The Greatest Gift

I am so very thankful for my salvation. It gives me hope for today, tomorrow, and the future. Without Christ life would be meaningless. I can't even begin to imagine a life without Him. So grateful today, so very grateful.

Washington DC Adventures!

My best friend Jenny came into town for a week long visit. I was so excited to see her, it had been over a year since I'd seen her last. I knew I wanted to take her to NYC for the day since she had never been there before. So we began to plan our trip to New York for Friday of this past week. The night before we checked the weather and saw that it was supposed to be super windy and rainy in the city. So reluctantly we decided not to go up there...but in turn we chose to go to DC seeing that the weather was going to be lovely. We researched where we wanted to go and decided on Georgetown Cupcake-better known as DC Cupcakes from their hit show on TLC. I have to say and I'm totally being honest here...their cupcakes were the best I've ever had! They were so delicious. I bought half a dozen: 2 pumpkin spice, 1 chocolate lava, 1 lemon, 1 coconut, and 1 chocolate peanut butter chip. So GOOD!! When we were at the shop their was a TV crew filming. It was really neat to see all the cameras and both the owners, Sophie and Katherine. My niece, Ashley was able to spend the day with us too. She is probably the most amazing teenage I know. She's got such a great head on her shoulders, she loves God and is so very special to me :) Here are a few shots of Ashley, Jenny, and Me.
After going to Georgetown Cupcake we shopped around Georgetown for a bit then headed off to visit some sights. We ended our day at Comet Ping Pong a pizza joint featured on the Food Network during a taping of Diners Drive-In's and Dives. This place was totally a dive. When we arrived we were told we had to wait a hour to get a table. We waited in the back room where there were ping pong tables. After about 25 minutes we got a turn to play. It was a blast! The time flew by and we were seated before we knew it. The pizza was AMAZING! Jenny and I said it was probably the best we ever had. Brick oven pizza. So very good.

Here we are playing ping pong! Such a funny picture...but so fun!~

I ordered their classic pizza with pepperoni and buttered onions. Oh my so delicious!

All in all a super special day with my super special friend and family. Love, love, love days like these! And who knew we'd find these amazing food joints! Now onto my next adventure....where will that be??? Who knows!

Cultivating Contentment

This week I started a new Bible Study from the Women of Faith series entitled: Cultivating Contentment. My friend from high school Jen, had been blogging about her devotional book and when I looked at her post I realized I had some of the same devotionals. I knew I had bought at least one or two over the years, and soon discovered one in our library this Monday morning. And I have to say it's been a blessing from God this week.

I'm being reminded about many things-about how this world will disappoint me endlessly and how I need to remember that God has a rich blessing in store for me in heaven. Today's devotional was about Restless Souls. "The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less." 2 Corinthians 5:3-5.

"So what is the soul? It is the deepest aspect of ourselves, the spiritual part that cries out for heaven, that is made to be a dwelling place for God. Nothing and no one else can answer that thirst. it is the size of eternity." Sheila Walsh

I prayed tears of longing to the Lord this morning...pouring out my heart to Him and asking for Him to quench my thirst. I long for Him in a way that is new and refreshing to me. I am so grateful to Him for this.

This Week's Blessings

These last 10 days have been AMAZING! Here are the highlights :)

• For my birthday Ron took me to NYC! It was a blast and so very exciting. I was totally pooped by the end of the day, but it was SO very worth it. The love that he showed me by planning this special day was so needed and so appreciated.



• We finalized Addison's adoption this week (on Tuesday). I still can't believe it took 14 months to make everything final. Goodness! I love my little girl with all my heart. She is God's gift to me.



• We had a small get-together after Addison's adoption hearing. The love we felt from our family and friends was so very fulfilling. I really felt supported.



• On Friday night we had a group of young adults from our church over for a bon-fire. It was super fun! We shared some crazy stories, ate yummy food, drank smooth and creamy homemade hot cocoa, and built stronger relationships with one another. I LOVE nights like these :)



• On Saturday my mom and I pulled off a surprise 50th birthday party for our special Friend, June. June attends our church, our relationship began over 5 years ago. She has always been special to me. Over this past year, she has gone through a lot in her own life. He husband left her, and she lost everything. She was at an all time low. But through the love of her community, church, and family, she's been able to move forward one step at a time. We decided it was necessary to throw her a party. She had a BLAST~! She was so surprised and it all worked out beautifully...even the song we sang to her on a whim (at the last minute). It was so fun. I thank my husband for teaching our church family about sharing the love of Christ through acts of kindness and community care.



• The culmination of the week was today: Pastor Appreciation Sunday. Our Vice Chairman for the board at our church always does an amazing job at celebrating my husband and I for our service to the church. Today was extraordinary. There were special songs, presentations, gifts, cards, gift cards, goodies, hugs, lovin', and a special dinner. I always feel so special in October; our church does a spectacular job at showing us love :)



• One final small blessing: My mom and my aunt bought us two large boxes of diapers! That is such a blessing to our little family. Money is tight but we try really hard to manage it well...so even diapers are a GREAT help.

I feel loved. Really loved. I use an analogy often times about a tank when it comes to love and life. I can tell when my tank is low, ok, or full. Today, it's full. I have a grateful heart this evening. God is so good. Ron, Addy, Me, Lee (our LBA Vice Chairman), Ruth (AKA-Cook, wife of the Vice Chair)

She Is

Many times I've needed her in my adult life. She's always been there. She provides advice with a gentle touch and a loving heart. She wants the best for me. She's my cheerleader. She's my encourager, my teacher, and my mentor. I admire the ways she gives so freely to people who need a special touch from the Savior. She loves people who are hurting and so evidently shows it to those in her circle of ministry. She loves her family to the point of pain many a time in her life. She wholeheartedly loves her Lord. She would do anything for Him. I hope to be the woman she is one day. The Lord has blessed her and she is humble and sweet spirited. She works hard and always tries her best. I love her. She's my best friend.

Proverbs 31:29

"Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all"

New York City Birthday Trip!!

Ron knows I love NYC. Love it. I would actually live there if I could make that possible. So one day he asked me to make a list of all the places I'd like to visit in New York. Since I've been there many times, I've seen all the major sights of the city. BUT, there were a TON of foodie places I had always wanted to visit. Places I had read about in magazines or had seen on The Food Network. So for my birthday he took me to NYC! :) He took me on a tour of three of these "foodie" places that I had been dreaming of visiting. Starting with Chelsea Market in the meatpacking district. Chelsea Market is underneath The Food Network Studios. Chelsea Market is an enormous Wholesale/Retail Food complex that takes up an entire city block. In 1898 it was the original Nabisco Bakery where the Oreo Cookie was created. It now houses 12 of New York City's finest specialty food shops. We took a tour of the market and we learned about its history, viewed original artwork and granite sculptors from local New York artists, and learned how it became the ultimate indoor food paradise.

After taking a three hour tour of the market we decided to take the subway uptown to the upper west side. I had heard about Levain Bakery on the Food Network when Bobby Flay challenged them to a Throwdown a while back. Supposedly they make the best chocolate chips cookies. So I had been dying to try their famous cookies!! So we traveled up about 60 blocks to this small basement bakery, Levain. When we walked in we saw these HUGE cookies and noticed that they were $4 each! A lot for us "non-city" people ;)

As you can see Ron LOVED his oatmeal cookie. So my verdict is...these cookies are THE BEST COOKIES I'VE EVER HAD!! :) I had the chocolate chip walnut cookie. And yes, we did pay $4 for each of them. So worth it though...so very worth it. After we visited Levain Bakery we decided to head across town, through Central Park to Serendipity 3. I had seen this restaurant in a movie once (Serendipity) and thought it was so cute! We had tried to visit it on another trip to NYC a few years ago but it was closed for renovations. We decided to try and see if we could get a table, knowing very well that probably not. So we took the city bus across town to 60th street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. When we got there we were told the wait would be an hour and a half to get a table for dinner. So we put in our name and took a seat on an outside bench to wait. We waited only 20 minutes and the Maitre d' came out and asked us our name and we were in!! We were so pumped! The menus were HUGE. I ordered a cheddarburger (I know simple, right). No way! It was so delicious. The outside crust of the burger had a great crispiness to it. They must have seared it really well. It really was the best burger I've ever had. really. the best.

We had to finish our trip with Serendipity's famous Frozen Hot Chocolate with peanut butter. It was Divine! So very good.

I had a wonderful time in New York for my birthday. It was a blast tyring new foods and visiting places I had only seen on TV. Thanks to my very sweet husband for planning this day for me, babysitter and all (thank you mom!!). I love you so much.

It's Time!

Hebrews 12:11
11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

I have struggled with my weight since my senior year in high school-15 years to be exact! Way TOO LONG! I have specific opinions about weight loss that are probably contrary to the norm. I don't believe in diets. Not at all. I think there is an emotional process one must go through before they can be free. There are emotional reasons why I overeat. Getting to the root of those issues is crucial to my success. So you ask, as a counselor, why have you not done this? Well...I'm not sure. I'm trying to figure that out. Possibly because it's HARD work, or because of a bit of depressive spirit.

It's time for me to gain control over my feelings and my life! Meditating on inspirational scriptures consistently is one way I can renew my mind to God's higher purpose for my life, which will help me make wiser decisions in all areas, including my health.

Today is a new day. It's time. Today, not tomorrow. Now.

Psalm 107:9
...for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Me in 9th Grade (looking good in the 80's) :)

Philippians 1:6
...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Trusting his promises today!