Girl Gets Ring

Well, I have some big news. I went to California last week to see Sean. He asked me to marry him and I said yes!

Okay, now let me back up a bit. When I was living in California last year Sean and I dated for about 6 months until I left to come back to Cincinnati. When I left I expected my feelings for him would die down, but they didn't. For six months I thought and prayed for God's guidance.

While in Kansas City he and the girls (he has an 11 year old Israel and an 8 year old Judah) came to visit. I knew it would be hard and a bit confusing to see him. I knew I would have a lot of fun with all of them. When they got there I was happier than I expected to be with them. When they left it was harder than I expected to say goodbye and go back to Cincinnati. I talked to a friend about how I was feeling and she pointed out that I hadn't told him how I was feeling. So, the next day I called and told him. A few days later he called and asked me to come to California so we could get some objective council. Next thing I know I'm on a plane to Orange County.

One evening he said something that made me think he might ask me to marry him while I was there. I was totally surprised. I called my mom the next day to see what she thought. She didn't seem too surprised! That evening he asked and I said yes! You can read more of his story here.

So, that's my big news. I am in Cincinnati right now, but I'll be moving back to California in a few weeks so that I can be closer until we get married. That will give us more time for the girls to adjust to me being around. My days are about to get quite a bit more interesting/exciting. I don't think a more wonderful thing could have happened to me.

Die Phone Die

What you don't see in this photo is my croaking phone. It's not like I jumped in and had instant remorse. No, I swam for a good long while before realizing that I had drown my phone. But doesn't it look like we are having so much fun! Ava loves the water.

A new phone should arrive at my house around sometime today. I still probably won't be able to recover all the phone numbers, so if you want to talk to me or you want me to be able to call you then you should email me your phone number.

False Alarm

I thought it was working. I make a few calls and sent a few text messages. Shortly after that it died again.

Good news. If you ever jump in the pool with your phone you can put it in a bag with silica jell packets. It will take the water out of your phone. It may take about 48 hours, but it should do the trick. :)

I forgot to mention-when the phone died so did all of the numbers. Can you email me your phone number?

A Great and Terrible Day

Yesterday was great in that it was spent by a pool with Angela and Ava. It was terrible in that when I got in the pool I still had my cell phone on me. So...if you need to get a hold of me then you can email me and I'll give you my home phone number. :)

Home Again

My last week in Kansas City was a very exciting one. I got to spend time with Christina and hear about her travel journeys. I am glad she went, but I am SO glad that she is home.

A few days after Christina arrived Sean, Israel, Judah and Jason came to town. We hung out at the Bohlender's, had great conversations, ate REALLY good food (thank you Chef Henry!) and had way too much fun. All of the kids were outside one night when Israel ran in to announce that there were fireflies outside! She and Judah had never seen them before. Judah never came in to tell us about them because she was too busy chasing them. The night before they left we went to Shiloh Gardens (where no one would think of spraying for bugs) and chased the fireflies there. We saw more lightning bugs and got more chigger bites than any of us had before.

Wednesday morning I had to say goodbye to everyone. After having spent such a great month with such wonderful little boys and amazing friends I was a bit sad to say farewell.

Now I'm back in Cincinnati. It feels good to be home. Angela and I have hung out a lot in the past two days. I didn't realize how much I missed my sister. Ava is bigger than I expected. She is sitting up on her own and getting on her hands and knees to rock back and forth. Pretty soon she'll be crawling. When I see it I'll be sure to push her down.

Oh Happy Day

On Saturday one of my favorite persons in the whole world came home! Christina has been serving the nations with Jesus, but He has finally sent her back to us. I have missed Christina a lot in the past six months, so I am VERY happy to have her back. She's living with Katchen right now and I think that is completely unfair and wonderful at the same time. Two of the greatest women I know will be under one roof! What a lucky roof.

Welcome home Christina!

Does Jesus Give You Heartburn?

Well...more like does He make your heart burn. (Luke 24) This thought has been running through my mind ever since I had a conversation with Randy about decaffeinated Jesus. I think about Jesus. I talk about Jesus. But when it comes down to it, does the time that I spend with Him leave me saying, "When He spoke to me, my heart burned within me."

This thought came up again today. I was with Noella again. We were talking about the fun that we've had gallivanting about glorious Kansas City. It has been terribly entertaining, but at the end of the day it leaves you feeling a bit empty. I am not suggesting that we only stay at home to pray and read our Bibles or spend every moment at the House of Prayer. One of my favorite things to do is to get out and see the city that I have spent so many hours praying for. I actually enjoy Kansas City! But the truth remains that my heart is not full when my social calendar is. I need to spend time in the presence of God. It is something that I crave. I need to feel Him love me, and I need to return that love. I need to feel that love burn in my heart.

Girl Puts Down Game

I would have to say that the Omega Intensive has been the most fun event I have ever planned. It was fun to be in KC with such wonderful friends. It has been wonderful to work with Randy again. I have enjoyed Kansas City (tonight Noella, Deloris and I went to see Henry V in the park!). I have also really enjoyed being in the House of Prayer. I don't always love being in the Prayer Room. There have been times when I had a lot of grace to spend long hours there. More often than not it is a choice to go.

I think overall it went pretty well. I am relieved that it is over, and I will get to go home in a week or so. At the same time I am a bit sad that it is over and I will have to head back to Cincinnati where there is quite a bit of uncertainty for me. Uncertainty is not an option in anyone's life, but as a planner it is a bit of a challenge for me. I'm constantly trying to straighten out the rubix cube of my future, but sometimes it just can't be done. I have to take my hands away from the puzzle. Even though I really desire to continue to work at it until I can figure it out. I turn to God and ask Him to help me. I know that He has a plan. I know that He is a better planner than me.

Ava Thinks She's Big, But She's Not!

Look at that smile. She is so proud of herself to be sitting up. So what if she is about to eat carpet, she's acting big and she likes it! I miss Ava!

The Omega Intensive began yesterday. I love planning events like this. I especially enjoy meeting the people who I've been exchanging emails with over the past few weeks. There are around 100 people in attendance. Believe me...you wish you could be there.

Today Noella and I hit the town. First we went to Liberty to Martinali's Cafe. It's an adorable little place, with delicious food and wonderful prices. It's in the same building as a great furniture store and a little quilting shop. If you have the opportunity to check it out you should. High tea is only $12.50! Just make sure you call in advance for it.

Next it was off to Parkville to the Jazz, Blues and Arts Riverjam. I had never been to Parkville, but I will definitely go back. They had the cutest little shops, wonderful trails along the Missouri River, good pizza and the best chocolate truffle I think I've ever had. The music wasn't very good, but the art...especially the jewelry was beautiful.

While we were looking at art we met a guy named Eric, who was selling his paintings. He was definitely trying to communicate something with his art (which isn't all that common at festivals like this), but I'm not the most discerning person when it comes to art, so we both began to ask him questions about what he was trying to say. He told us that he believed that all knowledge was shared in the universe-it was only a matter of tapping into it. This statement was the beginning of a long conversation about his spiritual beliefs. We talked to him for quite a while about absolutes, can there really be a gray area, God's love, etc etc etc. Both Noella and I were praying that the Holy Spirit would show up...but He didn't. At least it seemed to both of us that He didn't. We both knew that it didn't matter what we said to Eric...unless God showed up nothing was going to happen. We left hoping that some sort of deposit of God's light had happened. We prayed for him...and that's it. I'm never sure how to resolve these situations in my heart. I hope that this situation was a divine set-up. I hope that it planted seeds of God's love in Eric's heart. I wish that there had been at least a hint of something going on inside of him...but there wasn't. This is situation definitely gives me motivation to pray.

Kansas City...A Beautiful Place To Spend Your Summer

For some reason I always forget how hot summer is going to be in the Midwest. I decided to go on a walk this morning thinking that if I went before 8am it wouldn't be too hot. By 8am it was almost 90 degrees! I went anyway.
Being in Kansas City has so many benefits, but one that it is lacking is Norwood's Gold's Gym. If I'm going to sweat for the sake of exercise I like it to be in an air conditioned room. There is a Gold's downtown, but that gym is almost a joke. I have been spoiled by only driving 4 minutes to a 6am spin class. If I didn't feel like making it to the 6am I could always go to the 9:30 or noon class. That's not happening in Kansas City. Not unless I want to pay $643 to go to this place. Hmmm...no thank you. I guess I'm stuck sweatin it out outdoors. Oh well.

Boy Catches 85 Pound Fish

Here's a little bit of what I missed out on...



What do you think that hand hanging out the window means? I'll tell you what it means. It means my mom is taking a photo...and has already take six! Dad and Patrick are READY to go. Thanks for taking it anyway Mom!


When I was little my Dad woke me up REALLY early one morning to go fishing in a tournament. We went out to Tom Steed Lake and fished all morning. I caught 237 fish, give or take. Later in the afternoon we went and weighed in. I caught more fish than any other man out there that day! Well...other than my Dad. I'm glad that Patrick gets to fish with him now. What I really should have titled this post is, "85 Pound Boy Catches Fish".

Girl Gets Lost in Grandview

You'd think I would know my way around Terrace Lakes by now. I've driven that neighborhood hundreds of times. I feel like I have hundreds of friends who live back there, but it never fails...I almost always get turned around (insert slight scowl). Tonight I was on Jackson north of Red Bridge. Somehow I got turned around. It's a straight shot! I should not have gotten turned around. Somehow I ended up driving right by Marci's house before figuring out where the heck I was. Marci lives on the south side of Red Bridge. I can navigate my way across the country and back. I've done it several times! Why can't I master Terrace Lakes?!?

Apparently Ava is doing just fine without me. She's such a rock star. Look at those glasses! I heard she made it to the pool with her "big sister" aka Leah, her cousin. Leah insists that Ava is her little sister, so for Christmas Angela got her a shirt that says Big Sister.

Girl Misses Her Mom

Well, I didn't make it to Tennessee. I sat in the airport for two day and couldn't get on a single flight out of Kansas City. What's up with that? Mom didn't get to go either. She's in North Carolina, I'm in Missouri and everyone else is in Tennessee. I am sad that I don't get to be there, but more than that I realize how glad I am that we all like each other so much! I have the greatest family in the whole world. They are the kindest, smartest, funniest, caring people that I know.

This a photo from the trip that Mom and I took across the country. We hit up Zion National Park, Grand Canyon and Brice Canyon all in a day and a half. That was way too much beauty for that amount of time. By the end of it I had used up all of my adjectives. If you haven't seen that part of the country I highly recommend it. If you can go with your mom, even better. If you can go with my mom...well you'll probably never be that lucky.

p.s. Thanks to my wonderful Kansas City family I am having a great time, even if I'm not with my sisters. I got to hold Arwen, hop with Aiden, eat ice cream with Kelsey, have morning coffee at the Bohlender's kitchen table and then eat half a donut.

Dorothy Gets Stuck in Kansas

What is wrong with this photo? Cute baby...Wonderful Grama?? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT IS WRONG! I AM NOT IN THIS PHOTO! Right now I should be in Cincinnati. I got bumped off of not one, but three flight today.
I wouldn't actually be in Cincinnati for more than just a few hours before heading south to Laura's house, but that is irrelevant. I SHOULD BE HOLDING THAT BABY! NOT GRAMA! I know Grama needs her time to squish Ava also, but right now it's my turn! What happens when Dorothy wants out of Kansas?

P.S. Thank you for the photo Ang. It made me feel 39% better.

Girl in Kansas City is Humbled...Again

Yup...the mercy of God has been extended to me yet again. I just spent a few minutes with Bryany in the lobby of IHOP. She has been preparing for a missions trip to India and then to England. She told me about feeling the need to have a pure heart. Listening to her talk about this desire was enough to begin to stir that desire in my heart again. I want to be able to come near to God (Psalm 24)! I need to have clean hands and a pure heart. Conversations like this one remind me that there is a part of my heart that will do anything to be near Him. Hopefully that place is growing. It is His mercy that He reminds me of that desire. He must want me to come near.

Beautiful Day Had By All In Kansas City

Did I mention that I'm in Kansas City? Maybe that is just obvious. Well anyway...It was a lovely day. It all began with a shot of wheatgrass. :) Gotta love that stuff. Katchen and I decided it tastes like the liquid that would come off of the side of your lawn mower. I got to meet up with an old friend and chat for a while. Then it was baby city. I saw Marci's kiddos. I squished Arwen and said "ABC" with Aiden. ABC is as far as we got, but it was stated VERY clearly! After that it was off to see Izzy. Katchen let me have the night with the Is. Oh great fun!
In just a few days I'll get to squish my Ava! That will be even more fun!