We can breathe again

It was a crazy Spring to say the least. Normally, I am not thrilled about the start of another Summer in Jonesboro as I had been about the start of Summer in Chattanooga in my youth. But this Summer, I welcome with open arms. I am so glad to have some semblance of my family back intact. Mostly, Brad has come up for air...a little. We made it through the LSAT and are awaiting his test score. Meanwhile, I am focussed on Paces work and thoroughly enjoying my life. We are spending time at the pool and my girls are great. Their Grandpa took some pictures this weekend. One, in particular, epitomizes Robyn...



I see that she is definitely my child. So poised in self assurance and sassiness. She is confident about every move she makes and is very head strong. I love it!!! I'm sure we will butt heads a lot in her life. Anyway, not much else is going on. We made it through my first Father's Day without my dad. I was okay until my father-in-law ordered Loaded Potatoe Soup at Outback on that Sunday. One of the last times my dad was in town, just after his Throat Cancer surgery, we went to Outback and he had the soup. This was the first semi-solid food he had had in months and I remember the look in his eyes as he enjoyed every last bite!! But all in all, we had a great day. Brad had to study some, but we got to rest also. We are glad to be moving forward with a lot of new things.

Our friends, the Cebulskis, are getting ready for the Olympic Trials at the end of the month. We are praying Joe makes it to the Olympics!! How cool will that be to know someone in the Olympics!?!! Ta Ta For Now...

The Big Day

If you don't know by now, Brad is taking the LSAT on Monday. He is understandably nervous but feels that he is in a good place. Right where he needs to be with his studying and practice scores. Please pray for him throughout the weekend. Pray that he will have peace and relaxation for the next few days, that we can have some fun as a family to ease and prepare his mind, and that he will do exactly what he needs to do on test day. The test is at 1:00p on Monday in Memphis. I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished over the last year. What a testament to perseverance! Thanks for all your support. I am praying that God be with him and give him strength beyond what Brad can fathom. We are very excited about what the future holds and can't wait to start planning the rest of the journey to law school. It will be three weeks before we know his score, so also be praying that he can relax during that time. We will be glad to turn this corner and start looking ahead. This has been a long time coming even though many of you are just finding out about Brad's ambitions. So, please just send up some strength and encouragement Brad's way over the weekend. Thanks,

Ballet Recital

Just wanted to publish a few pics of Kiley's ballet recital. She did a great job!

Maiden Voyage

So Mom got a boat. Mom has never done a lot of boating. We don't let Mom go out in a boat alone. Mom has a hard time keeping gas in her own car, much less a boat. Do you see where I am going with this? For most of our Memorial Day Saturday, we spent it on the lake, out of gas. Forty-five minutes into our maiden voyage on Mom's boat, she let's me know that she has never actually been to the restaurant for lunch that we are trying to find by water, only by land. Another forty-five minutes later, we are out of gas. Thanks to technology, however, the emergency response team was able to find us via GPS within a few minutes and tow us to gas. See photo below:



Besides that, Kiley had a great time seeing her cousin. They look a lot alike, I think. Don't you?



Robyn was in Heaven on the lake, she is definitely my child!

Weekend Stuff

I intend to post a few pics soon from our Memorial Day weekend in Chattanooga. We decided at the last minute to take a trip to Mom's house. We had not been there since New Year's and were in need of a lake fix. Luckily, Mom got a boat (a story for the next post) and we enjoyed a relaxing weekend on the water. The older I get, the harder these 'road trips' are to recover from. You remember being in college and a few people would decide Friday morning to leave Friday afternoon and wouldn't return until late Sunday. At which time you had only one person's laundry to do, no bills to attend to, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was your gourmet dinner. Now, though, I have four people's laundry, a mountain of bills, and we had better be home before dinner or all hell breaks loose in the back seat from lack of sustenance. I feel more tired from my "relaxing weekend" than if I had just stayed home. Can anyone relate? But, like I told Brad, a bad day at the lake is a great day anywhere else!! I wouldn't trade the time with my girls swimming for anything.

Becoming

I was sitting in church Sunday and Michael Givens got up to pray. Now, I'm sure he said "Heavenly Father as we come to you..." but what I heard was "Heavenly Father as we become to you...". And it got me thinking. In fact, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this slip of the ear. Since Sunday, I have been pondering...what if we came to God this way every time we talk to Him? What a relief that would be. Instead of prayers being driven by guilt and anxiety for all that is wrong, we could converse with God about all the ways we are "becoming" better. I have noted time and again this week ways that I am "becoming" to God. Every day, I am becoming a better mother, becoming a better boss, becoming a better wife, becoming a better friend. And some days I am not becoming any of these things. But what is so poignant about this idea is that every day is filled with actions that cause us to become more or less of whatever it is we want to be and grace to help us get there. It is so gratifying that we can enter this relationship with God where He allows us to "become" and not to have to already "be" where we need to be. I love "becoming"! Every day I am becoming more of the kind of child I want to be for God. Thank you, God, that we can "become" to you!

California

Some time back, Brad and I were invited to attend the Pepperdine Lectureship in Malibu, CA as panelists to talk about church planting. Who wouldn't accept?!! We had a great trip. Although we missed our kids, we got to see two of our good friends, Joe and Laura Cebulski. It was great getting to see them and catch up and see Joe take another step toward competing for the Olympics. Here are just a few of the pictures we took. During our stay, we found some time to visit Hollywood and the beach! We had some great food and although we didn't see any famous people, we went to a couple of restaurants where they go sometimes. That's just the same isn't it? We did just miss Annette Benning and Russell Crowe by a few hours at one place! Does that count for anything? Regardless, we had a great time. We also got to reconnect with a few of our church plant friends from Oregon. All in all, it was an amazing trip. I think I would live in Malibu!

These are in no particular order but first is a Rolls Royce that costs around $400k-$500k. This was just one of the many Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Maybach, and Mazzarati cars we saw. BMWs and Mercedes were about as prevelant as Hondas around there.



Next is the Hollywood sign. This is the best picture I could get.



We took one afternoon and met Joe and Laura in Claremont, CA where Joe was competing. I got some great action shots.



Here Laura is preparing to take a shot of Joe's jump over the bar. Check her blog to see the result!



These are a couple of shots of the Pepperdine campus. It is every bit as beautiful as you have heard. It sits in the midst of rolling cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The view was awesome but walking up the stairs around campus was a workout.





And Finally, Rodeo Dr. We found a $1000 t-shirt on sale for 70% off. What a deal!!



Let me also make a plug for the book The Shack. I took it on my trip with me and this book has changed my life and certainly the way I relate to God and the Trinity. I hope to post more about it later, but it is a must read!