Thursday, May 21, 2009

we come together cause opposites attract

I am often told by Brian, family, and friends that I have OCD issues. Since apparently, I am unaware...

-I hate escalator handles...filthy rubber that is never washed and suspiciously dark in color. I received hand sanitizer on a carabiner as a gift from my dad once.
-I only use unlined index cards. Lines mess up my ability to write in different sizes to signify the importance of a word.
-Labeling file folders gives me a sense of accomplishments.
-I cannot stand people touching my face. Seriously, who knows where your hands have been?
-I have annual reoccurring birthday reminders on my Outlook calendar for everyone I know.

You get the picture. And if you don't, see the above picture of my wall calendar hanging above my desk. Mind you this is just the wall calendar. There is also an Outlook calendar. Which syncs to my smart phone. Both of my smart phones. Yes there are two.

I realize that my OCD results in me being very productive and being able to plan a month long trip to Chicago, with different people flying back and forth to North Carolina. As well as a month off work at an event planning job which is challenging to the say the least.

But I guess all of that organization is lost on other areas of my life. This is my office desk. It has been this way for several weeks. And I have no motivation to fix it.

Strange you say, to be so OCD organized, yet so messy all at the same time. I am simply trying to set an example for our yet unconceived children that perfection can in fact live in harmony with a total slob.

If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind,
what does an empty desk mean?

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

friends are friends forever

So I do not condone the use of that Michael W. Smith song. There is something so cheesy to me about being putting their arms around each other and singing this song before they leave for missions work or move away. No offense to any MWS fans out there, but I feel like we need to move past the 90's as a church.

Anyways, our home group has been one of the biggest supports to us as we go through this journey. To know that you have friends that will allow you to vent and praise God all in the same sentence is so comforting. And just think, we get to see them every week! This past Wednesday, we said goodbye to two of our favorite HG members Luke and Christina. They are getting married next week and moving to San Diego. We are so happy for them, but it was hard to say "see ya later" when they're moving 3,000 miles away. And while we were taking this picture, there was a part of me that could hear the synthesizer in the background and felt the song coming on...thank God for the Holy Spirit warning me against such things!
Busy week for Lindsay as she tries to wrap up work things. Next week, there are only 2 real days of work when you count a holiday and two staff retreat days. So much to organize in so little time!
But we’ll keep you close as always
It won’t even seem you’ve gone
Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong
~"Friends" by Michael W. Smith

Monday, May 11, 2009

you scream, i scream

We had a great weekend and are enjoying our last couple of weeks together before Lindsay goes off and leaves Brian for the month of June. We wrapped up a great weekend of golf, bridal showers, and dinner with family and friends with a fun trip to Maple View Farms. Maple View is a working dairy farm out in Hillsborough, NC that distributes fresh milk to lots of local stores. They also have an ice cream shop right on their farm! You can sit on the front porch in the rocking chairs, eat some yummy fresh ice cream, and stare out at the cows.


So now we are just packing and enjoying the last couple of weeks! The piles of clothes, movies, supplies, etc. continue to grow. Our meds alone take up their own bag :-) Also, for anyone who uses Facebook, we are trying to keep all of this off Facebook, since Lindsay uses it for work. So please feel free to leave comments on here, but not on our Facebook walls. We also want to give a shout out to both our mom's who are awesome! Yay for Mom's Day!

He had a freezer full of bomb pops
Push ups, drum sticks and dreamcicles
And a paint chipped changed box
Full of sticky quarters, dimes and nickles
It was automatic when we heard that song
Run home and get your money before he's gone
~"Sweet Summer" by Rio Diamond

Thursday, May 7, 2009

b-i-n-g-o

Wow...holy long break in posts, Batman! So quick recap: Went to Chicago, got our meds in the mail, 3 birthday parties for family and friends, and told Lindsay's work about her medical leave. Got all that?

Our Chicago trip was short and great. Lindsay flew to Chicago last Friday in the early morning and came back that afternoon. 6 hours in Chicago is a very short visit! But everything went great, our doctors were happy with her blood work, and allowed up to order our meds. So fertility medicines come through mail order pharmacy, which means you get a FedEx box packed with needles and vials. But they are all here and we were way blessed that two of our meds are ones that we already have a supply of at home....so we didn't have to pay for them!

Lastly, we told Lindsay's work this week about her leave. We were really worried that they would be upset about 4 weeks off work, but they have been supportive! Yay for answered prayers!

So now we are just packing and getting ready for the big trip! As Lindsay and her mom will be driving all the way to Chicago on their own, we have already started purchasing some handheld distractions.

When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown
and get a great parking spot, then sit in my car
and count how many people ask me if I'm leaving
~Stephen Wright

Monday, April 27, 2009

old well white

Our week has been fairly eventful, with a weekend of events at Lindsay's work and Brian starting a new evening job working as an umpire. So that means he gets to hang out on a softball fields, wear a hat to "work," and yell "yooooouuurreeee OUT of there!!" with a serious arm pump. I mean, how much more fun can you have in a night?

Lindsay got to meet Sandy, the wife of the couple that is letting us stay at their house in Chicago. It was so great to spend some time with her and share what a blessing their generosity has been. We can't wait to get up there and hope they will have a safe and wonderful month of travels!

The best part of the week was ending Sunday evening with a dinner at Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill. This restaurant has such awesome memories for us, from some of our first dates, to Lindsay's "getting into UNC grad school" party, to Katelyn's 21st birthday, to our celebration dinner when we bought our first house. We got to show some new friends around Chapel Hill and enjoy a beautiful evening out on the patio.

There ain't no doubt it no ones mind
That loves the finest thing around
Whisper something soft and kind
And hey babe the sky's on fire,
I'm dyin' ain't I
Gone to Carolina in my mind
~James Taylor

Monday, April 20, 2009

there's no place like home

God amazes me sometimes. Just when I think I can't even imagine how all these details are going to work out, they do!

We have been a little concerned about where we were going to stay when we go to Chicago in June. Mainly because we had no place to stay. And as much as I love the range of recline on my car seat, my curly hair will just not deal without a plug for the diffuser. It kind of ends up revolting on me.

And who wouldn't want those cool kids to stay at their house for 3 weeks? Okay, so actually the side ponytail is a nod to the 80's birthday party we went to this week for our friend Casey, but you get the drift.

Anyhoo, we had created a flyer to send around to different churches in the Chicago area hoping that someone might need a housesitter during that time if they were on summer vacation. And then, we got the most awesome email! Our flyer ended up being emailed out on the parents' listserv at a Christian school in Chicago. And one of the moms at the school happens to have parents who live in Greensboro, NC. Who happen to have a condo in Chicago they keep to visit their grandkids. Which happens to be open. And they happen to want to let complete strangers stay there! AMAZING!

So we now have a place to stay and will no longer be roaming the streets of Chicago looking for Aussie Sprunch Spray and open outlets for our hair dryer. We are also excited that Lindsay gets to meet Al and Sandy (the amazingly generous couple) this week since they live so close to us.

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

bunny muffins

We love holidays at our house. They are such an awesome time to celebrate the blessings in your life. And Easter is one of our favorites. Clearly we love celebrating Jesus dying for our sins. And awesome music in church. And cute dresses for little girls. But it also means...Easter baskets and bunny muffins!

Bunny Muffins: Bake blueberry muffins. Cut out adorable bunny ears with pink construction paper. Insert into the top of muffins. Serve next to an Easter basket full of candy, regardless of what age your children are (you never get too old for chocolate bunnies and Peeps).

And this year was even better because my sister and her husband Peter were visiting from Florida. We love having our whole family together because no one else appreciates a random punch in the arm and a good Wedding Crashers reference like these kids...

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity hoppity. Happy Easter Day!