ZOO!

Took Owen to the Zoo today with our my friend Trina and her sweet girl, Cassie. We love it and had so much fun!

3 Day Update

I cannot believe in less than a month-28 days to be exact!-Me and my team, along with thousands of other men and women will be walking 60 miles for Breast Cancer research. 60 miles!!!! I am starting to think I'm crazy! =) No, actually I'm very excited to apart of this amazing experience! I'm finishing all my online check in processes, trying to collect all my gear needed for the actual walk and for camping. I'm doing as much training as I possibly can, working with this crazy rainy weather here in GA has postponed some major training walks that were on my calendar, but I'm hoping by next weekend I can get back to that. It's supposed to rain heavily again all this weekend! Most of all I am busy trying to raise all the money I have committed to raising. I have organized a fundraising event at a local coffee shop, where some of my fellow teammates and friends will be singing. I'm really looking forward to this event! The owner had committed 10% of sales to our team for the night, and is allowing us to bring in a donation jar. It should be a very profitable event for our team!! So, if you live in the Atlanta area, please join us at REV Coffee Oct. 2 at 8pm!

As you can tell this event has kept me busy! I am grateful to be apart of something that means so much to me and that supports such a great cause! If you want to support me and just have forgotten or haven't had the chance yet, it's not too late!! You can do so by clicking here. I'm almost there, I have raised $1,090 of the $2,300 which is 47%!!

Above all I want to thank you all for your patience, love and support while I have been on this journey for almost a year!!!

A day with The Wilson's

Owen and I headed north to Chattanooga, TN today and met with our friend's The Wilson's (well, Deborah and the boy's-Patrick was working) These are such dear friends from Colorado and I jumped on getting to spend some time with them. Deborah and Patrick were in our small group and we clicked with them quickly and are so thankful for their friendship. They have 3 little boys-5 and under-Deborah's patience and grace with each of her little scrumptious ones amazes me!

We met at the Creative Discovery Museum and had a lot of fun! There was so much for the boys to see and play with. Everything from special machines that make balls float in the air, to an area where the boys could "cook and clean", to a Curious George exhibit-which my boy loved. He loves that monkey!!!

After the museum, we headed to lunch for some pizza. It was a late lunch and all the kids we very tired. Owen kept putting his head on table, or putting his head in my hand. It was a very good day, with very good friends. I'm so glad Owen and I made the drive and decided to go. WE LOVE THE WILSON"S!

A great devo that spoke straight to my heart...

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11 (NIV)

It is very early in the morning. Not many people are stirring yet.

Though my body begs me just to roll over and go back to sleep, my soul is stirring to get up and go sit with Jesus.

Though I can't physically see Him, I know He is present.

I decide to open my Bible to the Psalms and use the verses I read as prayers to start my day.

And the more I pray those verses out loud the less I hear all the nagging things of the world. A beautiful melody of truth starts to rise up and suddenly my worries fade in the light of God's truth.

His perspective on things that are troubling me starts to over shadow my anxiety. Like shade on a hot summer's day, I feel relief in His presence.

I know that He is preparing me for what I will need throughout this day. He is already standing in every minute of my day and He sees what I will face. So, He's equipping me to be able to handle what is ahead of me with His gentle boldness, quiet strength, and loving grace.

In Psalm 81:10b, God instructs me, "Open wide your mouth and I will fill it." He will give me what to say today. What to say in happy moments. What to say in aggravating moments. What to say in moments where I feel insecure and what to say when I feel completely confident. What to say in disappointing moments. What to say in response to questions.

He also reminds me that sometimes it is good to keep my mouth closed and say nothing at all.

All the words that rumble about in my brain and those that will proceed out of my mouth, Lord, You be the author of those.

Psalm 84:1 reminds me that G od's dwelling place is lovely. So, I ask God to dwell in me richly. I want Him to be what radiates about me. I want Him to be my pretty today.

Not my hair. Not my outfit. Not my efforts. But simply Him and His spirit dancing invisibly about me... shifting a wrong attitude, guarding my words, and whispering constant truths into my heart.

Psalm 86:11 is what I ask the Lord to give me. "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart..."

Lord, may nothing separate me from You today. Teach me how to choose only Your way today so each step will lead me closer to You. Help me walk by the truth and not my feelings.

Help me to keep my heart pure and undivided. Protect me from my own careless thoughts, words and actions. And keep me from being distracted by MY wants, MY desires, MY thoughts on how things should be.

Help me to embrace what comes my way as an opportunity...rather than a personal inconvenience.

And finally, help me to rest in the truth of Psalm 86:13a, "Great is your love toward me."

You already see all the many ways I will surely fall short and mess up. But right now, I consciously tuck Your whisper of absolute love for me into the deepest part of my heart. I recognize Your love for me is not based on my performance. You love me warts and all.

Have mercy, that's amazing.

But what's most amazing is that the God of the Universe, the Savior of the world, would desire a few minutes with me this morning. Lord, help me to forever remember what a gift it is to sit with You like this.

Dear Lord, I love You. All that I have read here is the desire of my heart. I know and confess that sometimes my actions and reactions betray my love for You. Please forgive me. Thank You for Your grace that is able to recognize this new day as a new chance to walk closer with You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Rosa Loves

Our small group stumbled upon this organization a few months back when trying to financially support organizations that were in need. It's a great cause. Basically, what Rosa Loves is, is a group of guys who thought it would be cool to sell T-shirts and donate the profits to causes/people who were in need. But, what they were trying to do is not give to organzations that already had big donors behind them. Their profit's go to everyday people. Anything from coffee growers in Africa, to single parents, to a family who lost their home due to a fire, to a guy who died of a tumor leaving behind a wife and 5 kids who live basically in a shack. Joe has a shirt from there and loves it. The awesome thing is that they are very cool shirts, with very unique designs made on American Apparel shirts. Here's their story:


In the early summer of 2006, Mike Fretto told Chris Lewis about his vision. At that point the idea was just a start: a company that would create and sell t-shirts, and then donate a percentage to good causes. It wasn't until a month or so later that the idea began to take shape. One morning Fretto and Chris met with friend, Jeremy Dean (filmmaker, and the creator of the enlightening documentary Dare Not Walk Alone), at a local cafe to discuss the project and brainstorm about it's evolution. Jeremy has a true heart for people and loves to use his creativity for the betterment of others, and so it was in this meeting that life was breathed into Rosa Loves.

The main idea that took shape was the issue of who, exactly, would benefit from the money that was raised through shirt sales. Instead of donating to larger charity organizations that were already established and had financial support through other ways - it would go to specific individuals with needs in the community around us. It was in agreement that even though there are many wonderful organizations that are doing great, meaningful, and life-changing work, the public can already donate through other avenues - and the cause of the donation seems a little far removed from our reality. It's usually thoughts like,"those people over there" that perpetuate a sense of complacency and lack of concern. Rosa Loves wants to shed light on the stories around us, to give them a real face, a real name.

So, buy a shirt! They are cool, great quality and by doing so you can help someone else. www.rosaloves.com

hats

My little guy is obsessed with hats these days. A few months ago having him wear a hat was nearly impossible, especially when he needed them the most during swimming or being outside. While in California he made the change. My parents bought him the cutest sun hat for the beach and it surprised Joe and I that he kept it on the whole time-without a fuss. He looks so dang cute in them! Since we have been unpacking he keeps coming across all his hats. I am trying to find homes for them, but he keeps dragging them out, and he will wear them in the house for hours. During the weekend I found two fun hats at Children's Place for $1.99 each, so I snagged them up and he loved those as well. He is so fun and I love his little personality!



(PS. don't mind the picture with his sunhat on, i tried taking the red eye out of the picture and did too much! Still learning all the tricks of iphoto!)

O E, O E, O E

We have been working with O on his ABC's and how to spell his name. He shocked Joe and I the other day when we were driving and said his whole alphabet! It's just him imitating us, I'm sure, but I do believe we have a smart little guy on our hands! Here is a short video clip of him "spelling" his name. He used to say "W" and "N" but these day's he is all about "O" and "E".

Walker Street

Well, peeps...We are all moved in and are feeling a bit more settled each day. I have been working on unpacking, and am making some good progress. I get bored and can't seem to stay on one task very long, so I bounce between the kitchen, to our room, to Owen's room and then back to the kitchen. I kinda feel as if I have ADD! So far we are loving living here! It is such a great location-right smack dab in the middle of Smyrna and close to many friends! Owen loves running all over the place and I love it being one level and not having to worry about him climbing the stairs. He will often go in his room and drag out his toys and sit there and play for awhile. Then he will take his tractor and cruise around the living room. But, his most favorite part is the front porch! It' beautiful and big and he loves it-we all do! I will get some pictures of the inside up sometime soon, when it's a little more presentable!

Back and running!

For the past 10 days Owen and I have been in California. Joe followed us there a few days after we got in. We had a wonderful visit as always. I think Owen made some very meaningful connections with family and friends and that makes me so happy.

He especially loves his cousin Kyle and Jacob. It was almost immediate that he connected with them. They were so good with him! They would take him outside, take him up and down the stairs, taught him how to wrestle they would say "wanna fight?" and Owen would ball up his wrists like he was putting up his dukes! Kyle and Jake are going to be such wonderful big brothers to Kailyn and I can't wait to see that unfold. My sister Kim is doing great! She looks so so so beautiful pregnant and is going to be the best mommy ever! She and Joel were so good at helping me with Owen, especially when Joe was not there yet. They were also great about keeping him for us when we got to sneak away for some alone time.

My parents were awesome with Owen as well! Mom would feed him almost every morning for me and change diapers too! Dad was good about playing with O and taking him on special jobs like taking out the trash, or turning on the sprinklers. We were able to go to the beach with just my parents and it was so much fun and I think it was a time when some good bonding to happen between them and Owen.

We also got to play with good friends. We got some good time in with The Bower's. We ate dinner together and took the kids to the park. It was so cool seeing our son's play together, and knowing they will be best buds forever! We also got to see The King's. Although our visit was short with them, it was still fun as usual. Owen and Emma swam together and I got to love on Baby Wyatt!

I had a wonderful birthday celebration with my most of my family. We had a big get together at my sister's and grilled out on Saturday. On Sunday (my actual bday) We went to church in Fullerton and ate lunch with The Bower's at Roscoe's. TASTY! After lunch we headed to Aunt Deb's to swim and hangout.

It was busy-as always-and never felt like enough time to get in with everyone. I am thankful for every minute we did get to spend out there and feel so blessed to have such great family and friends.

Now that we are home, it's all about packing up our belongings, setting up utilities and preparing to move. We are so incredibly excited to be moving and in our own space once again. More on that to come!!