Tagged am I

10 years ago I: was 22 years old and in my (first) senior year of college. This was the semester in which I discovered that photography was my true passion. I had never felt the way I was feeling about any of my college classes, and when my photography prof could see that, he spent only a little time convincing me to switch majors (I was then in electronic media). It was a great decision, and he was an awesome adviser. He pushed me more than I wanted him to, but I needed that at times.

5 years ago I: had only been married for seven months, and was just beginning a new job within the same company I had been working for the past three years. I was blissfully happy in marriage, but I was struggling with my auto-immune disorder, which was at its height then.

3 years ago I: was living in a new state! I was working in a law school, of all places, and Casey and I were living in a rent house (I miss that huge porch) and had no clue we were about to find the house we're living in now. That's because we hadn't even planned on looking for a house to buy for another year! Also, at that time I was in full baby-fever mode, but I wouldn't be pregnant for another eight months. Currently I am in semi-full baby-fever mode again.

1 year ago I: had just had some minor surgery and was in a LOT of pain. I was dealing with way too many things physically, and I am so blessed I'm not there anymore! Miles was not quite one year old, had just started crawling...wow. I was praying for a very peaceful year, but I think this one might be more peaceful for us. Only God knows.

Yesterday I: did a lot of knitting on some drawstring pants I'm making for Miles. Yeesh, these things are taking way too long! I honestly don't think they'll fit him by the time I'm done, but someone is going to wear these pants! I also did a lot of blog catching-up, which I am thoroughly enjoying.

Today I: haven't done too much yet. I haven't even had breakfast. Case left a little while ago for his weekly staff meeting, and Miles is busy watching Elmo.

5 snacks I enjoy: Brachs chocolate-covered raisins, 100 calorie mini-pack popcorn (the best), hot cocoa, vanilla latte, Cheetos

5 things I would do with $1 million: pay off mine and my immediate family members' debt (plus give them some extra), take all of my family to see other family across the world, give to something like Christian Relief Fund or 100x Missions, invest, get that deck built for Casey that he's been wanting for quite a while now!

5 places I would love to run away to: Hawaii, that horse ranch I visited in Hico back in 2000, anywhere with Case and Miles, did I mention Hawaii?, DisneyWorld (our honeymoon spot)

5 TV Shows I like: Lost (woohoo, starting back up again!), Intervention, Frasier, Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty

5 things I hate doing: going out in the bitter cold, trying to fix my hair when it's unfixable, getting out of bed really early, saying goodbye to Miles when he's oblivious we'll be gone for a while, cleaning out the coffee maker

5 biggest joys of the moment: Miles in his pajamas carrying around his Pooh-Bear, getting a chance to sit down at my new iMac and read fun blogs, seeing Case in his new Old Navy sweater looking so young and cool (he is a campus minister after all), looking forward to a cup of coffee, knowing that I can snuggle with Miles inside today while it's 30 degrees outside!

I don't care how we get there, as long as we get there

When Casey turned to me last night and said, "It's supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow!" I knew there was at least one thing I had to do, and that was take Miles on a walk. Or just take him outside, because it's been so cold and dreary lately! Any chance of sunshine means a chance of more smiles. (Incidentally, I'm wondering more and more if I am over-affected by seasonal stuff. I can get pretty down when it hasn't been sunny for a while, and then I feel so energized just by having sun stream through the windows!)

It's always much easier for me to make plans in the evening for the following day because I'm such a night owl. But when morning comes...I really have to talk myself into doing the things I want/need to do. I told Casey to take the pickup just in case Miles and I went out (the car seat stays in the car), all the while thinking to myself, "But first let me get some breakfast and then see how I feel." After eating breakfast -- and sharing part of it with Miles, the stinker -- I needed to prepare a new crockpot recipe for our evening meal (creamy red potato soup, yum!). After that was done...well, I could just see that what Miles needed was some time outdoors. What I needed was some time outdoors, and if tomorrow comes and it is gray and bitter cold once again I would regret not going out.

Sometimes (read: most times) it is a pain getting a toddler ready to go somewhere. Part of the reason is that you have to make sure they have a diaper that will hold for a while, you might have to put different or extra clothes on them (Miles was still in his footy jammies), snacks might be needed depending on what time you're going out and/or how long you'll be out, etc. And I don't even consider myself one who has to get lots of things together to go somewhere with him! Another thing is that, until your child can totally understand what's going on, he or she might not be as gung-ho as you are to get changed and get into the car. I can tell Miles until I'm blue in the face that we are going on a walk, but then all he wants to do is just go outside and go walking. He doesn't get the idea of driving to the walk park first. Well, he partly does, but there is an impatience factor in there. You get the idea.

We arrived at Lake Patsy, which is partially under some kind of construction, so part of it is blocked off. No prob, since the place is so big we just had to go a certain distance and then turn around and that was actually enough for me. I set Miles in his little fold-up seat in his wagon and buckled him in, then put his little knitted hat on his head (which was originally intended for Casey but it was my first attempt and didn't quite fit) and a blanket around his legs. This awesome wagon also comes equipped with cupholders, so I set his juice cup in one and handed him a small tupperware container half-filled with Goldfish. Is this kid spoiled or what? Really, though, I just want him to be comfy and enjoy the ride enough that I can get a good walk in myself. After all, this is not just about the kid. But oh, how I wished I'd had my camera with me! He looked so cute and funny all bundled up in there, especially with his little hat on his head while he ate his snacks and took sips of juice, turning to look around at all the trees and other scenery. I would check on him every so often, looking back and smiling, and several times he would respond with a little wave of his hand. All the changing, fussing, snack preparation, whining...it was all worth it in the end. Okay, maybe not the whining. The whining I can do without.

The slideshow

In case you didn't get quite enough photos in that last post, I have recently uploaded the "official" slideshow from Gulfcoast Getaway 2008 that our students watched two nights ago. There are lots more fun photos in there, plus it is set to Casting Crowns' Lifesong, which just makes the whole thing for me. Lots of fun, and not as much stress putting it together as I thought it would be!

Click here to watch.

We got away...to Gulfcoast Getaway 2008!

Last weekend, Case and I traveled with about 25 of our college students (I know I'm getting the number wrong, but it's close) to Panama City, Florida for the annual Gulfcoast Getaway conference...on the website I like that it says: "More than a conference...it's a body of people undergoing radical transformation as we seek the ways of God." The theme this year was Freedom, and the scripture used was Galations 5:1 ~ "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." It was a really amazing experience. My first time there was in 2006, when I was pregnant with Miles, so at that time I was a little less energized and spent more time in the hotel room just relaxing. This time, however, I was able to do so much more (Miles stayed at home and his Grandma and Pops came to visit him) with the students, and even participated in the X-Games on the beach!

I wanted to share some pictures from GCG. These first few show a guy named John Ross painting, but what you need to know is that this was just one of four canvases he was working on during a time of worship. He completed them all in about half an hour, and of course everyone on each side wanted to see what he had painted on the other three sides. When one of the speakers got up, he made the point that this was a good representation of our lives and God's work in them. We are always wanting to see what God is doing, or what he will do, but we can't. It all makes sense when we can finally see it, but we just need to trust that he is doing the work and that we will see how it all comes together one day. Really neat illustration.

While the X-Games were going on, Case got in a lot of nice frisbee time.

Here we are preparing for tug-of-war. You can't tell, but I really, really did not want to be doing this (they needed five girls to enter, and I was the fifth). For one thing (and you can't tell this either), it was freezing out there! Yes, out in the sun, on the beach...very cold. I don't like the cold. Secondly, right before the tug-of-war stuff began, they made an announcement that everyone participating had to remove their shoes. What?!? I kept my socks on, but that did no good. I couldn't feel my feet and toes for a very long while afterward. Cocoa helped.

I was a little afraid when I saw my hair in this photo (Casey took it, by the way). And also...we did not win the tug-of-war. I think it's partly because every girl on our team, like myself, did not want to be there at that moment in time.

Even though it was freezing...the scenery really was nice. We saw a beautiful sunset. I greatly limited my sunset photos this time, because in 2006 I took over 300 photos...of the sunset. Three hundred. I don't even know how I did that.

Case and I. He is wearing the hat I knitted for him a few months ago. What a guy!

One of our guys decided, on the day after we arrived, that he would do the Polar Bear Club thing, and we all watched him race toward the ocean and dive into the freezing water (okay, it wasn't freezing...but would you do it?). So here on our last evening, Casey thought it would be funny to get a shot of him looking like he was doing that too, with a few friends cheering him on. It's still one of my favorite shots, mostly just because of the way he's picking those knees up.

I really missed my baby boy while we were away. We were all very happy to be reunited the evening we got home. Junebug doesn't look happy, but believe me...she's happy.

One good reason to love the cold weather: footy pajamas