Recap for the Pictures...

Since I posted pictures and I didn't tag them, I'll offer some explanation. John decided to chronicle my whole birthday- I didn't even post all the pictures he took. When we have kids he will be the one with the camera more than I will- but I'm thankful he enjoys it because it allows me to have some great material for my blog!
We met up with Dan and Karis, James (Laura was in KS), and Tim and Kristen at PF Changs for birthday dinner on Monday night. There was A LOT of food ordered and everyone was passing their plates to try their neighbors dish. We had a great time together. This was our first time seeing Dan and Karis since Thanksgiving. You can see that I was treated to a birthday cheesecake- with no singing, thankful for that. We all went back to our house after dinner and we got to see the girls and I opened up gifts and cards. I had such a great time with all of them and enjoyed my presents. I was unsure what the next day held, but John told me he had it figured out.
On the morning of my birthday he had me go out grocery shopping so he could get some things set at the house. I had just finished shopping when he called and said I could come home- he was ready! When I got home he had some beautiful flowers for me as you can see- so bright and cheerful- I loved them!! Then I sat down to read all my well wishes on Facebook- loved that part too- so many sweet well wishes. After that I opened his card and my scavenger hunt began. I went from spot to spot around the apartment finding another clue and then another. My final certificate told me that we were going to MacArthur Mall to pick out a Coach bag!!! I was so excited- never did I expect that! We had such a great time on our trip down (I enjoyed my skinny latte) to MacArthur. We just walked around and then spent a bit of time in the Coach store. I had such a hard time picking out one. John was laughing at me because I had purses all over the place- but I wanted to choose one that would endure for a long time and be classic. It was such a neat experience. I think John was almost more excited than I was!! We got home and did some laundry and had dinner. I had to post the picture of our wooden salad bowl- my mom passed it on to me from a dear friend of hers and between John and I- I think he was more excited about it, so we pulled it out for our special occasion of salad and pizza. It really was such a lovely birthday. I received so many thoughtful cards and gifts from people who were a part of making it a super day! I have to mention my other favorite gift was from my girl, Katie and her husband Wes. I was so excited to receive my very own milk frother!!! I have heisted theirs on occasion to enjoy a great cup of coffee with some froth and was happy to receive my own. I think I'm going to initiate it this evening! (If you don't drink and enjoy coffee you're wondering right now what the big deal is over a jar that mixes milk). But belive me- it's a great tool to have! It was a special birthday- one that I will not soon forget!

Catching up from the weekend....

I was just thinking how surreal blogs can be sometime. How we only blog about the great things that happen- but I just wanted to share how the Lord has used some difficult circumstances in our lives to help us meditate on His character.
Two weeks ago on Sunday night John's mom fell and broke both of her wrists. She was in a lot of pain and we were so thankful that on Thursday Laura was able to fly out to be with her for a week. On that Tuesday we found out that John's Aunt Stella was killed in a car accident on her way to work (sorry if this is a recap of Karis' blog at this point). We are so thankful to know that she was a believer and her life was a testament to Christ and His love.
It just seemed like a lot all at once. And I could see it weighing on my husband. We talked about he and James flying out to the funeral for Aunt Stella but tickets were really expensive. Mom and Dad were really struggling because they would not be able to travel out to be with Uncle Terry during this time due to mom's injuries and the amount of pain she was dealing with. On Thursday morning the Lord impressed it on my heart that maybe I should have encouraged John a little more to go to the funeral.
On Friday we both worked day shift together. When we met up for lunch we began to talk again about the funeral. James wasn't going to be able to go, Tim and Kristen were already out of town and Dan and Karis were just getting back into town. James had called John to see if he would be interested in flying out to Indiana. I told John if he was going to go to the funeral I would go to. So, last minute we decided to ask our managers if we could leave after lunch and take Saturday and Monday off of work too. They agreed and we got home and packed up and started off to Indiana. The trip got to be really long, but around 5:00 in the morning we pulled into Plymouth, Indiana and fell into our motel bed to sleep before the funeral. It was great to see and meet so many of John's cousins and Aunts and Uncles. When we got to the funeral and saw Uncle Terry and his boys and were able to hug them and offer our condolences- it was definitley worth the trip. We took some extra time getting back home. We stopped in southern Indiana to visit our friends Sean and Brittney and their family- and ate ALOT at this little spot called 'Grey Brothers Cafeteria'. After getting extremely full we finally got on the road and headed to our stop at Cumberland, MD to spend the night. We were able to have breakfast at a little coffee shop on Monday morning before starting a lot of travel back home to Virginia Beach. We got home just in time to change and meet up with the family for dinner for my birthday... is this getting to be too long of a post? I kind of feel like I'm overflowing into another post...So, I'll blog about that in the next post.
All that to say...the song that has been going through my head in the midst of all of this has been "I Stand in Awe"-
'You are beautiful beyond description, Too marvelous for words, Too wonderful for comprehension, Like nothing ever seen of heard. Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depth of Your love? You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty, enthroned above. And I stand, I stand in awe of You. I stand, I stand in awe of You. Holy God, to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of You!

Birthday Blast!