Congratulations, Craig Biggio!

As most of you know, I'm a HUGE Astros fan. (In fact, talking about the Astros is, in a small way, what led to me and Shane starting to talk/date, but that's another story!). Anyway, last night cutie-pie Craig Biggio had a great game and an historic night. He had 5 hits on a night when he also hit his 3000th. Wow! 3000 hits. Only 27 other people in baseball history have done that. The game went into extra innings and then the Rockies went ahead. Biggio came up to bat with 2 outs and got on. Soon the bases were loaded and up comes Carlos Lee and Bam! A Grand Slam!!! Astros win.

Isn't baseball great?

Been Tagged

My sisters and I have all been tagged by Anita. I think I’m the last one to respond with all my teeth trouble and everything. Enjoy!

First memory: I remember falling out of a tube in the river in Wimberley, Texas and going down, down to the bottom because I didn’t know how to swim. I couldn’t have been more than 3 years old and can still remember seeing Sherry Bell swimming to me and pulling me up from my place on the rocks at the bottom of the river. I didn’t know that I was drowning, but that’s what was going on. When we both came to the top of the water, all I remember is my parents screaming to see if I was all right. I think I remember it so vividly because it was such a different kind of experience. I don’t think I was scared because I didn’t know what was going on.

First real kiss: Encounter, Lubbock Texas, Summer before my 10th grade year. I met Chris S. (can’t remember how to spell his name because it was so weird) and we developed a liking and kissed the last night of camp. What’s funny is that I saw him the next summer when I was dating Daniel Boone, and it was sooo awkward!

First love: I guess I’ve had two—one when I was a child and one as a teenager. The first one is Travis Harris. We grew up together at Kingwood CofC and always went on vacations with his family. We “went together” even though we were only in the 4th and 5th grade and couldn’t go anywhere. The only time we ever saw each other was at church. Ha! My other first love was Daniel Boone (Really, that’s his name!). We were going to get married and he was going to play pro baseball to support us. I love the dreams we used to have (even though they didn’t come true!).

First thing you think in the morning: No, is she ALREADY awake?!!!

First pet: We had some dogs, but the first pet I ever had was Jefferson, a cat. I loved this cat so much. What’s funny is that now I am SOOOO allergic to cats that I can never have one again.

First question you'll ask in heaven: When I was a kid, I wanted to ask, “When babies die, do they stay babies in heaven or do they grow older?” Now, I’ll ask, “Did everyone get to come to heaven?”

First thing you think of when you hear the word vacation: Spending money!! And relaxing.

First best friend: Amy Pettibone—she lived in my neighborhood and we were on the same soccer team for many years. I was also close to Sara Sallee and Becky Bell, girls I went to church with.

Last time you dressed up: Shane and I went out for our fifth anniversary and I semi-dressed up.

Last thing you ate: Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream (Shane bought it and it feels good on my aching tooth!).

Last CD you bought: Shane bought me a Keith Urban CD recently.

Last good book you read: I just read all of Karen Kingsbury’s Redemption series and it was WONDERFUL! Now I’m reading the first book in the Firstborn series. I’m also reading Rick Steves’ Italy.

Last time you cried: Yesterday, when my mouth was hurting so bad and the pain wouldn’t go away.

Last time you told someone you loved them: Tonight—Elizabeth when I was telling her goodnight, Shane, and my mom when she called.

Last really funny thing you did: I have become quite forgetful this past week. I left my hang-up clothes at my sister Kim’s house, ice packs at Granna’s, and my keys at Granbe’s. I think I must be losing my mind!!

Last thing you watched on TV: Traveler. It’s a really, really good show that started up this summer.

I tag Shelly W. and Holly C. Can’t wait to hear what you all have to say.

Yikes! A Toothache.

If you're wondering why I haven't blogged lately or why I still haven't uploaded those pictures of Elizabeth at Sea World, it's because ever since I got back home, I have had to go to the dentist three different days and would have gone in over the weekend if they were open. I have been feeling miserable, unable to do anything because I can't focus on anything else except this awful pain. The teeth that my dentist worked on before I left for Austin have been hurting for about two weeks. The pain is almost as bad as labor and recovering from a C-section. And I have quickly learned that when your mouth hurts, your whole body hurts. I've also learned that I do NOT like pain and that I'm not good at dealing with it! I'm so thankful for pain medication!!

Anyway, on Monday I went back in and it was determined by a different dentist (mine is conveniently out-of-town all week on vacation) that I would need a root canal. He did give me some Vicadin, which has helped somewhat with the pain. Yesterday, I had my first root canal. I sat there for 2 and a half hours with my mouth wide open while the nice dentist took out the dead nerve, stopped up the three canals in my #15 tooth (the top left one at the very back), and then crowned in right there as well. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! It's really sore right now, but it seems to be getting better.

The timing of this couldn't have been worse, except if I had been in Italy at the time. We are moving this weekend, and I should have been packing up the house last weekend and this week. I also have an article due on July 1st and am WAY behind with that. I just thought summer would be relaxing!! Ha! Well, I'm going to take a nap now because at least this helps the time to pass where I don't have to think about my mouth.

Home sweet home

Elizabeth and I are finally back home after several days away, and it feels nice to be here, especially since we only have a few more days until we have to move out. Father's Day Sunday we went to church here and then while Shane headed off to Abilene for class, E and I hit the road for Austin. First, we visited Shane's parents for a couple of days. When we got there Sunday night, we all attended worship at a fairly new church plant in Downtown Austin started by Chris/Kester and Rachel Smith. That was a neat experience. Afterwards we went and ate at Waterloo Ice House. The next day, Granna surprised E and I with a trip to Sea World. Uncle Zach came with us, and we had a wonderful, fun-filled day at the park (I'll post pictures later.). Elizabeth had a fabulous time and loved watching the whales and dolphins do their things. She kept laughing and laughing and expressed such awe at all that was going on. That was priceless (I did feel bad that Shane wasn't there to see it--we'll go another time!).

After visiting them, E and I headed to South Austin to see my sister Kim and her kiddoes (Derek was out-of-town) and my mom who was there visiting. We went swimming one day and went to the Austin Children's Museum another, which Elizabeth also found extremely exciting. She spent most of her time running around from exhibit to exhibit doing her own thing, and so I followed her. It's a real neat place if you are interested, although it was pretty crowded since school is out. All-in-all we had a great time. Now it's off to packing and packing and packing. The real fun stuff!

On a different note, Shane and I are still waiting for our passports. We are going to Italy soon and have been nervous about it, even though we applied in March with plenty of time to get them!

Elizabeth has also started wearing pull-ups and underwear rather than diapers and slowly seems to be getting the hang of the whole thing (at least the easy half of it, not the gross part). She still has many, many accidents, but today she went the whole day without wetting herself. Yay!! I'm hoping we can be done with this by the time we leave for our trip. I think this is the worst part of parenting so far and am ready for it to be over!

Happy 5th Anniversary, Shane

Five years ago today is the day I married my best friend, my partner for life, and the love of my heart. That was such a wonderful, beautiful day, one I'll never forget. I remember feeling so peaceful about that decision, knowing in my heart that "come what may," a cord of three strands is not easily broken, and that our commitment to God and to each other would help us through the hard times that might come. These past several years have been some of the happiest times of my life because day in and day out I am with a man who is committed to his marriage, his family, the church, and God. I love Shane now more than I did five years ago. He's still my best friend, the person I trust completely, and the love of my heart and my life.

When Shane proposed to me, he sang me this song, "Come What May." And then at our wedding, we also played it during the lighting of our unity candle (Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor actually were heard at our wedding!!). I loved it! So, here today, I'm putting it here to once again remind us of our love for each other.

"Come What May"
Never knew I could feel like this
Like I’ve never seen the sky before
I want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more
Listen to my heart
Can you hear it say
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time

Come what may,
Come what may,
I will love you
Until my dying day

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn’t seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And there is no mountain too high
No river too wide
Sing aloud this song
And I’ll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather
And stars may collide
But I love you
Till the end of time

Come what may,
Come what may,
I will love you
Until my dying day

Oh, come what may,
Come what may,
I will love you
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Come what may,
Come what may,
I will love you
Until my dying day.


Thank you so much, Lord, for bringing me Shane and fulfilling the desires of my heart. I love you, Shane, and I'll always be yours. Come what may.

What goes around comes around

Tonight Elizabeth was wiggling on the diaper changing mat and kicking the mini blinds and just making all kinds of racket, which she knows she's not supposed to do but still does anyway, when I couldn't stand it anymore because I couldn't get her diaper on her. So, I stopped changing her diaper, looked at her firmly, and said, "Elizabeth, stop squirming right now."

She looked up at me, pointed towards the other room, and said firmly, "Mommy! You go sit in time out!"

Oh no. What am I to do?

Inner thoughts of a child

Elizabeth and I went to the store today to pick up some father's day cards, and I asked her, "So, Elizabeth, which one do you want to get for daddy?" She looked at the cards and said, "Hmm. Let's see." And then pointed at one. She verbalized her thoughts! I thought it was so cute and Amy and I couldn't stop laughing at her cuteness. It's so funny how they pick up on little aspects of conversation. She said something similar the other day when we were driving home in the car. I said to her, "Uh-oh. I forgot to pick up ____ (can't remember what it was)," and from her place in the backseat, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh well." One more--every time I turn the corner too fast she says, "Whoa, Mama!" It's these little tidbits of communication that I find completely adorable.

Celebrity sightings

My sister Kellee has inspired me to reflect over the celebrities that I have met in my life. (In case you haven't read her blog--she ran into Barak Obama twice in the elevator in her highrise apartment.). I haven't met many, but here's the comprehensive list, in complete random order as they come to me:

1. Rick Trevino, country singer. Wendy Gilman Zeledon and I ran into him in the DFW airport on our way to St. Louis for a conference. For those of you who know Wendy, she went right up to him, told him who we were, and then asked for his autograph.

Living in Houston, I had friends with season tickets to all the pro sports games, so we always got to meet the players. Since I was a HUGE fan of these people and their teams, these people were celebrities to me, and I was so excited to meet them!
2. Houston Rockets players: Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Horry (met him in the Hard Rock Cafe--I have a crush on this guy). Can't think of the rest, but I know there were plenty.

3. Houston Oilers players: Warren Moon, Ray Childress, Cody Lambert

4. Houston Astros players: Alan Ashby, Glenn Davis...I'm sure there are others.

5. When my family went to California when I was in the 9th grade, we went to Hollywood Church of Christ and spotted Weird Al Yankovich in the pews. Hilarious!

6. George Bush--I met him while he was governor and I was a senior at ACU. He came and spoke during chapel, and I went up afterwards and met him.

7. Governor Rick Perry--I went to this event with my dad right after I graduated from college and met him there. He sure is handsome in person!

8. When Shane and I went to visit my dad in D.C., we got to see all the senators and representatives when we sat in on a joint session of congress, including Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Delay, and others.

9. Shane and I walked right past Howard Dean outside the Capitol. He sure is short.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm curious: What famous person(s) have you met or spotted?

Dentistry and snow cones

I went to the dentist today to get some fillings and as I lay there, I thought to myself that this is one of the few times when I want to scream like a baby for my mama! It reminds me of being a kid. I never liked going to the dentist (who does?!), and I wondered what it is that this dentist likes about the job. Is it looking into (dirty, ugly, smelly, decaying) teeth all day? Is it getting to know people, or having his patients say "uh-huh" as we sit there with our mouths wide open? Does he get to be creative? What keeps him going day after day? I couldn't do that every day. It's too much of the same thing for me. I think that when you've seen one mouth, you've seen them all, but that's just me.

Elizabeth had her first snow cone today. She wanted strawberry so we shared a small cone. She absolutely LOVED it. With every bite, she could not stop laughing and spewing the stuff all over me and all over her shirt as well. We had a great time. In between bites she would lean over and kiss me and giggle in my ear. I'm so glad to be a part of these joyful occasions.

Swimming and Praising God

Thank you all so much for your prayers and kind words about my last blog post. It does help to know that there are so many others who know what I'm feeling and understand what it's like to struggle with your weight, body image, and self-confidence. This has been such a huge issue for me for so long and it's been refreshing to read all your comments and learn from you. It also feels nice get this out and to let others know this personal struggle I have had. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. It truly has shown me that friendships go beyond this, so thank you.

On a different note...we SOLD our house!! It sure has been interesting and busy around here. We don't move to Waco until December but wanted to put it up early because we had heard that the market here is terrible. Well, in my opinion selling it too early is better than not selling it at all or stressing about having it so clean when you have a tollder constantly tearing it up. The house had only been on the market for one week when we got an offer and we will close sometime next month. We are going to be sad to leave this house, especially since it's the home in which Elizabeth was born. I think she'll be really sad not to go "back home" (every time we get in the car, no matter where we are, she says, "Back home!") to this home and that we won't have cows and horses behind our house anymore. But Praise God we sold it!

Elizabeth has been doing some really funny (and crazy!) things lately. Here are a few:

1. The other night, we went into her bedroom two hours after we had put her down to sleep and found her buck naked in a puddle of urine--asleep. Apparently, as she was going to sleep--crying (She HATES being put to bed)--she de-clothed herself, clothes and diaper, and fell asleep like that. It sure was an interesting sight. Hours earlier, I bet she was thinking, "Well, since I can't get out of this bed, I'll show you! I'll just take off my diaper instead." We have a picture of this, but we didn't want to post it here for her privacy, but it sure is funny...

2. Elizabeth loves her cousins. She's got to see them a lot recently, which has been nice. I was showing her some recent pictures Kim and Suzy had both sent me, and she named all of them. There wasn't a picture of Shaelyn in the stack I was showing her and when I showed her Jackson's picture, she said, "Where's Shaelyn?" She knows that they go together, I guess. They are my brother Kurt's kids.

Here is a picture of Barrett and Elizabeth at a wedding we went to. When they get together, they sure are rambunctious and rebellious. I'm not sure what to expect in the coming years from these two!

3. Elizabeth loves the water--swimming pools, bathtubs, mud, sprinklers, etc. Here are a couple of pictures of her in her favorite places.

Swimming with her floaties.

Elizabeth loves her floaties and is so independent in the pool that she doesn't really want you to touch her. She'll even jump in and go under water for a bit. I'm glad she likes to swim because so do I. We'll have some good times doing this together.

4. Elizabeth is still smiling with her eyes closed when you tell her to smile for the camera. 5. Her favorite person to pray for is Pawpaw (her great-grandfather). She prays for him every single time she prays and calls him (pretend) several times a day to tell him what's going on. She loves going and visiting him on his ranch and seeing all of his cows. 6. We're brainwashing Elizabeth to love the Astros. I think she's had an Astros outfit at every size she's been in. That and the Longhorns are so much of what she wears!! 7. I LOVE this dress. My mom got it for her for Easter (from Marshall's!!) and it is just so cute. She spins around and the petticoat goes with her.


8. She loves to go to the park. This one is at our church. It's amazing how quickly they become so confident at playing on these big things. Here, she's hanging from the bar. 9. When we get to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, it is common for Elizabeth to start clapping and screaming, "Chuch, Chuch!" What a wonderful expression of her love for church.

10. We were sitting in church a few weeks ago when Shane did the Call to Worship. He read a passage from Psalms in which he used the words, "Praise the Lord." Immediately after Elizabeth heard them, she raised her hands and yelled, "Praise da Dord." I love that she is so expressive during worship. I think it's just beautiful.

11. On a sad note, The Wiggles have permanently been replaced by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Elizabeth no longer asks for them and the ONLY thing she wants to watch on TV are Minnie, Daisy, Mickey, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy. She loves to say, "Oh, Toodles." Bye-bye Greg, Anthony, Maury, and Jeff and hello to Mickey and friends. Disney sure has a way with getting children to like their shows!!

Body Reflections, or Confessions

I have struggled with my weight my entire life. What I mean by this is ever since I was a little girl I have had to be careful about what I eat and always be sure to get a lot of exercise. They told me early on that I had a very slow metabolism, which has been the curse of my existence. I sometimes wonder why I was born with this body and metabolism and why my siblings, so many of my friends, and numerous others in this world were not. I want to be happy for these people, and I am most of the time. I just wonder why I had to be someone with this curse. It really is awful. Why couldn't I have been cursed with skinny ankles or knobby knees?!

When Elizabeth was born, a lot of people told me that I would get back to my pre-pregnancy weight in no time--that they had done it and so would I. I somewhat believed them but not completely because I know my body and knew how hard it is for me to lose weight. After Elizabeth was born and as I nursed her for several months, this was true. The weight slowly came off. And I was growing more contented. But ever since I stopped nursing, the weight has come back on (I'm 20 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant--yuk!). I was shocked when I started working here at Baylor and couldn't fit into many of the clothes I bought for this job. Throughout this year, I have gained five more pounds.

I try everything. I eat VERY healthy all of the time--I love fruits and veggies. I eat oatmeal for breakfast. I eat a sandwich with carrots and celery (instead of chips, well, most of the time) for lunch, and I eat healthy dinners. I don't eat much junk. And still, no loss of weight. Of course I have bad habits like eating pretzels or crackers late at night and drinking Diet Cokes every day. I've tried the GI Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Slim in Six Diet, the Beachbody Diet, the Oprah Diet...all of it. And nothing has worked.

And now my mind has become so obsessed with my weight that I have finally recognized how much this constant thinking about my weight is hurting me. I see this as something Satan has placed in my path to take over my mind and my heart. He wants me to look down on myself and to take away my confidence. I think it has made me more shy and less bold and confident (like I felt I was in the past). I think it's cost me some friendships because I always think people see me the way I see myself. Even when Elizabeth looks at me, I wonder if she's thinking, "My mom is so fat!" It is a constant struggle--not just daily, but by the minute and by the hour. And I don't want to be so encompassed by my weight, but I'm not sure what to do. It's been there my whole life and only when I feel "skinny" (at least skinny for me) do I feel confident and love life. And I DON'T want to feel that way. I want to love life and enjoy living no matter how much I weigh.

This is one reason that I decided to go on the sugar fast. I wanted to spend a lot of time praying about this issue and asking him to take this struggle away--the internal one. I didn't do it to lose weight [In fact, after 3 weeks (minus 2 days for the Memorial Day holiday), I hadn't lost a pound.--I know! Can you believe that?!!]. I've read that when you go without a certain type of food for so long that you stop craving it, but that hasn't been true for me. Anyway, I feel somewhat better about myself now that I'm doing this sugar fast, but it's still a constant struggle. I just get so worried that everyone who sees me won't like me because of my weight. I know that is so illogical--I mean I see overweight people and don't think that about them. But my heart feels differently. My brain knows that it's what's inside that matters, but I think Satan keeps telling me that if your body doesn't look good then the inside of you is ugly as well (because I'm shy, have a low self-confidence, am so obsessed with myself and don't think of others, etc.). God, please show me your love and forgiveness. I'm so sorry for my self-absorption and my lack of trust in you. Help me do better. Amen. I covet your prayers as well, dear friends.

Our ministry future

For over a year now, Shane and I have been praying about our future in ministry. Specifically, we have been praying about the calling that God has laid on both of our hearts to plant a church. And today, God has continued this wonderful journey for us when we were finally able to tell our church family here in Gatesville that we would be planting a church in the Waco/Hewitt area.

Let me go back just a bit to explain a little bit about how this came to be...One day last spring (2006), Shane and I were talking about our future and he said to me, "What would you think about planting a church?" I turned to him with a smile and remember being so giddy about the idea immediately. I shouted, "Yes! Yes! I want to do it!" What's interesting is that I had been praying that God would show us what he wanted us to do about ministry and that he would open our eyes to what he had in store for us. After Shane mentioned this idea, I felt it was an answer to prayer. I had this feeling...it's hard to describe...but this sense of peace and a sense of urgency came over me--as if the Holy Spirit were right there pushing me and prodding me, prodding us, to go and do this thing immediately. For months, I could think of nothing else but the wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of the lost--people who were aching to know Jesus but had this void because they didn't know what they were missing. I wanted to be around people whom I could touch and who could touch me in ways that don't always happen in established churches. Why? Because we are so set in our ways and don't know that we can have so much more through relational community with God and with each other. The idea really appealed to me because my favorite memories of the church are meeting in each other's homes, small group Bible studies, and relationships with other Christians.

Anyway, we began to learn more and more about church planting and soon got in touch with Gailyn Van Rheenan of Mission Alive, a church planting organization still in its infancy. We went to a seminar in October and learned about how the United States should be our mission field and how only 15% of all Americans even go to church although 90% say they belive in God. I also learned about this wonderful notion of "missional"--the idea that instead of a church being based on an "attractional" model--one in which people come to us because of the wonderful programs we have or the children's classes--we instead focus on going to the people and being a part of spiritual formation in everyone you meet. I also heard stories from several church planters and their experiences with reaching the lost, with focusing outward rather than inward. All this was so exciting to me.

Since then, we have been to two of the labs set up by Mission Alive and have learned so much about ourselves, our marriage, our teammates, and the wonderful redeeming love of Jesus Christ. I am so blessed and excited to be a part of this church plant. Though we don't have everything figured out, we have faith that God is leading us in this specific time and place. He is going to do great things, and I can't wait to witness all that He will do. There's a lot more that I could say about this, but for now, I just wanted to share the news with you. I've been wanting to blog about it for a really long time, but only now am I able since we have told our church. Real quick--one of the best parts of this is that our church is actually sending us out to do this. They will be our sponsoring church and will support us, pray for us, and help us somewhat with the finances. We are so blessed and thankful that our church family here will be a part of this. I think it says something about Shane and his influence here (but I'm not biased!!).

In the meanwhile, we covet your prayers over this venture. We are scared, but excited, nervous, but hopeful. Pray that God will continue to bless this church plant and our church planting team and that he will remind us that He is the giver of life, the Redeemer of all mankind, and the ONE in whom we should place our trust. In all things God works for the good of those who love him.

A Happy Heart

It does the heart good to run into old friends and visit with family. Over the weekend, I was able to attend a dear friend's wedding in Dallas. I've known her since she was 3 or 4 years old, and our families go way back. She and my sister Kellee were actually best friends and so it was very special to see her get married. I was so glad we could come. Shane was going to come but ended up staying for a funeral here, so it was just me and Elizabeth. It's always a blessing to see people where your heart's just connect immediately--no longer how long it's been, or how long you have to visit. I'm so thankful for all of you whom I saw last week and with whom I was able to visit, if ever so briefly--friends and family alike (sweet Mallory and entire Mitchen clan, Katy, Julia, Anita, Chesley, Jennifer, Kelly, Brandi, Aunt Cindy, Elizabeth, Mom, Kim, Kellee, my cute niece Brooklyn and nephew Barrett and all our extended cousins, and all the spouses of the people listed previously!). You each were a blessing on my life and I'm so thankful for friends and family. (Sorry I didn't get by to see you Shelly or Lynley--I had good intentions!). We even braved the cold water and got in the pool, much to Elizabeth's delight.

Mom and I ended up staying several days at my aunt and uncle's house in Ft. Worth. We had a great time hanging out. It'd been years since I spent that much time with Cindy and her family, but we had a good time. And Elizabeth is now stocked with bows that my cousin Brandi makes and sells. (Note: For all of you in the Metroplex, her company is called "Haute Socks," so look for them in stores. She also has a booth at the Brownstone, but I didn't get to go there because it was closed on Memorial day!). We left DFW on Tuesday and came back to Gatesville where Mom spent a few days with us.

When I ask Elizabeth, "How are you?," she boldly and loudly proclaims, "Me HAPPY!" And after connecting with so many wonderful people in the last week, so am I.