darn that abby lee

i jacked up my back again. it wasn't because of packing up boxes. it was the dance mom's fault (the tv show, not the people group). against my better judgement, i let emma watch dance moms and she kinda loves it. it may have sucked in a few of the rest of us from time to time. part of me kind of likes having a show that makes me feel like a nice, normal mom.

anyway, i was making fun of the show by mocking a dance routine. then i wake up the next morning in intense pain. who's worth mocking now? it turns out that my back is not my only weakness. being willing to do almost anything to get a laugh is as well.

and to top it all off, my big sister gets an "i told you so" moment out of it as georgie yelled "CAREFUL!" during my mock routine. she knows both of the above weaknesses of mine and how they don't tend to peacefully coexist. let's just say this isn't the first time an over zealous dance move has immobilized me. yes, i am pathetic.

oh well, at least i actually have a good reason for not working out...

it's her name

The month of May is her namesake. Luci May Rediet. A month of love and loss. 

The month she was relinquished in love...

And the month her referral was received in love...

(you can pause music down the page a bit on the right for full effect)

This is the face we fell in love with 3 years ago...

And this is the face we fall in love with over and over each day...

The honest truth is that her referral-anniversary came and went this year without us celebrating it at all. But spending the weekend with her extended fan club family 

was probably the best way to celebrate anyway.

We love celebrating you every day, Lulu...

19 years and counting

we just celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. i struggle with making decisions sometimes, but i have to say that it was a pretty solid decision to marry this guy...

the little bistro we ate at had delicious food and played cheesy 70's music. it was a delightful combination. i loved the sweet thai salmon with coconut risotto. and bill's ribeye topped with bacon, bleu cheese and shredded brussels sprouts was delightfully surprising. here's the proof of our enjoyment of it...

afterwards we went to a park we used to visit when we were dating. it is the most charming little place...

it was a bittersweet night because we were enjoying the city where we fell in love, but realizing that we are leaving this city in just over a month. but the love part goes with us wherever we go. 

'til death do we part...

because apparently, i pee my pants

though jack thinks i am best at blogging, i am barely blogging these days. there's the usual spring busyness with field trips...

and spring sports...

and such.

and then there's the fact that my 3 year old, due to being highly verbal and active, consumes every ounce of the energy in me when she is awake...

and she is currently awake right now instead of napping. awake and yelling "MOM...MOM...MOMMY!! MOM. MOM. MOM. MOM. MO--OOOO-OOOMM!" from her room. is it bad that i am not responding? oh good, she just stopped.

there's also the packing that i am supposed to be doing that i'm not actually doing. though it doesn't take any of my time, it strangely takes a lot of energy since a) just thinking about it makes me tired and b) the guilt i feel over what i should be doing drains me.

but thankfully, i haven't been scared lately. because i wouldn't want to have all this exhaustion AND wet pants.

i love this job

a homemade meal: prime rib, cheesy potatoes, asparagus, caesar salad, and yummy dip. and i only had to help with a little bit (way to go, babe)...

a "surprise" party organized by kids...

celebrating a wonderful mother/grandmother...

remembering and missing the best mommy ever...

and being with the ones who make this job the best ever...

and the most fun job ever...

not to mention the one who walks by my side every step of the way...

happy mother's day to me. i love this job!

we go together

Lulu hasn't commented a lot on skin color. And we haven't either, not wanting to lead her in that, but instead to allow her the joy of discovery. Recently I could tell she was eyeing me.  Then she pronounced, "Mom, you're lellow (yellow)." Then looking down at her little arms she said, "And I'm brown." Then she gasped excitedly and said, "Lellow and brown go together!!!"

Indeed they do...

Later she said, "Actually, you are kind of gray." Fair enough, baby.

the first of the lasts

last thursday night was our last weekly meeting with our college students. so that was our first goodbye. the first of many "lasts" we will be experiencing over the next 2 months. since the spring of 1988, thursday nights during the school year have been reserved for cru meetings. that's a lot of thursday nights, people. but things are a changin'.

we will focused in the high school and middle school ministry of cru, working more with staff than students. so not only are we saying goodbye to these precious college students and co-workers, we are saying goodbye to a season of our ministry. a season 19 years long for me, and 23 for bill. though it was emotional, i can't shake the underlying sense of excitement as we walk in what we firmly believe is god's path for us.

still, along god's path there can be plenty o' ugly crying. which i experienced as we said goodbye to our students...

and our staff team...

and now we are going to be saying goodbye to our house thanks to this...

after just 11 days on the market, it is a relief to have this piece of the puzzle come together.

there are still more "lasts" to come. and lots more ugly crying, no doubt. but we will walk through each one thankful that we know the One who is THE first and the last.