just some recent photos

I've been out of the blogging world for awhile as you can see. Thought I could atleast get some recent photos on here....

Loss & Regret

There are two types of regret = regret of action and regret of inaction. In the past 3 months I have four friends who have lost a loved one. It's been sobering having conversations with them and simply realizing how truly blessed I am. My heart hurts for them and I AUTHENTICALLY hope they grieve well! Hold fast to those close to you!!

1 a: deep distress, sadness, or regret especially for the loss of someone or something loved b: resultant unhappy or unpleasant state
2: a cause of grief or sadness
3: a display of grief or sadness

synonyms sorrow , grief , anguish , woe , regret mean distress of mind. sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt and remorse, grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause; anguish suggests torturing grief or dread; woe is deep or inconsolable grief or misery; regret implies pain caused by deep disappointment, fruitless longing, or unavailing remorse

San Diego

Rather than repeat the effort - go to Jess' blog to see all the San Diego news. Here's her link: http://www.jexamae.blogspot.com/

San Diego

So we are off to San Diego for a week this Monday. We are all so excited! We've never been and have been told my many how wonderful it is. This is one of those "someday" goals we have always talked about and we just decided not to allow it to be "someday" anymore. As we have been reading thru a book called "One Month to Live" we were faced with the fact...even though we knew it...that God doesn't promise us tomorrow and we don't know what tomorrow holds so we didn't want to miss an opportunity to create memories with the kiddos. I have specifically been looking @ things much differently lately since reading this book. The whole point of it is, when someone gets faced with the reality that they only have a month to live (for whatever reason....cancer/tumor) their outlook on life becomes much different because they are now faced with a much smaller window to invest in relationships and the choices they make. The book begs the question - "why wait" until you are faced with the reality of that possibility....why not look @ EVERY day is if you only had 30 more days on this earth. This mindset has allowed me to really look @ how I spend my time....especially with my kids. Just this week I left work one day @ lunch and went to have lunch w/Caleb @ school and on another day I went in early and had breakfast with Kenzie @ school. I just want to make sure my kids don't get the wrong message from me...that work is more important...because it's not! It's already hard enough to create some new space in our life because we tend to get so "busy" with everything and often times over committed. This new thinking just allows me a chance to truly weight the "value added" when I am making choices from now on. Looking forward to our time....just the four of us....in Diego!!

when the rooster crows

Jess & I were reflecting on Pastors message from the weekend and talking about how Jesus declared that Peter would deny him 3 times. We were talking about how crazy it is that Peter walked alongside the Son of God & couldn't imagine denying him but did just as Jesus declared. It's crazy to think that here is a man who walked with God himself, in the flesh and STILL denied Him. I am aware I have my moments when I don't wanna share my faith because it will simply "inconvenience me" but as I think about it - I am no different than Peter in those moments. If I think back to the post I wrote awhile ago about how some would say it's easier to "die" for Christ than it is to "Live" for him and I think about Peter denying Jesus in a moment when he DID have a chance to die for Christ....than how much harder is it REALLY to "Live" for Christ than it is to Die for him? I am not so sure I agree with that now?? Wondering what your thoughts are......

small group fun

Yup - the weather was pretty nice Sunday. We had switched our small group meeting time from evening to afternoon because of schedule conflicts so Kenzie & I took advantage of that & rode the Vulcan over to small group. Well - needless to say it was a hit with the kids (& Andrea) so after we were done I gave some of the kids (& Andrea) rides on the bike. While the small group video & discussion were a highlight (which is always the case =) it was alot of fun to hear the kids (& Andrea) scream while riding up & down the street! After small group & all the rides...Kenz & I did another 30 miles or so on the bike before we made it home. Yeah - I am excited to see some warmer weather so we can do that more often!!

some cool tattoos

so i was looking thru google for the fun of it & i came across some wild tattoos - Caleb thinks i should do the spiderman tattoo....i will admit it's pretty cool