Italia

Not sharimisu.

We just got back Saturday from our trip to Italy with our friends Zac & Cara. It was so much fun & Italy is now even more my favorite place on earth. I want to write out as much of it as I can remember, so, enjoy!

Josh & I drove up to Austin Thursday night since the boys were staying with my parents. We woke up super early that morning, after about 3.5 hrs of sleep, to head to the airport. We flew to Atlanta, then Miami, then switched airports via taxi for our international flight. (Josh & I always opt out of the cancer machine screeners [you know, the nekkid picture ones] so we had to do the whole pat down thing. Something showed up as sketchy on the gloves of the guy checking Josh, so he got taken to a private room to do it again. It was kind of comical because you could tell they didn't exactly find us suspicious, but had to go through the motions anyways. He checked out fine after that one.) We then flew 8.5 hours to Dusseldorf, then 1.5 hrs to Milan, where we took a train from the airport to the Milano Centrale train station, then waited a couple of hours for our train to Florence. In short: we were STINKING TIRED by the time we got there. So. Much. Traveling. But worth it, obviously.

In Florence, we stayed down a narrow street in an apartment that was located between a trattoria & a ristorante. Totally charming. We were so happy to see Zac & Cara. Our time with them (since college with Zac, & for as long as we've known Cara) has been limited to vacations or their weekend trips to SA, so we cherish every moment with them.

We went out to dinner after we dropped off our luggage & had pizza & wine. Bufala mozzarella is plentiful in Italy & we had it at almost every opportunity, starting with our margherita pizzas. We walked around town a bit & got dessert in the Piazza della Repubblica, then crashed for the night (Josh was D.O.N.E. after dinner).

The next day, I woke up before everyone else & headed out to walk around. Florence had been my favorite city when we visited Italy in 2009. I love the charm of the city - I'll never get over it. Since it was a Sunday morning, it was so quiet out, & the streets were almost empty. I walked along the river, grabbed a cappuccino & a croissant, & sat in the small piazza near our place to eat. This was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.

(I must pause here to say that no one does coffee like Italians. They mean business! Even convenience stores off the side of the highway have espresso machines. I love their cappuccinos. I had as many as possible, even though they made my tummy hurt sometimes since I don't consume much dairy these days. Going from gluten & dairy free to eating lots of pizza, pasta, sandwiches, gelato, cappuccinos, & cheese did a toll on me!! But it was SO GOOD.)

I headed back to meet everyone else before we headed out. We had scheduled tickets to the Uffizi Museum & the Accademia that day, so we headed to the Uffizi at 9 & walked around for a couple of hours, admiring all the paintings & sculptures. We grabbed lunch at a sandwich shop (which are a very popular Italian lunch option) & sat at the apartment for a while, & the other three had a little nap time (I couldn't sleep; for some reason jet lag on the way there left me with tons of energy, but coming back, I am still exhausted) before we went to the Accademia, which is where the David is, along with many other Michelangelo sculptures. We may have been shushed at one point. Our laughter wasn't very museum-like. But we enjoyed ourselves!

That night we wandered around & found a restaurant in a small piazza to eat at. That was where I got the best tiramisu of the trip. But I was also left feeling really yucky afterwards - dairy overload. So I passed on the gelato after dinner. (Don't judge - we had gelato every day at least once, along with tiramisu three times, appetizers every night at dinner, & cappuccinos at every turn. We like to think we walked enough to make allowances for all that deliciousness.)

Monday morning, we climbed up the 460+ stairs in the narrow tunnel up to the top of the dome of the Duomo. We got some beautiful views of the city from the top. Zac & Cara then headed to wait in line to go inside the Duomo, but since Josh & I got to do that last time we were there, we grabbed lunch & walked around a bit before meeting back up with them. That afternoon, we walked across the bridge to the Pitti Palace & toured the gardens & the costume gallery (since we were too cheap to pay for admittance to the palace). I also believe this was the day we got the best gelato, at least in my opinion, also across the bridge. That evening's dinner was one of our best. We sat outside & had delicious food & a very kind waiter. (Appetizer: fried pasta dough with mozzarella & proscuitto - SO GOOD. I got pappardelle with wild boar ragu. Tiramisu for dessert.) We walked around town for the last time before calling it a night.

The next morning, we did some souvenir shopping & got to eat lunch at one of the best restaurants in town, which was my favorite meal. I got the stuffed cabbage leaves. So wonderfully spiced! I'll attempt to recreate it soon but I know I'll fail. Then we went to get our rental car to head out to the country. Zac had rented a Fiat 500, & after considering the upgrade but deciding against it ("It's only for an hour!), we squished four people, four large suitcases, five backpacks, a camera case, & a purse into a tiny two-door car. We viewed a church at the top of a hill across the river on our way out of town & got some good pictures of Florence, then headed out of town. About an hour in, I got carsick & would have barfed if we hadn't pulled over, & Zac graciously switched places with me. A bit further down the road, we realized we had been going the wrong direction the whole time. So an hour on the road turned into more like 4+. Oops. That's what happens when you don't have WiFi, y'all.

(Josh really, really enjoyed driving the manual Fiat, & driving like an Italian. Driving laws are more like suggestions there, so he zoomed around & drove well over 130 kpm - around 90 mph. One of his favorite parts of the trip by far.)

We eventually made it to our awesome apartment in the medieval town of Montefollonico, on top of a hill in Tuscany. It was a beautiful, quaint little town with three restaurants, some artisans, & one small grocery store. It lives off tourism now, though it seemed to be mainly Italian tourists. It has two short streets that run long ways, & a couple small roads that barely fit our small Fiat. That night we had a very late dinner at the closest restaurant, La Costa. Delicious crostini appetizer with truffle oil, & homemade pasta & risotto. The next morning, we drove to the next hill over to the old town of Montepulciano. Montepulciano is known for having some of the best wine in Italy, so there are many wineries there. We did some sampling & walked through the cool, dark wine cellars, & I bought a ceramic olive oil jar to bring home (the Roberts love us some good olive oil). We relaxed a bit at our apartment, then went to a local pizzeria for dinner & good conversation (& lots of laughs).

Thursday, we went to Siena, about an hour away. What a beautiful, charming city. Like the other Tuscan towns, the old part of the town is on top of the hill, surrounded by the old city walls. We did a little touring of the town, & of course some eating. One of my other favorite parts of the trip, though, was when we bought gelato & sat in the main piazza & simply enjoyed the moment. There is so much to see in Italy that it's tempting to just go go go, but I loved when we were able to stop & bask in the beauty around us. Shortly after, it began to rain, so after about 30 minutes under a restaurant canopy, we ran through the rain back to our car. We ate dinner at another restaurant in town for our last evening together.

Friday morning, we recreated the stuffed-car situation & drove out to a vineyard about 20 minutes away, where we were able to get a tour & a wine tasting. We also got a bread plate & some of the best olive oil I have ever had. This was another one of my favorite parts of the trip. We headed back to Florence, checked our bags at the train station, hustled over to a restaurant that attracts the locals that served us some really good roasted beef, pork, & white beans, received & consumed in about 15 minutes time. We grabbed some gelato on the walk back, then said goodbye at the train station as we headed back to Milan & they left for Venice. Throw in another marathon day of traveling, & we were home again with our boys (of which, the oldest told me upon seeing me, that he didn't want to go home, he wanted to stay at Mimi & Papa's. They definitely didn't miss us too much!).

We had a great time in a beautiful region of a lovely country with wonderful friends. I love Italy. I love the people & the culture & the food & the language & most of all, the coffee. (Just kidding. Not really.) Tuscany is so gorgeous to me, with its rolling hills, vineyards & olive trees, & old world structures. Many times during our trip, I just stopped & thanked the Lord for the blessing of being able to go there, not only once but twice, & to spend lots of time with Zac & Cara. We'd love to go back again one day. If nothing else, I'll be spending a lot of time there on the New Earth; that's where you'll find me. :)

The Here & Now (& the Italian)

I had a horrible dream last night. We were going to Italy & I had, for some reason, only a few minutes to pack everything before leaving. I had to think of everything I could possibly need, & quick. Talk about stressful! This is actually the second time I've had this dream in the past couple of months. Let's just say I'm motivated to start our packing list now! Who knew we'd ever go back? But indeed! We were approached by our wonderful friends Zac & Cara with the best idea of meeting them in my favorite city, Florence, & spending an entire week in Tuscany. I can't wait. Seriously. Can. Not. Wait. I'm even looking forward to the terribly long plane ride. Alone time with my man, & a book, & my thoughts. & we love every moment we get to spend with our sweet friends (who will soon, finally, be living on the same continent as us, yay!).

(Of course, there is also the obvious amazing views, fresh food, olive oil, wine, gelato, history, & beautiful Italian culture. Ahh.)

Aside from our trip, which I am really looking forward to, I feel like we are in a season of just being. We're not looking toward the next thing, we're not experiencing change, we're just living the day-to-day, in Josh's job, in our city, at our church, in our life group, as a family of four. We haven't been in this place since August of 2009. At that point, we waited to get pregnant, were pregnant & waiting to have a baby, soon afterward we were thinking about baby #2, waiting to get pregnant, pregnant & waiting for baby, & now almost 4 years later, we're finally just... living. As much as I tend to look forward to the next thing, I'm really okay with being in this place after the past few years of change. I know God has more for us in the coming years, likely including much more change, so for now, we're just taking it all in. I'm definitely still treading water at this point, surviving & not quite thriving, but trying to enjoy the now.

I will say though that we have tossed around the idea of taking our first big family vacation next summer - Elliot will be 3.5, Jack will be 1.5, & the timing seems ideal, so we'll see!

Warning: This post may bore you if you aren't an Aggie

This past weekend, we went to visit College Station. We hadn't been back since Elliot was three months old, & I was in dire need of a java shake. We also hadn't seen our friends Jason & Paige in a year, so we decided to meet up with them there & spend Saturday together. Josh & I took the boys down Friday afternoon, had dinner at Blue Baker with a girl from our church who is a sophomore at A&M, then went to campus & walked around a bit. Josh did lots of reminiscing in the civil engineering building, Elliot did lots of running around, & I realized I don't handle change very well (just kidding, I knew that already, but boy did it flare up several times this weekend. That liberal arts building just should not have been built on the grassy knoll!).

This was our first experience in a hotel as a family of four. It went better than I expected. Elliot was super excited to sleep in a big bed by himself, & to get to watch TV in bed, so he did great. He also is a pretty hard sleeper so Jack never woke him up. Jack fell asleep fine in the pack n play but didn't sleep great for some reason. Oh well, we survived.

Anyways, Saturday morning we met up with J&P at a new (to us) coffee place called Mugwalls. It was delicious & I'm afraid if it had been there when we were there, it might have caused me to cheat on Sweet Eugene's a few times. Then we headed over to campus to check out the new MSC. I had heard about how much it had changed, & it definitely has, but overall I liked it. There is lots of seating now & the flag room was largely untouched, which is good. We had Layne's for lunch (which is to be expected) then spent some time driving around town, checking out our old respective residences & all the new growth in town, then met back up at Sweet Eugene's for the all-important java shake. I got Oreo & it was all I remembered it to be. We headed back to campus to walk around the Commons, where we all spent our freshman year, & did some more exploring. We hit up Northgate Vintage, a super cute store that is owned by another girl from our church here who is a student at A&M, then headed to dinner at Koppe Bridge. I haven't had a burger in forever; Koppe is worth the gluten & grease. Then we headed home. We so loved spending time with our friends who we miss having around, & loved spending time in a town that holds so many memories for us. The boys did really well too, despite the lack of sleep & being toted around here & there. We'll definitely be back before two more years pass.

Life Lately

God is still using the Breaking Free Beth Moore Bible study to kick my tail. The first couple of weeks provided enough for me to pray through for a long time, but alas, the study is 10 weeks long. I'm trying to remain in a place of letting God transform me.

Jack is sleeping a lot better for naps, but just as bad as a newborn at night. I think he's legitimately hungry, so I can't do much about that. I'm praying for strength, energy, patience, etc. every day & praying that God will help him sleep better eventually. This season is rough but I know it won't last. (At least, I'm pretty sure it won't.)

We bought plane tickets to Italy! We were provided with the opportunity to meet our friends Zac & Cara in Tuscany for a week & we couldn't pass it up. We've been to Florence & it is my favorite place in the world so far, so I can't wait to go back. We'll get to see more of the countryside this time & get to experience more true Italian life, off the beaten tourist path. It will be so great to get away with my love & best friend, too! 

I've started trying to be more intentional with my time with Elliot. As a result, the TV is off almost all day & we have had some good lessons going over letters, practicing drawing lines & circles, etc. He is at an age where he picks up things so quickly; it's so funny to hear him say things & see what he does that he saw us do. He loves to play with his cars & trains, have play dates with his friends, & go to the park, the children's museum, or the zoo. He loves his brother & goes back & forth between wanting to play with him, & taking away his toys or getting upset if Jack touches him. 

Jack is all of a sudden no longer a little baby. His personality is developing & he has so much more energy. He has decided he wants to be a big boy too, so he loves sitting up (if he's laying down or reclining, he tries to sit up straight), & if you put him on his stomach, he'll lift up & fling his arms & legs around like he's trying to crawl but just can't figure it out. He loves to watch Elliot & thinks he's hilarious. He's still super snuggly & now likes to burrow his face into my shoulder, particularly when he's tired. He is super smiley & rarely cries, except when he's hungry or really tired. It's so fun to see him develop! I thought it wouldn't be as fun the second time because I've experienced it before, but nope, it's just as great.

Toddlerhood

Something happened when Elliot turned one - it's like his brain switched into toddler-mode. He started the obvious toddler thing to do, which is walk full-time. He decided to get a little louder (which, since he's been a pretty quiet baby so far, still isn't too terribly loud all the time). He decided to exert a little more of his opinion. He lets me know when he wants something, usually by making noise & pointing to it, & also lets me know how upset he is when I don't let him have it. He's letting more of his personality show. Toys are littered across every floor in the house - things that are meant to be toys, as well as empty water jugs, hand towels, & rulers. It just all happened so abruptly! It's all of a sudden a whole new world. Toddlers are very different than babies! But it's been fun. & every time he acts out is just an opportunity for us to show him we don't approve of that kind of behavior, & to show him the right thing to do, which is building the foundation for being a completely obedient child. (Okay, I'm kidding about the "completely" part - but training up a child in the way they should go does start now!)

This past weekend we went to a wedding of a good friend from high school. We got to spend the whole weekend with several of our closest friends, who do not live in San Antonio. Times like those are so sweet & such a blessing. We are totally blessed to have such great friends who have the same values & priorities that we do, & we're so thankful that we are able to maintain those relationships even at a distance. It was a fun & refreshing time. I pray that one day God allows us to live in the same city as some (or all!) of those friends.

Guess I better go clean the bathrooms while Elliot sleeps... sigh. Not my favorite chore... hence the blogging!

Time for Normal

Today is a big fat *sigh* to me. In a good way. Finally, Christmas gift buying is over, traveling is over (for a couple weeks, anyways!), busyness is over... phewwwww. This week, I have time to clean my house, how about that??

I am feeling thankful for newness today, as well. Yes, it's a new year, but that is just a coincidence for me - for me, it's getting back to normal like I mentioned, but also I feel like I'm getting a new start with things - back to eating well, back to exercise (at least, I have high hopes for this one starting soon, I just need to find the time), & back to spending time with the Lord in the morning with my cup of coffee. It's these things that are just good to me! & a good mixture of busyness & laziness have kept those things from being the norm lately. Since Elliot was born, I have felt like I've been in a bit of a funk, unable to get to normal routine & do anything more than the things that were pressing. All I did was take care of Elliot (because his life kind of depends on me), do laundry (because we need clothes), grocery shop (because we need food), & work (because I had a deadline). But in a less pressing way, I NEED to spend time with God every day, in the Word & in prayer; I NEED to exercise; I NEED to be purposeful about eating well. These are not New Year's resolutions to me - this is getting back to normal. This is starting fresh, full of grace. Oh yeah, & the desire to fit into my jeans again, sooner than later. :-)

We rang in the New Year in North Carolina at Zac & Cara's wedding. It was really fun to spend time with them, & their reception was a blast. Elliot did really well the first 3 days, then all that lack of napping & too much car-seating caught up with him, & he didn't do so well the day we came home. But today he's back to normal, sleeping lots. Anyways, Zac & Cara have moved overseas, so no vacations with them for at least a year & a half, but they will resume one day, & until then, plenty of Skype dates.

This month is filling up with fun, less stressful plans, like a Cotton Bowl party Friday, going to College Station, & my birthday :-) . It'll be a good month.

waiting...

As it turns out, this waiting thing isn't very fun. I am very thankful that my job has slowed down significantly so I have plenty of time to rest, & I know that when Elliot comes I won't need to worry about something not getting done. I'm pretty easily bored these days. I try to get out of the house every day, if just to run one errand, & my house has stayed pretty neat & clean (not spotless, because I have no desire to deep-clean my house, which is a bummer), but the days crawl. Every morning when I journal during my time with Jesus (SOAP anyone??) & I write down the date, I wonder, will I go into labor today? How does the next day sound as a birthday?

waiting, waiting...

The practice I go to does not induce before 42 weeks unless there is a medical reason to do so. So the latest Elliot will be born is November 1st (eek! hoping for October). In about a week & a half, at just over 41 weeks, I'll start the non-stress testing if he's not here yet, so they can monitor him & make sure he's still doing well in there. Other than that, the plan is to wait. Wait. Wait.

I don't do so well with this unplanned stuff, you know.

I do have a couple of things to look forward to, which helps. I am excited to head out to the pumpkin patch tomorrow. We went a couple years ago & loved walking out in the cool weather with all the pumpkins & eating caramel apples. I love fall. It's my favorite season by far.

Zac & Cara will be in on Monday, & we are excited to spend time with them before they move even further away. :-( Even if they don't get to meet Elliot, I'm glad we'll get to see them.

I do pray, though, that this time will not go by wasted. I want to suck every bit of what God has for me out of this period of waiting. I want to catch every lesson, I want to enjoy spending time with Him before I have an infant vying for my time. I am enjoying every bit of time with Josh, & I am trying to enjoy the slowness in my schedule. I don't want to wish time away. So if you pray for me, for us, pray that we will grow in this time, & take hold of the things available to us, specifically peace & joy.

Now I shall go watch the Ellen show with a caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper. :-)

& I'll keep waiting.

LATE update!

Wow, almost a month since I blogged... what a loser!! Unfortunately now that I sit here to try to not be a loser... I don't know that I have much to say. Let me think.

I went to five showers in the last month... four baby & one bridal. I think that's enough to last a while. Of course they were all fun, & I like being able to make people feel special. & thankfully none of them have included ridiculous games! Games, yes, just not the "grin & bear it" kind. (If you've been to a baby shower, you know what I'm talking about.) In fact, today's couples baby shower really focused on the guys/the father, which was fun! They had a competition where the guys had to wear bibs & suck prune juice through tiny bottles as fast as they could to see who could do it the fastest. It's amazing how guys will do anything to win a competition - the faces they made drinking that stuff were hilarious, but they kept going! Oh yes, & half of the guys were pastors from our church. I hope those pictures pop up somewhere expected someday; that'd be funny.

Josh & I are in the works planning a vacation with Zac & Cara to San Francisco! We decided 2 years in a row in DC was enough to see all we cared to see, so we're heading west this time. If you have any recommendations on things we should do, let me know!

So I've done John MacArthur Bible studies for the past year & a half or so, & I really enjoy them, so I downloaded a few of his sermons for a couple trips I've taken recently. I love his sermons! He speaks TRUTH unapologetically. One of the series I listened to was about how he thinks the number one problem with the American church (which, that's a whole series on its own) is the lack of ability to discern who is a Christian & who is not. God has revealed so much to me regarding this topic. Consider your definition of a "Christian" - does it line up with Scripture? ALL of Scripture??

I really recommend John MacArthur for a good Bible study or sermon.

Ah, then there's the Africa/India trip some of our pastors/leaders just got back from... God is going to be doing some stuff in our church, GOOD stuff that I'm really excited about. Maybe I'll blog about that soon....

Anyways, there is a bit of an update on our lives. Hopefully I'll get back on here sooner than later. :-)

A random update for you

I just got in my Gevalia coffee... yumm. Isn't it fun to get packages, too?

I also have become quite the tea drinker. A year ago I didn't drink any tea - not iced, not hot, nothin. Then Josh & I discovered Teavana last summer, which pulled me in to the hot tea world. Now I drink two or three cups of hot tea a day! Always peppermint at night, then I have currently in my pantry, green tea (which I will probably always keep on hand), rooibos, & chamomile with honey & vanilla. I love that I like a drink that is actually good for you (opposed to diet drinks), plus it helps with that whole 8 glasses of water a day thing.

January is a great month. Partly because it's a new year, looking forward to what the Lord will do. But mainly because it's my birthday month. :-) I love birthdays! I kind of make a big deal out of them... which can be bad when no one realizes my ridiculously high expectations (it's interesting that I even have high expectations regarding my birthday, because I tend to live life with a "let's not get too excited so I don't get let down" kind of way... but that's another quirk for another day). But thanks to Josh & my parents & Haley, I have people who make it a very fun time. So, yay for January!

& yay for this week! Tonight Josh & I are going out to dinner... this is a rare occurance but much needed, as he has been working hard on a project he finishes today & we need to get out of the house & just have fun & good conversation. Yay for tomorrow, because with it comes the return of AMERICAL IDOL! Oh yes. We love this show. I think it's the only show year-round that we actually attempt to watch every episode of. (I know that was really bad grammar, ending a sentence with the word "of." Ah, did it again.) & yay for this weekend, because one of our good friends from high school is coming to visit us, Mr. Aaron Schrank himself. It should be good times... except for the obligatory game of Settlers of Catan that I agreed to (what was I thinking???).

I just remembered, I have a couple of book reviews to write up... hopefully coming soon!!

Here's to January!! :-)

Whole new recipe blog!

I'm so excited; me & 8 of my friends are now contributing to a recipe blog! I can't wait to try lots of new recipes that I know they love.

Check it out!! Tried & True Recipe Share!

Somebody had to do it

Josh & I love going to Spurs games! Josh was a fan long before we moved here, & I enjoy watching basketball, & because they are our only pro team (opposed to Houston & Dallas) the whole city loves the Spurs - it's pretty hard not to.

Last week my parents came down & took us to dinner then to the opening game of the season against the Hornets. We creamed 'em. Then our friends Matt & Whitney (shout out to my blog-reading friend!) invited us to a game on Halloween so of COURSE we said yes. Matt got the tickets from his company & they were AWESOME seats.

I'm sure if you watch sports news, you have heard about this story, I'd just like to say I was there. :-) So during the game, Whitney goes, "hey, there's a bird in here" & we talked about how that was sad. Then it flew closer & I said, "I don't think that's a bird... that's a bat!" then of course we got grossed out. So Mr. Bat flies down to the court & is flying around with the players, who started ducking & moving out of the way of the bat so they stopped the game. I have to say, it is really funny to see huge guys scared. Mr. Bat flew off & the game resumed. Then he came back & stopped the game again. At this point, the Coyote comes out in a Batman costume with a net, & one of the refs is given a towel to try to catch Mr. Bat. That wasn't working out. So as Mr. Bat is flying by Manu Ginobili, Manu reaches out & SMACKS the bat down on the ground, then doesn't hesitate to reach down & pick up the bat & walk it off the court! Everyone jumped to their feet & went crazy, cheering & chanting, "Manu, Manu!" Then a trainer ran on the court to give him a squirt of hand sanitizer. Josh, who wears Manu's number on his Spurs shirt, said, "THAT'S how they do it in Argentina!!"

I read in the paper the next day (the article was really funny) that one of the Kings players said, "Somebody had to do it, & it wasn't gonna be me."

Anyways it was a good time. Oh ya, we beat the Kings too. :-)

Now I must go de-seed some jalapenos... Josh is grilling tonight & we always grill some cream-cheese filled jalapenos. Yumm!

Good times with friends, & fall is coming!

We went to DC two weeks ago to hang out with Zac & Cara again, & of course we had a blast. Since we saw most of the sights last year, this trip was much more slow-paced. We did see the American History Museum of the Smithsonian, & Ford's Theater, which were both closed last year. I was slightly disappointed with the museum, as the part that they (you know, "they") talk about (Dorothy's red shoes, Kermit, etc) was actually very small. It was cool to see Julia Child's kitchen, after having seen the movie Julie & Julia. Ford's Theater was really cool... there is a museum in it that talks about Abe Lincoln & a few cool stories (as in, crazy, not like, wow cool he was shot! obviously), so that was neat. We went out to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, a couple hours from DC, ate some good fro-yo, & did some good hanging out. It was so good to spend time with them. Even tho we've only known Cara for a year, it feels like we've known her as long as we've known Zac; they are just good friends that we treasure.

We got back & had one day before we headed to Houston to spend time with friends there too! I spent some time with my friend Loren, who I have been friends with since junior high, talking about her upcoming wedding, then the rest of the weekend, I hung out with Kristin while Josh hung out with Aaron. It is so refreshing to spend time with friends who truly know you, who you feel completely comfortable with, having uplifting, encouraging, REAL conversations. Josh & I were really thankful to have spent lots of time this month with people we love!

Today Josh is fishing with his company off the coast, so I'm just relaxing before he gets back this afternoon. We are kicking off our new, revamped membership class tomorrow, & I have been working all week to get all the details together as well as make up for being out of town, so it's been good to just sit back & relax last night & this morning.

So, this summer was the hottest, driest summer in recorded San Antonio history. We had 59 days of over 100 degree weather, & the aquifer level continued to drop, resulting in limited lawn watering, therefore a very crispy, crunchy San Antonio. Last week we had a great few days of rain (our grass LOVED IT), & it is now hovering around 90 degrees - it will actually be in the 80s next week for a few days! I LOVE FALL so I have been trying not to let myself get too excited yet, considering it is still warm, but I see it coming - driving with the windows down, pumpkins & gourds, orange & red & brown, apple cider, jeans with a tshirt & a light jacket - oh I get so excited! Come fall, come!!

scripture & friends

I met with my friend Laura this week to go over our scripture memory. We also have great, encouraging conversation. We are going through many of the same things (spiritually, situationally, etc.) so we are able to really pray for each other. It is a blessing. Here are our scriptures for next week:

Strengthen the weak hands, & make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come & save you." Isaiah 35:5

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, & whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:17-19

Last weekend Claire & Russell came to visit us. We had fun! We went to the stockshow at the rodeo & hung out with pigs, cute cows, chicks, sheep, & other cute animals. Claire & I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic (which was a fun, lighthearted movie - my favorite) while the guys cooked us a yummy dinner of steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, & garlic bread. They are so sweet. Then we went out for desserts, all dressed up. It was a great Valentine's weekend.

Scripture Memory

I am meeting with a friend now once a week for scripture memory accountability. We both have the desire to know the Word, & be able to reference scripture precisely. I'm excited about meditating on His Word & knowing it in my heart & mind! These are the two scriptures we are memorizing for this week:

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock & my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation & my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God." Psalm 62:5-7

"But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.'" Isaiah 43:1

Aren't those verses so good?

Claire & Russell are coming to spend the weekend with us! I am so excited. The guys are going to cook us a lovely candlelight dinner tomorrow night while we go see Confessions of a Shopaholic :-) then we're going out for desserts, all dressed up. Oh & we are planning on a delicious, calorie-laden breakfast tomorrow morning (but not too early of course!). They are precious friends of ours & I am so thankful to get to spend time with them this weekend!

I pray you have a blessed & restful weekend!

I was tagged...

...by Becky to go to my pictures, click on the fourth album, then the fourth picture, post & explain it. So here ya go!



& I'm not even in it! ha. This is Josh & his bff Zac at the Nationals vs. Braves game back in September from our trip to visit Zac in DC. What a fun trip! So fun we are going back this fall as well!

So, I'm supposed to tag four people, but there is only one person that checks my blog consistently that also blogs (that I know of), that has not yet been tagged... WHITNEY!

oh just some things

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I'm not sure that I have an excuse, except that I haven't been inspired to post anything! I'll update you on our lives as of late.

-Kristin & I saw Anberlin in Houston last week & it was super loud & great! We got to eat Panera Bread & a couple of the biggest cupcakes you have ever seen. It was sugary delicious. & Kristin is my hero for teaching high schoolers. Slash, I think she's insane. :-)

-Paige, Molly, Bailey & Allison, my great friends from high school, came in town this weekend & we have some fun adventures, like eating to mariachi bands at the Riverwalk, devouring super yum pancakes & french toast at Magnolia Pancake Haus, feeding adorable zebras at the Wildlife Safari thing, & browsing cute shops in Gruene! There were some memories made!

-God has been refining me, changing who I am, & it is great. Hard sometimes too. But I have been praying, Lord, my heart & mind are completely Yours, change me & make me more like Jesus! & it's amazing that He ACTUALLY does. Who I am, what I think/say/do, the dynamic of my relationships are slowly but surely changing & becoming more like what God desires. It's a process but I am so thankful that He really truly wants to be intricately involved in every aspect of our lives, if only we will let Him.

-I have been in a women's Bible study this fall, studying Galatians, & Josh & I are doing an in-depth study of Romans. I love studying the Word, you never stop learning from it no matter how many times you have read it!

-It's getting cool soon... in the 80s this week, then by Sunday it should be in the 70s! I'm SO EXCITED!

-I want to start taking walks in the evening more often... it's so easy to just be lazy.

-I love my job & the people I work with. What a blessing.

-Sometimes I really miss my friends! Claire comes back to Texas Saturday!! :-) We just love that couple.

Oh I need to go get ready! So, the end!

DC pictures

Here are some long awaited DC pictures!

Here's everything we did, with some pictures:

National Cathedral

Nationals vs. Braves game (we surprised Josh with tickets, he is a Braves fan)

Philadelphia: Independence Hall, Liberty Hall, Betsy Ross House, Christ Church, Benjamin Franklin's grave, Philadelphia Musuem of Art (& the famous Rocky steps), philly cheesesteak (this is not just a meal, it's an event)

International Spy Museum

Washington Monument

World War II Memorial

Veitnam Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Arlington National Cemetery

JFK 's grave & the eternal flame (& Robert E Lee's house, in the background)

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Mount Vernon

Old Town Alexandria

Georgetown

Bureau of Engraving & Printing (where they make money)

Smithsonian Castle & The National Museum of Natural History

White House (tour!)

Capitol tour

National Archives (where the Declaration & Constitution are)

Jefferson Memorial

We also tried to go in Ford Theater & The American History Museum but they were closed... we will see them next time!

It was definitely the busiest vacation we have ever been on! But we had a lot of fun with Zac & Cara & everything we saw was so cool.

A walk in the park

Josh & I took a lovely walk last night. I just love San Antonio terrain. I love all the oak trees (they just grow on their own - that in itself is amazing, coming from Midland). It really is pretty nice outside in the morning & late evening, even though it is sweltering during the day.

On our walk we talked about what God is teaching us & specific issues He has us praying about & researching through scripture. He is teaching us a lot & we are both hungry for scripture & have the desire to know what it says & what it means, making sure everything we do & believe can be traced back to scripture - personal opinions & experiences mean nothing if they cannot be backed up by the Bible.

I am going through Hebrews & I'm pretty excited about it. I haven't gone through it in a while. I'm taking 5 verses at a time, reading them, studying them, listening to the Holy Spirit speak truth through each chunk of scripture.

Lindsey is coming to spend the day with me! It should be a fun time.

I am also excited to receive the cookbook I ordered, it will come by mail any day now. Claire recommended it to me, & I bought it for 31 cents. :-) I love new recipes! Especially easy ones!

We Recycle Now.

I know right? First we get all gas-conscious by trading the SUV for a Corolla, & now THIS?! Are we GREEN??? Okay, probably not. One day I just decided we should start recycling. San Antonio something-or-other-recycling-whatever provides homeowners with a green bin that you can fill with recyclables & they pick it up once a week. There is a lot of stuff we just throw away that we can recycle!! I have a complex about hating to be wasteful, so this fits in perfectly with my mental issues, plus it's good for the environment & what not. So, you should recycle too. :-)

This weekend we had lots of fun with Paige & Jason. We had planned on floating the river, so we went to the spot that Josh & I like, away from the beaten path, & the river that last year took us an hour & a half to float was this year going to take FIVE & a half hours!! It is so low because of the current drought. So, we opted to kayak instead!! Aren't we adventurous?? It was fun (altho it got really tiring toward the end, especially since the wind starting making the water flow backwards for about a mile making it seem like we were paddling upstream), but at one point Jason's kayak knocked mine from the side, pushing me to the right, & right into a tree stump - where a WATER MOCCASIN was nested!!! Oh my. It was really big, & it couldn't have been more than 4 feet from my face. I freaked out juuusstt a little bit. I don't think it ever moved, but I had instant visions in my head of it's big, white fangs bursting forward & sinking themselves into my face, causing me to die a painful death in the middle of the Guadalupe. But alas, I lived to tell the tale. I think it will be a while before I go hanging out in snake-infested waters again tho....

C

Jesus & friends

We have some new friends. Their names are Caleb & Laura (their blog is to the right, The Schafer's blog, if you are interested). I am so blessed by their friendship. Within two times of being around each other, the four of us instantly became good friends, & it's because so much of our conversation is based on the truth of the gospel. We talk about God's Word, how He is working in our lives, about lies & deception we see, about how we struggle & need accountability (this last one is something that should be done girl to girl, guy to guy by the way). They have encouraged us to be bold in speaking to strangers about Jesus. Together we have made packages to give to the homeless we see. Laura & I set a precedent of being real, admitting neither of us like putting on any kind of facade & knowing that whatever the other says is real & honest, not what we "should" say. They are in our life group, along with other amazing couples, & along with these relationships, just being at our church for the past year has painted such a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ to me. There is so much love, service, encouragement, prayer, accountability, & support in that church, all based around truth & unity. God sure knew what He was doing when He told us what the church should look like. It should point us & others to Jesus, & I am amazed that God has allowed us to be a part of something so glorifying to Him, not just our church body, but the personal relationships Josh & I have with others.

At the same time God is trying to teach me how to love people. Selflessness is a difficult thing to master, mainly because the only way we can be selfless is by keeping our minds on Jesus, & unfortunately in a world of self-made agendas & pursuits, that is a battle. But He is showing me how to love & serve, not just people I know but people I don't know as well, & with a right heart, without judgment, with compassion & mercy. Apparently this is hard for me.

God is doing a lot of things, some good, like the first paragraph, some challenging, like the second. But I am so thankful that He finds me worthy of refinement & blessings.

I am so excited... we are planning a vacation! We had thrown around a few ideas of places to go, since we'd like to take some sort of vacation each year, but everything was a little (or a lot) on the pricey side of things. But, Josh's BFF (aeaeae) Zac just moved to DC, & we just earned our second free flight with our credit card (we pay it off each month, we just use it for the benefits & to boost our credit score), SO we are planning a trip to DC! We are super excited. We have never been there, & Zac will be a great tour guide since he has seen all the sites. We are also planning on taking the AmTrak to Philadelphia. It will be a really fun (& cheap!!) vacation!!

Jason & Paige are coming to stay with us this weekend, yay! We have some fun plans... it will be a good time!!

Have a great fourth of July!

C