How did I not know this?

So random, non serious, side note from my normal blog posts....did you know that July is National Ice Cream month?  How in the world did I not know this?  Or maybe a past me knew it and choose to bury the information deep down because my waistline would scream at me in anger if I took advantage of such a thing.....nevertheless today is July 31st....and its 7AM here.  I have approximately 17 more hours to enjoy the joy of a month that is all about ice cream!  Pardon me....I have work to do!

Happy Tuesday ladies!

(Photo courtesy of pespkypippi.com)

Thank you God for Trials

Photo credit: http://liftjesuscross.wordpress.com/

A few days ago I was reading in Philippians and my eyes stopped on the words in Philippians 1:12 " I want you to know brothers that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel" and in verse 14 "most of my brothers having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more bold to speak the word without fear."

A little context for the verses (according to Matthew Henry's bible commentary), Paul was now a prisoner in Rome, and He didn't want his current sufferings to be a discouragement to those who had come to know the gospel through his ministry.

As I allowed myself to mull over these words, my heart softened and I found myself writing a list of all the things I have found to be "sufferings" in my life.  The list got longer and longer, and I realized no matter how hard that circumstance was at the time, and how much healing had to be done after, that this new mindset of looking at my trials as a joy because they helped to advance the gospel was healing in and of itself.  Yes, these were hard times in my life, but they've grown me.  I do my best now to use their story for God's glory, to focus on His sovereignty.

How about you?  What trials have you come through?  What trials do you feel you are still in?  Take sometime to write your own list of trials and allow God to heal you through his words and bring you new joy that as we daily submit ourselves to Him, regardless of what roads He takes us down, He is still sovereign, and that if the tasks He asks of us help to advance the gospel than it is worth it.  The tears and heartache still make it worth it.  He has big plans for you as you find new confidence and hope even in the hardest of times!

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

My Journey to She Speaks Part III

Journey to She Speaks Part III:  What's Next

(Please read Part I and Part II of my story first before continuing on...)

Now one of the things I heard from several speakers throughout the weekend was looking for your niche in speaking and writing.  Doing so out of your brokenness and what you are passionate about.  We could choose to speak on anything, but really where God tends to use us most is in areas He has brought us through.  I am currently still praying about this but I believe my passion for the verses in Titus 2 has something to do with this.  I have always loved teaching women about home management, marriage advice, parenting stuff....even none spiritual things like cloth diapering advice, breastfeeding advice, etc....I just love helping other women understand more so that they too can succeed at what they set out for their hearts to do.  I first started wondering if this wasn't what He was putting on my heart back in early spring when I found my friend Su's blog The Intentional Home.  Su is amazing and was also a first time She Speaks attender!  She teaches women life skills, marriage advice, couponing, freezer stocking, etc.  I love it!  She challenged me through her blog, as well as one of the speakers, that we are to be servants of God's word in our homes first, than in our outside obligations with speaking to other women etc.  So I think I need to just keep learning.  Submitting to God in my role as a wife, mother, and home manager and just become a good student of those things.  Growing everyday, and sharing my knowledge with other women with the skills God is equipping me with.  

Some other things I am praying about right now that I am passionate about are:

•  healthy body image (I struggled with a borderline eating disorder)
•  the compassion I have to moms of all types (there is so much judgement in the mom world sometimes...working mom vs stay at home mom, natural birth vs epidural/csection, breastfeeding vs bottle feeding, cloth diapering vs disposable,  attachment parenting vs letting your baby cry it out, its all unnecessary judgement, and God has changed my heart so much and broken off so much of that judgement by having me be a part time working mom that I am forever greatful that he has asked this of me right now.  For if he had let me stay at home right away I never would have learned it and I praise him for contining to refine and grow me.
• Marriage- a theme I kept hearing spoken to my heart throughout the weekend was about how our marriage is a witnessing opportunity.  Dave and I are currently praying about what this means for us as a couple.  How could God use our marriage in small and big ways for His glory?

After my quiet time that day I walked out of my hotel room, bursting and alive again, only to see Stephanie, my prayer girl walking out of hers at the same time.  Turns out, we were neighbors, and I could read it all over her face.  She had just done the same thing I had.  Her smile, just as big as mine.  Her heart was overflowing and she shared.  I shared, and we cried.  Her heart is so genuine and I know God will do big things in her life.  I was so blessed to have that moment to sit down with her and just listen to her heart and what God had just spoken to her.  Because of my new friendship with her, she introduced me to another mom who was very burdened for the working mom world.  Many times as a working mom I have felt segregated.  Some of it was assumed by me.  I don't think many people do it on purpose, but its hard to feel like you belong as a working mom.  Mom's groups are all during the day when....the working moms are working.  I have heard some very judgemental things about working moms be said to me even before I had kids that have haunted me ever since.  Overall we are just that...moms.  The same purpose, the same God given roles, equally loved by our creator.  I cried that night when I shared my passion about the judgement moms had sometimes on each other to my new friends heart, and I knew, that maybe God was onto something after all as he broke down the walls in my heart over the last year and a half of teaching me to work at the same time as being a mother and a wife.

Sunday morning the message was amazing.  The time was too short, but what surprised me most about this weekend was how real and genuine everyone was.  Lysa Terkeurst (the founder and president of Proverbs 31 ministeries- pictured below) herself was so normal.  Just a normal mom trying to be with her family as much as she could, balancing ministry with being a mother and a wife, the same body image struggles we've all had, and there she was...normal, real, genuine.  It was not something I expected.  These women were some of the most  humble people I have ever met in my life.  One of the other woman from Proverbs 31 shared something about Lysa that I will never forget, she said that all of the money from the purchases of Lysa's books goes back into the ministry.  Not a dime goes to her from any of them.  She is on the New York Time's Best Seller List and yet she hasn't gotten a penny from all of her hard work in writing those.  Wow!  I was blown away and humbled by that.  Now I know Lysa would never share this about herself, but it meant a lot to me to hear that.  To put into perspective that these ladies are far from selfish.  These ladies are just doing what the rest of us are striving to do, big or small, choosing to say yes to God and be obedient to whatever He asks of them.  No matter how scary.  No matter how hard.  To just say yes to God.  Does this mean I will ever be the President of an amazing ministry like Proverbs 31...of course not!  It could mean for the rest of my life I am just intentional about sharing what God puts on my heart with people- could be bigger like mom's groups, could be just being real in a bible study, or sharing my heart with a new friend during story hour at the library....whatever I do that my to do list is held up to God daily to trust Him with the divine appointments He has for me that day.

Lysa Terkeurst and I at She Speaks 2012

My flights home were funny as I quickly realized miraculously my friend Kelly and I were seated next to each other on the same flight and even on my flight back home, on a tiny plane, another She Speaks sister was waiting in the seat next to me.  God is good.  He knows our needs.  He calls us to this very moment and the beauty of it all, is that all I have to do is keep saying yes God, and let Him remind me time and time again that He is Worth it!

Samantha, me, and Kelly at She Speaks 2012

My Journey to She Speaks Part II

Journey to She Speaks Part II: A Teachable Heart

(If you haven't checked out Part I of this series please visit yesterdays post here first.)

Friday July 20th 5:45AM

Dave's parents came to our house to pick me up and take me to the airport.  I had insisted it wasn't necessary.  Our airport is so small that I knew since I'd already checked in online that they would literally be dropping me off and I would almost immediately be walking through security, and at that point they wouldn't be able to come anyway.  Abbie happened to be awake cause she heard me getting ready so she got to come too and in hindsight I do admit...it was nice having someone take me.  Less lonely.  Less scary.  

Security literally took 5 minutes to walk through and my terminal was right on the other side of it.  I am pretty sure our airport has only 10-15 terminals.  I have never had to walk out onto the concrete "runaway" and walk up the stairs of the actual plane to get on before but this time I did.....I have never flown through our airport in town so I almost felt like I was breaking a law walking outside right under the plane to get on.  Our plane was the smallest plane I had ever been on and I at times can be a bit claustrophobic.  A big gentleman sat down next to me who I shortly found out went to one of our local catholic churches and was a very active father to 4 daughters and involved in the youth at the church.  He was a nice guy and I was glad for the company to get my mind off of my claustrophobia.  He was actually really encouraging since I have a daughter, giving me bits of wisdom for life down the road with a teenage girl.  He and his wife had always maintained open communication with their girls, friends with them yet still parents and I liked the combination and the type of trusting relationship that he seemed to have with each of his girls.  I pocketed the wisdom for much further down the road when Abbie is a teenager :)

My connecting flight arrived in Detroit about 50 minutes later and I had about an hour between flights.  Perfect amount of time in my opinion.  Unless you are flying through Atlanta.  Then I need time to hyperventilate between trying to make sure I make the right flight while sprinting miles through each concourse.  I had just enough time to grab some starbucks and get ready to board by the time I found my terminal.  The flight to Charlotte was about an hour and 45 minutes and I spent most of it reading a book I had checked out from the library on writing.  You see going into this conference I wasn't sure what God was calling me to do.  This conference called She Speaks through Proverbs 31 Ministeries, is for Christian Women Writers and Speakers.  I just knew clearly without a doubt that God was asking me to go and so I went.  I had been praying about what he wanted for me to do and before I left I kind of felt like it might be more writing.  It made sense to me.  I have a small toddler and we hope to have more children in the future.  Where in the world would I fit speaking around my already busy life?  So writing just made sense to me.  I was attending sessions at the conference on both writing and speaking though.  One of the speakers at Proverbs 31 had encouraged me when I registered and said "Ultimately writers become speakers, and speakers become writers."  Which is very true.  Regardless of what God revealed to my heart, I knew there was one that would have more of a focus in my life, and the other would be there but more on the backburner.  

I arrived in Charlotte North Carolina around noon EST and found the shuttle to our hotel.  It was about a 25 minute drive from the airport to our hotel and I met some great women who also were going to the conference while I was on there.  My sessions started shortly after arriving at the hotel.  This place was nothing short of amazing.  The place itself was just a normal hotel with a convention center attached but just the feeling of being surrounded by 650 women who all were there for the same reasons I was, being obedient to what God asked of them and seeking out God's will in their lives about speaking and writing was overwhelming.  I had met many of the women online through a facebook group, but I had no idea how hard it would be to find those very same faces in a large group.  650 didn't sound like a huge number to me, but turns out, it was a bit overwhelming.  I did the best I could to be outgoing and talkative and not hide in the shell I wanted to hide in.  Turns out I realized how much I missed the confident me.  The person who used to not care so much about what people thought about her.  The person who didn't put so much effort into people pleasing and instead just chose to love people regardless of their brokenness.  My old extroverted self started to come out and it was nice.  It was nice to be real again.  To know people may hurt me sometimes but that I didn't have to hide.  And here, in this place, it was safe.  I could be me.  I could be transparent.  I could be real.  

Now most Christians know that when God asks you to do something, spiritual warfare is quick to follow, from the time I said yes to going, up until right before I left to go, there was spiritual attack after spiritual attack.  Many others came to the conference with much different stories than mine, but still many struggles, hurt hearts, each clinging to their Savior's promise for healing.  There was a special prayer room where you could go and pray quietly or have someone pray for you, and a few days before the conference started we received an email from Proverbs 31 saying that each of our names had being prayed over for months, and in the prayer room there would be scripture.  Each of our names had been placed by scripture that they felt God leading it to be put on.  Tears streamed down my face when I read that email.  So excited to see what God put on these beautiful womens hearts about me.  When I got into the prayer room the name and scripture of God they had assigned to my name was:

EL ROI

The God Who Sees Me

There are no circumstances in our lives that escape his fatherly awareness and care.  God knows us and our troubles.

Genesis 16:11-14 and Psalm 139: 7-12

Truth and mercy washed over me in that moment and I knew that He knew exactly what had happened for me to be there at that conference.  That I didn't have to be scared.  That I didn't have to lack confidence but that He fully knew and He is good.  My father cares for his children.  

I got prayer in the prayer room that night.  From a girl named Stephanie.  Someone who would start to become far more important in my life than a random girl who prayed for me once.  As I sobbed and told her my story she prayed a compassionate prayer and it was there from her that I began to notice a theme in things that God was speaking to my heart about from the weekend.

Stephanie and I at She Speaks 2012

I finally got a chance to meet my roommate that night about 10PM.  Poor thing  had gone through so much to get there- missing flights, being on stand by after standby, storms causing rerouting for her plane to land, and she finally had gotten to the hotel about 8PM (she was supposed to arrive around noon) that night just in time to present her speech to her evaluation group.  Like I said....satan didn't stop working on tearing any of us down to get there!

Whitney (my roommate) and I at She Speaks 2012

She was such a joy to talk to.  We had emailed back and forth a few times before going so we knew what the other looked like and a bit about each others lives.  It was a joy to spend part of my weekend with her and get to know her better!

Saturday was filled with session after session of amazing writing and speaking material and by about 3:30 my brain couldn't take anymore.  I struggled through that session to listen and grasp what I could but my brain was on overload and I was craving sometime to just go spend with God, praying, reading his word, and sorting through what He was laying on my heart.  Luckily for me I had opted for free time at 4PM instead of taking another session so I had an hour and a half to go do just that.  

My time with God that afternoon was much needed.  I prayed about some of the things I felt him laying on my heart.  I asked for wisdom on whether he was leading me to write or speak.  I read new scripture and by the end of my time He had given me much insight.  I wasn't really sure if he would reveal anything to me that day or if it would be a longer process of reveal but He did and I am so greatful.  You see in my mind as I asked God about speaking and writing, writing just made more sense to me.  I have a toddler.  Writing would work better around my schedule because I could write after she goes to bed or during naptimes etc, but speaking?  How do I speak when I have a toddler?  I don't want to leave my family all the time to go speak somewhere, but you see God knows our hearts.  He knows our needs, and my problem was, that I was looking at people who speak all the time and was getting ahead of myself.  I haven't started any of it yet except blogging.  God knows my exact spot in life.  He knows I have a young daughter.  He knows I'm married.  He knows we want more children.  He knows.  He will never give me more than I can handle and if I just submit everyday to Him and ask Him what He specifically wants for my day, I won't miss any appointments He has for me, He will give me the strength to know how to fit marriage, and parenting in with other things He might want for me, and at the same time not to undermine my roles in my husband and children's lives...they are huge responsibilities and a major part of my God given tasks!  I decided at that point in my quiet time to read through the scripture again He had laid on my heart from Isaiah 6, and also Titus 2- those verses had been on my heart even longer

Titus 2: 3-5 says:

³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Before leaving for the conference I was reading through Ephesians and on the next chapter I was due to read was the later part of Ephesians 6:

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Now what is funny about this is that our keynote speaker for Sunday morning was due to speak on The Armor of God.  I found it funny that my current chapter I was reading coincided with that, but as I prayed for God's wisdom on whether or not He wanted me to focus more on speaking or writing, He used this chapter to lay it thickly on my heart.  There at the end tucked into verses 19 and 20 He spoke to me clearly" and also for me that WORDS may be given to me in OPENING MY MOUTH BOLDLY TO PROCLAIM the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, AS I OUGHT TO SPEAK."

Tears fell and I knew, plain as day God was speaking to me.  I knew that it wasn't that He didn't want me to write, but that He had always wanted me to speak.  That to choose writing, and refusing to speak would be using writing as a crutch to hide behind.

To be continued....

My Journey to She Speaks Series

Journey to She Speaks Part 1: Called to Go

This past weekend July 20-22nd I attended a conference called She Speaks hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries based out of Concord North Carolina.  This conference is for aspiring Christian women writers and speakers.  I first heard about this conference a few years ago...I believe it was actually when I was pregnant maybe, or the spring before I got pregnant, and it cost quite a bit to go so I immediately told myself no, you can't go.  You see, I have really enjoyed for a long time being able to encourage women.  When I was in college I was a social butterfly.  I was a student leader in my school's Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and a few times spoke in small ways to the group through that and really enjoyed it when I did.  I remember being the MC for the group many nights and trying to make people feel welcome and wanted upon arrival.  I loved that.  After I got married, my roles changed a lot.  My roles as a wife, and eventually as a mother consumed me, and in many ways they should, but in many ways we also can segregate ourselves from other fellowship God has for us by letting our homes be all consuming.  It's about balance and also trusting that even when we aren't home with our families 247 that ultimately they are God's and we have to entrust them to His care.  We need to be obedient to ways God can stretch us in our faith and what he is calling us to.  I've known for along time that He had put this desire on my heart to serve women in someway shape or form and I just wasn't exactly sure what He wanted me to do.  

Let me rewind just for a few moments to this past January.  I was doing an online bible study on a book called A Confident Heart by Renee Swope.

 Time out for a picture:

Renee Swope and I at She Speaks 2012

Renee is one of the main people helping run Proverbs 31 ministry.  Her book was amazing and life changing, and really helped me sort through some things with God that I have needed to do for a long time.  I knew as I was reading through this book how much I had ignored this passion he had put in my heart to serve him through serving women.  As I was working through all of this stuff through the bible study I remembered the She Speaks conference and how a few years back I felt somewhat of an itch to go but had quickly stifled the desire.  I had started hearing more about this conference now through Renee and on the Proverbs 31 website, and started to wonder if God wasn't continually bringing this up for a reason in my life right now.  I really started to feel a strong push to go.  I lacked confidence though.  I didn't want to have to choose to decide to do something like that.  Besides it would cost close to $1000 to go including conference cost, hotel cost, and plane ticket.  We hardly had any extra money to do anything with since Abbie was born let alone being able to afford $1000 to do something like this with.  The final straw came at the end of February when Jill Savage (pictured below), founder of Hearts at Home, a mom's ministry located in my town  posted on 

Jill Savage and I at She Speaks 2012

her blog about the She Speaks conference.  I receive her blog feeds regularly.  In this post she said she knew some of us were interested in speaking and writing and really encouraged us to think about attending this conference but that if we really wanted to go we should register soon because registration fills up fast. 
 At that point I knew I needed to really pray about it, or I was going to miss my chance.  I asked many of my friends and family to pray for me- pray for affirmation in going, pray for finances to go, pray for my confidence because Lord, why in the world would you ask me, a Veterinary Technician to speak and write?  I don't have a journalism degree or any sort of English anything besides English 101 and 102.  God put some very specific verses on my heart during this time from Isaiah 6: 8-13

It reads:

 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? ”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

 He said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 

Make the heart of this people calloused; 

    make their ears dull

    and close their eyes.^[a] 

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

    hear with their ears, 

    understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

   Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined 

    and without inhabitant,

until the houses are left deserted 

    and the fields ruined and ravaged, 

until the Lord has sent everyone far away 

    and the land is utterly forsaken. 

And though a tenth remains in the land,

    it will again be laid waste. 

But as the terebinth and oak

    leave stumps when they are cut down,

  so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

Many tears came upon reading those verses and just hearing God speak it to my heart.  He asked so I shall go and how long Lord do you want me to do this.....for as long as you live.  After seeking out wise counsel, much prayer and without a doubt, affirmation from God I said alright God I will go.  I have no idea what you are doing God but I know without a doubt you want me to go.  He doesn't always ask the person with the most credentials, he often times uses us in our brokenness, all He really asks is for us to have a willing obedient heart.  So I registered and less than 72 hours later, the conference was paid for by some really generous people who also believed God was asking me to go.  



To Be continued....

Delicious dinner recipe, Abbie's first sentence, and Abbie's 15 month picture!!

Dave had to work tonight but Abbie and I enjoyed some one on one time in the kitchen.  She loves to help and it melts my heart to see her so excited about getting to do what I'm doing.

Our menu tonight:
Baked Trout with a lemon butter glaze topped with mango salsa, cilantro lime brown rice, and a spinach salad drizzled in raspberry vinaigrette with dried cranberries and apple slices.

Trout fillet (or other white fish)
 Glaze: 

1.  Melt 1/2 tbsp butter (depending on how many fillets you are cooking.  I was baking 4 small trout fillets and I don't like to add more calories if I don't have to).  
2. Add 1Tbsp lemon juice to the melted butter.
3. Drizzle or brush this over the uncooked fillets.
4. Sprinkle salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and garlic powder (or minced garlic) onto the fillets.
5. Bake at around 400F for 15 minutes or until firm to touch.

Mango Salsa

1. Cut up one mango.  See this tutorial for how to cut up a mango here
2. Cut up one jalapeno.  See this tutorial for how to safely cut up a jalapeno here
3. Cut up one bunch of cilantro, minus the stems.
4. Mix all of the above together in a bowl (save a little cilantro for your rice though!) and add a splash of fresh lime juice.

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

1. In my kitchen I always have rice made up ahead of time.  I cook a big batch and freeze it in bulk.  So for this particular dish you would either cook your rice and then add the seasonings, or in my case I would thaw my frozen rice and then recook and season it.  
2. Place cooked rice in heated sautee pan with just a little olive oil or butter.  
3. Add a splash of lime juice, salt, and pepper.
4. Stir in the remaining cilantro.
5. Once heated thoroughly serve.

Spinach Salad with dried cranberries and apples

1. Mix spinach greens thoroughly with vinaigrette after washing and drying (just enough to lightly coat leaves)
2. Sprinkle on dried cranberries and add apple slices.
3. Walnuts or almonds would be good with this salad as well, I was all out tonight but I have used them in the past and it tastes delicious!

Abbie was cracking me up when I was cutting up the mango.  She kept stealing all the mango and I finally said "If you keep eating all the mango we aren't going to have enough to make the salsa for our fish."  

She didn't seem to care and proceeded to try and crawl up onto the counter : )

Oh and other random side note just so its documented...Abbie said her first sentence.  That might be over exaggerated a bit but I think its fair game....she has been signing different words for awhile now.  "More" and "please" being two words she uses on a regular basis.  She can say both of the words but sometimes prefers to sign them over saying them.  Well tonight I could tell she was trying with all of her might to communicate rapid fire to me that she wanted more apples and she looked at me and signed but also said it "Mow peez"....she got it!  She is starting to understand that you can put words together to make sentences and though she has no idea what a sentence means she is starting to understand that please doesn't just mean you automatically get food and that saying more doesn't meant you automatically get food, but that mom and dad insist that you ask for such things nicely. I was dumbstruck.  It won't be long before she gets that you should say "More apples please."  She is making more and more connections with how things work on a daily basis and it just amazes me the way their little minds work and makes me realize how much I take for granted that I forgot I had to learn on my own once upon a time as well.  

And one more thing before I forget, I finally sucked it up and took her somewhere to get her pictures taken.  Up until she was about 11 months old I took them myself with my DSLR and they turned out great.  Problem now is....that I am mom.  Mom is the photographer and when mom is the one trying to take pictures of the subject that just wants mom to hold her...well you get a bunch of pictures of a toddler walking towards the camera rapid fire with arms  held out looking like Frankenstein.  So I gave in and had them taken at Portrait Innovations.  They did a really nice job and I was proud of myself for not giving into their spiel and only purchasing my favorite pose to get the price special.  I paid less than $11 for 1- 11x13, 2- 8x10, 4- 5x7, 4- 3x5, and 24 wallets.  That is a lot of pictures for $11 and it actually wasn't as hard to pick my favorite pose as I thought it would be.  So I am going to share the picture with you.  I am really strongly against pirating, stealing anyone's work be it photography, movies, music, etc so no, I will not be printing this off cause I scanned it in, I just wanted to be able to share it with all of you so you could see it too (besides did you not just read that they gave me a buttload of pictures for only $11...I don't need anymore anyway :)

I think it turned out well!  It's a perfect 15 month photo of her and is already being proudly displayed in our house.

I am leaving for the Proverbs 31 She Speaks conference Friday morning at 6:40AM (well that is what time my plane is supposed to leave anyway!), so this is most likely my last post until sometime next week (hopefully!)  Please be praying for me and the other woman there.  I have been able to chat with many of them over facebook, and have already gotten to know my roomie a bit through email.  I am so excited to meet them all.  I can already tell they are such a loving group of woman who just want to build up each other as the body of Christ in order to glorify Him more.
Prayer requests for me specifically:  that I would be patient with God's timing and will in this conference and let Him orchestrate His plan for me, not me for Him (I always mess it up when I try to do it instead of letting Him!), for confidence and boldness in being myself around a group of 650 strangers, and most importantly that I would be able to press into Him and seek out His will for me in this.  To trust Him regardless of what He asks of me to do.

Have a fantastic weekend!!!
God Bless!!

Bridget

6 years!!!

Just a few weeks ago on  July 8th, 2012 Dave and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.  To some 6 doesn't sound like a lot.  To others it sounds like an eternity, but to me, to me I stand back in awe at how fast the time has gone by.  How much has been accomplished.  How many mistakes were made.  The joys, and the sorrows that 6 years can bring, and I just feel incrediblely blessed to know that Dave chose me to spend His life with.  That God brought us together in the way that He did for His glory.  I pray that the next 6 years, and hopefully the next 60-70 years will be spent doing just that....glorifying God in all that we do.  Thank you Jesus for what a blessing this man is in my life and so many others!!

July 8th, 2006

July 2012

                

To celebrate we had a night out to ourselves, baby in tow to grandma and grandpa's to have a slumber party, while we went out and had the most relaxing time I think we have had since Abbie was born.  No baby, no food thrown on the floor, no focusing on meeting the ever pressing needs of a toddler, just me, my hubby some amazing food and a bottle of wine (of which I think I had too much of so I had to stop :)  Since Abbie's birth I feel like all we've done is worry about the bills getting paid, and her needs...finally we just stopped, relaxed, and treated ourselves.  Neither one of us cared what the bill was.  Not that I recommend doing that very often, but it was nice to just enjoy each others company without life stresses!  We rarely ever order an appetizer or dessert, let alone a bottle of wine, and we let ourselves have all of the above.  Calamari, Dave had a rack of lamb, I had an amazing white fish called Doversole that was encrusted with almonds and pecans and garnished with a roasted red pepper sauce, our wine paired perfectly and for dessert....well I had to have the carrot cake...it was part of Dave's proposal to me, but he didn't want it...no the chef wanted creme brulee...go figure :)  But you know what...I enjoyed my piece of cake to its entirety...no sense wasting a perfectly good piece of carrot cake on someone who is lusting after creme brulee :) Afterwards we walked through our downtown cause we were so stuffed and needed to walk a little bit in order to not just roll onto the couch when we got home.  Then we went home and watched Lost....our current show of choice that we always watch together.  We are trying to make it through all the seasons.  At the rate we are going it will probably be our 25th anniversary before we finish them all.
In all it was a wonderful anniversary spent exactly the way we like to....with each other, just being us, and that makes it just perfect!