Happy Easter!

"Jesus' friends were sad. They would never see their best friend again. How could this happen? Wasn't Jesus the Rescuer? The King God had promised? It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Yes, but whoever said anything about the end?

Just before the sunrise, on the third day, God sent an earthquake - and an angel fell from heaven. When the guards saw the angel, they fell down with fright. The angel rolled the huge stone away, sat on top of it, and waited.

At the first glimmer of dawn, Mary Magdalene and other women headed to the tomb to wash Jesus' body. The early morning sun slanted through the ancient olive trees, drops of dew glittering on leaves and grasses - little tears everywhere. The friends walked quietly along the hilly path, through the olive groves, until they reached the tomb. And immediately noticed something odd - it was wide open.

They peered through the opening into the dark tomb. But wait. Jesus' body was gone!

And something else: a shining man was there, with clothes made from lightning.

'Don't be scared,' the angel said.

But (they couldn't help it) they screamed anyway.

The angel asked them, 'What are you doing here? This is a tomb and tombs are for dead people.'

The women couldn't speak.

'Jesus isn't dead anymore!' he said. 'He's alive again!'

And their hearts leapt. And the angel laughed with such gladness that they felt, for a moment, as if they had woken from a nightmare."

-From The Jesus Storybook Bible

Happy Easter! He is risen!

about some of our heroes

I hate goodbyes. I do.

Now, a goodbye for an hour is one thing. A goodbye for a long time is another.

This week, we have been saying our goodbyes to our friends, the Via family. We have known Smooth and Kelly for six years. Aaron and Smooth have worked at Journey together, and we have also had the privilege of loving on three of their precious girls in Journey Kids.

Next week, Smooth and Kelly Via and their girls are hopping on a plane to Uganda. They are going to live with their adopted daughter, Chloe, because they could not get a visa for Chloe to come to America.

They have never given up fighting for Chloe since they started their adoption two years ago, even though they've faced many setbacks.

They are still fighting for her and they will never stop. Since they can't bring Chloe home right now, they will bring home to Chloe.

They are a beautiful picture of what Christ had done for us and an awesome example of His hands and feet.

We are going to miss them very much, but we are so excited for what God will do through them in Africa. Plus, they have a very excited daughter that can't wait to see her family.

Please check out their website and consider supporting them financially or through prayer. It's www.thevias.com.

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

Matthew 16:24-25

about our weekend staycation

Sometimes when you need a vacation but don't have time or money to go away, a "staycation" works just as well. 

We claimed this past Friday and Saturday as staycation days, and we then took full advantage of our empty schedule.

We slept in and stayed in our pajamas.

We lounged around on the couch playing games on our tablets.

We went on a date to PF Changs (we changed out of our pajamas for this) and spent some budgeted Vinylmation money.

We watched movies including the next three Disney Animated Classics on our list (we are about halfway through now). 

And we basically ignored social media for two days. No blogging. No tweets. No Instagram.

It was so, so nice.

It had been awhile since we had a date night.

I'm glad we got in a lot of rest when we did. I realized yesterday that every Saturday after this one until May 25th has something scheduled.

Oops. Good thing we take Fridays off too.

a Friday flashback

Before we flashback, you have to meet Brown Bear.

We bought Brown Bear as soon as we knew Penny was coming to live with us, and we then forced it to be her favorite toy. It's the only "upstairs" toy she has (it's the only toy I will allow upstairs permanently...everything else goes down in her toy basket at the end of the day). Brown Bear sleeps with her and travels with her, and she does play with him every day.

We have even bought a back-up Brown Bear in the event of a tragedy. Now, the one she's had since she was a puppy is missing an ear. The new Brown Bear looks new still.

Well, needless to say, if Brown Bear was ever destroyed completely or lost forever, we would be pretty devastated. He's the only surviving toy from her puppy days. And it probably wasn't the best idea to bring original Brown Bear with us on our trip to Tennessee last month...

Let's flashback to...

Wednesday, February 27, 2013...

We were just finishing up our stay with my grandparents. They live in Sevierville, TN, and we stayed across the street from their house in a cozy cabin. We had a wonderful time with them, but it was time for Aaron and I to make our way to Murfreesboro for the next couple of days. Penny, however, was going to make the move from our cabin to their house until we came back through to get her.

I was in the bathroom curling my hair while Aaron packed the suitcases. Penny was sitting in on the bed watching him anxiously. She knew that something was going on when the suitcases came out.

Aaron finished packing our things and loaded them in the car, and then I reminded him to get all of Penny's toys and her crate and take them across the street.

"Where's Brown Bear?" he asked.

"He was on the bed," I replied.

Aaron had already unmade the bed as instructed by the check out procedures of the cabin. He went through the blankets and sheets.

"He's not in here."

I was still in the bathroom with the curling iron. "Check her crate. Maybe he's still in there."

He went to check. "Nope."

"Well, I don't know. He's here somewhere."

Aaron proceeded to look everywhere. He went through Penny's toys in her bag again. He checked under all of the furniture and the cushions. He checked under the bed. The cabin was small, and he looked in every nook and cranny.

At this point, it became a little frustrating.

"What in the world? Do you think he somehow already went over to my grandparents?"

"Maybe I took him over there. I'll go check."

He went across the street to search while I double checked everywhere in the cabin.

We both came up empty-handed again.

"Do you think you might have accidentally packed him in our suitcase?"

"No. I picked things right out of the drawer and put them in the suitcase. Unless he was in a drawer, that didn't happen."

"Okay! Well, unless someone came in to our cabin and stole nothing but a little stuffed squeaky bear, he has to be here somewhere!!"

"I. Know," Aaron rolled his eyes at my dramatics. "He'll turn up. We need to leave."

"Aaron, we can't lose Brown Bear. He's Penny's most special toy."

"I know that. But, I'm sure your Grandma will find him, or we'll find him in one of our bags."

"Well, you could check the suitcase. Just in case."

He glared at me. "It is buried under lots of bags in the trunk."

"I can look. Just give me the keys."

He sighed. "Fine."

We went out to the car. He opened the trunk and unloaded three bags so he could reach our cabin suitcase. He opened it up.

We pulled out clothes and clothes and clothes.

And, lo and behold, there at the very bottom, a little brown face looked up at us.

"Brown Bear!" I exclaimed with relief.

Aaron only stared at it. "Just don't even say anything."

So, I didn't.

on the spring equinox

It may not be very warm out, but at least the sun showed up for the first day of spring!

Here's hoping to a beautiful season.

Heck, I might even try to plant some flowers.

Maybe.

how we do what we do

It's a gloomy day today. I am ready for the weather to make up it's mind. Cold. Hot. Cold. Hot.

Apparently I have grown allergies, because for the past week, my nose has been a waterfall, as well as my eyes. And the sneezing is constant.

Anyway, to the topic...

Our new season has begun. Here's how we are getting by so far (I'm sure it's not the only way to get by and I'm sure we have a lot to learn, but for now...):

So far, it is busy as expected, but with planning and scheduling, it's been great so far. Besides, Aaron and I sort of thrive on being busy. I'm sure that's a good and bad thing. (We do actually have this Friday and Saturday sans plans or responsibilities, so I promise we aren't overdoing it yet.)

During the week, Aaron is scheduled for about 10-12 meetings. Some are weekly meetings and some are random. I have been designated as his calendar keeper, so his meetings get planned through me. I like that, so I can prepare myself, as well as him for what the coming week looks like. 

Let me just say that Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Apple Reminders are my favorite things. I operate 5 different calendars: mine, Aaron's, one for us together, a Journey Kids calendar, and the meal planner. They all sync between my phone, iPad, and computer. I can invite people to events, set alerts, and color code everything. I. Love. It.

Aaron is typically busy during the day Sunday through Thursday. We try to keep Friday and Saturday generally free of plans when possible. We've also tried to keep the nights we are at home to four a week. 

Ministry jobs are tricky in that they aren't always 9-5. Aaron is basically on call whenever, so some weeks are harder than others.

I leave work by at least 2pm on Monday-Thursday, so I have about three hours at home before Aaron gets there to do laundry, cleaning, or errand running. I also use that time to blog or do other "me" things. That way, when he gets home, we can focus on being together.

I am still keeping up with my meal planning, which I love. I can only handle thinking a week ahead. I plan on Saturday and shop on Sunday evening for the coming week.

The budgeting is also getting easier. This month, I finally feel like I budgeted just right for everything. I was pretty pumped.

We are also still going to our gym. We'd of course love to go every day. Wishful thinking is five times a week. Reality is usually four times a week. Hey, it's something.

Another priority is keeping in touch with Bensen and Keyen. I am determined to not let this slip. We see them at least every other week, even if it's just stopping by for an hour. It's helpful that they live super close to us.

Things we aren't doing as well that we used to? Well, we unfortunately have lacked in plans with family and friends. They all live relatively far away from where we live and work. We obviously see Aaron's mom at work and have our Tuesday lunch, but it's not quite the same. We haven't been to the Bauers' since Christmas. We see everyone on Sunday in passing, but again, there's no time for family bonding or anything. And whereas I was seeing my parents every Thursday when I was a nanny, it's definitely a lot less now. And our friends...well, they just have to take us when they can get us.

It's a season, I know.

And it's what we are given to handle for now. Right now, I can't imagine having kids and doing all of this, but I don't have to. And I know that if this had been our life last year when I was working full-time, it would have sucked. But it wasn't like this last year. God always has us just where He needs us to be. He has worked everything out for us to be in a really good place for this busy time. We are having a blast.

So, there it is. It's not easy, but it's not hard. We aren't doing it by our own strength, and we firmly believe God has not and will not give us more than we can do with excellence. We have a few kinks to iron out still, but that should always be the case. We are works in progress. Always learning. Always growing.

about Jessica's wedding

So, you know how I would love to live in Cinderella's Castle?

Well, I know that probably won't happen ever.

Therefore, I found the next best thing.

My friend Jessica got married in this beautiful castle villa.

I told Aaron I would settle to live here instead. 


Anyway, the wedding was gorgeous and everything about it screamed "Jessica." She's insanely crafty and creative, and her wedding showed it off.

The weather was lovely, the food was great, and the dance floor was always crowded. I was honored to sing in the ceremony, but I was sure glad when that part was over so I could relax a little bit more.

We had a great time celebrating Jessica and John and seeing other friends as well.

Although, the best part of the event for me was definitely my sexy date.

a whole lot of random

Here's a whole lot of random...

I sure am excited for spring. Are you? I have enjoyed the winter just fine, but as far as I'm concerned, spring is welcome to stick around. The weather here has been a nice tease of what's to come.

On Sunday, Aaron and I ate Asian food for lunch. Asian food might just be my favorite, if I had to choose. And of course, a bonus of it is always the fortune cookie. I think that picture up there might just be the worst fortune I've ever opened. A question? Really?

This picture of Penny just cracks me up. She was yawning, but I think it looks like she's screaming with excitement. And, you can't tell, but she had cute little bows on her ears from the groomer.

We bought this automatic fish feeder last year so we wouldn't have to worry with a fish sitter when we went out of town. Well, Aaron has been swearing up and down that it's not moving anymore. It moves really slowly anyway, and it was still ticking, so I didn't believe him for awhile. We finally took a picture one morning and compared it that night. Yeah, it's broken. Jonah, however, is fine. Now we just have to remember to feed him manually again...

Have I mentioned how much I love my church? I do. It's true. You should totally check it out. 

And, lastly, I don't think I could be any more proud of Aaron Jack Bauer. He's my hero. I love how he loves kids and students. I love how he never settles for second best or even "pretty good." I love living life with him.

from the past

My friend Jessica is getting married on Friday. Weddings mean more now that I'm married myself. They always make me stop and reflect on my own marriage. I thought it would be fun to skim back through some of my prayer journal entries from our early days of marriage. I was pretty sporadic with my writing back then, but I did find one excerpt that grabbed my attention...

This is from July 29, 2010. Aaron and I had been married for less than two months...

Marriage is awesome. You know that though. Of course, it's not always perfect. We've had our share of disagreements. Sometimes I think no matter what I say, it's the wrong thing. And sometimes I forget who he is, and want him to be who I want or need instead. Help me to be a servant and to love him selflessly no matter what....

I feel like I have grown a lot as a wife since then. Of course, I don't think you can ever stop growing and learning. Marriage is a life-long commitment and can never be something that is "good enough." 

Aaron and I still have disagreements. Rarely, but, we do. And we are still learning how to communicate with each other. Sometimes he says something harmless, but I take it the wrong way. Or sometimes I nag at him too much and complain about his messy side a bit too seriously.

And I am still discovering who he is. What makes him mad. And sad. And happy. What makes him laugh. What hurts his feelings. And what makes his day.

I'm still learning to be selfless. Sometimes, a house chore that I need his help with can just wait until a time when he's not coming home from work after a long day. I might need him to be handyman, but he might need to crash on the couch and read.

And I still completely agree with past me in that marriage is awesome. It is ever-changing, but ever-steady. It is exciting, but comfortable. It is work, but also play.

It is the greatest adventure of my life so far.

in pictures

I do love photography Apps and taking pictures...

on toast and about our new season

Smile, everyone-it's Saturday! 

After a busy week, Aaron and I slept in, had a late breakfast, and are still lounging in our pajamas.

Days like this are a hot commodity around here, so we plan to enjoy it.

It was a great week despite being fast-paced. I loved being back at Journey. It's worked out perfectly for me to be working with Aaron again. His workload is increasing quite a bit because our student pastor and his family are leaving for Uganda in a few weeks. They are an amazing family and we are excited for them as they move across the world to fight for their adopted daughter. You can check out more of their story here.

Anyway, until a new student pastor is hired, Aaron will be the interim student pastor. That means, for the next few months or so, he will be leading volunteers working with birth-college.

We are excited for this opportunity, and have prepared ourselves as best we can for a very busy spring and summer.

Our time at home will be very precious, and it will mean cutting back on a lot of extra-curricular activities in the near future.

I am praying a lot of understanding and selflessness over myself.

I know that Aaron will be pulled in a lot of different directions, and I don't want him to feel pulled by me. At least, not in a bad way.

For him, I am praying for wisdom, endurance, strength, peace, guidance, and so much more. I know he will thrive in this season, but I know it will not be without difficulty.

We believe God will not give us more than we can handle and we are excited for this opportunity.

Off we go on another great adventure!

about a photographic end

I know it's only the third month of the year, but I have completed a resolution.

It wasn't a New Year's resolution, don't worry.

It was my resolution that I started in March 2012 to take one picture a day for a whole year.

Last week, on February 28, 2013, I took my last picture.

I can't believe I kept up with something like that for a whole year. I was pretty excited. Yesterday, I compiled them into a photo book that I ordered as a keepsake.

I debated whether to continue the #fmsphotoaday, but I decided to take a break for now. I still love taking pictures with my phone, and I am in a great habit of posting at least one photo a day anyway.

It might sound silly, but I really did learn a lot about iPhone photography and taking creative pictures over the past year. I love my iPhone camera. Just ask Aaron...he just rolls his eyes (lovingly) when I stop to take yet another random picture.

12 months of photo prompts. Also, the cover of my photo book.

about my new frenemy and rainbow pasta

Meet my newest frenemy:

It's my friend because it prints the things I need to print at work.

It's my enemy because it sure does give me a hard time printing those things when I've only known it for one day.

I'm sure Kyocera TASkalfa 3550ci and I will work out our differences in the end. 

My new job is great so far. I love being back at Journey and working with people that I love to hang out with.

Their is so much to do that the days fly by.

This week, we had our first ever Journey Kids Team Meeting on Monday morning. All five of us sat down together to talk about ministry and life.

We also had the fun messy task of coloring pasta.

Soaking in rubbing alcohol and food coloring

Drying

I sure do hope there's enough left over for me to make a friendship bracelet!

The best part of my job is that I get to play a small part in God's BIG story to reach kids and families in this city.

But right up there with that is working with my hot boss. I know people say relationships with people you work with don't usually work out, but I think I have a chance with him... ;)

about Esther

Yesterday morning I sat down with my bowl of cereal and propped my iPad up to read from God's Word. I'm on the last few days of a reading plan that I started last January. I have been reading through the Bible in chronological order, which has been very interesting.

Anyway, I opened YouVersion, which just had an update over the weekend, only to see the spinning wheel of death. YouVersion just stayed on it's welcome screen spinning and spinning until it finally closed.

I tried again.

Same thing.

I was a bit annoyed. Stupid YouVersion and their crappy update.

I tried to open it on my phone instead. I mean, the screen is a lot smaller, but at least it was something.

Well, that wouldn't work either. Oh, first world pains. The struggle.

I quickly checked my attitude before it got too bad and decided to pull out an actual Bible.

I do love reading from a paper version of the Bible even though most of the time these days I find the electronic version more handy.

I had no idea what was on the schedule for my reading plan that day so I instead turned to one of my favorite books in the Bible:  Esther.

Now, if you don't know the story of Esther, you should totally check it out. Esther is one of my heroes.

1. She is a princess. Well, she's actually a queen. But, if you know me at all, you know I'm obsessed with princesses and claim to be one. So, I like to say she's a princess.
2. She loves her family. She risks her life for them.
3. She respects her husband.
4. She is brave and kind and wise.
5. Did I mention that she's a princess? I mean, that's just the coolest.

Esther becomes queen with the help of her cousin Mordecai. Everything is going well. Mordecai even uncovers a plot to kill the king. All is well, that is, until the king's right hand man, Haman, sees that Mordecai won't bow down to him. Haman doesn't like that very much. He finds out the Mordecai is a Jew and sweet talks the king into destroying the Jews.

Mordecai begs Esther to help save her people. She wants to, but she's not supposed to go see the king unless he asks her to come. She will die if she goes to see him unwanted unless by chance he grants her favor. Mordecai warns her that she can't escape destruction just because she's in the palace. After all, she might have become queen for a time just like this.

Esther bravely goes before the king and she does find favor in his eyes. He offers to give her anything she wants, so she invites the king and Haman to dinner. At dinner that night she still doesn't request anything more than that they come to dinner again the next night.

Haman is feeling pretty special that he and only he was invited by the queen to come to dinner with the king. That is until he goes out and sees Mordecai at the palace gate. Mordecai still won't bow down to him, and that puts him in a sour mood. He consults with his wife who suggests constructing some gallows to hang Mordecai. Haman hurries to tell the king his plan.

Meanwhile, the king can't sleep and has one of his servants read him the daily logs of palace going-ons. When the servant gets to the page that tells the story of Mordecai saving the king's life, the king asks what was done to honor Mordecai. The servant says that nothing was done for Mordecai, just as Haman walks in the room.

The king says that Haman is there just in time to help him think of way to honor the man who pleases the king. Haman, the proud man he is, thinks the king is going to honor him, so he tells him all of the wonderful things he wants the king to do for him. Oh his surprise when he finds out the king is actually planning to honor his archenemy, Mordecai. 

Haman is forced to parade Mordecai around the next day on the king's horses and wearing the king's robes. At least he has his dinner with the queen to look forward to, right?

Well, little does he know that Esther is ready to beg the king to save her life and the life of her people. She tells the king that an evil man has plotted to destroy them. The king is outraged at this and demands to know who would do such a thing.

Haman tries to back away, but it's too late. He is hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordecai and the Jews are saved.

Esther is a hero because she trusted God to protect her and did the right thing. And Mordecai was honored and ranked almost as high as the king.

I love it. I never want to miss an opportunity that God has called me to. My "time just like this."

on a three breakfast day

We are home!

No matter how fun vacation is, home is always the comfiest place to be. It was a sigh of contentment when we walked through the door this evening.

We woke up at 5:30am (6:30am EST) this morning to pack up the car and head home. We grabbed a bowl of cereal for breakfast from the hotel before hitting the road. It was snowing in Murfreesboro, but thankfully, the roads were fine. I took a little nap while Aaron drove for an hour. 

We met my grandparents at a McDonalds around 10:30am. It was right on that line-will they be serving breakfast or lunch?

Well, it was still breakfast. We both had a biscuit for our second breakfast of the day. We sat with my grandparents for a little while so they could catch us up on Penny's adventures. They assured us they had a great time with her, which was great to hear. We were so thankful that they watched her.

She was happy to see us, however, she was very unhappy to get in the car to drive some more.

Nonetheless, Aaron drove us the two hours to Asheville where we pulled off again to switch roles for awhile.

Penny had been panting and shaking and carrying on this whole time so far, but when I started driving she finally settled down next to Aaron for about an hour and a half.

The last two hours of the trip were the longest when we were all just ready to get out of the car.

Somehow, we made the drive in nine hours though. We saw all kinds of weather on our way through the two states...snow, sleet, rain, sun, clouds.

Like I said, we were all happy to get home.

Aaron took the rental car back while I unpacked the suitcases. When he got home, we surveyed the food situation. There was cereal, but no milk. There were eggs. There was bacon in the freezer.

Yep.

Breakfast number three.

Maybe we'll skip it tomorrow...

Happy March!

The end of February is always so sneaky.

Here we are, going along nicely, 26, 27, 28...

And then, bam. February says, I'm done.

You don't always realize how much you appreciate the 29, 30, and (sometimes) 31.

Anyway.

Today is March!

Happy March to you and yours, and here's some things I find exciting about March in 2013...

1. I officially start working again. I know I kind of started last week, but I feel like this coming week is really the start of it. The printer is all set up on my computer, meetings are scheduled, to-do lists are made, and we are setting off on another new phase of life. I love my husband. I love my church. I love organizing and scheduling. I love calendars. This job=lots of love. 
2. FX. I missed our FX in February due to my evil death sickness. This month, barring any other mishaps, I will be there for sure. And, I get to help lead worship, which is always a joy.
3. I'm getting my haircut. That might seem a little dull to make the list, and I'm not planning on anything drastic. But, nonetheless, I haven't had one in a few months and I'm excited for a trim. Haircuts always feel nice.
4. Jessica and John's wedding. My good friend Jessica is getting married this month! Weddings are fun, especially now that I'm married. It brings back all of the emotions from my own wedding day and reminds me of the promise I made. I love them. Also, I have the honor of singing in the ceremony. I'm a little nervous because I've never sung at a wedding before. But, I know it will be fun.
5. Spring and time change. I think I'm officially over winter. I could almost go for one more snow, but not really. I want the warm weather. And even though losing an hour of sleep at the time change stinks, the extra daylight is glorious. I can't wait until it's light out at 7pm.
6. Easter. Easter is such a precious time remembering the sacrifice of my Savior and the glorious news that He's surely alive!

I think that about wraps up March. Sorry you didn't make the list, St. Patrick's Day.