We surprised her with some of her favorite friends and family :)
Happy Birthday mom!!!!
Friday, November 18, 2016
30th Anniversary of her 30th Birthday
My mom recently had a birthday. It was a big one. We wanted to help her celebrate in a big and fun way! So, instead of 60th Birthday Party, we decided to have a "30th anniversary of her 30th Birthday" party. She turned 30 in 1986....so we had to make it an 80s theme of course.
We surprised her with some of her favorite friends and family :)
We had SOOOO much fun dancing
And a ton of fun dressing up!
The girls loved planning with me. They helped put together their outfits, the decorations, and the food.
We spent hours watching 80s music videos, and skimming through 80s movies.
Believe it or not...I even got this guy to "dress up". Like his mullet?
Cousin it came to visit.
And was passing out kisses.
Just SO. MUCH. FUN.
Nathan had a pilot suit and tried being like Maverick from Top Gun. Such a cutie!
Not to bad for her 30th celebration of her 30th birthday. I'm pretty sure my mom will live forever!
We surprised her with some of her favorite friends and family :)
Hannah's Baptism
Over the past few years, Hannah (and Nathan) have asked a lot of spiritual questions. We could tell the Lord has been working in their lives, but waiting for the fruit of that work to show itself.
A couple months ago, I had a long conversation about heaven, hell, and the end times with Hannah and Nathan. Hannah took a lot of what we talked about and really chewed on and thought about it. A few days later, as we sat in the car outside of Jeremy's office, Hannah asked me to turn off the radio. I did. A few moments later she told me that she needed it quiet so she could pray. She wanted to confess and repent of her sins and ask Jesus to be the Lord of her life.
I've heard this before...but this time it was different. Her attitude was very different. She wasn't doing or saying it to please me or someone else, it was clear she was truly convicted of her sin and desired to right her relationship with God.
We have seen fruit in her life over the past few months as she has confessed sin, desired to read and hide God's word in her heart, and lift herself and others up in prayer. We knew, when our church hosted our first beach baptism, that we needed to encourage her continue to walk in obedience with the Lord.
A couple months ago, I had a long conversation about heaven, hell, and the end times with Hannah and Nathan. Hannah took a lot of what we talked about and really chewed on and thought about it. A few days later, as we sat in the car outside of Jeremy's office, Hannah asked me to turn off the radio. I did. A few moments later she told me that she needed it quiet so she could pray. She wanted to confess and repent of her sins and ask Jesus to be the Lord of her life.
I've heard this before...but this time it was different. Her attitude was very different. She wasn't doing or saying it to please me or someone else, it was clear she was truly convicted of her sin and desired to right her relationship with God.
We have seen fruit in her life over the past few months as she has confessed sin, desired to read and hide God's word in her heart, and lift herself and others up in prayer. We knew, when our church hosted our first beach baptism, that we needed to encourage her continue to walk in obedience with the Lord.
We all gathered together and heard a brief summary of each person's conversion. Even 8 year old Hannah shared. She said she wanted to get baptized to follow God in obedience and make her public profession of faith.
You wouldn't know it by this picture...but Nathan hates sand.
Grandma
It's been a full 6 months without one blog post. I recently rediscovered how much my family enjoys looking through and reading the blog books. This revelation has inspired me to, once again, attempt to keep up at blogging, for the sake of our family. So....here I go again.
I last left you on our trip to TN for the Nashville 1/2 marathon. While on that trip, we decided to take a "quick" trip to Ohio to visit my grandma. I heard that her memory loss was becoming more dramatic, and that if we wanted to see her with a chance that she would remember us....we better go sooner than later. So, off we went.
I am so thankful for that trip! Just a few months later, over labor day weekend, Grandma passed away. She was 89. One day after moving into our new house (more on that later), I packed our van up with the kids, my mom, dad, and my little brother....and we started the 20-something hour drive north.
It was actually a really nice 2 days in Ohio. We got to see a great majority of the family....Including most of my cousins.
This might sound odd, but my favorite part of the trip was the funeral itself. Our extended family has some interesting dynamics and a few stories came out that day that I was unaware of.
Two of my cousins, Matt & Jeff (known now as Brother Dominic) are in the ministry. They both spoke at the service, and it was lovely. Jeff came into our family when he was a young kid....and Grandma always treated him and his brother as if they were born her grandsons. In fact, I didn't even realize they were "step" cousins until I was almost an adult. I got to spend some time with Jeff that afternoon and hear more of his story. I love how our family opened their arms, and welcomed him and his brother in without second thought :)
My Grandma and Grandpa were divorced over 30 years ago. It happened when I was 2 or 3 years old, so I never remembered them married. It was "normal" for me, although I knew it wasn't normal for the rest of my family. However, I learned some parts of the story I never knew and was greatly encouraged by.
Grandma and Grandpa probably would have considered them "church going" type people for most of their lives, but looking back, they probably weren't born again believers. In fact, from what I understand, it was the divorce that drove Grandma to the foot of the cross. I believe my aunt was recently converted and shared the gospel with her hurting mother. During that time, Grandma, and almost the rest of the family came to know the Lord in a personal way. It was so encouraging to hear that through the most painful time in the life of the family, God redeemed that for himself. That is something I will always remember and be encouraged by.
It was a whirlwind of a trip. The kids did amazing in the car.
We love grandma, and will miss her. I'm thankful the kids knew her, and I believe they will all remember her. I will think of her when I eat M&Ms, watch anything with Johnny Depp or Patrick Swayze, and when I see bright pink.
Nathan lost a tooth. Justin drove at times. The kids made friends with their 2nd and 3rd cousins. And, I got to see family I missed.
I last left you on our trip to TN for the Nashville 1/2 marathon. While on that trip, we decided to take a "quick" trip to Ohio to visit my grandma. I heard that her memory loss was becoming more dramatic, and that if we wanted to see her with a chance that she would remember us....we better go sooner than later. So, off we went.
I am so thankful for that trip! Just a few months later, over labor day weekend, Grandma passed away. She was 89. One day after moving into our new house (more on that later), I packed our van up with the kids, my mom, dad, and my little brother....and we started the 20-something hour drive north.
This might sound odd, but my favorite part of the trip was the funeral itself. Our extended family has some interesting dynamics and a few stories came out that day that I was unaware of.
Two of my cousins, Matt & Jeff (known now as Brother Dominic) are in the ministry. They both spoke at the service, and it was lovely. Jeff came into our family when he was a young kid....and Grandma always treated him and his brother as if they were born her grandsons. In fact, I didn't even realize they were "step" cousins until I was almost an adult. I got to spend some time with Jeff that afternoon and hear more of his story. I love how our family opened their arms, and welcomed him and his brother in without second thought :)
My Grandma and Grandpa were divorced over 30 years ago. It happened when I was 2 or 3 years old, so I never remembered them married. It was "normal" for me, although I knew it wasn't normal for the rest of my family. However, I learned some parts of the story I never knew and was greatly encouraged by.
Grandma and Grandpa probably would have considered them "church going" type people for most of their lives, but looking back, they probably weren't born again believers. In fact, from what I understand, it was the divorce that drove Grandma to the foot of the cross. I believe my aunt was recently converted and shared the gospel with her hurting mother. During that time, Grandma, and almost the rest of the family came to know the Lord in a personal way. It was so encouraging to hear that through the most painful time in the life of the family, God redeemed that for himself. That is something I will always remember and be encouraged by.
It was a whirlwind of a trip. The kids did amazing in the car.
We love grandma, and will miss her. I'm thankful the kids knew her, and I believe they will all remember her. I will think of her when I eat M&Ms, watch anything with Johnny Depp or Patrick Swayze, and when I see bright pink.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Tennessee!!!
We took our annual road trip to Tennessee at the end of November, perfectly planned around the Rock N Roll Nashville 1/2 marathon. However, after all of those hours in the car....we lost control the last 45 minutes. Everyone was belting out the Frozen soundtrack, and there was no stopping them.
We took a "side" trip to Ohio to see my grandma. Nate's not really drinking a monster here, but it was a funny picture. We were starting to go bonkers again.
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