goodbye my friend

Our first day with Annabelle. Look at how small she is!

December, 1999

My dog dresses like a floozie!

Kisses?

Playing in a snow... a definite favorite! Keep on clapping, she'll keep running!

Belle and her lady

Nose ball - a favorite game.

We love you Annabelle... We will miss you very much.

December, 2011

healing

Since surgery I have been working hard healing. It has been a very productive time. When mostly all I can do is lay on the couch or in bed, I have a lot of time to get things done. Here is my "Post-Op Accomplishment List"

• I have read Sarah's Key, Something Blue, and Bossypants. Bossypants was my favorite by far and I often truly laughed out out MANY times. Highly recommend.
• Watched Season 1 of Modern Family
• Watched half of Season 2 of Modern Family
• Watched half of Season 6 of How I Met Your Mother
• Watched a few movies, including Titanic, Meet Me in Saint Louis, Star Trek (that one was B's choice)
• Discovered pinterest, and have decided on my style for various rooms in our future house, teaching ideas, and wall decorations
• Consumed quite a bit of pharmaceuticals
• Eaten and frozen a massive amount of food from our friends

I have another 2 weeks off work, so I am sure I will get much more accomplished. Next week, my plan is to master Rock Band guitar, and today starts the Lilliehouse Thanksgiving Tradition of a 3 day marathon of all the Lord of the Rings extended edition movies. Yup, we're cool like that.

Overall, healing has been quite a bit slower than I expected. I have gone through many times of feeling pretty down, but have been hanging in okay. I still have a lot of numbness and some nerve problems when I am standing, but am thankful I can be somewhat comfortable while laying down. The neurosurgery nurse told me that hopefully by about day 14, things should be much more calm with everything.

We also took off the bandage today... a nice little picture of my new, cute tramp stamp. I can't wait to show it off over the top of my cute low rise jeans.

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of all." - Psalm 34:18-19

surgery!

I am home recovering now! Yay! I have a very numb leg and pain that gets pretty intesne in that leg, but they said that is all understandable due to the digging they did in the nerves.

A couple pics from the last days.

Before surgery with all my IVs and wires.

After... not quite as peppy

Doing stairs with the physical therapist. I've mastered my old lady walk

I'm home! And looking gorgeous by the way.

a cake to cut

My birthday is on Wednesday, but we celebrated tonight due to crazy schedules the rest of the week. My wonderful husband made me this cake last year, due to my recent back injury and all the meds I had been given to try and fix me.

This year, I am pretty sure he topped it. 16 days until surgery!

I think we need to stop watching Cake Boss at the Lillie house.

time to be an adult?

This week I turn 27 years old. 27. There is something weird about that number in my head. It makes me feel like now I have to be an adult. I can't fudge on my adultness now. I'm not in my mid-twenties anymore. I'm in my late 20s. I'm close to 30. Which means doing grown up things. I often still feel like I am a kid or still a college kid running around pretending to be a teacher. Maybe to feel more grown up I should stop wearing holiday themed socks and being easily entertained by wooden toys. And probably no more chocolate milk. And I should probably change my phone ring tone from the WonderPets theme song. And maybe I should think about having kids... well, maybe just a dog to be sure I can handle being responsible for another living thing. And arrange dinner parties.

Or perhaps not... maybe at 28.

Counting down...

We are continuing to be patient in God's timing and trying to remain hopeful for success from surgery. Pain levels have been horrid lately, and we are counting down days... and today Bryson suggested I make a paper chain. So, in the spirit of counting down, we have 17 days! Excited to rip off a chain link tomorrow.

...there is a season

This weekend has been rough. (For the record, ultimate pin blaster is not a good game to play with 1st graders for one with a bad back!) I was wishing this weekend that I had decided to go for an earlier surgery date. While I want so badly to have the surgery soon and hopefully find some relief from pain, I feel the need to be around for some things in the next few weeks. I felt very torn about waiting all the way to the middle of November to try and find some relief, but be able to finish some things out opposed to taking the first available appointment. I know that God's timing is perfect though. These verses were comforts to me this evening.

"This vision is for a future time.

It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.

If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,

For it will surely take place.

It will not be delayed."

-Habakkuk 2:3

"At just the right time I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again." - Isaiah 49:8

Parts of the book of Isaiah were written during a time of huge struggle for the people of Israel. They had just been conquered by the Assyrians. They had been forced to live in a way that was unfamiliar to them. They longed for the peace and familiarity they were used to. If the Israelites were anything like me, they wanted to return to their times of peace and healing NOW. But God didn't solve their problems right away. The Lord did promise that the time when they would return to their land would come. And God kept that promise. Even though it wasn't in the same timing of the Israelites. We have to trust that God will keep His promises to us. He hears us when we cry out to Him. He lifts us out of our sorrows and sadnesses. He will steady our feet as we walk.

I want surgery now. Actually, if I was honest, I wanted healing without surgery about 16 months ago! Yet, for a reason unknown to me, this was not God's timing. I have to trust that His timing is perfect and that He will answer my prayers.

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

and he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,

Out of the mud and mire.

He set my feet on solid ground

and steadied me as I walked around."

-Psalm 40:1-2

kindergarten moment

Today in Kindergarten music, we were singing a song about leaves. A girl raises her hand.

Mrs. Lillie: "Is this a story or a question?"

Student: "A question"

Mrs. Lillie: "Okay, ask."

Student: "Yesterday, my grandma..."

Mrs. Lillie: "No, that's a story. A question starts with who, where, what, how. Do you have a question about music?"

Student: "Um... yes... how... ... ... ... do you play the violin?"

Mrs. Lillie: "Well, that's a good question, but we're going to finish our song about leaves right now. We'll talk about it after class."

Creepy Crawly!

Today, the biggest spider I have seen in my life decided to come to 4th grade music class. Here is a written re-enactment of the scene:

Student: Um, Mrs. Lillie? There's a spider!

Mrs. Lillie: Where? scream, runs to back of the room

All students: I'll kill it! I can do it!

the P.E. teacher walks by the music room

Mrs. Lillie: MR. LOMAX!!! COME BACK!

speech therapist hears my screams, opens the door

Speech therapist: What's wrong? Oh my gosh! That spider is huge! Mr. Lomax come back!

a paraeducator walks by, looks as the spider, and stomps it. She leaves.

Mrs. Lillie: (thinking, What do I do now? I don't want to touch it, even in a kleenex!) Okay kids, tell me more about the jazz museum... (takes 10+ kleenexes out of the box)

Student: Well, we saw Ella Fitzgerald's dress...

Mrs. Lillie: (picks up the spider with all 10 kleenexes) Aaaauuuuugh!!!! (as she runs across the room with 10+ kleenexes and dead spider in hand and flings it into the trash can)

All students: rolling on the floor laughing at the crazy, spider fearing music teacher

reality check

I know often I post about my health. This is an everyday reality for me, but today I was given a little reality check.

A lot of times I get so frustrated when others complain about their little ailments. When someone tells me "Oh, my back is hurting a little today, I must have a stiff muscle" I get SUPER resentful and want to scream "Oh yeah? I DON'T CARE." Or when someone tells me they are tired (I do give a break to those with kids :)...), I want to tell them, "Yeah? Were your comps and thesis due last week? And you spent 30+ hours working on them, plus working your two jobs? While you were in intense physical pain the whole time???" I have noticed my empathy has been completely lacking the last few months.

Tonight I read a CarePages blog of a childhood friend I have, who's 7 year old son has leukemia. What a reality check. Who am I to be non-empathetic? Who am I to get upset? How selfish I have been. I should be loving, caring and compassionate, not holding my problems above everyone else. Thankfully, Christ is the model for love and compassion when my selfishness gets in the way.

We sang this song at church today, and I was in tears. I will end the blog with a quote from this song:

He is jealous for me

Love's like a hurricane I am the tree

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and glory.

When all of a sudden

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory

And I realize just how beautiful you are

And how great your affections are for me.

And Oh, how He loves us so.

Oh, how He loves us,

How he loves us so.

Did you know September is Chronic Pain Awareness month? I found this on the American Chronic Pain Association website today.

Ten Steps

Ten Steps from Patient to Person

Making the journey from patient to person takes time. The isolation and fear that can overwhelm a person with chronic pain grows over time. And the return to a fuller, more rewarding life also takes time.

It’s a journey with many phases. The ACPA describes these phases as Ten Steps.

The ACPA’s Ten Steps For Moving From Patient To Person.

STEP 1: Accept the Pain
Learn all you can about your physical condition. Understand that there may be no current cure and accept that you will need to deal with the fact of pain in your life.

STEP 2: Get Involved
Take an active role in your own recovery. Follow your doctor's advice and ask what you can do to move from a passive role into one of partnership in your own health care.

STEP 3: Learn to Set Priorities
Look beyond your pain to the things that are important in your life. List the things that you would like to do. Setting priorities can help you find a starting point to lead you back into a more active life.

STEP 4: Set Realistic Goals
We all walk before we run. Set goals that are within your power to accomplish or break a larger goal down into manageable steps. And take time to enjoy your successes.

STEP 5: Know Your Basic Rights
We all have basic rights. Among these are the right to be treated with respect, to say no without guilt, to do less than humanly possible, to make mistakes, and to not need to justify your decisions, with words or pain.

STEP 6: Recognize Emotions
Our bodies and minds are one. Emotions directly affect physical well being. By acknowledging and dealing with your feelings, you can reduce stress and decrease the pain you feel.

STEP 7: Learn to Relax
Pain increases in times of stress. Relaxation exercises are one way of reclaiming control of your body. Deep breathing, visualization, and other relaxation techniques can help you to better manage the pain you live with.

STEP 8: Exercise
Most people with chronic pain fear exercise. But unused muscles feel more pain than toned flexible ones. With your doctor, identify a modest exercise program that you can do safely. As you build strength, your pain can decrease. You'll feel better about yourself, too.

STEP 9: See the Total Picture
As you learn to set priorities, reach goals, assert your basic rights, deal with your feelings, relax, and regain control of your body, you will see that pain does not need to be the center of your life. You can choose to focus on your abilities, not your disabilities. You will grow stronger in your belief that you can live a normal life in spite of chronic pain.

STEP 10: Reach Out
It is estimated that one person in three suffers with some form of chronic pain. Once you have begun to find ways to manage your chronic pain problem, reach out and share what you know. Living with chronic pain is an ongoing learning experience. We all support and learn from each other.

Bryson's COR internship

This semester, Bryson got an internship at Church of the Resurrection in Leewood, KS. If you are not hardcore Methodist, you may not know about this church. It is a United Methodist church of approximately 18,000 members. The pastor, Adam Hamilton has written many books, including one of the many books that have gotten me through the last 15 months, Why? Making Sense of God's Will. Pastor Adam Hamilton is an incredible preacher and leader of this church.

This week, Bryson has really started into the heart of his internship with COR. He has sent me many text messages about how awesome his week has been. He has gotten to meet Adam Hamilton, and we both get to go to his house for dinner in December. I am so incredibly proud of all that Bryson is doing right now, and what an amazing experience he is getting through this internship! I know that soon he will be such a great spiritual leader for many people in a church. What a wonderful man God blessed me with.

Peace in the squeeze

Yesterday I had my fourth MRI in a year. The doctor thinks I have a benign tumor on one of my nerves in addition to a pretty bad buldging disc. He wanted to do another MRI before we do surgery. I have learned to do pretty well in MRIs. If you've never had an MRI, they are not super pleasant. You go in a small tube that just barely big enough for you, and it is VERY loud and noisy. Mine have lasted between 30-45 minutes. The one yesterday, I also got the joy of an IV and contrast being injected in my veins. I close my eyes and sing praise music in my head to the rhythm of the machine. My third MRI was at Research Hospital and they asked me if I wanted to listen to music. I said, "Sure!" They said, "What do you want to listen to? We have everything." I said, "Um, how about jazz?" So they played jazz. I ended up blocking out the music eventually to go back to my usual praise music in my head. Yesterday, I asked, "Do you use Pandora? Can I listen to Audrey Assad?" It was the most incredibly peaceful moment of my whole week. Things have been absolutely crazy at school and getting thesis work. But even in a small tube with loud banging going on, I felt completely at peace. Some Hillsong, Audrey Assad and other wonderful music played. I can't remember all of what was playing, but I did listen to the words. One song talked about God being there, through the tears and the pain. I felt God holding me yesterday through that test. I know that God is with me through all of this. There are often times where I only see darkness, and do not feel this peace. I may not always feel it like I did yesterday, but I hold to the words of Desert Song by Hillsong (which is one song that came on!):

This is my prayer in the desert

When all that is in my feels dry

This is my prayer in my hunger and need

My God is the God who provides.

This is my prayer in the fire

In weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved of more worth than gold

So refine me Lord through the flame.

We all go through times of squeezing. Whether it's in an MRI tube, at a job, or at home, hopefully you can feel peace through the trials by relying on the Lord even in the tight times.

Lord, through all trials, grant us your peace. Let us remember to worship You in the desert, in the fire, in the trials, as well as the harvest. While your will may not be to heal the body right now, please stay with us, walk with us, and hold us. Refine us. Remind us of your presence when all we can see is darkness, and bring us out of the darkness into the peace of your love and grace.

...have your way

We are sitting on another eve of yet another doctor's appointment. The appointment tomorrow will go over all the nasty tests that I have had the last few week. Tomorrow, life could drastically change with a solution to my pain. Or it could remain the same. Once again, I am praying for peace and patience with the appointment tomorrow. The last few days have been awful and I've barely been able to walk. I feel like I shouldn't hope, but yet once again, I am hoping, praying and pleading for a solution. I know that MY will is to be healed, NOW. I know that God's will is for me to be healed... but on His timing. I don't know why I haven't been healed yet, but I am trying to trust God's plan.

There has been so much music that has spoken to me through these times. These are a few truths, through music, that have gotten me through the last 16 months.

Brit Nicole, Have Your Way

And I'll stop searching for the answers

I'll stop praying for an escape

But I'll trust you, God, with where I am

And believe that you will have your way

Just have your way.

Jars of Clay, Valley Song

Though the pain is an ocean

Tossing us around, around, around

You have calmed, greater waters

Higher mountains have come down

I will sing of your mercies

That lead me through valleys of sorrow

To rivers of joy.

Audrey Assad, Show Me

Bind up these broken bones

Mercy bend a bring me back to life

But not before you show me how to die

... God, for now, just stay with me.

Casting Crowns, Praise You in this Storm

But once again I say "Amen," and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls,

I barely hear you whisper through the rain

"I am with you."

And as your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

and takes away.

All these songs have the same idea. God is bigger than our pain. It may not be healed right now. But God is with me. He will lead me with His mercies through this valley. I will learn more how to trust God through this grief, and he will stay with me. So, as I wait for another night to find out what is going to happen tomorrow, I try and rest in the Lord through these words of truth of others. And once again, I try to remember that I'll trust you God, with where I am and believe that you will have your way. Just have your way.

"Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." - Hebrews 10:36

Volunteers?

I am so proud of myself! I worked my tail off and got all of our laundry done this weekend! It is so glorious to not have massive piles all over the place!

Now...

...if only I could find time, energy, or someone to fold it! :)

Go other team!

A fun evening at a preseason Chiefs game! Spur of the moment gift tickets with a parking pass! It was a nice night with my hubby and my pal Rochelle. Go other team! :)

This was the radar last night around 2:15 in the morning. I thought we were going to need to seek cover in the bathtub with our bicycle helmets on!

My prize!

My prize for all my recent medical tests and the start of school. Super fun!

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school! I was super sad to miss the kids coming in in the morning (I had a doctor's test to go to) but I got to school around 10:00 and had a great rest of the day. Today we just did recess and lunchroom rules, so not super exciting, but I am really excited to do music class tomorrow. Bryson asked me what my hopes and dreams were for the year at our start of the year dinner (at Jason's Deli). Here's what I came up with:

• Really incorporate the stuff I learned in my Orff class this summer.
• Be a source compassion, grace and joy for the kids I see every day.
• Take time to reflect on the enjoyment of my job.
• Graduate with my Masters
• Remain positive and hopeful through the personal issues that I may face this year between my heath and the possible changes coming this spring.

On a completely different note, today Bryson got an email about his Church of the Resurrection internship. In addition to being in school and continuing to work at First UMC Independence, Bryson has also been given the opportunity to intern at Church of the Resurrection, a 20,000 member UMC church in Leawood, KS (just over the border). Today, he and his spouse got an invitation to have dinner at Adam Hamilton's (the head pastor) house. We are both huge fans of Adam Hamilton... I think Bryson wet his pants a little with joy and excitement. Super exciting!

hope

This is a paragraph from the book I'm reading, Patient Endurance by Kari Bailey that I read this morning:

Whatever you do, don't lose hope for your healing and wholeness. Fight for what is rightly yours. Keep seeking God for wisdom to guide your next step. As discouraging as going from one doctor to the next and trying procedure after procedure has been, it has proved to be the right move for me. I wish I could have got the solution right the first time, but God in His sovereignty has allowed me to hop from place to place, trying new things. Though He has allowed me to suffer much pain in the process, nothing is wasted in the Kingdom of God, and He will use everything for his glory... When we have God, we are never without hope. Don't give up, and don't give in. The Lord will give you what you need to endure until the end.

SONIC!

My parents and brother had never been to Sonic. After being in the Missouri bubble for so long, I had forgotten there were people that hadn't ever been to Sonic! My dad was all a twitter as we made it event, grabbed our camera and drove down the road to our local neighborhood Sonic.

All excited for our Sonic order! (Tracy was incredibly embarrassed by his dork of a family)

Mom ordering

Dad ordering

Ma and Pa by the Sonic sign

Enjoying our Sonic Drinks

Yummy ice cream! Very happy about it.

My Ebenezer

Tomorrow is my visit to the surgeon. I am very anxious but have been trying to trust in God's plan. My prayers are filled with requests of peace for whatever is decided. Should it be surgery, I pray for peace for how it will effect my school year and the process of the surgery itself. Should they not decide to do surgery, I pray for peace for trying to decipher what road I need to take next. I am praying for continual acceptance of my limitations, whatever they may be this year. I will continue to try to do grace and not stuff.

One of my favorite hymns ever is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Verses two says "Here I raise my Ebenezer". This does not mean that you are holding up an old crotchety man from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. This is in reference to a verse in I Samuel 7:12. The Israelites had been in battle with the Philistines, and the people had told Samuel to not stop crying out to the Lord. He made a sacrifice to the Lord, and when the Philistines attacked, God helped the Israelites defeat the Philistines.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying "Thus far the Lord has helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israels territory. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. - 1 Samuel 7:12-13

Thus far, the Lord has helped me. I have been given many Ebenezers in people's prayers, help, kind words and love. I know He will continue to give me Ebenezers no matter what may come.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I'm come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;

He to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.

Babb Family Visit

My parents and one of my brothers came in to town on Thursday night from Colorado! Some highlights so far...

Friday my mom and I went down to Crown Center while Bryson and the boys went to the College Basketball Experience.

Tracy dunking

Daddy going for the big shot

We also went on Friday night to the Tigers vs. Royals game. It was close game and went even an extra inning. Tigers won.

Kauffman Stadium

Jesus apparently has a favorite team. The Tigers!

My Papa and Me

My mama and me

4 of the 5 Babbs (missed you Trevor!)

Me and Bryson

We had fun with one of the players. I couldn't figure out why they kept booing Moustakas. I finally figured out, they weren't booing, they were mooing. So we mooed.

This morning we went down to City Market and tonight the boys are going to another Tigers game while Mom and I hang out at home. I love having my family in town!

Do grace

I am a do-er. I love to be doing things. I am doing grad school. I am doing my thesis. I am doing my research. I am doing a 4.0 grade point average in my graduate degree. I am doing my teaching job. At my teaching job, I am doing committees and extra classes and extra clubs. I am doing my church job. I do choir and praise band and media and sound set up. I do Sunday School for the kids during part of the summer. I am doing my job as a wife. I do dinner, I do cleaning, I do grocery shopping. I do extra things to make my friends feel special. I do surprise parties, cupcake dates, fun nights out. Even when we're sitting around in the evening with the TV on, I am frequently doing.

This morning, I was reading the book Patient Endurance, which is written by a young woman close to my age who lives life in chronic pain from back problems. Today I was reading about accepting your limitations. I wrote down a couple quotes in my journal about limitations.

"I do have to accept the here and now and submit to its limits and boundaries."

"When you accept your limitations, you are not giving up on your faith or your hope of being healed."

I journaled about my limitations, how I have a very real time limit on activity, how my house is never clean because scrubbing bathtubs picking up is difficult. The next couple questions to journal on were "How do I accept my limitations and surrender my will to God?" and "What does God want to teach me?" I believe what God wants to teach me, is this. It's not about doing. I don't have to do everything that I once did. It's about showing the love, grace, compassion and peace of God to those around me. I don't need to be teacher of the year. But I need to show my kids love and grace and compassion. I don't need to run everything at church. I need to demonstrate how God is working through me and empower others to do some of the jobs that I can't. I don't need to have a spotless house to show my husband I love him. But I do need to take time to show him love and patience. I am going to try (yes, try... I know I will stumble) to let God take away some of my doing. Instead, as this school year starts, my goal is to do grace. To do love. To do compassion. To do peace. To do rest in God.

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations... At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and I begged God to remove it. Three time I did that, and He told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength is all you need... Now I take limitations in stride and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down in size... I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. -2 Cor. 12:7-10 (Message)

Holy flying pigs!

I have never in my life seen a temperature this high somewhere that I am living.

Back in the day...

Most people know that Bryson and I met on Facebook. I saw his profile in our college's Campus Crusade group and thought he was cute, so I poked him. Recently, Facebook has changed its message system so when you click on a message from someone, you see ALL the messages you have from someone. I found this today and thought it was funny. Our first words to each other:

March 9, 2005
Bryson Lillie
you poked?
howdy, I do believe you poked me. I apologize for for asking this but have we met before? Your name sounds familiar for some reason. And by the way, good quotes on you profile.

March 9, 2005
Sarah Babb
Nope, you do not know me, as far as I know! Just wanted to meet some new people and I enjoyed reading your profile!

March 9, 2005
Bryson Lillie
re: hey there....
Its nice to meet you! I'm glad to have found a friend out in the facebook jungle.

Love you more every day my wonderful husband!

Happy Birthday, Bryson!

Today is Bryson's 28th birthday! We had a pretty low key birthday tonight. We went down to a restaurant for dinner in downtown KC called The Brick. We had never been there but it was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which is one of Bryson's favorite shows.

I spent most of the day working on his birthday cake. It was a Chocolate Guinness cake from scratch. It turned out pretty good! Not super sweet, but very chocolaty. The frosting really kept it from being overly sweet so you could just delight in the chocolate-ness of it.

We came back and had cake and ice cream and he opened his couple presents. His big present this year he got in Colorado, so tonight he just got a couple things. I got him Green Lantern Boxers and my parents got him the first year of the Feasting on The Word Bible commentary.

Here are 2+8 things that I love about Bryson (yes Jodi T., I stole this from what you write about your kids!). I was originally going to write 28 things, but when Bryson told me I was going to have to come up with 29 new things next year, I decided this might be a little more doable. Not that there aren't 28+29 things I love about my husband. But I was a little worried for his 126th birthday, since that's how long he said he was going to live!

2. I love his goofy sense of humor. He always keeps me giggling.

1. I love how hard he works to follow his dream about becoming a pastor.

8. I love how he cleans better than me. I then always have an excuse to let him clean. :)

7. I love how these last few months he has let me work on my thesis and has taken care of a lot of the household things.

6. I love how he will try and help alleviate my back pain with a back rub every once in awhile.

5. I love how tickled he gets over superheroes and Hell's Kitchen.

4. I love listening to him pray in church. He has such elegant words to lead others in prayer.

3. I love how optimistic he is when I have a hard time staying positive.

2. I love how he deliberates over things to make the best decision that he can.

1. I especially love how much he has grown in his theological understanding the last 3 years. I am so blessed to have such a Godly man for a husband!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!

I didn't have time to get the numbered candles... so I made Bryson hold up a sign. :-P

Blow out those pretend candles Old Man!

Green Lantern, GO!

An organic day

This morning, Bryson and I got up and headed down to City Market in downtown Kansas City with our friends Mitch and Sarah J. Bryson and I had never been to City Market before, and we didn't quite know what to expect. It was such a delight for all my senses. On Saturdays, it's really a huge farmer's market, but then there are some nice little shops too along the way. It was so fresh and produce scented. People were playing music a the corners. There were even some Hare Krishnas sitting along the way playing their finger cymbals. We bought some fresh produce and some tea that smells so good!

We bought most of our produce from a farm stand that had a catchy name.

We then drove out to Trader Joe's, where we had also never been. It was an interesting store!

I'm excited to eat all our fresh fruits and veggies, and drink my wonderfully aromic tea!

Hand over your keys...

Today my family was reminded of how horrible drunk driving can be. Back at my parent's house in Colorado a drunk driver came through my parent's fence at 3:30 this morning. Our house backs up to a fairly busy-ish road. If you're coming in from Boulder, the road is very straight, until it makes a fairly sharp turn right before our house. This is the third time a car has come into our backyard after the bars close. The driver was pronounced dead on the scene in my parent's backyard. They are figuring he was around 21 years old.

DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK. Hand over your keys, have someone drive you, or take a cab. There is no reason to take this risk.

Lord, please be with this person's family as they hear the news this morning. Let someone be with them to let them feel Your presence through this heartache.