Jackson & The Horse Adventure

A few weeks ago Jason's mom took Jackson to her sister's house to ride horses. She has an amazing job. She does horse therapy with children!

Any-who....Jackson, Carson and Abby all went with their Ammie for the day to ride horses. Of course, Sandy came back with some amazing pictures. :)

Aren't these pictures amazing?!

Now, you need to know a few things.

A. My son does not usually do great around dogs or any other animals for that matter. When the arrived, he saw a huge dog and told Ammie that he would stay in the car for the afternoon and just watch them. The fact that he even went near a horse was a big deal...no huge deal. So, naturally, when I saw these pictures I was so proud of him!!

B. Sandy (aka Ammie) is an amazing photographer. She recently quit her job to pursue her photography passion and we couldn't be more excited and proud of her! She's already working at a new art studio where her work will be displayed and available for purchase! You need to be sure to check her out here and read her blog here.

I am so proud of my Jackson and I am so thankful that he has an Ammie who takes awesome pictures! :)

In 6 hours..

I have....

Cut an insane amount of fabric for our new stage design.

Went to Chick-fil-a with my "oh so fantastic sewing beautiful friend" Jenn.

Had 2 meetings.

Gave my kids 3 packs of fruit snacks to entertain them while I met with someone.

Cleaned PERMANENT marker off my coffee table. And the award goes to...Reagan Powers.

Disciplined my son for telling a PASTOR, "don't know, don't care." Yeah...

Breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.

Made a song list for prayer night tonight.

Mopped my floors.

Cleaned my stove.

And sat down on the couch in exhaustion and wrote this blog...that somehow makes me feel better.

But, I did it all with joy and had fun in the process! :) (Except for the "disciplining" part)

Monday

Oh it's been a little busy in our world lately.

I think I say that literally every time I write a blog post. Even if I don't say it I am thinking it.

However, today we made ourselves slow down and be a family.

-Jason let me sleep in until 8 am. I never sleep that late. EVER. It was most awesome. I love my hubby!

-We did some MUCH needed yard work. The kids played while we worked. We are ready to burn the whole thing down and start all over, but the progress we did make was huge. I am excited for our plans. :) (But reminding myself that it is "baby steps")

-Took the kids to Costco for a cheap lunch and to walk around. I seriously love that place and it's easy to take the kids there.

-Went to look and shop for plants at Milberger's. Love that place too!

-Put the kids down for a nap. Sweet peace.

-Jason got a hair cut.

-I worked on some Easter stuff for Sunday.

-Watched the Discovery Channel and learned that a bear sleeps while giving birth to quadruplets. What??? Oh yes, she sleeps and then wakes up to see them all their waiting for her. Insane, I know....

-Did more yard work before dinner.

And now here I am..getting ready to make dinner. I will wake up tomorrow and begin to work on getting everything ready for the weekend. By the way, have I mentioned how EXCITED I am about Easter this year. It's going to be sweet. We're going to worship, celebrate Jesus and see Him lifted up! Hope you can come!

Easter at River City

I'm super excited about Easter this year. A lot of it may be because I have had a lot invested in it. From helping with music planning (& learning) , to creative readings, funny moments, videos, paintings, and creating a sunrise (something I'm super excited about)....it's all been a lot of work and a reminder of what a great job I have.

So, here is my plug to come and check out our Easter Service.

Things I love about RCCC:

We love Jesus.

We love to hang out.

We are human, imperfect and we still love each other.

We worship.

We're real.

We like food. That's always a plus. :)

We're transparent.

We mess up....

We grow.

We see miracles.

We give grace.

We like to think.

A Church For Real Life...

Urge to clean...

I have had the urge lately to totally simplify and clean our home. I would say that I am a clean person. Jason would say that I like to "clutter" things up.

Whatever.

So, lately we've been de-cluttering and getting rid of things we don't use anymore, need anymore...etc. Part of it is just something we have been needing to do, but another part of it is because of some deep convictions we've both been having.

"Contentment opens our eyes to the blessings around us." A great point from Pastor Sean's sermon this week.

However, Thursday night I came home after a long worship practice and saw this....

Usually my counters look more like this....

And that's just one little part....He stripped my whole kitchen. I noticed it immediately too. Yes, it looked clean, but it lacked all character and....ME! I told him I would give it a week.

And then I will put it back.

And rearrange his dresser drawers.

And his Ipod playlist.

And his shoes...and his toothbrush...

And the living room....again...

Jk.

Kinda.

Gruene, Texas

I love my worship team at River City. Great group of people. Love them all. :)

Last Friday, 2 of the girls from the team called me up and asked if I wanted to spend the day with them. We (plus 2 others) usually get together weekly to hang out, pray together, sing like divas and we are getting ready to start the book "Captivating". (Which I might add is a great book).

Because I love them, I said yes. :) We wanted to go to Fredricksburg, but due to schedules and having the kids, we opted for Gruene. I love going to Gruene. It's only a 20-25 minute drive and has great restaurants and places to walk around. When we got there Reagan broke out into a rash all over her body. Her legs and arms started swelling up, so I had to run to get Beneydrl. About 5 minutes later she was doing much better. (Turns out she had Fifth Disease...but she's fine now.)

We ate at the Gristmill for lunch. Hung out. Walked around a little. Played with the kids and jammed to Taylor Swift on the way home.

I love these girls. I love their hearts. Their passion for God. Their worship. Their sweet spirits. And the fact that they just like to plain have FUN. God has something awesome for them.

This week..with an Anniversary. :)

It was a really crazy week. A good week, but a crazy one.

This week I....

made a trip to the ER. (glad that's over..)

figured some things out.

made headway.

sent my hubby to the river for a much needed break.

breathed.

meetings, meetings, meetings.....and more meetings.

prayed a lot.

heard from god.

went to Huisache Grill. Yum.

went to Gruene.

panicked.

let go.

loved.

organized.

hosted small group.

had fun.

prayed for hurting friends.

relaxed.

ate leftovers.

bought kids easter basket "treats".

celebrated my mother-in-law's new journey in life.

was grateful for friends who came through last minute.

learned.

led.

worshipped.

pushed myself.

slowed down.

watched "Have You Heard About The Morgan's?"

The best thing I did...

WE LOOK LIKE BABIES!!

Today Jason and I celebrated our 6 year Anniversary. I am so blessed. I really can not even convey how grateful I am to have a husband that loves me. No matter where we are in life we always, ALWAYS turn to each other. I am so blessed to have a husband that loves God first, loves our kids, tells me I'm beautiful, believes in me, encourages my passions and never gives up.

This one...

This little one...

makes my heart smile.

Thoughts on a Rainy Day

Oh....

There is so much to say, but so little words to even describe it.

I would ask that you hold us in prayer. I am feeling so overwhelmed these days. But I know this...God is good. God is here. God is with us.

In the meantime, I am so thankful for

Spring

Long Walks

Family

Amazing Friends

Laughter

My Husband

Prayer

and Sonic. :)

"Be strong...For I am with You...." Haggai 1:13

Like A Child

I used to love Jars of Clay. Still do...

This song was a favorite of mine and I started listening to it again. I really love this song and it resonates with me in more ways than one right now...

Dear God, surround me as I speak,
The bridges that I walk across are weak
Frustrations fill the void that I can't solely bear
Dear God, don't let me fall apart,
You've held me close to you
I have turned away and searched for answers I can't understand

They say that I can move the mountains
And send them falling to the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
With faith like a child

Sometimes, when I feel miles away
And my eyes can't see your face
I wonder if I've grown to lose the recklessness
I walked in light of you

They say that love can heal the broken
They say that hope can make you see
They say that faith can find a Savior
If you would follow and believe
With faith like a child

Our Home

I have some friends and family who have been wanting to see pictures of our home. This just seems to be easiest way to show everyone, so here are a few pics of our living room and kitchen area. For those of you who have seen my home before you will notice that a lot of things have changed.

I am really enjoying our little home. I am trying to do new things one thing at a time. It may not be huge or have the "best of the best", but I have loved making it ours. It makes me happy. :)

This Week Thursday

This week was a good one.

God is moving in my family...big time.

This week I....

went to see John Mayer.

loved John Mayer.

ate at Fogo de Chao. YUM!

bought 150 yards of fabric.

laughed hysterically.

was scared.

prayed.

celebrated the little things.

cried for a friend.

was encouraged by others.

enjoyed sonic happy hour (again).

played with my kids.

had only one "night" thing.

made progress.

worried.

let go of it all.

loved.

went to Bill Millers.

was proud of my husband.

planned more Easter.

went to Austin.

slept in.

made spaghetti.

ate less. (getting easier)

redecorated.

watched American Idol.

read more "crazy love" by Francis Chan.

cried over suffering babies.

wanted to sell everything so that others could have more. (no really..this is something strong on my heart right now)

got free tickets and front row seats to Lincoln Brewster!

learned MORE new music.

hung out with a friend.

loved more.

had a better week than last. :)

Our Weekend Getaway with John Mayer

2 christmas's ago, I got Jason the "Where The Light Is" John Mayer DVD. He had become pretty obsessed with the album, so I figured it would awesome to get him the live DVD.

Since then we have watched it about 22 times and not only do we know it by heart, but Jackson now thinks he will be John Mayer one day...except without all the "bad" stuff. :)

I heard he was coming to Austin in 2010 so when Jason's parents asked me what to get Jason for Christmas I naturally said, "tickets to the Mayer concert." And lo and behold there they were on Christmas day. Of course, they could not let him go alone, so they got 2 tickets.

Oh happy day for Natalie. :)

We've been sitting on the tickets since Christmas and finally March rolled around. This last Monday was the concert and it was fantastic.

Seriously. He is amazing.

No really...

He's really good.

And although he has said some pretty RIDICULOUS things lately, there is no denying his musical genius. So there.

Aaron & Bre watched our kids and we stayed over night in an awesome hotel and were so blessed to do it with 2 good friends who must really love us....

It was all in all...

relaxing

peaceful

fun

and most awesome.

We ate at the wonderful Annie's Cafe on Congress where I ate this French toast for breakfast ....

Mostly, I just love that we have FUN together. We were also celebrating our 6th Anniversary. 6 years...wow. Seems like yesterday we were dating and driving around listening to music just so we could be together. I'm just excited to see what God is doing in us. Makes my heart smile.

(Horrible picture of me, but it's still kinda cute)

Sisters, sisters. There were never such devoted sisters...

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of.

You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~Amy Li

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty

A sister smiles when one tells one's stories - for she knows where the

decoration has been added. ~Chris Montaigne

Savannah is missing from these photos....but she knows I love her!!! And maybe this is motivation for her to come see me more!

More to come on our "getaway trip" and John Mayer!

My dearest love.

I sure do love this guy.

We went to a wedding this weekend. I had to sing and he married them. It was at the same church we got married in. Held a lot of memories for me.

I was actually quite emotional about it. My MIL was there and we were both crying.....of course it was a happy crying.

We've had a lot of stress in our life over the past year, but there is one thing that never has failed...our love for one another. I am more in love with him than ever before.

I suppose that is a good place to be when life gives you obstacles.

He's my dearest love. :)

This week....late

Oh this week...

Oh, oh, oh, oh.....what a week you were. And because you were such a week, I am late in getting this out.

This week I....

made 3 trips to HEB.

drank more water.

watched Oprah (I never do that)

laughed.

saw signs of spring.

vacuumed 4 times.

shopped.

lost 1 more lb. :)

had Aaron & Bre over for this.

cried.

found out bad news.

struggled with myself.

wondered what the heck is going on?

prayed.

breathed.

ate at zios with wonderful boss/friend.

ate at magnolia pancake haus with another wonderful friend.

felt god's hope.

found out more bad news. :(

was extremely blessed and humbled by some wonderful people.

braided reagan's hair! I loved this.

had 21 people show up for Easter choir.

prayed.

smiled more.

ate peanut butter & jelly for dinner.

decorated for spring.

sighed a lot.

vented.

loved.

treated myself to sonic happy hour 4 times.

So glad it's Friday. :) Singing in a wedding tomorrow. Church on Sunday and leaving for Austin to see John Mayer on Monday to celebrate our 6th anniversary!

Weekend News

What a lovely weekend it was. Friday I had a creative stage design meeting with some fun ladies. We colored, sketched, surfed the internet for ideas and ate lots of food. Fun times.

Saturday, Jason did taxes. The end. Jk.

We pretty much hung out the rest of the day, went grocery shopping and watched Tombstone. Jason knows every single line to that movie. It was a little annoying, but I have to say it was quite impressive too. I didn't remember seeing the movie, but I really enjoyed Val Kilmer's role in it! Fantastic character!

Sunday was church. Of course. Great day it was though. I am really enjoying leading worship. God is so good and I love seeing where he is taking our congregation in worship. Powerful stuff. Pastor Sean's message was VERY timely for me. I love River City. We spent Sunday evening in Gruene. Just our little family. We had dinner, drove home listening to ABBA at full blast, laughed until we cried and talked about dreams we have. Twas wonderful. :)

Other big news...Aaron & Breanna (most awesome siblings-in-law's) made a huge announcement. They have felt the call to start a multi-site for River City! It will be on the north side (Bandera), so that means they will be moving away from us. I am actually really sad about that. Our kids have pretty much grown up with each other. I don't think there goes a week without seeing them at least 2 or 3 times. Breanna has been such a blessing to me. She watches them for me on Friday's and they LOVE her as much as we do. For 6 years we have lived within 5 miles of each other....or less. I will just miss them being so close, but I am THRILLED at where God is taking them. Pray for them on this new journey. God is going to do great things through this family!

We have Monday's off and enjoyed every bit of it yesterday. We did some much needed clothes shopping for Jackson and I finally got myself a pair of new running shoes. We also wanted to celebrate Aaron and Bre's new life journey and invited them over for dinner. Jason made (although I was over his shoulder ever 5 seconds) The Pioneer Woman's pasta with bacon and mushrooms. Oh my word. Delicious...

And we watched Tombstone again. That made for 2 Powers boys who knew every single line. Lucky me.

A few little pictures I took this weekend.....

I posted this wreath a few months ago. I bought it for $2 at Walmart. I finally did something with it. I like my little "spring" wreath.

Guess who's up to no good? I found her in the car by herself. She was just sitting in the drivers seat. Her little head was bobbing up and down thru the front window. What a stinker!

Happy Tuesday!