A thought for the week

Last night I realized that I totally forgot to put a thought for the week on the blog last week! Yikes...already forgetting. However, I'm trying to make up for it right now. This can be a thought for the last 2 weeks I guess.

At the pool this week at work I have had one student that has been "a challenge.". He doesn't really listen, obey or show very much respect. He is also only 6 years old. Yesterday I had to put him in a really long time-out that he cried all the way through. Afterward I talked to him, tried to get him to own his behavior and then offered to go down the slide with him. Later, one of the T.A.'S (highschool helpers) said, "I saw you go down the slide with him..." He said it in sort-of a questioning way. I quickly just responded, "I think you have to follow discipline with love."

Then I started to think about that. What did that mean? Kids don't see discipline as love, so I think then you have to make sure and show them. Then I started applying that to adults. I think we definitely don't always equate God's discipline with love. In fact, I usually complain. Then I thought, if I can work at being disciplined in my times spent with God and truly listening for his voice, maybe that could be a way of demonstarting my love to Him. I don't know if all that makes sense, but it was a nice thought for me this week.

We are off to the lake. See everyone soon!

Weekend Part 2

We've done quite a lot this weekend...2 posts worth! We woke up on Saturday morning to a nice little thunderstorm. We hung out at the house during the day just doing regular stuff. I went to the grocery store and David worked on some school stuff.

Later in the afternoon I made some home-made macaroni and cheese and we went to Nick and Ali's house to meet up with Drew and Kristin and Matt and Brittany. We grilled kabobs, played "hillbilly golf" and ate homemade ice cream.

Here are some pictures...




Unfortunately, my team didn't win. :)







Today after church we were able to go out to eat with our friends Mitch and Nicole and the new associate senior pastor and his wife, Mark and Starla. We went to Chipotle. This week is a short one. We are both taking Friday off so we can head on down to the lake/Little Rock. I was asked if I wanted to pick up another class at The Barstow School this week, which I did, so I'm teaching all day this week!

A 1st and 2nd Birthday!

Last night (Friday) we were able to celebrate some birthdays with a couple of our good friends. Adam and Becca Foster invited us over to celebrate their son Grayson's 2nd birthday and their newest addition, Neylan's, first birthday. We were able to celebrate Grayson's first birthday with them last year, so it was really special to be there for his second, and Neylan's first. We went out to their house at 6:00 and were able to learn a lot about Korean culture. Adam and Beccas tried to make it as traditional as possible and we even got to take home some Korean Plum concentrate. :)

A couple of the girls...






Grayson and Inna enjoying the water table. They got along really well! Todd and Alicia just brought Inna back from the Ukraine and she is absolutely precious. I was even able to get a hug and kiss from her before the night was over.



Adam, Becca, Grayson and Neylan. The boys are wearing traditional "handboks." Sorry if I butchered the spelling of that Becca.



Gettting ready for birthday cupcakes.



Digging in!



It was a great night! Grayson and Neylan are precious boys and we were really glad to spend time with Inna as well. Our friends are so great to us. :) Tonight we are looking forward to a cook-out with our friends from dental school, Nick and Ali and Drew and Kristin. Becca, I am making your macaroni for the occasion! I'm sure there will be more pictures to come.

Week in Review

This has been a great week so far! Right now I am sitting in the living room waiting for David to get home for Gospel Group tonight. I've cleaned the house, baked some cookies, gone to work, and reheated some left-overs! I feel like I have so much more time to take care of home stuff while I'm only working half days! I better enjoy it while I can.

On Wednesday morning I got to go over to Dianna's house and hang out with her and Collin! I loved it! We also took them dinner on Monday night.

Because I have been home a lot (the whole day minus 4 hours in the afternoon), Deuce and I have been getting some major quality time together. He is definitely a "daddy's boy," but he has become my little shadow around the house in the mornings and afternoons. Every time I turn around he is quietly in the room with me. I do believe he's becoming a little bit of a "momma's boy." :)

The other day I was unloading the dishwasher and turned around to find this cute sight...



Taking care of me in the kitchen...



Don't worry, Sooie is keeping an eye on me as well.



We are really looking forward to this weekend and lots of fun things planned.

Relaxing Weekend

David and I were finally home for a weekend! We have loved traveling and seeing all of our friends and family the last three weekends, but it has been nice to be home. On Friday night we cooked at home and then used some movie tickets from teacher appreciation week and went to see a movie. We don't even remember the last movie we went to see in the theater! What a treat. I felt appreciated by my class all over again.

On Saturday I had a baby shower to go to for our good friends Todd and Alicia Bottorff. They just got back from the Ukraine with their precious daughter Inna and we all got to see her and shower her with some toys and clothes. It was REALLY fun and the turn out was huge.

While I was at the shower, David worked on his AEGD application. Then we spent the day working in the yard. David mowed while I killed weeds. Then we washed our cars and even met a new neighbor. Later in the afternoon we took Deuce to the dog park, which we haven't gone to in quite a long time. For dinner we ordered a pizza and stayed in. We rented what we thought was "Country Strong," only to go home and discover it was "Pure Country 2." Ooops. We had had such a good day though that we didn't care and sat down and ate our pizza and watched it. We wouldn't recommend it. :)

Today we had a great morning and night at church. Time to start another week!

Baby Schneider!

Our good friends Matt and Diana had their little boy yesterday afternoon! We were so excited to go up to the hospital to meet Collin Matthew Schneider. We hurried up to the hospital last night with the Jones' and got to see them. Diana looked unbelievable and Collin was precious. It was so fun to share in their joy. We love y'all!

Here we are with Diana. Collin is in this picture, but you can't see him because he was getting warm right up next to his Mom!



Mother and son.



Precious!



We LOVED going up to the hospital to see them. We have been blessed with such great friends in our Sunday School class.

Tonight we had our first gospel group meeting where David was "teaching." I think we were both a little bit nervous about leading our peers in a study, but I could not be more proud of my husband. He was prepared, prayed up, and did a fantastic job. We talked about being aware of God's immense holiness while becoming more aware of our sinfulness. This leads to a growing awareness of the massive gap that the cross had to span. David did a great job leading discussion and guiding our thoughts.

One thing that has stuck out to me in my quiet time this week was in Acts. This is my second attempt at sharing something meaningful each week. :) I finished studying Acts (finally) and was struck by Paul's contentment in all circumstances. I think Paul was a good steward of his circumstance. Usually when I think of being a good steward, I think of money, but I also think it can be more than that. Paul refused to try and skip ahead to what came next. He was grateful for where he was and worked for the Lord in that spot. He was trapped on an island, chained to a guard, and bitten by a viper! I might want to move on to what came next, but Paul took the opportunity to witness to those on the island. I want to remember that God has BLESSED us by where we are in all circumstances and expects me to be grateful and to find ways to do his work where I am. It is easy for me to constantly look to the next step, but I also want to remember that God has things for me to do in the here and now and I should be grateful for the blessing of this stage in life.

Wedding Weekend

This past weekend we were in Little Rock for our friends Scott and Laura's wedding. It was beautiful. The wedding was at Immanuel (where we got married) and the reception was at the Little Rock Club, which is at the top of one of Little Rock's two "sky scrapers." The whole wedding was so much fun. The ceremony was very sweet and it was fun seeing both of our brothers as groomsmen. The reception was the most fun because of the band! The band was unbelievable and we spent the whole night on the dance floor along with the wedding party, random people we didn't know, and even our parents. It's pretty fun to go from dancing with your husband, to your brother, to your dad, your father-in-law, the father of the groom, and the groom! It was just a really really fun reception.

We spent the majority of Saturday afternoon with the Rainwaters and our adorable nephew. We haven't seen him in like 3 months and he has gotten so much bigger! Here's David and Shepherd. Shepherd is in a good-looking outfit!



For lunch we got some Chick-fil-A chicken strips and ate outside. We couldn't stay out too long though because it was so hot!



Proud parents.



Big boy!



Boys with their dad!



Mother/son time.



My parents were also at the wedding and I spent Saturday morning hanging out with Mom, but unfortunately there are no pictures! I wish I had some pictures of my parents breaking it down on the dance floor with us though.

This week I start work at The Barstow School in the afternoons. It is such a treat to get to stay home in the mornings. I feel like I can get so much stuff done! We finally don't really have anything going on this week or this weekend. We are going to relax, work around the house and play some tennis.

Gospel Group Kick-off

It's been a great, really busy week! I thought I was going to have all this spare time since I wasn't working at Barstow this week, but I stayed pretty busy. The week was not without some relaxing though. David and I had a great dinner out for our anniversary at J. Gilbert's, a delicious steakhouse. I also layed out all afternoon on Wednesday with Mandy! She is such a great friend. It was one of those great afternoons of good conversation and building each other up.



Thursday night was our first Gospel Group meeting! When David and I were asked to lead, we were extremely nervous! After going through training we feel slightly more prepared and are looking forward to some really transparent relationships through the group. To start things off we just had a nice cook-out! I only managed to snap off one picture. David grilled some great burgers and dogs!

Deuce was a good boy as well!



David and I follow a lot of our friends blogs. I have been so impressed with how a lot of my friends do more than just say what they have been doing. I want to include what David and I are learning spiritually, plus the day to day activities. I was thinking I could pick out one thing each week that made an impression on us, or that was particularly meaningful. So here goes!...

One day this week, I had finished reading a little bit of Acts, but still felt like I was looking for a little something else. I decided, well, how about Proverbs 9, since today is June 9? Wow! It was great and exactly what I needed that day! If you haven't read Proverbs 9, I would suggest it. It's really short, but I felt like there was a lot to learn from it. The passage talks about "wisdom" and "folly." Since I talked about how we wanted to make wise decisions in my last post, I thought, "wow, I should actually investigate what wisdom is." My dad sent me an email that said, "Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit, and wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad." It turns out this isn't that far from correct!

The passage compares two rival women (Wisdom and Folly) who are both preparing a banquet. Wisdom is a responsible woman of character, that has planned for her party accordingly and then invites people. Folly is a woman of less than noble character who has stolen her food and drinks to serve to her guests (my study Bible helped me through understanding this part). Wisdom appeals first to the mind, while Folly appeals to the senses. I started to think that there were a lot of ways that I could apply this concept.

It makes SO much sense that folly (or unwise choices) appeals to the senses. This is essentially the "because I want it" part of life. It appeals to my sense of selfishness and impatience. Wisdom, which is harder to come by, appeals to the mind. The "wisdom" woman in Proverbs 9 had made all the appropriate plans for her party, and God was going to reward her for that. ON HIS TIME. I think it is the same in life. God expects me to make good plans, and allow Him to honor those plans when he sees fit. It is the perfect combination of planning while trusting God! To not plan, or do what I want and hope God takes care of the details is not going after wisdom. I learned in this passage that to pursue God is also to pursue wisdom.

"Folly" took what was not hers, and also had a party, and I'm sure people came immediately! Who doesn't like a party? IN THE MOMENT she got what she wanted, and so did her guests. But she already received her reward, and gained no wisdom from the experience. I laughed at how much this passage might have helped us be content many times thus far in dental school. Wisdom comes slowly! To be wise is to try our best to plan and LEARN from experience and wise council of others. Wisdom is to know that the little things DO matter in the long run.

For Deuce, wisdom is liking "The Dog Wisperer," but knowing it's not real. :)

Moving Forward

Well, three years ago today, David and I were doing this!...



Today is our third wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that it has already been three years. Time really does pass fast. I was being sentimental and posted a couple items from the wedding day.

Here's our napkins from the reception.



This was our actual wedding invitation.



So, the title of this post is "moving forward." What are we moving forward to? David and I thought that our third anniversary might be a good time to announce some of our future plans on the blog. Reader beware, this is a wordy blog post. :)

Through much thought, prayer, and guidance from those around us, we have decided that David is going to be a general dentist. This might seem a little anti-climactic at first..."Yeah he's going to be a general dentist, he's in dental school!" But it hasn't been quite that easy to decide. David always thought that after dental school that he would want to continue with school and become an orthodontist. Slowly, David began to feel like the Lord would rather him be general dentist. So we are ready to go for it!

Therefore, we "move forward." What does moving forward mean for us? As we get ready to take some pretty big steps in David's fourth year, we have relied on a lot of advice from our parents, lessons from church, and guidance from the Holy Spirit. Our parents have always taught us that the Lord expects us to work hard and allow him to guide our steps. One of the best things that my dad has ever told me, was that "to whom much is given, much is expected." There is no doubt that the Lord has blessed us immensely through our parents, churches, and friends. I know that the Lord expects a lot from us and we want to glorify the the Lord by doing exactly what he would have us do with our blessings. We want to make wise choices, grow as a family, and seek God's will for our lives.

This summer David will be applying for something called an AEGD program. It is at the UMKC campus and would be one extra, paid year where David would get some extra training. Also this summer we will begin sending out "letters" with David's resume to dental offices looking for an associateship position. We will be sending these letters to dental practices in Arkansas. So this leads us with two possibilities for next summer: the AEGD program in Kansas City and moving back to Arkansas for a job.

We believe that the Lord gives us the brains and common sense to go out there and work for Him. This means making the most logical plans that we can while allowing the Lord to guide our steps. We want to use what he has given us wisely, plan accordingly, and give him the glory for it all. We don't think that we are supposed to do what we want and then choose to serve God there. We want to be in the center of God's will knowing that God truly does have a plan for exactly what He wants us to do. So, this year, we will listen for God's guidance as we move forward in our marriage, our family plans, moving, and all that comes with those huge steps.

Tonight we plan to have a nice romantic night out to dinner and then come home and relax. For our first anniversary we went to Chicago. Our second anniversary present to each other is still alive and kicking (Deuce). :) I think we gave each other a girls and boys weekend for our third. :)

Girls/Boys Weekend

David and I had separate weekends this past weekend! I had planned on going down to Fayetteville for a girl's weekend since around January, so David decided to plan a guys camping trip with some of his old roommates. We drove down on Friday night and proceeded to meet up with all our old college friends. David dropped off Katherine and I at Lauren's house and we drove to Fayetteville to my Dad's work house. Then the girls and I went to one of our favorite spots, Common Grounds, and talked for quite a while. On Saturday morning we all got up and decided to go floating! So we headed to the Illinois River and floated the morning away!

Pretty Arkansas scenery.



This picture is from right after we got done floating. Thankfully Lauren's husband Justin had some work hats in the back of his car, which we were driving. We all put one on and decided it made a good picture. Please excuse the background in this picture...just a typical Arkansas floating franchise. :)



After floating we headed over to Slim's and sat on the porch for about an hour and half just talking. Then we headed back to get ready for the evening! Before going out to dinner we made a stop by our beloved Pi Phi house. Amazingly, we typed an old code in and the door opened and we were able to go in and check out all our old rooms. We were also able to see all the improvements that have been made to the house since we were last living in it. It was SO much fun. We found all our old composites too. Afterward we took a couple pictures at the house. Here are two good ones.

Me, Jessica, Lauren, Katherine, and Allison.





After exploring the Pi Phi house we went and ate dinner at Bordino's it was delicious and really relaxing.

Best friends no matter what!



David had a fun weekend with friends too. David, Erick, Austin and Nick all drove down to some of the Rainwater land in Natural Dam, Arkansas. It is such a pretty place. David took me there a couple times while we were dating, but I actually haven't been back since we've been married. There are bluffs to jump off of, lots of fish to catch, and a nice cabin to stay in. I feel like this first picture should be in some sort of advertisement for our Natural State. The black dog is Mallie, Nick and Caroline's black lab. Deuce LOVED her. Deuce and Mallie are in love. :) You can just barely see three of the guys out in the water in this picture. I have no idea where Deuce was.



Scenic shot of Lee Creek.



The BIGGEST news of the weekend...Deuce swam!!!!! Yes, our dog that hates water was willing to get in and swim laps! Here are him and Mallie swimming around.



Doesn't David look good with his dog?! We don't think Deuce is a water lover, however, he IS willing to get in and swim around...which we are thrilled about.



This is going to be a great week for a couple reasons. First, the numbers at the Barstow School for this week and next week were low for my swim club class. Therefore, the other lead teacher is working this week and I am working next. So this week I get to just relax and help with VBS. Second, tomorrow is David and I's third anniversary! Third, It's going to be a beautiful week to get some sun with some friends!