Back to School

Wow, what a difference a year can make! This time last year I was preparing for my 2nd year at Oneta Ridge Middle School, my 5th year teaching. I was so excited to see all my students again...I looped last year, so I was with my squirrelly little 6th graders for a second year for their 7th grade year. It was probably the least nervous I had been starting a school year because 1. I already knew the school and what to expect and 2. I knew the majority of my students already. Honestly, the 1st day of school usually makes the teachers more nervous than the students. 

If I'm being totally transparent, this time last year I was getting a little discouraged. Trevor and I knew we wanted to start a family and we had been trying for a little while - now, my "little while" is probably a bit exaggerated now looking back, but when you are in the middle of the storm (or the middle of trying to get pregnant), every month feels like an eternity. Trevor and I had been trying for a few months at this point because I wanted to time everything where I could have a baby in March/April/May, have the end of the school year off and all of summer off and then go back to school in August and feel like I had an adequate amount of time home with baby. Well, God had other plans for me. During these months of trying to get pregnant, me and God spent a LOT of time together. (Why don't I always pray as hard as I did during this time or spend that much time with him! ...that's a topic for another day!) I was discouraged and I felt like God was not answering my prayers. I felt like he was ignoring me. I was confused because it says children are a blessing...so why wasn't I receiving this blessing. I'll never know the real answer as to why my prayers weren't answered in MY timing, but I'm guessing it was because God was tired of hearing me talk and he wanted me to LISTEN! And he knew the only way I would listen is if my plans didn't go exactly how I wanted. He knew I would push in harder to him if I had to struggle. So there I was, struggling and pushing in harder, praying harder, listening harder than I probably ever have...exactly where God wanted me! The moment---I'm telling you---the moment I gave up control, that's when we were pregnant! The moment I surrendered it to God, we got pregnant. It was definitely NOT my timing, but it was perfect timing. **This weeks message at Life.Church was about giving up control and it got me thinking about this situation and I thought I would share! :) I'm sure this is not the only time God will have to teach me this lesson! 

Here's why it wasn't MY timing:

*Oklahoma weather is HOT in the summer. I did not really care to be pregnant in the dead of summer because who wants to be huge when it's 101 degrees outside! Wow, how vain of me! 

*I knew if I got pregnant after August/September then my plan wouldn't work of having a few weeks off at the end of the school year and all summer of being home with baby to feel confident to go back to work in August. Hence why October I gave up! I gave it to God because my plan wasn't working! 

Here is why God's timing was perfect:

*While praying to get pregnant, I made the silly request to God to let us have a boy first. Not because it's what I wanted, but I knew Trevor REALLY wanted a boy, so I prayed for that for Trevor. I am convinced that if we got pregnant in previous months it would have been a girl and God really wanted to answer this prayer for me. 

*If he was born in March he would share the month with me, if he was born in April he would share the month with Trevor and my brother, if he was born in May he would share the month with my dad, if he was born in June he would share the month with 2 of his cousins, so July was PERFECT timing! I'm sure that God really didn't care about this reason at all, but I thought it was neat! :)

*God had other plans for my life. He did not want me to go back to teaching and this was one of his ways of revealing this to me. I really prayed hard about this decision and logically just had to make a choice. Lately, with all the back-to-school stuff coming out, those emotions kind of came flooding back and I recently received an overwhelming peace about my decision to stay home. Looking back, he told me this several times, but I wasn't listening. Surprise, surprise.

*Since I'm not over booking myself, I get to be the wife and mom that God intended me to be. I get to continue doing what I am passionate about and that is, lead worship at Life.Church. AND I get to help Trevor with Armor Accounting! Husband and wife duo! :)

Teachers: I am praying hard for you today! There is nothing like a first impression and that first day. I am praying that you have students that walk into your classroom with a willingness to learn. I pray that you have a mindset that this is going to be the best school year yet. I pray that you try some crazy lesson plans this year that will be successful...it's okay if they fail too! That's usually when the kids remember stuff! :) I pray that you make a difference in the lives of your students! I pray the students know how lucky they are to have YOU as their teacher! 

PS- I know that many people do not have the option to stay home with their babies and I don't take that for granted! It is definitely a life change for our family, not only the fact of having a baby, but financially as well. I am counting my blessings every day that I get to do this!

GOOD LUCK TODAY!!!! Brooks and I are thinking about you!!!

LOVE YOUR SPOUSE CHALLENGE

There has been this "Love Your Spouse Challenge" going around on Facebook and I thought I would share my thoughts on it. The challenge was to post photos with your spouse for seven days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love going and to promote marriage.

I think it's great!!! It gives you a chance to:
*Promote a healthy marriage.
*Recall some of your most fond memories with your spouse.
*Brag about your spouse.
*Build up your spouse.
*Talk highly about your marriage.
*Reminisce a little.

I love seeing everyone's posts and the memories that they are choosing to share. I love that it highlights marriage! It highlights people talking highly about their spouse and their marriage. There is so much negativity right now in the world and among people, I feel like this is something worth getting on Facebook for!

As I was doing this "challenge", a couple things caught my attention. I noticed some people saying that they didn't have time for this. I know we are all busy, I know we have a million things going on, and I know Facebook is not/should not be the focus of our day. BUT, your spouse is worth it! I'd say you don't have the time not to! I know it's hard to commit to something for 7 days, but honestly, it's only 7 days! And who cares if you forget a day...give yourself a little grace. Just pick it back up the day after you forgot!

I also realize marriage is not always smiles and sunsets, but your marriage IS worth talking highly of! I will always remember this quote from the movie Just Married - "You never see the hard days in a photo album, but those are the ones that get you from one happy snap shot to the next." Some might say that these photos and this challenge are portraying a false picture of what marriage is. I disagree. Social media can do that, but I also think the pictures people share are genuine to how they feel in that moment. I think we can all agree that no one has it all figured out. I post things because I want to highlight the great things going on in life and because I love my family and want to share. When I'm going through struggles or hard times, I have a close group of friends/family that I talk to and choose to share this information with because I know they will give me sound advice. There is never a right time to bash your spouse, there is a right time to talk to someone about struggles or hard times for the sake of growing! I don't want to air my dirty laundry to the world and get the worlds opinion, because most worldly advice is not healthy or what is truly best for my marriage. So, I choose to post the happy times!

All of this to say...I was challenged to promote marriage and I did it! Trevor and I don't have it all figured out, but we do have a marriage built on a solid foundation, so I am confident that we can tackle anything together! And that is worth sharing!

Here are the seven photos I chose and why...

This was the start of it all! This was taken April 17th, 2010...the day that Trevor got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. 

This was one of our engagement photos. It was taken in Holland, MI, which is one of my favorite places. I have gone there since I was a little girl. The first time Trevor came with my family we had this really neat evening where we were on the beach playing frisbee just having an amazing time, and for some reason we both just knew this was it...we were going to be each others other half. This photo was taken exactly 6 years ago! 

College was such an amazing time for both of us. We have a LOVE for OSU and a LOVE for Greek Life.  Some of the most memorable experiences in college came from Date Parties. They were seriously so much fun! I'm so glad I got to experience them with the person I will experience forever with! This was probably our favorite date party - Mathletes and Athletes!

I absolutely LOVED my job in Branson. It was seriously the BEST job...well, besides being a mommy! :) Not many people know that Trevor and I actually worked together at Silver Dollar City. We got married in June of 2011 and Trevor lived with me in Branson after that until he started work at EY in August of that year back in Tulsa. He didn't want to sit at home doing nothing, so my boss got him a job 2 days a week outside the Saloon theatre (which is where I worked). I had a feeling then that it wouldn't be our last time working together!...hello Armor Accounting! 

The 5th day of this challenge fell on a Sunday, so what better picture to post than a picture at CHURCH! We LOVE our church, we love our lifegroup and we love what both of these things have done for our marriage! We want everyone to experience this, so this is the photo I chose for the day. I absolutely love that Trevor is the spiritual leader in our home. He truly inspires me each and every day. If I'm being transparent here, this is NOT where our marriage started. We didn't go to church until we were married for about a year and we really didn't get actively involved in the church until we were married for about 2 and a half years. It is never too late! We are totally different people from where we started and I am so thankful that we changed together and we accepted each others growth and transformation. Growing up, family would always say that your marriage needed to be built on Christ and I didn't really know what that meant at first. Although we survived the first few years without him, we are totally and completely in awe of what he has done in and through us. We would not have the marriage we have today without the love of Jesus!

Trevor and I love to travel. It's at the top of our list to do every year. We put a good chunk of our money aside to save up for vacations because it is a priority to us. This was taken in South Carolina which was one of our favorite trips. I can't really pinpoint why, but I feel like we grew so much closer during this trip.

This was taken last fall break (October of 2015). This is the day we randomly bought a Harley. We decided over fall break to have a "staycation" and do things around Tulsa that we've never done. That statement couldn't have been any truer! We are not usually spur-of-the-moment people, nor do we make irrational decisions very often, but this day was different. I love those spontaneous moments that creep in our lives! It keeps us on our toes! This was also the day we got pregnant! Ha! 

Well, there you have it! LOVE YOUR SPOUSE CHALLENGE!
I have loved reading everyone's posts on this! What a way to promote marriage and add some positivity on Facebook! Now my challenge is for you to not only post on Facebook these great memories, but talk to your spouse about them and why you chose those photos and those memories to share!

First Vacay with Brooks and Brooks' 4th Week

This picture just sums up our trip! ;) 

Each year my family gets together for a family reunion in Holland, MI. My dad's parents lived there and would rent houses for all the families. Everyone kind of does their own thing during the afternoons, which usually consists of walking to the beach, then we all get together for dinner. After dinner we usually walk back to the beach to play volleyball and watch the sunset, followed by getting ice cream at the general store. Then, we usually congregate in someone's house to play games. This year looked a little different because my grandpa passed away June 15th, so this was our first family reunion without him. It was definitely different not having him there, but I'm so happy we got to see so many family members. Even with both of my grandparents gone now, I hope that the family reunions continue, because our trips to Holland are always my favorite!

Here are lots of photos and captions from our trip:

Trevor and I left on Friday evening and drove through the night. Brooks was a champ! He literally slept the entire trip! We got to Holland around 8am and went to my grandpa's house to sleep a bit since our house wouldn't be ready til around 2. 

We stayed in a new house this year. 

Saturday: we slept for a bit at my grandpa's house, then we got all settled in our house. Around dinner time we took Brooks downtown so we could walk around and grab a bite to eat at a place called New Holland Brewing Company. It's one of our favorite restaurants in Holland. I don't know if it was from traveling all the previous day or what, but Brooks lost it at the restaurant! Thankfully we were outside, so he didn't make a huge scene, but Trevor and I basically took turns eating and walking around outside the restaurant trying to calm him down. I'm sure our first of many meltdowns while we are out and about! Ha! 

Sunday: we got up and ready for church. Usually my grandpa's church has outdoor survices during the summer months, but it was raining, so we had church inside. 

So precious!

After church we went to a place called Boatwerks. You can sit outside right on the water and it's beautiful!

After lunch we headed to the beach! 

We were having too much fun dressing this kid up!

Trevor bought a nifty tent that we used at the beach. It worked great to keep Brooks out of the sun!

He's such a good dad!

That evening my Aunt Sue cooked dinner and then we all headed to my grandpa's house for a surprise shower for my brother and Katy. They are getting married in March and since our family is so spread out, my mom and Aunt Sally had the idea to throw them a couples shower!

Monday: we got up and around and then headed downtown Holland. Wes wanted to take Katy to New Holland Brewing Company, so we are there again. Brooks was much better this go around. 

We then walked around and shopped a bit. 

That evening was my grandpa's funeral service. He passed away June 15th, but since the reunion was fast approaching, the family decided to wait to hold his service for when everyone would be in town to say goodbye. It was nice to have so many family members around during this time and to see all the people from his church and community there. We love you and miss you grandpa Weller. Brooks wore a bow tie in honor of you!

That evening we headed to the beach to watch the sunset.

Brooks loves being in his Baby Bjorn carrier! He would just fall asleep every time we put him in it to walk somewhere!

I love seeing her as a grandma!

We played a lot of KanJam! If you haven't heard of this game, you are missing out! So fun!

Trevor being silly!

Tuesday: that morning we got up and around and then headed to de Boers for breakfast. It was Katy's last day in town, so we had to take her to all the good local places and de Boers is definitely at the top of the list. We then came back to our house and just hung out in our yard. The weather was so beautiful, a little chilly even, if you were in the shade. 

Love his shades! Thanks Aunt Lorri!

We then headed to the beach!

That evening, Stinky got a bath! It's hard to see, but it's a cute duck towel! 

My Aunt Nan cooked dinner for everyone on Tuesday and then you guessed it...we headed to the beach to watch the sunset. Everyone played volleyball before relaxing and watching the sun go down. 

Brooks didn't sleep so well Tuesday night, so Trevor and I were up with him often, which made Wednesday a little tiresome. 

Wednesday: Trevor went golfing on Wednesday morning, so I was home with the babe! When this kid keeps his parents up all night, he sure is chipper!

You just can't stay mad at a cute face like that!!

When the guys got done golfing, my mom and I went to lunch for my Aunt Jan's 60th birthday and then we headed to the beach.

Brooks was a little fussy at the beach, so we didn't stay long. However, the cute little flower girl in mine and Trevor's wedding is now a baby whisperer! 

So sweet!!!

That night my Aunt Sally cooked dinner for everyone and then we headed to the beach. I failed to mention that every night after the beach we got ice cream from the general store...Mackinac Island Fudge Sundae is my fav! Yum!!! Trevor tried a new kind every night. I'm not that adventurous, I know what I like and I'm sticking to it! Plus, I only get this ice cream in Michigan, so I've got to get it while I can!

Thursday: we got up and headed for our date day. I already posted about this, but Thursday is mine and Trevor's date day/night. We went to lunch, picked blueberries and then Trevor got to try Captain Sundae for the first time!

It was our first time ever to leave Brooks and my dad was the best babysitter! Thanks grandpa! ;)

I would be lying if I said I was cool as a cucumber. I was definitely okay for the first hour or so, but towards the end of our date, I was definitely getting a little anxious. 

After our date, Trevor had to work some, so the rest of us napped!

We even made it to the beach for about 30 min and you can guess what Brooks did...

That evening my Aunt Jan made dinner for everyone. Brooks got a new pair of sunglasses for the occasion. 

What a stud!

That evening my cousin from my mom's side actually joined us. She recently married a guy from Holland and they live there now. Such a small world!

Friday: our only goal was to go to the beach since it was our last day. My parents hadn't eaten at de Boers yet, so we went there for breakfast/lunch and then we hit the beach!

We even had tummy time at the beach!

That evening my parents were in charge of dinner. Then, we walked the pier. We hadn't walked it once this trip, so we went on the pier to watch the sunset. 

Saturday: we got all packed up, cleaned the house and hit the road! Uncle Wes helped while Trevor and I were packing.

Happy 4 weeks Brooks Gabriel! You got to meet lots of family this week and you are loved by so many! You gave mom and dad a few sleepless nights this week, but life definitely looked a little different this week, so we understand. Plus, when you smile or make some cute face, we totally forget that we are a little sleep deprived. There was one night you were only content laying on my chest, so we made adjustments. It was definitely a sweet moment. We had soooo much fun with you at the beach! You are seriously a beach baby! I can't wait to bring you back to holland in years to come and see you play in the sand and do all the things that my brother and I used to do as kids! 

We actually found some baby pics of me and my brother this week and although Brooks looks a lot like Trevor, he definitely resembles me a LOT and has some of my brothers features!

Not sure how old I was here. 

This is me at exactly 1 month...what Brooks is right now!

This pic of my brother just cracks me up! 

I need to get some more baby pictures of Trevor so we can compare. I know baby's looks change all the time at first, so it's fun to pick out their features during each change. 

Now we are headed home. Only a few more hours to go. Brooks is doing awesome just sleeping away!