Fish Tale

In May, our good friend, Mark, was in town for the afternoon, and, of course, Daniel wanted to take him out on the boat.  They headed to the intracoastal just north of our house and had a fishing trip to remember!  It was dusk, and apparently, the fish were going crazy jumping up out of the water constantly all around them like nothing they've ever seen before.  They claim that they'd have had a great trip even if they hadn't caught any fish, but I think bringing some fish home definitely increased the experience.

BIG REDFISH - almost too big to keep

(I think it was 9 pounds?)

2 Redfish and 1 Sea Trout

They got back after dark and were excited (and hungry), so Dan cleaned the fish and blackened them outside while I made cheese grits.  Dinner (or second dinner for me) was served at 11pm and was delicious!  Can't get any fresher than that!

Growth through Changes

While I typically use this blog mostly for sharing our daily lives with our friends and family through photos and stories (a.k.a. bragging about my kids), our family has walked through something this year that I want to document and remember in the future.  (I recently found out I can my blog into a book, and think this should be recorded as part of our family life this year.)

Over a year ago Daniel and I began discussing changing churches.  It was for a variety of reasons, mostly revolving around trying to figure out what was going to be best for our family in the long run.  The church we were attending is small (but growing) and there aren't a lot of young families in the church.  It has it's strength and weaknesses - as do all churches, but for me it had become family.  There were a lot of things about the church we love...focus on the Word, right in our neighborhood, and genuine, welcoming people to name a few.  And, the body of Christ has served us sooo much as we welcomed our two children into the world with baby showers and meals. 

But, although we had attended regularly and had been fairly involved for three years, we had never both been at peace about joining the church at the same time.  At first, I was more skeptical and hesitant and then Daniel was.  When Dan started talking seriously about visiting other churches, I was sad...but, supportive.  I knew if we weren't both content with our church that eventually it would cause major problems in our marriage and family.  Although I didn't want to leave, I did want Daniel to be happy and to find a place we could both agree on.  He was also sympathetic to my feelings and didn't want it to just be a role reversal, where we just went somewhere else and he was content, but I wasn't.

We visited several churches, but didn't fall in love with any.  It's hard to really "get to know" a church when you only attend once in a while.  And, both of us are looking for more than just a great Sunday morning experience out of our church home.  Around Thanksgiving, we decided to try plugging into the church that seemed like the 'best' choice until the end of the year and then re-evaluate.

The new church is much bigger - probably 10 times bigger - which provides more resources, but also a completely different atmosphere.  I still miss the relationships at the old church and the comfort of being known.  Looking back, God had been graciously preparing me for this change though.  I had been in a summer bible study at that church, so I had met several women already.  Also, the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group that I have loved attending this year meets at that church and several of the moms involved go there.   Plus, some good friends of ours go there and helped us get acclimated.  These connections helped to make the church feel less impersonal and intimidating to me.  We've been attending there regularly about 6 months and while it doesn't feel like home (yet), overall, it's been good for our family.  We are growing in our relationship with God, making new friends, and doing better at spending time in the Word. 

But, what I wanted to record here is the way God worked in us to change a potentially divisive decision into an opportunity to willingly submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21).  Since we are both pretty laid back (and are still crazy in love), we don't have major disagreements all that often, but typically when we do, it causes tension, tears, resentment and bitterness.  This time it was different...while definitely emotional, we didn't direct our emotions at each other, but were able to listen to each other, take our time really sort out our true feelings, desires, and fears, and realize that we really ultimately desired the same thing - to be in the best place for each member of our family to grow in Christ.  Daniel was willing to remain at the other church if that's what I really wanted...and not begrudgingly, he would have made the most of it.  And, I was willing to lay aside the security of the old church, in order to find a new place with even more potential for everyone.  It was neat to be able to follow Daniel's leadership, even as it hurt, with a willing heart...and knowing he was willing to sacrifice for me too.  We are still in transition, but this process has grown us individually and brought us closer together.

Zoo Delight

As we pulled up to the entrance to the zoo, Josh squealed and exclaimed in his happiest voice, "Yay, zoo!  Yay!"  Dan and I thought our hearts would burst.  It brings such joy to give your children something that brings such pure delight.

One thing I love about my toddlers is that they have no awareness of self.  They don't try to restrain their emotions according to social norms.  They cry, shout, clap, love, wave, whine, and laugh as they feel it.  It's genuine, real, raw.  While learning to control their emotions is an important skill as they get older, I'm NOT looking forward to them becoming aware of themselves and self-conscious.  I dread those wounds to their hearts that are an inevitable part of growing up.  I hate that those experiences will shape them and influence how they express themselves.  And, I hope that our family will always be a place where they are free to express who they really are.

Yet, I know there are lessons to be learned in the hurts that will come.  Hardships draw us to God and help us learn the valuable traits of finding our security in Him alone, being steadfast, loving our enemies, and so much more.  It will break our hearts, but hopefully will make both us as parents and our children draw close to God for comfort that only He can give.

Baseball

Joshua has been practicing hitting a baseball off of a homemade tee.  He's pretty good at it...

walk and talk

I'm stealing Melanie's blog post about our trip to New York. She said it WAAAY better than I could have, so, here you go, a recap of the essence of my girl's trip to the Big Apple...

Mel writes:

vanessa and i have known each other for more than 20 years now ... i suppose as the years increase, that might get a little easier to believe. we began as friends through gymnastics carpool and junior high youth group; grew together through high school mission trips and a college career of roommate-hood and overall inseparability; and have remained close as we have each gone through multiple jobs and moves, met and married our sweet guys, and given birth to two children apiece. what a tremendous blessing, to have a friend who has seen just about all there is to see of my life -- the old, the new, the ugly, the beautiful. so many jokes, so many stories and memories.

i e-mailed vanessa a while back and told her i had a secret dream that the two of us mamas might be able to get away to New York City for a few days and live like the grown-up girls we once were ... drinking coffee, walking slowly, eating at non-kid-friendly restaurants, and talking as long as we wanted to. and a few weekends ago, our husbands each held down the fort at home with the kiddos while we did just that.

we saw a wonderful show, ate several different kinds of special desserts, rode subways and walked all over the city. we spent time with a college friend and were so blessed by her hospitality (thanks, kristen!). but what characterized our weekend, more than any other activity, was genuine conversation -- a precious commodity for moms. just like in our college days, we found ourselves struggling to keep our voices down as we lay in bed chatting away long after we meant to go to sleep.