freedom day

I love the 4th of July.
I think it might be my favorite holiday of them all.
I mean, what's not to love?
Family, friends, great food, fireworks...
a celebration of freedom...
It's awesome!

True to form, we had a busy, but super fun, 4th of July weekend. We started on Wednesday with the Freedom Celebration at church. There was a concert and fireworks. John Mark loved running around in the grass playing with Caroline, and declared the fireworks "awesome." Thursday after work we headed to Central High to catch the big party at mom & dad's house.

Friday evening lots of our friends and family got together at mom & dad's for lots of good food, homemade ice cream and games. Jonas & Eric walked down to see us for a while in the afternoon. The boys had lots of fun playing in John Mark's kiddie pool.

Owen and Amanda were in town, so John Mark got to have lots of fun playing with his new friend Austyn. They had lots of fun being pulled around in the wagon, sliding on the slide and eating. It's always so much fun to watch John Mark play with other kids. They are all getting so big. I just can't believe it!

The neighbors always put on a great fireworks show, so instead of venturing into town, we just sat at the top of the driveway and watched the fireworks from all around.

Saturday we ate leftovers and rested after the long night. I had a lot of fun walking around taking pictures of mom & dad's backyard. Here are some of my favorites.

moon over central high

the antique tricycle mom & dad redid for John Mark

nanny & grandma- these woman are my truest heroes

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green..." Jeremiah 17:7-8

"but we have this treasure in jars of clay..." 2 Corinthians 4:7

bye bye, colors

Tuesday evening Micah and John Mark were laying in the floor coloring in his new coloring book. They were having so much fun and looked so cute. John Mark has a newfound love of coloring on anything. We are learning "only write on paper."

Anyway, after his bath that night, I was getting him ready for bed. I got up to get his milk and I could hear him talking. When I turned around, he was picking up all of his crayons saying "bye bye colors..." "colors all done..." "night night colors..." It was the absolute cutest thing I have ever seen!!

Please excuse how disgusting he is in this last picture... he had just eaten something (shocking, I know!!)

long overdue (again)...

I am so sorry for my lack of recent updating. We have so much going on, which is leading to some hilarious pictures and video, but it is also keeping me from having the time to post!!

We have now crossed Middle School camp, VBS and the 8th Grade Trip to Six Flags off our summer "to-do" list. Now we have High School Camp and Kids Kamp left. Fortunately those things are at the very end of the summer. Unfortunately, so is John Mark's birthday and our anniversary! I like being busy though. I seem to thrive in chaos. John Mark is being quite the trooper too and going with the flow very well.

Before you start feeling too sorry for us and the insanity that is our life right now, know that we are having plenty of fun family time in our down time. We took John Mark to see "Kung Fu Panda" at the theater last weekend. He loved it and sat pretty well through the movie- that is until the snacks ran out. At which point he loudly proclaimed "eat pizza now." Fortunately we were near the end of the movie and he held through to the end and we got to eat pizza in the food court.

Here is the promised picture of the black-eye that was the result of last weekends dancing incident. It is looking better now, but he keeps falling down and getting more bruises. My parents got him golf clubs and he uses them as a horse, guitar and umbrella. Yesterday he decided to try all 3 at once and fell down the steps to his playroom, resulting in a bruise and bump on his forehead! Silly boy!

Last night we made a quick trip to Central High to wish Jonas a very happy birthday. The party was a kiddieland, which brought back lots of memories of my childhood. I am pretty sure I have this same picture of me and JJ (Jonas' mom) when we were about this age, riding these very same airplanes!

I think that brings us up-to-date. Micah is doing awesome at his job with the Middle Schoolers. They are starting to figure him out and I can see them growing to love him. It makes me so happy every time I see him talking with the kids... speaking messages that I know God has given to him... even showing off his sweet dance moves! I can see the light in his eyes that comes from doing what God has called him to do. I am so proud of him!

hair cuts and owies

This is John Mark modeling his new, super cool, summer, big boy hair cut. I was tired of how sweaty and gross it gets every time he gets hot (which is ALL the time) so we decided to just cut it all off. He looked in the mirror and said "non-nart hair... go?" But I think he likes it. It makes him look a lot older.

He also got his first major owie- a nice, fat black eye... just in time for Father's day and all the fun pictures I wanted to take tomorrow. He was dancing in the office with Micah- to Jordin Sparks' "No Air"... make fun of Micah for that later :) He decided to start spinning, lost his balance and hit his eye on the corner of the file cabinet. Poor little guy screamed for about 30 minutes. We turned on cars, gave him juice and animal crackers and he finally calmed down. I didn't get a picture of the damage... I'll have one after tomorrow and will post it then.

We finally decided to buckle down and hang things on the walls today. Our office/guest room had just been the holding room for everything we hadn't found a place for and it finally drove me insane. Somewhere in the midst of everything I was going through, John Mark found the glue gun. He carried around everywhere, hitting walls and doors. When Micah got on the couch to hang the pictures over it, John Mark got up behind him and said "daddy fix it... non-nart fix it." It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen!

sweetness

It's been a whirlwind two weeks.
We spent last week in Gerty, OK at Camp WOW.
It was an awesome week full of Middle School students,
crazy games and of course Jesus.

Hearing the gospel presented is always so inspiring.
Late Wednesday evening, I walked across camp
thinking about the songs we sang,
the beautiful simplicity of the gospel.

Micah and I were discussing how the older we get,
the more complicated salvation becomes...
more difficult to explain.

And then today, at VBS,
I heard the gospel presented to 600 elementary kids.
The beautiful story touched my heart.
I remembered what it was to have true faith...
the faith of a child.

I want that again-
to know that I don''t have it all figured out,
but it's okay because HE has the whole world in His hands.

"Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him
How I've proved Him over and over
Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus
Oh, for grace to trust Him more."

cupcake boy

On Thursday I was making our bed when I noticed that it was unusually quiet in the living room. I walked into the room and this is what I found. Apparently John Mark pulled the container of cupcakes from the top of the cabinet and helped himself to the cupcakes that were left. Oh- there were about 6 cupcakes left... He looked so cute sitting there with icing all over his face that I just couldn't get too upset with him.

memorial weekend

This was a wonderful weekend for us. We didn't have anything planned and loved just spending quality time with each other and our dear friends.

Saturday we didn't do anything really. I cleaned the house and Micah played with John Mark. I know that it sounds really boring, but it was such a fun day!

Sunday was church and then we had a barbecue at the Wehunts. That is where these pictures of John Mark and Caroline are from. They had such a fun time running around and "climbing" the tree. By climbing, I really mean me and Jamie holding them up in the branches until they were tired and said "down."

Monday we went to the zoo and saw the animals. John Mark loved being at the zoo with daddy (he is much more interesting than mommy!) and got to ride the carousel and kiddie train. He had so much fun that he wore himself out and was asleep before we got out of the parking lot. We rounded out the evening with popsicles in the driveway. We figured that he was already a sticky, sweaty mess so why not add a little more sugar to his nastiness!!

It was a great weekend spent together, especially considering we are going to be busy for the entire month of June!

always be weather aware

Today we were sitting in the living room when Micah and I noticed that it was abnormally quiet in the back of the house where John Mark was playing. I went into our bedroom to investigate and this is what I found...

John Mark had pulled everything out of my closet and was sitting on the ground. I guess he was thinking that we were going to hide from the tornadoes again! Then he proceeded to make me get in the closet with him. What a silly boy!!

I have a lot more pictures from this weekend, but I will leave you with these for now until I have a chance to post again.

love wash over a multitude of things

It's been three years today since my life changed.

Three years since I sat on a couch,

tears streaming down my face,

scared to death of the choices I faced.

I was given a gift that night-

a gift I had thrown on the ground months earlier,

carelessly choosing to discard such beautiful love.

Little did I know that gift-

one handpicked for ME,

from the Giver of every good and perfect gift-

that gift was bursting with grace.

Today I am overwhelmed with gratitude-

to the Giver, the gift,

and everyone in between who has walked this journey with me.

I love you.

There is a love that never fails

There is a healing that always prevails

There is a hope that whispers a vow

A promise to stay

So come with your love and wash over us

--Sara Groves

my apologies

My sincerest apologies for a lack of posting. We just got internet at our house today, and Micah has been out of town for a week with the laptop, which was my alternate way of posting.

It's been a busy couple of weekends for us. We celebrated Tiffany's graduation from UCO with her Master's and Mother's Day this past weekend. It was a fun weekend filled with family and love.

Micah left early Monday morning for a staff retreat in San Antonio, leaving John Mark and I behind. I proudly survived my first 3 nights alone EVER, I think, in the history of Stephanie! In the past I have always had someone stay with me if Micah was out of town. I braved the week alone though and I have to say- it was a surprisingly good week. I never realized how much my being gone in the evening relied on having Micah at home to stay with John Mark!!

This weekend is HS graduations and parties. I am planning my pre-k graduation on Wednesday as well. The rest of May is already shaping up to be crazy busy, then we're off to Middle School camp the first week of June. I can't believe that is already here...

In John Mark related news- he is getting bigger and sillier everyday! His new favorite words are "whoops!" and "elbow." He loves to be outside and gets really upset when we have to come in. It just doesn't even seem possible that he is almost 2 years old!

Well, I guess that is all I have for now. John Mark just poured a cup of water on himself and me. Guess I'll clean that up now...

way too many pictures

I have had way too much fun with my new camera. In fact, I took over 100 pictures on Sunday in the backyard... I will spare you looking at all of them, but this one is my absolute favorite. How can you not just love that smile?

I worked my first full day yesterday at the office. I had a great day and God answered my prayers for peace. John Mark had a fun time with mr. chris. Chris even taught him to say "YEAH!" and put his thumbs up. It's probably the funniest thing that he does.

Here is a slideshow of the tons of pictures that I took. Enjoy!!

new camera, zoo trips and fiestas

Our camera died.
And by died, I mean was thrown across the room by a certain little boy we all know and love.

The result- these awesome pictures with lovely lines across them.

So we got a new camera-

a totally awesome canon power shot!!

I am posting this picture anyway, though because I love these girls! This was after the girls retreat last weekend. We are rocking our "Hollow" t-shirts. They are an awesome band you should check out now!

Anyway... we went to the zoo twice this week. On Wednesday with my pre-k class from school and today with Jonas and Eric. Wednesday was miserably windy. Today was perfect. The sun was just warm enough and the boys were GREAT!! They loved looking at the different animals and we even took a ride on the carousel. John Mark was the only one who seemed to really enjoy the ride though.

After a full day of playing with friends at the zoo, John Mark and I went to a fiesta being thrown by some girls at church. We had fun playing with the kittens and rock band!! Now he is completely worn out and sleeping in the chair with Micah. If I hadn't taken so many pictures today that the battery was dead, I would take a picture of that to put on here.

13.1- still smiling

I ran 13.1 miles this morning.
I ran it in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 23 seconds.
That's a 10:39 mile, if you were wondering.
As I sprinted across the finish line,
hands held high in victory,
clutching tightly to my friends,
I laughed and I cried.
It was one of the most inspiring, difficult, beautiful experiences of my life.

Inspiring-
because seeing 18,000 people take off in memory of those whose lives takes your breath away.
At the very first turn of the marathon,
we were going up a hill
and in front of us was literally a sea of people.

because in those moments I felt so weak and tired
humble people sitting on their front steps cheered me on...
my 2 best friends came alongside me and pushed me to endure...
my Jesus whispered words into my heart....
and I knew I would make it.

Difficult-
because for the first 8 miles a driving north wind cut into my face,
a cold drizzle melted into my skin for several miles.

because around mile 10 my ankles were so weak
I was afraid they might break.

because 13.1 is quite a bit further than 10!!

Beautiful-
because God met me there,
revealing a little bit more of Who He is.
At mile 7 I took out my headphones and listened-
to the pounding of feet on the pavement,
to my own breathing,
to the prayers being whispered from my heart.

because this was more than a race...
this was my life story
strung out across 13.1 miles of pavement.
Parts were fun and easy,
a little bit like a party.
Other parts were so hard I wanted to cry.
But I had sweet friends running with me,
each step of the way.
Without them I wouldn't have made it-
today, and in every aspect of my life.

because crossing that finish line,
holding hands with Marcy and Kelly,
gave me hope-
that I will be able to make it,
no matter what life throws at me,
as long as I have my Jesus and the people He has given to me.

"I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith"
2 Timothy 4:7

a friendly picnic

On Monday, Caroline came over to hang out with us while Jamie went to a meeting. We had a great time playing and coloring. That girl completely cracks me up. At one point she was singing the ABC's with so much passion her face was turning red and she was grunting.

Seriously- funniest girl ever!

Caroline calls me "stephie." She was running around the house saying things to me and the next thing I know, John Mark is running around saying "stephie, stephie." Fortunately he doesn't realize that "stephie" is "mommy."

I sat John Mark's coloring table in the middle of his playroom and gave them their lunch on it. They had so much fun eating their chicken nuggets and peaches. It was totally obvious that they really thought they were big kids for eating by themselves in the playroom.

It was a great Monday!! We love Caroline!

the perfect day

Today was the kind of day
that makes you want to stop-
to reflect on all the good,
the blessings.
To say "thank You"
to the Giver of every good and perfect gift.

We sang my favorite song in worship.

The wind was blowing just right,
causing the living room blinds to clap joyfully
as I sat on the floor reading.

I spent quality time with my Jesus-
studying for my breakout lesson
and running in spring air.

Children played in their yards,
daddys mowed,
mommys planted tulips and pansies
as I ran by.

I baked yummy fish,
with new potatoes and green beans for supper.

And the perfect end to my night?
Snow cones,
shared with John Mark
while sitting on the front porch.

"Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save,
He is mighty to save...
Forever, Author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave."
--Mighty to Save, Hillsong

and in other news..

I have accepted a new job.
Starting in June, I will be the assistant to the children's director at HHBC.

It was a very serious, difficult decision.
We prayed, cried and discussed A LOT.

But after much seeking,
we felt that we couldn't deny that God had opened this door.

And so in June,
I will be leaving my baby for 32 hours each week.
If you think of me,
say a quick prayer!

rest

We moved last weekend
into a lovely house-
complete with a gorgeous kitchen,
clean bathrooms (YAY!)
and a PLAYROOM for all of little boys toys.

Our move did lose one thing-
our internet and cable.
2 streets from our old address
our internet package was not available.

So here i sit, in the dark
using wi-fi to post to this blog.
Random Micah music is playing through the speakers.
John Mark is sleeping in bed.

And for the first time in a long time,
I feel settled.
Peaceful.
My heart is at rest.

Listen, God,
I'm calling at the top of my lungs:
"Be good to me! Answer me!"
When my heart whispered,
"Seek God,"
my whole being replied,
"I'm seeking him!"
Don't hide from me now!
--psalm 27:7-9 (msg)

watering the flowers

Micah went out of town this weekend to visit a friend, so John Mark and I loaded up the car on Thursday evening and headed to mom & dad's. We had a great weekend full of playing, laughing, and of course- eating!! It was too cool to spend very much time outside (especially since I only packed shorts for JM- oops!) but on Saturday it finally warmed up enough for us to go outside. "Out" is one of John Mark's new favorite places to be and words to say. He loves to run to the window, pick up the blinds and stand behind them saying "out" over and over.

Because it was finally nice Saturday evening, we let John Mark play outside. He decided that mom needed help watering the plants she was putting out for spring. He had a great time pouring the "wa-ler" from his watering can into the flowers... on the sidewalk... on himself... you get the picture! He loves to do anything that we are doing!!

Last year at a garage sale, mom bought him an antique tricycle that she is planning on redoing for him to ride on. He found it in the garage and decided to take it for a spin. He doesn't quite get how to make it go, but he loved holding onto the handles and being pulled around the driveway!

When we got home this evening, John Mark ran in the house saying "daddy! daddy! daddy!" and running everywhere looking for Micah. I was very sad to tell him daddy wouldn't be home for a few more hours. But boy will John Mark be excited when he wakes up in the morning and daddy is home!

poppy's boy

When I was a little girl,
my parents always sang the same lullaby.
It was a simple song they made up
to the tune of "this is the day."

"This is daddy's (mommy) girl

This is daddy's girl

And her name is Stephanie..."

Over and over until my eyes,
finally heavy in sleep
would close for the night.

John Mark gets the same song.
Every night with them he hears

"This is poppy's boy

This is poppy's boy

And his name is John Mark..."

Over and over until his eyes,
finally heavy in sleep
close for the night.

Tonight was no different.
Dad had John Mark in his chair,
John Mark was laying there
when I noticed he was singing words:

"poppy's boy

poppy's boy

non-nart"

He was singing my dad's lullaby to himself.