Friday, October 4, 2013

It's a Very SpEcIaL Friday!

It's Friday friends! And I've been a little absent here at the blog lately. Suffice it to say that my work life has been a bit extra busy lately.... and that's where I tend to do my blogging. So I've had to slow down a bit while my mind reorganizes.

I'm back to join us with Lauren for High Five for Friday and I've got some fun stuff!

1. Today is a very special day in our family. It's our little lady's 3rd Birthday!


She is such a little light in our family. So full of spunk and she has an opinion on pretty much everything and exact ways she likes things done. Just getting in bed at night is such a battle because the ways she wants every detail changes from day to day. Yet, eventually she always ends up snuggled underneath her blanket and once she's actually asleep, you'd never know she had a care in the world. 

Watching this little lady grow up is one of my greatest privileges, but being her mom is my scariest endeavor. There is so much responsibility wrapped up in raising this little girl. And I think I feel it heavier than I do with my son, just because of shared gender. While our little man has his dad to look to and to model himself after, this little girl is modeling herself after me. So I feel this weight of being everything I dream for her. I have to be careful to make sure that my dreams for her are grounded in Scripture and are flexible enough to follow God's plans for her life. If I've learned anything in my 32 years it's that God's plans most certainly don't always follow my plans! 

But today (and tomorrow, since her party is tomorrow), we celebrate her, and her life, and the joy that she brings to us, and so many others. My greatest prayer for her is that she would recognize her sin, and her need for Christ and the redemption he provides for us through his sacrifice and that she would use her life to love Him more than anything and strive to always bring all glory to Him. 

2. In other news.... we did a little traveling last weekend to visit Chris' grandmother in Wichita, KS. His parents live there and his last remaining grandparent is in a nursing home there struggling with dementia. She is a sweet lady who has loved the Lord for many years and served Him faithfully in her little Baptist Church in small town Kansas. It's precious really. 





I was thankful we got to visit with her. Chris has some nice conversations with her and she seemed perky and very happy to have him visit and to see her great-grandkids. She was in a nice home with caring workers which was good to see as well. 

3. While in town we visited the Sedgwick County Zoo. Chris has always reminisced about what a great zoo it was (especially for a mid sized city) so I was excited to take the kids and see what they thought. The kids are the true test, am I right?? Well, the verdict was that it was a blast. They had a nice petting area where the kids could feed the sheep, watch cows and horses eat, and my favorite.... pet the baby goats. The baby goats were a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. 






Can I please have one Chris?!! 

The Tiger exhibit was my next favorite. I've never been that close to a Tiger, though I was glad it was through glass. 



Even cooler was that we were there on one of the first days that they were allowing visitors to see their new baby Tiger cubs. We waited in line for about an hour that evening with Chris' cousin and his family. The boys played and we stood. in. line. for. a. long. time. Then the tiger cubs were at the further part of the tiger sanctuary, and it was dusk so we could hardly see them. But they were cute :) and the kids had fun. 

4. Last week we celebrated our 9th Anniversary. I know everyone says it, but wow is time starting to feel like it's going by fast. Nine years hardly seems possible. I'm so thankful to have spent these years with my best friend. God has been faithful and grown us in ways we never thought possible and blessed us in ways we could have never have imagined. I truly can't wait to see what God does next! 


Our big day was in the middle of the week, so we celebrated at home that night with the kids, but Chris surprised me over the weekend, by having some of our College students from church set up a recreation of a date back in our college days at a local park, complete with sparkling cider and candlelight. It was so sweet. And I was just as surprised this time as I was last time. I am so blessed by this guy. 





5.   The kids have had a lot of great park days this week. It's been warm. Honestly, too warm for my taste. But they've enjoyed the outdoor play time. Chris has captured some fun photos. 






It's been a good last few weeks. We've seen God work in some crazy ways. And we're still waiting on a lot of things. But even in the waiting God grows us, renews us day by day, and teaches us more than I think we even realize right now. I'm so thankful for His amazing grace and provision and the hope of what's to come, both in this life and the next. The joys we experience here will be nothing in comparison to being with Him. 

How has God been growing you this week? What circumstances are pointing you straight to Him?

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1 comment:

  1. I stopped by from H54F and I really enjoyed your post today! I celebrate my 1 year wedding anniversary on Sunday and this first year has flown by! Cheers to you, your 9 years and two beautiful children :)

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