Would You Like a Vent-a?

We just spent two weeks on the road for Christmas break. Brian's family is from South Bend, Indiana so we set out on the afternoon of the 22nd to drive part of our 15 1/2 hour trek. We spent about a week in Indiana and then headed west to my parent's farm in Kansas. We decided we would make this leg of our trip in one day. So, 16 hours later with aching backs and exhausted minds we made it safely to the country. Culley was close to perfect. Of those 31 1/2 hours she fussed for about four total. Not a bad percentage...God is good. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Brian. It seems that those hours on the road are some of the most intimate conversations we have because I have his complete attention and he has mine.

Both Brian and I tend to be city folk. Even though I grew up on the farm and he grew up in the country, there is ,deep in our hearts, a love for the city. There are many reasons for this, but one is our love for the convenience of life. Starbucks is one of the conveniences we miss. Here in our small town the local coffee shop opens at 7:30 a.m. and closes at 5:30. Too late to get a cup before work, and too early to go after. So we take advantage of every trip to the nearest town 30 miles away where the "local" Starbucks resides.

In the past year, however, we have been deeply disappointed with Starbucks. They have begun to only brew a bold blend in the mornings and claim they are not allowed to brew it after 12:00 noon. When we ordered a decaf at 8:30 p.m. on our date night they didn't have it brewed and offered us a decaf Americano instead. For those of you who know me...this is unacceptable. If I order a brewed coffee...I want a brewed coffee. Others claim that at least they have their common blend, Pike's Place, brewed all day. My response to those who think I should drink Pike's Place is this: if I wanted convenience store/McDonald's coffee I would go to a convenience store or McDonald's. I go to Starbucks for bold, good coffee.

So, on our trip to Indiana we stopped at a Starbucks for Brian to get a coffee in order to stay alert while he drove. As has been the norm they only had Pike's Place brewed. Brian settled and I refused. Highly disappointed with his luck, and increasingly perturbed with mine we left and I made a resolve to never, ever settle for less than good coffee at Starbucks. If they don't have a bold blend brewed I will walk out with nothing. I will not settle for Pike's Place and I will not buy a more expensive drink.

Our time in Indiana ended and we loaded up our car early on the morning of the 28th. Brian again needed a good cup of joe and since it was before 12:00 noon we went to the nearest Starbucks to grab our coffee. It had been a long, long, long time since I had been able to enjoy a bold brew. It was lovely. It was beautiful. It was perfectly enjoyable and for one moment...or at least a Venti moment...Starbucks was forgiven.

14 hours later we traveled through the middle of Nebraska. It was getting late and Brian needed one last jolt to get us to the farm. He spotted the Starbucks' sign from the interstate in York, Nebraska. As he pulled onto the exit ramp I let him know that I would not be getting anything...maybe a Refresh tea if they had it, but not a coffee. As he pulled into the drive-thru the mechanical voice in a very southern accent said, "Hello, my name is Ste-ella. Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get started for you this evening?" Brian looked at me, smirked as though he already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask and said, "you don't happen to have a bold brewed do you?" Ste-ella southernly answered, "well yes I do...I made it just for you. Would you like a Vent-a?" I'm not sure if the giggle escaped my lips because there was actually a bold brewed or because she had called it a vent-a...but regardless, she became our absolute most favorite Starbucks employee. Brian ordered a Vent-a bold and I ordered a Vent-a tea. Ste-ella chatted it up at the window and we truly appreciated her friendly personality. As we sped off into the night I told Brian that she just redeemed Starbucks for me. At a small Starbucks in the small, Nebraska town of York there is a Starbucks employee who deserves a really big bonus.

Unfortunately I will go back to my small Starbucks 30 miles away and be consistently disappointed with their service. But I will always smile and remember the small amount of joy we had as we drove through York, Nebraska.

"Would you like a Vent-a?"

Absolutely. :)

Culley's Pictures...

My friend, Candace, an up and coming photographer, came to my parent's farm over Thanksgiving and took some pictures of Culley. I learned a few things about Culley that day. She is definitely not a performer and we had a difficult time getting her to smile. But I think Candace caught her personality perfectly. We had a ton of fun and I think the pics turned out great! I've put some of my favorites below. Thanks Candace!

Culley's First Snow

A couple of weeks ago we put up our tree. I was ready for Culley to come down in the morning interested and curious about the lights and the "big green thing." I was ready for battle. Now...two weeks later she hasn't even given it a second look. So when we got our first snow, I thought it would be a good time to try to get some pictures. Again...she didn't even seem interested in the tree.



She never ceases to amaze me. In the weeks since football season ended she has begun to crawl like a big girl (no more inch worm), she has pulled herself up, she has climbed the stairs, fallen from the first step, she has her first tooth, and much, much more. So much happens in the first year of life. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to observe and watch her grow. I have been able to see each of her "firsts" and I pray that I'll be able to experience many more with her!

Merry Christmas to everyone...and blessings each day!

Me, Myself, and I

It's been a while since I've even been to my own blog. It seems that this whole motherhood thing takes a bit more time than I had anticipated. In fact, it seems this whole motherhood thing is a lot more of everything than I anticipated. The joys are so much more beautiful than I thought and every time I look at my little girl I am thankful for the chance to be her mother. At the same time...every time I look at my little girl I am reminded of so much of my spiritual depravity and pray that she is everything I am not. God has been taking many blinders off of my eyes lately...and in just six short months He has revealed the ugliness of my heart. It's beautiful, really...because as I become uglier His grace and mercy become more brilliant in my life.

One sin that God is revealing in my life is how wrapped up in myself I am. Unfortunately, all other sins tend to sprout up from this one root. I worry because I am wrapped up in myself. I stress because I am wrapped up in myself. I feel defeated because I am wrapped up in myself. I slander, I gossip, I speak unkindly because I am wrapped up in myself. I am tired and lazy because I am wrapped up in myself. I complain and I get angry because I am wrapped up in myself. I am discontent and envious because I am wrapped up in myself. Anytime I feel I deserve or need something I am wrapped up in myself. Anytime that I feel I just can't go on I am wrapped up in myself.

This culture and its lies sneak in and say that I deserve a night off. I deserve rest. I deserve to let up. I deserve to find fulfillment for myself. On the surface it appears innocent. But it is not innocent. It is a lie. If Christ is my example then I do no deserve anything other than to serve others...my husband, my daughter, my church, my neighbors. Christ washed Judas' feet even though he knew Judas would betray him. I'm so thankful that on the way to the cross Jesus did not stop and say, "Wait. I'm feeling a bit tired and worn out. I think I need to rest and recover from these hard days. Maybe we can finish this some other time."

Maybe my thinking is all messed up. Maybe I need to renew my mind with scripture and the Truth of God's word. Maybe people would see more of Christ in me if I let go of the idea that I deserve something...but rather I held to the example of Christ. I am far from this person and motherhood has shown me just how far I need to go...but God's grace is beautiful today!

Oh God...un-warp my mind and unwrap me of myself so that only Christ is seen for His glory and not mine. Would I serve like there is no tomorrow.

I am...

Have you ever gone through the scriptures and just simply written down all of the qualities and characteristics that God says we are in Christ? In my quiet time study I was asked to look up a huge sampling of passages and write down who I am in Christ...and this is only a portion of what I found:

I have been crucified.
I am blessed, chosen, redeemed.
I have been marked and sealed.
I have been raised to life.
I am God's workmanship and I have been brought near to God.
I will be complete.
I am a citizen of heaven.
I can do all things.
I have been rescued and given the fullness of Christ.
I am hidden in Christ and will appear with him.
I am loved, chosen, rescued, strengthened, and protected.
I am a daughter...a member of God's family.
I belong to Christ.
I am free.
I am a slave.
I have been raised to life.
I am a conqueror.
I am loved and bought, renewed and strengthened.
I am purified.

Meditate on those for today and let it blow your mind. Be in awe of God today!

Happiness

I received one of those inspiring emails this morning. You know the ones that make you feel blessed and ready to jump into anything God asks you to do. The kind that end with an inspiring prayer that seems to speak to your heart at the very moment. The kind of email that somhow diminishes the encouragement and blessing that it brings by saying..."now, in 9 seconds something happy will happen to you IF you forward this on to 9 friends." But today as I read that email and it promised me that in 9 seconds I'd experience something happy...I thought to myself, you're right...I'm on my way to wake up my baby girl who will smile and laugh and simply bring happiness to my heart as we start our day together. So...email or not. Nine seconds or nine hours. I have been blessed beyond what I thought possible.
Blessings today...

Amberts and Chamberts Fall Pics

My mom bought new picture frames to keep all of her 14 grandchildren in one place. Roxie had taken some great outdoor pictures of her five kids. Mom wanted individuals of the rest of them and she wanted them to be similar to Roxie's. So, one Saturday morning we headed out to Andy's house (he works hard at his awesome flowers) to keep the matriarch of our family happy. :) I had a ton of fun shooting these and I think a few turned out okay for her to use. There are some in here that I fiddled with some editing programs but, alas, I can't remember what I did. Anyway...if you haven't seen Andy's or Chuck's kids in a while this will show you how grown up they are and how handsome and beautiful they have become. FYI...Lydia was at a vball game so she is missing in these.

Thanks kiddos for helping make grandma's house even more beautiful with your pictures! :)

I can hardly believe that my little girl is four months old. It really can't be so! It's amazing to me how I remember so much of the struggles and the adjustments of the first couple of months and each month has brought struggles of their own but the overall adjustment has been so much easier these past couple of weeks. It seems her schedule has evened out...eating, sleeping, and playing. There are always days of exceptions...but for the most part we've moved into a grove.

Yesterday we tried a bit of cereal for the first time. I have no intention of making this a regular meal time experience but I wanted to try it and see how things went. She actually enjoyed it...at least the experience because the food was all over! But today she would even open her mouth in anticipation for another bite.

Below is just a hodge-podge of pictures collected over the past four months. I love being Culley's mom. Through the easy and hard...the good and bad...the simple and complex...I've loved it and am blessed beyond my wildest expectations!

Thank you for all who have been the encouragers and cheerleaders. New moms...and I'm sure moms in general...need to be spurred on regularly. So...thanks and blessings today!