Frontier Airlines

This is just a little shout out to the Frontier Airlines crew of flight 888 on Sunday August 7, from Denver to Anchorage. This was my first time flying on Frontier, the second leg of my trip home from Nashville. I was beyond impressed with this airline and crew. I chose the flight because it was the cheapest on my search. I have flown a lot with Alaska Airlines (because we get miles) and Delta, and that's about it. The flight attendants were fun, hilarious, and interactive. I have never laughed out loud on an airplane that I can recall, or spent so much time interacting with the other passengers in my row. I also enjoyed the warm cookies served on each flight. You can be sure that when I am going to purchase tickets with money and not miles, I will be looking for flights on Frontier.

Maggie May!

After 10 years of pushing and prodding, I finally gave in to a dog. Honestly, I always knew we would get one someday, but my reluctance was due to the fact that dogs complicate life. More than kids. You can take kids with you pretty much wherever you go. Dogs are not welcome most public places. Dogs make it more difficult to travel because you have to find a person or place to care for them while you are gone. Dogs shed. Dogs have to be let out to go potty. And, I KNEW, I could not be a dog owner who keeps the dog outside. A pet is part of the family. What IS the point of owning a dog if it spends all it's time away from the family? I needed to be really ready.

So, I gave in on the condition that I got to pick the breed and the name. I think I found a winner with little miss Maggie.

It's a new era for this family. :)

The MOPS Update

So, last year I took a "year off" from coordinating classic mops. One of the things I've learned since then is that when I follow God's leading, it doesn't mean that later he won't lead me right back to where I was! When I first realized I was going to be back into the coordinator role at College Heights this coming year, I was a little embarrassed to share the news. I felt like I kinda made a big deal about leaving in the first place. Because I figured it was forever! And I was sad about it, but excited to go with God wherever he took me. Silly me to think I know what God's got in mind!

It was a good year for me to not be coordinating. Refreshing. Plus, I would have had a mental breakdown, I think, trying to coordinate and build our house, while living with my inlaws. :) I am thankful God had someone there to keep it going during my hiatus. And this time, I am not trying to predict the future! One year at a time. I will continue to rely upon God to enable me to do all he has set out for me.

I wasn't latent, mind you. I was still coordinating Teen MOPS. Teen MOPS has been such a blessing! Rewarding, stretching, growing. There is such a need. Oftentimes, young moms don't see their need, or are too stubborn to address it. No matter what our age, we ALL need to be connected when parenting young children! I pray there is someone in our community with passion, drive, and initiative, willing to lead Teen MOPS. I don't want to see it die. But I can't do it all.

I've also served a full year as a Field Leader for Mops International! From the first general session at my very first Convention in Dallas, before our MOPS group had even started and I had ever been to one MOPS meeting, I knew when I saw the girls walking around in the brightly colored polos that I would someday be one of them. I just didn't think it would be so soon! I absolutely love being a field leader. Although, because we were in the situation we were, building our house, I have not yet lived up to my potential in that role. I feel like I was just getting started this spring, once we were all settled. We did have our first ever community event in Anchorage and Leadership Summit there as well and I am just thrilled to start connecting these leaders and groups together in our vast state, as well as offer support and encouragement to them in their leadership roles.

So, there you have it! We are gearing up for a new MOPS year at College Heights and I find myself at the helm again! With God as my compass, of course. I am so excited! I am excited to be working with new leaders, excited to meet new moms and see who God will send to our group. I am excited to be stretched and grown more and more. I am excited to serve. I know I am at my best when I am serving others, when God is loving moms through me.

The Non-Update Update

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I posted! I sort of have this love-hate relationship with Facebook because you can easily and quickly post lots of pictures on there and I know more people are looking at them. But then it makes me less inclined to post on here. I really love how my blog allows me to express myself more fully...it's an outlet I need.

We made it through spring and breakup! The BIG event for our family was going to California and Arizona just after school let out. I would like to share more with you about that trip with pictures included, but just after we got home and I put all my pics and TONS of video on my computer, the hard drive crashed! I should also add that I had erased them from the card, because that's what I do.

Thankfully, we do have an amazingly technologically inclined friend who has found a way to get them off the old hard drive! I am so thankful! But I just haven't gotten them back yet, so you'll have to wait to hear all about our wonderful trip.

The trip was wonderful, but coming home wasn't. After a week in Arizona, waking up to clear, blue skies and sunshine and 95 degrees everyday, we returned to clouds and rain for a week straight. It was a very hard adjustment for me. If it had been more gradual, I think that would have been easier, but I suffered a week of mini-depression, that I will tell you. I remember the day I woke up and opened the curtains to the gray and instead of having the immediate physical and emotional reaction of depression, as I had been, I thought, "this is okay. I can live with this."

So now summer's on! The weather still hasn't been great. I am praying for some nice days. I want to do some camping and hiking. We got our lawn planted and it is starting to grow! I still have a lot of indoor projects that need completed, but I have lost the motivation there. We are itching to get a puppy....

Easter Fun

Easter Photoshoot

Spring Refreshment

Maybe you identify with a t-shirt slogan I saw on a group of moms at MOPS Convention. It said:

SUPER WIFE.

SUPER MOM.

SUPER TIRED.

It certainly gave me a chuckle. I don’t know about the super wife and super mom part, but there are definitely times that I feel SUPER TIRED as a mom of young children! Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I have been weary and burdened, how about you?

Sometimes, when I’m in a place of feeling weary and burdened, I can almost visualize myself in a dry, desolate desert, trudging though the sand, and all I see on the horizon is dune after dune of the same dusty brown sand. Or it might literally look like diaper after diaper of the same smelly poop. Load after load of the same laundry each week. Load after load of the same dishes. It can certainly make one weary. If we come to Him, he will give us rest! Sometimes, we just need to rest in His arms. “Every moment of every season is an opportunity for spiritual growth.”(Alicia Britt Chole, Intimate Conversations) Even seasons of rest.

After I’ve spent some time resting, I’m thirsty! I’m thirsty for LIFE! And guess what, Jesus had something to say about our thirst as well. He said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” (John 7:37) As the springtime sun pours forth, my soul is awakened! I begin seeking the Lord with renewed vigor. Like a flower bulb, I have been dormant, resting in my Father’s arms. Once my restoration is complete, I experience refreshment. I am overflowing with energy and joy!

Maybe you are feeling weary or burdened. Maybe you hunger or thirst for something beyond physical food and drink. There is new life to be found in Jesus! Let Him restore you. Let Him refresh you.

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19-20a (New Living Translation)

weary: physically or mentally exhausted by hard work, exertion, strain; characterized by or causing impatience or dissatisfaction; tedious

burden: that which is carried; a load; that which is borne with difficulty; obligation

hunger: a strong or compelling desire or craving

thirst: strong or eager desire; craving

restore: to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish; to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition; to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor

refresh: to provide new vigor and energy; to stimulate; to make fresh again; reinvigorate or cheer