Flashback Friday

March 11, 2000

Linda, Darrell, Tori, Jill, Todd, Beth, Steve, Jennifer, Brandon, me, Gregg, Melinda, Sarah, Lindsey, Jimmie, Meme, Gregg, Wendi and Landon

God is at a skating rink in Lubbock, Tx

Seriously.

One of the perks of moving to Lubbock was that we already knew where we would go to church. We first visited Experience Life when we were in town at Christmastime. We were like this church is so cool ~ if we lived here, we'd totally go to church here.

So instead of procrastinating church hunting like we have done in the past, we have jumped in head 1st to our new church home. And we fit right in because our pastor has said straight up that no perfect people are allowed, and Lord knows we are far from perfect.

Brandon is the worship leader there, Jill sings on the worship team, Beth plays the keyboard, Steve does the sound...We sit with Gregg and Wendi and all of the little cousins are in Sunday School together. My girls are so thrilled when Tori and Sarah stop by their class to give them a hug and/or help out. Tori and Sarah are like rock stars to Macy and I'm so glad that she has teenage role-models to look up to.

It's no secret that our home group in Arlington was an important part of our church experience at Pantego. Biblical community was just as important there as it is at Experience Life. Except at ELife, it is called Life Houses. Jill and Todd lead the Life House we (and Wendi) are apart of and our Life House will now be meeting at our house every week. I'm so looking forward to expanding on Chris's sermons each week and draw from past experiences and daily life to contribute. Between Gregg and I, we have a few things to bring to the table...

This past weekend was the one year anniversary of the church. Experience Life started with zero people and one service to last Sunday 1,500+ and 3 services! And by the way, ELife rents it's space at a skating rink. But when you are there, you don't think of the snack bar to the right or the concrete floor underneath the chairs. Because, God, he is there amongst us.

Saturday night was the launch of the 5:00 service (which we'll now be attending) and as part of the celebration, there were Cardboard Testimonies. And husband, he participated.

Alcoholic Alone Searching for Answers

Recovering Beautiful Family Seeking God's Will


Tell me the tears weren't coming...

We were there for all three services this weekend. On Saturday night, I just watched the testimonies so I could clap, cheer and cry. 1st service on Sunday, I videoed it with my camera (which looks all distorted on the You Tube video below but watch anyways just to hear Brandon sing ~then watch it again to try to read the words). 2nd service, I took pictures of the card boards. I was all front row Joe and felt like a total ELife groupie...

So, Saturday night after the service, we stayed for a concert where the worship team recorded a live CD.

Clearly Macy and Kendra were into it.

Kendra was having a moment before she started her air guitar.

This weekend was such an spiritual high that was so needed in the midst of the spiritual warfare that has been coming our way the past few weeks.

God is working in this city through Experience Life and we are so grateful to be apart of it.

...I'd love for you to check out the video clip of the past year (Paigey is in it when it shows the Toddler class ~ she's getting out of a chair at the table). I've watched it about 476 times.
...And check out the clever marketing campaign and billboards that Chris created. It's how he rolls.

Let me introduce you to the family...

Back in Arlington, all I talked about was Nicole, Lisa, Ana, and our home group because that is what our life there revolved around. Our friends were our friends, as well as our family.

Here in Lubbock, there are a new cast of characters. We are so blessed to be around our family and that is who we hang with, our kids play with, go to church with etc. So, let's get everyone acquainted...

These are pics from Christmastime that I had already posted but they only way I could get everyone within a few pics. Gotta love that multiple cameras were flashing so everyone is looking at their own camera to get their own good pic. At least that is how I roll.
the girls
from l to r:
~Meme (Gregg's grandma, his mom's mom)
~Jennifer (wife to Brandon, mom to Ayden and Taylor)
~Tori (Jill and Todd's oldest daughter)
~me and Paige
~Wendi (Beth & Steve's daughter, wife to Gregg, mom to Sarah, Landon, and Kendra)
~Sarah (Wendi and Gregg's oldest daughter)
~Jill (Beth & Steve's daughter, wife to Todd, mom to Tori, Jaxon and Kendyl)
~Beth (Gregg's aunt, his mom's sister, wife to Steve, mom to Wendi, Jill and Brandon)
~Lindsey (my SIL, Gregg's youngest sister, engaged to Derek)
the guys
from top to bottom:
~Todd (Jill's husband)
~my Gregg
~the other Gregg (Wendi's husband)
~Derek (my future BIL, engaged to Lindsey)
~Landon (Gregg & Wendi's son)
~Steve (Beth's husband)
~Brandon (Jennifer's husband, Beth & Steve's son)
~Darrell (Gregg's uncle, his mom's brother, married to Linda - not pictured)
~Jaxon (Jill and Todd's son)
~Jimmie (aka "Granddaddy", Meme's husband)
the kids
from l to r:
~Landon (Wendi & Gregg's son)
~Ayden (Brandon & Jennifer's son)
~ Tori (Jill & Todd's oldest daughter)
~Taylor (Brandon & Jennifer's daughter)
~Paige
~Macy
~Jaxon (Jill & Todd's son)
~Kendyl (Jill & Todd's youngest daughter)
~Sarah (Wendi & Gregg's oldest daughter)

Now meet Kendra...

the newest cousin!

Gregg & Wendi are in the process of adopting Kendra! Kendra was attending kindergarten at the school Wendi taught and living in a children's home in that town. She had been in and out of foster homes since she was a toddler. Wendi and her family quickly fell in love with Kendra and knew that they wanted to adopt her into their family. At the beginning of August, Kendra moved in with them full-time while they now wait for the adoption to be official.

We met Kendra for the 1st time the weekend we were in town for the funeral. She and Macy became fast friends and we all got a kick out of her spunk.

Beth, Kendra and Wendi

Get this...my hand was literally getting this picture off of my printer when I answered the phone call from Gregg saying he was asked to go to Lubbock.

It's a God thing for sure.

Family Tree

hospital pictures
Top: Gregg and me
Bottom: Macy and Paige

the baby ate every three hours and so did we

Oh my gosh, we all took a break from eating to sleep at night! Melinda and McKenzy stayed the week with us last week and I made it a mission to cook and bake. Really I just wanted to bake because I hadn't had much of a chance to bake all summer! Here is a list of the some of the food we consumed last week. I don't even want to think of all of the bread, eggs, cheese and butter I ate...

~ pizza (twice)
~ hamburger quiche
~ poppy seed chicken
~ lasagna
~ spinach artichoke dip
~ mini pigs-n-a-blanket
~ cinnamon rolls
~ breakfast casserole
~ banana bread
~ apple pie
~ chocolate sheet cake
~ chocolate chip cookies

Yum...

Melinda got a bit of a break with feeding the baby. Macy made it her mission to give McKenzy every bottle that she could.
there is a baby under all of that help

I don't know what was going on here but this picture cracks me up.

The girls loved helping Melinda clean bottles and giving the baby a bath.

And playing with baby cousin...

McKenzy was sitting like a big girl, Paige was sitting like a baby, and Bo was sitting like a statue.

Paige got into McKenzy's pack-n-play several times and pretended to be the baby. One time McKenzy was asleep in it when Paigey climbed in!

The girls loved all of the time they got to spend with their Aunt Melinda.

(Paigey was pretending to be asleep)

Gregg and I were glad to have a baby in the house again (but more glad to be the aunt and uncle than the baby's mommy and daddy ~ babies are alot of work!)

And of course there was countless hours of Olympics watching.
it even made Bo tired

One of my favorite moments of the week was when Macy asked Melinda, "Why her feet so swollen? Why her cheeks so puffy?"
My child is nothing if articulate.

And another of my favorite moments was when I got to go to Amarillo with my two dear SIL's and niece to go wedding/bridesmaids dress shopping. Without my own children! On a two hour road trip!

I don't envy Melinda for traveling alone with a small child across the country. But Christmas is around the corner and they'll be back with my favorite BIL in tow!

For I know the plans I have for you...

our hands ~ courtesy of Charles

We left Lubbock on Father's Day to drive back home to Arlington. Gregg and I have been known to have some of our best talks while on road trips. We hashed how that weekend was bittersweet being in town for a funeral but also enjoying our family's company. Gregg's cousins have children our girls age, so we loved that our girls got to play with their cousins. While at Meme's, she had a broken faucet in her guest bathroom. Gregg mentioned how he wished he lived closer so he could pick up the part for her and just fix it for her.


Every time we're in town, the family jokes how we should just move to Lubbock so Gregg could run that store there.


On that following Thursday, four days later, Gregg's boss called him and asked him if he would be interested in going to the store in Lubbock. The store manager there had quit and Gregg was being asked to apply.


Seriously.

So long story short, we are moving to Lubbock! But there was over a week where Gregg was asked to apply and told to get his house ready to sell but hadn't had the official interview for the position. We just kept praying for God's path but I admit it was stressful.


One morning in the middle of this, Gregg called me from work to tell me he had found a pen.


"Blessed is the man who follows the Lord"


This pen was on the ground by the Customer Service desk and Gregg happened to pick it up.


Ok, God! We're listening!

In all honesty, when Gregg 1st got the call, it was like we were handed a huge gift from God. I would love to say it was an answer to prayer because that is not true. Maybe an answer to a prayer that we didn't even pray. God knew our hearts, our desires that we didn't even pray to him to "fix". I went and took a shower and cried tears of relief and happiness.


When we told people, they are like "Lubbock, now is that a good thing?"


First of all, in retail, it is good to be "asked" to go somewhere and on the same token, good to say "yes" when asked. Also, since Gregg wants to continue to work his way up through the company past store manager level, it is good to move and have different store experiences.

Lowe's make moving very easy. We are assigned a relocation consultant most importantly, they move us. Like pack us, move us, everything.

And, I'm used to moving. I don't mind moving. I like living different places, meeting new people and having new experiences. Temple was Gregg's first store and we lived there three years, then he was asked to go to South Dallas two years ago and now asked to go to Lubbock. So, this will be our third move in 5 years.

Let's move while the kids are little and then settle down when they're older. But really, I want this for Gregg.

Gregg has been in a very difficult store in South Dallas for the past two years. He has been beat down with all of the crime, drama, and lack of quality employees. In Lubbock, Gregg would be able to thrive and achieve personal and financial success that his peers have been receiving.


And as cheesy as it sounds, I feel like God has a plan....let me count the ways.

~Gregg went to high school in Sundown, outside of Levelland, which is outside of Lubbock. He left for college and a year later, his mom died. He says he feels like he's "coming home" after all of these years.

~Gregg's grandma, Meme, lives in Levelland and is the one we vacation to Padre with.

~Gregg's aunt and uncle, Beth and Steve, and her three children and their families(who have children my girl's age) live in Lubbock

~Gregg's uncle and aunt, Darrell and Linda, live in Levelland. Darrell is in AA, a sponsor, and drives to Lubbock for his meetings. At the funeral, they kept talking how they need to go to a meeting together the next time we were in town..

~Gregg's sister, Lindsey, goes to Tech will be graduating next spring and getting married (in Lubbock) next July

~Gregg's cousin leads worship at this awesome new church that we visited at Christmastime. The whole family (except Meme) goes there and we will too. What a relief to not have to search for a church!

~All of these family members will be able to assist me in finding drs, hairdressers, etc etc.

~We stayed at Meme's when were in town for the funeral. It was weird to see them again so soon after seeing them in Padre the week before. When we were leaving to go home, Meme told me, "I could get used to seeing you every weekend!"

~ Beth and Steve are realtors

~ Our home group friend's daughter will be starting Tech and we hope to be able to be available to her.


Gregg starts his new job in Lubbock on the 14th and we'll go out next weekend to look at houses. Then the girls and I will be in Arlington until our house closes in Lubbock.


This move will be totally bittersweet. We love our life in Arlington ~our home, our friends, our church, the whole area. But we are excited about what God has planned for us in Lubbock.

I have lived my life looking for "signs" and one of my favorite quotes is, "life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." With all of the events of the past month, with the marriage conference, the funeral and the uncanny timing of everything, we feel that God is the mastermind of it all.


It is amazing that Gregg and I are completely on the same page spiritually. Never in our lives have we felt so led and to have our hearts so open.


But they are, and we are willing and very able.

living a legacy

Have I mentioned that we got alot out of that marriage conference?? I'm not done yet.

The last session of our marriage conference was titled: Putting A Stake In The Ground: What Kind of Legacy Will You Leave?

Leaving a godly legacy requires developing a godly family.

Whoa. How do we do that??

Gregg and I did not grow up with godly parents that in turn, left us with a legacy to model to our children. (Yes, my dad did turn into a godly man in the end ~ but not completely ~ that is another post for another day).

We were told that what we do today will affect future generations.

Ouch.

So, we left that weekend confirming that we want to strive to be better examples of a followers of Christ, a husband and a wife and parents to our girls, and later true grandparents to our grandchildren.

We got home from our marriage conference Sunday afternoon. My mom and Earnie were sitting on the couch with their arms crossed waiting for us to get home. We weren't home five minutes and they were out the door going back to Georgetown. Clearly, they were interested in our weekend...

Our week started like normal with Gregg going back to work on Monday. The girls were in bed by 8 at night so we made an attempt to get together at 9 (so each of us could have some downtime 1st). We then cracked open our conference manuals, hashed some things we hadn't had a chance to discussed, prayed and just tried to spend some time together.

Then on Thursday at lunchtime, we got the phone call that one of our beloved family members had passed away. It was Howard otherwise known as "Papaw". Howard was Gregg's uncle's dad ~ his cousin's grandfather.

In theory, it sounds like a distant relative (no blood relation) but Gregg had known Howard his entire life. And I had grown to love him as well. Howard was a part of every family function when would visit.
Papaw and Macy
December 2003

Papaw and Paige
February 2007

We immediately knew we would plan to go to Lubbock for the funeral. And Gregg was honored to be a pallbearer.

The service was at the church where he had been a member of for around 40 years! The preacher talked of how Howard and his late wife, Oleta, had been faithful examples of followers of Christ, a godly couple, godly parents, godly grandparents and godly great-grandparents.

The preacher said how we were all part of Howard's leg-a-cy! (ding dong moment - yes sir God, I'm paying attention here!) Howard's children and grandchildren are all servants of the Lord ~ serving God with their talents, their time and their hearts.

Papaw had been to church the night he had passed away. At 78 years old, how awesome is that? Go to a Wednesday night service, then go home to be with the Lord and reunited with his wife!

What a blessed entrance he must have had.

Papaw Howard's death clearly was the culmination of our marriage conference. This revelation was one of the things Gregg and I hashed on the drive back to Arlington.

to be continued...

my joy is complete

Our pastor described motherhood today as a "complicated joy".



As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:9-11

Mother's Day 2008