my job

I am so blessed, ya'll!  Seriously- how can I ever complain about my life again??  Taking a long hard look at myself and the things I am thankful for has really made me step back and reevaluate my sometimes (read: far too frequent!) bad moods about my life.  I couldn't ask for more!

Today I am especially thankful for my job.  I have the privilege at working in the children's ministry at my church.  Not only do I work right down the hall from Micah, but I work for the greatest women!  I LOVE my boss, Wendy and the fact that she wants me to first be a MOMMY.  Not only is she the best boss EVER, but I consider her a very dear friend.

Ms. Amy is one of the kindest, quietest, most caring women I know.  I love coming into the office and seeing her at her desk.  She is such a mentor in my life, and I love knowing that whatever crazy thing John Mark may have done that morning, one of her boys has probably done something just as crazy!  She encourages me in my walk with the Lord and I love her dearly.

Kristen and Callie are the energy and creativity of our bunch!  It is seriously such a privilege to be a part of a team with such talent!  And along with their talent is great humility.  Each of them have the joy of the Lord flowing from them and it's contagious! 

When I went back to work a little over a year ago, it was a very difficult decision.  But now I couldn't be happier or more content with my job.  I love these women and count them among my week's greatest blessings!

thankful 7, 8

With this post I will finally be caught up to the day of the month... woo-hoo!

Today I am so thankful for my church.  When I moved to Edmond 10 years ago, I went to Henderson Hills on my very first Sunday in Edmond.  Now for a little background- I grew up in the smallest town, smallest church ever- think 150 on high attendance day... and for those of you who don't know of Henderson Hills, well- let's just say that the student ministry alone is SIGNIFICANTLY larger than where I come from.  So yeah- it was a LITTLE overwhelming.  I walked in, wanted to cry through the whole service and ran out the door as soo as it was over.  It was at that moment that I SWORE I would NEVER, EVER, EVER go to a big church- I just wasn't cut out for it.

3 years later, enter Micah and an internship at- GASP, Henderson Hills.  I was going to a much smaller church in the city at the time, but I knew that if I was going to marry Micah, a larger church might be in my future.  So I started going with him from time to time and fell in love with the worship and the teaching... and over time, as I began serving- fell in love with the people. 

Today I can't imagine being a part of any other church.  We've been here since 2003 and it truly is home.  While it is still HUGE, I've learned the secret to big churches- involvement.  It was once I found my place- student ministry- that the church began to get smaller.  And the more involved I've become, the more people I meet and get to be a part of their lives.

To be a part of a church that so unashamedly preaches the Word and has such godly leadership is SUCH an awesome blessing.  Being part of the staff- both as a wife and assistant- I am amazed at the godly men and women God has brought to this church.  I love that the families of the staff are a priority; that we as wives are encouraged to be the best we can for our husbands... I have learned, grown and become who I am today because of this wonderful place. 

This flows directly into my thankfulness for my ministry.  When I was a junior in high school, I felt a definite call on my life from the Lord.  At the time I just assumed I would probably marry a small town, small church preacher and do preacher's wife sorts of things.  Later in college I worked in the children's ministry at my church and loved that.  I knew that whatever God wanted me to do, I was CERTAIN that student ministry would NEVER be part of it... funny how God has a way of changing our plans!

But I love students- especially awkward, nerdy middle schoolers!!  God has totally changed my heart and I am so glad.  I love teaching- my small group girls, large groups of girls at retreats- it makes my heart sing to share the truth with these students.  I want so badly for them to know the TRUTH. 

I am so very thankful that God changed my heart- and that I was finally open to allow Him to move in my life.  Henderson Hills and their student ministry is where I've found my place and the thing that brings me the greatest joy- besides my family.

thankful 4, 5, 6

Posting everyday is hard!  I've had this post floating around in my head since yesterday and just haven't had a chance to sit down and type it! 

Anyway, things I'm thankful for parts 4, 5 ad 6.

I am so, so, so, SO unbelievably blessed to have been given the family that I have.  See, two months after I was born I was adopted. 

*To answer the questions that statement always brings I will say this: I've just always known, I've never met (nor do I really have the desire to) my biological family and I look just like my daddy.*

So the first aspect of my family that I'm thankful is a woman I've never met- my biological mother.  Without her and her sacrifice, I wouldn't be here now.  I'm thankful that she chose to give me LIFE and that she made the most difficult choice to give me a BETTER life.

I had a couple of friends growing up who were also adopted.  I've often wondered if my life would look like theirs if I had been adopted by THEIR family... but that's a question only the Lord knows how to answer. 

That thankfulness flows directly into my parents.  How blessed am I to have been adopted into a family who loves the Lord and seeks Him wholeheartedly... who taught me of Him from an early age... who loved me as their own without any hesitation? 

My parents have always supported me and wanted the very best for me.  Have I always believed that- of course not!  I was a teenager too, you know!  Have we always gotten along beautifully- no.  But I have NEVER once doubted their love, never once doubted they would be there to pick me up when I fell.  I have always known and FELT their prayers surrounding me.  I couldn't ask for more than that in parents.

I remember when I was in the first grade, a girl who knew I was adopted said to me- "you know, you're mom isn't REALLY your mom."  I immediately burst into tears and ran away... when I got home from school, I collapsed into my mommy's arms crying.  When I told her what my friend said, she took my chin and wiped my tears and said to me: "What is a mommy?  Let's make a list..."  She walked to my desk and got a pad of paper and began to make a list.  We sat there on the bed for an hour, writing out all the things that SHE did for me day in and day out... at the end of the list she wrote: "now THAT is a real mommy." 

Even now, 21 years later, tears fill my eyes as I remember that night.  I can close my eyes and SEE my mom's handwriting, I can picture the list.  I still have that list and would have to say that's one of my most prized posessions. 

My daddy took care of me like no one else could!  To this day, I believe that my love language of "acts of service" stems from my relationship with him.  It was obvious that he took his responsibility of taking care of his girls most seriously.

While some dads were too busy to be at their kids activities, my dad never missed a single basketball game, piano recital, church play... he was always sitting there proudly with my mom (and usually a couple of grandparenst!) and was happy to be there.  That's something I'm sure I've taken for granted far to often.

Ephesians 1:5 says "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ..."  I've always thought that it was so cool and such a privilege to have been adopted twice. 

things I'm thankful for parts 2 & 3...

I'm a few days behind on this whole Thankful November, so today I'm doing parts 2 and 3.  These two really go hand in hand, because they are completely intertwined.

First up- Micah... my sweet, godly, husband- the best husband in the world, I might add.  You know, when I married him 5 years ago (that's a long time- good grief!) I never would have dreamed where our life would take us.  If you read in Ephesians where it talks about the husbands love for his wife, it's described as Christ's love for the church.  Micah is the picture of that sacrificial love.  Seriously.

Not only does he love me more than himself, he shows that love to everyone around us.  He is wise and discerning; he is caring and always puts the needs of his family before his own.  It's obvious that his family is the priority to his life after the Lord.  These aren't just words.  This is HIM.

So to sum up thankful thing number 2- Micah, a man who loves the Lord and loves me.  I couldn't have asked God for a better man.

Thankful item number three is my precious baby... What a whirlwind came into our life 3 years ago when John Mark was born.  I've always said that you don't realize how selfish you are until you get married- and you don't realize how selfish you STILL are until you have a child.

Being a mommy has taught me so much- about faith and prayer... about love and sacrifice... about the importance of life and love and showing the love of Christ in everything.

I will never forget the first time I held John Mark.  I was struck with the realization that as much as I loved him and as much as my heart was wrapped up in that tiny (or not so tiny, as our case was!) body- he's not mine.  He was placed on this earth as a gift entrusted to me from the Father.

I pray that the love he receives from me, the love he sees between his daddy and me, the love that surrounds him everyday points him to Christ.  Because that's what matters.

I have been blessed by my precious boys beyond my every hope and dream.  Isn't our God good??

national blog posting month

So the word on the street (the blog street, that is) is that November is national blog posting month.  I'm not sure entirely the POINT behind this, I just know you're supposed to post everyday.  Maybe it's to raise blog awareness... Anyway, I know that I'm 4 days behind, but I have a good reason- I've been racking my brain to find something brilliant to blog about EVERYDAY for an entire month.

But now I have it.  Since November is also the month for Thanksgiving, I've decided to blog, wait for it... things I'm thankful for!  I know, I know- you never saw that one coming did you?

First and foremost, and no list of things I am most thankful for would ever be complete without this-  is my sweet Jesus.  I'm sure that sounds cliche and there are people who hear that and might roll their eyes.  But I know without a DOUBT that I wouldn't have survived this crazy life without Him.

On Monday, the ladies I work with and I had the opportunity to hear from a child evangelism specialist.  We started the morning off by going around the table sharing how each of us came to know the Lord.  As I sat there listening to these beautiful, brilliant women that I admire so much and hearing their stories- all unique and personal- my heart was deeply touched.  The thought that the Lord, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the One who holds the stars in His hands and knows the cattle on a thousand hills- would call ME His child?  My eyes are overflowing with tears just thinking about it.

And while I asked Jesus into my heart at the young age of 7, it wasn't until many years later that I was able to understand.  And many more years later that I found a faith to call my own.  But I know, without a doubt, that the cold night in January, kneeling beside my blue bed in my bedroom with cats on the walls, after talking with my daddy, is the night Jesus saved me.

And I've never been the same.

the night we met PDUB

If you have facebook, you've probably seen that last night I got to meet a blogging hero. Her name is The Pioneer Woman, but we refer to her lovingly as P-Dub. She writes a fabulous blog that I've been reading for years... and just recently she was able to publish a cookbook.

Last night, at Full Circle bookstore, she and her family were there for a book signing. Jamie, Mallory, Sara, Lauren and I loaded up and went.

We got there at 5:30, signing started at 6:30 and we thought we were good. We were in line into the mall, but still relatively close to the front of the line. We had a fabulous time in line... And I'm pretty sure that we kept the ladies around us entertained.

For example, at one point during the wait, Lauren noticed PW's husband (who we in the blogging world know as Marlboro Man) was walking through the mall, right toward us.

Jamie has a fancy camera and we wanted her to take a picture... but she was on the phone with Chris. So we stood there yelling at her and jumping up and down... This is our recenactment of the moment later-

Later in the evening, her daughters came walking through the crowd. They walked right by us and Sara was bold enough to ask them for a picture. At this point we were all giddy, but still being oh-so-smooth....


Mallory said to them "I like your boots"... Then turned to us and immediately said (in the highest pitch EVER)- "I totally froze!!!" We all CRACKED up and somehow it turned into "BOOTS... PUNKS... RANCH" for the rest of the night... the lady in front of us was even quoting it by the end!

Her husband and two sons walked through the crowd a little later. Sara and I followed (read, hunted them DOWN) and were able to get a pic with them. Jamie, Mallory and Lauren were SOOOO jealous!

We finally made it INTO the actual bookstore and started to get excited... but the excitement turned into more waiting... and waiting... and waiting...


But finally... it happened- we got to meet P-DUB!

She is as cute and as sweet in person as she is on her blog. She chatted with us and commented on all of our clothes.


She loved us so much, she even put us on her BLOG!!


Anyway, to say it was the night or our lives would be putting it mildly.
And now you can all say that you know someone famous. ;)

want to bless someone?

Sara over at sara e photography is hosting a contest.
The prize: a FREE one hour photography session and a CD of high resolution photo files... but not for yourself.
Go to her blog and leave a comment nominating a deserving family who wouldn't otherwise have fabulous family photos available to them. The contest ends October 31, so go now and sign up!

What a great way to start off the holiday season!

And in case you forgot, she took this awesome photo!

back from vacay

We had a FABULOUS trip to Grand Lake this past week. Micah and I started off the week with probably the highlight of his life (besides marrying me and having little boy) which was seeing U2 in concert!! Not only did we see U2- we were up close and personal with them.

I'll post a recap and photos later, just wanted to let everyone know that I am, in fact, alive.

ideas

I need your help!!

Dilemma #1- My old comforter set got ruined... let's just say it involved a leaky pull-up and a tragedy in the washing machine. Anyway, it died. Inspired by Natalie over at The Pettijohns, I ordered a fluffy white duvet set from overstock.com. Um, how have I missed that place all these years?? It's glorious!

Now- what I need your help with is this- I now have a blank canvas of a room! My furniture is black, my bedding is white- I NEED SOME COLOR!! How should I add some color to my room?

Bear in mind the following things:

• I am poor
• I am fairly boring and bright colors scare me
• I have a 3 year old tornado son who thinks it's his job to destroy anything in his path.

SO- the cheaper, calmer, sturdier your suggestions, the better!

Dilemma #2- We're going on vacation next week (WOO-HOOOOO!!) and my all-time favorite vacation activity (besides sleeping) is reading a good book. Last year on our 3 day vacation, I read the entire Chronicles of the King series. Yeah, I read kinda fast... so- I'm looking for an interesting series/author to read through! Please give me some new ideas!

Dilemma #3- Any good road trip needs fabulous road trippin' music! What should we listen to??

Ready, set, GO! Solve my problems! :o)

how could i forget?

I forgot to post my favorite picture of the little boy yesterday!

family photos

The lovely Sara Wheeler took awesome photos of us last weekend. Not only is she a talented photographer, but also a dear, dear friend of mine.

Now I can't wait to see what Sissy Bird cooks up for our family Christmas card this year... I mean, look at these great images she has to work with!

Tony's Tigers

John Mark played his first soccer game on Saturday.
The term "played" is, of course, relative...



His team, Tony's Tigers, is a bunch of kids from church.
You've got Carmine, who just wants to play with the flags on the sidelines...
Rhett, who has more athletic ability in his 3-year-old body than ME...
Sweet Leslie, whose older sister has taught her a thing or two...
Coach Tony, who tried so very hard to pitch the concept of soccer to this motley crue...
John Mark- we'll get there later...
Cassady, who enjoys picking her nose and scoring for the other team...
Haley, who also has it going on...
And sweet Logan- who just wanted to kick the ball.

John Mark started out promising- he was kicking the ball so well... Although, he didn't quite grasp the concepts of: A- not using his hands and B- chasing the ball post kick...

He took a time-out from playing to do the hot-dog dance...

And when it was his turn to sit-out, he walked over and said:

"Coach Tony said I'm done...

Can I get my donut now?"

But he stayed with it...

and had fun- which I suppose is the point of Tiny Tot soccer.

John Mark even comes with his very own cheering crew-

Reminds me of my glory days playing basketball...

The whole fam out to watch.

John Mark is a blessed, blessed little boy and he doesn't even know it!

Stay tuned for more soccer updates.

This can only get better!

favorite bible verse night

Last night was "dress like your favorite bible verse" night at Pre-Stomp. Since I forgot about this unitl 10:00 the night before, I had to come up with something quick and easy. John Mark loves the verse: "I'm the apple of His eye..." so, may I present:

i may or may not have...

*bought Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus last night

*danced to an unnamed Miley Cyrus song while running

*enjoyed a braum's frozen yogurt while watching The Biggest Loser

*cried when Abby got to call her mom during TBL

*forgotten until 10 PM that I have to dress JM up as his favorite bible verse tonight for church

*become obsessed with "Payday Mix"- candy corn & peanuts- and eaten 2 or 3 or 10 handfuls

*been excited that a blog reader saw me around town and recognized me... i feel so famous!

family photos

My sweet, sweet friend Sara took family photos of us this afternoon.
Check us out on her blog-
I can't wait to see the rest of them!

a lesson in snuggling

Last night, we were putting John Mark to bed per usual.
After singing and praying and saying Bible verses,
he looked at me and Micah and said-
"I want you to snuggle me...
Daddy- little bit (insert thumb, finger close together)
Mommy- WHOLE LOT (two hands stretched out)
little bit (fingers to micah)
whole lot (hands to me)
little bit... whole lot...
Got it?"

Seriously- funniest kid ever.

this would happen

So, my life has a way of always being strange...
or strange things happening to me...
Jamie calls it my "beacon."
It's so true... I'm like that 1% of everything.

This morning, I decided I wanted a smoothie.
Now would probably be a good time to point out-
I haven't wanted a smoothie in about a year...
That means the blender has been in the cabinet-
for about a year.

I pull everything out, dust out the inside-
Take a peek and then pour in my milk.
I add a handful a peaches...
And then I see it.
Something brown and crunchy-
with antennaes...
FLOATING in my milk.

Immediately I start screaming.
I'm yelling for Micah...
"There's a bug in the blender...
A BUG is in the BLENDER...
PLEASE GET THE BLENDER..."

John Mark is dancing around singing
"Mommy's blending a bug...
Blend the bug mommy"

Micah is laughing hysterically,
"It's just extra protein...
What's the big deal?"

And I am dry heaving in the corner.

Welcome to my life, friends.
Welcome to my life.

look mommy, i dressed myself

process of a haircut

Saturday was haircut day for the Rigdons.
Well, really just for John Mark-
He needed his "first day of school" haircut.

Now if you remember, JM's not a huge fan of haircuts.
After this lovely little incident, we bought clippers.
I decided it would be better for us to inflict this trauma.

So Saturday morning, we laid out a sheet,
turned on Phineas and Ferb,
and went to town.

The first part of the haircut went off without incident.
He sat still, watched TV and even laughed a little.
I thought we were going to make it.



But then Micah had to switch sides...
And do the bottom of his neck...
And trim around his ears...
And all peace and calm flew right out the window.
There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth.



But then it was over.
And all was well.
John Mark was happy with his new hair-
"I love my hew haircut, mommy."
He was also happy with his ice cream.
Mommy, however wasn't happy with the cleanup.
Can you believe this crazy amount of hair???


Thank goodness for vacuums...

first day of school

John Mark starts preschool today.
I'm excited for him- he has awesome teachers.
But I'm also sad.
PRESCHOOL???
It just sounds so grown up...

He was excited to wear his new "wolverine" shirt.
And show off his new haircut.
He was not excited when I told him they don't get a snack.
I'm not too thrilled with that either,
but that's another story.

A sweet college freshman, Haleigh, watches him for an hour each morning,

Then brings him to me to walk over to school.

It's a nice system, and JM loves Haleigh.

Unfortunately, today I forgot to have her bring his bag-

which has his lunch...

Fortunately we don't live far.

And Micah is at the eye doctor.

So he's bringing the bag to him.

This is John Mark with his teacher, Ms. Casey.
She is awesome.

I know her from my brief year at CLC.

I'm excited he gets to be a part of her class.

Here he is, playing puzzles with his friend Leslie.

I was trying to be sneaky when I took this,

but he obviously sees me.

So to sum it up, I'm excited for John Mark's year of preschool.

I know he will learn a TON,

and hopefully make some new friends.

I'm not excited that he's big enough to be doing this.

He should still be a baby...