A Big Sigh of Relief!

So far, the month of September has been one long sigh of relief. Looking ahead to this month brought on many questions and with that, some stress and anxiety. Will Dan pass all of his ordination exams? Can we afford another ultrasound to see if my placenta has moved? Will we see that it has moved, eliminating the need for a scheduled c-section? Slowly but surely, each week has brought clarity, answers to prayer and hope.

Baby is doing well and we are looking forward to a low-risk and healthy homebirth next month. Dan successfully passed all of his written and oral exams and will officially be an ordained Presbyterian minister next week.

(his oral exams were hard, but he did great!)

We enjoyed 3 nights in Seattle, exploring our old stomping grounds with the kids, dinner with friends and family and finally wrapping up our seminary stage of life for good.

(the boys outside our favorite Thai restaurant)

Dan's mom had the boys for Thursday night and all day Friday. After a great morning at Presbytery, Dan and I walked around Ballard, enjoyed warm drinks and the fall yellow trees of the city. Dan celebrated with oyster happy hour, too!

We kept warm by baking cookies with grammy.

Prayers both big and small have been answered and we're feeling ready for October! I'm hoping next month brings us our little baby girl!!

Visitors for Dan

The weekend was busy with Dan leading a funeral and preaching on Sunday. On top of that, we had his parents and the Riberas come for the day. It was fun hosting people in our house! It's also fun having family and friends so close by.

The Riberas got to stay the night and we explored Bellingham a bit together. We found a park on the beach of Lake Whatcom.

 Bunk bed boys!!

On Monday morning, we walked around downtown and happened upon a delicious bakery/cafe'. We ate lots of food :) The Riberas left after brunch and we headed home for naps. 

That afternoon, we checked out another beach, this time with Pacific ocean water!

Oh Laz....

It was a great day to celebrate daddy. Lots of sand and food and play time!

Happy Birthday Dan!!

I met Dan about 10 years ago. We were both 19 and I had just moved to Seattle. Two major things happened at that point which changed my life forever. Really, I should say these two things SAVED my life! The first is God and joining a church in Seattle and learning to follow Him. The second would be Dan.

In the beginning, Dan was my night in shining armor who quickly fell off his horse and became my enemy (anyone else out there with a rough start in marriage??). But over these years, Dan has become a safe place for me. He's my best friend and my rock. I am so incredibly grateful that he was born, saved by Christ and given to me as a life partner.

Happy GOLDEN Birthday Dan!!! Here's to one more year in your 20's!!!

Happy Father's Day Dan!!

God could not have gifted me with a more loving man to be the father of my children. He's gentle, kind, and giving yet stern. He dotes on these boys and gives them his all. Even more, he gives them grace and teaches them everyday about the love of our heavenly father.

But what makes Dan such a great father is his heart toward the fatherless. He knows that his fathering abilities lie in the promises of God, not in his own strength. That enables him follow the command to care for the helpless, the orphaned and the fatherless. 

In the last year, I've watched as he cared for children whose father's were unable or uninterested in their own children. He took them in, fed them, read to them, disciplined them and treated them like his own. He found joy in four little lives which were dropped in his lap through fostering. He was a loving example to them, a picture of hope.

I'm so thankful for Dan. Thankful I have the privilege of parenting with him and thankful I've been able to watch him grow as a father. Can't wait for another year as we welcome our daughter to the family!!

Top 10 - Why I'm Proud

There are so many reasons why I am absolutely proud of my husband, Dan. I know you'd like to read about alllllll 1,968 of them (yawn), but I'm going to narrow it down to just 10.

10. He was supportive. When I started two businesses in the middle of his seminary career, he was not only on board, he was excited for me!

9. HOW he supported me: helped me with my Etsy shop markets and skipped classes and work to watch the kids while I was attending births. At one point, he even spent 2 days with our new foster girls all by himself-an intense job I can assure you!

8. Worked many difficult jobs to support our family.  By the end of our first year in seminary, he had worked 3 jobs! He's tutored, washed windows, and waited tables at various restaurants. Although it's been hard, he's never complained, but often praised God for providing work and income for our family.

7. He kicked BUTT in all his classes! This man will not brag, but I'll do that for him. Dan is an excellent student, often at the top of his class and graduated magna cum laude.

6. He got a free ride! Due to his excellent grades and hard work, Dan was nominated and chosen for a full scholarship given to students in their last year. He was 1 of 12 students to receive this gift.

6. He has grown as a father. We showed up to seminary with a 15 month old Elijah. Lazarus was born during a 4 day break between a summer Hebrew exam and the first day of his second semester. In our last year, he fathered a total of 4 children who were not his own, as well as his bio sons. Talk about practicing what you preach!!

 

which brings me to number.....

5. He was selfless. Sure, Dan's not perfect and we're all truly selfish at the core, but this man put others first in more ways than one. He often helped his fellow students, tutoring them in difficult subjects. He helped people move on his day off. He began preaching at the senior living center in our neighborhood and taught the youth at our church. He invested in difficult relationships when it would have been easier to play the school card and check out.

4. He involved us. When Dan considered going to Zimbabwe for his internship, going alone was not an option. Even though 3 other guys worked the 6 weeks without their families, Dan made it a priority for all of us to go and serve together. Not only did this offer the boys and I a much needed vacation from America, but it kept our family going. We NEEDED that time together to refresh us for our last two years of seminary!

3. He was faithful. If school got tough, he stayed up late and finished his work while saving precious daylight hours for his family. He didn't hesitate to ask us for help or extra space and time, but he also didn't hesitate to drop his books and focus on the people in front of him. It was quite the balancing act, and he did it well.

2. He worked hard on our marriage! 4 years of seminary could have easily made him into a prideful man, one who believes he's arrived and learned it all. Thankfully, Covenant Seminary does an amazing job at humbling you while encouraging you towards Christ. At a time when he could have been tempted to focus on himself, Dan grew as a husband.

1. He answered God's call on his life. He could have run away. He could have given up when we were broke and the dream of opening a taco truck were just at his finger tips (true story). But he didn't. He trusted that God was calling him into a life of ministry, and he followed.


This weekend has been so busy with family in town, late night ceremonies and services and graduation parties. This week, I look forward to enjoying the new normal as Dan no longer rushes off to class or stays up until 2am writing a paper. I am so so so proud of this man and I am so so so thankful it's over!!

PROUD!

8 Semesters. 1 international internship. Countless late nights, exams and papers.

2 proud children.

1 proud wife.
1 seminary graduate.

It was a long four years, but our Lord carried us through. It is because of Him that we moved to St. Louis. It is because of Him that we had food to eat and the power to continue through really hard times. Our God is so great!!!

The End of a Chapter

When we moved to St. Louis four years ago, we had one of these:

Since then, we've welcomed another, cared for many and now anticipate the arrival of another!

I remember when we bought Dan's desk and got him all set up for his first semester of class. I had NO idea what the next four years would hold!

I also had no idea that we'd get rid of Dan's office in our fourth year to make space for a playroom of all things!

The last four years have been nothing short of challenging, but we've come away with a deeper marriage and a better understanding of who we are in light of God. We are so blessed!

I am so excited to spend this week celebrating Dan's graduation with his family in town. We've got lots of busy nights ahead of us, but hopefully we'll get to squeeze in a date night?

Faithfulness Friday

The end of every month will be dedicated to listing the many ways God has been faithful to me throughout the month. I've kept a faithfulness journal throughout different points in my life but I want to be more diligent about it. I feel as though I can walk through any challenge as long as I remember where the Lord has led me in the past. It's February 1st and I'm thankful to now be looking back on January.

JANUARY

Coming home from Christmas vacation is hard in general. So many happy moments come to a screaming halt the second you unpack the suitcase. This year, the boys and I were coming home to a very busy Dan, working 4 nights a week at the restaurant while organizing and participating in a conference at school during the day. I felt overwhelmed by a long month of loneliness ahead of me. But God is good. He provided community and rest for the month of January.

- Right off the bat, I got a cold. Dan was practically gone 3 days in a row, but a friend offered to take the boys for an afternoon and I rested and got better.

- Friends at church offered their time-share condo for Dan and I to get away for a night. We enjoyed some peace and quiet and FOUR entire meals without interruptions. It was a wonderful time for us to reflect on the past year and to pray for the one ahead.

-Lazzy caught what I had earlier in the month and suddenly, I dropped everything to be his nurse for 10 days. It was pretty severe! Thankfully, another dear friend stepped in to help out and took Eli out for a date.

- I had an amazing time supporting a new doula client who hired me at 38 weeks. She had a slight desire to go natural after two heavily medicated births, and I'm so thankful she did!

-More than once, God provided financially for our needs in ways which were surprising. I'm always amazed at how creative God can be!!

January was a tough month, but we got through it. Dan worked two jobs while putting on a conference at school. There was a lot of illness. But my community is amazing and friends helped to keep loneliness to a minimum. I'm so thankful for my life!

I'm taking 3 days off from the internet. Seriously, I'm unplugging for real. I've got big plans for the weekend that don't involve my phone or computer. Yay! See you next week!

Friday Featured Etsy Shop - Gifts for HIM

I've already done my Christmas shopping for Dan (I'm a planner, remember?) BUT I still like browsing the "Gifts for Him" section on Etsy. So. Much. LEATHER! I love it!

Really though, here are some of my favorite picks for HIM this year:

{Hand Stitched Leather bag}

{Old Fashioned Shave kit}

{Mid Century Whiskey Glassware}

{Vintage Leather Whiskey Flask}

Heck, here's an entire bar in a bag!

I just love this pottery shop, Twisted River Clayworks. There are so many masculine choices when it comes to mugs and beer steins.

{Beer Stein}

{Mug}

Chicago Anniversary

Earlier this week, Dan and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary early in Chicago. There is so much I could say about how much we've both grown and changed, but that would make you cry. Instead, I'll share my pictures so you can be happy for us that we did something fun. Without KIDS!!!

Everyone kept asking about our plans. Honestly, our plans were to relax and have fun together. We simply needed space. Space to eat an entire meal, to sleep, shower and maybe finish a conversation without interruptions. It was glorious.

The only planned event was visiting the Art Institute of Chicago. What a beautiful beautiful sight!

On our way to the museum, we saw the Bean.

We walked and walked and walked. We shopped in dozens of vintage and used clothing stores (don't worry, you'll see it all in upcoming WIWW posts) and Dan even browsed through some books (that's how you know I love him). The food. Oh, the food. I never used to want to spend money on food. I felt it was so frivolous  such a fleeting thing to "invest" in. Now, I'm a changed woman. Eating good food is all about the experience and conversation surrounding it. Good food is a very important part of vacation.

Today is our official anniversary. Seven years ago, I could not have imagined I would be here, right now with a husband who loves God and two amazing little boys I am privileged to call sons. My life is full and I am thankful.