WVU friends to VA!

Recently in a 6 day span we had we had 6 friends(& a precious baby!) come in from out of town. It was such a FUN few days for us....

Here are a few pics from our time with Claire & Caleb & Lydia...talk about a family that keeps the Lord as the focus. It was really encouraging to live life with them for a few days.






Memorial day weekend brought in some really special friends, too:

Within the first hour of Laura getting into town we decided to make lemonade from scratch! It was sooo good(and so easy!).



we also had a picnic on the beach with PB&Js!




John Michael and Ashley were in town visiting family so we got to spend a little time with them! It was a blessing!!


Time for a Friday night date with Bri! Off to Five Guys where we will have a little Nertz competition! Our dear friends Abby & Steve taught us the other night- so fun! We can't get enough of it!

Rest.

So, I've been learning a lot the past 2 weeks on the importance of REST. After a FULL/FUN/CHALLENGING/BEAUITFUL/REFINING year of launching ministries--I think I've forgotten how to slowwww down. (And, sometimes I start to feel guilty for slowing down, yikes!) My prayer for the summer is that even though it will be busy that I will :embrace: the little moments to rest/restore.

Here are little -daily- things that help me(& hopefully you)rest/relax:(most of which are under $5)
*Trader Joe's Sparkling LIME Spring water! (.79!) This is a new love of mine. It's a GREAT calorie free complement to any snack, meal. *This has made limiting my Dr. Pepper consumption to 2/week easier:)
*Saturday morning blog reading!
*Last week I got a Library card! I wanna start reading more fiction books this summer...the first one I checked out::: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks(don't hate)...i'm on page 160 of 390...so far it's pretty average but i am interested in how it will all end. What other books do you think I should check out this summer? I'd LOVE to hear suggestions!
*Playing Skipbo with Bri at Starbucks or Norfolk Ice Cream!
*Walking through our neighborhood with a good friend or a good talk on my Ipod(Louie Giglio,Francis Chan, Piper, Priscilla Shirer...). I need to blog about our neighborhood sometime-it's one of my TOP fav things about living in Norfolk.
*Watching Everybody LOVES Raymond reruns with Bri(&popcorn.)
*Trying new recipes! Cooking=rest to me. My summer goal is to try a new/fun recipe each week. Let me know if you have a good one I should try.
*Today to rest I woke up at 6:15am and cracked the window open so that I could clearly hear the birds singing. I know it sounds crazy but it was actually REALLLLY interesting to hear all the different songs birds sing.
*Curling up with any of the Better Homes and Gardens Creative Collection magazines. Especially 100 Decorating Ideas under $100. It only comes out 4 times a year--I get really pumped when there is a new issue!
*Workbooks! Last summer I did the Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed workbook by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. This summer I am working on the "sequel" to that book, Faithful, Abundant, True. It's by the same 3 women. Love it. Has been a GREAT encouragement in my walk with the Lord.
*There's a dog park in my neighborhood! This dog park is always BUMPIN'! On average there are 15-20 dogs with 15-20 people standing around. I haven't gotten the courage YET but I am hoping to slip in without someone noticing that I am coming in without a dog...when i'm in I can just play with all the dogs(no one will know i'm dogless)..and then somehow I will slip out. This will def help me rest:) ha.

strawberries, salads, & sisters!

So on a semi-regular basis(daily) Kristin Boden and I check in with Bethany Dillon via her blog. Several weeks ago Bethany blogged about a Summer Strawberry Salad...yes please! And, tonight we made it...we even had a little Bethany playing via grooveshark in the background. As a side note, you should check out grooveshark! Recently someone shared with me about the beauty of grooveshark-all the music you want all the time, for free! It's a great thing!
Here are some cooking/food pics!:

Here is the recipe from Bethany's blog:
Summery Strawberry Salad

serves: 5 people (or 2 if those two are Shane & me)

1 container of pre-washed baby spinach
couple handfuls of ripe strawberries, washed and quartered
half of a Granny Smith apple, chopped into bite-size pieces
half to a whole handful (depending on how much you like gorgonzola) of crumbled gorgonzola cheese ** if you don’t like gorgonzola, feta or bleu cheese would work fine! I’m just a fan of gorgonzola’s strong flavor and richness
a GENEROUS handful (let’s make it one and a half) of walnuts and/or pecans (I prefer walnuts), toasted (if you like) and chopped
Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette (most groceries carry the brand – look for a pretty glass bottle with a picture of a strawberry on front)
To toast the walnuts or pecans:
1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Lightly coat the bottom of a glass baking dish (any size) with a couple tablespoons of melted butter or oil (walnut, vegetable, olive, any kind you have around).
3) Coarsely chop the walnuts and/or pecans, pour into baking dish and toss to evenly coat with butter/oil.
4) Sprinkle a couple teaspoons of sugar (sugar in the raw or organic sugar work great) on top, half a teaspoon of salt, and a LIGHT dusting of fresh ground black pepper. Toss again to coat.
5) Place in the oven until you begin to smell the nuts toasting, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn! (although I LOVE things burned. Seriously, I do.)
For the salad:
1) Take toasted nuts out of the oven, place on a plate to cool.
2) In a tall bowl, throw baby spinach, quartered strawberries, chopped apples, crumbled gorgonzola, and COOLED (or it will melt the cheese) walnuts/pecans.
3) Add the amount of vinaigrette you want, and then toss!
4) Put on a plate. Grab a fork. Go outside on your deck or backyard, find a sunny spot, and enjoy.

*We added chicken to it! We just cut up chicken into bite sized pieces and then browned it in a skillet with the help a little olive oil. After it was cooked all the way through we added just enough Strawberry Salad dressing to give the chicken a light glaze! It was great.

Thankful for:
Yummy salads!
Good music!
But mostly I am thankful for the sister I have in Kristin!
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

A Picture of March

*Sunny Saturdays with a basketball and Ginny & Alan!!

*Baby Asher!


*CELEBRATING GINNY'S BIRTHDAY!!



Then celebrating Alan's Birthday Texas styleeeee:




In March I fell in LOVE with the Wii JUST DANCE:



Katie & Jason came to visit!!:)






Rita came to VA!


Angel Taylor, Ingrid Michaelson, & Mat Kearney! A goooood night.
(PS Angel Taylor opened her set with a song called Chai Tea Latte, that's my girl!)




Easter FUN with some Chinese friends from ODU:





WVU Spring breaks in Tidewater!


Volleyball & a sunset at ODU!







Quality time with some of my favorites!






Loved March!

Panera & a Bible

Sometimes there is nothing better than just getting up realllllly early and heading over to Panera. At first it might just be the promise of hazelnut coffee and a blueberry bagel(with raspberry cream cheese for me!) that gets you rolling in the morning! But, I just love sinking into one of the little tables for 2 with a little coffee and my Bible. I love the switch that starts to take place...when originally it had been the coffee that got me there the promises of the Bible begin to wake me up SO much more than the coffee ever could.
Here is a little of what woke me up this morning:

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Acts 2:24

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time... Ephesians 5:15

In ALL circumstances take up the shield of faith. Ephesians 6:16 (been thinking about this verse a lot lately- trying to apply it daily)

He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

Mark 7:31-37- Jesus heals a deaf man. (i love reading about Jesus' miracles) And they were astonished beyond measure, saying "He has done ALL things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Mark 7:37


Hope you can make it to Panera soon!

P.S. Misty Edwards song- Arms Wide Open. Killer. you must listen to it soon.

I heart Saturday mornings and...

I heart MAIL: I love swinging the door open at the end of a day to see whats fallen through the mail slot. I look forward to that moment everyday! Sometimes I wake up and say, "Bri, do you think we will get any fun mail today!?" I don't know what my deal is with the mail...I even wave to every mail carrier that I see when I am out and about. I feel a connection with them:) The best is after we've been away for awhile and there is a pile waiting for us when we return, like this:

This is the mail we received after being away in Colorado for 7 weeks! Can you even imagine how excited I was!
I heart weddings! It's SO fun to see people get married that you know will LOVE eachother well and live to bring God glory together! Here are 2 recent examples of this:


anddddd


2 weddings already in 2010!

I heart all animals with long noses(P.S. I don't know why I just do!):






I heart AMERICAN IDOL! I seriously get so pumped up about it!(I've been asking around A LOT and still haven't found anyone else that is in to it!) Brian calls the finale of American Idol, "Brooke's superbowl" That's how intense I get. I bawled/screamed with joy when Kris Allen made it to the top 2 last season. And, i'm sure you can imagine what happened when he won. I know it's a little crazy! (I just love to see people go for their dream!) WOO. But, this year i'm not really able to watch it because of different responsibilties on Tues & Wed nights....so, Brian and I went to a thrift store the other night and bought a VHS player for $2.99 so we could tape both nights!(Brian really gets into AI with me too which makes it even more fun).


I think that's enough hearts for now!