The Vow

I think it's really important to know our promises we made to each other on our wedding day. A lot of times, the whole day can be a daze and if we don't look back and study the words we promised to one another, they are easy to overlook. Thankfully, I had the order of service saved on my computer so I have the option to look back. So if you're out there and you haven't gotten married yet, make sure to save a copy of your vows, and if you're already married, try and find a way to look at your vows again. Seriously! How important are these words? They are the foundation of our marriage. They are our promises to one another. I want to look at them often so they are real in my heart, mind, and actions.
Our Verse:
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves
The Vow:
I, (name), take you, (name), to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live. 
The Rings:
I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and my faith in God's strength to keep us together.  In committing my heart and soul to you, I ask you to wear this ring as a reminder of the vows we have spoken today. 
The Declaration of Marriage: 
Ministering in the name of the Lord Jesus, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May Christ be the Head of your home. May He be the unseen Guest at every meal, the Listener to every conversation. May Christ's love rule your hearts and lives. John Mark, you may kiss the bride.

Remembering 6 weeks in Brasil [2008] in photos

Finding Order

This past year I've kind of been out of whack not having a job or being in school. I find it pretty hard to get motivated to do a lot of things because I'm not on a schedule. So this past week I've been doing my best to find my routine. There's a lot I do at home, but to think of all that on top of a job and eventually with kids scares me a little. I've learned that I thrive on a

schedule.

no kidding right.

But seriously, I don't know what I'm thinking when I don't have a plan. I am a procrastinator. But if I make a list and task myself, WOW, I can rock it. Most particularly, I find myself procrastinating about spending time with the Lord. This week I've really focused on my time with God. I've been missing out on a lot by shortening my time with God and not focusing on really spending significant time with him. I'm learning to find focus in reading, journaling and prayer and walking with my doggy while listening to worship music in the mornings. For me, finding order has really come from the season of lent. I've never really participated in lent, but I was challenged in church on Sunday to really prepare my heart and mind for 40 days before Easter. JM and I have agreed to spend our Tuesday lunch-time together in prayer and reading through Matthew for lent. And on top of that, I am working on finding order, routine, and schedules in my life to prepare for our up-coming changes this summer. We will be moving from a very slow and easy at home life to a busy, fast pace of life that will require a lot more time, energy and motivation. I am extremely excited but a little nervous because I have been so out of routine. I pray that in this time of lent I can find order that becomes my daily foundation. But I also want to be open and available to things that may interrupt my schedule. It's so important to not let your schedules and routines close you off to the things that may happen in the moment. 

my time with God

needs to be my 

foundation.

Breakfast Smoothie

For Valentines Day JM got me a Ninja Professional. I've been wanting one for a while and kept putting it off because of the price. Aside from a few other surprises, I was the most surprised about this. A silly blender brought me nearly to tears because of the thoughtfulness of my husband. He knew how much I've been wanting one and how useful it will be for chopping, blending and mixing. On Valentines he set up the blender and left me fresh fruit and a sweet note because he leaves early for work. For the last week, I've enjoyed creating yummy smoothie concoctions. I went to the store yesterday to get frozen fruit but they didn't carry it. What?! So, I decided buying fresh fruit is just about the same price and I can freeze it myself. I made blackberry ice-cubes and froze cut strawberries in an ice cube tray for each day. I love that I can add anything I want, but this is what I drank this morning. Mmm yummy!

The Color Run

Wow! Does this look like a colorful splash of fun or what?!

Last year I did a...

mud run [this is after we were hosed down!]

with a bunch of my college girlfriends...

But a color run looks way more inviting.

If JM and I do this, we'll be running in San Fran ;)

Check out thecolorrun.com for a city near you!

Nostalgia

I got back earlier this week from St. Louis. I spent the last week helping my sister and brother-n-law with baby Violet, my beautiful niece. And, in March we will get to meet #3 of babies born in the last 6 months to our family. We love being Aunt Rae Rae and Uncle JM!
I find it so interesting to look at these beautiful babies and see similarities in our genes. I stopped by my parents on the way home from MO and looked through some old photo albums... I don't have any childhood pictures! I borrowed some out of the album but haven't copied them yet, so here are some low res pictures I took with my phone from my own childhood! Beware, I do look like a cute little boy in a dress. I am the youngest, so you should be able to spot me.

A few things to note: I have the cheeks of a mammoth, I look like my mother, I love being the youngest, I love my childhood!