28 December 2009

also...

because georgia loves to sleep in warmth, she is currently sleeping in the sunlight streaming through the window, in front of a space heater. she could die of a heat stroke any minute now... and i wouldn't know it because she sleeps like the dead. she sure is cute, though! later.

my loves sleeping


up close and personal: what they do best ;)

quickie

quick update:

christmas with my fam here in atl was AWESOME.

christmas with grant's fam in aug was GREAT.

i got to see HANNAH on her BIRTHDAY!! it was AMAZING to see her and aswan!

grant is fishing with zach in habersham today. he has the whole week off, so we're headed to the huntsville area for the rest of the week--yay!--we hope to see ashley and mason sometime in the next few days (...new years???)

our friends just got a CUTE great dane puppy--so cute! we're going to love it to pieces. and grant got me "weeds" for christmas--seasons 1-3... so i'm watching that in bed right now... i'll write more later. we'll be back sunday.

13 December 2009

married life live

we went to married life live tonight, which was AWESOME!, with some of our small group and it got me thinking...

picture your spouse--your beloved.
picture exactly in specific detail what s/he deserves, wants, desires, needs----how s/he should be treated, be served, be spoken to, be helped, be forgiven, be loved.
picture what you would do to someone who wronged him/her. imagine what you'd do and to what lengths you would go to defend your love and be sure that his/her wants, desires, and needs were met.
picture what that incredible person you've married deserves each and every day.
...
are you that person they deserve most?
not "are you the spouse you can be?" because that allows you to limit yourself to your own hang-ups, your own baggage, your own expectations, your own definition of "can" and "cannot;" it also allows it to be all to easy to justify your short comings and failures in loving and serving your beloved.

are you the person your spouse deserves most?
and if not, why on earth not? what changes should be made that you can learn to become that person? I say "learn" because it often requires a conscious decision made repetitively until it becomes a discipline that then becomes a habit that then becomes a lifestyle.

correcting the incorrigible
There's a half-way decent book and an even less decent movie from the '60s called "Love Story." The tag line for the movie is: "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Not only is it cheesy, but it's just plain wrong. Love means having to say you're sorry every single day--multiple times, usually--and forgiving quickly and sincerely, as well. Anything less is a manipulation of reality.

Just thinking about life and love and marriage and family--my favorite things--and how it should be vs. what the world tells us it might be or is; choosing biblical definitions over pop-culture; and fighting for the switch in my own life from thought to action, from ideology to reality, from words to lifestyle. xoxo

10 December 2009

heartbeat

this is my hearbeat:
this is my prayer:

YOUR TIME
YOUR WILL
YOUR WAY

O God!

Psalm 38:9: "You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh"

Psalm 27:14: Yet I will "wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."

08 December 2009

NY NY

Should've posted all this weeks ago... but here it is:
[pics to follow]
We went to the City Nov 13-17th and it was incredible--our first time going together. Very sweet for many reasons.

First things first: Shows:
We saw the Rockettes in the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular on opening day and it was FANtastic (thanks, Gma for the tickets!)! We were happily surprised by the quality and caliber of the show. Wow. Also, they had a full Nativity with camels, sheep, donkeys, and other animals! They read from the Bible about the birth of Christ--wow--and portrayed it in such a moving way. I had no idea that a show that receives so much coverage and visibility would even discuss the True Meaning of Christmas. Grant and I just kinda sat there afterwards thanking God that His message will be spread, even when we don't anticipate how or when or through what means. Praise God. We also saw Wicked! Which is always a favorite! Grant had never seen it and it was great to experience it anew with him. We both laughed and [I] sang along. It was a great shared memory. What a story of love, friendship, ambition, salvation, redemption, and escape. Loved it.

Everything Else ;)
There is skating at Bryant Park and at the Rockefeller Center (I was too tired to partake, but it was beautiful to watch). I ate lunch with Sara Dotts Barley (a friend from high school, now a newly wed on the upper east side) at Republic @ Union Sq West. The Barnes and Noble on the Square is amazing and their headquarters is just around the corner--very cool if you're into books and happy places to read... which I am ;) I also got to meet up with Lindsey Beth Medlen--another friend from high school who is currently starring in the Off-Broadway hit "High School Musical" as Sharpay! We ate in Midtown @ Brooklyn Bagels (the majority of which are NOT in Brooklyn). Great to catch up, as usual. The Village is always fun and young with great quick bites to eat an they've just finished up some work on Washington Sq Park--which is where I spent an afternoon, hanging out, reading, and sitting in the sun soaking up NY like a local. Central Park is magical, as always (post-Giuliani). We walked across the bridge (and thought of Brandon proposing to Kathleen), heard a saxophone player, and saw a woman doing yoga in the middle of a wayward path. We also went over to the West Entrance and crossed the street into the American Museum of Natural History (amnh.org). We were amazed at the sea life, Africa and Asian wild life and, of course, the dinosaurs. Plus, the ticket price is "suggested" so we went for a dollar each! Amazing 4 floors of unparalleled excellence (I'm a museum geek, what can I say?).

This trip was different for me b/c I took on nyc like a new yorker more than a tourist to see what life would really be like. We were trying to decipher whether or not law school would take us to the Big Apple. So we spent time eating at local digs, spending time in several parks, walking the brooklyn bridge (gorgeous), visiting the birthplace of TRoosevelt, the NYPublicLib, and exploring the Flatiron district. In fact, I fell in love with Gramercy Park and that whole area. Wow. Perhaps some day... It was great! I certainly had a blast, despite mono, though. That was a major plus.

We're not sure where law school will take us--or even, if we'll both go--but we're prayerfully considering all our options, which, praise God, we have many of despite the recession. It was a wonderful trip with memories made together and I got some time to myself while Grant was working Monday and Tuesday to explore the city, mill around, do and see what I wanted to and spend time however I saw fit. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

Ps. I have married the best man in the world. Thank God for Grant. He was a real trooper for traveling with me and mono. Marrying him is the highlight of my life. Thanks for making this trip great, babe. Love you.