Happy Valentine's Day!

my heart

I love music.
It can make me happy, sad, excited or calm.
It can take me back to a memory.
It can take me straight to the Throne.

A couple of months ago,
I needed a healthy dose of Truth.
So I made a playlist of worship music-
songs that were full of Truth,
reminders my heart has clung to in recent weeks.

I wanted to share it here-
in case you are in need of a mini worship session.
Each of these songs speaks to my soul.

*Have Your Way- Britt Nicole
But you never said the road would be easy,
But you said that you would never leave.
And you never promised that this life wasn't hard,
But you promised you`d take care of me.

*My Brightness- Charlie Hall
Your presence always heals me
so I want to drink it in
You know where we're going God
You know where I've been.

*Your Love Never Fails- Jesus Culture
The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails

*Hanging On- Britt Nicole
And when the darkness falls
I can't see what's before me
Your voice is like the dawn
Always there to guide me

*You Are God- Andy Kirk
You are God and You’re unchangeable
You alone are faithful and true
We could search all of heaven and earth just to find
There is no other God, there’s no other God like You

*Our God- Chris Tomlin
And if our God is for us,
then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us,
then what can stand against?

*Hope Now- Addison Road
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

*I Have to Believe- Rita Springer
I have to believe that He sees my darkness
I have to believe that He knows my pain
I have to lift up my hands to worship
Worship His name

*Spoken For- Mercy Me
Now I have a peace
I've never known before
I find myself complete
My heart is spoken for

I hope these songs can bless you like they've blessed me.
What is your favorite worship song right now?

the day we met P-Dub (again)

Do you remember a little over a year ago when all my dreams came true and I got to meet the Pioneer Woman in REAL LIFE?  I do... it was life-changing, really!

Anyway, on Saturday she was in town AGAIN, doing a book tour for her latest book.  Of course as soon as I saw on her website that she'd be here again, I immediately rallied the troops and we made plans to be there.

It all started with lunch at Zorba's.  After filling our tummies with hummus, falafel and gyros, it was time.  We headed to full circle to wait for the book signing to start.

 We got our books and found a spot to stand in the crowd.  In the corner, we noticed a random microphone on a stand... this started us thinking that maybe she was going to do a question and answer session with the crowd.  Our heads started spinning for an awesome question we could ask...

A few minutes later, it was happening.  PW took the stage and started chatting away.

It was at this moment, brilliance struck.  We dared Lindsey to ask PW if Cowboy Josh was interested in a red-headed ballerina... She was the second person to be handed the mike.  She was shaking and nervous and we were all laughing hysterically.  The conversation ended with PW asking for Lindsey's number.  Success.

Then we sat down and waited.  And waited.  And waited. 

Finally, it was time.  We all go so excited and when we walked up to the table, the first thing she said was "I met you girls last time, didn't I?"  That's right, people- the pioneer woman REMEMBERED us.  Be still my heart.  After laughing and signing, and dropping Lindsey's business card off, we took our picture and we were done.

It was an amazing experience, one we will remember forever.  Thanks for being so awesome, Pioneer Woman!  We crazy Oklahoma girls love you!

*all photos from sara e!*

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Apparently I have moved to Colorado or Maine or something because it won't STOP snowing...  I mean, I'm all for a good old fashioned snow day.  But we've been snowed in since Monday night, and tomorrow it's supposed to be above freezing (38 degrees- woo!) for the first time in days.  But don't get too excited, because MORE SNOW is coming next week...

So what have we done for the past week of snow?  Tuesday we didn't leave the house because it was SO cold and snow was blowing like crazy outside.  Lesley and I made a craft.  I watched movies with Micah and John Mark... read a book... played a lot of words with friends...  We never ventured out the door once.

Wednesday was still ridiculous and cold, but at least the sun was shining.  JM had big plans to build a snow fort and he wanted all our friends to come over and play.  We called up Lindsey and the Stulce's, who braved the roads and drove over.  John Mark had a blast building an epic fort and having a snowball fight with the boys.

The girls lasted outside for a total of maybe 30 minutes, then went back inside.  We played rummy-cube, ate taco soup and laid around doing nothing.  Jason (who "lives for this!!") and Micah drove around to check things out and came back with coffee.  A couple games of settlers later and the guys went back outside.  Jason built an igloo for John Mark.  He was so excited!

After eating Hideaway and some more settlers, Jason and Mal headed home.  Lesley also found her way home and we watched a lot of Friday Night Lights.

Yesterday I went into the office for the day.  I'm not going to lie, it was nice to get out of the house for a while.  I'm not good at being stuck at home!

Today I went to lunch with a friend and then we actually went shopping.  I made some cute flower/bows for a friend's baby shower on Sunday and my niece Elliana.

Tomorrow I need to go to the gym and run as many as I can stand on the treadmill... then we get to go see the Pioneer Woman at a book signing.


What have you done on these snowy days?

a snow day craft

In case you haven't heard, it's snowmageddon outside today.
Last night, Lesley called and said she didn't want to be snowed in at home alone, so she came over.  We went out last night and did a little stocking up of our own at Hobby Lobby.  I mean, if we were going to be stuck inside for the next few days, we might as well have projects to keep us busy.

Here's project #1 of Snowmageddon 2011-
A valentine's day wreath.

This was a fun little project that didn't take long at all.
I started with a styrofoam heart from hobby lobby and some gray yarn.

I spent an hour or so wrapping the yarn around the heart.  This is a good, mindless project to do while watching a movie (or a Say Yes to the Dress marathon, thank you netflix) and chatting with a friend (Sissy Bird).

After you have your heard covered in yarn, start making some felt flowers.
I forgot to take any pics of this process, but it's quite simple.
Step #1- cut a circle.
Step #2- cut the circle into a spiral.
Step #3- roll the spiral until you have a flower.
Step #4- hot glue the end piece to the bottom.
And there you have it- beautiful felt flowers in four easy steps!

Grab some tulle or ribbon, tie a big bow and hang!

A fabulous, simple wreath made on a snowy day!

Marathon Training- Week 3

I'm so glad to be writing this wrap-up of week of training.
Mainly because it means this week is OVER.

Because of the events of this past week, my training was less than stellar- as was my eating, sleeping and everything else I've tried to be conscious of in recent weeks.  Pretty sure the two boxes of valentine heart cakes and large sonic coke zeros with vanilla I've consumed is NOT part of my marathon healthy eating plan.  And don't even get me started on my sleep patterns for the week.  Anyway, I did manage to get my 3 days of running in for the week.

Monday- I woke up to a weather forecast of 16 degrees, feels like 8.  I debated meeting the girls outside for our first day of speed work but then decided I was too much of a wimp for that.  I went to the gym and did my 3 miles of fartleks the treadmill...

Wednesday- Considering I spent all of Tuesday night crying my eyes out and knew what was coming (and wasn't going in the office that day) I really thought I was going to just run later in the day.  But Carrie talked me into going with them and getting it out of the way.  I'm glad I did, because I'm pretty sure that 5 mile tempo run wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Saturday- The training plan called for 12 miles.  Twelve miles... in week three, people.  It really made me question what I'm getting myself into. I met Carrie and we took off.  We had beautiful weather- sidenote: It officially makes me feel crazy that I wake up excited to see a temp of 38 degrees and think its going to be so warm!- and that made such a HUGE difference in the run.

I don't feel too bad for having run an almost half-marathon today.  My legs are a little tight and my back is sore... the worst thing- my TOE.  The middle toe on my right food it purple, swollen and HURTS.  After some advil and staying off it this evening, it's doing better than earlier today.  Hopefully it's just that my toenail is dying and will fall off (is that really the brightside?).

Long Run #3: 12 Miles
Average Pace: 9:07

Mile #1:   9:32
Mile #2:   9:25
Mile #3:   9:30
Mile #4:   9:12
Mile #5:   8:57
Mile #6:   9:02
Mile #7:   8:58
Mile #8:   8:50
Mile #9:   9:05
Mile #10: 9:03
Mile #11: 8:48
Mile #12: 8:50

Check out those totally awesome negative splits... and, I just have to brag, the only times we rested were when we stopped for water.  No walking breaks!  Could it be that we're ACTUALLY getting stronger?

what a week

"Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you."
--Psalm 25:4-5

This definitely goes down as one of the longest weeks of my life.  Last night we announced our resignation from the middle school ministry at HHBC.  God is doing something new in our lives... that much is evident.  What exactly, well, we're not so sure.

The Lord is good and does what is right...
He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
--Psalm 25:8-9

I'm learning a lot.  About faith... about the goodness of my God... about listening and being still.  I don't know where we're going, where this path may lead.  But I know two things to be of utmost truth- my God is GOOD and what he does is good, and my husband is the most amazing man I've ever met.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, 
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
--Lamentations 3:21-24

I'm excited to see where this journey takes us.  It will be an adventure, and there's no one else I'd rather have by my side on this adventure of life than the man I love.  If you think about it, say a little prayer for us... for peace, wisdom and clarity.  We'll take all the prayers we can get!

"the goal is not to frantically hang on to the end of our rope, but to let go. When self is done, Jesus is more than enough." --Louie Giglio

dwell in the land

“Dwell in the land and be faithful…” Psalm 37:3

I read this verse on a friend’s facebook status today and it hit me like a ton of bricks.  God is funny like that, isn’t He?  He speaks to us at anytime, if we will only listen.

Life has been a little on the difficult side in recent months.  I’ve had a lot of questions, and honestly haven’t received many answers.  I’ve wondered what I’m even doing, and what God’s plan is in the middle of this chaos.

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  Micah 6:8

Today I realized- these questions have already been answered.  His Word has showed me what I am to do.  Dwell in the land and be faithful… faithful to what?  To justice, mercy and humility… if I have those three things, if I’m faithfully pursuing a walk with my God- it doesn’t matter where or what I’m doing.

Can I just tell you what relief came from this?  My heart feels freer, ready to follow hard after my God.  Because He is good, isn’t He?  And what He does is good.

Marathon Training- Week 2

Well, another cold week of marathon training is in the books!  I don’t have much new to report.  I ran, I did body pump and ran some more!

But in an effort to remember how this training went down, I’m going to go ahead and recap the week.  I apologize now for the rambling.

Monday- Micah was with the Middle School students on their mission trip, so I couldn’t run early.  I came home from work (where Micah and JM were napping, I might add) and went to the gym.  I did 4 miles on the treadmill.  I tried to mix it up a bit and played with the speeds throughout the run.  It ended up not being too terrible, other than the fact that it was a million degrees in the gym!

Wednesday- I met up with Carrie, Kala and Rosemarie (from here on out, I will refer to them as “the girls”) and we pounded out a 5 mile tempo run.  Our first mile was 10:24 and the next three were right around 9:00, followed by a 9:45 cool down.  I love running with these ladies- it gives me motivation to get out of bed!

Saturday- Long Run day… we had 9 miles on our schedule, and since I had to leave Edmond at 9 to get to Central High, I met Carrie at 6:30 to do a quick 3 before meeting up with the Running Buddies to do their scheduled 6. 

Long Run #2: 9 Miles
Average Pace: 9:21

Mile 1:  9:38
Mile 2:  9:21
Mile 3:  9:21
Mile 4:  8:56
Mile 5:  9:18
Mile 6:  9:26
Mile 7:  9:22
Mile 8:  9:31
Mile 9:  9:17

- On Tuesday I did BodyPump (my new obsession!) and on Friday I did 45 minutes on the elliptical plus some serious stretching.  Thursday I planned to do push-ups and abs, but that just never happened!

It was another great week of training.  Here’s to next week!

random thoughts

1.  I really love watching the weather.  It's a quirk I picked up from my dad- who thought no day was ever complete without seeing at least one weather forecast.  And considering in Oklahoma you have about 50 to choose from, this isn't difficult.

2.  I love country music.  I've been on an old school country music kick lately.  Many thanks to Lindsey for teaching me how to create a playlist on youtube... I can load it up with whatever music strikes my fancy and listen to my hearts content.  Today's guilty pleasures include- "What's it to You" by Clay Walker and "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Reba.

3.  I have the funniest kid in the world.  Now, I know what you're thinking- everyone thinks their kid is the greatest- but seriously, my kid is SO FUNNY.  For instance, yesterday there was a rubber snake outside of my car when I left work.  Today it was still there, so he suggested we pick it up and put it by Mallory's car... I can't wait for her reaction this afternoon!

4.  Skinny Caramel Macchiatos are my obsession right now... The fact that my Monday/Wednesday running buddies meet in the starbucks parking lot is doing nothing to help this obsession.  Temptation hitting me in the face after cold runs twice a week... it's a shame I'm not made of money!

5.  I found this new website- Goodreads- and it's pretty much the greatest thing ever.  I can see what everyone else is reading... then add it to my list... then go to the library and check it out.  Last Friday I went and picked up the 5 books I had placed on reserve.  When I saw the giant stack, I thought that maybe I was a bit optimistic in my ability to read all 5 books over the next 2 weeks. 

6.  From watching the weather, I hear we might have snowmageddon this weekend, which would give me time to read those 5 books.

7.  We got rid of cable.  In effort to simplify our lives, it was the easiest thing to eliminate from the picture.  So far, the only thing I really  miss is DVR.  And the real reason I miss that is fast forwarding through the commercials!

8.  Friday Night Lights is the greatest television show ever (besides friends, duh).  Micah and I have been watching season 1 on Netflix and I can't get enough of it!  Yesterday at lunch with Megan, she said "anyone, from any walk of life, loves Tim Riggins."  A true statement, my friend!

9.  If snowpacolypse does happen, I will be torn between my need to read all five books and watch Friday Night Lights...

10. I don't really have anything else, but I couldn't end on number 9.  Does that make me weird?

slobbery Joe

Let me set the stage for you.  Micah didn't have a job when we started dating, so all of our dates were ridiculously cheap.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that we are the reason Sonic stopped offering the totally awesome 2 corndogs for 99 cents special they ran that October.  I mean, the awesome cheapness of that deal coupled with my love for corndogs meant we were there at LEAST three times a week... probably more.

During this time, Micah lived at home with his parents.  That's not that weird, and it didn't bother me.  However- he was allergic to their couch.  I'm still not 100% sure how that's possible, but he was.  I knew this before we started dating because I'd spent a lot of time over there with his sister.  I never really paid attention to it though, until we were dating and went over to watch a movie and couldn't sit together...

So here is where our story begins.  We were on our second date (99 cent corndogs, anyone?) and had gone back to his house to watch a movie.  Because of the whole couch allergy, Micah sat in the chair beside the couch and I sat on the end of the couch.  We held hands across the middle.  Yeah, it was as awkward as it sounds. 

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am notorious for falling asleep during movies.  This was no exception.  At some point in the movie, I fell asleep on the couch, still holding Micah's hand.  When the movie ended, I woke up and felt what could only be drool on my hand... I was a little embarassed by this, and then it hit me- I had been holding HIS hand... and if the drool was on MY hand that could only mean that the drool was also on HIS hand.  I fell asleep and drooled on his hand on our second date...

Yeah, I'm lucky I got a husband.

Marathon Training- Week 1

Technorati Tags: marathon training

1 week down, 15 weeks to go!

I wanted the whole 16 week plan on a single sheet of paper I could hang on my refrigerator, so I could always see my plan and where I was at in it.  I really love how it turned out, and so far it’s keeping me motivated.   Ask me in 10 weeks or so and I might be singing a different tune!

[click to enlarge]

Anyway, Monday morning began my training with freezing temps, 0* wind chills and a chance for snow!  I loaded up and went to the gym to get my 3 miles in on the ol’ treadmill.  I hate running on a treadmill- mostly because of BOREDOM.  But also, it makes it all to easy to quit.  I mean, you can always turn off the treadmill and drive home… when you’re outside and 5 miles from home, you’ve got no choice but to suck it up and run the 5 miles back!

My Wednesday run turned into a Thursday run, because I was too lazy to get out of bed!  But I went to the gym early Thursday morning and put in 5 whole miles.  I did the warm-up and cool-down at 6.0 and the tempo 3 miles at 6.8.  Surprisingly, this wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be.

And today was my first long-run.  Carrie and I pounded out 8 miles on this very cold morning.  I have got to get some good gloves- my $1 target gloves just end up sweaty, turning my fingers into ice cubes!  That was the coldest part on my whole body!

Long Run #1: 8 Miles
Average Pace: 9:14

Mile 1:  9:37
Mile 2:  9:42
Mile 3:  9:31
Mile 4:  8:48
Mile 5:  8:59
Mile 6:  8:57
Mile 7:  9:07
Mile 8:  9:03

Seriously, I can’t believe how much my running as improved.  Speed work and weight training has made SUCH a difference in my running.

Overall, I’d say it was a great way to kick-off this training season.  I can’t wait to see what the next months hold for me. 

The Domino Effect

My good friend, Lesley is hilarious. There’s just no other way around it. We all like to tease her because funny stuff just happens to her. Anyway, after much prodding from all of us, she decided to start a blog- “Why I’m Still Single.” Go read it. It’s so funny.

Anyway, one day she texted me and said that really, I could have a blog too. Only mine would be titled “why I’m lucky I got a husband.” It’s true. So that started the idea in my head of a series of posts on here. Really, they’re just embarrassing stories that I’ve probably never shared in public.

First of all, I must ask- please don’t judge me based on anything you read in this post. I was young. I was crazy. I was trying to scare off a boy who I was pretty sure liked me, but I was pretty sure was too good for me. This is the story of the first time Micah came to my parents house.

I was a senior in college and had planned a trip to Dallas for labor day weekend with some friends. For reasons I can’t remember, the trip to Dallas fell through and we ended up going to my parents house to hang out. Emily had asked her brother to go with us to Dallas, so he I went ahead and invited him to come with us.

That night, we broke out the double-nine dominos for a good ol’ game of Mexican Train. For the life of me, I have no clue why that’s what we chose to do. That’s really a strange thing for a group of college students to do for fun.

Now, here’s where it gets a little ugly. One of the girls with us played the game a different way. And when she told us how they play the game, everyone thought it was great. For some reason, I FLIPPED OUT. I proceeded to yell and throw dominoes… I mean, it was bad. It’s kind of funny now, but really- what was WRONG with me?

Ironically, Emily’s brother just sat there the whole time with a little smirk on his face. After my rant, and everyone else was more or less done with me, he leaned over and explained the new rule to me.

Ironically, I understood perfectly and we were able to move on with the game.

Ironically, 7 years later, he still sits with that same smirk on his face when I go off on rants and then calmly explains things to me.

Yeah, I’m lucky I got a husband.

New Years 2011

I realized that I never recapped our New Year’s Eve from earlier in the month.  It wasn’t exciting, but in the effort of documenting our year, here we go!

After much debating, Micah and I decided that we’d rather just hang out at home with JM than find a sitter or make any other plans.  So that’s exactly what we did!  Micah wanted steak to eat (when does he NOT want steak?) so I cooked that and some veggies.  We ate at the table on fancy plates and drank sparkling grape juice.  JM felt like such a big boy!

When we finished eating, we played a couple of games that JM wanted to play with us.  Then I pulled in blankets and pillows onto the living room floor, where we made a big pallet.  We ate cupcakes, drank hot chocolate and watched “Despicable Me.”

By the time the movie was over, it was 10:30.  We turned on the NYE shows and watched that until the east coast rang in the new year.  I got out fun glasses, put sparkling juice in them and we all “chinked” in the new year. 

JM went to bed right after that and was out immediately.  Micah and I watched a couple episodes of “Chuck” (our latest obsession!) and rang in the new year with a kiss and another “chink.”

It wasn’t much, but it was perfect.  I loved being home with my two favorite people.  I loved being in my sweatpants.  And I loved that it was exactly what we wanted.

Monster Trucks

On Friday night, we went to a monster truck rally at the Lazy E.  John Mark’s buddy, Gwen, and his family invited us to go with them.  It was so much fun!We started with dinner at Railhead BBQ- a hole in the wall restaurant out in Guthrie.  I think it’s important to mention that John Mark proceeded to eat a fried chicken leg, a corn dog and french fries.  After filling up on yummy burgers and fries, we headed out.We got there early enough to get some great seats.  We were right above the parked monster trucks and I spent most of the night keeping JM from hanging over the edge of the rail… He and Gwen wanted to get as close to the action as they could.About 30 minutes into the races, JM started complaining that he was hungry.  How it was possible he could be hungry, I’ll never know.  He shared some cotton candy with Gwen and his sisters.  I couldn’t get a picture because we were both covered in sticky mess!After the show was over, we got to ride in a Monster Truck.  It was so much fun.  I have an awesome video that involves JM screaming like a girl, but I can’t figure out how to upload it.  I’ll have to put it on here later.

It was a lot of fun, and I’m so glad we went.  Thanks for a great time, Mullin family!

2011 Goals

I just love a fresh start, don’t you?
The first page of a journal…
The blank pages of a new planner…

And here we sit, 3 days into a new year, a whole 362 days stretch before me, wide open with possibility.  I know there are people out there who don’t love resolutions or goals, but I am not one of them.  I like having a clear picture in my head of what I’m working towards.

So as I’ve thought and prayed over my goals for this new year, I’ve come up with quite a list.  Some of them are personal, between me and the Lord.  But a majority of them I want to share here.  Maybe they’ll encourage you… or you can encourage me.  That’s what this whole community is about anyway, isn’t it?

#1. Spend time with the Lord EVERYDAY.  I know this should be second nature by now, but reality is, I go in waves.  This year, I want to live a life fully surrendered to Him.  And I can’t do that if I’m not spending time with Him.

#2. Memorize two scriptures a month.  I’d love to do more, and if that happens- great!  But I want to end this year with 24 verses in my heart. 

#3. Run a full marathon.  I’ve said it before, but this time- I’m ready.  I’ve got training partners, a kick-booty plan and MOTIVATION.  I’m turning 30, you know… and this has always been something I’ve dreamed of doing.  This is my year to find that dream.

#4. Blog more.  I kind of fell into a rut last year, and now that makes me sad.  I hate that I don’t have a clear record of our lives from the past year.  This year, no matter how mundane or boring, I want to document our lives.

#5. Take more photos!  I love pictures.  I always have.  But sometimes I start to feel silly taking my camera out wherever I go.  No more.  I’ve signed up for 365project and I’m sticking with it!

#6. Eat wholesome, real food as much as possible.  This means less eating out and more cooking at home.  This means making a meal plan and grocery shopping.  I know that eating real food is the best thing for all of us- it’s just not always the most convenient.

#7. Be intentional in my relationships.  I want the friendships that I have to be growing and full of the Lord.  I want to encourage those around me in their walks.  I want our conversation to be seasoned with grace and wisdom.

#8. Read at least 4 non-fiction, spiritual growth books.  I love to read, and can devour a fiction book in no time at all.  Give me a book that is about something important, and chances are, I’ll never finish it.  It’s sad really, but something I know I need to work on!

#9. Date night with Micah once a month.  Life gets so busy, and it’s easy to let the time we spend together at work and home count for our dates.  But I know that we need intentional time set apart for the two of us.

#10. Get rid of all the junk we don’t need.  I have an entire closet full of stuff that if it disappeared tomorrow, I would probably never notice.  I need to seriously go through stuff and get rid of things.

So there you have it… my top 10 goals for 2011.  I’ll leave you with my memory verse for this week:

Colossians 3:12 “therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Christmas 2010

I love Christmas.  It's easily my very favorite holiday.  All the parties, presents, time with family, FOOD... what's not to love?

This year, John Mark and I went to my parents on Thursday night.  Micah had to stay in Edmond to be at the Christmas Eve service, so we rode down with Tiffany, Russell and sweet Tanzi Rose.  John Mark loves his new baby cousin and talked and sang to her the whole trip to Central High!

Christmas Eve dawned cold and rainy.  I spent the majority of the morning parked on the couch, loading music to my parents laptop.  Grandad got Nanny an ipod shuffle for Christmas, and we wanted to give it to her loaded and ready to go!

Since I was little, we've celebrated Christmas with my mom's side of the family on Christmas Eve.  We eat snack foods, read the Christmas story and open presents.  This year was no exception!

After presents, Micah and I took JM down to my parents house and let him open his Christmas Eve present from us- it's always a movie and pajamas.  This year he got Toy Story 3 with woody and buzz lightyear pajamas to match!  Unfortunately, he was tired and cranky, so we didn't stay up to watch the movie.

After John Mark went to bed, Micah and I put together his stocking.  I think putting together his stocking might be one of my favorite things that I do at Christmas.  This year I went to a fun candy “boutique” in downtown OKC called Pinkitzel.  Ladies, you HAVE to go there!  It’s so much fun!  I found lots of great stocking stuffers for John Mark and Micah!

The next morning, Micah and I actually woke up before John Mark.  We went into the living room (at my parents), turned on the lights and made some coffee.  We woke him up, and much to my surprise he told me “he wanted to sleep just a little bit more.”  That was really just 5 minutes and he was running in, ready for presents!

The ONE thing that he asked for was a “Hot Wheels Color Changer Thing.”  He saw it in the Target toy catalog and had his little heart SET on it.  Every target in OKC was sold out of it… it wasn’t available online… After days of searching, I finally found it on the Kohl’s website.

To say he was excited it a complete understatement!  We opened the rest of his presents, and then daddy put together his awesome hot wheels toy.  Micah got the axe for camping that he asked for, and they surprised me with an ipod shuffle to use when I run.

After that, we got around and ready for the rest of the day.  Family came over and we had a huge lunch.  We spent the rest of the afternoon laying around, playing games and chopping wood (that one was Micah!).

I had such a blessed Christmas.  God is so good, and the best gift of all is that He sent His Son to earth.  That’s what we celebrate.  Everything else is just a bonus!

this is a new year

this is a new day to rise,
shine, lift up your eyes...
this is a new year,
this is a new day to rise,
shine and point the way to God's great light
--charlie hall, new year

I've been thinking a lot about the new year, and all it will hold.  2010 wasn't exactly the best, and to be perfectly honest, I've spent the last couple of months wallowing.  There's a lot of questions I have, and I haven't received any answers... so I've just sat back, pouting, and stopped actively pursuing the things I knew I should.  My heart has been continually broken over this during the last week, and I have felt Him drawing me back to Himself.

So in 2011, I want to step it up a notch... to learn and surrender, fall more deeply in love with my Savior.  I want to spend time with Him everyday and memorize scripture.  I want to journal more and recount the things that He is teaching me.  I want to intentionally meet people who don't know the Lord and share the gospel.

These are just a handful of the goals I have set for myself for the coming year.  I have others, in other categories... but I know that ultimately the success of this new year lies solely in the hands of my Lord.  And if I do all those other things, but neglect Him, I will have failed.

i laughed until i puked...

literally.
AKA- our small group Christmas party.

Background information:
Every Sunday night, we meet with 10 other people for bible study, fellowship and prayer.  It's a great thing, really.  If you haven't found a small group in your church, you should.  Anyway, last night was our Christmas party.  We all gathered at the Fites house with snacks and $10 gift cards for dirty santa. 

Here's the story:
After eating our weight in little piggies, sausage balls and other yummy snacks, we moved on to the other room for games.  There's a couple of games that we play everywhere we go, and one of those is the bowl game.  Everyone puts in 3 things and then you have 3 rounds of having your team guess them. 

It was my team's turn and Dustin was giving us clues.  He said a chocolate dessert, I said pudding... some more people yelled things and then time was up.  The word was actually "malt" and so we were laughing.  I took a drink of coffee right as Mallory asked "so, what was the deal with pudding?" 

I started to laugh, with a mouthful of coffee and tried to stop and swallow and breathe at the same time... I ended up running into the kitchen, where I proceeded to start gagging, gasping and seriously could. not. breathe.  I started to get scared because I couldn't catch my breath...

All of a sudden, I threw up. 
With all my friends in the other room.
And Jacie offering to do the Heimlich on me... 
Definitely in my top 10 most embarrassing moments of all time.

After I threw up, I was fine.  My breathing went back to normal and my heart rate slowed back down... I drank some water and went back to the bowl game.

Moral of the story- don't drink and play the bowl game.  Bad things will happen. 

The Christmas Chain

Every year, our church does an amazing Christmas production. 
Every year, I think how cool it would be to be a part of it.
Every year, I chicken out and don't to do it...

But this was the year!  Several of the girls from the office decided that we should audition for choreography, and since John Mark is finally old enough to be a part of it, I thought I would give it a shot.

Now, I'm not much for dancing.  I've never taken a class, and I've never really had much coordination, so this was DEFINITELY a step out of my comfort zone... but it was so much fun!  I danced in one song- "Hot Chocolate" from the polar express, and was an angel in another song.  Fortunately, that song only required standing still.

John Mark also made his dancing debut as a peppermint.  He was lucky enough to get to dance with Lindsey and I'm pretty sure that's the only thing that got him to the performances every night. 

It was so much fun to be a part of something so BIG.  I met a lot of new people and even learned a dance step or two (Charleston, anyone?).  But most of all, it was amazing to see a story come together and watch as over 6,000 people got to hear the gospel. 

I think I'm ready for next year.

But maybe I'll stick to singing in the choir...

That's a little more my speed!