Beard O'Fun

We went to Fayetteville on Monday to visit my brother. We love to go visit and see the new things at his store, The Mustache: Goods & Wears (www.shopthemustache.com). You don't have to live in Fayetteville or Bentonville to purchase their wonderful items, they ship. Ok, I'm done.

The girls had a great time visiting with Uncle Brian. We missed Aunt Ashley because she was in California running another marathon. Her goal is to run a marathon in each of the US states. I have no doubt that she will complete her goal. She's a crazy, amazing runner!

Our first stop was at the store, where Uncle Brian pushed the girls up and down the hall in a luggage rack. Oh, how we love cheap entertainment!

 

And Bailey was the door guard. Sort of.

 

After some shopping, we walked around the square and ate lunch at Hammontree. Yummy! They have gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Amazing. Not healthy at all, but amazing!

At the restaurant, the girls had to measure how long Uncle Brian's beard was getting.

 

Next stop, the top of Mount Sequoyah. Parker fell asleep on the drive to the top of the mountain. The views were spectacular!

Then we went to the castle. Yes, I said castle. It's the coolest place built at the edge of the city park and we visit in on every trip. The girls, and adults, love it!

My parents recently gave the big girls bug collecting kits so there was quite a bit of bug searching going on throughout the day.

And, last but not least, a family photo. The last time we posed on this bench, we were a family of four. I think the bench is getting smaller!

 

We had a great time making lasting memories with Uncle Brian ... and his beard!

 

Seeking Hope

In light of the devastation left by the tornado's in Moore, Shawnee, and other OK towns last week, I'm honored to see the "good" people reaching out to those in need. They (we) are providing support, shelter, food, prayer, and hope. We are lending a hand, we are giving hugs, and we are coming day after day with donations, money, equipment, and hope.

Romans 5:3-4 says "...we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

This blog post was inspired by our sermon today at church. It was a great message. I'll be honest, I've only watched about 5% of the TV coverage from the storms. I don't need to wrap myself up in the stories to understand the loss and the heartbreak. I need only to look up to the heavens to understand the overwhelming support coming from the "good" people of Oklahoma, the US, and the world. I hate to see tragic events, but I love to see how quickly we come together in times of need. Status, color, age, sex ... none of those things matter when a fellow human being is in need ... in need of hope.

As we sang one of the worship songs today, I thought about the Westboro Baptist organization (I refuse to call them a church because they don't have any qualities of any church I've ever been a part of). I really don't know why they came to mind, but they did so I took a moment to close my eyes and pray for their leaders and their followers. If you are unfamiliar with them, they are "an American unaffiliated Baptist church known for their extreme ideologies," and they are currently in Moore, OK, protesting funerals, etc. The lyrics that made me think of them were:

"I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus"

As the song played, I prayed these words for the leaders and the followers of Westboro. I prayed that they would have a change of heart and that they would make things less about them and more about Jesus. I prayed that they would focus on love instead of hate, on good instead of evil, on hope instead of despair.

Then I prayed those same things for myself. I prayed that I will remember that this life is not about me, it's about Jesus, and what I can do each day to be a light in this world for Him. I may not speak in front of thousand or even millions, but I do speak to my children, my spouse, my family, my friends, my coworkers, and even strangers. I can show them God's love at a very personal level. I can be an example right where I am, and I challenge you to be an example right where you are as well. I challenge you to bring hope to someone in need.

Home Sweet Home

One year ago today we bought our "new" house. I guess it's not "new" anymore, but it's also not a "house" anymore. It's a home. We truly love it. Of course, there are things we would like to change about it, but at this moment in our lives, it's perfect for our family.

When we looked at our home during our search, I dismissed it ... pretty quickly. It was in good condition, but it needed some updates. We had just spent 9 years living in our first home and updating almost every part of it. I did NOT want to go through that again. Especially not with young kids. No. We moved on. We put in a bid on a different home and it fell through. We were disappointed. It just wasn't meant to be.

Thankfully, Greg kept our home in the back of his mind and a few weeks later we looked at it again. On the second trip, I finally saw what Greg saw. The space, layout, and location were perfect. The updates didn't look so overwhelming this time around. So, we looked into the neighborhood, compared our homes price, and realized something awesome. It was way under priced. We found it. A diamond in the rough. Two houses in a row. Praise the Lord! We bought the house that night.

Most of the updates were completed in the first couple of months after we moved in, but we still have a few projects on our to do list. They will get done. Eventually.

Matthew 10:13 - "If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it"

Never Underestimate...

...the heart of a tiny champion. Tonight, Bailey was my champion. After dinner, she wanted to learn how to tie her shoes so Greg worked with her for a LONG time. After what seemed like the 99th failed attempt, she got it! She was so proud of herself! She ran around saying "Bailey is a genius!"

That proud moment could only be topped by her next question, "mom, can I go run with you?" In my mind I hesitated because it was bath time and my ankle was still a little sore from spraining it at my soccer game on Sunday, but I told her to grab her socks and shoes and we headed out the door. One lap around our block is half of a mile so that was her goal. She ran the whole lap (talking, jumping over puddles, jumping in puddles) and wanted more. So, we ran another lap. We did have two short walking moments, but all in all she ran 1 mile with me. WOW! I was so proud of her, and she was pretty proud of herself. What an accomplishment!

When we got home, we stopped to stretch our legs and she asked if she could run with me again tomorrow night. And, when we got inside, Lou asked if she could get some shoes like Bailey's and run with me also. Absolutely! In that moment, I realized that the examples we are setting for our children are really being seen, understood, and put into motion. They want to run because they see mommy and daddy run. My heart was overflowing!

Here are some pics (from my phone) of her stretching after her first run:

As a side note, let me just say that someone had the running toots and (believe it or not) it wasn't me. We are the perfect pair!

Dinner For Dummies

My parents surprised Greg and I with an early anniversary present last night. They treated us to dinner at McGill's on the 19th floor of the Hard Rock Casino. We're pretty sure that this is the fanciest dinner we've ever had. Wow. The restaurant view was stunning and the waitstaff was superb. The waiter even had an assistant waiter. We felt a little out of place, but we played it off nicely ... at least we think we did.

We were seated, and asked for our drink order. Did we want wine, champagne ... no, we just ordered water. We're boring like that. We were then served something on a fancy triangle plate. It was compliments of the chef, and it was good. The base was cucumber, there was something pink in the middle, and a tiny tomato slice on top.

The complimentary bread arrived next. It was zucchini muffins and sour dough bread. I felt the need to shovel it all down, like a hoarder, so that they wouldn't think we were done and carry it off. Both breads were fabulous, and Greg asked me to stuff what we didn't eat in my purse. For the record, I did not put any bread in my purse.

Salad time. I'm not even sure what salad I ordered since I hadn't planned on ordering one until Greg did so I threw it in at the last minute. When the salads arrived, Greg sat there looking at the forks, not knowing which one to use. I told him to use the smaller one on the outside and work your way in. I learned that on the movie Pretty Woman or, maybe, The Little Mermaid. There were at least two things in my salad that I ate, but still don't know what they were. There was a circular white thing sitting next to what we think was an artichoke. Both mystery items were good.

We were then served a lime sherbet looking ice ball thing. I really have no idea how to describe it, but my mom had told Greg that its purpose was to cleanse your pallet so we ate it. It was great! If entered in a contest, it would be a good front runner to Gypsy Ice (the sno cone place by our house) as one of our favorite icee things.

As we wait for dinner, looking at the view and wanting to put our elbows on the table, the couple across from us finished dinner. The waiter brought them a plate with two rolled up wash cloths, two lemons, and two chocolate sticks. Greg and I both watched intently to see what they did with the items. Apparently the rolled up wash cloths were to clean your hands and face. They didn't use the lemons (and neither did we) so we're still not sure what they were for. Greg and I then made eye contact, realizing we were both watching the same couple to see what they would do with those items so that we would know what to do with them when they were put on our table. We grinned at each other because we realized that we are both geniuses. Spy geniuses.

Dinner was served. Greg had the prime filet, garlic mashed potatoes, and fresh veggies. I had the coconut shrimp, sweet potato, and fresh veggies. Both were amazing! On my plate, but not on Greg's, was another mystery item. I had seen it on one other table, but it didn't look used when the waiter carried off their plates. What was this round thing wrapped in yellow mesh cloth and tied with a blue ribbon? Hmm. I ignored it for a bit, but then curiosity got the best of me so I had to explore. It ended up being half of a lemon wedge for my shrimp. Fancy. I used it.

During our small talk, we discuss whether we were suppose to tip the main waiter, or both waiters. We never figured it out so we just left a good tip and called it good. While waiting on our check, I told Greg that I was going to get a hand shake or a high five from our waiter. He asked me not to. The waiter was a really nice guy and he did a great job, but he seemed a bit nervous when we first arrived. So, while waiting for him to return, I decided that a high five would do. He accepted my high five and I'm certain that the smile on his face showed that it was the only high five he received that day. A job well done deserves some recognition and we are just a high fiving type of family.

After dinner, we headed down to the casino to waste some money (aka play the slots). We didn't win big, but we had fun. After about an hour of breathing in second hand smoke we called it a night.

Our fancy date made us step out of our comfort zones and we really had a good time trying new things. Here is what happens when two dorks get a night out on the town with no kids...

We'd like to take a moment to thank our sponsors for this night O'fun! Thank you mom and dad! We love you more, and we loved celebrating our 11th anniversary at the Hard Rock Casino and McGill's!