Birthday fun

It was probably about a month ago I began lamenting the approach of my 33rd birthday...to which my dear friend Emily responded, "Well, that is how old Jesus was when he died!" Gotta love good friends! ;-) Anyway, my 33rd birthday was actually the best day I could have possibly asked for...truly my perfect day! In the morning I dropped off Eli at Sports Camp, and Abby and I headed to one of my favorite little spots in Bellevue - The French Bakery. They have great chocolate croissants and amazing espresso drinks! We had a wonderful little Mommy/Daughter date!After breakfast I dropped off Abby at home with Ryan and headed off on my own for a mani/pedi, compliments of my wonderful husband. This pampering was followed by lunch with my three favorite people at my favorite sandwich spot: Panera. Then I got to go clothes shopping, followed by a great dinner date with my dear husband, thanks in large part to the world's best babysitters! Thank you so much to my wonderful family for a truly perfect day! I got even more fun the following day when my three very dearest friends took me to Theo Chocolate in Seattle. We got a factory tour, complete with super chic hairnets... And then tons of amazing, free chocolate samples. The chocolate was so good, and we followed it up with a great dinner out.Thanks, girls, for a really fun evening! You all enrich my life so very much!!

God has blessed me with a very rich life!

Blessings in disguise...and blessings revealed

For about a year now, Ryan and I have felt that we're in a time of transition. We had no idea where God was taking us on this journey; we only knew that He had a plan and that He was working toward building our trust in Him. We sold our home, Ryan began applying for jobs locally and in other states, and we waited. Waited and prayed and wondered. While we always knew for certain that God had a perfect plan for our lives and that He knew exactly what the future held for us, there were times when being in such a state of flux with the future totally unknown was very taxing. We prayed. We asked friends to pray. We waited. Several times opportunity knocked and we got excited, thinking that finally we were getting a glimpse of what God had in store. And several times our hopes were dashed and we were left discouraged and confused. It was truly an exercise in trusting God.
Well, I am excited to say that God has, in His perfect timing and ultimate wisdom, revealed to us what He has been working on all this time. Ryan has been hired as the Athletic Director at Skyline High School. It is an amazing job for him, and he feels so excited and blessed by this new opportunity and challenge. Several times he has remarked, "My career is high school sports; how cool is that?!" I am so excited for him, and for our family. We've also signed a lease on a little house in a neighborhood that we're really excited to live in...it's exactly the kind of community we were looking for.
After Ryan was hired by SHS, we were able to trace back all the steps that lead us to this point. We were awestruck by how long and in what ways God has been orchestrating this plan for us. We always knew He had a plan, but to be able to look back and pinpoint specific things that He set into place to get us here was both humbling and encouraging. What tangible proof of how God works for the good of those who love Him. What concrete evidence of how intimately involved He is in the details of our daily lives. What a tremendous blessing to think of the loving anticipation with which God has wrapped this gift for us. I am truly awestruck by how He works in our lives. It is so important to me that I hold fast to this example of His planning. What comfort this journey might bring the next time we face a disappointment of some sort, a plan that didn't go as we expected. Knowing now, as positively as we do, that God is so actively involved in every step of our journey, is such an amazing gift. What an awesome God we have that He does not sit on high and watch from afar as we stumble along the paths of life, but instead, reaches down and shapes the journey to bring us far greater than what we could ask or imagine. There have been things that we have specifically prayed for during the past year (longer) that He has not given us because He had something better in store. Yes, those answers of "no" to our prayers were difficult and confusing and hurtful. But now...now we understand, and it takes the sting out of those disappointments along the way. I am grateful today that God doesn't always give us what we ask for. I'm grateful for what so many consider "unanswered prayers" that are really answers of either "no" or "wait." I hope that I can come back and bask in the glory of this promise kept the next time I get one of those answers that confuses, disappoints, or hurts me. My small group and I prayed several weeks ago for a specific job that Ryan wanted (and didn't get)...and though we prayed specifically for that job, one of my friends suggested that we pray for that job or "something better." What a blessing to now have such concrete knowledge that when God says "no" it's because He knows what "better" is. I love this quote from A Journey to Victorious Praying: "God's will is what I would want if I had all the facts." What a blessing that God has all the facts, has the ability set His perfect plan into motion, and has the desire to take care of me.
This year has been a journey. And I know that it's by no means over, nor is it the last big journey God will take us on. It has been at times exhausting, discouraging, disappointing, confusing, and unsettling. And I know that there will more times like those in the future. But right now I am determined to remember what God did this time. I am full of joy at the fact that God is so actively at work in my life, even when (maybe especially when) I can't see what He's doing!
Thank you, God, for this journey. Thank you for carrying me through the hard parts so that I could experience what you had planned from the beginning. Thank you for this exercise in trusting You, and thank you for again proving yourself trustworthy! Thank you for this new job for Ryan, for the new home for our family, and for the new chapter you're opening in our lives. We are in awe, we are encouraged, and we are grateful!

Big girl bed!

Our little girl is getting big! So big that we decided to transition from the crib to a twin bed. Abby has been very excited about getting her big girl bed. On the big day she and Eli climbed in for one last goodbye. Then they set to work...Eli was really excited to help.Next came the assembly...And finally, the test run! Needless to say, she was way too excited to sleep at nap time!

The hardest part of the adjustment has been the night wakings. Everyone wakes slightly several times a night in between sleep cycles. Fortunately most of us hardly stir during these periods of waking and just settle right back into the next sleep cycle. Kids aren't as good settling back to sleep as adults are, and my dear Abby has actually started getting up, coming out of her room, and saying "I woke up!" This isn't a huge deal at 6 a.m., but when it happens at 2 a.m. and then she can't get back to sleep, it makes mommy a bit miserable! Still, she is super cute and excited about her big girl bed!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband who is an amazing dad! I am so grateful that our kids have you, Ryan!! The kids had an absolute blast making Ryan lots of homemade Father's Day gifts this year...just look at the anticipation and excitement on Eli's face! Ryan enjoyed a nice quiet father/daughter moment before our dinner with his parents.Eli and Abby also made sweet gifts for Pa and had a great time celebrating him as well.My kids and I are blessed to have some wonderful men in our lives!

One more...

One final shot from Seabrook...our friend Kyle managed to set up this shot of the whole group! We are so blessed to have these friends!

Seabrook

We spent a wonderful weekend in Seabrook (a little beach resort community in Pacific Beach, WA) with our small group...well, I think we've established that we no longer qualify as a "small" group (the term is church-related; a small group of people from within a church who meet together during the week for fellowship and Bible study)...our entire group was able to make the trip: 46 of us total, including 25 kids! We all had a really great time. Each family had its own little cottage, most of which surrounded a little courtyard with a large grass area and fireplace. This served as a great gathering place for us and the location hosted many games, many s'mores, and many great memories! Now, get ready for total picture overload! You'll notice that not all of these photos were taken by my mediocre little point-and-shoot...three members of our group are talented photographers and graciously shared their photos from the weekend.

Here's a shot of all (but one) of the kids...I think it's hilarious that there are only 2 kids looking directly at the camera! It probably goes without saying that all of these friends had a blast together! Speaking of friends having a great time together...once the kiddos were all in bed, the adults gathered around the campfire with all of our baby monitors - thank goodness for technology! We all had a great time hanging out together!There was even a great little park for the kids. We took 3 or 4 trips to this playground during our short stay at Seabrook. Our family's cottage was just across the little street from the courtyard. We were really impressed with how responsible Eli was when crossing the street to play with his friends; and he took great care of his little sister, too.Remember the warning about picture overload? Well, here it comes!Time for s'mores!Saturday morning was sunny and beautiful......so we all made the long trek down to the beach. Objectively speaking, it wasn't really that much of a trek, but when you're talking about 11 families with 25 kids and 3 dogs - and all the gear that goes along with that kind of crew - it's no easy feat! :)The beach was cold and windy, but that didn't stop any of the kids from having fun!Sadly, this was the only photo we got of our family together!Once everyone was chilled to the bone, we headed back to warm up and have more fun.Eli and his friends had fun pretending to build their own campfire.And then Jake and Eli were given the opportunity to put a couple of logs on the real fire...They were giddy!

We all had such a wonderful time that we've already booked for next year! We are grateful for this group that God has blessed us with, and grateful for the fun little vacation we got to enjoy.