun way to organize your jewelry? Or is it just tossed in a drawer, hopefully close to it's match for the next time it's needed?

A Day in the Park

2010-02-18T19:29:00.000-06:00

It was like summer today! Ok, not really. But it was bright and sunny and in the 40's. So, I definitely took the opportunity to hurry home from work and get Noah out for a short walk. Poor guy hadn't been to the park since before Thanksgiving! No worries, we play plenty but nothing can replace that walk.
We only went one big lap around the park, the equivalent of about 1/4 mile. It was much colder than I'd imagined, and I had to take the time to make Noah chill out so we could walk semi-normally. So, it was a looong 1/3 mile. If you've met Noah before, you know he can be a little rambunctious. And if you've met him, you're laughing that I only said a little. :)

Thank you, Lord, for two whole days of sunshine! What a blessing to my spirit!

Spinning #2

2010-02-16T20:31:00.003-06:00

Well, I promised myself I'd go to a spinning class once a week, but unfortunately this crazy weather hasn't really helped with that. While I've been to the gym, I haven't visited spinning again - until tonight! And boy was it intense! I didn't fall down the stairs afterwards, though. :) I learned my lesson and made myself walk around the track to get the wobbly feeling out of my legs.
Weather willing, I plan to be there again next week. And yes, the week after that.

Ready for a rematch

2010-02-15T09:02:00.001-06:00

As my mom's email said when she sent the following pics:
Be afraid, be very afraid.

Leave it to Nana and Papa to go shopping for Kyler and prepare him for the next battle with Uncle Daniel! Talk about an upgrade!

Valentine's Day 2010

2010-02-14T19:27:00.003-06:00

I got up this morning to make heart-shaped cinnamon rolls for my Valentine (no, not from scratch, but they're still yummy). I even took pictures to display but have decided they didn't really look like hearts once they expanded when baked. (Actually, Daniel said they looked like four leaf clovers because it was a grouping of four hearts, so maybe I'll do it again for St Pat's Day and you can see them then.) He says he appreciated the effort, though. :) I even had his strawberry milk mixed and ready to drink! I love you, my forever Valentine!

We just had cereal and sandwiches at home today because we're both off work tomorrow so we're going to one of my very favorite restaurants: Cantina Laredo at The Landing (in Branson)! Mmm... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

So thankful for the sermon at church this morning that reminded us of the greatest love of all - the unconditional love of Jesus!! May you each know and receive that wondrous love today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

welcome Olympics

2010-02-12T19:53:00.003-06:00

I'm getting ready to sit down with a mug of hot chocolate (or just good ol' chocolate milk, we'll see) and watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics with Daniel and Noah. I just love the Olympics! So many inspiring stories and so many amazing athletes from all over the world.
My heart weighs heavy, though, for the family and friends of the Georgian luger who passed away today after a crash during a training run. We remember them in our prayers today and realize the need to pray for safety for all of the competing athletes.

Will you be watching the Olympics in the coming days? Which event are you most excited about watching?

So Long Insecurity

2010-02-10T09:00:00.023-06:00

I'm so excited to be joining in my first blog discussion group, alongside thousands of other ladies on the Living Proof Ministries blog (aka Beth Moore's ministry blog). Her new book So Long Insecurity is officially on the stands and we'll be going through two chapters a week together as we stomp this often-used tool of the devil called insecurity. I'm going to pick up my book tomorrow. If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, please join us. You'll find all the details here.
Blessings for what I'm hoping will be a sunny day here in Southwest Missouri!

my delights

2010-02-08T21:03:00.002-06:00

Here are some of the great blogs I'm following these days under my 'Designs' category. Just click on the title of the blog to check it out yourself.

A Beautiful Mess - A very creative girl who actually owns her own store right here in Springfield (funny tidbit, I didn't even know that when I first started following her). Lots of DIYs found here :)

Barbara Neely Designs - Barbara designs custom invitations and party accessories. Great for any of you planning kids' parties ;)

Create Well Create Often - Her focus is on scrapbooking and photography. Inspiring!

fabulous k - I absolutely love her interior design style. So classy!

The Pen and Ink Journal - This talented lady writes all of her blog posts by hand and scans them in.

lovelydesign - Another talented gal! She's nice enough to share a new digital design pattern each month for her followers to use how they please.

party perfect - This lady is a former art director for Martha Stewart Baby and Kids magazines just to give you a clue of how great her blog is. All kinds of themed party ideas found here!

Well, hope you enjoyed the first edition of my delights! Blessings!!

Also, if you have a Google account, be sure to set up your Google Reader and add me to your list of blogs to follow. It's super easy and makes keeping up with all your favorite blogs much easier.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly, he delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:23

Nerf War in Action

2010-02-06T22:52:00.000-06:00

It's a little later than you may have expected, but here are the photos from the Uncle vs Nephew Nerf War last night. So fun!

Uncle/Nephew Nerf War

2010-02-05T22:47:00.000-06:00

We had the blessing of having my nephew, Kyler, over for the evening. The highlight of the night for Kyler was definitely getting to play in a nerf war with Uncle Daniel. As soon as he got done eating supper he went to find his nerf gun that Uncle Daniel got him for his birthday. The other toys at our house hardly exist ever since he got that gun! :)

It was so fun watching them attempting to hide around corners, etc. I've already decided we'll have to upgrade Ky's gun so he doesn't have to reload after every single shot.

Watch for some great photos tomorrow!

Public Speaking

2010-02-02T22:41:00.002-06:00

Today I was given plenty of practice in the public speaking realm. I had the opportunity to be a presenter for the Nixa Junior High Awareness Day (aka Career Day). What a day!

For some of you, speaking to groups of 8th graders may not be public speaking, but to me, whenever you're standing in front of a group of people speaking it counts - am I right? So, I made it through the day pretty well. Thank goodness for Powerpoint presentations! As my former boss, Cindi Boston, taught me - it's much better giving them something else to look at besides me! :) Plus, you can't tell a story without pictures so I was sure to include plenty of pictures to describe what DCO does. And fortunately, the kiddos took it easy on me. Back to a 'regular' work day tomorrow.

Below: Need some tips on public speaking? Check out these great resources!

Fun, Fun, Fun

2010-01-31T21:47:00.000-06:00

Like I said, Noah loves the snow! So, of course, I had to get out and play with him in it.

This is my best effort at a snowwoman (turned out to be a woman because of the pink/cream accessories). Noah kept wanting to jump on it, dig under it, and lick it.

Yep, he got the carrot!

Check Him Out

2010-01-30T19:48:00.001-06:00

Well, the blog bug has bitten Daniel. After I told him my dad had started his own blog, Daniel started thinking maybe he should too. (Not to verbally say I told you so, but I did mention to him when I started mysouldelights that he should do a sports blog since he knows sooo much about it. Hmmm... :) )

I'm excited for him, though. As you can imagine, the entire theme is Lakers although believe me, he'll have something to say about more than just basketball. As I said, when it comes to sports Daniel does not discriminate. Check him out at time2talksports here. Don't forget to follow while you're on there so you can keep up with him. As a matter of fact, hopefully you'll follow me too!

P.S. If you haven't seen our family photos in our Lakers jerseys, check them out here.

My Dad's a Blogger

2010-01-30T09:15:00.001-06:00

I'm so proud of my dad! He just created his own blog! :) Check it out at proud2beloved.blogspot.com. Great job, Dad!

Orphan Care

2010-01-29T15:20:00.000-06:00

Catching up on my blog reading over lunch today, my friend Alisa's blog inspired me and reminded me of our responsibility to care for the orphans of the world. The Bible is very clear that we as believers are to care for the orphans and widows:

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27 (NLT)

Please take time to check out yesterday's post on Alisa's blog and hear the testimony of her friend who just returned from visiting orphans in Africa. And let James 1:27 inspire and challenge you today. Blessings, my friends!

More White Goodness

2010-01-29T09:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm working from home today as we are still getting some of that white goodness. At least it's Friday! My work plans: design an invitation for an upcoming event, work on a mailing, plan for an Awareness Day presentation I'll be doing next week. That's really a lot more to accomplish than it seems, but I'll get it done. As long as Noah quits begging to go outside, then back in, then back out, then... well, you get the picture!

So, what's your favorite thing to do on snow days?

Sore

2010-01-27T19:54:00.000-06:00

Sitting down to write this post, there was a bit of a grimace on my face. My quads are tight and sore, for sure. It's that kind of sore that you almost enjoy because you know that you had a great workout the day before. I tried a spinning class for the first time last night. Whew! What a leg workout! Not even kidding - I almost fell down the stairs when I left the gym last night my legs were so wore out!

While spinning doesn't replace my love for some great cardio kickboxing (not the flimsy arm stuff, but the real deal), I can see myself incorporating it into my weekly routine. I'm thinking spinning once a week would be great. So, that's my goal. I'm putting it onto paper (well, digitally), so I have a little more accountability/responsibility to do it. :)

If you have a spinning class at your local gym, I definitely encourage you to try it out!

Weekends

2010-01-24T20:49:00.001-06:00

I love the weekend! Here's a snapshot of ours:
Friday night: Noah, Daniel, & I chilled at home. Lovely!
Saturday: Slept in. Yay! I just love the feeling of not waking up to an alarm. Watched a little HGTV while Daniel kept sleeping and then we went to lunch at Chili's with my sister and Kyler, my cousin, Jason, his wife, Leslie, their son, Chase, and Leslie's parents. It was great to see each of them, of course. :)
Saturday night was a sleepover at my house for the Senior girls Sunday School class I co-teach. We had a yummy meal and watched Confessions of a Shopaholic. (Great movie, if you haven't seen it yet. :) ) Daniel jetted out to play some Wii at a friend's house for a while.
Sunday: Got up a little earlier than normal to be sure the girls were up and ready and had some breakfast to eat. After church Daniel and I were excited to have an amazing lunch at Ocean Zen, a wonderful restaurant here in Springfield, thanks to a gift card Katie, Josh, and Kyler gave us for Christmas. Thanks again, guys! What a treat! Of course, I had to get my afternoon nap in today while Daniel watched the football game and now we're watching the last game before the SuperBowl. I'm holding out for the Vikings! :) Currently tied with 1 minute, 6 seconds to go.

2010-01-20T21:05:00.001-06:00

This is my little monster after a long day at the groomers. He hasn't learned how to enjoy his time at the doggie spa (seriously, he goes to Pampered Paws Pet Resort and Salon) so he always comes home completely exhausted - as I'm sure his groomer does, too! You should see her face when I ask how he did. Then she gently assures me she doesn't mind grooming him; every Wheaten has their problems, she says. I'm so thankful I've finally found someone patient enough to keep at it! :) And he is super soft when's clean! Thus the name Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier :-)

Marvelous Monday

2010-01-18T21:56:00.001-06:00

Yes, you read it correctly, it says Marvelous Monday. I know those two words seem like an oxymoron for most working people, but I actually did have a marvelous Monday. What made it so great, you ask? Family. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a total family girl. I love lots of friends, too, but isn't there just something special about being with family? My parents came into town yesterday! So we met at Lambert's after church for lunch along with Katie and Kyler. Ky caught his own hot roll! :) (if you're wondering, Daniel and Josh were happily watching the Vikings game elsewhere.) Then, last night was just some hanging time at Katie's. Noah and Apollo met for the first time. How;d it go? Let's just say Noah doesn't have many dog friends so he's a little unsure of it all. He was exhausted when we got home from running away from a puppy that's much smaller than him. Crazy dog!

Then today I met Mom, Dad, Kyler, and Daniel (he didn't have to work because of MLK day) for lunch at McAlister's. After work (I told you it was filled with family!) mom and I met at the gym while Dad and Daniel put replacement parts on our grill. And since it was so warm here we grilled out and Katie, Josh, and Apollo came over to our house! It was so great to grill again! And in January! Noah and Apollo actually sort of played this time. We're getting there. :)

So, yes, it was a Marvelous Monday!

Rocking Out

2010-01-14T14:03:00.000-06:00

1. Uncle Terry 2 & 3. Addy (Mandy's daughter) 4. Hunter (Tisha's son) 5. Tisha, her hubby, Bobby, and Hunter

House Party

2010-01-11T22:26:00.001-06:00

Dad was nice enough to let us host our usual Rock Band party at the house while we were home last weekend. It's always a blast to catch up with the family and watch the kiddos let loose. I think Hunter (my cousin, Latisha's, kid) has the most fun, playing every instrument on his own (kid-size, but who cares?). Thanks everyone for taking time to come over! Daniel and I relish every moment with you all!

"Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."
Colossians 3:14
I'm so thankful for the love of Christ which binds us with our families.

Time Flies

2010-01-10T21:46:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already Monday tomorrow! We had a wonderful weekend back at my home turf - Van Buren, MO. It was a full weekend with my lovely family. We spent Friday evening at home with Dad (Mom was working - she's an EMT) and then starting Saturday morning I was ready to see as many of my beloved friends/family as possible in the 45 hours we had.

Details and pics to come! Have a blessed beginning to your week!

Family Time

2010-01-07T21:14:00.004-06:00

Daniel's cousin, Keila, surprised us in December and flew in from Los Angeles. We've had the pleasure of having her here for a whole month, but she had to head back this morning. As you can imagine, she was excited to kiss this cold weather goodbye and get back to much warmer Cali. (Heck, I'd love to escape to a warm place right about now!)
We're so thankful we got to spend Christmas with her - and of course the rest of the loved Alvisurez family! Keila, it was great to see you and we can't wait until next time so we can take you to try out some BBQ and visit the Home of Throwed Rolls!

The family: Irma (Grandma), Evelyn in pink (Daniel's mom), Keila in grey, Jorge (uncle), and Mary (aunt). For those of you wondering why Daniel's bro was MIA, Steven was on his way to Colorado.

White Goodness

2010-01-03T15:12:00.003-06:00

Noah has a cousin!

2010-01-03T14:15:00.002-06:00

A doggy cousin, of course! Friday night, Katie, Josh, and Kyler surprised everyone (I think themselves, too) by getting a new weimaraner puppy. Apollo is so stinking cute! He's still in that cuddling stage, so when we went over to meet him he just curled up in each of our laps and slept peacefully. I'm super excited for Noah to have a new friend and for us all to take walks together (I did some research and it looks like Apollo will need lots of walks!). Of course, now Mom and Dad will have two grand-doggies in their house when we visit!

Don't you just love his beautiful blue eyes!

2010-01-01T13:51:00.001-06:00

Have you ever met someone who made you want to know God more? There was just something about that person that didn't necessarily draw you to him or her, but to the One who made him or her. I've been very blessed to know a good number of those people, and I pray that one day I may shine Christ the way they do.

One of those people to me is Heather Gilion. I met her my second year in Springfield. Every opportunity I have to be around her, I walk away wanting more of Christ. Heather and her sister, Holly, recently wrote a book that I'm on the heels of finishing, called Dancing On My Ashes. It's their joint testimony of, as they say, their journey to Learning to Love the One Who Gives and Takes Away. Each page of this book, through the joys and the sorrows, they are brutally honest and real and I appreciate that in each of them. As I'm reading it and each time I lay it down, I find myself asking, "Is my love for Christ that real, that intimate? Do I know him in the desperate, longing way they speak about? Am I anxiously looking forward each day to the time I spend alone in with God in His Word?". And, in the midst of those questions, I'm in no way comparing myself to them or their journey. I'm being challenged to know and love my Savior more and more. To be intentional and real about my relationship with Him. Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful reminder that you want to know each of us so intimately.

To check out their book here, and to see an interview with Heather and her husband, Dallas, go here.

Goodbye 2009

2009-12-31T15:40:00.001-06:00

Well, we have just 8.5 hours left in 2009, and we are off to a new decade. It's amazing all the things that can happen in a year's time: lives joined together in marriage, engagements to be married (congrats Katie and Josh), babies welcomed into the world and more babies being formed in their mother's womb (we have a whopping 4 close friends currently pregnant!), and life-changing trips (thanks, Lord, for the chance to visit Europe!) just to name a few of things that have happened in and near our lives this year. It's fun to think of what might happen in 2010. I'm so thankful to know it rests in the hands of God, not me.

P.S. Looking for some good reading for 2010? Check out some of Max Lucado's books. I recently finished reading one of his classics, Just Like Jesus. What a challenge and a great way to start the year!

Fun Photos

2009-12-30T13:54:00.004-06:00

Recently, our friends Anna and Ryan came over to take some family pictures for us. Since it had been a while since I scooped the backyard, we landed in the front of our house. Which also meant Mr. Noah, aka Monster, had to be on leash the entire time. Poor little guy - every time they called his name to get him to look at the camera, he thought he was supposed to run to them. So, alas, in each picture Daniel and I are doing our best to have a firm grip on the leash or even his jersey just to keep him from dragging me to the ground. He looks small, but believe me, he's strong! What fun we had!

Check out Anna's website at http://www.annamyersgallery.com/ and follow her on Twitter @amgallery.Thanks, Anna and Ryan!

Delight Your Soul

2009-12-29T00:07:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my soul delights. My hope and prayer is that as you follow along with me your soul, too, will find delight.

Delight in the hope that is Jesus Christ.

Delight in discovering true joy in each moment.

Delight in the smiles of the ones you love.

Delight in the learning moments each day brings.

As we journey, I look forward to hearing about what brings you delight.

Great are the works of the Lord; they are studied by all who delight in them.

Ps. 111:2 (italics mine)