Thanks-mas

Cleary this post is a bit delayed...after Thanks-mas (Thanksgiving/Christmas with the Watson clan in Nashville--Adam coined the term this year) our schedule got a bit crazy as we prepared for our Christmas production and Christmas Eve service.  I have resigned myself to focusing on only my man and our sanity during our Christmas rush at church; e-mailing and blogging sadly go way down on my list!  Anyway, we had a blast with our precious nephews over Thanksgiving...Lindsay and I enjoyed cooking in her beautiful new kitchen and we all made new memories in their new home.  Some pics from the week...

Enjoying a yummy dinner at The Melting Pot

Eating at Krispy Kreme (one of Uncle Adam's favorite parts of the trip!)  Aren't their smiles precious?  LOVE those boys!

Yay!  The meal is made--time to eat!

Riding bikes outside; Uncle Adam rode Sam's bike with Gabe.  Hilarious!

Adam's Little Helper...

Adam had a little buddy help him set up our Christmas tree this year...

Our New Little Friend

Introducing sweet Caroline.  Product of God's goodness+Eric and Kim Moore.  She is such a sweet little baby!  The last couple of months we have had the joy of spending time with little Caroline.  Adam and I babysat one evening and our time with her just flew by.  We had a blast watching her precious smiles and listening to her joyful squeals!  What a doll.  

Lunching at Lupes...can you see that sweet little grin?  Complete with dimples.  

Be still my heart!

Yummm...Lupes with our dear friends the Moores.  Can't get much better than that!

Snuggled in Adam's arms the night we babysat.

We love you little Caroline, and your parents aren't so bad either!  :)  Seriously though, we love you guys!  Thanks so much for sharing your sweet girl with us!  

Flower Skirt?

We had some friends over for dinner the other night, and they brought us this beautiful fall bouquet of flowers.  Since I was busy finishing dinner, Adam sweetly offered to put the flowers in a vase.  This was the result...

"Look honey, its like a Christmas tree skirt, but its on flowers instead!"  No longer will I view the paper wrap around flowers as just paper...my life will never be the same.

Husbands say the darndest things.  

Ahhh Adam, you are such a dork and I love you like crazy.

Can You Tell What This Is?

Lyric always follows me around, and if she leaves my side (which is rare) it's almost always to do something naughty.  Anyway, a while ago I was packing and getting ready to leave town for my brother's wedding.  After a while I realize Lyric is missing, and upon finding her I see that she has managed to fit an entire hanger around her body.  Instead of running (her typical response when she has stolen something), she just sits and stares at me, stuck and guilt ridden, as if she knew there was no way out of this without momma's help!  Ah, I love my pup.

She hasn't touched a hanger since.

The Latest Randomness

I can't believe it is already October 14th! Where does the time go? Why do I say that every month? I don't have much to say, but here's the latest...

• I went to a conference in Charleston, South Carolina last week. I had a blast meeting other worship leaders and Kids Choir Directors...I even met the woman who wrote the 2nd musical I was in when I was 8 years old! That was an amazing moment. The trip was 6 days long, and if you know me, then you know that by day 3 I was dying to be home again. I LOVE traveling with Adam, but I HATE being away from him for longer than a day! It is pitiful and kind of embarassing...but I just thank God that I desire to be with him that much. I just can't get enough of him.


• Miracle of miracles, it actually feels like fall here! We had our first cold front after Ike, which was a huge blessing since we had no power that week. God's timing is perfect!


• My latest challenge is working on my guitar skills. I have been leading worship for my kiddos on Wednesday nights and it has really stretched me. Adam has been incredible, teaching me new chords every week and helping me figure out good guitar strums (my rhythms tend to be a bit "campy" and cheesy--my punky husband is helping me phase that out!) I freak out every night before I play, but then the music starts and my nerves calm down. The callouses on my fingers help too...before I had those, my fingers were in so much pain!


• I have decided that I am head over heels for my puppy and 100% willing to admit it. I went through a season of wondering "Is this normal? Am I over the top?" Really, I just don't care anymore...I have become a dog owner who is obsessed with snuggles and playtime...she is my therapy!


• This Thanksgiving I get to see my sis-in-law Lindsay's new home and play with my nephews for almost a week! I think about it at least once a day...we love Nashville and are always rejuvinated from our time with Neal and Lindsay. Can't wait!


• I started my sugar-free diet again yesterday. After 7 antibiotics this summer, it was time for my body to get a good cleansing. I have actually grown to enjoy eating this way...after doing it in February and March, I rarely cheated b/c I grew so accustomed to it. Anyways, here's to veggies, fruit and lean protein! Good-bye sweets, potatoes, bread, sauces and anything else with sugar, hello to healthy fats and veggies with every meal!


• I am in BSF again this year and loving our study of Moses. The words of God to Moses are incredible...I am humbled as I realize over and over that the God who parted the sea and sent forth water from the rock is the same God who listens to my prayers every day and walks with me. He is so good. I have missed the Old Testament and am savoring this in-depth study of it.

That's all for now...

That Little Thing Called Ike

It has been a while since I have blogged, e-mailed or chatted on the phone.  A little storm called Ike took them away for the last two weeks...and I have to say, I am grateful.

Thankfully we have power, although 20% of Houstonians still do not, two weeks after the storm.  We lost power 3 times, but this time we think it is here t

o stay.  But again I say, I am grateful.

This is the tree in front of my parent's house.  Trees were like this everywhere, just split in the middle.  Others were completely uprooted.

The first two days, I was pretty frustrated.  We drove around our area, dumbfounded by the devastation.  Fence after fence blown down, trees on homes, power lines laying on the streets...our community hasn't seen such widespread destruction in literally a hundred years. Gas was out, food was gone in the grocery stores, and slowly spoiling in our fridges...

Sure, we may have lost the food in our fridge and a part of our fence, and maybe we had the pleasure of sweating in our home a bit more than I would have liked, but we have a home.  

We and our families are safe.  Thank you, Lord.

The past two weeks we have built amazing relationships with our neighbors.  We also had the joy of housing Adam's mom and my dad (my mom was smart enough to stay in San Antonio!)  We ate by candlelight, rejoiced over our gas stove, and relished in little things like having enough ice to keep our cooler cold (when there was no ice to be found elsewhere!)  The second time our power went out, a neighbor 4 houses down offered to power up the entire street's fridges.  What a blessing!  It was quite a sight to see....our little coldesac was laced with extension cords trailing out of every home.

I thanked God for my husband as he boarded our house up and helped me prepare everything, and as he held me while we listened to the sounds of the hurricane (a sound I will happily go without hearing again for the rest of my life!)  And I even had the pleasure of hearing a tornado, too.  Wow Ike, thanks for introducing me! (said with THICK sarcasm).

Adam boarded up the back of our house; this large window is in our living room, and since every room in our house has a window, we decided to board this up and camp out in the living room during the storm.  When the storm hit us full on, around 3 a.m., we went to the living room and waited it out.  It chilled out around 6.  

Our phones (including cells) were out for days and still have issues...we were contacted only through text.  We had two Sundays of church without electricity, and they will remain 2 of my favorite services ever.  We have an amazing church, expressive in worship, but this past Sunday, 2,500 believers in our congregation gathered, fans in hand, to worship God in the midst of great loss.  They were shouting praises.  I have never heard our church sing so loudly.  Our pastor brought one of the best sermons I have ever heard him preach.  Instead of focusing on ourselves and our situation, he focused on seizing the moment to reach others, serve them and most of all, share Jesus.  Praise God. 

So that is just what we did.  Without power at the church we couldn't do our desk jobs, so for the last 2 weeks we have cleared trees on roofs, fed the hungry in low-income apartments that had lost all their food, and beautified community parks that looked like, well, a hurricane had hit.  I have never enjoyed so much being on this staff.  What a blessing to serve together, loving our congregation and going beyond the church walls.

One of the days we served together; this day we were taking buckets of water from our house to an area that still had no water a week and a half after the storm.

So, I thank God for that little thing called Ike.  I praise Him for being with us, literally, in the midst of the storm.  And I continue to lift up those who have lost every material possession, and pray that they would come to know the Truth that they can never lose...Jesus.

You Are Never Ready

Are we ever ready to lose someone we love?  I have pondered this question for the last few months, as I watched our precious friend and mentor, Dick Hill, walk his sweet wife Dot home.

And my answer is no.

We are never "ready" to say goodbye.  No matter how long we have to "prepare," the loss of someone we love is truly impossible to imagine until it happens.

And it stinks.

For 8 years Dot struggled with an illness, yet never complained.  Her faith and trust in the Lord remained strong.  She stood by her husband in the ministry despite constant setbacks in her health.  Her eyes were always on the Lord, never on herself or her situation.  I never heard her ask "why me?"  I only saw her and Dick seek ways to glorify God through their trial.

Their love was incredible.  Awe-inspiring.  He died to self to be with her, hold her, take care of her.  She cared for him by encouraging him, never complaining about his busy hours at the church, always reaching out to congregation members.

I will forever cherish my conversations with Dot.  She gave me wonderful advice on how to be a minister's wife, how to balance personal life with the church, how to prioritize my marriage over all else, second only to God, how to trust the Lord in ALL circumstances and worship Him at all times...

Despite the suffering and loss, it is times like these when we see Jesus more clearly.  When we realize His promises are real, and because of Him, Dot is more alive than ever, worshiping her Savior.  We cling to that truth.

Please pray for the Hill family.  Pray for Dick (husband), Ashley and Alison (daughters) and their families, for peace and strength during this time.

THE LATEST...nose vacuuming, laryngitis and other fun stuff

Today is my 7 week anniversary for illness. Yeah! Yippee! Happy Anniversary to me...

After 5 antibiotics I am still fighting this infection. There have been many blessings in this journey, one of the main ones being my ENT (translation: the sick singer's best friend!) Dr. Chenault has been incredible. He is one of those doctors that wants you to be well as much as you want to be well. My checkup was Friday, and after looking in my nose he paused and stared at the floor, looking visibly disappointed, and said I was still sick with a nasty infection on my right side. Precious! I just wanted to hug him for taking this so seriously. Anyway, he extended my antibiotic (Leviquin, ugh, my tummy's enemy!) and said I am to return in 2 weeks. If I am still sick, he will do a culture, CAT scan and possibly a "procedure" afterwards (during which I will be asleep!).

Did I mention he vacuumed my nose? Not something I desire to experience ever again.
We are praying for complete healing in the next week, so as to avoid any "procedure," scan or anything else.

To add to the situation, this morning I woke up with no voice. And I mean NO voice. It turns out that having no voice as a singer can be a bit frustrating. (haha!) My kick-off for adult choir is tonight, and children's choir is next week...our new contemporary service (in which I am singing, Adam is leading) starts this Sunday. Not a good time to have no voice!

Would you please pray for complete healing? For my voice to return and my nose to clear?

I am well-aware that in the world of sickness this is no biggie...I have thanked God many times that my ailment is not serious. But it is lagging, and I am ready to return to normal life. :)
Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Lyric!

Today is our little baby's 6 month birthday.  I can't believe we have had her for 4 months!  Lyric Melody has been so much fun.  We have become one of those couples that we used to make fun of; you know, the couples with no kids that treat their puppy like a child.  She is our pride and joy!  And we are unashamed.  :)  I always got a kick of out of seeing Ginger--the dog I grew up with--open gifts, so we decided to wrap a few new toys for Lyric and let her go to town.      Note: This was also our first mattress weekend since Lyric joined our little family, so that is why there is a mattress in our living room.  She has adjusted well to the large bed and loves mattress weekends as much as we do!

Opening her first gift...

A new toy to fetch and squeak!

And a new frisbee!  Her first one, sniff sniff.  :)  Lyric loves to put her toys together and play with more than one at a time.  It cracks us up.

She's a fan of the frisbee!  Can't quite catch it in the air yet, but we will get there eventually!

Our gift to ourselves was this new storage bin for Lyric's food.  Airtight=no smell in the pantry!  And the best part?  (see next pic)

The food scooper stores inside the lid!  Adam was so wowed by this we decided to we had to have it.  We both love new storage things...

After playing with her new frisbee outside it was time for her 

birthday bath and a nice nap in daddy's arms...

We love you, Lyric!  Thanks for bringing so much joy and life into our home.  You are precious!

Today Is the Day

(Clint played matchmaker with Adam and I 7 years ago...

the three of us were in a band together.

This pic was taken during our visit with him 2 weeks ago.)

that our precious friend Clint will ship off to Iraq for the next 7 months.  I just confirmed that he is indeed leaving today, and wanted to ask my blog friends and family to pray for him 

Will you pray for 2nd Lieutenant Clint Eubanks? Would you also lift up his parents, B.J. and Phil, and his brother, Travis?

Clint is in the Marines and will be patrolling the streets--pretty much the most dangerous job over there right now. Please pray for his protection, for peace and joy, and also that he would continue to impact his 40 marines for Christ. Clint's desire is that these young men (many 19 or 20 years old) would see that his life is different and would want to know the God--the one true God--that Clint knows. That's Clint for ya.

Please pray.

Lyric kissing Uncle Clint

Yeah for Jeff and Sara!

This Thursday morning our family will grow from five to six!  My big brother Jeff is getting married to a wonderful girl he met while studying at Berkeley in California.  I am so thrilled for both of them; Sara is just amazing, and we had a great time getting to know her during our trip to California in May.  Jeff proposed one week after we got home from our trip, and just 8 weeks later they are getting married!  Sara, we are so excited to have you join our crazy but loving family, and Jeff, you sure know how to pick 'em.  :)  Can't wait to see you both tomorrow!

On the health front, I am still sick, but I got my third antibiotic today, hoping it is my last!  My chest infection has turned into a sinus infection.  I am loathing the plane ride tomorrow...clogged ears don't feel too great during the landing.  My sudafed, gum and cough drops are ready!  Thanks for the prayers, they mean so much.  I hope to blog after the wedding as a well, drug-less woman.  :)  I have so many posts from the last few weeks to catch up on once we are back!

Vocal Rest...

...is stinkin' hard!  It is times like these when I realize how much I want to talk and fill up silence with my talking, even with just Adam and I alone at home!  I talk to Lyric, I talk to him about Lyric, I talk about work, how I feel, what I want to do, what I wish I could do but can't since I'm sick...I have way too much to say.  Interesting that I am realizing this because I am left with these thoughts and can't say them...is God trying to teach me something here? :)  (honey, don't answer that)

Why vocal rest?  I am supposed to sing this Sunday in church, and next Wednesday Adam and I leave for pre-teen camp to lead worship for 4 days.  This is one of my favorite things we do all summer--lead worship together.  I love it!  I love the connections we make with the kids, the band that we get to play with, the practices and services; all we do is sing or get ready to sing, and I get to do it all with my favorite person in the world.  There is something amazing about leading worship next to my husband...we fell in love singing in a band together, so it always brings back those memories, but it is truly amazing worshipping our God together.

Well, that ain't gonna happen with this coughing.  I still can't talk without coughing.  I actually feel better otherwise, except at night when I get a nasty headache, I'm assuming from all the coughing I have done all day.  So, Adam  ordered me to stop talking completely to see if that helps with both the coughing and my voice in general.  I figure after nursing me back to health for the last 2 weeks he has earned the right to tell me what to do...you know, besides that whole submission thing.  :)  Anyways, vocal rest...not a bad idea, although now that I am left to my thoughts that I can't say and hearing how much I talk in my head, I can't help but wonder if his "order" is little bit selfish.  Ha!  He is, however, having to put up with my miming and I'm sure, eventual note writing.  

So if you have called me this week (and thank you to my precious friends who have called or commented to check on me!  You have encouraged me so much!) unfortunately you won't be hearing back from me for a few days.  But maybe, for you, that is a good thing.  :)

Side note:  For any concerned family members, I did go to the doc and am on some strong meds, so those should eventually help too!  My cough syrup helps me sleep like a baby.  Love it!

Sick of Being Sick

Ugh. The last week has been so annoying...it all started with a nasty stomach virus last Tuesday. I got sick in the car on the way home from the groomer (poor Adam, he was driving and had to witness the whole event!) at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. Two fenegran later I am still throwing up, so we were off to the doc to get a shot that afternoon. Thank the Lord for that shot! The "sickness" subsided and I was on my way to recovery.

Fast forward a few days...I am feeling better, eating normal foods, almost feel like going to the gym...and wake up Sunday with a cough. Huh. Must be allergies, I think. But the cough doesn't go away. It grows from a dry, light cough to a gutteral, shake my chest every time I cough-cough. So I guess I am back to the doc again, this time, the allergist will be my doc of choice.

Sorry for the complaining, but I am sick of being sick! It's hard to get on the ball with a new job when I am not in the office! Not much else to report in our household this week, other than Lyric's interesting results from the groomer. I'll have to post on that later. :)

Happy Anniversary!

Our Anniversary dinner on Sunday

6 years, honey. The best 6 years of my life. I look at you and am reminded of God's goodness...you are so precious to me. And you're stinkin' hot, too! Thanks for taking me to dinner Sunday on our anniversary, and for always knowing how to comfort my heart. That's just like you--to take me out after a long work day even though you are exhausted.

The last two years have not been exactly what we pictured or even prayed for, but still, they have been perfectly ordained by our sovereign God...the God we serve, we love, we worship...you live your life in complete surrender to Him, and I am challenged to do the same, even when we suffer from things that are out of our control.  I am so thankful we can go through the rough times together, on the same team.  You make the trials--this trial--bearable, even beautiful, and the victories all the more wonderful. To live is Christ, to die is gain. I love you, and I can't wait to see what God is going to do in our life together!

Happy Father's Day...I'll Always Be Your Baby :)

Today I did something I have never done before and will probably never have the chance to do again; I sang a song to my dad on Father's Day in church.  During the song (I'll Always Be Your Baby, by Natalie Grant) a slideshow played with pictures of us together for the last 27 years, including baby pics and wedding pics.  I was so excited to sing this song for my dad; I had never heard it before, and it really expressed so much of what he means to me.  He did so great on stage...if you know my dad, then you know he is NOT one who loves to be "center stage."  But he went up there this morning--completely calm--in front of a few thousand people!  It was so special to thank him and all of the dads in our church for being a godly influence in our lives.

Dad, I will forever cherish this morning... as I held your hand during the song, I was reminded of God's goodness and grace in giving me such a sweet daddy.  I am humbled to be your daughter, and I love you.

Whew!  After the service, knowing we had made it through the song without me completely breaking down into a blubbering mess!  Thank you, Lord!

My beautiful Mom, she's pretty cool too!

After church we went to our house for lunch and pie.  It has become a tradition that every year for Father's Day I make my dad his favorite, Lemon Meringue.  Last year I was so excited that the filling wasn't runny; this year I am pumped about the meringue!  I have never made a meringue this high before--I used a "stabilizer" recipe for meringue from my Joy of Cooking cookbook (the best cookbook ever, in my opinion) and it worked!  Woo-hoo! (Yeah, That's right, about 2 1/2 inches tall in the middle)
Words to the song from this morning:

(Tip: if you are not yet married, this would be a great song for a daddy/daughter dance!)

Always Be Your Baby

You were my first love, always there for me

you taught me how to walk and how to dream

God gave me your eyes, but it was you who showed me how to see

Now I can stand on my own, but I know you'll never let go

Chorus

I'll always be your baby

no matter how the years fly by

the way you loved me made me who I am in this world

I'm a woman now, not a little girl

Wherever this life takes me

I'll always be your baby

You are my hero, and that will never change

you still can dry my tears with just your smile

The one I've leaned on, from my first steps to walking down the aisle

Now there's another man in my life

but I know by the look in your eyes...(chorus)

Your faith, your love, and all that you believe

have come to be the strongest part of me,

and I will always be....(chorus)

--Natalie Grant

San Francisco/Monterey

We were blessed to have more time with my brother as we toured San Francisco.  We walked around Pier 39, grabbed some great clam chowder, stared at Alcatraz and laughed at the seals (which were a bit stinky).

After lunch we made our way to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and indulged in a giant sundae...Adam wanted caramel, and I wanted a banana split, so we settled on hot fudge.  :)

My sweet-aholic...less than 5 minutes after our gigantic sundae, my sweetie had to have a cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes, a bakery specializing in cupcakes made from organic ingredients.  Can we say kid in a candy store?

We spent a little bit of time walking around the stores downtown...I had to get a pic of the three-story Williams Sonoma!  Amanda, my dear cook-of-a-friend, this one is for you!  How I wished you were there to look around with me...I only stayed a minute or two because the boys weren't nearly as interested.  I could hear beautiful voices singing as I walked into this wonderland!  Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!  (Hallelujah chorus, Handel's Messiah, written 1741, am I making you music history buff's proud?!?!)

Our last day we drove around Monterey.  We started with a trip to the aquarium, which was incredible.  My brother used to read about this aquarium as a child, and now he has a student pass that allows him to visit whenever he wants.  We had a blast looking at the huge fish.

Then it was off to drive on Highway 1 and see the beach!  Did I mention Adam was sick?  The last day of our trip he woke up with a sore throat...by that night he had a fever and chills.  Poor baby.  He was such a trooper, standing on the cold beach with me!  You are the best! 

Last week we had a wonderful visit with our nephews and Adam's side of the family--I will post about that soon.  Right now we are in Chicago for a music conference at Willowcreek.  We are having a good time, but I am ready to get back to my little four-legged snuggle-muffin!  I miss her so and am ready to not leave her again for a long time!