I Love Books!

I have been reading Shepherding a Child's Heart for a very long time! It's a great book, but I just don't pick it up everyday. However, I am very eager to finish it (this week!) because I just ordered a new book and I can't wait to dive in. The book is Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper.
After I wrote this post and shared with you my holiday struggles, I decided a little personal study would do me good, especially while we're not right in the middle of a holiday season. I couldn't find much, but imagine my delight when I saw that Noel Piper had written a book on using the traditions of our everyday life to teach our children about God and to glorify Him in the process! Jack Pot! So, before I go shooting off at the mouth about Santa Claus and the Easter bunny, I'm gonna read Mrs. Piper's thoughts on the matter. No doubt, she's got somethin' good to say!

Book Review and Steph's holiday resolutions...coming soon.

Brenham : Year One

Brenham. It's a quirky town, and I feel quirky living in it. For every day that I've lived in Brenham I've discovered a new, trivial reason why I am not suited for the country. But when I look back over this past year, through lenses filtered by the Gospel, I see that God is at work in me and around me, in my home and in my church, and as a result, Brenham is the recipient of my warmest affections.

There is a truth that is quite familiar to me in words, but in life it escapes my mind at every new juncture and I am forced to learn it again. It is this:

For they (our earthy fathers) disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful, yet those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Hebrews 12:10-11

There have been some bumps in our road this year. It has been a year of hard talks, hard questions, and hard answers, of waiting and crying and hurting and doubting and stumbling. But in these things, God has been beckoning me to Himself, urging me to endure with gratitude and patience the painful and beautiful process of sanctification.

I do not mean to imply that our life here in Brenham has been all strife and struggle. It hasn't. I write with a smile that there have been joyous times indeed. I have enjoyed many peaceful days. I am surrounded by people I love and who love me, both near and far. I have laughed a lot. I have experienced new things. I have taken risks. But I am inclined to believe that God has used the harder blessings to awaken me to the easier ones.

I find that I am a different person than when I arrived here. The change may be small, but change it is and it increases my faith because I know I can change in no amount on my own. God is here! God is here! I grateful to be here...in Brenham.

American Idol Update

Alright American Idol fans...I have an official favorite.

This guy nails it EVERY week! Tonight, he took Micheal Jackson's Billy Jean and turned it into an AMAZING rock song. In my humble opinion, he is the most developed artist of the group. He can sing, he can perform, he can take an old song, recreate it and turn it into something new and artistic and interesting. Well done, David Cook! Well done!

Regarding last week, can I just ask, what kind of a world do we live in that Carly is in the bottom three? She may not be my favorite, but the girl can sing, and there are a couple folks in there that deserve to go way before she does! I've been sick about it all week. Just had to get that off my chest.

And friends, I'm not the only silly goose into AI! Go here to see how Casey's ranked the contestants. ;)

The Past Week: 1-10

1. Got cottage cheese?












2. Braelyn loves to see her uncle Tyler play baseball! We went to Austin to see him play on Friday and had a great time. Braelyn was really into the game. That's my girl!

3. Saturday night I had a MASSIVE breakdown over a trifle. A trifle, in this case meaning both "an article or thing of very little value" and a delicious, layered dessert. Okay...let me explain. I had been working very hard all day long to get ready for Easter. I felt pretty proud of myself for managing my time well, as I was not frantic to get things done, but still had to work efficiently. At around midnight, I finished the all the cooking (including my beautiful trifle dessert - my crowning Easter achievement, btw) and cleaning, minus a few little jobs that could easily be done in the morning before company arrived. Despite the late hour, Casey and I decided to watch an episode of Heroes to wind down. We enjoyed our show, and then turned off the lights. As soon as my muscles began to relax, my eyes popped wide open in the darkness. OH NO! Whip cream breaks down! PANIC! The recipe called for cool whip, but I, thinking I was quite clever, thought I would use whip cream out of the can so that I could keep the layers nice and tidy. So at 1:15ish I ran to the fridge, and sure enough, the layers of my trophy dessert were sadly merging and migling and sagging. Thus, the massive breakdown began. This, I will not describe to you, but I will tell you that on Easter morning I was bright and early at Wal-mart and soon after, a new, beautifully layered, chocolate delight was produced...with cool whip, of course! :)

4. Easter. Casey's family and my family came to Brenham to celebrate. Braelyn had a great time hunting for Easter eggs. Church was beautiful! A wonderful time of worshiping the Risen King and fellowship among the Family.












5. Easter. This Easter, like every Easter (and Christmas) since becoming an adult, I spend most of the day agonizing over how we as Christians should celebrate it. It really comes down to this: Why do we celebrate the birth and resurrection of our Savior by buying ourselves (and/or our kids) things and why must we include a make-believe character? I have a lot of conflicting emotions on this subject and I may devote a whole post to it at some point. But for now, I'll just tell you that I brood over this. On Sunday, I was brooding.

6. Easter. We had two and a half very special guests stop by. Phil, Cynthia, and baby Ethan...still cookin'.
This was my first time to see Cynthia's cute baby belly. Seeing my friends was definitely an Easter highlight. And can I just say, that I thought I looked pretty cute in my new dress, however in this picture, it is freakishly unflattering! I promise there is just one pregnant lady in the picture!






7. After all the craziness of the week, today, I vowed to do nothing! I didn't go anywhere. I haven't spoken to anyone except Casey and Braelyn. The only chore-ish thing I allowed myself to do was to unload and re-load the dishwasher. I enjoyed the beautiful day. I enjoyed the the Lord and His Word. I enjoyed my daughter. For the most part, I stayed away from the TV and the computer. It has been a quiet, peaceful, relaxing, glorious day. An honest to goodness Sabbath.

8. Braelyn had her first sucker today, at least, the first one I know of.

















9. I got a couple bunches of fresh flowers to put in the house for Easter. They make the house seem so friendly. Today, I decided to have fresh flowers in the house indefinitely.

10. This week marked the one year anniversary of our move to Brenham.

Homemade Pillow #2

On Saturday I got together with a group of girls for our second sewing circle. The idea is that once a month we will get together with our own sewing machines and our own projects in mind and simply sew together in the same house. It's a great opportunity for quality girl time, project inspiration and for learning and trying new things in the realm of sewing. The less experienced get help from the more experienced, which is critical to my participation in the circle, as I am in the less experienced group.

My project for this March party was to complete the second of about 7 pillows I have in mind for my couch. If you go here you can see my first homemade pillow, all alone on my gigantic couch. Anyways, this project was quite the undertaking in my mind because, not only was I going to sew the pillow (which is still a daunting task for this beginner), but I wanted to put fringe around the edge. It didn't take me long to realize that it was not just a huge undertaking in my mind...it was a huge undertaking in reality! So while I am trying to remember how to thread my machine(not a good start!), I think to myself that perhaps this project is better suited for someone who has even the tiniest clue of what they're doing. Despite this brief moment of rational and logical reasoning, my stubbornness and pride urged me to keep going and I fumbled on.

All I have to say, if it weren't for the encouragement of my sewing circle friends in general, and the very helpful and talented Morgan, specifically, I would be showing you a crooked, red, fringy mess! But because of them, I can show you a finished product that I am quite proud of...just don't look too closely! :)

Morgan working on my corners! She did all 4. Those corners'll getcha!

At home with homemade pillow #1.

Up close.

There you have it. I'm so glad that I didn't give up. The plan is to make another pillow just like this one for the other side of the couch. Haven't decided yet if I'll brave the 2nd one on my own. We'll see. Thanks Sewing Circle friends! See you next month...I hope :)

I'm It!

I think I have been tagged by my fellow Brenham Blogger, Lynsey, (unless she knows another Steph C, and then I'm gonna feel like a real idiot). I always think these things are kinda fun. Here we go.

Where was I ten years ago?
I was a senior at Clements High School in Sugar Land. Casey and I were in our third year of dating. He was in college at UofH, and at the time that didn't seem weird, but now it totally seems weird, and Braelyn will never date a guy who's in college when she is still in HS!
I spent the majority of my life dancing and assisting classes. I practically lived at the studio. Mrs. Annette on my list of blogs was my ballet teacher...lots of great times with her! :) The only thing I was really involved in at school was PALs. That was fun.

Things on my To-Do List today:
- Tackle the mountain of laundry! Mostly towels and sheets. I'm pretty good about keeping up with the clothes, but man, those towels get outta hand!
- Plan out meals for the week
- Go to the store...Monday is Grocery day
- Deep clean the kitchen
- Dusting (maybe)
- Go for a walk
That sounds like a thrilling day, doesn't it?!

What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire?
First thing...probably buy Christ Church a building and make it look awesome! Then maybe pay off our house and do some serious home improvement Or, more than likely I would just buy one of the super cute houses that I've got my eye on around here. We only have one bathroom...you can understand. Buy Casey a new car, poor thing...his windshield wipers won't turn off. Create hefty college and wedding funds. I would give to Crossbridge (our home church back in SL), Transform and all of its ministries, and I'm sure some other ministries that I can't think of right now. And I would travel...a lot!

3 of my bad habits.
1. In the morning, when Braelyn wakes up, I am usually not ready to wake up and so I have gotten into this HORRIBLE habit of letting her watch Blue's Clues so that I can snooze for a few more minutes. I know, I'm so ashamed...BUT I CAN'T STOP!
2. Checking my blog and yours way too often.
3. I do have a bit of a temper, however, I honestly only lose it on Casey and myself, oh...and my dumb dog. I can usually keep it together for everyone else. It should be noted that I cannot be held responsible for losing my temper...I have red hair. I did not choose that. It's not my fault.

5 jobs I've had.
1. Dance teacher
2. Seasonal cashier for Zale's. The manager hired me when Casey and I picked out my engagement ring.
3. Youth intern at SLFUMC
4. Substitute teacher
5. 1st grade teacher

5 Things you don't know about me.
1. I have a dumb dog. We have a ridiculous pug named Tucker. He has so many issues. He costs us so much money! The only thing he cares about is food and following me around, which I cannot for the life of me understand because I am not very nice to him. He is now and will ever be free for the taking. Anyone? Anyone?
2. Ever since college I have wanted a nose ring. Just a teeny, little stud. My friend Brandi who lives here in Brenham got one shortly after she moved here, so I decided to just live vicariously through her, but ever since I cut my hair, the urge has returned. Feel free to leave your opinion on this matter.
3. I want to write travel books. I love to travel, I like to write. I thought maybe the latter habit could support the former. We'll see.
4. I mentioned earlier in the post that I was a dancer, but you may not know that that is what I wanted to do when I "grew up". I danced through college and did a couple of professional concerts and performances, but shortly after college I felt the Lord leading me to stop, at least for a time. I love dancing so much, and the longer it's been since I have danced the more I seem to miss it. But, still to this day I believe that I did the right thing. Maybe I'll do a post later on to share more of the details.
5. I don't eat red meat. In 4th or 5th grade I got sick on a Whataburger and couldn't eat hamburgers after that. I soon realized that didn't prefer other types of red meat, and since it's not the healthiest choice anyway, I gave it all up. However, if I am at a church event or over at someone's house I will gladly eat whatever they put in front of me. It just sounds so snotty to say, "Um, I don't eat that."

There you go. My reign as "it" is over. I now tag
Julie A.
Robin B.
Mrs. Annette
Jessica K.
and Alyssa

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Picnic Weather

What a beautiful day it was today!!! Spring is showing it's face isn't it? Yea! I am not so much a fan of winter, although I do love sweaters and white chocolate mochas, but that's besides the point. The winter prevents me from doing too many things I enjoy, like going for a walk in the morning and taking Braelyn to the park. I would brave the cold weather to get a good walk in each day, but it seems mean to make Braelyn shiver for two, windy miles in her stroller. So, exercise has been a rare event in my life for the last few months. And as for the park, Braelyn would gladly endure the chilly temperatures, but selfishly, I would not, so our trips to the park have also been few and far between. Thankfully, I think we are turning a seasonal corner, and we can once again return to these delightful activities...and perhaps watch a few less episodes of Blue's Clues...if I'm just being honest.

Today, Wednesday, is our library story time. Braelyn and I enjoy it very much. Mrs. Lulu is great with her fun songs and stories, but I think what Braelyn and I both look forward to the most are few minutes of freedom that we each experience after it's over. She can roam around and play with kiddos, while I get to chat it up with other moms. I know that I am not alone in this, because after Mrs. Lulu is done, all the kids run off to play Spiderman or Legos or puppets, and almost all of us moms stay right where we are, except maybe to move in closer to the anticipated grown-up conversation.

With the weather being so gorgeous, a few of us decided to pack our lunches and head to the park after story time. I knew one of the moms fairly well, but the other two I hadn't really had opportunity to talk with before today. No matter, I had a great time. It was then that it dawned on me that among the many blessings of motherhood, is the practically effortless ability to make friends. I wheeled Braelyn up to the pb&j covered picnic table, unloaded our own brown bag lunch and felt right at home among these strangers. Without hesitation I joined the conversation, and without a second thought they welcomed me in. I love the unspoken understanding that we need each other, we need the conversation, we need each other's help. I love that no one's there to impress anybody else. I love that we can laugh that we're each kinda of a mess in our own way. We all have food stains on our clothes, our kids all have snotty noses, we all at some point in the afternoon have to yell our kid's first and middle name, and however much we're enjoying each other's company, we're only half paying attention because we still have to keep an eye on our babies. At the end of our picnic, it was quickly agreed upon that weather pending, this would be a standing event. I couldn't be happier!

I have much to be thankful for today... Spring, exercise, new friends and old, and of course, for my Braelyn Nicole!