Tuesday, February 27, 2007

He will quiet you with His love

"...He will quiet you with His love..." (Zephaniah 3:17). I have never read this before. The worship leader at our new church mentioned this passage in passing on Sunday morning, and for some reason, it was like a fog horn in my head. The phrase kept repeating itself to me (I'm assuming that was the Still Small Voice, Gretchen) over and over throughout the service and the rest of the day. The rest of the verse is just as amazing as the middle phrase--"The Lord our God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." I simply cannot get enough of this right now. Isn't it the most amazing thing? I'm speechless.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Rest and Oscar

Last weekend I spent a glorious Sunday afternoon holed up in our basement. Sundays are the only days that Jake still takes a nap and for some reason, this past Sunday both kids took really long naps. I went downstairs and curled up on the futon with a quilt, my pillow, a book, and glass of water, and some chapstick (just for you, Jamie!). The original purpose of our basement was for Mark's sports memorabilia, the treadmill, a playroom for the kids, and storage. But it's turning out to be more than that. It's still all those things, and it's by far the kids favorite place to play. Probably because we have tons of bookshelves down there full of toys, blocks, activities, etc. But it's turning out to be a little getaway for me too. We have a nice comfy futon down there, a lamp to turn on when I don't want overhead lights, and it also houses all our books, since we don't have space for bookcases up in our living area. I love being surrounded by my books--it automatically makes for cozy living. We also put our old tv down there along with a $17 DVD player (LOVE black Friday!), so now it's the official place for kids movies. And on Sunday afternoons, it has become my safe haven to watch old movies. Sunday afternoon is always reserved for sports on the bigger tv upstairs. I have no problem with that--it's the American way. Maybe it's because we spent every Sunday afternoon at my grandparents' house while I was growing up, and because they always had old movies on all afternoon (they had cable a long time before us!), but I am so content to just sit down with an old musical or a black and white movie and loll the afternoon away. So last Sunday, after reading a few chapters of Harry Potter (I'm re-reading the whole series in honor of the final book coming out this July), I settled in with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck for an afternoon of "Roman Holiday." If you haven't seen it, SEE IT! It's a classic. We are talking pre-My Fair Lady, Sabrina, Funny Face, Breakfast At Tiffany's... It was Audrey's first movie and she won an Oscar that year for Best Actress. I love the Academy Awards, but don't like to put Mark through the torture, so I'll probably settle in on the futon once again this Sunday night for the Oscars. I just love when Sundays turn out to be what they are intended for. Rest...

Friday, February 16, 2007

Trip of a Lifetime

I'm not sure how many people I've had a chance to share this with but I'm going to Ireland!!! My mom has always wanted to take my sister and I there because we have a strong Irish heritage (don't forget I'm from Boston--the only people I knew growing up were Irish or Italian or both!) and last year she mentioned actually making legitimate plans. We talked about it here and there, but I guess in the back of my mind I didn't think it was actually happening. Well, over Christmas we talked about it more and settled on this summer, but we still had no ligitimate plans. Then this past week my mom got snowed in here in Columbus, so we got out the guidebooks I had bought on eBay last fall and just started making plans. We even bought our plane tickets (August, by the way)! We're spending 5 days in Ireland and 3 days in London and Mark and Ryan (my sister's huband) are coming too! As it turns out, the entire plan and itinerary is pretty much falling on my shoulders because everyone else is too busy to take care of such a detailed trip. And I gotta say, I don't mind one bit. I have a lot of time on my hands, I'm an internet addict, I love researching, and I especially love organizing everything in life. I'm in heaven. So I've spent the last two days online and with my nose buried in my travel books looking at ticket prices, hotel reviews, restaurant suggestions, train schedules through Ireland, day trip bus tours, festival dates... My sister thinks I'm psycho cuz I keep calling her and asking questions and opinions trying not to leave her out of the planning process and I keep using phrases like, "well, I'm working on Phase 2 of the trip..." I'm just being silly, but it makes it more fun and elicits a chuckle out of her. I'm hoping to keep a rough journal of the trip while we're there, and then post everything on a new blog and that way be able to share everything and all our experiences with our friends. I'm just giddy with anticipation, but keep in mind too that I've never been out of the country before. This is all new for me and beyond exciting!

(FYI, I'm listening to my new AG Silver CD right now and I think they have a new fan--Thanks Abby!)

Monday, February 12, 2007

30'th Birthday Weekend

My amazing husband treated me to the best birthday ever. It was a full weekend inluding dinner at Mongolian Barbecue, spending time with Mark, chai from Barnes & Noble, my wonderful and amazing friend Abby's "surprise" weekend visit, a razzmatazz latte from Cup-A-Joe, quality cafe time with Abby, a surprise party complete with family and Columbus friends, a REAL surprise visit from my mom, Mark's exciting game win, Mark taking care of every meal the entire weekend, peppermint mocha from Starbucks, surprise gifts from Mark, fun gifts from friends, including lots of Starbucks gift cards, many many pounds of Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks coffee, an extremely special gift from my long distance but close-to-my-heart friend, Gretchen, and two phone calls from my kindred in Germany, Daylin (which I missed, sniff). I am blessed. I am thankful for what God has given me and for the people He has put in my life. Turning 30--not such a huge deal. Spending time with and hearing from people I love--the best deal in life!



Mum and Abby


Julie and Brian (Mark's brother and his wife)


Katie, DJ (Jamie Miller's sister and brother-in-law and also who Mark is coaching high school basketball with) and Brian or Big B as our kids call him


DJ, Brian, Mark, Rory, and Mom C (Talan and Jake in front)


Mikayla and Rory


Me and my wonderful new Columbus friend, Lydie (Mark's cousin's wife)


Rory, Grammie, and Jake watching The Aristocats


Me and Abby


Abby and Rory