being in love

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the great heat wave of 2013

Happy Friday!  I'm linking up with Lauren today for five silver linings this week:

 

1.  It's been 90+ degrees and humid outside every day this week.  Unlike the rest of the Midwest, I am loving it.  Reminds me of high school/college summers in Houston :)  Bring on the sun!

2.  Steve took me on a date last weekend to see The King and I at an outdoor movie theatre (I wrote about it here).

3.  Our vegetable garden has exploded this week.  I guess the veggies love 90+ degree heat and super sunny days as much as I do.

4.  Lyla's go-to "frog stance" just cracks me up.

5.  While I've switched lately to morning workouts, I got in a nice afternoon jog on Wednesday and had the Monon all to myself.  Probably because it was 100 degree heat index and everyone else was smart enough to stay indoors.  Oh well...Amy for the win!

We are heading down to Brown County this weekend for another camping adventure.  I've never camped in 90 degree weather, so we'll see how this turns out.  Have a great weekend!

taming the tongue

Words are powerful.  Through words, we have the ability to do so many things: to compliment a friend, to sing praises, to share secrets, to rejoice with others, to share stories, to pray.  Just as easily, though, our words can tear others down in a single snide remark or a sarcastic jab.  They can really hurt.  Words are powerful, powerful things.

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We've been going through a lot of "life changes" lately.  Steve is looking to me a lot for support and encouragement as we work through this stuff.  But I'm not giving it.  Instead, I find myself snapping at him about little things and finding ways to criticize.  I think it's a defense mechanism that I developed over the last year...but it's not biblical and is definitely not what a Proverbs 31 wife would do.

 

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Proverbs 31:26 (esv)

 

So why do I keep using harsh words?  Sometimes I just know I'm right.  Sometimes I'm stubborn, other times tired and cranky.  Sometimes I'm protecting myself.  Sometimes I'm selfish.  And sometimes I just don't feel like being nice.  But each and every time, I'm simply choosing to sin over choosing to love.
 

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It all boils down to this: we are called to show Christ's love to others... and that includes through our words.  When I'm in a bad mood, I can respond to Steve with anger or frustration - but in the end, will that help him be a better husband?  Closer to the Lord?  Better able to sort through all of this stuff?  Nope.  But if I can guard my mouth, speak kindly, and love through my words, I think I'd be amazed at what God could do.  So that's my prayer this week - to give grace with my words. 

 

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Ephesians 4:29 (esv)

summer nights

Life seems to have gotten away from us lately, so we took a night off on Friday to see The King and I at the IMA.  Our first real date night in a while. 

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We packed a picnic, watched the sunset and sat back to enjoy the classic musical (one of my all-time favorites) under the stars.

 

The evening certainly wasn't perfect, but it was real.  It was fun.  For one evening, we set aside all of the current baggage of our "normal lives," and picked up a blanket and picnic basket instead.  We got (unnecessarily) competitive over card games.  We stayed up too late and ate too much popcorn.... and it was so freeing.  Just like when we were first dating.

I think somewhere along the way, a lot of married couples forget how to date each other.  Life just gets in the way.  But it's amazing how one imperfect evening under the stars on a blanket with your love can lift that heavy burden of life off of your shoulders, even just temporarily, and bring you back to each other.  In that evening, you feel truly alive together - just like when you first fell in love. 

stars and stripes

Last weekend, we were blessed with a long weekend off of work to celebrate the Fourth of July.  On is the Fourth itself, we headed downtown for our tradition - attending an Indianapolis Indians game and then watching the downtown fireworks from the stadium.  We had a great time with Steve's brother and his girlfriend.  I really enjoyed getting in some quality time with them - since we all have busy work schedules, we don't get to hang out half as much as I would like.  And we had great seats at the sold-out game!

Rowdy kept trying to get people to stand up and get...well, rowdy.  It didn't work on us, but this lady in front looooved it.  So awesome. 

On Friday, we drove up to Gannie's house to spend the weekend with my extended family.  It was the first time to see many of them since our wedding last year, so it was great to catch up and reconnect.  I spent many Fourth of Julys at Gannie's as a kid, so it was fun to re-live those memories and share them with Steve. Here's one of my many memories - this cute little playhouse lies "hidden" in the backyard.  The grandkids spent countless hours out here over the years and it still makes me smile to see it, even if I don't comfortably fit into it anymore :)

Dune Acres officially celebrated the Fourth on Saturday the Sixth.  The town had an entire day of festivities planned, started with a 5K run through the dunes.  Check out our matching t-shirts!

Next up was the annual 4th of July Parade.  My grandparents have owned this antique army jeep for years and it is a staple in the parade.  When we were little, all six of us grandkids would squeeze our way into the backseat waving American flags like crazy. Nowadays, only three of us fit comfortably - Steve, my cousin Talia, and me - plus Lyla.  Her first puppy parade!

After the reading of the Declaration of Independence...

...we were ready to begin!

The parade's grand finale was a hot dog cookout at the beach. 

That evening, the town set off fireworks on the beach.  That's the best way to watch fireworks, let me tell ya - with your feet in the sand!

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon looking through old memories that my grandma is sorting through.  There is something so special to me about reading old letters and cards from family members.  The love letters that Pops wrote to my grandma brought tears to my eyes.  And I couldn't help but smile at pictures of my mom as a little kid.

Of all the momentos, I found a few precious gems - my grandparents' engagement announcement - isn't Gannie a beauty?

A sweet card from Pops to Gannie while he was working in Kansas City.

The start of my mom's swimming career...

...and all of her swimming ribbons.  She was a swimming champ!  Swimming definitely runs in our family :)

All in all, it was a lovely weekend and a great way to spend the holiday.  Hope you had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July!