Glimpse

We all have our things that we do that we secretly don't tell anyone. Little things that make us who we are. Sometimes people get glimpses of them, but mostly we try to hide them. Let me give you a glimpse of mine.

I like to organize. Like seriously like to organize. Not the things in my house, but my life. I like to have plans and follow through with them. I especially like lists. For example, here is my most recent crazy that I am actually kind of proud of. It's our packing list for vacation. Yes it's in Excel. Yes there are 6 tabs. Yes there is a column on each sheet to check off each item.


So I got to thinking. Did I pass this obsessive need to organize on to my child? Just look at what she did and you tell me. She put all her kidney beans in her cup holder when I wasn't looking.
What traits have you passed to your children? Are you proud of them or do you wish you hadn't been so dominant in the gene pool?

And They Were Fed

We have had gardens in the past. Small 10x10 plots that we planted a few things in and didn't put much effort into. This year we decided to go much bigger with our garden. I was unsure when Ryan first proposed the idea. I thought it would be a lot of hard work and that we wouldn't get that much reward from it.

I was wrong. I love our garden. It is hard work, but it is so rewarding. I love going out every day and seeing what new thing is growing. When I cook dinner and know that the things that we are eating came from my yard, I smile. I love it. My physical body is being fed.

This makes me think about my relationship with Christ. I wonder if he thinks the same of us as He is our Gardener. Does He delight in me when He looks how I am growing? Is He excited to see fruit in my life? I am thankful when He prunes dead branches and pulls the weeds. I love that I am cared for by the Greatest Gardener of all. My spiritual body is fed.

Here are some pictures and a video

Here is a shot of the garden from a distance with the chicken coup to the left.

In this picture you can see from left to right, Corn, Peppers (4 varieties), Okra, Broccoli, and Kale

In this picture the far off mass of greens is carrots and potatoes.

And in case you are really interested in the whole thing, Ryan and I created a walk through video. It's a tad cheesy but oh well. Enjoy.

Catch Up

It's been a crazy busy week since we have been back from the beach. Here's the fast version...

I'm getting ready to release a major upgrade to my software at work which requires a lot of work with Brian @ the Leon Magazine, our web developer.

I exercised 5 days last week. I'm realizing it's much harder to get back in shape this time due to either age or being post-pardon or maybe a combination of both

I got lost on my way home from Jason and Leah's house the other day. I have been there a million times and yet I still got lost. I was trying to not do a 3 point turn and it cost me 20 minutes. I only got home because of my iPhone.

I spent Friday running around the world looking for baby pools for Ainsley and getting chicken supplies. The day went way to fast and I didn't get nearly enough done.

I woke up on Saturday morning to realize that Bonnie Ray the hen was really Billy Ray the rooster. Cook-a-freaking-doodle-do. Ryan had to take him back to the farm for a replacement.

I went to my friend Laura's wedding yesterday. It was 95 degrees and outside with minimal shade. BUT it was such a blessing to see 2 wonderful people join their lives in front of God and a bunch of friends. I happened to run into Caroline who I know from a totally different context.

I picked Ainsley up from Anne's and she was definitely sick. I had dropped her off with a 100.9 fever and by the time we got home it was 103.7. I hate medicine but she definitely got her share. She and I are home from church today hoping she gets better before tomorrow.

Today is Father's Day. I have a lot of Fathers in my life. There is Blu, Ryan's step dad. I love his compassion and his loving spirit. There is Bob, Ryan's dad. I love his sense of humor and how he really gets me. There is my dad. What's not to love, I am a younger female version of him. Most importantly there is Ryan, my baby daddy. He is the best dad I could ever ask for Ainsley. He loves her and is a great model for her.

I have been working on a post about the garden but that is going to have to wait. I'll sign off with this cute picture.

More Important than a Cute Picture

This past weekend we were able to visit my father in law's beach condo with friends of ours from college, Drew and Susan. They have a little boy, Jack, who is exactly 2 weeks younger than Ainsley. Ainsley has been around other children before but no one so close in age. It was amazing to watch the two interact. I think we all got our share of ohhs and ahhs.

The other part of the weekend that really struck me was to see Drew and Susan interact with Jack. A couple years ago, they lost a baby girl at 30 weeks pregnant. I think that loss really helped them to refocus on the every day. They really revel in each second that they spend with their son. It was a wonderful encouragement to me to see the hope and life that can come after such tragedy.

I think we often wonder how we would handle something like that. I think Susan said it best when she said that she sits in the fact that Reagan is in heaven with Jesus forever. We don't know the choices our children will make. We can only pray that they make wise ones and that they come to a saving faith in Christ. It was a great perspective shift for me to hear her be thankful for the gift of knowing that she will spend eternity with her child.

My prayer today is that I remember this day and this smile but more importantly that I continue to pray for her and the decisions she has in front of her.

The Above and Beyond

Everyone knows the expression "Going Postal". Ryan has often said that he would like to work at the Post Office. Yesterday he changed his mind and said that if he worked there he would certainly go Postal.

We are going to Jamaica in the end of July for Taylor and Jenny's wedding. Going to Jamaica now requires a passport, even if you are just 1 year old. Ryan has his passport, mine is expired, and Ainsley needs hers. I did my homework before just going to the post office to get mine renewed and one for Ainsley. I read all the requirements, filled out all the forms, got our pictures taken, and even called for an appointment. Being that Ainsley is a minor, it requires both parents to be there.

I had my appointment scheduled for 3:45 on Monday afternoon. It required Ryan and me taking off from work a little early but we had to do it because we were running out of time. We showed up 10 minutes early and signed in. After waiting for 20 minutes without even an acknowledgment they finally asked us for our names, couldn't look at the list we had signed of course. The "nice" government employee informed me that we were not on the list and that we would need to come back. I tried to explain that I had made an appointment and we had both taken off from work. It turns out we had an appointment at another facility.

She did not care. Her attitude reflected one thing...She is paid to do the minimum. There is no above and beyond. There is no friendly smile. There is no extra effort to move a tad quicker to squeeze us in.

As I thought about that, I thought about how we are called to do our best. We are to do our best in everything. Our best should always include the above and beyond. The minimum should never be enough. We are to do everything as unto the Lord. If our job is cleaning a dirty diaper, it unto the Lord. If our job is being a bank teller, it is unto the Lord. If our job is on the phones all day, it is unto the Lord. If our job is computer programming, it is unto the Lord. If our job is taking passport applications, it is unto the Lord.

I pray my work reflects that attitude. Does yours?

Where Have I Been?

I know it's been too long since I posted. Where have I been you ask? I usually post on Fridays because it's my day off but 2 weeks ago I came down with the flu. Who gets the flu in May you ask? I do. I had a fever for 3 days ranging anywhere from 99 to 103.5. It mostly hung around at 102. I haven't had that kind of temperature in my adult life. Needless to say, it freaked me out more than any other sickness I have had lately.

Even though the flu had passed by Sunday, I still felt quite worn out for the next few days. I am finally back to myself and then I had to think of what to post. No brilliant ideas came to mind so I decided to post a few videos. I was going to post yesterday but my battery on my video camera was dead and I couldn't get these videos off until this morning.

Enjoy!

Here is a video trying to show you Ainsley's new laugh. Listen carefully because it's not really pronounced but it's the best that we have. We will try to get a better video of it soon. Until then...

Here is a video of Ainsley and I in the pool. It took her a while to want to go in but once she was in she loved it. Next thing you know she will be following in her daddy's footsteps and swimming on the swim team at age 5.