A Birthday Surprise He Will Never Forget

Today is an exciting day for me. It shouldn’t be abou me because today is Toben’s birthday, but I’m super excited. You see I made a decision a few months back that I wanted to take Toben on a little vacation for his birthday, even if it was just a long weekend. Well as ideas started to take form I realized what would make this trip super special would be not telling him where we are going.

For those that don’t know Toben he is a freak of nature packer. I mean he has traveling down to an art and likes to be packed at least 1-2 weeks in advance. I on the other hand tend to pack the night before or the day of and usually have to guess what clothes I may or may not have brought with me. So we agreed on a few things with this trip 1) I wouldn’t tell him where we were going until we got to the airport 2) I would let him pack for himself which meant he needed to know what type of clothes to pack.

We are currently somewhere in the air heading to Nashville where we will have a few hour layover. He still doesn’t know where he’s going, but he’s excited and therefore I’m excited. See, I told you I was making this about me! Right now I plan to record his reaction as we walk to our final gate and he finally realizes where we are going and I’ll record him again at the next few surprises because yes there is more!

To my husband, best friend, and love of my life I hope this is a time you will never forget. I love going on adventures with you and making memories. Happy Birthday Toben, may this be your best year yet!!!

Surprise!

My birthday is this week. I will be 48.  I don’t feel 48 but my drivers license don’t lie.

On Saturday Jamie invited a bunch of friends over and we had an amazing dinner together. It was an absolute blast.  It was nice enough that we could sit around outside and just enjoy each others company.  Jamie had planned everything just perfectly so it was stress free (and even easy to clean up).

But wait, there’s more! On Thursday, my actual birthday, Jamie is taking me on a surprise trip. Like, a total surprise trip.  She has told me what sort fo things to pack but won’t reveal even the smallest detail. It is hard to believe that I have made it to 48 and this is my first surprise trip. I can tell you that next to the wedding and honeymoon, I haven’t been so excited about something maybe ever. I have spent the last weeks guessing.  So far I have arrived at:

Cuba–I know Jamie has wanted to go there and it would be a wonderfully exotic location

Winnipeg–I have a secret love for the sport of curling and perhaps Jamie has arranged for a private lesson?

San Diego–For obvious reasons.

Florida–I am pretty sure based on my packing instructions that there is a beach involved. Florida has a beach.

Mexico–Also has a beach and we are big fans of the all-inclusive resort.

Chicago–The location of our first date and a favorite for sentimental reasons.

I can’t believe that she has done such an amazing job of panning and even more so, for keeping it on lock-down.  Apparently almost everyone knows where I am going except for me. I have even tried to bribe a few folks, but to no avail.  Can’t wait to get to the airport Thursday morning at 4:00a.m. for the big reveal! Stay tuned next week and I’ll share the experience!

Thanks for planing such a big surprise babe!

Just Checking In

We are 15 months into our whirlwind of a marriage and working towards the next milestone…our 16 month anniversary! We work together and do almost everything in life together and yet sometime we struggle with connecting with each other. Work, family, sickness, grief, and life sometimes just get in the way.

I think one of the things I love most about Toben is that he makes sure that I never have to question his love for me or his deep desire to invest in us. He’s an incredible man, husband, and father and I need to learn to give back in a way that he deserves and that honors him.

Last night our 17 year old said “why don’t you two go out on a date”…wait what a date during the week! Needless to say we jumped on the chance and went to someplace we hadn’t been together and it couldn’t have been a more perfect date night. We laughed more than we have been able to in a few weeks, we ate incredible food, and we were able to check in with each other.

It’s encouraging and necessary for us as newlyweds to be able to continue to learn each other. For me it’s important that I learn to hear from Toben and find ways to respect him more each day. It’s important that I learn to communicate in a way that he’s able to hear and receive anything I’m sharing.

I’m excited that we are getting ready to start a new study on love and respect from a biblical perspective, this is just another piece that will help us be the best couple we can be. What I’ve realized that both Toben and I are quick to share our story and how God brought us together as a couple and how He has used our past to show us His great redemption. But, in order for us to continue to honor what God has done and is continuing to do in our lives we need to keep learning and growing in Him.

Toben you are my love and my life, I love you endlessly. I look forward to learning the ways I can honor and respect you, to laugh more with you, pray more with you, and praise God through all of it with you!

Faith & Loss

I recently found out a friend and former coworker would be starting hospice and it felt like the wind was knocked right out of me.  Today I got onto facebook and saw that a college friend was just diagnosed with cancer. All sickness feels rough, but the “C” word holds an extra raw emotion over me that I simply can’t put words to.

In trying to deal with the many emotions I am constantly feeling I’ve been diving deeper into the Word and listening to messages from my favorite teachers. Recently I found this incredibly raw and honest video of the Evans family talking about their own journey of faith & loss and thought it would be worth sharing with all of you.

Dr. Tony Evans and his family share their thoughts about the sudden passing of their close family member, Wynter Pitts. In this candid conversation, they address questions we have about God, especially during very difficult moments when things don’t make sense. Please join us in keeping the Pitts and Evans families in our prayers.