Visit from Brian

On Monday,we got to spend the day with my brother-in-law, Brian. He was in Dallas on business, but came early to spend time with us. We had a great time catching up, talking/dreaming about the future, walking & eating. He is a super fun guy to talk to and hang out with. Thanks for coming, Brian!

Stud

 a pair of levis sagging, no shirt & a atv...maybe he's ready to move to WV :)

Refreshment for our Souls

On Sunday, Keith and Kristyn Getty were at our church. They helped lead the music during the morning services and then gave a concert/sing-a-long in the evening. It was unbelievable! It was so spiritually refreshing. They played with their full band offering a lively, Irish-influenced evening of music. They were all such talented musicians who seemed so glad to be playing music together. I was so excited to share some sample videos of their music with you, but I couldn't find any that showcased their hearts and musical abilities to the caliber that we got to experience. So, I would just recommend seeing them if they come to a city near you! 

That's Just the Kind of Girl She is

Many of you know my younger sister, Stephanie. Or at least you've heard me talk about her or you've seen pics of her here. Anyways, she moved to Wilmington, NC in August to start school at UNCW. She often eats at Moe's and saw some business-looking, high-up guys in there. What does she do? Walks right up to them, interrupts their meeting and tells them she is a very loyal customer. One man stands up and gives her a lot of "Moe's Dollars" and thanks her for being a loyal customer. She was psyched. But then on Monday she saw another "high-up looking man" in there and boldly asked who he was. He said he was the regional manager and he remembered her. She asked who was the highest person at Moe's to which he replied that they had a president. She asked if he could get the president to call her and gave the regional manager her cell phone number. So, guess who called her from Atlanta? The president of Moe's. He said he's sending her "lots of great Moe's stuff." Turns out he was the one who gave her the "Moe's Dollars" a couple weeks ago.

Also, she went through formal sorority rush last week, saw there were lots of girls trying to get in (the school's largest number to go through rush yet), realized there were 6 more fraternities than sororities, and wasn't absolutely psyched with her placement. What does she do? She set-up an appointment with the Dean of Students and Head of Greek Life to see about bringing a new sorority to UNCW. Who knows if it'll happen, but that's just the kind of girl she is. 

She's not afraid to dream big and go for it. She does continually forget her Biology questions to her group meetings, has 6 parking tickets already and I'm sure an enormous pile of dishes. But, she gets the heads of companies to call her and works to bring new organizations to her school within a month of being there. She's a mover & shaker. 

UPDATE: Stephanie received her package....a crockpot (that says "Welcome to Moe's everytime you open the lid!), an apron, a Moe's shirt & a $100 Moe's gift card. The president asked if she had any friends who wanted anything and she responded "no." Hello? You have 2 sisters!!!

KABJ

Today is 6 years since my mother passed away. I did a post for her last year remembering things she loved. If you want to read it, click here. Anyways, I thought I'd tell you a quick story about her this year. KABJ are my mom's initials, for Kathleen "Kitty" Ann Bell Johnstone. For several years when I was little, I thought her name was Kitty and a bell Johnstone. I was probably a little too old to still be believing that and telling people that was her name before I finally figured it out. I always wondered why my Grandma named her "Kitty and a bell", but there's some things you just don't question when you're younger. I can also remember wondering if my mom liked her name because she never struck me as being all about cats, especially ones that jingle when they're around you. :)

Hudson

We went to Houston last weekend to visit Trent's cousin, Karlie. We're excited that we live in the same state, but it's still 4 hours away. We wish we were even closer. Anyways, we had an awesome time hanging out with you, Karlie!

The size of the puddle doesn't matter, they're still fun.

After eating a PB&J waffle like his cousins. My sister's kids could survive on these. :) I've actually gotten really into them too. Thanks for the suggestion, Mark & Aaron.

How We Spend Our Time

After moving down here and having a lot of time on my hands as we didn't know anyone and I had quit my "outside-the-home" job, I started thinking about how I spend my time. I spend a lot of it hanging out with Hudson (which I really love!), but there's always a couple hours every afternoon when Hudson naps and I have "free time." I normally use that time to make dinner, clean-up, read, check e-mail (& blogs :)), pay bills, etc..., but I wanted to do something more with it. So I contacted The Bridge Breast Network about doing some volunteer work for them from home. I'm currently working on making a brochure they can hand out at educational events they put on, doctor's offices, and other places around the community. They are doing great work and helping lots of women each year who otherwise might not be able to get the healthcare they need.

Then I started thinking about my evenings. Trent and I love our time together with Hudson in the evenings, having dinner, playing, reading, singing and praying for him. We also love catching up with one another after Hudson goes to bed. But I figured this was another time that I could do something more. Tonight I get my assignment at Children's Medical Center of Dallas. I'll be volunteering there one night per week for 3 hours. I am so looking forward to it. On Tuesday night I had to rank my top 4 choices of where I would like to volunteer there. It was tough to only pick 4 and then rank those. There are so many needs there. They rely on volunteers to love these kids and families in so many different ways.

Next Tuesday I start teaching a preschool Bible school while the kids' moms go to a study on the book Calm My Anxious Heart in the Fall and the book of Genesis (in the Bible) in the Spring. I've met the other 3 women I'll be teaching with a few times and I am so excited to be around and learn from these women who love the kiddos that come to our class so well. They put lots of thought, prayer and collaboration into planning the time with the kids. 

I have already learned so much from each of these experiences and they haven't fully started yet! I'm realizing, once again, that often when we try to take time to give back to our community and others it really gives more to us. This is already certainly the case with me. I think I am going to gain more from these experiences that what I can give. 

How are you spending your time? I'd love to hear any suggestions of creative ways to be intentional with our time.

Great Time...

...but no pictures.

Trent's parents visited us this weekend and we had a wonderful time with them. I did not take one picture the whole time though. It was fun and encouraging to have someone familiar to show some of the spots we've discovered since being here and to explore new parts of Dallas with them. Thanks for coming!!

City Kids

Here's Hudson playing with our neighbor, Vivian. Our neighbor's commented that they're real "city kids" since instead of playing in a sandbox in a backyard, they're playing in the dirt/rock pile in the concrete sidewalk in front of our houses. They love it here.

Stopping to point out an airplane

Another hit is "driving" with that yellow plastic ring on the fire hydrant out front. Hudson loves to make car noises and twist that "steering" wheel around. I don't have a picture of him doing it yet.