Far From Home

Look at me posting from Vancouver, British Columbia! I am way far away from home at the moment and having a fabulous time. We have spent some time in Seattle and are looking forward to going back there at the end of our trip. We are helping our friends get ready for their wedding and having lots of fun with Dana and Michael. So far the only stressful thing has been the driving (for Brad) - it's kind of scary driving in big cities when you don't know where you're going! The mountains are beautiful and we can't wait to do some hiking and exploring around Vancouver.

Heartbreaking Humidity

Ok, so heartbreaking might be a little overdramatic...but it was extremely muggy and humid on Saturday morning when I ran my first 5k of the year. I must say I'm kind of disappointed with how I did - it was SO hard and I kept saying to Brad every time I passed him (he was there to cheer me on) that I thought I was going to die!

I was very thankful for my two new running buddies and for all the encouragement they have given me. It's much more fun when you're not alone.


On the bright side, I finished the race, I didn't die, I wasn't the last 5k runner, I got a t-shirt, and I beat my last 5k time. So I guess it wasn't a total loss!

I was very grateful that my mom-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and niece came to cheer me on. I love this picture - I am not actually that sweaty! My mother-in-law poured some water on me after the race to cool me down :)

I have one other funny picture to post, but will have to wait till I get it from Brad's mom.

Brad and I are leaving on Wednesday for Seattle and can't wait! Should be an exciting trip :)

The Shoes Have Arrived

The day of the wedding is quickly approaching. How can I be a bridesmaid if I don't have any shoes? Why can't I just find some shoes that match? Where are all the shoes?????

Yes, I was freaking out. We leave on Wednesday. I needed shoes.

Suddenly Brad appeared in the aisle...he is holding the shoe. It is perfect!

Really? Brad picked out my shoes...and they are perfect?

We get home and hold it next to the dress.

Perfect.

I fall even more deeply in love with my dear husband.

The end.

Blogging Mission

Through my friend Rachel's blog, I found one of her "bloggy friends" (which by the way is my new favorite phrase) and have been reading Becoming Me for a while now. I am excited about this "Blog Mission Tour" and the challenge to create a Blog Mission Statement - click on the picture for more info! Also, a special thank you to Rachel for helping me figure out what "Mr. Linky" means...another new phrase that I'm trying to figure out how to get into everyday conversation...


So why do I blog? I guess it all started because I read the blogs of a few friends who I hadn't seen in a while and I loved being able to catch up on their lives. I assumed when I started that it would actually just be me and my mom reading this thing, but it has turned out to be an amazing way to connect with family and friends.

When I asked myself the question, "Why do I blog?", this is what I came up with:

I blog because I don't want to miss the beautiful moments of each day! I can spend so much time thining about the things that I am looking forward to in life (ie adopting our little baby!) that I forget to take in the beauty of the here and now. Blogging helps me to remember to experience and enjoy the many blessings in my life even while I am "in the waiting" and to pay attention to what the Lord is doing in my life. I love to remember the big and the little stories of God's goodness and faithfulness, and find that I am encouraged when I share those things with others.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will stop by again soon as I am always looking for more bloggy friends!!!

Truckload of Blessings

This weekend was an exhausting but amazing time of being with some people who truly mean a lot to us. We do not often get to see them, but on Friday we headed to Canada for a very brief but wonderful visit with some of my "childhood" friends. Wayne and Wendy have been close friends with my parents since we first moved from England to Canada (when I was 7...could that really be 21 years ago? Good grief...!) Anyway, we got to spend the evening with them and their daughter, Jen, who is 4 years older than me and was always like a big sister to me growing up. She lives way at the other end of Canada now and so I very seldom get to see her, but she was here for a visit with her dear husband, Dave, and their two STINKIN' CUTE little girls. It was so great to be able to spend some time with people who are more like family than friends.

Saturday morning we headed off for a quick breakfast with Stan and Sue, our dear friends. Sue has been a friend of mine since high school (can you believe she's stuck with me for that long???). Stan and Brad became instant friends once their mutual love of sports was discovered. We went to a Portugese restaurant, which I must admit our stomachs were a little nervous about, but it was great and we had a good time catching up.

Now, I cannot talk about the blessings of the weekend without mentioning this one. On Saturday night, Brad and I drove about 1 1/2 hours to go to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. By this point we had already driven quite a bit and we were exhausted. We got there and sat on the bleachers looking a bit like zombies. I think we were both wondering what in the world we were thinking coming to a concert after our trip to Canada.

But as soon as he came out...any regret we had vanished. It was amazing. I cannot put it into words. I not really what I would describe as an "easy crier" - I don't tear up at sappy books too often, or movies...but this really got me. Many of you may know that the Chapman's recently lost their 5 year old daughter when she was hit by a car. It has been a devastating tragedy for them. I was of course saddened when I heard about it and had prayed for them. But to hear it from his own lips, to hear about the pain and how it has altered their lives...it made me realize a bit more what kind of hurt they are going through. I must admit, I was surprised by how much he shared and how open and real he was about it all. The most amazing part, though, was that he was able to share about the hope that they are clinging to because of Christ. It's easy to share that message when life is good...but when something so awful has just happened in your life, that is when your faith is really put to the test. I left the concert wondering if my faith would hold up under such difficult circumstances. I hope and pray that it would.

One more little thing that I thought was so cool from the evening - it was supposed to rain and thunderstorm (90% chance), but during the concert they announced that they had spoken to the weather people (not sure who that would be exactly...?) and found out that the storm that was coming had split in two and gone north and south of where the concert was being held. Thanks, Lord! It was a gorgeous night and I am so thankful that we went. I won't ever forget it.

New Look!

Inspired by my dear friend, Rachel, I have braved the world of HTML (hmm, I wonder what that stands for...) and ventured out into the world of blogging layouts. The last time I did this I nearly had a heart attack and I ended up safely back with my comfortable layout...but I have since learned from my mistakes (and gained valuable advice from Rach) and I believe I have successfully changed my layout! Yee haw!

Being a Hearer and a Doer

This week I started reading one of the books we are required to read as part of our “Adoption Training”. It is called “Seed from the East” and it is an autobiography of a woman named Bertha Holt. In 1954, Bertha and her husband, Harry, attended a presentation about the many children in Korean orphanages following the Korean war. Many of the children were mixed race and so they were not accepted or wanted in Korean society. The Holt family (they had 6 children at this time) quickly became involved by sponsoring many orphans in Korea. They soon realized that the Lord wanted them to do even more, and they committed to bringing 8 orphans home to become part of their family.

It feels like I’m writing a book report! Sorry. I just wanted to give you some background info before telling you what has been going on in my head and my heart as I’ve been reading this story. I am only about half way through, but I already know the end of the story (vaguely). They adopted many children and there is now an adoption agency called “Holt” that works with many countries. They had a huge impact on the world because of their obedience to the Lord.

So here’s what has struck me as I have been reading this. The Holts were ordinary, regular people. They lived on a farm and had regular lives. Bertha cleaned the house and did dishes and washed clothes and took care of her children. They were a strong but average family.

And then God stepped in.

The hand of God is evident in their lives, and as I have read their books, I have just been feeling…hungry. I want that. I want that for my life – to have the imprint of God’s hand all over it.

So I started thinking about what that means. As I got to know the Holt family, I realized a few things about them.

First of all, these were faithful people. They followed God through the good and the bad without wavering. Their faith was strong. They didn’t sit around worrying, because they knew that God would show up (and He always did, by the way!).

They were also people who prayed. And I don’t mean the “saying grace before a meal” kind of praying. I mean the “on their knees pleading with God, day in and day out” kind of praying. They went to the Lord when they were desperate. They went to Him when they were thankful. They went to Him when an unexpected trial came up. They went to Him with everything.

What has hit me the most, though, is that they were people who listened, and then obeyed. They were walking with God, knew what He wanted them to do, and then did it. It was not a fancy, emotional kind of thing. They didn’t make a big deal out of what they were doing. They just did it. They didn’t set out to change the world – they just set out to obey their God, step by step. Little did they know how God would use them!

So this is what I’ve been pondering this week. What does God want me to do here, right now, with what I have? I know that so many times when I know that the Lord wants me to do something, if it is something I think is difficult I will put it off or let it go until I forget about it. But that is not who I want to be. I want to be a hearer and a doer.

I would definitely recommend reading this book, even if you’re not adopting. It’s not just a story of adoption, it’s a story about how God used two ordinary people to do some pretty extraordinary things. It will encourage you for sure!

Just Gotta Laugh!

So my mother-in-law emailed me this picture the other day. I had never seen it before, but it just cracked me up. What am I doing exactly? I have no idea. Yelling at someone? Trying to show that I could in fact fit an entire apple in my mouth? I don't know. Anyway, it made me laugh. Today I noticed that Brad looks like he's picking his nose. What a flattering picture of the two of us!!!!

Yes, you're glad you checked my blog today, aren' t you? There's 2 minutes of your life that you'll never get back :)

Random Update

Last night was a very exciting time - I ran 4 miles for the first time in my whole life! Brad (bless his heart) went with me, even though he was really tired, and we went to a nearby trail. I did have to walk for about a minute at the halfway point and 30 seconds at the 3 mile mark, but I was really happy to be able to make it that far. It took me 43 1/2 minutes, which is not too bad (for me - I know that runners out there are probably snickering at my very slow pace!). The first half mile was great, and the last half mile was great, but the middle...it was brutal! I haven't been running that often lately because I've been having some knee pain, but thankfully it was fine last night. Today I feel good...and very glad that I don't have to run again till Friday!

In other news...well, it's not really news. Just a cute picture of Daisie. The other day Brad was mowing the lawn and I put her up on this storage box we have under the window where we keep blankets, and as soon as she noticed Brad she was so excited. She stood there watching him go back and forth for quite a while - it was really cute. Pretty sure she's crazy about him already...

Totally understandable!

Birthday Celebration

I was just looking at my pictures and it's kind of funny because you wouldn't know it was a birthday party from looking at the pictures! Last week was a crazy week (which I may write about sometime soon) and I forgot to make a cake, ended up buying one at Meijer, and forgot to get candles. So we sang to Brad while I held the cake...a bit weird, but oh well. There were also no gifts to open since he already got his bass guitar. Still, even without these traditional birthday items, we managed to have a lovely night with Brad's family on Saturday night. We had a bbq, hung around outside, and then headed in to watch the Tigers game for a bit. It is always good just to be together!

Abbey is getting to be such a big girl! Sitting up all by herself!

Emma is getting so big too - it is so much fun to play with her and hear her giggle :)

The girls with their grandpa

Karen, Lois and Abbey

The boys...

Shawn (also known as the Dog Whisperer...)

Emma "hiding"

Brad and Dakota (no, Daisie has not grown that much in one week!)