just a quote

"All the GOOD that you will do will not COME FROM you

but from the fact that you have ALLOWED yourself,

in the obedience of FAITH,

to be used by God's LOVE . . .

The REAL hope then is not in SOMETHING we think we can do,

but in GOD

who is making something GOOD out of it

in some WAY we cannot see."

-Thomas Merton

a little beach and a little earthquake

It was the perfect beach day . . . .

The girls have been asking all summer to go to the ocean. I try to make at least one day trip just because we can. I loathe the Parkway, but in the middle of the week, it is not unbearable.

So yesterday, a picture perfect day, we packed up a few bags (probably the least amount of stuff I have ever made a day trip with!) and we headed to Lavallette, NJ to a teacher friend's beach house.

The girls had a blast. It was the first time Jenny really swam in the ocean, and rode her first wave! After her first knock down and sandy head she was timid, but by the afternoon she was swimming with Elizabeth and Greta with no problem! Kirsten did a great job in the water too, laughing and spitting out the "icky" salt water.

A little after 1, Cathy, Liesl and I were talking in our beach chairs watching the girls playing in the sand. All of the sudden, we were swaying! At first we thought the wind and waves had played with our equilibrium, until we realized what was really happening, an earthquake!! It was crazy! It went on long enough that we were able to take notice and really feel what was happening beneath us! Everyone around us noticed, too. Some moms got nervous and called their kids out of the water. I just thought it was so neat we had experienced an earthquake! Of course in just a matter of minutes thanks to technology, we learned that not everybody on the east coast thought it was "so cool."

Obviously, life is better at the beach, even during an earthquake!

happy birthday . . . . again and again . . . .

My birthday is in March.

But how many people have friends who give them birthday gifts for 6 months? I do! Thought this was such a cute, incredibly thoughtful idea that I wanted to share it in case anyone else needed the idea (I believe originally stemming from my friend's super sister!).

For the past 6 months I have had gifts of delicious treats and beautiful flowers delivered to me by one of my favorite people. She is not a high maintenance friend, and we do not have a high maintenance friendship. She is grounded, real, matter of fact, compassionate, a great listener, and "gets" me. We can drink a glass of wine together, or we can play Wii Dance with our kids. She makes me smile and laugh, and she makes me cry. She tells me she is praying for me, often.

I continue to be so incredibly thankful for her and the influence she has had in my life (and for her delicious home-made chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches).

Looking forward to my next birthday present!

It's been a while, I know.

So let's pick up where I left off. Live It 2011. Last night the youth group came over to help me film for a DVD for church. We had a chance to catch up on this week of service, worship and fellowship that seems like an eternity ago.

In answer to a question in my previous post . . . why do we do this? . . . of course God did not disappoint! We already are ready to go to Live It 2013, Pittsburgh.

Hopefully some of the pictures can relay the craziness of our drive, our activities, our service, and our worship. What an amazing group of high schoolers!

lots of hours on this bus . . . . but SOOOO thankful for it!

Each day consisted of kids going out on different tracks.

I got to be with the Do It track for a day. There was

a Habitat House going on, a clean-up in a government owned low-income housing

development, park clean-up, and downtown Marion curb painting

weeding and planting going on.

Did I forget to mention how HOT it was???

it's amazing how many kids showed up when this hose came out!

At night we had our Pull It Together sessions. Worship and some

amazing speakers. Our kids would wait for an hour to make

sure they had front row seats. Also, we were always on stage.

Nothing like New Jersey people making a name for themselves!

Raven, Alyssa, Bianca and Randi all took part in the Create It track.

They had the opportunity to sing and dance for everyone.

Sherri and I had tears in our eyes.

I think this was Du and Sherri's 17th convention as leaders.

We are so thankful for the influence they have had in our lives and that

we can call them dear friends. A bit crazy that their daughter came on convention

this year as a freshman. They were teasing us about how many years

until Jenny is on convention with us!

Once again, our group on stage with praise band, and the MC's

live it!

Jenny's "goodbye" pictures

Why are we doing this?

In 12 hours, we leave on a bus from Unity CRC with 20 high schoolers and another couple. A 13 hour drive will land us in Marion, Indiana at Indiana Wesleyan University for Youth Unlimited's Live It (formally known as convention). I have never been to Indiana, nor have I ever driven through the entire state of PA. Guess that will all change today. This experience is different than in years past, and with an emphasis on service, going out and doing, I'm pretty sure kids and leaders alike will meet with and worship God in some unique ways.

This trip has brought up some anxieties, along with some excitement. Every time we have ever left the girls over night, it has been for youth group functions. (Matt and I keep saying we want to get away just the two of us, but then we end up getting away with just the 20-30 of us). Every year we have our retreats, and 2 years ago we traveled to NC for convention, and today we travel west.

This year the trip has been especially rough for the girls, as they now understand time and are very aware of their reliance on us. I know they will be fine and will have fun with the 4 different friends, babysitters and grandma's taking care of them (think I have that schedule straight!), but they still have shown quite a bit of anxiety about us leaving. Last night Jenny was diligently working on something, and I was not allowed to look. She came to Matt and I and with tears in her eyes told us to take these with us and whenever we missed her to look at them to remind us of her.

As a mom, I am trying to leave everything "just so" for everyone so that my kids keep somewhat of a routine and have some surprises from mommy and daddy every day, and making sure that those who stay at or use my house will find it comfortable and "easy" to watch my kids in. This is where I get myself worked up, and then I get frustrated that I am leaving, and then I start thinking about what else I could be doing this upcoming week, and then I feel bad about leaving my kids for a week . . .

But then I come back to the question I started this post with. Why do we do this? I don't have an answer to this question, but I know that God always surprises Matt and I when we ask this question in connection to working in His kingdom.

I'm praying that God reveals an answer to this question for me in the next 6 days.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Phillippians 4:6-7

eleven

The Liberty House

view from our table

Matt and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this past Thursday, July14. In some ways it doesn't seem that long, and in other ways it seems like a very long time. When I think about life 11 years ago, it's hard to remember those apartment days without kids, peace and quiet, being a new teacher fresh out of college, and having only each other to come home to. It really wasn't that long ago, or was it? I was 22, Matt was 27 . . . yikes. A lot has happened in the past 11 years, all of it very difficult now to remember life without it.

We celebrated by going to The Liberty House, in Liberty State Park on the Hudson. A very cool, casual, chic (not many dutch here!) restaurant complete with outdoor dining, a view of The Freedom Tower, deliciously (expensive) cocktails, and outdoor fire pits complete with bowls of marshmallows and roasting sticks. I can truly say I was completely relaxed.

These past 11 years have not been all easy, but nobody promised they would. We have grown together, and we have challenged each other. We have laughed together, and we have had tears. We have 2 beautiful daughters amazingly created by God through us. We have a comfortable home on a pretty street with good neighbors, we have wonderful friends, we have loving parents who are close by and have been able to be very involved in our girl's lives, we have the time and a place to get away from the daily stresses of life, we have been blessed with good jobs, and we still have each other to come home too . . . with some added "benefits."

Matt's aunt and uncle sent us a card and along with some very sweet words, Aunt Caroline referenced Philippians 4:8. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." How true it is that in order to grow a long, faithful and godly marriage, we need to choose to always bring glory to Him by overlooking each other's faults and looking to the positives.

My prayer is that we will continue to grow our marriage and that Matt and I will continue to remember to put each other before ourselves, and above all, to put God first.

blue mountain lake

We are grateful for our BML retreat.

Normally we do our best to get up for at least one full week in the summer, and then some long weekend trips here and there. This year we spent 4th of July week there along with TN relatives, mom and dad, Gram, and Jon and Jules. A busy and full house to say the least. It was very good to see and spend time with my cousin Paula and her husband whom I haven't quite convinced to move to NJ yet!

The weather was perfect all week, a rarity in the ADK's. Here is just a peek at some of our week.

Aunt Julie and I made massive amounts of Sangria on Day 1!

4th of July picnic lakeside

The story of the fireworks. Lots of Fireworks. Ridiculous amounts

of fireworks. So fun and nobody lost any body parts!

A warning that was not heeded: Never mix alcohol and explosive materials.

Oops.

sparkler skills

relaxin', chillin', snackin'

who wants to get covered next?

One of our favorite things to do is the 3 lake tour on our pontoon boat.

BML is connected by beautiful, peaceful channels to

two other lakes . . . Eagle and then Utowana. We ate lunch at the end

by the canoe carry to the Marion River, tied up to an old steamboat dock.

We even saw nesting loons.

my kayak enthusiast

Jenny, Kirsten and I kayaked all the way to "blueberry island"

where we swam and explored.

My talented, beautiful, patient cousin.

Two little blondies wanted to take her back to NJ.

We spent some time at the ADK museum, just the 4 of us.

The ADK museum is so unique, and so beautiful, and right up the street.

We really enjoy bringing

the girls here, not only to learn about the history of the ADK, but because the museum

is so creative and kid and family friendly.

It was Family Palooza Day, and it is not often

Radio Disney broadcasts from this rustic hillside museum

or a place where bouncy pits can be found.

To the girls delight, the museum did not disappoint on this day!

the "dress up" station