Multifaceted video

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a link to a video that I found through a blog.  It was titled "Mr and Mrs Betterhalf".  I just had a chance to watch part iv.  It really spoke to me on so many levels, and as much as I'm trying to sit and focus on what God's trying to tell me through things FIRST...then move on to possibly sharing - this vid is crying out, "SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!".  It truly is multifaceted, and I pray that you make time to watch this and share it further.  


Click here for the vid.


So, our blog went from sharing stuffs and pics about Tyler-and-connie-land, to sharing our pregnancy to being a 'frame by frame' of Emma's growth and our family journey - literally through a gagillion photos! - to lots of sharing and words from me.  Well, in comparison to the number of photos being posted.  I'm still a little numbed by the loss of pics.  We are going to send the hard-drive in for (hopeful) data recovery.  If they can find anything there, we may be coughing up portions of cash to the tune of $2500 (depending on what is salvaged).  My mom and sister Diane are pretty heart broken by this as well, since they were relying on our photos as much as we were...so it's really because of their persistence (and willingness to pitch in) that we're taking this next step.  Hopefully Tyler will get a chance to send it off this week and we'll know soon if anything is able to be recovered.  


In the mean while, I have only picked up the camera...twice?  But have so incredibly enjoyed just looking at my precious Emma ;)  I'm actually OK if I never see any of those pics again.  and I'm enjoying the 'live in the moment - it won't come back again' attitude.  Eventually I'm sure I'll get around to just putting the pics we do have on photobucket, and I'll begin to post some again.  But until then, you'll have just me and what's going on in my little mind.


Another read that's inspiring and I'm excited to be checking out each day this week is on Lysa TerKeurst's blog.  From this link, as you read follow the links she's posted (for background and to get you caught up to speed).  I feel like I'm at 'ground zero' and ready to move so this was exciting to catch this am. 


God's been speaking to me in a way I've never heard before.  I love it.  Prayers are getting answered left and right, and it's exciting.  For now, please join me in prayer over some opportunities I believe God's presenting.  Opportunities to boldly share His message, provide guidance and share His promises with both new believers as well as soon to be believers :)  So exciting.  I'm in awe at seeing His hand over so much around us and all the tugs going on...and paths that have had some road work being laid down for some time and finally coming to a crossing point with opportunities.


Have a great week!

The Moment - Lysa TerKeurst

The Moment

So familiar can some of our relationships be, we forget.  We rush.  We assume.  We feel like we have forever.

And feeling like we have forever cheapens the right now feelings.

Each morning I have a routine with my man.  It’s simple.  Nothing profound.  Nothing for which we’d ever stop and snap a picture.

It’s just a moment.

He asks me to help him pick a tie.  He then goes away to fuss with this fixture of his professional job.  Soon, he returns with a flipped up collar and a pressed down, knotted tie.  He needs gentle hands to fold the collar over.  No, he doesn’t need.  He wants gentle hands to fold the collar over.

And I do.

It’s just a moment.

But it’s something I would miss with the deepest ache imaginable if today was the last of the moments.

If today.

Tears slip as I think about this.  Dear God, help me think about this.  Let me snap a hundred of these moments with the lens of my heart to be stored and appreciated and thought of as the great treasure they are.

Let my mind park there.

Let my heart relish there.

Let my mouth dare to whisper what a joy this is.  “I love you.  I love us.  I love this moment each day.”

No, our relationship isn’t perfect.  No relationship is.  We’re two very strong willed people with vastly different approaches to life.  And oh how easy it would be to list out all the differences. He likes the towel hanging in the same spot.  I am more creative. But I stop the list here.

I stop because great love isn’t two people finding the perfect match in one another.

Great love is two people making the choice to be a match.

A decision.

To fold his collar and snap the heart lens and find myself grateful to the point of tears.

Tears of relishing today are so much better than tears of what was missed.

It’s just a moment.

Or is it?

Here's a link to her blog...some really great posts this past week and last.


Lord, let us enjoy the MOMENTS! Let us choose gratitude over self-centered grumbling.  Let us love where you have us, not look for where we want to be.  Let us look for your hand in our lives NOW and your guidance TODAY.  You are teaching us today.  You are loving us today.  You are right next to us, talking with us today.  You are answering our prayers and blessing us today. Do we see it all?  Are we pausing in our 'busyness' to notice YOU today?  Let us be right here in our today.

WOW - check it out! FREEBIE

Somehow I came across this blog yesterday and look what I found on there today!!

Free Father’s Day Card from TinyPrints

Head over to Tiny Prints and create a custom photo card for Father’s Day, then use code: TYOPRAH to get it FREE!  Even the shipping is free if you send it to your home address.

If you prefer, you can use the code to get a free Thank You card instead!  Code is valid through 5/27.

In case the links don't work, click here to view her blog, and link from there.  I just did it - it was easy and FREE!!  you just have to use internet explorer (not google chrome like we normally do).  I couldn't find where it said how long this was valid so I did mine right away :)

Photos-Lost / Moral of The Story....

Moral Of The Story

Please take heed of our story and always make sure you have multiple sources to data you hold dear (local/online).  We purchased this hard-drive as our backup storage (2TB), and sadly after 2 months it died.  Just the amount of time it took us to get ALL of our content on it.  The hard drive now spins up, and goes...."grrrrrrr-BEEP"...."grrrrrr-BEEP!"....so, unfortunately, it is a hard-drive with a terminal head-ache. (Head Crash (Wikipedia)

If any of you have pictures that have been either sent via email, or otherwise, I would like to go about gathering as much as we could back together.  Please let me know.   Thank you so much.

Sad Dad.

Sad, sad, sad...

Well...last week I mentioned in passing that the drive where our photos lived wasn't working.  


BIG SIGH...


Tyler's been working on it since Friday, and it hasn't recovered.  I am 99.9% positive that all the photos will never be able to be retrieved.  


I've cried about it.  I've lost my appetite over it.  I've gotten sick to my stomach.  I even had Emma stay the night with my mom because I was just numb to everything when I realized the thing we'd gotten to keep them all 'safe' made them go away never to be seen again. 


Ever since my dad passed away, still shots of life have become my favorite things.  To capture moments, no matter how silly or normal, moments of firsts, moments of sweet and tender memories, creating something that I could 'always go back to, to relive' was what I had set out to do.  


I was taking at least 1 photo of Emma a day, in her first year of life.  A neat little something I'd heard from friends.  I was going to create a fun treat for some really special (to Emma) people.  I wanted her to be able to see how we'd documented her beautiful smile, her firsts, her moments, how she played and lived her days in the house here with us and life all around us.  


You may be reading this and thinking, "girl, their photos.  get over it.  you have life - live IN it".  And I've been telling myself that same thing over and over and over and over again.  


So, I won't be able to continue catching you up on the end of March through now.  You did get a peak of Emma's 9 month photo shoot at least ;) 


To be honest, I'm not sure I'll be snapping that camera for a while.  It makes me sad to even acknowledge it, so I've been ignoring it.  


I know, I've got some issues here.  I'm mourning ;(  Getting over it...but still sad.  I am very sorry for the family that has been relying on me to hold their precious memories as well.


Exhaling now....big sigh again...gonna go back to my precious little one and enjoy looking at her face today.  It changes so much so quickly...and I want to remember it just as it is and enjoy it in the day so I can look back on it with my eyes closed :)

Mr. & Mrs. Betterhalf, Part 2: You Be Jesus, Let God Be God (Guest Speaker: Holly Furtick)

WHOA...

My previous post was copied from Holly Furtick's blog. I just finished watching a message that she preached at her church recently and it...um...well, God spoke loud and clear to me through this. I'm hoping to try to watch this over and over to remind myself of some of the great things that she said. Because I know I forget things after a while. And I know I can be a stinker when I don't get sleep (like today, been up since 1:45 AM - only had a 20 minute nap at 11 this am) or when I feel overwhelmed with 'home to-dos'.

I hope this encourages others! Couldn't help but share :) Please let me know what you think - and let her know too!! You can post a comment on her blog here.

ENJOY!

Mr. & Mrs. Betterhalf, Part 2: You Be Jesus, Let God Be God (Guest Speaker: Holly Furtick)

Word-y Wednesday ;0

There's the cutest picture of Emma that I so wanted to share today!  BUT the drive that holds all my pics is currently not working ;(...So, instead, I will share some words with you today, making it a wordy Wednesday!!

You asked... early ministry 

(today's post from Holly Furtick's blog)

I wanted to know how you dealt with your hubby going to seminary and working at church? What kind of adjustments did you have to make (i.e. budget, time spent together, etc.)? I'm pretty sure you addressed something along these lines in the past but I wanted to hear more about how you felt. What helped you get through this time? What verses did you cling to? Thanks in advance!

We moved to Charlotte in September 2005 to plant Elevation Church.  We did not take a salary from the church at the time and my husband was supporting our family through itinerant speaking.  In addition to pastoring our church, he was attending seminary.

His schedule was crazy.  He was attending seminary at an extension location 2 hours away all day, every Monday.  On Tuesday-Thursday he would work on messages, lead our staff (volunteers as well), and do seminary work.  On Friday and Saturday he would usually be off preaching at some event.  Sundays we would have church.

At the time Elijah was just a few months old and a very fussy baby.  Needless to say our life was hectic and unsure.  We didn't even know if what we were doing was working.  It was a time in our life that God was building our faith.

But here is what I want to say.  Sometimes I think God builds your faith because what he has for you down the road is even more difficult.  Kinda like you can't learn to multiply until you first learn to add.  How did we get through such a difficult time?  We took one day at a time.  God was building in us the faith and the stamina that we would need for the days ahead.

Our lives are hectic now too.  My husband still travels, he has graduated seminary but is now working on writing his 2nd book, he still has a message to prepare each week and a full staff to lead.  Instead of one child, we now have three.  And we still have days where we are not sure if what we are doing is working.  And we take one day at a time.

Matthew 6:31-34 says this
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

To live in the dream of "one day when..." is a deadly trap.  Do what God has called you to do today.  Tomorrow will not necessarily be easier, just different.

MY 2 CENTS:
I love how God brings you to a place where you seek Him and His will for your life.  Things don't make sense to you, and 'all you can do' is seek and pray...and wait.  I dislike the part of me that doesn't just allow my knees to crumble at once and go straight to seeking and praying.  I'm not sure how my soul would have taken the above post had I read it back in January. Why, do you ask?...well...my darling has just woken up from a 2 hour nap (praise God!), so I hope to catch this exact state of mind and all these thoughts in a few hours when she's back down!!..BACK!

Slowly, over these past few months, He's reminded us that we need to be content with where we are: generously provided for, employed (Tyler;0), healthy, happy, and a part of a healthy church surrounded by wonderful people.  

See, both Tyler and I were unsatisfied with his job.  Different aspects of it, but mainly the part that has him gone so much.  Evenings and weekends are supposed to be family time, aren't they? We're Christians.  Family time is important to us and it's a priority, and this job keeps getting in the way...Tyler wanted to be able to have a Sunday at home where he doesn't have to work.  Whether it was physically going in some where or on call.  poor us...wa-wa-wa.....and on and on went our cries.  We were praying for another job to come his way.  And that was our prayer for several months.  About 6 I'd say, if not more.

One by one, we began to be surrounded by wonderful god-centered couples.  Both wife and hubby living for the Lord.  Hubbies all with jobs that required travel.  Some of these guys are gone for 4-5 days at a time (weekday or weekend), some of these guys are gone for weeks at a time.

I started to feel silly for being sad that my hubby had to work in say, Sacramento, for the day.  Sure he had to travel night before to get there and got home after I'd gone to bed - but only an hour and a half away. Life wasn't being 'unfair' to us.  Christians aren't exempt from being employed somewhere that makes them go in on Sundays.  I'm not quite sure why I thought we could pray ourselves out of this job if we were showing God that it was for Him and for family :)  

Boy do we feel like we're 'getting it' now!  

Actually, going through these last 5+ months of transforming our hearts about this has really opened up our prayer life.  We are looking for God's work in each situation, each work opportunity, each tired day, each energy filled day.  

SO - WOW to Holly's life that she explained above, right?  Man.  God gave that woman a lot of strength to get through those first years, and continues to now as she's raising 3 kiddos plus everything else that lies before them.  And what about that comment on God building your faith through times like these to prepare you for harder times?  

...I'm just enjoying getting through 'these' times.  I'm not quite sure I'm ready to have harder ones come yet ;0  And yes, I know I don't have it nearly as bad as many out there :)  I'm extremely blessed with an amazingly supportive husband, a more than I could have imagined supportive and helpful mother, God's been putting wonderful women along my path that I can share different things and parts of life with.  We have health, a roof over our heads...and much, much more than we could ask for.

I know that not too long ago I said I've been feeling the Lord telling me to just sit and be still.  Listen to Him intently, without running off with the excuse of 'oh I need to share this with so-and-so'.  And I'm smiling right now as I see the other areas of my life that I'm now seeing where He's been at work as I reflect and write this...NICE...I think it's a good time to say goodbye here and hello in my journal.

I wanted to share another blog post, and my thoughts from this morning but I think this is wordy enough for now ;) Maybe tomorrow!

The Truth About Time

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. —Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

Time is my highest priority right now. I never have enough of it. And the truth is, I’ll never have enough time because it’s all up to God, and he views time differently than I do.

My time has to do with duration, a measurable period when something occurs. I don’t have enough “duration” during the day. I lack the continuum for everything I want or need to do to actually get it done. It’s that simple. But God’s timing is in terms of division; He operates moment by moment or through seasons or a lifetime or a dispensation. His time is not measurable, because He’s eternal and earthly time is temporal.

The reason this is important is because when I look at my life from a human viewpoint, I run out of time. But when I look at it from a spiritual viewpoint, I see that God is in charge of everything; I’m not! Therefore, I will accomplish whatever comes my way even though it may not be written into the schedule of my daily planner.

Realistically speaking, then, I do have enough time. I have all the time God wants me to have and can spend it any way I like. I just need God’s help to learn to spend it better.

—Luci Swindoll

Link to post of above

Siesta Scripture Memory

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 

Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)

Final Vows

where to begin?  Allow me to introduce you to my cousin, Sandra Nelly Garcia.  We call her Nelly :)


Back in the day, she made her journey from Mexico to the US and lived with my parents and I for a while.  During that time, we really got to know each other.  Many, many memories of the places we went, the things we did and the times we shared :)


In mid March, she had a mass where she took her final vows, making the full commitment to being a nun.  Here's a link to a great story with a lot of info that the paper wrote while she was in town.


It was pretty neat, just days before my mom called to tell me of the date this was all to take place, Oprah did a segment on the whole thing which allowed me to understand a little bit about what it was all about.  If you'd like to check that out, you can click here.


Nelly got to be in Modesto, where there's a convent, for just under 3 weeks.  During that time, while we were limited, we were able to have family time with her there on several occasions.  In many cases, she was meeting children for the first time, seeing many faces she hadn't seen in years (I think it'd been about 10 years since I'd seen her) and just enjoying being around everyone.  

She LOVED being around all the little ones and holding the babies!!

On the 2 Sundays that she was here, they had potlucks and open family time.  She opened up this time for people to ask away any of the questions they had about her decision, life, what it's all about...basically "ask me and I'll tell you" time since so many of us don't know too much about it.  

...and there was some entertainment as well :)  Tio Beto brought his horse!

and my grandma, aka Lita, was practicing her stretch dancing that she learned :)

For the Giants fans out there...having Nelly wear Alex's hat ALMOST got him to smile ;0

Then, the day it was all about...The Final Vow Mass

Tio Fernando & Tia Amparo (her parents)

one of her sisters, Alma and brother Nando

They decorated the altar

and the Bishop was the one to officiate the mass

she was filled with such joy!  Her smile was from ear to ear ;0

Of course, being the unofficial photogs, we got to get a pic with her ;0

...before we knew it, the days had flown by and it was time to say goodbye...on our 'goodbye' visit, she thought she'd pretend to be escaping to see what the other sisters would do :)

taking her to the airport went from a 1 car (4 seater) trip to a 15 passenger van that got filled up!!

...and she's ready to go!!

some of our happy travelers ;)

of course, Diana was the ring leader and driver ;)

the airport was a little nerve wracking for everyone ;)

after she checked in we all sat around and played with the kids a bit...

but then, it was time for the FINAL goodbyes...and everyone just stood there...no one wanting to go first

we watched her completely off until we couldn't see her walk anymore

and then we found her plane!  But were sad to know she didn't know we were still watching for her

apparently we wanted to make a day of it, so then it was off to the pier for lunch :)

and Emma had her first trip to SF Fisherman's Wharf!

we walked around for a quick bit and took the kids to take a pic at the Rainforest Cafe ;)

...that was quite the 'wrap up' quick version there :)  There were some pics I uploaded that I didn't post. If you're interested, click here.  


Nelly went back to Mexico where she gathered her (few) things and she's now in Italy where she'll be studying on her focus, which she'll then teach to other sisters in her next 'home' convent.

Wordless Wednesday

(Mother's Day gifts ;0)

click them to see what they're made up of!!

9 Months already!!

Oh me, oh my how time has flown by!  Emma is now 9 months...we're already talking 1st birthday party plans here people.  Seriously!  


Little girl is getting so big!  She's such a smiley baby.  Loves attention.  Laughs at just about anything and smiles at anyone that will look her way.  She eats absolutely everything, and especially enjoys eating anything that mommy is eating also.  Something about us eating out of the same plate I think.  She MUST have food on her table that she can feed herself, in addition to and pureed or spoon fed foods she's eating.  Spaghetti seems to be one of her favorites, which is great because since it's Tyler's favorite food we have it maybe every other week :)  Tonight (Tuesday) for dinner she had her first cheeseburger patty and man did she gobble that up!  She's sure to weigh at least 15 lbs by now, and she's starting to get a belly :)  (take that Dr that thinks my baby is too small)


Emma's standing up on everything, just for the sake of doing so :)  The second she wakes up (in the crib) she stands up...and if it takes us too long to grab her up, she starts chewing on the wood - YUCK! - and gets brown (paint?) chips on her mouth and wherever her slobber takes it to :)  Since she's a pro at standing, she's starting to get daring, trying to cross over from one place to another when items are close by, although that isn't a new 'trick' as of yet.  Most of the time she ends up on her bottom during the attempt.  She is, however, starting to mosey down from one end of something to the other!  


Her laugh just makes you smile from ear to ear to hear it.  Even at 6 AM :)  She loves to see daddy come home from work each evening, and gets super excited to see visitors come through the door throughout the day (is she sick of mommy and me only time already?!)


What else, what else?...Oh yeah, she's super chatty.  She likes to talk A LOT.  She mumbles mama and papa - and we know that SOON those sounds will be words with meaning behind them.  


She loves to be around other kids.  She gets excited to just see them as we pass by them on a walk!  She'll start talking to them and wanting to play anytime she sees another little person :)  Emma's also super observant.  When we are on walks, or she looks out the window in the car, she will just gaze out at everything passing by her.  Sometimes she'll get fixated on something and her little head/eyes will follow it as long as it can.


I think that's a pretty good-sized update on what Emma's like these days.  And all the words should prepare you for ALL THE PICS I have to show!  I will include a link to the full album, but there are so many adorable shots!  I'll try to resist from posting too many here...we'll see how that goes :)  

Oh..and my faves :)

(daddy's hat and glove, mommy's cleats and ball)

Almost like a father's day shoot - in her cute little giants outfit :)  
To see all the pics, click here (well, I uploaded most of them anyway)


Hope you enjoyed this Emma update! :)