Why are we always surprised when God shows up big?

We know He can.

We know He does.

For me, I think the surprise comes not from God showing up big, but because He has allowed me to witness it. The “big” moments I always attribute to someone else. I always seem to hear about them, but not experience them.

Lately, I’ve been so incredibly blessed to experience them.

We began attending our new church the weekend after we moved to our new city. It was an instant “fit” and we felt fortunate to find it. It was as if God was saying, “You’re going to have some challenges, but I’ll give you a church and you’ll feel My presence there. Know that I’m with you through it.”

Easter 2011 came shortly after we moved. The Easter service kicked off a “Be Audacious” series, speaking of having Audacious Faith – believing that God will do what He promises, trusting for Him to do amazing things. During that series, Pastor Paul spoke about our sphere of influence. At one service, he had us all write the names of people with whom we associate – family, friends, co-workers, students, baristas.  We each daily touch the lives of multiple people.

From that list, from that Sunday, our church of 500 came up with a list of 5400 people within our “Sphere of Influence.”

And that became our number: 5400.

It was announced that for Easter 2012, we would be renting out the biggest, most visible, most well-known park in the city. And we would be praying for the rest of the year for the 5400 people who would join us – after all, that is the quantity in our sphere of influence.

At the beginning of the Easter season, we were surprised to enter into a dark church – nothing on stage, no band – just a lone guitar and he was joined by an Easter Bunny…who happened to be our pastor! (Yikes!) The “Unexpected” series teaser was upon us.

That very day, 3 charter busses were waiting out back and the entire church loaded up the bus, watched a pre-recorded video sermon from the pastor, and we drove to the park where our Easter service would be held. That day we walked and prayed through the park, writing the names of those in our sphere of influence on pieces of bark scattered in the flower beds throughout the park.

Four weeks later was Easter. No one really knew what to expect. We had been praying for 5400, but would that become reality?

God showed up. Why were we surprised?

And of course, God being God, He had to show us that we could have believed for even more. Not only did 5400 people show up – over 5600 people showed up!

Unexpected.

That was the title of the series that kicked off on Easter Sunday. What an amazing thing to be a part of.

The "Unexpected" series concluded yesterday, Sunday, May 6, with the most powerful and amazing and mind-blowing service I’ve ever witnessed. I’m still absolutely in awe. I even broke out my least favorite word because it’s so overused. But it was very much appropriate to describe yesterday.

EPIC.

Yesterday morning was a top-secret, “unexpected” service. People came into church as they normally do, only the windows were black, so no one could sneak a peek.

Our church is pretty untraditional (but biblically spot on), and instead of a baptismal font, we have a huge swimming pool that we use for baptisms typically twice per year. Our baptisms are usually announced well in advance so people can prepare themselves, invite family and friends, bring a change of clothes, etc. We just had a baptism on Palm Sunday. No one was expecting to walk into church to see the baptismal pool.

Yet there it was.

Pastor Paul preached from Acts 8 about Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch explaining the passage from Isaiah that he was reading. As their carriage rode through the desert, they came upon water, and in verse 36, the eunuch said to Phillip “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

And with that, Pastor Paul jumped from the stage into the pool. Clothes and all.

He proceeded to remove all the barriers and excuses that people may have for why they shouldn’t get baptized that very moment:
- No change of dry clothes? Well no problem, we’ve got a shirt, shorts, and even undergarments for you to change into.
- Concerned about your hair? We’ve got combs, ponytail holders, detangler spray, and hairspray.
- Make up may run? Baby wipes are in each restroom and will clean you right up!
- No stink stop? Well we’ve even got spray on deodorant for you.

As Pastor Paul is explaining all of this during the first service, one man climbs the ladder and jumps in the pool – jeans, shirt, leather shoes and all. Even Pastor Paul was blown away! Another man followed that one – 2 people in their street clothes didn’t even wait for their change of clothes.

At the first service, 31 people “took the plunge,” publically declared their faith, and were baptized into Christ.

The church had planned for 40, so they had to make an emergency store run to restock supplies between services! What an incredible “problem” to have!

During the second service, 21 more people were “buried with him through baptism, and raised to live a new way of life through Jesus Christ.” -- 52 people in total.

Absolutely amazing, awesome, incredible, humbling, powerful, moving – amazing day!

Amazing God.

Wow.

What an insane past 5-6 months. In February I received a promotion. In March the kids and I moved. In April, May, and June, Jon commuted. In July, we finally closed on both houses - one to sell, the other to buy.

I will say with complete honesty, it has been some of the most excruciating 5 months of our lives. Neither of us have faced a string of challenges such as we faced during the relocation. Truth be told, everything is not yet resolved, but it's getting there. I won't detail everything that went wrong... but suffice it to say that literally everything went wrong.

Yet.... without question, without hesitation... God absolutely showed up.

And that gave me peace.

And that's what I *will* share.

I hear so many people tell me that God had a hand in their move -- He answered prayers to sell their house, find a house, find a job -- just smoothed the way for everything. I don't doubt that -- not one bit.

But.... what about when the way isn't smooth? What about when every little thing goes wrong. What if there's a battle waiting to be fought at every corner? Does that mean God's NOT in the move? Does it mean we're not acting in accordance with His will? I will say it's easy to let your mind wander down that path. And it's probably a good thing to ask Him -- to be sure that you really are on the path He intends.

My short answer: Just because you're in God's will doesn't mean He promises a smooth path.

Look at Job. I'm quite sure that book of the Bible was written to remind me during the past few months that God's there even in challenging times.

But here's the beautiful thing: despite the ridiculous challenges, God showed up in ways that were unquestionably Him, and undeniably assuring us we're going the right way; doing the right thing.

With every single move we've made -- and that includes 7 states now -- it has taken us a minimum of 6 months to find a church. Our last place we never did find one. Here... the first week.

When we lived in NY, we had a pastor who I just loved. I didn't even know the guy; it was a huge church. But for the first time, I couldn't wait to go to church on Sundays. He was a teaching pastor, and He made the word absolutely come alive, gave it context, helped me see it in ways and more deeply than I ever had. As we scoured websites looking for churches in our new city (I literally googled "church city" with our city inserted), I randomly came upon a site for a church who interviewed its staff and asked them various questions. One of the questions was "Who is your mentor."

I about fell off my chair when the lead pastor listed as his mentor... our pastor from NY. No way... half a country away.

We woke up that next morning and visited the church, shared with the pastor how we found it.... and we've been back every Sunday since. That was in March.

Not 2 weeks later... they changed their website. That survey and the reference to our pastor in NY is gone. If that's not God saying, "Hey guys, I know you need a place to plug in. I know you want desperately to find a good church, and that's what I want for you, too -- come over here."

In late May or early June, we finally found a house that we felt we could call home in a neighborhood we felt would be a wonderful place to raise our kids. A couple weeks later, Jon's sister called sharing that her husband has an overseas opportunity -- and can they come for Thanksgiving so that during the 6 months he's gone, they can all get together once to see each other.

The house we chose has a guest suite and living room over the garage. The house was never on the market -- our realtor just knew about it. We suggested that his sister and her 3 kids just live there for 6 months -- it's closer and hopefully they can see their daddy at least once a month.

God is a God of relationships. I very much believe that He worked out those details so that we can nurture our relationship with our extended family, and so that their precious family can maintain their relationship during a long 6 months.

Life isn't promised to be easy or without hurdles. The saying "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" I believe to be a bunch of bunk. During the past 6 months, I have been given more than I can handle more than I'd like to admit. But it's when I'm weak that His strength is shown -- not just to me but to those who see me. At least I hope it is. His grace covers me, covers my family.

God showed up bit in the "Faith" and "Family" category, which gave me peace through the turmoil. I'll admit to losing it a few times at the end. I did hit my breaking point. But God didn't. God is always faithful. We made it through to the end.

As I said, there are still a few loose ends that are frustratingly not yet tied up. There are several hundred boxes yet to be unpacked.

But...

Church friends from our new church have volunteered to help out with the kids.
We've got 5 happy and healthy kiddos giggling together, excited to have cousins to play with, love, and get to know in a way most cousins never do.
More people have stopped to say "welcome to the neighborhood" than the number of neighbors we had in our last place.
And last night when the kids wanted to swing out in the front yard... it took only a few minutes before 10 kids were out there playing.

Thank you, God.

Have you met my son? If you haven't, I'd like to introduce you to Dominic.



If you have met Dominic, I'm pretty sure you love him. As the saying goes, "To know him is to love him -- and that is very true of Dominic.
Dominic entered the world at 8am on the button on June 24, 2006. I believe we were given June 23 as his due date, which is the day I went into labor. We drove the 45 minutes into the hospital, and I really believed I was going to deliver on the way there. In fact, when we arrived, they were worried that they wouldn't even get me checked in before he arrived. Thankfully (or maybe not), he was turned sideways, which didn't put the right pressure on the right places, so he stalled out. This allowed me to sort of sleep through the night. Lucky Jon got to sleep in those ever-so-comfortable hospital chair-beds, while Amara was tucked safely into bed at our wonderful babysitter's house.

By morning, the doctor said, "Let's get this little guy outta there!" So essentially, she reached in and pulled.

The next several hours and days were a whirlwind. I'm glad that I documented them then, because now it's a blur. I remember them being some of the worst hours and days of my life. There were some scares about his health, he spent a couple hours in the NICU, a coupld days under bili-lights, and I had literally some of the worst nurses I've ever experienced. But thankfully, I don't really remember all of that. His name means, "Belonging to God" -- and I'm so thankful that we gave him back to God before he was even born, because God certainly took care of him that day.

In hindsight, none of the issues were as extreme as they felt that day -- something about hormone surges, lack of sleep, and far away family make everythign more extreme. As I sat in the NICU with my 8lb 2oz baby, looking at the tiny ones surrounding me, I was so grateful to know that it would be a short stint.

And look at the little guy now:


The labor was fast. The delivery and following hours / days were chaotic. And his life has, in many ways, continued on that "whirlwind' path. Dominic is, by definition, a whirlwind! He's a little bundle of energy that can just as quickly as he flashes by, flash back, jump in your lap, and give you a hug that melts you to the core. He's my "snuggle buggle" and he's very proud of that fact. He's quick to tell you he's not a baby, but conceeds that he will always be MY baby, and he's OK with that, too.

Last night he promised to take care of me when he grows up to be 41, which he declared to be very old. He then added that 27 is very old, too. Guess I'm old. But that's OK.

Dominic is the child who my mom promises will make my hair turn gray before hers does. I don't doubt her. He has a gift that I attribute to his father, and I do believe it's a bit of his Great Grandfather (on Jon's side of course) reincarnate -- he can walk that line and maybe even toe over it -- but charm his way out of it. He has a mischevious twinkle in his eye that tells you he's up to no good, but also assures you that he'll win you over anyway.

We joke with his teachers that we really have to keep him in line, because if we don't he will be a delinquent. He's got them all fooled, and they assure me that he's always so well behaved, polite, etc -- a charmer, I tell you! But that's just it -- he IS all those things -- well behaved, polite, kind, loved by everyone. That's why it's so hard to believe he could ever be a deviant. We'll have to keep him in line so he doesn't expose that side of himself (a side I'm quite sure we all have).

Seriously though, this little boy is a light. He is loved by everyone. He loves to make people smile and laugh. He's got a humor, a vocabulary, and a sense of other people that are well beyond his years. He's almost never in a bad mood. He's tender hearted but still tough as nails.

As wonderful as all that other stuff is though, my favorite part of him is his love for God. Several months ago we picked him up from Sunday School and his teacher was gushing over the prayer that he said. She said it was the sweetest most sincere prayer -- but more than that, she was impressed as he was the only one who would offer one. He evangelizes to his classmates. At Christmas he told them it's OK to love Santa as long as you love Jesus more. When they asked who Jesus is, he said, "He died on the cross to save me from my sins." This week he came crying into our room at 3am and said, "Mommy, I need you to pray for me." I asked him what was wrong. He said, "I need you to ask Jesus to keep all the scary thoughts out of my head." So last night we started with that prayer. And this morning I over heard him telling Amara, "Well God gave me lots of good dreams last night." Late last year, Amara gave her heart to Jesus. Dominic said that he did too. He repeated to me all the truths that are essential -- that Jesus is God's son, he lived as a man, died on the cross, rose again to save us all for our sins, and now lives in heaven. But I was kind of hesitant, thinking perhaps he memorized it but didn't really internalize it. But I'm not so sure... I know that God hold's this child in the palm of His hand. And I'm pretty confident now that Dominic has given his life and his heart to Jesus, too. Man, I really pray that the relationship my kids have with Jesus right now continues to be as close, as real, as tangible as adults as it is right now.

I do believe I could go on and on. So I'll cut myself off. In closing though, I offer immense thanks to God for the amazing gift He has given me in both of my children. I'm not deserving of such incredible blessings.

Happy Birthday, little man! Here's a special Dominic kiss, just for you!

On June 24, 2010, at 8:00 AM on the button, we were blessed with this most precious gift and our little family was complete.



Dominic means "child of God" -- and that, he most certainly is.

We love you, little D-man

We wore ourselves out today, so I'll have to write more later.

For now, here are some pics of the day.

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed. Thank you Jesus for your incredible sacrifice and promise.

Well, you've seen pictures of the race - at least a few of them. But I haven't yet shared photos of what we did.

Jon, the kids and I drove halfway to ATL on Wednesday night, then stopped at a hotel. We drove on Thursday and met a friend for lunch in Birmingham. This friend, Josh Sarhan, is walking a cross around the country taking the opportunity to witness to those he meets. It's an incredible journey, and amazing to listen to him tell the story.

We arrived in Atlanta on Thursday night, right around supper time. We hung out that evening and most of the day Friday. Reese joined us Friday afternoon.

Friday evening we did our "carb load" meal and hit a yummy italian restaurant for some pasta. Saturday, Reese and I drove downtown to pick up our race packet and get a feel for the course. It was at that point we realized that Atlanta was very hilly. Ruh-roh...rooks rike rubble, Ruby!

Saturday afternoon Jon, Reese, the kids and I hit the zoo. Greg walked there following his presentation and joined us. Nothing like a dude in a shirt and tie carrying a shoulder bag and presentation tube at the zoo! :) He was a sight. We also saw Chris Webber (of Fab Five Fame) while we were there. It was a GORGEOUS day - and while people definitely recommended the aquarium over the zoo, we weren't about to spend it indoors!



Sunday was race day. Reese, Greg and I headed into the city. Jon, the kids, Mom and Dad drove to cheer us on at the park -- but the traffic was all clogged due to road closures, so they missed us. They did get to the finish line in time to see us finish! Yay! Following that we went out for brunch, then headed home for a nap. After naps, we did an Easter egg hunt and painted Easter eggs.



Monday we decided to split up our drive home again. I was just too stiff, and 12 hours in a car sounded daunting. So the kids got to go outside and blow bubbles with Grandma and Grandpa. It actually SNOWED a little bit Monday morning. Nothing that stuck, but those were some big, fluffy, white flakes coming down! Crazy spring weather!

My favorite pictures are in the collages above, but I thought I'd share these slide shows as well. Enjoy!

Today when I dropped the kids off at Day Care, Miss Jessica stopped me to tell a Dominic story.

Apparently this is the conversation held by Dominic and his friend(s) last week.

D: It's OK to have Santa in your heart, as long as Jesus is in your heart bigger.

Friend: Who's Jesus?

D: He's who SAVED me, because I asked him into my heart.

Oh to be so bold.

Jon bid adieu to an old friend on Wednesday.

We purchased this motorcycle (an '05 Victory Hammer) for him when we moved to Cincinnati in 2005. Jon's Dad rode it to him from Wyoming. It was his first motorcycle. He loved the bike, spent a lot of time customizing it. In fact, just this Christmas he had it powder-coated, and hadn't even had the time (thanks to home renovation) to put it back together until mid-September. For 9 long months, it went unridden -- longer actually, since he didn't ride in November/December due to the cold.

He said parting was bittersweet. He did love the bike.


Motorcycle riding is still a part of him though. He got rid of his bike so that he could buy his Dad's. It's the same style and year, but his Dad has customized it differently. (I'll get pictures when we get it.) He knew that he'd kick himself if he didn't get his Dad's bike -- no matter how much he loves his own. His Dad has had many offers for his bike -- especially considering it's won many "best in show" awards at bike rallies. But he gave Jon first dibs. Jon took the opportunity.

Of course, we had to take pictures of the bike before we shipped it off. And the kids, who had long been forbidden to touch it, also got a ride. This picture of Amara largely mirrors the photo of her on it at 8months old, when we first got the bike.


And of course little D-man, who pretends everything is a motorcycle, and I'm sure will one day ride with his Daddy and Grandfather!


Bye Bye Bike. You were a good one. Give someone else many fun and safe rides!

In my last post, I mentioned our "Legacy of Love." I've actually mentioned it in previous posts as well. Both Jon and I have been blessed with a history, a legacy if you will, of strong, long-lasting marriages. At our wedding, we featured 3 generations worth (those who were in attendance) of photos on the back table. Not only is it a Legacy of Love... it's also a Legacy of Faith. And for that, I'm eternally grateful.

A few days ago, I received an invitation in the mail to attend a family reunion. Nothing out of the ordinary right? People have reunions all the time.

However, this reunion was for the descendants of my Great Great Grandparents (Paternal Grandmother's side), Iver and Ingeborg Skaare. It will take place next summer in conjunction with the 125th Anniversary Celebration of Bergen Church. The reason they chose this date and location is because my Great Great Grandparents were founding members of the church.

So I did a little bit of digging.

Bergen Church is a place that I'm very familiar with. I didn't attend there (it was an hour from my home). However, when we'd gather for holidays or other family events with my Dad's side, it was always very central to the conversation. People who gathered at my Grandparents' house were often integrally tied to Bergan Church.

In my digging, I discovered this document detailing the history of Bergan Church. It was amazing to take in the heritage into which I had been born. Certainly a Legacy of Faith had been given long before even my father was a twinkle in anyone's eye. Within this document are many, many names that are personal and familiar to me. I thought they were just friends of my Grandma's, but it turns out many of them were family -- cousins, aunts, uncles. I always enjoyed the family feel at my Grandparent's house, so warm and so welcoming. But I didn't realize just how interwoven family was -- family WERE their friends.

I read about how my Great Great Grandparents were founding members of Bergan Church, how they were one of only a few founding members present at the 45th Anniversary celebration of the church. How heartbreaking it must have been to watch the church burn on December 26, 1934, with the congregation gathered to celebrate Christmas. Yet, from the ashes, my Great Grandfather (Paternal Grandfather's side) was called to be one of those who constructed the new church. So on my Dad's side of the family, this little country church was really the cornerstone of their faith and their life.

I also found this article written by my Great Great Grandmother's brother and shared by one of his descendants. How interesting to discover just how they, and thus my family, ended up in that small town where so much of my heritage is based.

Also uncovered was this article about my Great Great Grandmother. The details surrounding my Great Great Grandparent's wedding was enjoyable to discover. But more than that, I loved reading about how my Great Great Grandmother recalled it with laughter. I love to think that laughter and joy was a prevailing mood and sound found in their house. My Great Great Grandparents were both born in Norway, thus spoke Norwegian in their home. However, they were married by an American priest -- one who spoke only English. So they didn't understand a word of their marriage ceremony! The Norwegian language not only was spoken by them, but also my Great Grandparents, and even my own Grandmother. I recall many stories from my Grandma about growing up speaking Norwegian, being confirmed in Norwegian. My brother and I both went to colleges with strong Norwegian heritage and were able to sing "Beautiful Savior" in Norwegian at my Grandparent's funerals.

What began as an invitation to a family reunion really became a heartwarming discovery of my family history. My family may not have been famous or wealthy, kings or princes, but they knew riches that were immeasurable. Their faith, their family ties, and the Legacy they passed on to future generations...my generation...is something much more "rich" than fortune or fame.

And once again, for that I am grateful.

I love to watch my kids interact with their Grandparents (and vice versa).

They were just teasing each other -- I think Amara was trying not to hug my dad. But look at the joy in both of their faces!

How precious to see all the books that were read on the deck by candle light. A bit of heaven in each of those faces.



What shapes do you see in the clouds?



Nothing like a picnic lunch out on the front lawn!



At what point can we live near both our families? What bliss that would be!

Start with a birthday celebration at school. I made this butterfly "cake" out of Rice Krispies treats. They were all individually wrapped, and I just opened them and "shaped" them into the butterfly. It was great to be able to serve without needing to cut them!

Open lots of presents. We wrapped up each little item one by one -- she felt extra important. Though she did remind me today (4 days later) that she was dreaming about a pink and purple horse, but didn't get it. That IS the one thing she asked for -- but pink and purple horses are a bit hard to come by....



Eat some more cake... This cake was special for 3 reasons. (1) Daddy picked it out. (2) It has Dora on it -- still her favorite. (3) The pink frosting did very odd things to things that shouldn't be pink.... I'll let you ponder that for a while.



Eat sushi at a Hibachi Grill. OK, so this time she wouldn't eat it (last time she did). But she did try it. And she did wolf down the shrimp. The picture below is when the chef lit the grill on fire! They LOVE "the fire food house!"



And that's what a 5 year old's birthday celebration looks like!

Happy 5th Birthday, Sweet Amara.

You made me a mother. My life is richer because of you.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

PS.... there was the most beautiful sunset tonight. I told Amara God sent it just for her to tell her how much He loves her. She said a prayer tonight to thank Him for the beuatiful sunrise. That girl's heart is so beautiful and so pure and so turned to God. May she continue to grow in Him.

Five years ago (September 3) I became a mother and my life was forever changed.

Even as she grows, God is using her to teach me lessons on control (or my lack of it). Someday I'll tell you about her potty training adventures!

This song about hope and trusting on God is especially appropriate and poignant to me:

My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.



If you've never heard the hymn, listen to it...now back to the story...

In late November 2003, my wonderful Grandmother (paternal) passed away. Two weeks later, on my Dad's birthday, we discovered we were expecting. What perfect timing. What a blessing from God that, in the midst of despair and sorrow, He plants beautiful, sweet hope.

At Christmas in 2003, we broke the news to my family (we had already shared it with Jon's). We gave my parents bibs as Christmas gifts that said "I love Grandpa" and "Grandma you're gorgeous." My whole family was there, and it was such a fun and exciting way to share the news.

Two weeks later, my Grandfather (paternal) passed away. I'm SO thankful I didn't follow conventional wisdom and wait 12 weeks to share the news. My Grandpa's face, at the news of his first Grandchild's pending arrival, was pure joy. I only wish they'd have had the privilege of meeting my children...and vice versa.

And now the reason for this post... HOPE! And specifically, Amara Hope.

People often ask us how we came up with her name.

The short answer: we found it on the internet.

Hold on for the long answer...
With the passing of my Grandparents, and the long before passing of Jon's Grandpa, we wanted to honor them and the faith legacy we are so blessed to have in both our families. We wanted the middle name to be Faith, Hope, or Grace, so the first name needed to go well with one of those, and had to have significant meaning. We also wanted the name to be unique and somewhat uncommon without being outlandish.

I got online and typed in definitions to see what names came up. After many attempts and discarded options, I discovered "Amara: of Greek origins, means unfading, eternal."

Perfect!

Partner Amara with Hope and we've got Eternal Hope.

Her life-verse, and my prayer for her quickly became 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."

Hope - as stated in the verses above, is gracefully given to us by God. If hope is God-given, and it is -- what great confidence we can have in that hope! It is only because of our faith that we can have hope. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

(While I was reflecting on my daughter's life, I was led to a website called (in)courage, whose theme this month is Hope. They inspired this post. Please go visit them and be (in)couraged!)

Oh my goodness....

Maryland....

Take me home....

We just spent a 9 day vacation in Maryland. We went to our old neighborhood, spent the day with our old neighbors and their annual party, hung out in their pool, had a crab feast in the backyard, were welcomed back to our old church, then went to the beach with our good friends from our church Community Group.

It was a breath of fresh air. It was like going home. And leaving again was heartwrenching.

It feels so odd writing that. We lived there for only 3 years. When we were asked to move there, both of us thought we'd never live on the East Coast. But man... what we wouldn't give to move back. Maybe some day. *sigh*

A couple random highlights: Dominic figured out how to swim with a life jacket. That boy can motor! He is SO proud of himself (we're more than a little tickled, too, since last week he was afraid of the water). And Amara...spurred on by Dominic's swimming success figured out how to put her head UNDER the water, hold her breath, and blow bubbles! Again...last week petrified of water...this week, thrilled and SO proud of her progress. YAY!

So... that was the short version...

Here's the longer version....

We found incredible airfare out of KC, so we drove 4 hours to catch our plane...which was delayed...twice. The plane ahead of us hit a bird on the runway, and they had to clean up the mess before we were allowed to take off. We had to connect through Minneapolis, which is a nightmare airport anyway -- but we only had a 45 minute layover in the first place. We were scheduled to arrive with 5 minutes to spare. Not likely to make it! When we landed, I checked the flight status -- it said, "Delayed until 7pm to wait for connection passengers!"

NO WAY! That NEVER happens! Praise God for flight mercies. It's one thing to get stuck in airports for work...quite another with the kiddos.

So we hopped off and RAN to our next gate. Jon carrying two car seats, me pulling two wheeled carryon bags, a laptop case, and hoping that the kids could hold on and keep up!

They couldn't.

We were halfway to our next gate when I heard them call final boarding of our plane. We saw a man with a cart and begged him for a ride. The kids were already saying it they were tired. His cart was empty, and we hopped on. We were dropped at the gate just in time for the door to close and wheels to pull up. I nearly cried tears of relief!

We finally arrived at our destination (our friends' house) at nearly 2am. Oy vey!

SATURDAY:
We went back to the "old neighborhood" and spent the afternoon swimming in their pool, grilling, chilling, and enjoying the company of amazing friends who treated us like family. The kids spent the day swimming and getting thoroughly spoiled. Amara was tall enough to walk around the shallow end of the pool, and she was thrilled with that!

SUNDAY:
What an amazing homecoming. We were able to visit our old church and worship with our church family. It was "home" for sure and man do we miss it. Most of our community group was there that day, so we were able to do a little bit of catching up with them. They were all "family" when Amara was born, so they were part of a really exciting time in our life, which makes our relationships with them just that much more special. After church, we went back to our old neighborhood for a steamed crab feast (heaven!) and some more swimming. Then we drove to the beach.

THE WEEK:
We spent a good portion of the week at our friends' parents' vacation house about an hour south of Ocean City. It was so relaxing to have a home base. Their son was born 3 months before Amara, so the kids really had a blast playing together. We did a lot of swimming, a lot of relaxing. The guys did some golfing. We played the Wii. It truly was a relaxing vacation, which you don't say often. It was also a time of renewal and recharging, especially for Jon.

We did do some venturing out of the neighborhood accommodations.

CHINCOTEAGUE:
We drove into the little town/island and played some mini-golf, ate some amazing pizza ice cream, and bought the book "Misty of Chincoteague." We didn't see the wild ponies or do any of the Chincoteague/Assateague typical vacation stuff, but that was my favorite book as a kid, so it was fun to start reading it to Amara. I was shocked, but Amara (age almost 5) enjoyed the book. She said she wished it had more pictures, but she was still captivated by it. Yay! :)

OCEAN CITY:
We drove into OC one day with plans to stay overnight so we could enjoy the ocean, but wash up afterwards. The kids LOVED the ocean, which was fun to see. Amara even declared it "the best day ever." After the ocean, we went to our room and cleaned up. Then we took the kids to ride all the amusement rides. I was really proud of how well they did, especially Amara. Dominic had an absolute blast, which we expected. But Amara is typically more tentative and cautious with amusements....even the scariest one she did well on -- despite the look on her face!

FRONTIER TOWN:
We didn't really plan anything for the trip home from OC, but decided to stop at Frontier Town on the way. It's a little 1800's old west town that "actors" inhabit and they reinact events from the wild west. Dominic walked out of their with a nice little cap gun and an even larger flair for the dramatic. Amara walked out of there petrified by the "bandits" but boy, can the girl protect the gold! All of the adults left there thinking...hmm....that was more fun than we expected it to be.

It's amazing to see the world through a child's eyes. The two days we spent in Ocean City really cemented in my mind the importance of family vacations and really intentionally carving out time to spend away from home and with the family. It was an amazing and wonderful vacation.

So... that was the long version. I'm sure I could make it longer! :) Instead, enjoy some pictures!

*Edited 8/1 after I double checked my program*

I love these opportunities to go back and remember my day....

Choosing my bridesmaid's dresses was a challenge for me. I was so conscious of not asking them to spend too much. And I had some pretty tall girls who required extra length, so that negated some of my choices. All I really cared about was that they're blue! I wanted bold, bright, vibrant colors for my wedding. The church had red carpet, so I wanted the dresses / wedding to not clash terribly with it!





My bridesmaids are the sisters I never had. I was blessed to grow up in a small town and I've known most of my friends since my earliest memories. I'll introduce you to the girls from left to right:

Karin is my "sister" from Sweden. She was an exchange student who lived with our family for a year while I was a junior and she was a senior in high school. She fit so well into our family, and I look forward to an opportunity to go visit her in Sweden in the (hopefully) near future.

Bridget was my Maid of Honor. She and I went to pre-school together, and really just grew up together. She and I also stayed in close contact through college, despite going to different schools. She's one of those people who would do anything for another person, and she means the world to me.

Ann is my "sister" through marriage. She's Jon's youngest sibling and only sister. She was only 17 (I think?) when we got married -- she was between her junior and senior year of high school. I believe she took her finals and then their family loaded up the vehicle to drive from Oregon to South Dakota for the wedding. Can you say WIPED OUT? She's now married and has two beautiful girls of her own. I've enjoyed getting to know her over the past 11 years -- she's an inspiring person.

Tara is my first friend. She lived a few houses down from me, and my earliest memories (and even before I have memories) -- she's in them. She had been by my side through literally every event in my life, and I couldn't imagine getting married without her standing up for me. She's also got children of her own now -- the cutest pair of twins you'll ever meet!

Our flowers were kind of funny... well, not funny, they were beautiful. But how they came about is funny. I love to look at flowers, but really, I've got no clue about flowers. We went into the flower shop (the only one in my home town), and I said, "I want red, yellow, blue, and green.... you know how to make them pretty." And that's what I got! HA HA! We were married in 1998, which was right when the clutch style of bouquets was starting and the cascade style was ending (at least that was the case in SD). I saw the clutch style and immediately wrinkled my nose -- I didn't like it at all. I wanted the "wedding" look of cascading flowers. Of course, now I prefer the clutch style -- but it usually takes me a few years to accept the new "in" thing.

The Bible that our hands are resting on was carried by my Grandma and Mom in their weddings. My Mom gave it to me, but told me it's really hard to carry and she recommended that I not carry it. So instead, we put it on the table with our unit candle. So practical! :)




This photo kind of shows our unity candle. While we lit it, my brother and the other two soloists (fellow choir members from college) sang, "Shine On Us" by Phillips Craig and Dean. I still just absolutely LOVE that song.

Our unity candle was actually glass oil candles. We had the center one engraved with our name and the date. The side candles were taper candles. I love our unity candle!




This last photo shows a table that was really important for me to include. It was stationed at the back of the church, and we called it our "Legacy of Love" table. We're so fortunate to both come from homes with rock solid marriages founded in Christ. Not only our parents, but our Grandparents. So the table showed photos of our Grandparents and Parents weddings, as well as our engagement picture. We're thankful for that legacy that they've given us, and blessed to be continuing it...for better or worse!

The funny thing about reflecting on my wedding.... More than anything else, I knew what I wanted to have sung at my wedding. I went to college on a choir scholarship, and music was just the be-all and end-all. Yet now, I don't remember the music I chose. So here's what I think we had...

- Pre-Wedding Solo: "In this Very Room" by Ron Harris Oops! It was actually "Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place" by Lanny Wolfe

- Walking into the Church: "Canon in D" by Pachelbel

- Bridal Entrance: "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"

- First Song: "There is Love" by Paul Stookey (my dad used to be in a quartet and would sing this for weddings - I've loved it ever since."

- Unity Candle Song: the aforementioned "Shine On Us" by Phillips Craig and Dean

- Song After Vows/Rings: "I Will be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman and sung by my brother. It was the ONE song Jon requested, so of course we had to have it.

- Blessing Song: This is the one I can't remember, but need to find (I'll look when I get home). My Dad, Jon's Mom, My Aunt, and Jon's Aunt sang a blessing song for us. It was the neatest thing. I loved it! Found it! "Go Now in Peace" by Price and Besig. It's an SATB arrangement for choirs. I urge you to go listen to it on You Tube. I hadn't heard it since our wedding, and it still moves me.

- Exit Music: "Hornpipe"

- Return to the Church for Dismissal: "Ode to Joy"

I wanted to include the lyrics for "Go Now in Peace" -- remember it was my Dad, Jon's Mom, my Aunt (who's my Godmother), and Jon's Aunt who sung it -- so special!

One of the blogs I discovered when we were church searching was Kelly's Korner, and I like to go back weekly (or sometimes more often) to check on her beautiful family and be inspired by her words. I know that I recently posted about my wedding and anniversary, but today she's hosting a "Show Us Your Life" blog hop with "Wedding Dress" as the theme, so I thought I'd play along.

Like Kelly, when I was married, there really were no digital photos to be had. I really got addicted to digital scrapping when Amara was born, but had never gotten around to doing anything with our wedding photos. Last summer, with our 10th Anniversary approaching, I decided I needed to change all that! So I scanned in my wedding photos and created an album for us to have as a permanent keepsake. Not that the photos aren't permanent, but it's fun to have them in a book. I even shared my scrapbook journey and provided free templates to other digital scrappers who were having the same dilemma: the need to scrap their wedding photos! It was such a fun journey, and I met lots of wonderful people through the sharing of templates. Now if only I still had time to do so much scrapping! Good thing I took on my project when I did, because it wouldn't have been completed had I waited to do it for our 11th Anniversary, which we just celebrated in June.

So... now onto the dress... (I've edited out my full name and details, hence some of the blur.)

I can't believe it, but I really didn't take the traditional "solo bride" photos. I had a whopping ONE photograph of me alone. ONE! That just doesn't happen. I never had bridal portraits done or anything -- it's just not a common thing to do in the north, I don't think. Or at least not where I was from. Or maybe just not for me? I tend to be oblivious to things like that! :)

I got my dress at Jean's Bridal in Wilmot, SD. It's a tiny little town of about 515 people...total. Yes, that's five HUNDRED and fifteen. However, this tiny little town draws brides from all over the place -- SD, MN, ND, IA, and from much farther than that as well. When I first tried on the dress, I loved it from the front, but it had the biggest, most hideous "butt bow" that I've ever seen. I immediately told my Mom, "No, absolutely not!" and began to take it off. She slowed me down and gathered the bow, then asked, "How about now? It's easy enough to take off the bow (yes, she's a seamstress)." Perfect. Loved it!

I wish you could see the train better -- it was so pretty. It has scalloped edges and cut outs with lace and beads. I thought for sure I wanted simple with no lace and beads -- I hate lace and beads! :) But the simplicity of the skirt and the cut of the dress was just "me" -- that for this one day, I could be "girly" and go with the lace and beads. They were subtle. :)



I wasn't a fan of veils in general, and really only wanted it for tradition. As soon as the wedding was over, I took the veil off and just wore the beaded crown. It was a pattern that looked almost braided. While I loved it that day (which is what really matters), my hair/veil are probably the biggest thing I'd change if I were to marry Jon all over again tomorrow. The dress, believe it or not, I still love, and I'd still opt for a similar style. Again, you can't see the veil/crown too well in this photo. But I love the photo! :)



This is my favorite photo from our wedding. My Grandpa has this awesome cherry red classic Chevy. He was our chauffer for the wedding to the reception. When the wedding was done and we were greeting our guests, he went to pick up his car, which was stored at a friends' house who lived close to the church (he didn't want to risk it getting "decorated" -- and for good reason!). He also changed into a tux complete with black top hat and cane, and he rolled out a little red carpet for us. It was so sweet! Obviously it's Jon and I in the car, but it's my Grandma and Grandpa behind the car. We've been blessed by many generations of strong, longlasting marriages built with God as the foundation, and this photo, to me, just speaks to that legacy.