Laney Got Her Ears Pierced!

Today I rushed back from the Hearts at Home conference to see Laney get her ears pierced at Claire's. She's been begging for this as long as I've known her. Jeff didn't think she was ready for it last year but this year we all felt that Laney had grown into a fairly responsibly young lady who is well equipped to take care of herself and she deserves to have her ears pierced if she wanted it so much.

It was fun to watch her reaction while holes were being punctured in her earlobes. I remembered going through the same thing when I was about her age. The difference is that I squeaked when I got my ears pierced but Laney didn't say a word. She said the second puncture kinda hurt, though.

Delaney decided on white gold and cubic zirconia earrings...She's a little young to get diamond earrings, so the fakes will suffice until maybe her Sweet 16! She's growing up so fast. Just the other day I was looking through pictures of the kids. They're about a head taller now than they were two years ago, when I first entered their lives.
On Monday's morning show we'll be talking about rites of passage at 6:41. Do you remember any as a kid...or are your kids going through them? We'd love to hear from you.

Love Like You Mean It

I can't believe I blogged about my silly paint-job but failed to talk about the Weekend to Remember marriage conference. Jeff and I had the privilege of attending the seminars for a second time this year. As always, the love letter project we completed was the most powerful part of the weekend for both of us. We were instructed to respond to the following questions in the form of a love letter to our spouse:
1. What were the qualities that attracted me most to you when we first met?
2. What qualities do I appreciate most about you since we've been married?
3. How have our differences helped me grow spiritually and emotionally?
4. What steps will I commit to take to love God and you more?
I wish I could share with you verbatim the beautiful words that Jeff wrote me...After a year and a half of doing life together as a married couple, our love has grown and deepened in spite of--and sometimes because of--the challenges we've endured. After that conference, I committed to deepening my personal relationship with the Lord so that I can draw from the greatest source of love and strength to be the best wife for Jeff. I also need to work on my ability to forgive--something that comes easily for my husband but not for me. Marriage can be an isolating experience if we fail to grasp God's perspective on the difficulties of the most intimate relationship we could ever be blessed with. But I do believe if you're faithful to the Lord and commit to never walking out on your spouse no matter how hard it gets, you will be blessed beyond measure.

Repainting

I'm lucky my husband is so laid-back. On Friday I was thinking of how much I hate the awful yellow color in my kitchen. So I decided to head to Lowe's after work, purchased a gallon of hot pink/red paint, and I drove straight home and painted a layer of bright red coating all over the kitchen. Mind you, I didn't discuss this first with my husband. We've been a little stressed out over our housing situation. He's been trying to sell his place for three years to no avail...and this housing market is so awful. If I have to live here for a while longer, I definitely need to make some upgrades. My house is so drab. I'd like it to feel more youthful and colorful...I want the walls to scream HAPPY to encourage a better mood. So that's why I decided on red.
After getting over the initial shock of seeing the walls another color, Jeff helped me paint a second a third layer of paint tonight. My friends think I'm lucky Jeff is so permissive! I really am sometimes.

Scoop-a-li-cious

When I was a little girl and I had a hard day, my grandpa would take me to Baskin Robbins and buy me a "clown cone." It's basically a scoop of ice cream attached to an inverted sugar cone, decorated like a clown with ribbons of colorful frosting. Today I felt my energy lag in the afternoon, having dealt with a stressful mishap (blended family life is truly a mixed blessing)...so instead of heading home after work as I normally do, I decided to pop in at our local Baskin Robbins and buy myself a clown ice cream cone. I sure needed the sugar rush and pick-me-up! It was kind of embarrassing to take it to the counter--the woman asked if I was buying it for my child! But it brought a smile to my day...remembering fond childhood memories...and adults memories.
For my 25th birthday, Jeff ordered clown cones for my birthday party's guests when he hosted a BBQ at his home to celebrate. It was really sweet of him to remember my favorite childhood treat.
Now I'm heading to the Riverfront for a long walk. Doesn't the weather feel like spring? I hope you do something to pick yourself up in this beautiful day!

Breaking Free

Talk about a one-two punch. When I gave up coffee in hopes of hearing more from God, a sweet co-worker gave me the devotional book, "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore. It's been a real eye-opener in challenging me to surrender strongholds in my life that are keeping me from pursuing an abundant relationship with the Lord. Giving up my addiction to coffee has made me physically weak and that's brought a lot of spiritual weaknesses to the surface. I certainly don't want to be shackled to addictions, whether it's to a substance or a negative pattern of thinking or a behavior that does a disservice to the core relationships in my life. I'm learning more and more that life is a work in progress and we can choose to stay static and not allow the Lord to help us work on our "stuff" or we can do the hard and prayerful work of purifying ourselves to be used most effectively by God.