New Years Eve

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 New. Years. Eve.

so…what’s the big fuss about this day, anyway?
it’s like, December 31st. 
*surprise*. it comes every year.
…
staying up until midnight? 
i already do that like 337 days out of the year.
getting plastered and kissing someone?
welp. that can be done any day – although i don’t recommend it.
watching other people party at the ball dropping countdown in times square? 
boring.
we lived in NYC for four NYE’s and never attended that silly shindig.
listing your new years resolutions that you have every intention of keeping?
you will probably fail.
…
there can be a lot of pressure for people on the eve of ringing in a new year.
you must stay up late.
you must have lots of alcohol and kiss someone.
you must have your list of resolutions prepped and ready to attack on January 1st.
you must be tuned into the television watching the times square ball dropping party hopping slobber kissing commercial driven countdown…
otherwise…
you suck. 
…
for us… the eve of the new year is special for a few different reasons other than the ones traditionally celebrated.
it is a celebration of our past, present and future
all wrapped up into one crazy day.
***

Every New Years Eve, we celebrate our past ~ December 31st, 1996 we got engaged.
here’s our super cheesy engagement pictures.
be kind.



Adam proposed to me on new years eve 1996. 
and this wasn’t a simple ‘get down on the knee and ask. sweating. hoping i’d say yes.’ proposal. 
this was an all day affair.
he made me breakfast and then took me on a scavenger hunt throughout the Oklahoma City area and left notes with clues and meaningful gifts at each location. 
he even ‘popped the question’ in the newspaper. but that wasn’t the real proposal… yet.
Adam is a romantic. 
he has always been extremely affectionate and thoughtful.
i am thankful to know how loved i am.

part of the scavenger hunt in front of the dorms at University of Oklahoma, the announcement Adam put in the paper on 12.31.96 and my wedding ring
our engagement announcement in the Edmond, OK newspaper-June 1997
personal fav 🙂 

  

so after our fun day and scavenger hunt ~ we went to Opening Night in Oklahoma City. 
it’s a big nye celebration on a similar scale of times square ball drop. 
well not really… 
but it is a lot of fun.
there are activities, festivities and performances happening throughout the evening.
i thought we were going to see the “Sound of Music”, but he surprised me *yet again* and took me to the Edgar Cruz concert happening a few venues over.
i was onto him when i saw our parents and siblings (previously trying to hide from me) show up at the concert.
so in front of 300-400 people, Edgar Cruz announced ‘there’s a young man in the audience i would like to invite down to the stage’. Adam took me with him and i was freaking out knowing this was ‘the moment’ he would really ask me to marry him.
i said yes. obviously.
after the proposal our families joined us on stage and next we were whisked off in a golf cart to the Fox Channel 25 news area covering the nye opening night action.
we were interviewed and there was a clip on t.v. highlighting our engagement. 
it was super fun and exciting.
similar to our lives now 🙂 …we are never bored.

IMAG3592-1.jpg

love birds + goof balls = us.


and there is something you should know about *my wedding ring*.
it didn’t come from a fancy jewelry store – it came from a pawn/antique shop.
it wasn’t expensive.
it was used – but it shines – and i love it!
my ring reminds me everyday of Adam’s great love for me.
when i see it shine and sparkle, i am reminded of our love increasing thru the years, not fading.
God’s love for us is the same ~ 

it never fades.

we were bought by Him, not at a fancy store, but he paid the highest price with his life and death on the cross. 
*we are used, but shine, for His glory*
…

Every New Years Eve, we celebrate our present ~ December 31st, 2009 Selah was born.
she just turned three years old!
there will be more to her story later…
in her own birth story blog.
*aaaand… i can sense the anticipation as you wait for this forthcoming blog*
Every New Years Eve, we celebrate our future ~ we dream of what will the next year will look like…
we list our goals and resolutions…
we talk about our dreams, hopes, passions…
we pray for continued wisdom, direction and humility…

i already know i’m gonna fail miserably at many of the new years resolutions i set…
i am perfectly comfortable with my gifts and talents of procrastination, running late and forgetfulness.

but in spite of ourselves, the plans we make and what happens in 2013…
this year we will continue to *surrender *trust and *obey the Lord.
as we do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God 
{Micah 6:8}.

***


i love that in any community, even a blog, we can learn from one another ~ 
What are your New Years Resolutions? 
please share.
and thanks for reading! 

santa claus, the tooth fairy and the chippendales

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the truth is, one of my biggest pet peeves on this earth is… [insert drum roll here]
lying.
…
skirting around the issue. 
beating around the bush.
fudging the details.
liar liar pants on fire.
yep. all of the above.
…
growing up, my parents were always honest with me and taught me the value of honesty.
they trusted me and i knew that trust was a gift. so thankful.
when i was around 9 years old, i stole a piece of gum from the local market.
my mom knew it. i tried to hide it with a lie. 
but there was no denying. i was caught blowing a bubble.
i felt remorse for my actions. 
sure. it wasn’t that big of a deal to take a 5 cent piece of gum… or was it?
it was about more than simply obeying the 9th commandment. 
for me, that *sweet pink sugary bubble gum* was a game changer.
…
fast forward 18 years and P.A. and i became parents for the first time.
we had always valued honesty as individuals and in our marriage… but now…
as parents, we were suddenly thrown into the tempting world of ‘lying to our children’.

‘when does santa claus come to town?’
‘how much money will the tooth fairy bring me?’
‘do cats go to heaven?’
‘mommy, what are chippendales?’ 

suddenly opportunities to lie abound around every corner. 
at what age do we tell our kids ‘santa claus’ doesn’t exist?
how many lose teeth go under the pillow before they figure out the ‘tooth fairy’ is really dad?
what do we say after the cat died during thanksgiving break?…and how do we explain what a ‘chippendale’ is?
 …
last thanksgiving, we went out of town to visit my family in Oklahoma. we left our cat *clancy marie* at home, and a friend came over to check on her. clancy was an older cat. we had thought about ‘what if she dies while we’re gone?’ sure enough, she did. 
when we came home, we found her. it was late. the kids were tired and ready to come inside the house. after all, we had just returned from a 16 hour road trip.
what better time to break the bad news?!
we wasted no time.
‘sorry kids, clancy has died.’
simple. short. to the point.
we said good-bye and daddy buried our sweet clancy marie.
then we came inside and talked thru how everyone was feeling as we prepared for bed that night.
you might have guessed- our kids know that santa claus and the tooth fairy aren’t real. and now they know what chippendales are.

we love the show Amazing Race. we watch it as a family on Sunday nights. this season there is a team of friends who are chippendales. we knew the question would come- ‘mommy, what are chippendales?’
…

the truth is…
you’re never too young to know the truth.
in fact, if we are grounded in truth as kids, we will grow up with a stronger foundation of truth.
it’s not just about being a ‘moral person’ or checking the 9th commandment off your list of things to do.
it’s about developing a lifestyle of truth.
it’s the need for an epidemic of honesty to break out. and break all the lies we believe.
it’s about raging against a culture of facades.
television, movies, books, magazines, facebook – they are all stories. some true, but most false.
most are a perception of truth over shadowed by a curtain of fluff.



it is what it is. and 

if it’s not true, it is false.
…
above all, we want our lives to be rooted in truth. God’s truth.
and we desire to instill the value of honesty in our kids.
the truth can hurt. but the lies {even the little ones, meant to do no harm} can hurt more.
lying can breed sin.

‘Gah! are you saying that telling our kids that santa and his elves bring gifts to good boys and girls is a sin?’
no. but start with the little things.
‘sorry kids, life isn’t fair.’
‘sorry kids, i don’t know the answer.’ 
as parents, there is a freedom in telling our kids we don’t know everything.
but we do know santa isn’t real.
sorry kids. he’s not the reason for this season.
‘Gah! well, now you’re just ripping away imagination and fun from their childhood and Christmas!’
no. we’re teaching them the truth. 
don’t worry, our kids still have plenty of creativity and imagination. 
and it’s rooted in truth.
…
start young. share truth. break lies.
life is a gift santa claus can’t give.
Jesus is the only life giver. Jesus is truth.
He is the greatest gift we could ever receive.
the way. the truth. the life.

hemorrhoids happen.

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unless you are plastic barbie doll, my guess is that your life is full of hemorrhoids.
you know… unexpected events, annoying peeps, pesky mice and other fun things we can’t control.
hemorrhoids happen...
unexpectedly, they can creep in and hang around.
inevitably, they will pop up under pressure.
and ultimately, they will irritate you. 
whether it’s election results, sickness, inclement weather, financial flubs, mouse poop and mangled trash, grey hair, rocky relationships, kids misbehaving, family fiascos and other annoying things people do… or don’t do… and their responses or lack of response… or a misunderstanding about something you did or something you didn’t do… or something you said or didn’t say which has been misinterpreted, misjudged, misinformed… the *hemorrhoid happenings* can go on and on and on.
those *fun* life circumstances that you have no control over… they can hang around to irritate like hemorrhoids. 
sooo… whacha gonna do, whacha gonna do, whacha gonna do when they come for you?!
in recent *hemorrhoidal news* our country was divided, choosing between two puppets Presidential candidates to lead us. 
politics. schmolitics. (sigh.) 
is it really worth peoples blood pressure skyrocketing or getting their panties in a wad???
for part of our country, things went “their way” with the re-election of President Obama… and for the other part, “their guy” wasn’t elected, so they consider this another huge hemorrhoid to deal with for the next four years.
our fab fam of five was sick all week. the sickness slowly crept its way around our house, eventually infiltrating all of us. by the end of this week, i personally wanted to scream and took a trip to target for no. reason. at. all. just to get out of the house. aaand *bonus* i ran into a friend there. i felt better temporarily, but the hemorrhoids popped up again in other forms.
in its weakened state, our family had more than its usual share of hemorrhoids. the kids were acting like loony toons. there were all out family feuds. household blunders. leaky toilets. a clogged up sink. bills i kept forgetting to pay. general tasks were neglected. anything extra to do felt like a pain in the a**. and to top it all off // another grey hair emerged on my head. oh hemorrhoids. 
and over the weekend… mouse poop and mangled trash invaded our mini van. about a month ago we found mice *camping out* in our camping equipment stored in the garage. after cleaning everything out we were hoping the mice would just leave. but nope. they had other plans. they boldly hid in our garage for a month and waited for the opportune time to sneak into our mini van and devour fresh snack crumbs. we discovered this fun surprise after the three wee babs and i ran errands all morning, accompanied by the hidden mouse droppings. prepping for a fam bike ride, we were moving things around in the van… and found the droppings. ugh. as we continued cleaning, we found more droppings and mangled trash behind the kids car seats, in their cup holders, on the floor board, etc… adam did an awesome job of cleaning and sanitizing the van and car seats while still salvaging enough daylight to enjoy some family time together. now these little hemorrhoids mice have some lovely traps patiently awaiting their arrival and imminent death. 
but our minor family hemorrhoids [and the major presidential race of hemorrhoids] pale in comparison to the east coast being hit hard by the inclement ridiculously terrible weather, given the sweet name of “hurricane sandy”.  hundreds of thousands of people were in the middle of this catastrophic storm, losing their homes, possessions and some even their lives, while the rest of us went on with our daily routines relatively unscathed. 
{our hearts and prayers are with NYC~when we served at our church Glad Tidings, we lived in Battery Park City~we dearly care for our friends who still live there}
sooo… what do we do when *hemorrhoids happen* in life that we can’t control?
flush ’em out. 
with the Living Water. 
Jesus.
When the hemorrhoids happen and we are in the middle of life circumstances we can’t control, our only hope for true, deep-rooted, unshakeable, peace is a relationship with Jesus. 
what are you going to put your hope in?  who are you going to put your trust in? 
our hope and trust can’t be in our government, health, wealth, weather or anything else… 
these things won’t last, they will disappoint, they will fail… 
only {putting our} hope and trust in the Living Water {Jesus} can flush the hemorrhoids away… 

7 chicks. 11 kids. 1 God.

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on Tuesday’s i host a silly little Bible study…

it’s no big deal. it’s just a handful of chicks and their kiddos.
we just get together to drink…
a lot of coffee, and talk about God.
…
when we get together i fully expect…
large amounts of coffee to be consumed.
meaningful conversations to carry throughout my entire house.
the kiddos to play, bicker, get over it, eat a snack, make a mess. repeat.
and…
a silly little Bible study to *magically* happen among the chaos of crazy kiddos and ourselves ~ distracted chicks who, if given a *moment* of silence, will easily bunny trail, interrupt each other and bounce back and forth around several subjects, while remaining a part of various conversations…
a silly little Bible study where we read a few Bible verses. have some discussion. say a little prayer. repeat.
…
really?! *magic*?! is that all there is to it? 
no. freaking. way.
it is so much more than a silly little Bible study.
…
the truth is
when we get together i fully expect…
coffee consumed.
kid chaos.
shared faith.
prayers said.
hope found.
deeper love.
lives changed.
i fully expect God’s presence to show up. 
…
last Tuesday, God’s amazing presence poured over us.
a glimpse of *Heaven* came down to earth. in. my. house.

sure. i was prepared for these 7 chicks and 11 kiddos {6 and under} to come busting through my door.
i changed out of my stretchy pants, and briefly tapped into my inner ‘Martha’, while preparing to sit as a ‘Mary’ {their story is referenced in Luke 10:38-42} i cleaned up the living room, meanwhile shoving everything else into the bedrooms.
{out of sight, out of mind is my motto}.

i was ready for this silly little Bible study.
i was ready to drink coffee, share in conversation and read the Bible with the kiddos playing and laughing {sometimes screaming and crying} making their beautiful {and sometimes painful} sounds in the background.

i was fully expectant, hoping for God’s presence to show up. and it did.
prayers were shared.
truth was spoken.
bondages were broken.
God’s love overwhelmed us.
…
the truth is
if we are not expecting God’s presence to show up, it is just a silly little Bible study.
without God’s presence it is meaningless to get together, share faith, offer pray and gather hope.
it’s all about Jesus.
we fully expect God to do His thing. to love us. change us. renew us. and lead us to go out into the world. guiding us to love the ones in front of us. and for Heaven to touch earth thru us.
…
I’m a lover of God’s presence.
i can’t wait to see what God will next with these chicks and these kiddos.
i fully expect His presence to overwhelm us, as we enter it with Thanksgiving {Psalm 95:2}.
***
how are you expecting God’s presence to move?

simplicity.

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today is day #4 of wearing the exact same outfit.
i didn’t begin the week intending to wear the same outfit four days in a row…
but as it happened, there was a surprising freedom found.
Monday I put on the jeans i wore on Sunday {so technically it’s been 5 days of wearing the same jeans} and the tank tops, sweater, boots and scarf to make the outfit. then on Tuesday, i had a bunch of ladies and their kids coming over for a Bible study in the morning, so it was just easier to throw on the same outfit than to waste any extra brain power on thinking of something different to wear. then on Wednesday, my mind was on what i was going to wear later for halloween.  
not really.
just kidding.
{as a side note} our halloween clothing was a pretty simple decision:
i dressed as *myself* ~ a super cool mom with a coffee addiction.
the wee babs dressed up in sweet hand-me-down costumes we already had.
score.

Photo: Me & Les!! :-) http://instagr.am/p/Rdw2KtzQl4/
me with my friend Kristen ~ another super cool coffee addicted mom 🙂
Photo: My ballerinas and Iron Man :) #Halloween http://instagr.am/p/Rdy5-opGTu/
the wee babs ~ two ballerinas and an iron man

i think we all looked pretty cute 🙂 

so even though i was not thinking about halloween outfits on Wednesday morning, my mind was distracted *as usual*… hence, i took a whiff of the jeans and sweater and thought they smelled fine…ish. {and believe me, i know a thing or two about wearing stinky pants} i threw on the clothes, sprayed on some perfume and went out the door. then on Thursday, i was running late getting myself ready and forcing the kids to get ready for school… and you guessed it: the same outfit went on again…for the fourth day in a row.
now let’s be sensible. yes, i took a shower. yes, i changed my underwear.
but i have worn the same tank tops, sweater, boots and scarf for the past 4 days…and the same jeans for 5 days.

when i was in college, there was a fellow student in my biology class who wore the same outfit every single day.  he wore a denim button down shirt and jeans.  i always wondered if it was just on the days we had biology… but the other days i would see him around campus, he always had on the same outfit. i wondered why he wore the same outfit everyday, but i never asked him…

maybe it was just easier.
maybe he hated shopping for clothes.
maybe he didn’t have money for more than one outfit.

maybe it was just for the sake of simplicity.

i like clothes. and shoes. and bargains.
i’m not a big spender or a name brand snob, but i do like new clothes. and shoes. especially boots.
there are times in my life when i shop more, and other times when i give things away and forsake all further shopping.
when i do go shopping, i can easily get caught up in a buy/regret/return cycle.
and with 3 wee babs to buy clothes for, this cycle can triple itself.
this can be exhausting.

so for me, it really is better to keep it simple.
and wear the same outfit.
i mostly wear the same things anyway.

so this week i didn’t intend to wear the same outfit four days in a row…
but i am thankful i did…
it reminded me of how much i have… and how little i truly need.
it reminded me of how little the majority of our world lives with…
compared to the excess we live with.
it reminded me of the Pioneer times when American people owned very little clothing… an outfit or two for the work week and another dress for their ‘Sunday best’.
it reminded me how we are blessed with more than enough… and how quickly we can be burdened by living with too much.

i’m thankful for the surprising freedom found in wearing the 
same outfit this week.
simplicity.

…
what have you simplified in your life?