Into the heart of the South!

Whew, it's been awhile since an update!! We just got back from a road trip to Texas & Little Rock! We went on the trip with the motivation to search out our future apartment in Little Rock. And since Texas is only 6 short hours deeper south, we couldn't pass up the chance to go visit our favorite Texans! We headed to Texas first to spend friday evening, saturday & sunday with Jake, Jen, & Kylie Jo. As always we had so much fun with them. Jake and Seth worked on a backyard patio bar (pictures below) & it turned out very nicely. I managed to get BURNT in just 1 hour of sitting outside without sunscreen (yes, I was warned to wear it). The sun is a lot hotter in Texas 92 degree weather! We spent a lot of the time just lovin' up that sweet girl & playing some long-awaited hand & foot card game with Jake & Jen. We are excited to live closer to them in a couple months! Seth & Jake are already dreaming up the projects they will build together. Below are some pictures from our Texas trip:

 She was trying to crawl on my lap & grab the camera strap, so it made for some hilarious pictures!

 Ahh, so stinkin cute!!

 Uncle Seth & Kylie Jo

 Aunt Ang & Kylie Jo

 Their neighbor took a group shot for us :)

 Dad & his girl

 Mom & her girl

 Beautiful Family

 This is one of my favorite pictures...Kylie Jo is lovin her Uncle Seth!

 Jake & Seth working on the patio bar

The finished project!

Sadly our time with the Weber's was short, but we packed up & we headed to Little Rock, AR on Monday morning. We arrived about 230 in the afternoon & had a meeting at FamilyLife @ 3. We met with the head of global department (which we will be working in) and talked for a while. Afterwards we went to the Blunier's home (FamilyLife Staff), where we would be staying that week. We had a great night of eating, talking & catching up. Tuesday morning starts our apartment hunt. I should preface this hunt with a few things: 1. From looking online & talking to people we pretty much thought we knew where we would live but thought it wise to still look at as many apartments as possible during our short stay 2. Goodfield, IL cost of living is not a good comparison to city living (aka, we underbudgeted :)). We searched really vigorously for 2.5 days. We looked at at least 13 apartments & a couple of them twice. Everytime we thought we had seen a great one, we found another great one. This makes for a difficult decision when we can both tend to be indecisive at times. We saw some beautiful, some not so great, some smelly, some in good areas, some in bad areas. We learned that EVERY apartment in the south includes a swimming pool, woohoo! Also we learned that Little Rock is an apartment metropolis. It seems that every corner we turned there stood another huge complex. We finally narrowed our search down to 4 apartments which we were going to look at thursday am before we headed back home. Before we ventured out on our last tour of the apts, we looked up reviews online & let's just say that crossed out two options very easily. So the search narrowed to 2 options. We visited both of them one last time & kept going back & forth and back & forth & back & forth. The 9 hour drive home we kept going back & forth. All friday we kept going back & forth. Both were very comparable in most all ways. We made lists, talked to friends, family, staff. We would have been very happy at either, so through some obvious provisions from God, we committed to our future apartment on saturday. Seth was getting ready to call & tell them we would like to live at their apartments & I started bawling. A little baffled, he asks "Are you okay?" I told him "I don't think i'm ready for this! I don't want to move away from our family & friends & familiar, It's all hitting me super hard, this makes it very official & the reality of moving away is not in the far off future any more". So I expect the next 2 months to be much of the same...ups & downs emotionally. But the one thing that stays the same is the peace that is passing my understanding. The unwavering knowing that this is where we are supposed to go regardless of the waves that may crash in the process. Someone told us this sunday at church...this is where faith gets wings & takes flight. As of right now our rent in goodfield expires at the end of may & our rent in little rock begins in june. We are trusting the All-knowing God who has led us this far to continue His perfect provision. One of my all time favorite lyrics comes from a Bebo Norman song....."This task before me may seem unclear, but it, my maker holds". 

documents of a snow day.

I love anticipation for things. Such as the impending blizzard that we started hearing about monday. At work, I had many patients tell me the projected inches of snow we were to be slammed with. Of course I had a lot of resistance to believing we were going to get up to 20" of snow due to the simple fact this is central IL and our weather changes hourly. However, deep inside I was thrilled at the thought of a blizzard. Just this weekend Seth & I were discussing how we thought it would be great to have one last big snow storm before spring came. So patient after patient warned me to "be careful" & "stock up". I just smiled and said "you too", though secretly hoping this was the real deal!! As I got home from work and turned on the news I found out that these rumors I'd been hearing were true! We were about to be under a BLIZZARD warning. So from the moment I got home, that's all that the radio, news, internet was talking about. Cancelations started being announced and schools were canceled the night before. Seth came home from work early on tuesday, after it started snowing, and we spent the day literally starring out the window at the tremendously powerful storm playing forth in front of our eyes. It was beautiful, powerful, unbelievable. The winds were raging and the snow was diving to earth in large increments & accumulations. I think the anticipation of what was going to result of this storm was almost as fun as the storm itself! We had so much fun being "snowed in" and watching the furiousity of this brilliant storm. It just shows us a glimpse of the enormous might & power of our God.

Please enjoy the documentary of our snow day(s) below!!

 Seth & I decided to "see how the roads were" in goodfield on tuesday evening around 5:30ish.

We bundled up in all our snow garb & headed out into the blizzard! (obviously not the smartest idea, we realize, but the inner kid in us wanted to see it)

                                                              Seth all bundled up!

    Here's what 117 looked like around 5:30pm tuesday evening. We went over the interstate and it was empty. It was very strange because normally i'm coming home from work at this time on I-74 and it's packed!

     This morning my fabulous in house chef made up some delicious omlettes to start our official snow day.

Seth went out to attempt scooping our driveway. The end of our driveway consisted of snow at least 30" deep & would have taken at least a few hours to clear....however a super nice snow plow'er from the village of goodfield came and with a few scoops of his huge tractor, cleared our drive! What an awesome blessing!

           We actually have a covered front porch, not that this pictures draws you to think so though.

 We made some banana bread....for some reason I feel all betty crocker during snow days and feel this compulsion to bake. so I made cookies too.

 I can't tell you the last time I scrapbooked...but it's on my list of "things to do before we move". So I set up camp and started on our hawaii album from over a year ago...oh how it makes us wish we were there!



                                     Mid-afternoon snack.....a snow day MUST....Hot Chocolate!

                                                     Just a view of our front walk/porch.

 I still can't get over this. This is our across the street neighbors. I'm not sure if this picture does it justice, but their door is literally snowed shut in at least 4' of snow. There is no way in the world that door is opening any time soon!

Seth had to keep checking the furnace exhaust to make sure our furnace would stay running & to calm my fear of somehow getting carbon monoxide poisoning (though he assured me at least 15 times we are going to get killed by poison monoxide). It was actually behind this huge drift of snow. This pile was so big, he was taller than the roof!

This afternoon we were getting a little "stir crazy" so we decided to take a treacherous drive through the path of the storm. We decided it would be a great idea to try out the "country" roads. This is what we came upon. Yes this is a "T" in the road, meaning that there is supposed to be a road going right as well. 

                                 Another view...yes this is supposed to be a road straight ahead!!

We tried to go to the park to actually play in the snow but not 2 minutes after we took this picture we were right back in the truck....the wind was freeeeezing.

                                                           Picnic tables at the park, it's crazy!!

Seth was my workout buddy today. We did a workout video...i'm not sure if we got more exercise from laughing at eachother or actually attempting the aerobics!

We also had some much needed time with Jesus.

So to sum it up- I love snow days. I think it's great how sometimes God just gives us a huge blizzard so we're able to spend quality time with Him or with precious people or just relaxing. Think of it as a surprise present in the middle of a cold winter.

oh and p.s. Gertie the groundhog did not see her shadow, so the news is that spring is on the way :).

absolutely blessed (birthday!).

Okay, so not going to lie, I love birthdays. I love the anticipation and the "specialness" feeling of the day. I love that it is a day to celebrate the life of an individual that God created. I love celebrating birthdays!! I hope I always have this feeling & don't dread "getting older" (you can ask me about this as the years go on!)(though 24 means i'm now in my mid 20's!!). Also, thanks to facebook, you get lots more messages of love & blessings. I had the best birthday this year!! Seth took the day off (it was last wednesday) and I also had off work. It was an absolute blast & I was completely pampered :)! Here's the agenda of events:

Tuesday night:
- I come home from work to find a letter mailed to me with an itinerary of the "Braker Bed & Breakfast" :).
- A vase of flowers on the table ( I love flowers, esp in the cold dreary winter )
-A delicious meal of salmon & veggies
-movie of my choice (yes he was very willing to watch a chick flick for me).

Wednesday:
-breakfast in bed (veggie omlette, fruit, piping hot coffee)
-lazy morning (actually we decided to look at ordered wedding pictures---yes 2.5 years later we still have no wedding pictures ordered)
-get ready & head to bloomington
-go to a state park & play a tony cd he made for me
-head to starbucks and spend quality time talking & sipping delicious drinks
-he took me shopping & said I could pick out whatever I wanted (within reason :)). We actually got killer sales...$2 shirts, $10 jeans.....I love a good deal!
-head back home to freshen up & head to One World (one of my most favorite restaurants!!)
-come back for presents! (he got us tickets to a Bebo Norman dinner concert in Kentucky!)

All in all, I was amazingly blessed & soaked in every moment! It was just a reminder to me of how God delights in us. He loves us tremendously & deeply & is delighted to bless us with joy & truly fun times. I can just picture him smiling down on his children when they are giddy with joy that  comes from Him!!

Here's a few pictures of the evening:

                                           The fresh flowers from my boy!                                   

The unbelievably amazing beautiful delicious carmel walnut apple pie al la mode. oh yum!

Little Delights!

I had the absolute pleasure of taking Dayne & Maggy's 2 year old pictures :)!
We decided to take them on Christmas Eve when we were celebrating Christmas.
Fortunately there was a bunch of beautiful fresh snow on the ground which made for
an absolutely fun & beautiful photo shoot! Just imagine two almost two year olds bundling
up in all their winter garb: hats, gloves, coats, boats (which they were thrilled to show off! :)).
They were dressed & ready to go play in some snow!!
Dayne was infatuated with catching snow flakes on his tongue like his uncle sethy.
Maggy was captivated by the footprints she could make in fresh snow.
We had a blast and they defintely had some darling poses for the camera!
Here's a few of what I got, enjoy :)

{Jesus speaking}"'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them"

 (Mark 10:14-16)

""A child can always teach an adult three things:
to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something,
and to know how to demand with all his might
that which he desires."- Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Mountain

 

Community.

Another “new favorite song” to share with you all! I’ve been listening to this song over & over & over again. This may not surprise some of you…I have a tendency to “wear songs out”. One of my roommates in college told me that I was going to “wear the song out” because I would listen to it over & over again…old habits die hard I guess. You are going to like this one, at least I hope, but either way…I LOVE IT. It’s called “Shelter” by Jars of Clay. I bought the CD for Seth for Christmas, not really expecting my new favorite song to be on this CD.

So one evening we were getting ready to go to the gym and I asked Seth if he would add that new CD to my IPOD. I decided to try it out and sorta skipped through all the songs once, so I could get a “feel” for it. Then I listened to this song and my adrenaline started pumping (aka my heart was “clicking” with it) and for the rest of the workout, on the way home, and when we were home, onto the next day, and so on I played this song…A LOT. Now I know this is just a song and, yes, in a few weeks I’ll probably have a new favorite I’m convincing you to love...

However, this song has been really special to us at this point in our journey. We are three months away from our “predicted” move and we’re (especially me) starting to “mourn” what we’re leaving….I mean we have the MOST AMAZING family & friends here. But we’ve also been hit with an INCREDIBLE thankfulness and amazement at what God has given us. This body of family/friends we are in has been amazing. God has been impressing on our hearts the beauty of each relationship we hold and how astounding it is that we get to be blessed by you. We know we will never walk alone, we know a lot more about the love of Christ because of the love you’ve shown us. We are so unimaginably blessed. And you know what’s so great? God knew that. He delights in the fact we have each other. He knew that we would need a physical shoulder to cry on, an audible voice to speak to, someone we can call by dialing 7 simple #s on a phone, someone to laugh with, someone to hug, someone to encourage us, someone to go on trips with. This was God’s design- to give us a community. To give us these relationships. We know Jesus so much better because of you. We know His love so much greater because of the way we’ve been loved. We get to cry together, we get to mourn together, we get to laugh together, we get to worship together, we get to take each new chapter together. We weather the storms & rejoice in the happiest moments. Sometimes we’re just still together & sometimes we talk for 5 hours straight. And if we think this community is unbelievable & awesome down here…just imagine what our community in heaven will be!!! We will be communing face to face with our Jesus!! We think we know worship & joy now…let’s just let our imaginations go wild at the thought of Heavenly community.

But while we tread this earth & journey onward, “in the shelter of each other, the people live”, let’s celebrate our victories together, inspire each other to real true Jesus love,  give hope to the hopeless, & care for each other.

We love you & we thank you for being our shelter. Your arms have held us & grown us.

Here’s a link to the song: (if you can't click on it, just copy & paste the link)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcgj-Jbl2RY&feature=related

Here’s the lyrics:

 To all who are looking down
Holding on to hearts still wounding
For those who've yet to find it
The place is near where love is moving
Cast off the robes you're wearing
Set aside the names that you've been given
May this place of rest in the fold of your journey
Bind you to hope
You will never walk alone
(Chorus)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (Never walk alone)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (Your arms are all around us)

If our hearts are turned to stone
There is hope we know the rocks will cry out
And the tears aren't ours alone
Let them fall into the hands that hold us
Come away from where you're hiding
Set aside the lies that you've been living
May this place of rest in the fold of your journey
Bind you to hope
We will never walk alone

(Chorus)

If there is any peace
If there is any war
We must all believe
Our lives are not our own
We all belong

God has given us each other
And we will never walk alone

(Chorus)

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving (Merriam-Webster dictionary):
1. The act of giving thanks
2. a prayer expressing gratitude
3. a public acknowledgement or celebration of divine goodness

How do you define being "thankful"? Isn't it so many things? We went around the room at thanksgiving and shared what we were thankful for and my mind just became so cluttered by my mountains of thankfulness that I struggled with what to share. It can be as "simple" as having food on your plate, warm clothes to wear, a heated car. It can be the pain medications that help that pounding headache to cease for a while. It can be a hug from a dear dear friend. It can be a day off of work. It can be an act of kindness. It can be having hope. It can be having time to read that book you've been aching to get your eyes on. It can be having a job. It can be feeling safe. It can be knowing what it means to love and be loved. It can be having a family, especially one that loves you. It can be having a church where you can worship Jesus freely. It can be having joy in the midst of a lot of pain. Maybe it is just a general, over-all, feeling of just being thankful. It can be incredibaly deep sincere and undeserved thankfulness for Jesus, who died for our bad decisions & sins so that we could live with Him in perfection someday for eternity. It could be prayer- that God hears us and loves us and helps us through the mire. It could be a song that breaths life into our hearts and inspires us to no end. This list has the potential to continue on forever. It's hard to only list a few. But I am so blessed, and I know that all good gifts come from God. I am so so thankful for these things, but most of all I'm so so thankful for Jesus. Because without Him, none of these things would matter.

We shared two wonderful thanksgivings this year. First we had thanksgiving with Seth's family. His Dad read a poem at dinner about how God longs for our hearts and loves us to no end. We had amazing food and always have a blast together. I forgot to take any pictures this night, but you can envision with twin almost-two-year-olds, the scene is never dull! :)

The next day we went to my family for Thanksgiving. Again, amazing food, actually shall I say a feast for lack of better words. Before we ate, we all went around the room to say what we were thankful for. In addition to many other things, we all said how thankful we were for eachother. We've braved some stormy seas together & through it all, God has brought us closer and deeper.We are very blessed. Mom is used to cooking for an army of boys and as a consequence, we always walk away very very satisfied! I had the duty of making the apple pie this year, I love apple pies. We had a great time and it was good to be together as a family (though we missed our Texans).

My attempt at making home-made crust!

The incredible and amazing-tasting feast :) 

Finished product :) 

 Family pictures for the Christmas card!

All in all we had a marvelous time being with our families and dwelling on the fact that God is so good. His love for us is so so deep. It isn't bound by our human boundries of love. It surpases every wrong thing we do and aches to have us in His safe pastures (Heaven). He created us because He wanted to. And then, after we tried living life our own way and making a lot of bad decisions, He sent His perfect Son, Jesus, who already resided in the most magnificent place imaginable- Heaven, to die for us. To save us from eternal seperation  (hell) from Him. Praise be to God who does all things well!! We are all so blessed because we can all have Jesus and that's all we need!

Kylie Jo Lynn Weber

This blog post has been slightly delayed. We got back from Texas last sunday where we visited Ang's brother & sis-in-law, Jake & Jen. We met our neice, Kylie Jo, for the first time and fell deeply in love! We had the best time with Jake, Jen, & Kylie Jo. We always love visiting them and being "Texans" for a week :). We spent most of our days playing with Kylie Jo and doing fun things we don't make the time for when we're home. Jake and Seth worked on a "pottery-barn" style bench that turned out very awesome. We went out to eat at a fun Mexican restaurant- La Playa Maya- and fixed our Mexican craving. We went to their neighborhood chilli cookoff (where the winner got a gold-bowl-of-chili trophy), got hooked to a new TV show called Pawn stars, found a place that gives free rib/brisket samples on saturdays only (Jake's new saturday hangout), took hundreds of pictures, tooks walks, and just enjoyed some wonderful family time. We were so blessed by this week. We were so blessed to be able to meet precious little Kylie Jo. Here's some of the pictures from our week in Texas:

She's got Texas in her blood :) 

Kylie Jo with her Aunt Ang and Uncle Seth 

Chance just loves Kylie Jo!