Haiti and everyday life

Life can sometimes be frustrating. Things like our dog digging out, finances in preparation for the baby boy that will be joining us in June, and a crazy basketball schedule can wear you down and really take a toll on how you look at everyday life.

Matt and I start to get stressed out, and we get crabby. We are both tired and stretched waaay to thin....which much of is our own fault! It's easy to get stuck in these things and forget about the world around you. We forget how much we have to be thankful for, as we get so consumed in our everyday tasks that lie ahead. When I stop to consider the struggle and pain that other people are experiencing, it embarrasses me how easily I get upset or frustrated with my circumstances. An eternal perspective is what I have been called to have, and situations like Haiti are quick to remind my heart just how out of line it can become.

The images that have infiltrated our homes since the earthquake in Haiti are heart breaking and mind blowing. My first instinct is to turn them off and shut out the pain that I know is quick to follow. My heart aches for those people, and the awful things that they are experiencing. And as usual, my first instincts are wrong. I cannot ignore the pain and the situation. It seems so gigantic and it's tempting to simply say what is my small amount of money and prayer going to do? We have been called to bind up the broken hearted, and to minister to the least of these, and there aren't any qualifiers in those commands. It's for everyone. Here's our opportunity, and with whatever tools you and I may have, let's get started.

Merry (late) Christmas

We hope Christmas found everyone happy and doing well! It was an interesting holiday with all of the snow and ice. Between a paranoid husband and parents lecturing me about falling on the ice, I didn't get to leave the house much... but it was still a fantastic time with all of our family!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!!

Christmas with the Parentals

So we had our annual Christmas celebration with my parents last night. It was wonderful as always. We made homemade pizzas, and all kinds of other yummy food to start off the night. My parents are so wonderful and I am so thankful for the relationship that Matt and I have with them. I mean how could you not love this man.... We all decided to cut down this year on gifts for each other, but I think my parents didn't get the memo! Matt got a new playstation and I got the cutest pair of TOMS ever. My Mom was so cute, as she was talking about getting me, and a child somewhere both a Christams gift.

They have statistics on them about how many people still don't have clean water in the world, and the number of people that are dying from AIDS each day. I will proudly wear them in hopes of bringing a tiny bit more awareness wherever I go. Wearing TOMS has given me countless opportunities to talk about the issues that lie to close to my heart, and I hope this pair is no different!

We got lots of other gifts as well, but the big surprise of the night was my parent's Christmas gift for their first grandchild. They gave us a voucher for any crib we wanted. I of course cried....well, because it's just what I do these days!

So now, any advice on cribs? I have researched quite a bit and looked, but I am still so lost. Go for the 4 in 1 or just go simple and get other beds later on? Should everything match and be from the same place? Ahhh, the questions never end. So, please do tell. :)

Black Friday shopping with crazies!

These crazies are also known as 3 of my favorite women on the face of the earth....my Mom and my two Aunts.

These women are hardcore and I've been in training for years. In my family, you don't go shopping with them on Black Friday until after you're married, as this is when you start buying your own Christmas gifts for the family, and have the motivation to save the $$$!

We rolled out at 3 a.m., and headed to start our 13 hour day of shopping! Hubby was a little worried about me being tired this year due to little Bambino Bolz, so he said I could go if I was in bed by 9:00, which I begrudgingly agreed to. They are like the Energizer Bunny and never get tired, it's unbelievable! They actually took extra breaks this year (for my benefit) which they would lie about and say they needed, so I wouldn't throw a fit about being babied. I guess hubby was right because I actually had to sit down on a step stool in Kmart for like 10 minutes, I guess Bambino Bolz made me get tired a little quicker than I thought! :)

It's one of my favorite days of the year with some of my favorite people. It's a family tradition that we all dearly love, but not nearly as much as I love these crazies!!! :)

Operation Christmas Child

I kept thinking I was going to blog about this weeks ago....but well that just didn't seem to happen. This year the tiny little church that I go to gathered, packed, prayed for, and delivered 121 boxes to Operation Christmas Child. I couldn't be prouder or feel more blessed to be part of a congregation. Our church has come so far in the way they think about missions, and what is going on in the world around them, and I definitely pray that this is just the beginning!

Here is the picture that was used for Operation Christmas Child this year. Wish it was a little clearer so that you could see the true joy on their faces. What a privilege to be able to give them two gifts this Christmas season- a shoe box full of dolls, flashlights, pencils, etc. and also introduce them to Jesus. I pray that these boxes find their way into the perfect tiny set of hands! If you get a chance check out Operation Christmas Child, they are being the hands and feet of Jesus all over the world.

Anniversary Trip to Vegas

Matt and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We stayed for 3 days, but I'm pretty sure we walked 1.3 million miles...give or take. :) I think I'll just let the pictures do the talking... Please excuse the lack of make-up and the super shininess (is that a word?). It was the last stop of one of the days we walked all day long. We always tried to end with the fountains, they were our favorite part of Vegas!

Here we are in front of the Bellagio. Matt was excited to go into this one because he LOVES the Oceans 11, 12, and 13 movies. It was fun to try to figure out what was filmed where!

This is the statue of liberty at New York, New York. We ate several meals inside. We stayed in the Monte Carlo, which after visiting all the other casinos, we discovered that it was one of the quietest casinos on the strip. Very family friendly, and lots of older couples, which was kinda nice it was quiet and we slept great!

So on the first morning there while we were still asleep, there was a knock at the door. I of course freaked and jerked the covers over my head. I couldn't figure out why Matt wasn't freaking out, and responding to my shrieks. He calmly answered the door and brought in this gorgeous vase of flowers for our anniversary! He had called the hotel ahead of time and had it arranged to suprise me!

This is the picture we took after we went to the Blue Man Group show. It was incredible, and I highly recommend it. After the picture I turned around to thank him and to say how much we enjoyed the show. He of course stared at me with the same look that you can see in the picture. I guess you just can't take the Oklahoma out of the girl no matter where you put her. :)

It was a fantastic trip, and a great time for Matt and I to celebrate 3 years of marriage. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and the relationship that Matt and I have ranks pretty close to the top of the list!

ummm....is this thing still on??

So I've totally dropped off the face of the earth this summer. I have no excuse other than the busyness that was our summer. I'll give you a rundown with some pictures and explanations, and I will be better about posting...I hope! :)

The summer has been completely full of all kinds of wonderful things, but it has definitely left me wishing for a few less events scheduled on our calendar. More time to cook out, and take my puppy for walks, and sit on the couch and relax...definitely more down time in the near future I hope!

I, along with around 20 other people from my church, went to a local lake here in Oklahoma and put on a week long Backyard Bible Club with carnivals in the evenings. It was a great experience, and so fun to get to work with people as they experience mission work for the first time. Some of the kids we worked with came from backgrounds that would make most adults shudder, and yet they were still joyful. Some of it was heartbreaking, but it was rewarding to get to be his hands and feet and love, hug, and teach these kids for a week.

Here are some pictures from our trip...

I didn't want to put any pictures of the kiddos on here, because I'm not sure I'd appreicate that if I was the mama!

I also went with Matt to Falls Creek as a sponsor. I just love those kids! We had a great time, and it's such a blessing to see their eyes be opened to all sorts of things going on around the world. I was really impressed with the way that they helped to focus them (and us adults) on others and the pain, sorrow, hunger, etc. that is all around them. They also encouraged them to not be so centered on themselves. I unfortunately was only concerned with myself at their age, so it's great to see them teaching that!

We did fun things like karaoke and theme nights, it was a blast! More pics...

This is Matt and his twin brother Mike, and their little sister Mallory dressed up!

Lastly, Matt and I helped with VBS this year, and the theme was Veggie Tales, The Pirates who Don't Do Anything. Matt was an eccentric scientist named Professor Red Beard, and I was shipmate Ali who was in charge of the 4 year olds. We had a blast, but we were TIRED by the end of the week! Here is a picture of us in our costumes. The picture is terrible, but you get the idea.

There's more, but that's enough for one catch up post! What have you done this summer? Did you relax enough and take time to smell the roses?