The Nuanes Style

2010-07-24T13:04:00.001-06:00

Entertainment outside starbucks pikes place. First starbucks ever. Gotta love pikes place!

2010-07-23T21:20:00.001-06:00

Go red sox!

2010-07-23T18:45:00.001-06:00

Happy 2nd birthday Ella!

2010-07-23T15:20:00.001-06:00

2010-07-23T01:52:00.001-06:00

Hello seattle!

2010-07-22T17:44:00.001-06:00

Hello seattle!

2010-07-16T19:21:00.001-06:00

The boy likes his beans! What a perfect finger food.

2010-07-16T14:11:00.001-06:00

Swimming! Kinda

2010-07-15T12:05:00.001-06:00

Love him!

2010-07-13T19:39:00.000-06:00

Finger foods!

2010-07-10T18:58:00.001-06:00

Up on everything

2010-07-10T18:24:00.001-06:00

Chillin like a villian while mommy shops for dad's liquid diet. Saying Adios wisdom teeth on monday.

2010-07-03T08:06:00.001-06:00

Good morning!

2010-06-29T22:59:00.001-06:00

The line inside for eclipse. The outside is just as bad!

2010-06-28T22:38:00.001-06:00

Using his cup to teethe on

2010-06-28T22:35:00.001-06:00

Day at the beach with the scott's and hogan's

2010-06-28T22:18:00.001-06:00

New sunglasses

2010-06-28T22:09:00.001-06:00

This gave me visions of what i might have to deal with in 14 years.

2010-06-23T14:46:00.001-06:00

Still loves bathtime.

2010-06-22T10:59:00.000-06:00

Climbed on top of the box.

2010-06-21T13:27:00.001-06:00

We love mondays with dad

2010-06-21T13:14:00.001-06:00

We love mondays with dad

2010-06-21T11:54:00.000-06:00

2010-06-21T11:36:00.001-06:00

Daddy says "come on son, lets ride!"

2010-06-20T18:43:00.001-06:00

Bbqin' on fathers day

2010-06-20T11:48:00.001-06:00

active's first service in the lab! 21 student!

2010-06-18T15:16:00.001-06:00

Daddy says "come on son, lets ride!"

2010-06-17T20:24:00.001-06:00

Wants to pull himself up on everything, some things aren't as easy

2010-06-16T10:16:00.001-06:00

Not a incredibly interesting video but he started on his blanket and this is how i found him

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2010-06-11T10:19:00.001-06:00

How i found my son this morning

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2010-06-09T21:55:00.000-06:00

Don't tell dad! ;-) he's watching veggie tales for the first time while mom eats dinner. We don't really let him watch tv

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2010-06-06T20:35:00.001-06:00

Well at least he's moving forward not back

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2010-06-05T17:28:00.001-06:00

Standing. He just loves it

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2010-06-02T05:11:00.001-06:00

Its almost like he'd just rather stand

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2010-06-02T04:50:00.001-06:00

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2010-06-01T08:54:00.001-06:00

Lowered the crib down one level for my curious little boy

2010-05-31T13:19:00.001-06:00

First time eating at a restaurant like a big boy. Eating a bread cube.

2010-05-31T13:09:00.001-06:00

Beckett is loving all the fun stuff to look at

2010-05-31T13:08:00.001-06:00

Spending the day in missoula. We ran into the blakes on the way into red robin. Now We're just waiting for the Wise's.

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2010-05-29T19:22:00.001-06:00

Almost there!

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2010-05-26T12:24:00.001-06:00

My sweet sleepy boy. Oh how i love him

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2010-05-22T20:11:00.001-06:00

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2010-05-22T18:55:00.001-06:00

Bath time.

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2010-05-20T12:06:00.001-06:00

Very determined to eat his cherrios. He's starting to "pinch" them

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2010-05-20T11:45:00.001-06:00

Just singing.

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2010-05-20T11:22:00.001-06:00

Sing a long

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2010-05-19T21:47:00.001-06:00

To be fair, this is his face when he likes his food. Oats and brussel sprouts

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2010-05-19T21:00:00.001-06:00

Exersaucer time! He loves it and snacks on cherrios. He's starting to yell a little too

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2010-05-19T10:26:00.001-06:00

So this is what the little guy looks like when he's NOT digging what i'm feeding him. This instance the main course was prunes to counteract what the rice cereal does to him.

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2010-05-13T12:15:00.001-06:00

Johnny jumpup!

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2010-05-01T15:02:00.001-06:00

So i finally made a pie. This one is cherry. But i cheated and bought the frozen pie crusts. Still delicious!

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2010-04-20T13:51:00.000-06:00

Time for a walk

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2010-04-19T10:18:00.001-06:00

Hanging at the buck's while daddy is in a meeting

Thought 2 - Titus 1:5-9

2010-03-12T10:41:00.002-07:00

"An Elder must life a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don't have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. For an elder must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose where they are wrong."

So Paul actually writes this in several of his letters to different cities to encourage the leaders there in how they should act- so if he says it multiple time, it's obviously important!

Now I have read this multiple times and I have actually shrugged it off. I would read it, and probably with pride, thought that 1. I am not an elder so it doesn't apply and 2. that I don't really struggle with those things anyway. Sometimes I can be foolish, I will admit that now!

Well I was reading this a couple days ago and God really spoke to my heart. Not only should I be striving for these things as someone who helps lead in the church but I also, if not more importantly, as a pastors wife, should be helping my husband to be this way. He is the one in a pastoring position and, as his wife, it is my job to help him in any way that I can. To help him to be blameless, to encourage but not foster Pride or arrogance, to not be so needy that I keep him from his studies or his time with God, and, you may think this is funny, but the part that REALLY hit me was "he must enjoy having guests in his home".
I have always said "oh, well I don't have the gift of hospitality" as my excuse. I'm a homebody and I do really well with small groups and honestly, half of the time, I just don't even think about inviting people over. It's not that I don't enjoy it when it's all said and done, I just often forget about it and then don't feel like cleaning the house to my standards (the standards instilled by my mother- thanks mom!). I see now though, it's not a choice. God calls pastors to bring people into their home to fellowship and encourage them, my job as Johnny's wife is to help facilitate that. Just because I've never thought that I had that gift doesn't mean that God can't help me through it and give it to me now, to change my heart and help me through it. So that's what I'm doing. It may seem silly or like such an insignificant part of the verse but I felt really convicted! So maybe you'll be getting a dinner invitation or something like that as soon as Beckett gets better! I'll be seeing you!

Thought 1 - 1 Timothy 5:1

2010-03-12T10:03:00.003-07:00

" Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would your own brothers. Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sister."

This verse precedes Paul's discussion to Timothy on how we, as Christians, should take care of Widows, elders, and slaves. This whole section was pretty convicting to me. I have heard many complain about how the church isn't taking care of the widows or the orphans anymore. Firstly, the "church" is not the building or the pastors- it's Christ's followers. So if you, in the church, are complaining about how the "church" isn't doing it's job- well sadly, you are really saying that you are not doing your job. I think people put a lot of pressure on the Pastors to do everything that God is actually calling every believer to do and justify it by saying "well that's what we tithe for"- the tithe is giving back to God, not a way to pay your way out of what God calls us to. Mostly, I just want to encourage the "church" to continue to step up and love others and stop waiting for someone else to do it. But I do also want to note, BEFORE God calls the church to take care of widow- he tells the families to do it and THEN if the widow has no family and devotes her life to God- then the church steps in to help. It's funny to me that Paul has to write this - I guess people were trying to get out of it then just as much as they try to get out of it now!
Now, to address the verse at the top, I began thinking... Does that really apply to today? Of course it does! The problem lies not in the verse but in how our society has changed (or maybe not even changed but of how God expects us to treat our families). When you consider the family structure of the day when Paul is writing, they showed more respect and love for one another. The family was one of the MOST important social structures (if only it were today!) which is why it's actually a pretty big deal when Christ calls us to Love HIM more than our father and mother. Today, our families have become something very different. I Love my family! I remember growing up we would always have dinner seated together- no phone calls at the table!- we'd sit and watch movies or play games. I LOVE THEM! And yet, we didn't always treat each other very well.
Why is it that we have made it easier to treat those that love us the most horribly and treat those outside of our families, those we barely know, like saints? Is it because we know that no matter how poorly we treat our families, the will always love us? Or that they know the Real us and so we don't have to put on a show for them. My question is, however, shouldn't the real us be the same where ever we are? If we work so hard to make others believe we are kind and compassionate- don't we want that to be who we REALLY are and thus we should treat our families the same? I know in my family I have witnessed many times, by myself included, where we are less forgiving of their faults, flaws, or sins than we would be of a complete stranger. We become harsher with them than anyone else. Is this because we have higher expectations of them? Probably. But it only builds strife in the relationships when you are willing to condemn your family member instead of love and help them through the rough situations. Not so that YOUR perfect little family looks good again, but out of love for your sibling, your mother, your father wanting them to know God better and have a better life.(On a side not, ignoring what they do and letting them do whatever harmful thing they want is also NOT loving- I know, the middle ground is a hard place to find) I know I have had to evaluate how I treat those in my family, I ask you to as well? Don't judge your character, who you are and what you do, by how well you treat the homeless man on the street (though it is important to have mercy and compassion on the needy and that should not go undone but it is also another topic altogether!) but ascertain your character by how you treat those that know you best, your family, as well. Maybe this is exactly the opposite for you... maybe you have an awesome relationship with your family but are rude the the stranger on the street- I guess my desire is that we would be that SAME person in all aspects of our life instead of putting on different masks. I pray that Christ would help me, and you, to love to the fullest in all aspects of our lives!

Skull Church 90 Day NT challenge

2010-03-12T09:50:00.002-07:00

I've never read through the whole bible, never done a bible in a year deal, or anything like that. I always want to- I start in Genesis and read a chapter a day and it's great but about the time I hit Deuteronomy, I'm ready for a change and jump back into the Psalms or Proverbs and then read a couple books of the New Testament. I think I've read every book of the NT however, but never in order or even quickly. It's always been a chapter or less a day- breaking down the passages and looking for application through a single verse or thought. That's good, I know - but there is definitely something to be said to reading the Bible just to read it. 3 chapters or more a day and finishing off each book in a couple days helps you to get the overall theme of the book and can have just as much application as trying to dissect individual verses. I actually think, as difficult as it can sometimes be, reading the bible cover to cover can offer a lot more than jumping around from book to book in the bible in a year program. Or if not offer more, at least offer something valuable and different. We are now in Hebrews. What I'd like to do, is possibly share some of the thoughts or things that I've been learning through this. I wish I would have started this sooner really. Not only to share with you, but also for me. I'm not always good writing in a journal or if I do, it gets set aside and never looked at again, yet I often go back on my blog to look at old pics or read old posts. This can serve to remind me when these lessons begin to fade from my mind of what God showed me. I encourage you too to try this challenge- it's about 3 chapters a day starting in Matthew and working your way straight through to Revelation. Let me know how it works out for you!

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!

2010-03-12T09:34:00.003-07:00

So I haven't written a blog in a really long time. There are many reasons for this... 1- I don't have all the much time on my hands (being a mom now and not having access to the computer all the time), 2- it has been said by some that I know that blogging is not "in" anymore because of Twitter and FB and no one reads them, and 3- I'd love to be a GOOD blogger like Pioneer woman or even my Aunt Martha. They somehow are able to write interesting blogs at least once a day if not more! I never feel like I really have anything interesting to write about or the things that I do want to talk about (thoughts and feelings and the like) are frankly sometimes TOO personal for the whole world to have access to or things that probably shouldn't be said because they'll come back to bite me in the butt and I'll regret them a week later.
I've been trying to be better about what come out of my mouth (or is written by my fingertips) because I just don't want to be that person that is hurtful, spiteful, or considered rude. I'm not always good at it, sometimes my tongue likes to run off and spout things it shouldn't. But I feel God has been helping me and teaching me that that is not what He desires of me. Well honestly, He's been trying to teach it to me for about 14 years! I'm just now trying to REALLY watch everything instead of just watering down what I want to say. But more than that, more than me just watching what comes out of my mouth but still thinking it, God is actually changing my heart and my mind. I'm trying to keep the filth out of my heart- to be more forgiving, to be more loving, to be more kind, and to kill any bitterness before it takes root. It's definitely not always easy- it's much easier to get mad, be hurt, etc but I've found living the way God desires of me, with forgiveness and kindness, makes me much happier than being narcissistic. Well, there's one blog for you! If I start speaking badly about people or you can sense I'm angry, you can let me know to help keep me accountable. Have a beautiful day friends!

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2010-03-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

Everybody loves Beckett!

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2010-03-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

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2010-02-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

Out to throw the garbage and get some sun

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2010-01-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

Look at those pudgy baby cheeks. 11Lbs 4oz At his dr appt on monday. He also got his shots, which made for a rough last couple days

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2009-12-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

A gift from crystal. So cute!

A series of Firsts

2009-12-11T15:11:00.003-07:00

This last week has been kinda fun for me. He keeps getting bigger, which will always be bittersweet. I was looking at a picture this morning from the first few days home and he's so incredibly tiny and skinny, now he's got cute little pudgy cheeks! As he gets bigger, we get to try new things. I got to give him a bath in his cute little whale tub! He seems to love bath time as long as I make sure he stays warm. He's making some funny faces in these pictures but that's actually pretty typical. He just hangs out in the tub while I wash his body and pour the warm water on him. I use the washcloth to keep him warm. He's such a sweetie and such a good boy for mommy.

He likes his swing too. It gives him a good view of what's going on and he'll just stare at things as it rocks back and forth. He actually was able to track the cute little bugs that rotate on the mobile above him the other day. It's so fun to watch him develop and notice new things!

The last "new" thing that we got to experience this week was sleeping in his big crib! He's been sleeping in the bassinet in our room or our bed and I decided I didn't want him to be scared of his room or crib once we were ready to fully transition him into his room. So during naps during the day I started putting him into his crib. He went down pretty seamlessly at first- a couple whines or 5-10 min of crying and then he's out for an hour or so. Once he wakes up, he doesn't like to go back down to sleep so I have to figure out the right proportion of wake time and sleep time so he doesn't wake up too early to eat. But it's been fun to try new things with him and see how he responds. He's so cute in his big crib! This is a horrible picture because I snuck in when he was already asleep and it was kinda dark in there and I didn't want to use the flash.

First Month- Beckett

2009-12-09T22:40:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it's already been 5 weeks! So Crazy!

I've found the difficult part for me, as the mother, is to see the changes that are occurring everyday. Johnny is always telling everyone about how much Beckett has changed since he was born. I have to consciously pay attention and look for those changes since I'm with him everyday and the changes are still gradual or something that I experience all the time. Johnny even used it as an illustration in his teaching on Sunday and talked about how Beckett liked being swaddled at first and now is all sprawled out when he sleeps. I know that's true, but it's not something I actually consciously recognized as a "change". Even in the last 2 weeks he moved from sleeping on his side with his hands by his face to laying on his back with his arms spread straight out to the sides.

So lets talk about some changes. He has eyebrows now! He was born with a full head of hair and absolutely no eyelashes or eyebrows. Everyday the eyebrows get darker and more defined and the eyelashes get longer- so cute! He's a pretty mellow guy but he is starting to be more and more inquisitive. He's a thinker I've decided (I actually have no idea what's going on in there) but he will just look around the room and stare at stuff and take it in. He follows things around with his eyes and loves tummy time. He can move his head from side to side to follow our voices around the room. I even noticed today the strength that has developed in his spine and neck when I try to burp him. I used to drape him on my hand sitting on my lap and he would just crumple into a ball and now he actually can support himself across my hand. He slept in his crib during nap today and went down with only 5 min of crying. He's such a good boy. Now I'm the one who needs to be disciplined and make sure I put him back to sleep in his bed after his middle of the night feeding.

I can't believe how fast he's growing and how quickly this is going to go by- I see my friends with their babies that they had in May. It seems like that was only yesterday but it's been 7 months and they are so big! He's going to be so big so soon. I need to appreciate every moment, that's for sure!

The First Month - Time with family

2009-12-09T22:15:00.004-07:00

So I'm pretty disappointed in myself- I always told myself that when I had kids I would blog all the time to keep family updated with all the little intricacies of our life. Turns out (start laughing now) you don't have that much time on your hands when you're a mom. Doesn't help that we only have one computer that Johnny needs to use most of the time and we don't have much in the way of Internet connection.

This month has been so amazing. My mom arrived the same day Beckett was born which was awesome! The timing worked out perfect. Johnny and I got to share the experience just the two of us and my mom was able to see Beckett on the day of his birth. She stayed for about two and a half weeks and was SOOOO much help to me. I didn't have to do anything except learn how to nurse, try to get sleep, and love on my son. My mom did all the cleaning, cooking, or even just serving us the meals that other brought to us! It was so great! She also brought a nice camera and had little photo shoots with Beckett almost every day. We have so many pictures of those first days because of her (we totally were too distracted to take pics ourselves). It was also great to just have time with my mommy where we would just watch chic flicks and lounge in our pj's all day like old times (except this time I was holding a newborn). Having her here really helped boost my own confidence and I took Beckett out on little excursions much earlier than I probably would have were she not there with me. When it was finally time for her to return home, Vicki and I drove her down to Missoula. It was fun having a day in the "big city" (hehe) but I couldn't help but cry when I dropped her off. Love you MOMMY!

We had 2 days of just the 3 of us and then Johnny's family arrived for Thanksgiving week. It was so great to see them! It was Johnny's Parents, sister, and Bro-in-law and they all were so excited! They fell right into the role of Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle so quickly! I put all plans of schedules and whatnot on hold for that week knowing that they needed the ability to just hold my little man all day. They had such a small amount of time with him I wanted them to really be able to spend as much of it as possible seeing him instead of him napping back in the room. We got to show them around town a little and they got to be here at his 3 week checkup and circumcision. Thanksgiving was so nice for us all because we all just stayed in our PJ's all day, the boys went and played football, we even ate in our PJ's, and then we went out and saw a Christmas Carol (which Beckett slept through). It was so relaxed and nice. They only got to stay for about 4 days and we were so sad to see them go so soon.

As of that point, it was just the three of us. And I won't lie- that's when I started to feel intimidated! Having family here for the entire month really took a burden off me to keep up with everything but I find I'm still intimidated of cooking. Oh how I don't want to cook- he gets gas with all the usual foods (broccoli, beans) and those foods are typically a big part of what I cook. Seems all I eat now are grilled cheese, quesadilla's, and spaghetti. I really hope he doesn't get a milk allergy!

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2009-12-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

This will be Beckett's first christmas. Its so fun having the house decorated for our little family. I'm sure next year I'll need to be a lot more careful about how i decorate. Its time for us to really think about which traditions we want to carry on. I love this season!

A new addition

2009-11-29T18:16:00.002-07:00

So this is almost a month late...
On November 3, 2009, we had the joy of introducing our son, Beckett Lewis Nuanes, to the world! He was 6 lbs 14 oz and 20.5 inches long. He had a full head of dark brown/black hair and is beautiful.
The labor took place during the dead of night... we got to the hospital at 1:30 am and I was 4 cm dialated. I labored for 5.5 hrs and pushed for 1 hr and then we got to welcome our son at 9 am. It was the most exhausting thing I have ever done and doing it in the middle of the night and drug free contributed to that I'm sure!
It's amazing how you can love someone you just met so much! Every day seems more beautiful with him in it!

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2009-11-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

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2009-11-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

My mom was here for almost 3 weeks and i wanted it to snow just once for her so she could see our winter wonderland. It never did. She left yesterday and this morning i woke up to this.

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2009-10-09T12:06:00.000-06:00

suprise farewell baby shower on my last day of work

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2009-10-09T07:58:00.000-06:00

So. Very. Wrong. Come on snow, all i asked is that you wait until after the baby. But NOOO

If Jesus Twittered

2009-10-06T12:58:00.003-06:00

Twitter is the fastest growing social-media outlets that is out there. It is quickly drawing in new people everyday. It enables friends and family and even stalkers to stay connected by a person simply answering a simple question, What Are You Doing? And you have to answer it within a 140 character called a tweet.

With the rise of many celebrities getting on board with Twitter, it has enabled them to be able to connect to their fans and followers through the use of quotes, pic's, videos and links, creating a huge platform for them to be able to influence people in a much bigger way. Many of the popular celebrities that currently have the biggest draw of followers include people like Ashton Kutcher, Ellen Degeneres, Oprah, and Barack Obama. Ashton Kutcher currently has over 3 million people that currently follow him.

Now that got me to thinking... If Jesus had access to the technology that we have today, how would He use it and what would He have to say to us?

The sermon on the mount is one of the greatest and longest teachings that Jesus has given to us. He teaches us what the marks of a believer and shows us practical steps in how we are to live our life out for Christ, but He gives it us to take in bite sized tweets so we can apply these principles to our life.

So if Jesus was writing a tweet to you what would He have to say to you?

That's what we are hoping to discover through this series. A real God, with a real message for you.

- Johnny

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2009-09-27T11:59:00.000-06:00

We have near to 30 students in active today!

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2009-08-31T20:24:00.000-06:00

Johnny teaching at veritas on pride.

Camping

2009-08-26T13:59:00.002-06:00

So, we finally did it! We went camping! We have lived here about 14 months or so (basically over a year) and we had yet to ever go. We've been to Glacier National Park several times but never seemed to find the time to spend a night out in the wilderness. I'll be honest, most of me was really intimidated. As much as I love how beautiful this countryside is, the whole idea of making sure all your food is put in your car because it's "bear country" is a little scary to me. This area is exactly what I felt camping should look and be like but every time I thought of all the animals that might like the smell of leftover food, I'd chicken out. We decided it was time though- I just needed to get over it! So we packed up and headed out to Hungry Horse Reservoir after a nice lunch celebrating Jake Bramante's Birthday. We didn't get up to Hungry Horse until about 4:30 or so... which I guess isn't that bad considering we finished up in Kalispell at 3:30. To go camping in NM, you have to drive at least 3 hours to get to a decent place.

After getting a little lost (there are 3 different signs for Lost Johnny Creek and we took the first, which wasn't for a campsite). We finally picked our spot and settled in, got our tent all set up, and explored the camping area. It was beautiful! We had lush forest all around us and the lake about 20 yds from our campsite! And since we went on a Sunday night when most people had left there was tons of leftover firewood! We made hot dogs and pork and beans for dinner- neither of which I should really be eating but hey, we were camping! After that we just sat staring at the fire for hours! A little talking here and there, but mostly just staring at the fire... and it was really nice! We made some smores right before bed- except with chocolate covered graham crackers and mallows instead of the traditional method. And then we stared at the stars for a while and went to sleep.

Sleeping wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- the air mattress was pretty comfortable and the only problem is that I'm so restless at night that Johnny had to deal with me rolling back and forth all night. I did wake up at 2 and just laid there for an hour trying to tell myself that I didn't REALLY need to go the bathroom and that that noise wasn't a bear or other critter outside our tent. I finally had to cave and wake up johnny to walk me out the the bathroom and fell right back asleep after, of course!

The morning was equally as chill- we made eggs, bacon, and hash browns. And then we just sat and stared at the fire some more, did a little family devotional, and read. Nice and relaxed. Before we knew it, it was time to start packing up! We finished off the rest of the hot dogs, packed up, and we were back on the road again. To finish the trip, we grabbed a Huckleberry shake on the way home! It's hard to go through Hungry Horse and not stop for one! All in all a great little get away! We're already trying to figure out when we will go again and how fun it would be to do a leaders retreat out there! Probably will have to wait until next summer though!

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2009-08-10T15:59:00.000-06:00

Yay! Got the crib and bedding delivered today!

Summer of Love

2009-08-07T13:19:00.002-06:00

Relationships... how do we handle them? Is it a mystery? Are we free to treat people however we please? No! God clearly lays out his plan for our relationships in the bible and it's information we all want to know! We've been doing a Series in the middle school group (Active) for the last 4 weeks covering this topic. We covered Relationships we, as believers, have with unbelievers, our relationship with other believers, our relationship with our parents, and finally, our relationships with the opposite sex. Each week we had one of the Fresh Life pastors come and guest speak about a certain topic.

I've been in youth ministry now for about 5 years and it's always really cool for me to hear these kind of messages. Not only as a reminder to me about how we are to love others but also to be there with the students as they learn what God expects and wants of them. God has a very specific plan for how we are supposed to treat unbelievers versus believers (it's not the same across the board), as well as how important it is to show our parents love and honor them- even if it can be difficult. But hey, all relationships are difficult and require us to look beyond ourselves to love the other person!

Last night was our finale: Relationships with the Opposite Sex. Levi was our guest speaker and it was just great hearing him explain what God wants of for His people. It's a topic most people find uncomfortable or the one thing that so many will jump to first as "outdated" in our society. But it's pretty clear that our societies approach to relationships is an utter failure. Levi has such a great way of making the topic relevant and real without sounding like an overbearing, over-protective parent. It's such a passion for him and he makes it very real.

It's a passion for me as well. 5 years ago I began serving in youth ministries under Levi and I also met Johnny. My parents always stressed purity and waiting but like most youth, I thought that the chances of me finding someone else who shared my desire to wait was going to be slim to none. When I met Johnny, he told me almost immediately of his desire to for "Courtship" rather than dating. "Courtship" is dating with the intent of marriage- which includes spending time with the girls family, getting to know her in a group setting, and gradually working toward marriage. This was the first time I'd ever heard of it and, honestly, I loved the idea! As I served under Levi and heard him speak about these things, my passion for my students to be pure just grew. I want nothing more for them than what God wants for them- the one man, one woman relationship forever that avoids the dating frenzy that rips their hearts to shreds! Who wants to hand their heart over to their husband as a bunch of tattered shreds? Sadly, sometimes I just come across as overprotective rather than helping the students to see how important this truly is!

Well last nights message was so good, I just want to share some of the notes I took. Hopefully they are slightly coherent!
Firstly- when it comes to dating- there are no specific bible verses on the topic because at the time it was written, people didn't "date". Dating today is like fast food- it's instant gratification but not really that substantial. By dating, your giving little bits of yourself to the other person that were intended for your marriage. Dating today has become like mini marriages except once the person gets what they want from you they can leave- which explains the high divorce rate. People are trained, through dating, that you leave when YOU aren't getting what YOU want. That's not love, but selfishness.
But there are Principles that we can follow.
Eph 5:3 calls us to have not even a hint of sexual immorality in our lives. To be 100% pure.
This Purity is an Offering to God. We should consider the concept of Courtship.
1- What is our timeline for when to Court?
No need to date until marriage is in the not too distant future. Until then, learn to Validate yourself in Christ rather than in the physical and emotional affection of another. When you date when marriage is far off- you almost guarantee failure in your purity.
2- WHO do you date?
It is important to be equally yoked. Meaning for the believer that this person 1) Puts God first (their real behavior versus them just saying they are a Christian) 2) that you are attracted to them, 3) they Honor your parents, and 4) that they are kind to you. These are all traits that should be in the person you are looking to "court" because they are traits you would want in a spouse.
3- How to date?
It's easy if you've done the first 2 steps right because this person will have the same values as you do and want purity as much as you do!
"My Garden is enclosed, there is a wall around it" - Song of Solomon

So Great!

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2009-07-17T20:06:00.000-06:00

Johnny teaching at serious juju. There is a big skate comp this weekend.

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2009-07-15T19:25:00.000-06:00

Phil wickham for our anniversary

4 Years

2009-07-15T10:04:00.003-06:00

Today we celebrate 4 years of marriage! It's hard to believe that we've been married for 4 years already... it seems like just yesterday we were setting up for the wedding and I was rushing off to my hair appointment. There were so many things to do and, probably for the first time ever, I was not as prepared as I would have wanted. I was very ready to be married, but unlike all the wedding books tell you to have your bags packed ahead of time and yada yada... I waited until the last minute! I showed up late to get my makeup done and was still rushing to finish all the little details as I was told it was time to go! But the second I stepped through the door into the sanctuary, all those little things faded away and I was nothing but smiles as I looked up at my soon to be husband gasping for breath and on the verge of tears. I was so happy and in love! And although it's been said time and time again, I am more in love with him today than I was then! Our joys and struggles have grown us and bonded us together more closely than I could have imagined.

We've gone through several jobs, transitions, ministries, we've moved and left family which has allowed us to live our adventure relying on each other, So many things have changed... And now, today, we have another adventure on our horizon. Parenthood! And after 4 years, I think we're finally ready ;-)

It's funny- the 3 previous anniversaries I stressed for weeks about getting the right gift and what we were going to do and how we were going to celebrate. And for some reason, this year I just haven't. A piece of me feels like this is the last anniversary we will spend together as just a couple and we should do something extravagant, and yet, it just doesn't seem that necessary. We woke up together this morning and our little boy woke up with us to the alarm and we just laid there for 30 minutes snuggling and and both of us feeling him kick. Even if they are hard kicks, I don't mind, I just smile and love to feel him moving. Johnny gets so excited! We made pancakes and eggs and ate breakfast together and then I got ready for work and Johnny got ready to go fishing up in Glacier. And you know what, that's alright with me! I am happy! It was a beautiful morning!

Next year we will have a little boy crawling around, and who knows what the year after that holds, but I'm excited for whatever it brings and many more years with my wonderful Husband!

22 weeks and a little BOY!

2009-07-05T20:46:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I'm already 22 weeks along! It's flying by since we're always so busy. I've enjoyed being pregnant so far. It doesn't always seem real and the second trimester has been much more mellow than the first. Symptoms are few and far between, so on an everyday basis I barely know that I'm pregnant except that I don't fit in my old clothes and I get kicked in the side every so often. I had a brief experience with carpal tunnel for a couple days after drinking WAY too much caffeine over the course of summer camp- water retention + vein constriction from caffeine= sore arms! I've also been on the go a LOT and moving around a lot so my feet are sore in the evening and I feel a bit swollen. We are getting really excited though!

The following 3 pics are from my 21 week ultrasound. Everything is accounted for- they checked for all the limbs and organs. Here are his little feet! One is a straight on view and the other is side angle.

A profile of his face. It looks like he's blowing bubbles! We couldn't get a face shot because he kept covering his face with his hands.

Here's proof he's a boy! no mistaking it, I'm pretty sure they are right and there won't be any surprises.

These pics are from when I got an ultrasound at 18 weeks.

I love that he's sucking his thumb!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T20:45:00.003-06:00

I love the 4th of July! It just reminds me of classic America and I always have a good time. This year was pretty chill. My dad was in town so we went to the Kalispell parade. It was fun! Lots of vintage cars, some vintage aircraft flew over, and mostly it's just the community getting out and representing various organizations or clubs or whatever. Last year Johnny and I saw the American flags lining the street and thought it was so quaint and small townish but we didn't feel like waiting for the parade. I figured since my dad was here, might as well go and see what it was all about! There we're lots of people and "floats" if you want to call them that, no marching bands- dad was disappointed about that- and it was fun to see all the kids getting really excited to get candy and whatnot. Here are some pics I snagged with my phone. Most don't need explanation- if they don't makes sense... trust me, it didn't quite make sense to me either.

After the parade, we went to lunch at 5 guys with Johnny and then went and bought me a couple of maternity pieces. We were both really tired so I came home and dad went back to his hotel and we both took naps. It's nice that we had the time to do that! Afterwards was Tiffany's Birthday Party/ 4Th of July bash! That was so much fun! I love hanging out with friends, especially during the summer! The more the merrier! (I hate for anyone to feel excluded, ever! It's such a horrible feeling that I tend to only have people over if I can invite them all!) And almost everyone was there! We ate some delicious food, I watched as a lot of people played wiffleball, sang happy birthday to Tiffany, and then watched some wonderful fireworks! We all seemed to bring a couple so there was some good variety. Johnny had fun lighting them off but was still careful. My dad LOVED his firecrackers and would light them individually and throw them one by one either on the street or into the storm drain to "amplify the bang". Our friends David and Mylee, they recently moved here from CA, were so excited to have fireworks that they bought enough to keep us all amused, to go to the lake after we all went home and keep lighting them until 2 am, and they're going out again tonight! So fun!

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2009-07-01T13:07:00.000-06:00

I don't know what this is but the sea of yellow sure is pretty

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2009-06-17T19:13:00.000-06:00

Welcome to skull church

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2009-06-05T18:28:00.000-06:00

Burgers and fries at 5 guys. Yummy!

An Early morning excursion.

2009-06-04T20:06:00.002-06:00

Back in the middle of May sometime... I've been really bad at blogging as you can see.... Josh and David asked Johnny to go for a run. I figured, if he's going, I might as well get a walk in and maybe take a couple pictures. We started at the same point but as you can see the boys took off and I wasn't about to start running. Look at Johnny's hair! hehe! it's a good thing I gave him a haircut a couple weeks later.

This is my favorite spot on the walk. Even though it's just a storm drain and a little creek I love the sound of the water flowing.

As you can see, I'm still walking one way when the boys have already decided to head back... of course, running, they got much further than I did walking.

Another reason I love going on a walk on Rails to Trails is all the wildlife you see on the way. I could hear the new little birdies cheeping in this little birdhouse. So sweet!

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2009-05-25T12:08:00.000-06:00

The view on my walk.

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2009-05-23T18:05:00.000-06:00

Dandelions. It's an epidemic.

We found it

2009-05-17T14:19:00.000-06:00

We finally found our first way to access red chili up here. The dumb
part is that if you want it you must become a millionaire before you
can purchase an ounce of chili. Oh well! Thanks mom and dad for the
extra green chili that we have frozen in our fridge!

15 weeks Pregnant

2009-05-15T10:26:00.011-06:00

So I confess, we have not been blogging very regularly lately and yet we have so much to blog about! For those of you that may not know, I am pregnant! I remembered to post on Facebook but I never wrote a blog about it! I think in our efforts to try and at least near the end of the first trimester before we told anyone, I stopped blogging because telling the whole world I was pregnant was the only thing I wanted to do. SO, to not be too overly tempted, I just didn't blog anything. And that horrible trend stuck. I'll try to be better I promise!

The above pictures cover when we first found out at 5 weeks and our appointment at 6 weeks.

Well I am 15 weeks pregnant and we are so incredibly excited! It's been a fun experience so far despite some of the things that have come with it. I have had a "typical" pregnancy so far. Nausea for several months, headaches, round ligament pains, etc. and the symptoms have come and gone at all the "typical" times. 12 weeks hit and miraculously I was only nauseous 2 days a week instead of all of them and now it's gone. Headaches have picked up but our nurse midwife said that they should since I'm now working to create and pump 50% more blood than normal. These one feel like back issues though and oh how I miss Dr. Byrd, my chiropractor in ABQ! My stomach is slowly growing and I have to wear the belly band and use a rubber band on the button the first few days of freshly washed jeans.

The first picture is at 8.5 weeks, the second is at 11 weeks, and the third is at 12 weeks.

It's been really fun though just experiencing this all with Johnny. He has been excited to become a father for about a year now and having your spouse be equally excited about the little human in you is fantastic. We read about the development together and look at baby furniture together. He's always pulling up this baby name application on his phone and looking at different names. He even worked it out so we may be able to get another free ultrasound in the next week or so. This is just another step we've been able to take together and grow in together and I am so thankful that God has given him to me. We have been able to go through school together, changes, different jobs, moving, the loss of one baby, and now the growth of another and God has enriched our lives through all these experiences and shown us how we just need to love Him and each other more. I'm excited to be a parent, with all the trials and joys, and to share that with my love!

Mothers Day

2009-05-15T10:13:00.002-06:00

So I officially got to celebrate my first mothers day this year! It was so new and fun! Everyone wished me Happy Mothers day as their faces held sly little knowing smiles of what is to come. I got two cards in the mail (thanks MIL and Jen!!!) and it was all around a fun day. Johnny pretty much spoiled me and we totally broke any budget we were planning on having for this month but who cares, we had fun doing it! Friday night he brought me home a bouquet of beautiful roses that smelled wonderful! I was already asleep when he got home so I was surprised by them as I woke up the next morning to get ready. Then on Sunday he made me eggs with green chili, onion, tomato, and cheese. After church we went out to lunch just the two of us to Bullmans Pizza and just decided that since the movie theater was across the parking lot and it was perfect timing, we'd go see Star Trek! Which was awesome by the way! Pretty much whatever I said I wanted to do, Johnny said lets go. I even got a craving for a slurpee (I saw some people with them in the movie) and we drove to 4 different gas stations to find me one... he said he had to make the baby and his pregnant wife happy ;-) We couldn't believe that none of the gas stations sold them! It was ridiculous! Johnny also got me a gift card to target so that I can buy prego clothes when the time come and he bought me these shoes I've been wanting for 2 months! After all that, we then got to enjoy dinner with Coy and Sara and just have a really chill evening!

Entrance Fail

2009-05-09T18:58:00.001-06:00

In the spirit of doing some mother's day shopping for my newly mom
wife I was about to walk into the door where I first saw that it told
me to enter and I was about to reach for door handle I read another
sign that said "do not enter". Confused... I tried the other that
allowed me to get in. Anyways this is an entrance FAIL!

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2009-05-01T21:32:00.000-06:00

9:24 and its still twilight. It,s great living up north.

Happy 13th Birthday Izzi!

2009-03-30T11:14:00.002-06:00

It's the Jonas brothers making a special guest appearance at Izzi's birthday party!

Active goes Sledding!

2009-03-20T10:45:00.003-06:00

On March 8th, Johnny and I got to take Active on a little sledding excursion after church. It was PERFECT! We hadn't really had any snow for a couple weeks and we were getting a little nervous there would be nothing to sled on! After lot of prayer, it decided to snow Saturday and all Sunday morning like a blizzard giving us the perfect coating of fresh snow to sled in. We all went home after church, bundled up, and then drove to the gully. It was great because right as we got there, the snow stopped falling so it was nice and clear for us to sled. It was just a small group of us but that didn't lessen the fun!

We had a guy Raymond come who had come to Active for the first time that morning and a couple more guys came. There was also Todd, one of our new leaders, and his 3 kids as well as Johnny and I.

Ruthie and I were the only girls who wanted to venture out in the cold. I've been looking forward to going sledding all winter and we just have been so busy so I wasn't about to let anything stop me!

It was a really great time! We sled for 2 hours and then enjoyed a little hot chocolate to warm our tummy's. Everyone got to go down the hill until they didn't want to go anymore. Here are some pics of the students riding the sleds:

Winter advisory

2009-03-08T13:08:00.001-06:00

When they say winter warning, they are not kidding around. We are getting so much snow right now

Winter Baptism

2009-03-01T15:45:00.001-07:00

Johnny's first baptism. Fresh life had our first winter baptism at the summit fitness center and johnny got to be apart of it.

Winter days in Montana

2009-02-26T13:53:00.001-07:00

It's not over yet. We have been blessed by another winter dumping of
snow.

One on every corner

2009-02-18T20:41:00.001-07:00

For those in NM, this is our casino. One in every gas station pretty much

I miss this.

2009-02-14T13:56:00.002-07:00

Mmm Yummy asian food.