Unexpected Summer Blessings

I will tell you something about me. Every single time the season changes, I get giddy with excitement. There is something about the feeling that something new is on the horizon, that there is room for new possibilities or another chance to really dig my heels in and make "it" happen. "It" can be a variety of things and it depends on which season is upon me.

As summer vacation approached this year, I had that same giddy excitement. I was eager for the school year to end. I had plans to really get my workouts in, to take my children to the splash pad park, to the track, to the new Super Walmart that just opened by my house! Nevertheless, I injured my knee at the start of the summer and was in a car accident a few weeks later.

This meant: no car, no workouts, no splashpad park, no track, and no Super Walmart (at least not that depended on my driving there :-). Did I have my lip poked out? You better believe it. Needless to say,  in spite of moments of dissapointment, God always seems to find a way to make challenging or dissapointing setbacks into exciting new adventures or unexpected blessings. He did that for me this summer, for sure.

Being in the predicament I was in, I discovered something important: I have a lot of folks who love me enough to make sure I have a way to be carted around town.

Not only was I overwhelmed by some friends of ours who let us drive their minivan for weeks, other friends ensured that I could get to the stores if needed, to the airport when I went out of town, and even just out of the house so I did not lose my mind! What a display of love and generosity I have felt!

In addition to these displays of love, there were many highlights this summer. One was that hubby and I took the children to a water park and a state fair. We had so much fun and made new memories. The kids are at an age where they have a pretty seriously funny sense of humor and I enjoyed them throwing me in a waterfall and their exctiement around the water slides, rides, and a hotel stay. It reminded me that you don't have to break the bank to have a good time and that simplicity is key. My children are growing up so fast, so I live for these moments!

World Changing - Haiti Missions Trip 2016

We are half way through 2016 and there are many exciting details to share!

One of my favorite happens to be that hubby attended his first "formal" missions trip in July! The missions trip was sponsored by our church and the team had such an amazing time. Below are some pictures on my hubby hanging out with members of the missions team and preaching the gospel in Haiti!

Northwestern vs. University of Illinois

Hello blog!

I am posting sparingly nowadays, but there is still much going on in my life! I have been contemplating a return back to regular blogging as a way to help me continue to capture, process, and savor life's moments. I have mentioned before that I love being able to jump on here and see where my mind was at and all that was going on at various season's of life. The most challenging thing might just be carving out time to create posts, but I think I am going to give it a try. Interestingly enough, I noticed that it was exactly a year ago today that I last posted!

Here are some photos of my family and I at a NU football game the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Although we were pretty cold, this was exciting for all of us because hubby and I are both Northwestern alum and this was the first college football game the children ever attended! Most exciting of all, NU won! Go wildcats!

Guess Who!

Yep. You got it. That's yours truly. 

When my son so sweetly presented me with this drawing, I could tell he was proud of his work. I took one look and had to put forth much effort in order to hide my amusement at the look on my face in the drawing. I told Noah it was great, thanked him, and gave him a big hug.

   

After I walked away, I couldn't help but to shake my head and chuckle to myself for at least 10 minutes. I wondered, "Is this a picture of me on a good day or a bad day?" I thought, "It definitely had to be a bad hair day if nothing else. " Nevertheless, Mr. Noah was very serious about the fact that it was a picture of my looking quite lovely. 

What can I do in response to that besides feel proud of my portrait? Thanks Noah:)

Cheers

I feel very blessed as I reflect on this holiday season. We enjoyed family, friends, food, and fun! The Lord provided everything we needed and so much of what we wanted.  I was especially elated to be able to spend time with my nieces, who came in from Virginia. I am totally blown away at how much they have grown! Both of them are growing into beautiful young women.

We continued our family tradition of Chinese food on Christmas Eve and sleeping in on New Year's Day! Here are some photos of our Thanksgiving Day table, Christmas tree buying and trimming, and some of  the "fam" on Christmas Eve.

                                     Halle reaching for the Thanksgiving food. She was ready to eat.

Hubby picked out a really tall fraser fir tree at Home Depot.

"Halle-girl" (as we like to call her).

Noelle using the step stool to get towards the top of the tree.

Bella decorating in her reindeer ears.

Me with all my "babies." Halle  is the one sleep on the couch underneath the pink coat.

                                    Alyssa, 13, Noah, 4, Noelle, 8, Bella, 6, and Laila, 14

And, here is one more, just because it is one of my favorite photos of me and my boo from 2013;) Of course, we both hope to be even more in love and much slimmer in our 2014 photos!

Thanks to all of you who have checked in on my blog this year. I pray that your 2014 is full of love, peace, health, and prosperity. Happy New Year!

Date Night

It's been a while since I've blogged regularly, but one thing hasn't changed...I'm still madly in love with the guy in the picture.

 

With 4 small children, we are so often in desperate need of alone time and date nights! There are times when coordinating schedules and childcare gets so difficult, we go a long time without one. Nevertheless, we are thankful for faithful grandparents who are willing and excited to take on the little ones from time to time. Below is a photo of us Thanksgiving weekend. After all the cooking, and eating, and hanging with the kids, we finally got a moment to ourselves!

 

The process itself: Getting a little dressed up. Putting on perfume or cologne just for the benefit of the other. Walking hand in hand. It just does something for you. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I told  Noelle and Bella, "Daddy and Mommy fall in love all over again on date night." They nodded their heads and said, "Oh okay!" Somehow, they seemed to completely understand. I guess they have seen enough romance in the Disney Princess movies to totally get it!

Mustaches, Time, and Savoring Moments

My, my, my! Has it really been that long since I last posted?!

I recall a time in my life when I was in a hurry to grow up. Each year of my life seemed to unfold so painfully slow. But now, it seems I am straining to grab hold of and savor each and every moment as time is flying by at rapid speed!

The children are getting big guys. I know, I know!  I just had them. I don't understand it either. But, Noelle just turned 8. Bella is 6. Noah is 4. Halle is 2 and will be 3 on Jan 25th! So, there you have it. I obviously have an agenda that consists of playing with dollls, cars, and kissing and snuggling these 4 as much as I can, before they no longer want to be touched and are embarrassed by public displays of affection!

It is the reality that time waits for no MOM that moves me to do things like put fake mustaches on my children before leaving Cracker Barrel, just for kicks.


See? Just brings a smile to my face every time I look at it ;-)

Thankful, Thankful, Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everybody!

There is so much to be thankful for! I am particularly thankful for my hubby, Noelle, Bella, Noah, and Halle. I am praising God for my parents and my brother as well who God has really blessed in many ways this year! I'm so thankful for my extended family and friends!

We have really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year! Hubby and I made turkey, dressing, greens, sweet potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, and sweet potato pie! We ate, and ate, and ate...

now we can barely move. 

Still, we had so much fun. On Wednesday, the kids did a Thanksgiving craft and had a ball painting. They we a mess! On Thursday, we all went to church to hear a friend preach at  Hazel Crest Assembly Church. We we blessed by the message: "Not Broken."

We came home and I set our table with help from Bella. This was the first year that I had my turkey platter, tablecloth, and used place settings. Noelle and Bella had the pleasure of writing our names on each turkey setting. 

We had the children go around and say what they were thankful for and Noah looked at Bella and said, "I'm thankful for you. I love you!" It was kind of random, but so cute. He also said he was thankful for his sisters. As a matter of fact, I think that everyone essentially said that they were thankful for each other, which is a good thing since we have to live with each other, under under one roof, for many years to come!

After dinner, we drove to hubby's grandmother's house and ate again with his family. When we got done with that we ate again at my aunt's house with my family. I am sure you can imagine that after we stubbled to our car and managed to drive ourselves home, the only thing we had enough strength to do was to pull the cover up over us after we fell in the bed!!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Celebrate What Matters ~ Women of Faith 2012

I celebrated my 30th birthday at the Women of Faith Conference in Denver, Colorado. I had such a wonderful time, I wish it lasted more than a day and a half! It was so inspiring to be in a stadium full of women praising God, being encouraged, and having fun in the presence of the Lord!

Some of the speakers included; Sheila Walsh, Lisa Harper, Jennie Allen, Lisa Bevere, Angie Smith, and Ken Davis. There was an awesome praise and worship team and music by Selah as well as my girl Cece Winans. I was so close to the stage, I was only about 10 feet away from her! What a birthday treat!

I actually met some women yesterday in the doctor's office who attended one of the WOF conferences a couple of years ago and loved it! I hope to go back! Have you been to a Women of Faith conference? If not, you should definitely check it out!

Hello 30!

Hi blogoshpere! It's been an long time. I guess you could say I took an unofficial "summer break" from blogging. 

Not only have I not been writing on my own blog, but I haven't been doing much blog reading either. I'd have to say the break was needed and I think its helpful to step away from "the public" (meaning various forms of social media) from time to time. I think it offers us a time to really "be in the moment." Nevertheless, I have to say that I am eager to get back! : ) 

Among many things that have transpired in the past few months, your girl turned 30! Yes! 30! Many are sad to see the 20's go. But, I am not. I see 30 in a very favorable light! 

It's not that my 20's weren't blessed. They were wonderful. I started courting the man of my dreams at 20. Spent my 21st birthday in Ghana, West Africa. Graduated from the college of my choice and was married in the same month at 21. Started my first "real" job around the same time, got a first apartment, first car, and officially became a "real" adult with "real" bills and "real" issues. I was blessed. 

I was blessed to have 4 children in my 20's. I was pregnant with Noelle by 22. Pregnant with Bella at 24. Pregnant with Noah by 26 and had Halle at 28. We closed on our house on my 28th birthday. Remember that? That was a mountain top birthday. What I didn't see coming was that by my next birthday I would be in a valley so low, I would be struggling to think straight.

The day before my 29th birthday, after months of chronic pain, I got a call to confirm something that I was fearing - that I had 3 bulging disc in the lower spine and that it looked like I had pregnancy-related arthritis in my pelvic joints. That news was followed up by the report that there was nothing that could be done about the bulges or the arthritis. But, I could find relief through physical therapy, strengthening my core and pelvic muscles, and perhaps some steroid shots for the pain. So, I spent my 29th birthday running in and out of bathrooms, so I could appear happy and no one would see me crying. Not a good birthday. 

It is hard to believe that was a year ago. Things were looking very bad. At that point, I was so glad that Jesus said all we needed was the faith the size of a mustard seed, because that was just about all I could muster up - if that. I wrote more about my physical issues and struggles with depression during that time in this post, if you are interested. Nevertheless, I'm so grateful that my story didn't end there, although it felt like it was. So, what happened next? If you know anything about how Jesus works, I bet you can guess.

I can tell you that really big test, harsh, brutal, earth-shaking test, ones that go on a long time, ones that shake your faith to the core - show you who God really is.  They also reveal who you really are. They show you what God has put in you. They also bring your doubts and fears to the surface. Once you've hung in there long enough, they bring your conviction, your grit, your fight to the surface. They strengthen your resolution.

I can tell you that God is in those test with you. Yes, right there in that mess! Right down there in the mud. Even though I was mad at Him, mad at people, and mad at myself, he was still there. He ministered to me, comforted me, strengthened me, healed me, and counseled me. He helped me make sense of some things I could not understand and to let go of some things I could not understand. At one point it was the classic, "Now, why would you let this happen to me when I was trusting you?!" question.  

Come on. I know you've been there too. If its not "Why did you allow this to happen to me" its the "Why did you allow this to happen to them?" question. Both are a doozy. God told Job, "Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if thou has understanding." (Job 38:4).  One day, after I got tired of shaking my fist at the heavens and saw that I was in a fight I was going to lose, He had a little talk like that with me. He may have had one or two with you as well. 

And so I learned, when you get tired enough and humble yourself, God gives you grace to get to the place that Job gets to when he declares, "...I have uttered that which I understood not; Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not." (Job 42:3). You realize that there is no way you are going to figure out life, let alone figure out God. You have to just let God be God and stick around. Take it from me, there is so much peace once you reach that point.

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word; Just to rest upon His promise, And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

So, here I am now at 30. I am doing much better. I can see the sun shining. I am still back and forth to the doctor. I still feel some aches and pains. But, they are not as severe at they were last year. I can do more, move more, sleep better, live better. I am believing that in time, they will go away completely. 

After all of the mountains and valleys that I experienced in my 20's,  30 is so exciting to me because I have something I didn't have much of at 20 - experience. I have experience with life, experience with people, and experience with God. Its a very different feeling to be going at something as a novice as opposed to one who has been at it for a while. 

A seasoned person has both success and failures to glean from. A seasoned person has already established a foundation. A seasoned person has more patience. A seasoned person is sober enough to know that there will be more mountain tops as well as valleys on the journey ahead, but that both serve a purpose. A seasoned person knows that in all work there is profit, even if it seems slow coming. 

A seasoned person doesn't waste so much time trying to understand and control everything, because they've already been down that road a time or two (or three;) A seasoned person doesn't feel the need to spend so much time looking at those around them in order to gauge whether they are on the right track or not. They already know the track they should be on. A seasoned person can reach back to the person behind them and say, "Watch out for that pitfall, that's the one I feel in!" I LOVE that! 

I am so excited to walk into this new season of my life. Hello 30! 

Still Can't Get Enough

My hubby's Facebook status reads:

"8 years of marriage and I still can't get enough of this woman."

160 people have hit the "like" button on this status, which has had to have broken some kind of record!

I feel the same way about my husband. I am still excited to be his wife. I feel so blessed to be with him and I'm glad God brought us together. I am looking forward to many more years with him!

Here is a picture of us 8 years ago today...

A friend of mine created this video of our family as a gift to us. It capture our family's growth beautifully!

A Beautiful Weekend

I had a beautiful Mother's Day weekend. I attended a Mother's Day brunch in downtown Chicago with my mom, grandmother, and aunt. We were able to get a professional photo taken of the four of us, which I know will become a treasured possession of mine.

On Sunday, hubby and I took the children to church and then went to dinner with my mom, dad, and brother. We ate good, my children behaved fairly well, and I recieved a gift set from Bath and Body Works in the Paris Amour fragrance. I love it! 

Read the descriptoipn of the scent:

"Our exclusive Paris Amour is a dreamy blend of French tulips, apple blossoms and sparkling pink champagne, inspired by a romantic stroll through the streets of Paris."

Yes. It smells as good as it sounds.

To top it all off, my friend treated me by giving me an opportunity for a Mother's Day "photo shoot moment." So many times we moms end up being the one always behind the camera, so this was a great gesture. Here is one of the photos...

Threepeat!

Threepeat: All Urban Prep Graduates College-Bound

For the third consecutive year, 100 percent of the graduating seniors from the Englewood campus of Urban Prep Academies, the nation's first all-boys public charter high school, have accomplished what some thought would be impossible! Every single one of these 85 students has been accepted to a four-year college or university. 

I've written here before about hubby's work as Director of College Counseling and Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men. He works tirelessly all year to ensure that 100% of the young men are admitted to college. Many thought this couldn't be done based on the statistics and backgrounds that many of these young men come from, but for 3 years Urban Prep has proved them wrong. I am so proud of my man and the work he is doing to impact the lives of these boys! To God be the glory!

 

View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.

Happy Birthday Noah!

Noah turned 3 on Saturday, March 17th!

We celebrated his birthday by taking the kids to the Oak Lawn Children's Museum. They had a blast there! We grabbed something to eat at Smash Burger and made the day complete by doing a little birthday shopping at Target!

It's hard to believe that Noah has been around for 3 years. Remember when I made this video of his first 6 weeks? He was so precious and hubby and I were so ecstatic to finally have a son! Below is a short video of us singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy.

Noah, we love you and are so happy God gave you to us!

Fall Recap

Since there is about a week left before Winter is officially here, I thought I'd sneak in some of my fall highlights.

Urban Prep's football team did very well this year! Here is our family at the final game.


Noelle turned 6 years old on November 19th!


She put in a special request for a cake with strawberries!



Noelle had a great time at Chuck E. Cheese's and got a picture with Chuck himself!


And, thanks to hubby, here was what our Thanksgiving spread looked like.

Splish Splash!

It is hard to believe the summer is just about over!

Summer 2011 was very busy and fun! Here's what we did to cool off on one of the hottest days of the year!


                

                

The Blessed Life

I love surprises!

My friend Darnetta, turned 30 on the 30th of July this year. She had always dreamed of doing something special on her "golden" birthday. She had hopes for an intimate dinner party, in which her friends could get dressed up and celebrate with her. However, circumstances did not seem to permit such a thing...or so she thought!!

Yes folks, We. Got. Her. Good!

Not only did she not suspect that her hubby, family, and friends were plotting a party for her, after going for breakfast, lunch, a massage, a manicure, and a pedicure she was also shocked to receive her "dream gift": a Green Apple KitchenAid Mixer!

Appropriately, the theme was: The Blessed Life.