Hope.

My dear sweet red head--

I want to take a moment to tell share a few things with you. Today your Dad and I lost a good friend of ours, Mike Sweeney. You and Sweeney have several things in common...you both have beautiful, fiery red hair. You both have a smile and a laugh that are infectious to those around you. And you both were born to yell, "Go Dawgs" just like the inscription on the plate in your room that Sweeney's beautiful wife, Cabell, created. It is our prayer that as you grow up that you would have several other things in common with Sweeney. We pray and hope that you will grow up to be a Godly man, husband, and friend. A man of integrity and friend to all. Someone who faces life's challenges with a quiet strength. That you will find your mission in life and develop a passion for it. That you would exemplify Proverbs 3. Today your Dad and I grieve with hope because we know that Sweeney is in a better place. He is whole and no longer in pain. And we know that one day we will see him again and we look forward to that day. Till then we look forward to watching you grow and become the person God created you to be. And we hope that you'll have a few more things in common with our friend, Sweeney.

We love you more than you will ever know.

WWLY,

Dad and Mom

"No guilt in life, no fear in death,This is the power of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand." --In Christ Alone

Proverbs 3

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,

² for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.

³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.

⁸ This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;

¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,

¹² because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,

¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.

¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

¹⁹ By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;

²⁰ by his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

²¹ My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight;

²² they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.

²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble;

²⁴ when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

²⁶ for the LORD will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being snared.

²⁷ Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act.

²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,
"Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"—
when you now have it with you.

²⁹ Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
who lives trustfully near you.

³⁰ Do not accuse a man for no reason—
when he has done you no harm.

³¹ Do not envy a violent man
or choose any of his ways,

³² for the LORD detests a perverse man
but takes the upright into his confidence.

³³ The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.

³⁴ He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.

³⁵ The wise inherit honor,
but fools he holds up to shame.

Full steam ahead...

I feel like I've been running a marathon since Christmas. Life has been non-stop since then we've planned and celebrated AG's first birthday, celebrated Andy's birthday, prepped for our trek cross-country, and trekked to Cali and back with a toddler in tow. Everything happens with about a 3 week break in between. Long enough to recover and then gear up for the next adventure. Speaking of the next adventure I began glancing at our calendar the other day and realized this cycle will continue till July. I hope I make it... :)

So here are our upcoming adventures:

Hawaii--My incredibly, hard working husband worked his tail off this last year to earn his company's sales incentive trip. So we have an all expense paid trip to Maui in less than three weeks. Since Hawaii is such a haul I told Andy lets add a few extra days to make it worth the trip. So we are hopping over to Oahu for a few days. I'm excited to go back to Oahu and show Andy all the places that I discovered when I visited there in college. I'm also excited that we get to discover Maui together since neither of us have been there.

The first weekend of May-- Packed! That's the best word to describe this weekend. We'll celebrate my sweet sister, Meg's, graduation from UGA's Pharmacy School. (We are so PROUD of YOU!) That evening we have a couples shower for my college room mate. Sunday is packed with another shower for my best friend, Laura, growing up. That evening is followed with a wedding reception/party for my best friend, David, growing up. Laura and David and I were best friends growing up. I'm glad they both have decided to get their toes wet and join me in the married world this summer. :)

Mal's Wedding--My college roomie gets married three weeks later. I'm elated to be a part of her special day as one of her bridesmaids! Mal, I plan to do my best Ross impersonation on your wedding day. "I'm getting married today! (Fist pumps) A-woo-hoo!" Ha. Love you roomie.

Gettis Family Vacation-- And we have a three week break till we head to Seaside. Andy plans for us to leave early or late but our driving schedule will be dictated by the World Cup match up of the US vs. England. Either way we'll get down there and have an amazing week relaxing on the beach with all of my family.

Laura's Wedding--My best friend growing up is getting married a week later. I'm overjoyed to see our friendship continue into another season of life. And I disagree with what Laura informed me earlier this week...being married and having a child... means I'm old. Matron of Honor makes me sound old. I'd like to think that I'm just a few steps ahead on the game of LIFE. Either way I love you.

And we have our college kids finishing up their semester, two more family dinners for our students, graduations parties for them, and another wedding to attend. At this pace it will be July before I know it. Life is whizzing by these days and I'm sorry for my slacked blogging skills. I plan to catch up one of these days. But we are blessed and God continues to provide above and beyond. More on our blessings coming up...I've been mulling a post on this for awhile. Till then...

Home. Sweet. Home.

Home.

We are finally home from a week and a half long vacation to the west coast. We had a fabulous time in LA and in San Diego/Escondido. We've had a crazy, busy week as we came home and hit the ground running. Our trip was wonderful and full of memories. I'll post in the week to come all about it. While away I always seem to be reminded about how wonderful a thing like a home is. When we purchased our home (it'll be 3 years in April!) I viewed it as one massive canvas that needed only the right hand (or should I say left since I am a lefty?!) to make it in to something warm, cozy, inviting, a spot to retreat to, filled with laughter, and love for all that pass thru our door.

Our house has been a labor of love. We have put in more hours than I care to count fixing it up. The phrase, "there is always something to do on an old house" is true. Oh, but it has been worth it. Today I've been planning my spring/summer gardening plans and making lists of spring projects I want to accomplish. As I began to look around and make plans I had to stop and smile. I love how our home has come together. I love how handy my husband is...he can do just about anything. I love working on projects with Andy--we make a great team. I love the voices that echo off my heart pine floors. Those voices make our home our home. Anyone can decorate and remodel. The voices of the people we love make a home a home.

Week 5 of 52 in 2010...

Week 5 of 52 in 2010

Spaghetti and Meatball Stoup

Rachael Ray

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped into a small dice
• 1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
• 2 small ribs celery from the heart, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 cups tomato sauce or 1 (14-ounce) can plus 1 (8-ounce) can
• 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes
• 3 cups chicken stock, available in a box on the soup aisle
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup grated cheese, Italian blend cheese mix, plus more to pass at table
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, a few handfuls
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves for meatballs and 2 tablespoons for soup
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• 2 teaspoons of basils
• 1/2 pound spaghetti, broken in half
• 1 loaf Italian crusty bread, for dunking

Directions

Preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and saute 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, add parsley/oregano/basil, and stock and cover pot. Turn up heat and bring to a fast boil.

While soup comes to a boil, mix the ground meat with cheese, bread crumbs, egg and parsley. Roll into 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls.

Remove lid from soup and slide balls into soup. Bring back to a boil then stir in spaghetti. Reduce the heat and simmer soup 10 minutes more, until pasta is tender and balls have cooked through. Remove "stoup" from the stove. Serve soup with bread and cheese.

I was able to save a container of this for later. I was curious to see how the noodles would hold up...since I'm late posting this recipe we pulled it out of the freezer 3 weeks later and it was fabulous! I added a fresh can of fire roasted tomatoes (which I do anytime I defrost something with diced tomatoes in it...they have a tendency to break down and it helps stretch your meals to save you money!) and let it simmer on the stove while I toasted up some garlic toast. Honestly, I think I liked it better the second go round!

*This version contains my adjustments for the original click on the link in the title...

Our Little Gorilla...

I promise I have a good reason for not blogging...we'r on vacation. And the two weeks before we left were chaos! (It takes a lot of work to fly cross country with a 13 month old.) Anyways, hopefully, I will get a chance to update in the next few days. Till then here is a picture of AG modeling his new T from the San Diego Zoo. I bought a 3T thinking it would last him awhile. Clearly I should have opted for the 4T...I haven't even washed it yet. Regardless, he's too stinkin' cute in it.

Welcome to toddlerhood...

In the last two weeks Andy and I have seen a drastic change in our little man. He's still our little man but he's as independent as ever and testing the boundaries with every day that passes. He gets frustrated if you tell him no, when you try and remove him from a situation he's been known to throw his arms in the air and slide to the floor like a snake, and if we close an appliance (the dishwasher, the fridge, etc.) before he is "finished" with it then you might hear a defiant squawk erupt from his pint sized mouth.

I've pondered this, AG's behavior, for about a week or so now and what our game plan should be to handle this new stage. Here are a few of my thoughts...

Most toddlers begin exhibiting signs of "the terrible twos" around 15 months and it hits the full blown stage around 18 months till they are about 3 years of age. And most toddlers begin walking around their first birthday or within the next few months of their birthday. Once they begin walking it takes them a couple of months to really walk confidently and at a more natural pace/stride. This new found confidence opens up a world of independence. Usually around the time they have mastered walking they begin exhibiting signs of the terrible twos. Well in our case AG began walking shortly after he was 10 months. Since then he has become a confident walker and has mastered walking over objects, carrying multiple things at once, etc. In my opinion his early found independence has led us in to early toddlerhood. Not a bad thing--just means that Andy and I have spent a lot of time discussing behavior and discipline in the last week. :)

In the beginning I think it caught me off guard because he's only 13 months old. And then I was reminded about all those EDU classes and that every child is different. Each having a unique learning style and abilities. And that led me to my theory of AG hitting toddlerhood a little earlier. Now granted he is not completely in full blown toddlerhood, yet, because his vocabulary is still developing (and his retaliation methods are still simple) but we have definitely crossed over the great divide and no longer have a "baby". He's beginning to flex his muscles and test the waters to see what is acceptable. We are in the middle of a learning curve no doubt about it.

This week I started reading Dare to Discipline. Now this is not my first book on disciplining children because I did read several for my undergrad but it is my first with my own child. When Andy and I talked about our future family and our roles within our household when we were first married I would draw upon my teaching experience. Managing a household is quite similar to managing a classroom. And I've seen that first hand over the last few years and even more so in this last year with having a child. So why read another book? Why, because while I appreciate the theories taught in my college texts (and I do pull from that knowledge in our daily routine) I desire to read texts on rearing children from a biblical perspective too. I am sure this is the first of many that I will read over the years.

My very wise father once told me something that has always stuck with me...they raised us to be adults. When people would ask him (or my mom) about how to raise kids my dad would smile and say, "we aren't raising them to be kids. We are raising them to be adults." Adults who when they leave the nest have all the tools necessary to be successful all they have to do is apply them. We no longer have a baby. We have a child who we are starting to lay the foundation within for him to one day be an adult with all the tools necessary to be successful. It will have its ups and downs from this point on. Andy and I don't have it all figured out but as a team we will be able to figure it out together. And in the end I'm confident that we'll have given our children all the tools they need to be successful.

Can you top me off pal? Be a friend.

So growing up my sister, Caroline, could quote a movie verbatim after only watching it once. (One of her many fantastic qualities...) Some movies were considered a quoting jackpot...The Emperor's New Groove was one. I can't watch the movie without busting out laughing and thinking of her. One of her favorite quotes was Kuzco asking Krunk for a refill. "Hey Krunk. Can you top me off pal? Be a friend." We still use this one to this day. So a few weeks ago AG and I were eating leftovers while Andy was working late. I went to go grab my phone to call Andy to see when he'd be home and when I came back AG had pulled my drink off the table without spilling it. I busted out laughing and then went to grab my camera.

Here's to AG's moment of asking for someone to be a pal and top him off.