Will this ever end?

Aidan has been under the weather again for the last few days. Yesterday and today he pretty much wanted to lay in my lap or on the floor. He's taken everything really well though...hasn't cried at all. Just takes everything as it comes. Definitely a little trooper.

Mom was here for a couple of days. She's been with David every year on his birthday (and was there in the hospital with us when he was born) and didn't want to miss one. The D-man was ecstatic that his Nana was here--crawled all over her. Told her that he loved her over and over again. Showered her in kisses. It was so sweet. He told me tonight that he couldn't sleep because he missed Nana too much. I love watching them interact. They have such a special relationship.

Well...guess that I should go try to watch the rest of Wedding Crashers with Rob. I've had to leave the room umpteen times because it's so crass and makes me uncomfortable.

Sick no more!

Oh yeah, we're definitely rejoicing around here because of this. Last week Aidan and I both ended up getting sick--yuck! Thankfully Rob and David ended up avoiding it, but it really wasn't fun not feeling anything close to "normal" until about Thursday afternoon. It is wonderful being able to have energy to wash my dishes. Being able to focus long enough to read my daily life journal reading. To be able to read a story to the boys. To be able to play. To be able to do something other than lay in my bed or on the couch (something I did a lot of last week because movement made me nauseous). :(

This week is going to be a very busy one as I'm preparing for David's 4th birthday party. The D-man wanted to invite everyone and his/her dog to his party; however, we only live in a not-so-very-big townhouse, so the list had to be trimmed down somewhat. The theme is monkeys/jungle. I'm making monkey party favor cups for the kids. I got the idea from Martha Stewart Kids magazine's birthday issue from last year. Some of my other decoration ideas come from there or from last February's Family Fun Magazine (the jungle expedition party). Preparing for his party is so much fun this year. I love watching how excited my little man is getting over every detail. We went to the party supply store down the street last Thursday after gymnastics. The boy was in heaven! "Can we get this? Can we get these? What about this?" It was great. He's growing up so fast. I remember him as my teeny-tiny little man, now he's going to be 4!!! Although he's got that teenager attitude--yikes!

Speaking of the little munchkin, he has just come up here to inform me that he has finished his lunch which means we need to break out our lesson for the day and get going. I'm just starting to go through the book Five in a Row with him. This week's book is Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening illustrated by Susan Jeffers. The illustrations in this book are amazing, and I think that it will be a great one to kick off with (especially since we had a little bit of snow falling yesterday--too bad nothing "stuck").

Woo hoo!

I've been tagged! I'm so excited! Thanks for thinking of me Becky!

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Winter 2006. I was a junior in high school. It was the peak of basketball season, and you would always find me on the sidelines in my black, grey and crimson cheerleading uniform cheering our teams onto victory. At that time, I was dating Jake Winona, one of the most popular guys in my high school--one of the funniest, hard-working, thoughtful and sweetest guys you'd ever meet. We had been dating almost a year and a half. I learned how to play alto saxophone at this time in my life and was ready to begin rehearsing for our new jazz ensamble within a month. My life during high school was pretty crazy since I was involved in a lot of stuff. Guess it's kind of hard not to when I only have approximately 120 students total 9-12th grades! :) It was awesome though. Lots of great (and some sad) memories.

Five snacks you enjoy (in no particular order, as all snacks are created equal)
1. ice cream (esp. mint chocolate chip)
2. chocolate
3. popcicles
4. cookies
5. tortilla chips, melted cheddar cheese and salsa

Five songs to which you KNOW all the lyrics (this is a hard one since I have to choose only 5)
1. His Cheeseburger, sung by Mr. Lunt (VeggieTales)
2. SUV Song, VeggieTales
3. Jesus Loves Me (this song is sung almost daily here)
4. Chapel of Love
5. Yellow Submarine, The Beetles

Five bad habits:
1. Popping zits (aka "ickies")
2. Eating when I'm bored, sad, etc.
3. Saying, "Oh, crap!" (David picked up on that one pretty quick)
4. Looking at/messing with my tonsils
5. Going to bed too late

Five things you like doing:
1. Scrapbooking/card making
2. camping
3. curling up with a good novel (or my Bible)
4. hanging out with friends
5. spending time alone with Rob

Five things you would never wear, buy, or get again:
1. shoulder pads
2. nearly every 80s hairstyle
3. Tapered jeans (boot cut all the way!)
4. high waisted jeans
5. a Victoria's Secret Miracle Bra (it didn't work for me)

Five favorite toys:
1. Canon Digital Rebel XT
2. my computer
3. Kitchen Aid mixer
4. mp3 player
5. musical instruments

Blah.

That's a great word to describe my current state of being. Got sick Monday with a flu bug. Totally not fun. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather today, and Aidan started to get it too. :( Thankfully he's been doing great post-nap this afternoon and has kept everything he's eaten down. It's good that he actually wants to eat too! I'm still working to that point.

Maya.

Isn't she adorable? My friend, Natascha, brought her over today for a photoshoot. It's my first shoot with a child other than my two ornery ones. Thankfully, she's such a cute little model, it's hard to not to get great photographs of her. I have to be honest though, the prospect of my first photoshoot scared me. I was a little worried about posing and whatnot, but it ended up working out alright given the constraints of space and trying to keep with her attention span. I had a blast and really love how her pictures turned out.

Here they are!

My painted toes for my U R2 Crea8ive class that I am taking through Big Picture Scrapbooking. I am typically a red or burgandy kind of gal on my toes. Occasionally I'll be daring and use some pinky-red nail polish, or will be more subtle with a pale pink or a nude-color. Not this time. When I went to the CVS store last night, I looked for colors that jumped out at me that I wouldn't typically use (but would make me smile) and decided on these two. Bought some 3D Nail and Toe art stickers as well (those are the flowers you see on my toes). The flowers with the rhinestone centers are fun. They make me smile. Plus, the toes like to be dressed up with a little bling on occasion too. :)

I AM Creative!

I just started an online creativity workshop through Big Picture Scrapbooking called UR 2 Cre8ive taught by Stacy Julian. It is SO flippin' cool! I still need to design the cover for my Creativity Fun Book that I will be using throughout the class, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the little creativity boosting activities that are e-mailed to me each day. Today I even gave myself a fun little foot makeover. :-) Painted my toenails colors I don't typically use. After I put my little stickers on, I'll take a picture to post. Looking at my toes definitely makes me smile. David and Aidan decided that they wanted me to paint their toenails too (had to ask Rob for his permission first, and he granted it). So, I have this really fun pearlescent purple color on my toes (Wet 'n Wild: Soul Mate) and a fun hot pink (Wet 'n Wild: Lavender Creme...not sure why they call it Lavender Creme since it is most definitely PINK!!!). :-)

Yesterday, I made 2 signs for bathroom mirrors that said, "I am creative." I got out my foam stamps, paints and rub-ons from Making Memories and even got the chance to break out my new heat embossing tool that I received for Christmas. Yeah...I think I'm in love with that thing--it's a little bit addicting. Who knew that embossing would be so fun?

I am so looking forward to what the next few weeks are going to bring as far as that class goes. Lots of inspiration. Getting those creative juices flowing. It's pretty cool.

Just maybe--

my expectations for people are too high (especially for those close to me...those that I love). I expect people to behave and act in a certain way. A few nights ago, I was sharing with Rob my feelings about this aspect of me and asked what he thought. My husband is such a gem. He told me he actually liked that aspect of me, but at the same time felt a little badly that because of my "high" expectations, I can get left feeling disappointed. Which, in the case of the person I referred to in my last entry, this is definitely the case.

I love this person so much; however, right now I really feel like I don't know him or her (and maybe that I never truly have in my almost 27-years of existence). I know that this person loves me, and right now, I guess that I should just cling to that. Love them back. Continually be praying for them. Also be praying for God's wisdom--yes, definitely for His wisdom.

Integrity.

There have been some things going on within my extended family unit that have made me want to dig deeper and truly know what the meaning of integrity is. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines integrity to be: 1. firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility 2. an unimpaired condition: soundness 3. the quality or state of being complete or undivided. I decided to then look up what the word, "incorruptibility" meant (since I was looking at the first dictionary definition of integrity to describe something that I have been noticing within a certain family member of mine). According to Merriam-Webster, it means: incapable of corruption: as a : not subject to decay or dissolution b : incapable of being bribed or morally corrupted. Hmmm...this is definitely food for thought.

Well, I still want to dig deeper to define really the issue at hand. So, I looked up integrity on the Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus. Here is what I have found:
Entry Word: integrity
Function: noun
Text: 1 conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong -- see MORALITY 12 devotion to telling the truth -- see HONESTY 13 faithfulness to high moral standards -- see HONOR

OK. So to paint the picture in a little more detail, there is a certain person in my life whom I have viewed as more of a rock. Due to this person's new situation and the way he or she is choosing to live his/her life, integrity is being lost. This person isn't doing what he or she feels is right because it would make things uncomfortable for another person. In essence, this former rock-like figure in my life is showing themself to be spineless and honestly, I hate seeing this person's character seemingly diminish. It's not healthy. This person isn't living life the way his/her heavenly Father would want them to. This person is letting someone else call the shots (like, um, nearly 100% of the time, it seems). I feel as if I don't even know them anymore. It's really weird. Maybe I can describe everything fully later, but right now, I'm not at liberty to do so. I just needed to vent a bit and try to process some of the sea of thoughts and emotions that have been swirling around in my head and heart.

When it rains, it pours!

OK...so maybe it hasn't been pouring that much since we've arrived in Oregon; however, it has definitely been raining every day since we've arrived. The entire five years we lived here, we never experienced a true Eugene winter with rain falling nearly constantly. Then, after we move away, it comes. Can't say that I really am shedding too many tears over that though. :)

Our trip out here has been incredible so far. I have really enjoyed reconnecting with cherished friends, and have even had a very positive and pleasant experience meeting my step-mother and step-siblings. David adores his "friend, Uncle Kyle" and loves Aunt Kyra too (although she was a little shy around us).

Still, more people to see, more things to cram into our short time here. I know that I'm going to go back to Blacksburg a little heavy hearted, but I know that God has us there for a reason, and need to just feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to have this visit with people we love.

Got one!!!

Yippee!!! Aidan was semi-cooperative for me when I did a second photo shoot with him the day before yesterday. This was definitely the cutest picture of the bunch as a whole; however, he did give a couple of great smiles on ones where you couldn't really see the Santa hat. Rob and I tried to cut the smiling face from one picture to plant it on another...unfortunately we only have PhotoShop Elements, and the functions we needed to blend the photos, etc. are only on the full version of PhotoShop. Oh well--it was fun experimenting.

The Day of the Laundry...

Hopefully not coming to a home near you. Yesterday ended up being quite interesting to say the least. David woke up in my bed and puked on me and my sheets. NOT fun. :-( I felt so bad for him yesterday because you could totally tell that he wasn't feeling well. He didn't hold anything down in the morning, and in the afternoon he started getting color back into his face, etc. so we thought that maybe the bug had passed. Plus, he got his appetite back, so we had let him eat a few things that we didn't think would be too bad on his system. Yeah, right. We fell asleep together in his bed. I woke up and came to my own room to sleep and he woke up and came to lay down in my bed with me within an hour. Then...he vominated (that's his word for it) ALL OVER my bed!!! So, we ended up washing both sets of our sheets yesterday, and I had to wash the duvet cover, our duvet and I'll get the mattress pad in today. Ugh. So glad that he's doing so much better today. The only plus of him getting sick is that he's my ultra-cuddle bug. Have to take those cuddles when I can get them. :-)

Beautiful.

Just thought that I'd share some photos that Rob retouched for me from the Christmas card photo shoot I did the other day. I am so pleased with how well these ones turned out. It's fun seeing my vision for the pictures come to fruition. Hope y'all have a very Merry Christmas! **Another photo shoot is in the works within the next two days. The picture I posted of Aidan is the only one I was even remotely happy with the way it turned out...I plan to get more of him that I like, plus, I need to get some of my two cuties together!

Christmastime is here.

Lots of holiday cheer to go around. The boys had so much fun opening presents last night. Aidan and David opened their joint presents and seemed a little bit excited over what they got (especially the Polar Express engine--too bad that is the one particular toy that came broken that we have to exchange in the next few days). Aidan loved his Little People farm and the nativity scene that they both got. David saw the diaper box that his present from Aidan was wrapped in and he laughed saying, "Brother got me diapers?!?!" Rob helped him actually open the box to see what treasure was hidden inside, and the look on that boy's face was of pure bliss. He got a vintage Star Wars Millenium Falcon. Yeah, that boy was stoked! He got a bunch of Star Wars action figures from us and a couple of Star Wars books. Star Wars for David all around. Can you say boy heaven?

I took all of Aidan's present items out of their respective boxes and assembled them where needed. Didn't realize that I'd have to assemble Fisher Price Little People things (namely the barn). Ended up being more difficult than expected, with a 19-month-old trying to play with it while his mama was putting it together. :)

We left bright and early for church this morning (well, 8 is bright and early for me since I had a bit of a difficult time trying to fall asleep last night). The boys went in their jammies--fit in with quite a few people who were there in their jammies as well. :) Rob started making coffee at the espresso bar when we got there, then I took over so he could eat breakfast. I couldn't find my glasses this morning, so I was walking fairly blind. I think Pastor Kim got a kick out of it when I'd have to find her (I knew what she was wearing, so I could at least find her easily) so she could point out where my kids or hubby were. Found those elusive glasses after church though. They were in our suitcase from our Williamsburg trip last weekend. We had a big pancake and ham breakfast at church this morning, then sat around our big round tables to sing Christmas carols and listen to Nick's sermon: Wise Men Still Seek Him. So wonderful being surrounded by our church family to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. Truly felt like we were among family. Totally cool. Awesome.

I need to grab David so we can start making the birthday cake for Jesus. We're going to have a mini-party here this afternoon! Merry Christmas!

First Christmas Photo Shoot.

Yesterday I did my first Christmas photo shoot of the boys. Definitely an interesting experience to say the least. My backdrop kept coming off the wall when the boys would start playing rough on it and Aidan wouldn't keep the hat on his head. :-( I ended up getting a few really cute ones of David (this particular photo is one of my favorites). Unfortunately, I have to try to do another session with Aidan today because I wasn't very happy with the lighting and expression on his photos. Maybe I'll even be able to get a few pictures taken of both boys together too since they weren't that cooperative about it yesterday.

I can hardly believe that today is Christmas Eve. The rib roast is sitting on the counter warming up to room temperature. David and I watched an episode on the Food Network where the host was making prime rib, so I decided that I'd try her recipe this year. (yes, my almost 4-year-old likes watching cooking shows with his mama, then helps me out tons in the kitchen) We started a tradition of having prime rib on Christmas Eve a few years ago, and I have used a different recipe every year. If I don't like how this one turns out, I may go back to the recipe I used last year for when I make prime rib in the future.

David woke up this morning stoked that today is Christmas Eve! He has probably asked Rob or myself at least 10 times if Santa is coming today. Yeah...gotta love the excitement. This holiday has truly become magical for that boy. When he hasn't been asking me if today is the day he gets to open presents and when he gets to open them, he and Aidan have been playing with their wooden Thomas and Friends train set. David got many of the pieces for his 2nd birthday, with small additions here and there--we just got the mine quarry tunnel, the gold cars and a caboose with their Christmas money from their Papa Don and Gramma Debbie Crossler. Yeah...those definitely were a hit around here. We decided to give those items to the boys yesterday morning, and they have already provided them with hours of entertainment. Aidan likes to put the train cars down the tunnel one at a time. David likes to build really long tracks on the living room floor so his train has a place to go after it gets through the tunnel. Unfortunately, the caboose is the "favorite" car right now, and there is only one of them. Guess that this is a really good practical lesson in sharing--even if lots of screaming, pushing, crying, etc. happens in the process.

Rob and David are at the grocery store (poor Rob, this is the 4th time he has run to Kroger today for one thing or another since I wasn't awake enough to dictate what I needed for dinner tonight when he first went this morning, but he had to go shopping for the coffee bar at church this morning too--we just need to work on planning our trips better). They are going to the local toy store to play for awhile too since Aidan is down for his nap. This way I can clean up downstairs. So...for productivity's sake, I should get going. I'll write more and post more pictures of our festivities later.

Taking a journey back in time.

That's what you do when you go to Colonial Williamsburg. You leave the 21st century, and venture back into the 18th century. Horse-drawn carriages go up and down the streets. A team of oxen pull a cart, making deliveries of firewood to the local taverns. Men in cocked/tricorn hats, clocked stockings, frock coats and cloaks. Women in mob caps, and traditional dress. Colonial Williamsburg is being reconstructed to what it would have looked like in the 1700s. Buildings had been torn down where empty lots would have been. Houses and taverns restored to their original state. Even the governor's palace, a place where Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, two of Virginia's first elected governors lived has been rebuilt (apparently it burned down sometime in the 1800s, if I remember correctly what our guide told us when we stood in front of the palace). It was so awesome learning more of our nation's history. More about my new state of residence's history.

Our trip to Williamsburg was awesome, in spite of having 2 tired kids who wore on Mama and Daddy. :-) The sites were incredible. Both boys had fun getting to explore. Both loved the horses and other animals we saw while walking through the town. Aidan was especially fond of the horses. Rob let him pet one of the horses the first day we were there. Talk about sure joy from a certain 19-month-old! He was laughing, talking to the horses and getting really excited. You could see that he was a little bit in awe of the size of the horse, but so excited at being able to touch and experience one close up. David thought the horses were really neat too, although he didn't get as excited about them as Aidan did. He actually got a little more excited at listening to the cows moo, and seeing the sheep in one of the pastures.

Both boys ended up getting wooden toy pistols (if anyone has seen the pictures I posted on Snapfish, you would have seen what I am talking about). David got his on Monday, and every time Aidan wanted to play with it, big brother didn't like it...so...we ended up getting Aidan one of his own when we went back Tuesday morning. David carries his around everywhere. Occasionally he'll even put on his tricorn hat and walk around the house on the lookout for some "red coats." David even got to touch a bayonet and a real military rifle when we looked inside the Magazine, and talked to the man in costume who was telling visitors about different weapons and their functions. I definitely have two very BOY boys. :-) The other thing that they got really excited about was watching the blacksmith make nails. Aidan was enthralled with the fire and would watch intently what the blacksmith was doing. David was our question-asker. "What's he doing?" "What happens when he pulls on that string?" "Why does he pull on that string?" "Look--he's hammering!" The nails that the blacksmiths make are used for different projects around Colonial Williamsburg. If people in costume are building things, they are more than likely using the handmade nails.

Part of our trip involved driving to Costco about 16 miles away from Williamsburg in Newport News, VA. Had to get diapers, and we really like the ones from Costco (plus, you get such a good deal on them!). Ended up buying jeans for us all too which ended up being great for when we went to Virginia Beach to play after leaving Costco.

I have finally seen and touched the Atlantic Ocean. It was so crazy to think that less than 6 months ago, the boys and I were playing in the Pacific Ocean on a trip over to Heceta Head with my dad. The water was cold, but that didn't stop us crazy people! David decided to stand in the water with his socks and shoes, then after it registered that they were wet, he had to take them off. Aidan didn't want to physically touch the water, but he did enjoy watching the waves lap up on the shore. The sunset was pretty, but definitely different from watching the sunset on the Oregon coast when it looks like it's going into the ocean. It's backwards over here. :-) hehe We ate dinner at Mahi Mah's just off the boardwalk. We ended up getting a window seat, so we were able to watch all the Christmas lights turn on--they were very pretty. It was fun to walk around by the lights on the way back to our car. David liked to point out different things that he saw (and wanted to get out and touch them, but we didn't think that would be a very good idea).

Oh, on the drive from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach and back, we drove through a tunnel under water. I didn't much care for it. Truthfully, I was gripping the door handle pretty hard and was praying that I would not start getting clausterphobic and that there wouldn't be any accidents in the tunnel. I survived though. :-) It really wasn't so bad either.

We're definitely glad to be home. Glad to start getting back into somewhat of a routine. Glad to be sleeping in our own beds again (although David and Sydney are sleeping in my bed with Rob right now...very sweet). Rob and I will be going back to Williamsburg sometime within the next year for a couple of days by ourselves--then, we'll get to tour the museums and listen to the different talks that they have throughout the day.

Guess that it's time to take Sydney downstairs so she can go "night night" and then I can catch some shut-eye as well. I have a few things that I need to do tomorrow yet in preparation for Christmas.

It's looking (and feeling) like Christmas around here.

My tree. My glass hurricane filled with gold colored ball-ornaments. David wearing the Santa hat that we bought the Christmas right before we got married. Every decoration I put out for Christmas carries with it some sort of story. When I take ornaments out of their boxes, I smile and remember Christmases past...when the ornament was received. What happened that year. Some of the ornaments on my tree are ones my mom made when I was in elementary school, some are ones I received when I was in my single-digit years. The big cross stitch ones I labored over the winter I was pregnant with David, my hands going numb while working on each one. There are ornaments that Rob had since he was a child. Ones that his Grandma Dorothy gave to us. Yet, other ornaments symbolize our Christmases and years together. One tradition we have is that everyone gets a new ornament on Christmas Day in his or her stocking. Rob typically always gets some sort of a Santa-themed one, the boys get one that symbolizes an interest of theirs that particular year, or a character trait. Mine are definitely a bit more obscure. :-)

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. A time to remember Christ's coming to earth as a baby, having set aside his glory in heaven for a time to live as one of us. A time to reflect on the hope that his birth brought and still brings for all of us. A time to reflect on his death and resurrection and atonement for our sin. A time to remember the gift of eternal life that we have because of his sacrifice for us. Yeah, I find that I often get wrapped up in the business of the holiday season, but now that I have young children, it is so comforting to be able to read the Christmas stories. To be sharing memories together. To teach them what the true meaning of this holiday really is. Creating new traditions as a family. Celebrating some of the old. Yet, always trying to keep in perspective the true meaning of the season--Jesus.

Christmas Cookies Galore

Almost done with all of my holiday cookie baking. Ginger Molasses cookies, gingerbread boys, old fashioned sour cream (like sugar cookies, only softer) and snickerdoodles. We've done gingerbread houses too--David was high on sugar after we decorated his. Guess I should have remembered that he'd want to eat more frosting and candy than what he was going to put on his house. :-) Tomorrow, I have to bake the snickerdoodles. I would do it this evening; however, I didn't realize how late it was until right now. Don't think that starting those at 11:05 p.m. EST would be the best idea when I have to get to church fairly early tomorrow.

This week has been interesting. Rob finished class last week, so he's been around almost all the time this week. I love having him around, but it's definitely a new experience for all of us. Something we all have to start getting used to. One thing we've found out, however, is that our days need to be more structured. Something I've known for awhile, just glad that the entire family is on the same page about it now. Totally looking forward to our trip to Colonial Williamsburg this weekend. We leave Sunday morning--yahoo!!!!!

Love at 3?

The funniest thing happened this afternoon at our house. Our pastor's youngest daughter, Victoria, was over playing with David for the afternoon. After popcorn was made for a snack, they sat down on the floor in front of the TV watching The Polar Express when out of the blue David says, "Victoria (pause) I love you." Rob and I just about died with laughter (although we did make sure to keep our peels of laughter silent so we wouldn't make either child self-conscious). Truthfully, I think this little expression of emotion took its recipient a little off guard. She had to think for a little while before replying, quietly, "I love you too." Then, David went on telling Victoria that he liked her pants, and that her shirt looked really nice, and so on and so forth. Have NO idea where he comes up with this stuff. It was precious though. Something I'm going to carry with me for a very long time.

On another note. I've been in the creative flow for the last couple of days. Actually have almost 2 full scrapbook layouts complete. Amazing for me. I still have ones of Aidan that I started last year and have yet to journal. It feels so good letting this side of me come out again. The process of creating the pages is very laborious for me--looking over various design elements and color combinations in other people's layouts, and then having to actually choose what pictures I'm going to use--yikes! I wanted to scan in and submit the Trick-or-Treat layout I did of the boys yesterday, but seeing how I'm a bit technically challenged, I think I'll have Rob try to figure out how to scan in the pages, stitch them together, then he can walk me through the process.

Oh what a wonderful morning...

My Bible study this morning was so incredibly awesome! We were all sharing openly. Being transparent. Learning from one another. Gleaning from the scripture. Building one another up. Growing closer to one another. Growing closer to Christ. Laughing--LOTS!!! Then again, we did go over the topic of sex and God's standpoint on it for a heafty portion of today's lesson. :)

I know that I have said this before, but I will say it yet again. I feel extremely blessed to be a part of my MOPS group and the MOPS Bible study that I am a part of. The women are all amazing, and we can learn so much from one another. There are so many different emotions and things that I feel when I think of my MOPS group--safety, love, laugther, genuine, friendship, fun...the list can go on. God brought me to this group for a special reason (I had actually been introduced to another one shortly after we moved out here, but something just didn't feel quite *right*). The upcoming days, weeks, months and years will only show what He has in store. It's so exciting to think about.

Each day that I am out here in Virginia, I am realizing what a God-move it has been. The relationships that are forming. The church we have found. Everything. It's so awesome that we have walked in obedience to leave the west coast and to move out to the other side of the country so Rob could go to school. We're experiencing growth in our relationships with our maker as well as growth in our family relationships. So incredibly cool and awesome!

Oh...after rambling on about my messy bedroom/office the other day, I took matters into my own hands yesterday and worked like mad to create some sort of haven for Rob and myself. I hung pictures/college diplomas, put things away, threw things away, organized, etc. I even vacuumed the floor!!! (let's just say that Rob was a bit shocked and pretty pleased by the whole venture). Once I get candles to put on my sconces and in my big candleabra, it will be even more wonderful and relaxing. I even cleaned out our downstairs coat closet. Unfortunately, after all that work, I still am no closer to finding the glue gun. :( Oh well. The cleaned areas are more than worth the effort it took to get it done!

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today! Psalm 118:24 (NCV)