Happy 9 Year Anniversary

9 years ago today, David and I became a couple. Wow! What an incredible journey this has been so far! :)

David and me right after we started dating

2002

He's Still working on me...

...to make me what I ought to be.

"God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus. "
— Max Lucado

God has been working in my heart for some time now. I really can't put it into words. This is my feeble attempt to try. One area where I really have a problem is vanity. I don't mean to say that I am conceited, but rather that I obsess over my appearance...my nose isn't straight, my lip is crooked, my boobs are too small, my stomach isn't flat enough, my thighs are disproportional to the rest of my body, etc. (these are all actual things that I think about on a regular basis) What a waste of my mind and time! I looked up the word vain, and it actually means having no real value! And these things that I spend so much of my time worrying about and obsessing over, have no real value. So I am making great effort to not focus on these valueless things quite so much, and to focus on things that really matter. Just as importantly, it is my goal to stop basing my identity on temporary things, such as my appearance, or even my intelligence or abilities, but instead, to base my identity on who I am in Christ. God has been working in my life and speaking very directly to me in this area. Just today, a read a book review, that so eloquently expressed what God is doing in my heart, I had to share a little bit of it with you.

"I found myself thinking about the ways I’m tempted to base my identity in temporary things. Perhaps this is a statement of my own weak faith, but I’m aware that at a deep level I base my self-concept on being smart, on being able to do a lot of things well and quickly, on being a mother. If any of these things were removed, to be honest, I would struggle tremendously to find meaning and purpose and regain my sense of myself. This is troubling because, of course, any of those things could disappear in a flash."

"I wound up thinking about how my faith provides an identity that can’t be lost or taken away. At times when my temporal identity has been challenged, I have drawn strength from my spiritual identity, but I was convicted while reading this book that I shouldn’t use my faith as a fallback, but rather that ought to be my primary identity all the time. "

" It strikes me now that when I truly have a primary focus on who I am spiritually, I am free to enjoy and be grateful for my identity as a smart person, a capable person, and a mother without relying on those things. I am free to hold those blessings lightly."

I am very excited about the changes that are taking place in my heart. I know that as God is doing work in me, He will be able to do more through me!

You can read the entire book review over at A Spirited Mind

Two weeks off from the gym...

and I still beat the guys sprinting today! BOOYAH! (Yes, I just said, "Booyah") ;)

Summer cleaning

Our garage has been in desperate need of cleaning and organizing, probably since we moved in, and it has only grown worse over time. I already had it on my honey-do list for David to help me with once the weather cools off, but David suggested that we do it Sunday. I decided to take him up on the offer or else it might never get accomplished. I meant to take before photos, but I forgot. I may have been too embarrassed to post them anyway. Trust me, it was atrocious! Here are a few pictures of the finished product...

So neat and tidy!

My cleaning supply station

I think it looks fantastic!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last week, David was in Boston for the annual AANA meeting. While he was networking, I had some much needed, one-on-one, girl time with my oldest niece, Skylar. We had a PERFECT time together.

Our adventure began before we even arrived in Birmingham. On the drive up, we stopped in Clanton to see and "hold" the giant peach.

Our first full day together, we enjoyed an afternoon at the mall and some delicious gelato at YOLO.

We had tons of fun at the Science Center. One of my favorite parts was when Skylar overcame her fear of heights on the High Cycle!

We enjoyed styling each others hair.

And we had our hair professionally styled at the salon.

We went to the mall and couldn't resist trying on some cute clothes!

The boys adored her, especially Charlie. He would hardly let her out of his sight the entire visit. Once he even tried following her into the shower, because he wanted to be with her!

Her last night here, David treated us to dinner at Sumo.

We had the best time and made many wonderful memories. The boys and I sure do miss her, and we can't wait for her to visit us again!

Living by faith, not by fear

Just finished reading an amazing post over at Raising Homemakers. It was a great reminder to me, especially at this point in my life. To sum it up, it was about having faith and trust and following your husband as the Lord leads him. This particularly speaks to me, as David will be graduating in about 9 months, and I will be trusting him as he chooses what job to take, which will dictate where we live. I will have to follow him wherever it may take us, and trust that it is all part of God's plan for us. If I'm being completely honest, it sometimes does make me anxious to have no idea where we will be less than a year from now. But mostly, I am excited for what God has in store for us in the not-too-distant future. Please be praying for us, that God is already preparing the perfect job and home for us, and that He will lead us to it.

Happy 3 Year Anniversary to Us!

So, June 25th/28th, David and I celebrated being married for three years! If you recall from last year, I revealed that we actually have 2 anniversaries (cause we're cool like that): the 25th being the anniversary of when we legally were married, and the 28th being our wedding anniversary. We celebrated on the 25th because it fell on a Saturday, and the 28th fell on the first day of David's newest clinical rotation. The two of us enjoyed a delightful dinner at Brio, one of our favorite restaurants. I had two delicious, watermelon martinis, a caesar salad, and lobster bisque. David ate lobster bisque and filet. The funniest/most awkward part of the evening was the waiter blatantly hitting on me! David noticed at first, saying that he was checking me out. I wasn't so sure, at first. Then, I was discussing getting some bruschetta, but only if David wanted to share it with me...then the waiter said that he'd share it with me if David wouldn't. I had look down at my menu to keep from laughing. He would look and speak only to me when he came to the table. I felt like he had a lot of nerve! (but it was kinda nice since usually we have female servers who direct everything to David...like seriously, it's usually like I'm not even there!) After dinner, we came home and enjoyed a bottle of champagne together.

Being married to David these past three years has been better than I ever could have imagined. He is such a wonderful husband and best friend. It never ceases to amaze me that I love him more and am even happier than I was three years ago. What started off great, just keeps getting better! Loving someone and being loved in return, the way we love each other, is indescribable. I do not possess the eloquence to do it justice. I am so grateful that I have the privilege to experience that love with him. I am truly blessed to be his wife!

Dinner at Brio

(photo taken by creeper waiter)

After dinner

On our wedding day

June 28, 2008