On A Positive Note

Today Richie had his very first piano recital! I have to say, I was a bit nervous for him. Those of you who know me well are aware that I had a few issues with stage fright in college (I was a music major). Those of you who know me really well or perhaps went to college with me, know that the term "a few issues" is probably an understatement.

You see, I had a very poor experience performing in a recital as a child. It may have scarred me a bit. As did the fourth grade spelling bee. But I digress. Now, I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure that my poor recital experience was the root of the stage fright I experienced in college. And naturally, as my life came full circle today I found myself hoping and praying that Richie's first recital experience would be a POSITIVE one. I'm so happy and thankful to report that it turned out to be exactly that! In celebration, I have posted some pictures and a video of his performance here for your viewing pleasure!

Here's Richie chatting with his teacher Dr. H (we love him!) before the performance.

Here is a sweet picture of Richie with his friend Molly as they wait to perform!

At the piano with Dr. H...they played a duet.

Concentrating hard...

And now for the bow...how cute is that?

Finally, here is a video of the performance...it's only 41 seconds long so you may as well indulge me ;-)

Fantastic job, Richie! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

A Recommendation

I encourage you guys to read this devotion by Mary Beth Whalen over at Proverbs 31 Ministries. It really struck a chord with me today and is so full of truth. Also, if you'd like to receive their daily devotions via email (which I highly recommend), you can do that here.

Blessings!

Boo! Halloween 2008

We are very fortunate to have a very close knit group of friends that we meet with once a month for "supper club". This is the 3rd year in a row that everyone has met at our house for Trick or Treating. It's a wonderful night of fun and fellowship. Check out this years pics! If you look closely you might see some familiar faces!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hello Again, Hello...

...Just blogged to say hello. Name that tune. Well, actually I just did, how about name that artist?

It's me. I'm still here. I'm alive. I'm not sure what my deal is lately. Sometimes when I don't blog for awhile and several bloggable moments happen in a row, I get overwhelmed and become unable to process any of it. For instance, it is now the middle of November and I have yet to post or even download our Halloween pictures. So when I start to think about blogging I get slightly panicked about how far behind I am and I decide to do nothing instead. Great way to operate, huh?

SO. A lot has happened since I last talked with you all, including but certainly not limited to a road trip, a new niece, and a new job! Aackk!!!

That last one is bound to cause at least of a few of you to double take and say, "huh?". But first things first. I'd love for you to meet our new niece (on Rich's side), her name is Kelly Joy...

Isn't she sweet? I can't wait to get my hands on her and buy her lots of PINK! We are very excited for Rich's brother and sister in law as they enter this new and wonderful stage of life! Congratulations Mark and Angela!

And now to address the most recent, surprising, and interesting development in our lives. I have a new job! This opportunity sort of fell in my lap recently. In retrospect, I think I knew from the beginning that it was a God thing, but I feel even more sure of that now. Honestly, it took some soul searching and lots of prayer (especially in regards to the timing), but I am now confident that this is an opportunity that God has most definitely placed in my life. I'm not sure exactly what He has in store, but I am grateful to be along for the ride. He has been quite gracious in working out the details. The hours are extremely flexible and I will even be able to bring Will with me to work when he is not in preschool. So, what will I be doing, you ask? My official title is part-time "case manager" for the organization Big Brothers Big Sisters. One of my main responsibilities will be to match up kids (little brothers and sisters) with their adult volunteers (big brothers and sisters). How cool is that? Very! Stay tuned as I am sure you will be hearing more from me on this subject in the coming weeks and months.

Phew. I think that is about all I can process for now, but I will hopefully be back soon with some Halloween pictures. Better late than never, right?

Giving Thanks

Last year I composed a special list for this...

This simple activity really blessed me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So many times I feel like we gloss over Thanksgiving in our holiday celebrations so I really loved composing a list last year of the things I was thankful for. You'll find this year's list in the sidebar of my blog. I will do my best to update it daily. Sound interesting? Head on over to Leah's blog and check it out!