Growth

Getting better each day.

Stretching beyond comfort.

Going beyond.

There are many ways to describe it, but growth is hard. It is sometimes painful and it is certainly life changing. That is the exciting part.

I am watching growth happen all around me. Shelby, my six year old keeps trying to wear the same pair of high-water jeans. They get shorter and shorter each time she puts them on. But, she says they are skinny jeans and that is "okay" because she tucks them into her boots and you can't see how short they are. That is unless we are going to the gym and she is wearing tennis shoes. Um, yeah, we go to the gym everyday. We were tennis shoes when we go to the gym. You can see where I am going with this.

My two and a half year old Reece, who wouldn't speak a word until about three months ago won't stop talking. He sounds so grown-up when he says things like, "Annalee, I want to play Angry Birds on Daddy's IPad after you." He then proceeds to play the game by himself, navigating through the menu, starting and ending games on his own accord. This is amazing to me. Of course that is coming from the girl who's husband had to tell her the reason her tablet wasn't charging was because she had the power cord plugged into the headphone port. Yeap, that was me. There is defiantly room for growth there.

My husband is in hot pursuit of God's presence as God is "pulling greatness" out of him. I see him changing right before my eyes. Not that he wasn't pretty great already. God was using him in big ways. God was being glorified in his circle of influence. But, I believe God has greater things on the horizon. I believe he is preparing Shane for a bigger circle of influence. One he is not currently ready to handle. So, growth must occur. That, my friends is exciting...

...and scary. If I am his partner, his helpmate, his supporter, what does that mean for me? I am to be his partner, his helpmate, his supporter even as he grows. I don't imagine for one second that I am ready to handle that role without growing myself. So, I grow. I want to be real. I want to be whole. I want to be strong. This blog is devoted to that journey.

Liz is having a baby!!

My little sister is having a baby. I was inspired to throw her a shower. She has thrown me many showers over the past several years, so it was only fair;) I had so much fun planning. Not knowing the gender, I went for polka dots, daisies and lots of white!!! You just can't go wrong with crisp, clean, classic white on white decor. We had a fun, relaxing time as we ate, gave wishes to the baby and showered Liz with lots of goodies. Liz is a super cute pregnant mommy. She and her husband Tommy are going love that little baby so very much. I can't wait to meet him/her in the very near future.

My friend Sara made the beautiful cake. She stayed up all night to deliver it fresh in time for the brunch!

I found this cute pancake idea on Pintrest.com. It is my new favorite internet pastime:)

Liz's favorite flowers are daisies.

I used my mother's milk glass collection to incorporate polka dots without being cheesy.

Candy bar favors...

Liz and our Aunt Krista

Cousins Lydia, Annalee and Avery

All Things New

Our church started a three part series back in August. It was the beginning of a lot of life change for many members of our church. Over 180 salvations and over 260 baptisms took place over the past month. My sister was baptized earlier this year and then my father was baptized in July. Then in August during the series the church offered a spontaneous baptism for all those who had never taken that step and 6 members of our small group were baptized!!! So much celebrations, so many emotions. I just can't get over all that the Lord has done. I am so excited to see what He has in store for each of their lives. *check out this video of the highlights!

Where did the Summer go???

What a whirlwind this Summer has been. I look back and I really can't remember what all happened, I just know it flew by!! I had lots of weddings to photograph, we went to Lake Powell with Shane's family, had two litters of puppies, began preparing for the school year and spent a lot of time indoors away from the crazy sauna outside. Here are a few photos of our sweet pups.

Soiree

I love my ladies lifegroup. We spend every Wednesday morning swimming through endless chatter in order to dive deep into the life changing biblically based studies we choose each semester. The spiritual growth of the individuals is reflected in the group as a whole not only in our meetings each week, but everyday as we serve our families, our church, our community and ultimately our God. We are so very privileged to be able to do this "life" together and God designed it that way! He not only created us for fellowship, but provided it for us according to our individual needs. THAT astounds me! Well, enough preaching, I am really here to tell you about a beautiful, fun girl's night we had last week.

I teamed up with my friend Tammie to put on a Mid Summer's Night Soriee. I am not sure what defines a soriee, but it sure does sound girlie, so we ran with it. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. But, I will let you know, it was classy, a bit whimsical, elegant and altogether lovely. I enjoyed every moment of the planning, the crafting (thanks to a late night with Tammie making messy yarn balls), the shopping, the cooking and finally the evening itself. The sunsetting on our cream and gold themed party was breathtaking. While the glowing candles kept us calm, the stories and laughter recharged our hearts. I love these ladies!

Annalee is 7

7 years ago I entered the world of motherhood. Technically, one could say it started 10 months prior to that, but I actually gave birth to my first baby girl, May 27th, at 8pm. I remember the excitement of that day as I realized at 6:30 in the morning that I really was in labor. I waited to call Shane home from work until 7:30am. He was out helping a friend build a house. He came home with a bit of haste, running around packing the car. I had to remind him that there was no rush and I had no intention of going to hospital anytime soon. I wanted to wait as long as possible in order to avoid the temptaion of an epidural, since I was bound and determined to have her without drugs. After a movie, some walking with my friend Natalie, a pedicure by my mom and a little rest, I called the midwife and told her I was on my way to the hospital. The contractions were two minutes apart, and I had a thirty minute car ride ahead of me. We endured that nasty ride (not at all recommended!) and finally settled into a delivery room. Upon being "checked" they staff went into speed mode because I was 8 cm and she was very low. But, it was all in vain as she took another five hours, including an hour and a half of pushing before she made her appearance. It was a beautiful experience, and as my good friend Sara calls it, "La-La-Laoborland" is one of my favorite places to be. It really is amazing what our bodies can do, and how they cope. It was truly a "high" you can't replicate and a memory I will cherish forever.

Annalee was, and still is a perfect angel. He first-born compliant nature is such a blessing in our semi-large family. Her nurturing spirit is appreciated by all and her selfless, giving heart is seen throughout or days. I stand in awe at her love of Jesus and her passion to know Him more. She loves to lead worship at church, read her Bible at night (she has been reading Philippians since she received her first Bible it last year;) and ask all kinds of questions about faith. Annalee is a socialite like her parents, and can hold her own in a crowd of children or adults. She is quite the talented athlete, balancing the grace of a ballerina and the speed of a sprinter. She loves to work hard and get dirty. But, she can be found playing dress-up and sipping tea an hour later.

I smile just thinking about my sweet girl, and I pray for her heart often. Thank you God for allowing us to have the privilege of loving, teaching, training and raising this beautiful daughter you gave us.

Sugar&Spice

Several months back, our pastor taught a marriage series entitled "Sugar&Spice." Our very talented video producer, Bethany Ufema, made a super cute trailer for it, starring one of my favorite couples, The Beckers. Yes, we make our own videos in house. Yes, she is that good:) All that to say...we decided to host a Sugar&Spice Bonfire. Here is the original invite..

Ok, Ladies and Gents... Here is your chance to show off those culinary skills. We are going to have a good old fashioned ice cream social/wing fest/bonfire all wrapped up into one night. Men- your mission if you should choose to accept it is to create the best wing sauce you can come up with. It can be sweet, spicy, zesty or ranchy...your choice. Ladies, you are on ice cream duty. Homemade is the only requirement. If you don't have an ice cream maker, ask around. I have a couple:) Millers will provide all the paper products, hot dogs for the kiddos, condiments, ice, the fire and the bathroom. Since we don't need, or expect everyone to bring sauce and ice cream, we will need help with a few other things: frozen wings, deep fryers, drinks and sides. Please make sure you RSVP. I know this is not normal for our generation, but it is very necessary as we prepare. Thanks!! Looking forward to a SWEET night. Or HOT. Or, well, however you want to describe it. Please feel free to spread the word, just make sure to RSVP for all guests.

Even though the rain totally took over, we were determined to party hard! It was a huge success! The night filled my home, my belly and my heart. Shane and I often talk of how blessed we are that God not only gave us a shared passion for relationships, but the capacity to invest in them. Not all husbands would be excited to host such an event. Not all wives would have been up for it either. Not that that makes us great, but rather, just perfect for each other. I love that! I am also blown away at the people God has filled, and I mean, FILLED our life with. I am so passionate about others being blessed by the same people know. I just want everyone to know my friends, my church, my family, my God. They make life so rich. And because of them, I am I full:)