Houston Bound!

So excited to jump on a plane in ten minutes and meet Mom in Houston, TX! She's flying in from Co and we are having a girls weekend celebrating a year full of memorizing scripture. This is our second time joining the Siesta Celebration and I can't wait to see what Beth Moore has to share with us- I'm ready for my spirit to be filled!!
Great Mexican food, shopping, and fun is also ahead for us this weekend!! It can't start soon enough!

You know one thing that I want to be intentional about this year? It's to NOT be busy. As 2012 kick starts, I'm still enjoying the "new year" feel. I love dreaming about what this year holds and all the fun we are going to have. Oh our schedule will be full and I'll collapse on the couch like I always do when I have a free minute at the end of one hectic day (or rather week) and I'll enjoy the moment of not being busy filled to the brim. But at the end of the craziness each day and each week and eventually each year, I want to see it all as opportunities- not busyness. I feel like our natural response to everyone is "Oh I have been SO busy!" and it totally robs the joy and gratefulness that each day bring. I say it probably every single day. It's one of my favorite words. And as I learned from this post, we as human beings equate busyness to worth. We feel like we are accomplishing something, that we are worthwhile and an important contributor to our world and those around us when we are busy. But what if we could do all that without the negative connotation? That's going to be my challenge this year for myself. And it all stems from what God has been doing to my heart since reading this:

I want my entire perspective to change this year. I want to be thankful for every single thing, no matter if I'm running around about to pull my hair out or if I'm enjoying a quiet moment of nothing. It's in the nothing and in the stillness that God speaks and frankly, I haven't had that in a while. And I'm in desperate need of it. So no more BUSY in 2012. Maybe full, maybe crazy, maybe scary at times, but everything is an opportunity that I don't want to be too busy to miss.

New Year 2012

There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him.” - Fredrick Buechner

I love the beginning of a new year. Something about setting goals, starting fresh, beginning anew... but at the same time I'm always nostalgic about saying goodbye to the year behind.

This year as the clock got closer to midnight I looked at Jake seated next to me, in the middle of a huge party, and said, "I'm kinda sad! We'll never have another 2011!"

 2011 was SO huge for us. On one hand we are so glad that it is over, that we are married, that we have transitioned through everything. But on the other hand, we saw God do so many amazing things in 2011 and the year was so FULL that I can't help but be sad letting it go. We moved homes, moved cities, got engaged, got married, both changed jobs, went to Hawaii, Uganda, and Florida, when we weren't going back and forth from Oklahoma to Texas to Colorado. This year was a whirlwind and yet it was so exciting. One we will remember for the rest of our lives.

But with that goodbye, we say hello to 2012 and all that it entails. We are so excited about what this next year holds and if it is anywhere near what 2011 was, we are totally in for the ride of our lives! Can’t wait to see what God has up His sleeve for us!

Finally, we brought in the New Year with a Blake Shelton concert (guest appearance by Miranda Lambert (his girl!) and Kelly Clarkson!!!), stayed the night at WinStar, and then drove the rest of the way to OKC to celebrate with friends! 

We got to hold and meet 4 day old Lydia who made her appearance into this world almost 3 weeks early! And spent the actual NYE at Price's house, hanging with a bunch of friends, eating WAY too much as we brought in the New Year. It was a great weekend and SO good to see some OKC friends that we miss so much!

So sweet!

I love it when he holds babies!

Happy New Year! May your 2012 be blessed!

Books that changed me in 2011

Idle time was something I did NOT have in 2011... with getting engaged and then married a short 4 months later, changing jobs, moving cities and homes, and just trying to figure out how to do it all, I wasn't left with a lot of extra time. 2011 will be always be such a HUGE year for us but tonight on January 1, 2012 I realized that there were also a few books that really changed me and my perspective in the last year that I had to highlight. I'm always looking for new books that others recommend so if you're looking for a good read you have to check these out:

one thousand gifts. Can I just say WOW?!? My mom gave me this book right before I went to Uganda this summer and it couldn't have been a more perfect time. Ann Voskamp walks you through her journey of changing her perspective through life's ups and downs by starting a list of all the gifts God gives her each and every day. I started my list in Uganda and remember sitting, looking at the Nile river thinking I had SO much to be thankful for. Here are some little joys I wrote down:

1. African Adventure

3. Eyes heavy from fun

5. Songs that make you stop everything- no matter how many times you've heard them

6. Toenail polish and awaited pedicures

7. Spinning fan to relieve me from the African heat

1000 Gifts will rock your world and has permanently changed mine!

This one I'm only half way through. You can read more about it on my other blog, but again, WOW. Katie is an inspiration and reading about her journey really ignites something in my heart. It makes me want to a.c.t. To do something. And aren't those the books that really make a huge difference? The ones that cause us to step out and to really make this world a better place. Such a great read!