Miami - A Small Bit of Sabbath

I know this was a couple of weeks ago now, but Miami was such a blessing. Kevin had a conference there and I got to spend the day here...

Just me, my IPOD and Harry Potter (# 5 - I am a little behind) from 11AM to 4PM. It was such a good time to relax and breath. The beach was amazing - some clouds, but mostly sunshine and a cool breeze off the ocean. Perfect weather to sun bathe. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous. This was the walkway that led to the pool.

The company that put on this conference had an awesome dinner party every night, so I would come up to the room after spending time on the beach and get ready for the evening. We had dinner on a 4-story yacht one night and another night was called Havanna Nights - there were flame throwers, jugglers and a band. They went all out. It was such a blessing to get away for a couple of days with the hubby and relax. It was very much needed. As soon as I returned home I hit the ground running at work. I am very grateful for the small bit of Sabbath that the Lord blessed me with in Miami.

Happy Birthday Kev

Miami was great and I will blog more about this throughout the week, but this past weekend we celebrated Kevin's birthday. It is not the way I would have celebrated, but it is exactly what he wanted to do. His parents came up for the weekend and we spent the whole weekend in the yard. We planted flowers, trees and shrubs. We were all exhausted by the end of the weekend, but it was worth it. The flower beds went from looking like this:

(Yes they are filled with weeds.)

To looking like this:

Amazing I know. That was just the back yard. We also did the flower beds in the front.


As we were working in the yard I asked Kevin why he chose to do this on his birthday and he replied my birthday is just another day. I disagreed - I told him that it was this day that the Lord brought him into this world and that made the day special. I am such a lucky lady. God has blessed me with a great husband. Some of the things I love about him are his love for others, the way he is talented at things you wouldn't expect (computers, wood working, and gardening), his patience, his sincerity, and the way he can make me laugh. He is a gift from God that I hope I never take for granted. I am very thankful for March 17.

Moments from God in Times of Busyness

This past week has been busy. Actually the past 2 weeks have been. I have been working non-stop since the end of February. I think today was the first day in a month that I have slept in. Crazy how busy we get at times and how life just zooms on by. Even though I have been extremely busy there have been moments sent from God that I don't want to overlook or forget...

1. Having coffee with 2 girls in my youth group.
2. Eating dinner with a friend from CA that was in town for Spring Break.
3. Having friends over for dinner.
4. Playing (I should say attempting to play on my part) ultimate frisbee and basketball with some boys in my youth group.
5. Getting a pedicure with Kara that was given to us for Christmas from a co-worker (thanks Michael and Leah).
6. Having lunch with a friend at Square's Bar-B-Que - catching up and learning more about one another.
7. Getting ready to go to Miami - a business trip for Kev and a time of rest and relaxation for me. (I can't wait!)

What are some moments in your life that have been a gift from God in the past couple of days?

6th Grade Girls Dinner

This past Saturday night the 6th grade girls put on a dinner for their parents. The teachers in their class, Diane, Candy and Julie, made this experience possible. The girls met for weeks on end for 3 hours each Sunday to plan for the big event. During this time they develop lasting relationships that give them a foundation for the hard middle school and high school years ahead. The Lord has used this team of teachers in mighty ways to impact these girls lives. This is especially evident on Senior Sunday when the Senior girls remember some of their most memorable moments at Highland - the 6th grade girls dinner always seems to be metioned. It was so amazing to sit and be a part of what God was doing on Saturday night.

Birthday Bests

Wednesday was my birthday and here are some of my favorite moments:

1. Having breakfast with Jennifer Porter - one of Highland's missionaries and a good friend of mine.

2. We had breakfast at AM donuts - cash or check only - which we did not know. So I was going to run to the nearest ATM, when a complete stranger who was in front of us offered to buy our breakfast. She was such a sweet lady and truly a gift.

3. Celebrating my birthday with the staff at Highland and in Faith Decisions class that night.

4. Lunch with my good friend Kara.

5. All the sweet calls and cards I got throughout the day.

6. My husband waiting on me to get home from church. He was sitting in the dark and had his flash light spotlighting my birthday gift in the living room. He got me an IPOD and we went out to a nice dinner.

It ended up being a good birthday.

The Oscars

I absolutely love the Oscars! I thought Ellen did a great job and was so natural as the host. I was excited to see Jennifer Hudson win best supporting actress and to see her, Beyonce and Anika perform. It was outstanding! The cool effects they did throughout the show were amazing as well - like how did all those people to make the sound effects and how did those people behind the screen make themselves look like those objects? AMAZING! Jaden Smith was so funny - he covered so well when he missed his line. I loved it when Ellen came out and almost vacuumed up Penelope Cruz's dress - which was beautiful. The dresses were spectacular as well - especially Helen Mirren and Cate Blanchett. I also loved Forest Whitaker speech. It is just a fun night for us movie lovers. What were some of your favorite moments?

What a Weekend and What a Husband!

This weekend we had our first ever Winter Retreat - I know it is 80 degrees outside and not really winter, but the ice storm in January pushed us back to this weekend. This retreat is the first one I have ever done at Highland that has consisted of both middle school and high school students - we had about 80 of them in all. It was amazing - the last lunch of the retreat I remember looking around and listening - this was the first time that I can remember where our youth group has been all together and in community. It was a great weekend.

The theme for the weekend was Crushed. We jumped into 2 Corinthians and talked about what a hard-pressed life looks like and how we are not crushed because of Christ. The students wrote on tiles the things that seem to be weighing heavy on them or seem crushing. They then crushed the tiles and those crushed pieces were made into crosses - to symbolize that Christ can take crushed lives and put them back together. It was a good weekend.

I also have an amazing husband. He went on this retreat and helped me lead a group. He supports me in so many ways, but I love it when we get the opportunity to do ministry together. It is also the little things that make him so great - after the crosses had been made there were pieces of tiles left over and Kev stayed up late to help me put one together for my office. I love and appreciate him more than he will probably ever know!