Surprise!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!! Yesterday was an AMAZING day! I have been planning a huge surprise 25th anniversary party for Mom and Dad since May, and the look on their faces yesterday was WELL WORTH IT!! I do have to confess that amidst all the planning and preparation for the party yesterday I forgot to get a new memory card, so I have absolutely no videos or pictures of this party :( That makes me so sad, but life goes on...

They were SHOCKED!!! The best part about the whole party, besides the surprise, was that I tracked down some of Mom and Dad's friends from high school and they were able to come. I'm so thankful that these people think Mom and Dad are as special as I do :)

I wrote a little poem for a toast, and here it is:

We’re gathered here all full of smiles
With friends and family too
To celebrate your life and love
The years that you’ve been through.

Two people could not more deserve
The words you’ll hear today,
The admiration, thanks and praise
You inspire in us each day.

For twenty-five years you’ve walked the walk
Of devotion and respect,
Now we’d like to take some time
to look back and reflect.

It all started at a game
And a trip to seven eleven
It was obvious even from the beginning,
This was match made in heaven.

At first Steve thought that she was married,
But his Dad encouraged him to ask her
With sweaty palms and a racing heart
He pictured this a disaster.

But Debi was eager to respond
She definitely wasn’t taken
Little did the two of them know
Their worlds were about to be shaken.

Then Debi went off to school,
Their phone bills became insane.
So Steve packed up his little car,
For they could not stand the pain.

When Debi came home it didn’t take long
For Steve to buy a ring,
Even though he didn’t have much money
He still provided the bling.

Then on Saturday August 18th,
With their friends and family there,
A blushing bride and a handsome groom
The love was thick in the air.

After just a few happy years
Even though their life was fun
They felt that something was missing
In the oven they put a bun.

They began to build their family
And they built it on the solid rock,
A couple years later along came Ben,
They had their princess and their jock.

After many passing years,
They thought their family was complete,
But God had other plans,
He added four more little feet.

Steve and Debi live for their kids,
They support their goals and dreams,
From soccer to golf to beach trips and college,
This family is truly a team.

The best part of their story is
That their love has continued to grow,
Amid children and work, the ups and the downs,
The light in them remains aglow.

Mom and Dad, you’ve shown us all
What it takes to make marriage succeed,
With every day, your choices and care
Make you real inspirations indeed.

So everyone, raise up your glass,
To celebrate this pair,
A couple whose story, whose love and whose life
Is truly beyond all compare.

I'm such a poet haha...NOT but they loved it and people got my silly humor so that was good :)

Thank you Mom and Dad for setting such a wonderful example of how to love each other for Brad and I. You guys have shown everyone around you for 25 years what a marriage should look like!! We love you!!

Faithfulness...

Have you ever gone to church and felt like the sermon was just for you? Well, that's exactly how I felt today. I have been struggling with trying to figure out what my purpose is in life. I have been so envious of those that are sure of their purpose, and at times I have been downright mad and lost not knowing God's will for my life. In fact, just yesterday I was having lunch with Lindsey and we were talking about this very thing. Brad and I debated on going to church with my parents today instead of Parkway, but for some reason we both just really wanted to be at our church, and now I know why.

The title of this series Pastor Ott is doing is "If you're going to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat". And today's message was taken from Matthew 14:25-27. The first point was that "walking on water sometimes means sleepless nights". He was talking about how the disciples were in a storm in the middle of thunder and lightening and crashing waves, but they were also in the center of God's will, and if they weren't out in that storm Peter would have never walked on water. Wow...that's where I am right now. I am just waiting on God to answer all the questions I have, but asking him to "map it out" is not faithfulness. Faithfulness is being still and knowing that he will provide for me and he will reveal my purpose, but for now teaching at PCA is what he has for me and being right here in Roanoke in this house is what he has for me.

Our God is so good to us. He is so big, and he has big plans for all of us. Let's be faithful in these small things here and now and he will trust us with the big things in the future. I'm positive he is going to call us out of the boat and let us walk on water!! :)

Big first day of school tomorrow, so the bed is calling my name :)

Team Wives

This past weekend our little family (including Lucy) and Chris took a weekend trip to VA Beach. The purpose of the trip was for Brad and Chris to play in an adult league soccer tournament, but my purpose of going was to hang out with Maleka whom I have dearly missed since I graduated! Lucy and Maleka's dog, Bella, had a great time playing together and Lucy has been so exhausted she has barely had the energy to get off of her bed all day...thank you Bella :)



Maleka and I had a great time catching up and hanging out, but we also went and watched all of the boy's games. They did really well and lost in the championship game. Donny, one of the guys on the team, has a wife who I hang out with at the games, and sometime during this weekend the guys started referring to us as the "team wives". I mean we were handing out cold rags and water like it was our JOB since the heat index was over 100 and the guys only had 2 subs...but the verdict is still out on how I feel about that title.

But anyway it was such a fun weekend lots of fun time with friends and we got to eat lots of good food, most notably The Cheesecake Factory...YUMMM!! And I always enjoy watching Brad play soccer he is quite the stud!! :) Here are the pictures from dinner one night.





Have I mentioned my brother in law is great...and SINGLE ladies!!!

Random Thoughts

I have discovered a great thing on kraft.com. There is a section of their recipe website that gives you a list of groceries for the week that will all fit into one grocery bag and you can cook 5 meals with those groceries!! I will be getting a lot of use out of this once we get into more of a routine this fall. But who am I kidding our life won't ever have a routine until we're like 80 years old, there will always be soccer games to coach and play in, and friends to see, and parties to attend. But that's just the way I like it :)

I am also LOVING these dogeared necklaces. One of my roommates bought me one for my birthday one year and I thought it was so cute. You make a wish when you put it on, and you wear it until it falls off.

And my last thought of the day is...am I crazy for taking Lucy with us on our trip to VA Beach this weekend??? Haha the answer is probably yes!