A Daughter's Wedding

Ashley makes a beautiful bride ready for her day.

Proud Mom!

Maid of Honor - Jessica (friend-long hair)

Bridesmaids: Chelsea (friend)

Katie (Sister on right)

Flower Girls: Tara (Sister on left)

Emma (TJ's sister-front center)

TJ (Groom - top)

Ben (Best Man - 2nd from top)

Caleb (TJ's brother - 2nd from bottom)

Peter (Friend - bottom)

Rhett (my son), plays for the ceremony

Proud Dad walks Ashley down the aisle.

Exchanging Vows

Unity Rock (Rock-climbing themed wedding)

TJ made a rock they could hook their carabiners into, signifying their unity with Jesus Christ, The Rock and each other.

Introducing the happy couple

Ashley enjoyed greeting guests as they left for the reception.

(I wanted you to see her headpiece too!)

Away to the reception

(or a short trip around town before coming back to the church for pictures)

The bride with her sisters, Tara (L) and Katie (R)

This one makes me cry.

The couple with proud parents

Arriving at the reception

So in love!

The lovely reception was held in the Groom's family  backyard.

At first they were nice...

but that wouldn't be like them.

You got something on your face!

First dance

TJ and Ashley Parnell.

May the Lord bless your marriage.

We love you both!

Back Soon!

Saturday is my daughter's wedding! Ashley got engaged in November so it's been a busy 6 months.

I have been keeping up on my weekly pictures (most of the time).  They're on my camera! Hopefully, I'll get a chance to share them with you next month.

We got a 6-week-old puppy in the middle of April so that's why I've been absent...it's a full-time job and I already had too much going on.  She's a cutie! Can't wait for you to meet her!

Looking forward to a quiet summer by the pool! It will be a welcome rest.

See you Soon!

New Days

Just when I think I can’t take on any more responsibilities, either physically or emotionally, my circumstances change. I don’t know about you, but I am learning what it means to depend on the Lord through each moment each day. Some days I’m faithful to keep my awareness on my need for Him and talk with Him “without ceasing,” other days I fall into bed at night and realize I haven’t even thought about the Lord once. How discouraging sin can be! But He is faithful. I’ve always found great comfort in Lamentations 3:22-23, “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” I love the renewal that comes with a brand new day!

I’m reading through a book for the second time that talks about simplicity and a verse that was shared in a chapter I read this week was,

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

How often I forget to go to the Lord with my “load.” He twice tells us that we will find rest. When I spend the day talking to Him throughout the circumstances that arise, I have a sense of peace that I’m not carrying the burdens alone and that if I keep my eyes on the Lord, He will guide me in the way I should go. It’s so much easier and lighter. His way = His yoke. Every new day is an opportunity to walk with Him faithfully and learn of Him. I hope that encourages you!

Project 365: Week 12

It's been a fun-filled week! Tj and Ashley came home for spring break from Wednesday to Sunday and we kept them busy and well-fed.

Here's a few of the things we did!

If you'd like to join in the fun, stop over at Sara's blog to see more pictures.

Sunday, March 13th

The flag at church caught my eye. So beautiful in the wind!

Monday

The girls attended their weekly American Heritage Girls troop meeting Monday night.

Tuesday

Empty house + hunger = early birthday dinner with family for me.

Wednesday

Playdate with friends. It was warm enough to play with sidewalk chalk in the cul-de-sac.

Thursday

My handbell class taking a "field trip" to Starbucks.
They've worked hard!

We took Tj to a late lunch at a Washington landmark, Ben's Chili Bowl. See my previous post here.

Friday

Meet Spartacus! (Tj's lizard.) He is so adorable!  BIG personality. The poor thing was probably ready to go back to school after all the attention he got while at our house.  Who knew I'd like lizards!

Saturday

My fridge is bulging. I love cooking for the kids when they come home.
We'll definitely have a few days of leftovers.  Not a problem.

Project 365: Week 11

I've missed the weekly postings for P365 since the end of January because of Dad's death. I spent the first part of February in CA without my computer. The following weeks, I've dealt with grieving and trying to get back in the swing of things. The good news: I still took pictures every day! I'm so proud of myself! Go, Me!

In today's post I will share all of March's photos with you and then later this week, I'll give you a recap of February.

Tuesday, March 1st

We were sent condolences flowers. One side was purple (Tara's favorite), one side pink (Katie's favorite.) It was not intended this way, but was a fun surprise.

Wednesday

A new dessert. The base is Swiss Cake Rolls.

Thursday

Another new recipe - homemade blueberry muffins. Yum.

Friday

No Picture! (oops.)

Saturday

Playtime at a local park

Sunday

Trying a new camera out on the boys at Mimi's Cafe.

Monday

Making fleece blankets with the girls for charity.

Tuesday

Thinking about teaching this course...just thinking and researching.

Wednesday

Katie took a picture of her breakfast. Delicious!

Thursday

Puppy Dogs and Lady Bugs!

Friday

It's not shorts weather yet, but she was comfortable. 

Mom's shoes were a nice touch to the ensemble!

Saturday

A little poison on a plate.

Mark and I enjoyed salads at a restaurant and then paid for them later. Ugh.

Two beauties with newly pierced ears!

Piercing Ears & Heart

I had an early breakfast meeting this morning before most of my family was out of bed. After the meeting I had to get home to pick up the girls and drive them to the mall to attend a friend's Build-a-Bear birthday party. When I walked in the door at home, I was greeted with shouts of, "Dad said we could get our ears pierced at the mall!" I replied, "I don't know. It might be too much money."

(I was thinking on my feet, give me a break.)

Daddy and girls campaigned until I gave in and this is what happened.

Tara up first:



Katie to follow:



Yes, I've watched these videos a few times and feel like a rotten mother every time, but they were so excited BEFORE and AFTER, that it more than makes up for the drama in the middle.

The extra girls holding hands were friends from the birthday party that came along for support!


Two happy bedazzled babes!

Answered Prayer, Part 2

The Saturday following Dad's death was pretty quiet. On Sunday morning the kids and I went to church. Hard. I did a lot of crying with friends, but shared the blessings and the details of how the Lord was orchestrating everything perfectly. The kids and I were so numb. I was struggling to wrap up my responsibilities, both at work and at home.

I have a team of volunteers at church that receive a weekly email from me with scheduling information and a small Scriptural challenge, usually stemming from something the Lord has been saying to me during my personal devotions. I had two weeks of emails to cover while I would be gone and I needed to get them written up and sent to my supervisor who would be covering for me. In the email for Feb 13th (the second week) I included a challenge on Ephesians 3. I had been thinking on the phrase "abundantly above all we can ask or imagine..." The Lord had been displaying this verse to me that week and I challenged them to look for ways the Lord was revealing Himself in their lives. How was He doing more than they could ask or imagine for them?

I shared this challenge with my college-age daughter as we travelled to California and she told me that in the Fall she had changed her life verse to a verse in Ephesians 3. It had great meaning for her, as well.

Fast forward a couple of days...

Wednesday morning we're sitting in Dad's funeral service and the speaker mentions that the passage Dad was studying when he died was Ephesians 3.

Ephesians 3.

Moments before he took his last breath, he was reading the same Scripture that the Lord had impressed on our hearts and minds.

Ashley and I looked at each other and started bawling. We were so amazed that God had directed us all to the same chapter in the Bible. What a huge blessing that was to us!

I was beyond excited to come back to work and share with my volunteers how the Lord had used this passage, but I had to wait the two weeks, because they wouldn't even receive my initial email until then. You can imagine how excited I was to share in the February 20th email, the revelation that moments before the Lord took Dad home, he was studying the same passage. If that didn't highlight "abundantly above all we can ask or imagine" I don't know what would.

When the volunteers finally heard the whole story we got some goosebumps together and praised the Lord! I'll never forget it!

The past month has been hard. We're grieving. We're trying to imagine how to move forward and the Lord gives us glimpses every day. Some moments are pure joy, some just back to routine. Others are sad. Others lonely. But He is faithful. He is there for us abundantly above.

He's given us others to care about and pray for to help us get our minds off ourselves. I'm reminded how thankful I am to be a part of His Kingdom work.

If you've gotten this far, you're probably thinking, "that story is so cool," but what would bless me even more is if you took a moment to search your previous week and see if you can find where the Lord revealed His abundance in your life. Where did He do more than you could have ever asked for? How did He go far and above anything you imagined?

He loves to reveal Himself.

If you didn't see Him. Look for Him this week.

When you seek Him, He will be found. He promises. (Proverbs 8:17)

Answered Prayer, part 1

Thank you for your prayers and kind words!

I am amazed how the Lord has perfectly orchestrated the details of the past week. His love and care have been evident in BIG and small ways, reminding me that when you are looking for Him, He will be found.

My husband, Mark, flew out to CA within hours of hearing of his father's passing. Our family had not gotten much sleep Thursday night so by Friday noon I was staring at the wall, unable to function. I decided to take a nap, but once I climbed into bed, my mind started racing. I decided to pray, hoping to quiet my mind. I think Friday's prayer was more of a negotiation, along the lines of one of David's prayers in the Old Testament. I was somewhere between begging and informing the Lord of my need to get my four kids and I to the funeral on my available funds of $1500. He knew we needed to go, right? I remember my last thought being, "If I have to rent a van and drive it across the country, Lord, I will do it."

I awoke a couple of hours later and went to the computer to check out Enterprise Rent-a-Car. I could rent a mini-van for two weeks for about $600. Ok. Then I decided to try Orbitz to find my college-age daughter a flight. There was no way she could be away from school for 2 weeks. The cheapest ticket was $750. Ouch. Not doable. I was thinking there was the possibility that she would not be able to get to the funeral, when I went back to the Enterprise site and decided to check out cheaptickets.com. I'm such a travel novice and figured that I wouldn't get much lower than Orbitz, but when the page loaded I found 7 different options of $283! Crazy! We hadn't found that price for Mark earlier in the day and who travels coast to coast at the last minute for $283? People who trust the Lord to make the way?? Hmm.

I ended up purchasing 5 tickets for that ridiculously low price, totaling $1570. I love how the Lord provides.

As we got closer to our Tuesday departure time I became more and more anxious. We had to catch a connecting flight through Kansas City. It didn't take a weatherman for me to know that IF we got to Kansas City in the middle of last week, we wouldn't be leaving the snowbound city. I was letting the worry get to me, but through my son's encouragement I kept my hair appointment on Monday. My beautician is an Arab believer and as I cried in the chair about my fear of not getting to CA in time for the funeral, she said these heart-piercing words, "The Lord knows what you desire. He wants you to desire what He desires." My spirit was immediately quieted as I realized that He already knew the outcome. He knew whether we would make it through that huge storm or not. I needed to trust Him!

I got home and thought I should just call the airline and ask if they could reroute me. I had no more available funds to spend on the tickets so if I requested a change, they would have to give it to me for free. I figured there was no chance. I called and talked to Peggy in Milwaukee. She said that she couldn't find another route at first. She checked out her own city, but based upon her local weather forecast thought it would be just as sketchy as Kansas City. I asked if she had any connectors in the south and she said, "No, but what about Denver?" We both got online to check out Denver's weather forecast and found that they only had 1-2 inches of snow coming their way. No big deal for snow-savy Denver. I asked her if there was any charge for the change and she said, "No, it's free!" I told her she was my new best friend in Milwaukee and then praised the Lord, letting her know that I had prayed the Lord would find a way for us to get to CA.

The following day while the Midwest came to screeching halt, we flew at 38,000 feet over the storm.

That's how I've felt most of this week. Soaring over the storm.