Disney on Ice 2015

Disney on Ice may have meant something to you long before the days of Frozen. For me, it's one of my earliest memories with my parents, right up there with Harlem Globetrotters, movies in the theater and fishing with my dad. I remember Mickey and Goofy. I remember a scene they did from the Mickey and the Beanstalk story which included this HUMONGOUS arm/hand balloon and scooted out from the side of the rink. It was huge and alarming but I thought the whole thing was so cool, especially that spinning light thing my parents bought me as a souvenir. Unfortunately, no such flashlight reached the hands of my daughter this year because they cost an arm and a leg these days (I still can't believe I bought 2 plain pretzels for them that they weren't even that hungry for .. why I didn't get them cotton candy to share is beyond me .. bahahah. For the better, I suppose-less sugar!) I did buy a $4.50 bottle of water - again, that's a little outrageous and I usually bring things but it slipped my mind. I do believe in souvenirs, though, and we got a steal on two large figurines. Addison picked Jasmine (huge surprise) and Tori chose an Anna doll. The kids had an amazing time with front seating and we were met by Kelly, Brian, Alyssa and Evan after intermission. So fun to share in the experience with our friends. I truly felt like a kid again and LOVED The Little Mermaid bit!! If you scroll down you will see that even the boys found the joy in it all, hehehe.

Women of Faith 2014

I can't believe I haven't posted in about six months. Terrible blogger award. On the better end of things, I have much to share! I led a small group of women to Women of Faith last year. Four of them were attending for the first time. Having been a group leader for three years and with one year left for Women of Faith, I was glad to have three close friends by my side. Kelly, Sam and I made a night of it by staying overnight in the city. And what a valuable, inspirational, emotional, hilarious adventure we had. From the amazing vocals and testimony of Natalie Grant to the always promising and hysterical Patsy Clairmont and all the varying women in between I can't say I was surprised! I don't lie when I tell potential attendees that the weekend will change their life. We heard Lisa Bevere for the first time, she was the epitome of a strong and beautiful Christian woman. She shared her story of her wayward father who she came to accept after years of trying to help him seek Christ. Eventually, she realized God is the one in control as He is in all our lives. Kay Warren's testimony struck my group and I severely. With all but one of us being mothers, we were moved while she discussed her son's recent suicide and the negative and positive publicity that was brought on her family. She is the wife of Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life which was the book that I finished by looking at my husband and saying, "I accept Christ into my life! I am a Christian!" One message I specifically loved was that Jesus never asks us to fit a mold. This is such a misconception to many nonbelievers who believe Christianity to be a life of limits and restrictions but in truth, to me, it is clarity, freedom, opportunity for GOOD. 

I worked on gift baggies for my ladies as I do each year and this year I included a weekend journal with an excerpt from my Streams in the Desert devotional. I will leave you with this same inspiring message. 

The best things in life are the result of being wounded. Wheat must be crushed before becoming bread, and incense must be burned by fire before its fragrance is set free. The earth must be broken with a sharp plow before being ready to receive the seed. And it is a broken heart that pleases God.
Acts 14:22

From Paris to Rochester

It is safe to say that we make some seemingly spontaneous choices in this family. We truly do have a thought process behind everything, though! 

If I'm to be cut and dry here, we were a little anxious about the month of July once the summer began. I wouldn't be babysitting for the entire month which would be a hit to our income. As Christians we do our best to remember that worrying will not get us anywhere especially when our trust is in God to provide for us. There is a misconception with that statement where nonbelievers think that we expect God to hand us a check for the month. No. What He did do was provide us guidance with our finances as well as provide us low cost opportunities to enjoy what our area has to offer. So there we are trying not to freak out about money - what better time to decide to host an international student, right?! Our friends and family were a little surprised and wondering how we even came to this decision. I know God planted that seed in my mind to help someone better understand our culture while sharing their own instead of spending a month stressed out over bills. I hopped onto google and found CCI Greenheart, a non profit cultural exchange sponsor program committed to creating a global community sprinkled with conscious and caring people. My local coordinator was fantastic in helping us find a good match for our family which ended up being our new friend Thomas, from Paris.

Over the course of three weeks Thomas shared in our day to day lives caring for kids, catching shows at Party in the Park in Rochester, attending a Red Wings game, Bills training camp trip, a trip with the coordinator to a Civil War reenactment and he even joined us for family reunions on both sides that happened to occur while he was staying with us! We also were able to enjoy some more touristy activities like our trip to Niagara Falls which was our first as a family and for Thomas on the US side. We took him to the High Falls in Rochester to see the sister city bridge, Pont de Rennes that was named for Rochester's sister city, Rennes, France. I think some of our best times were just the relaxing evenings at home where Micah, Thomas and I would laugh all night to comedies or the lazy days where Addison and Thomas would swim and kick the soccer ball around. We were thrilled to have such an openminded young man in our house. He tried everything, even a Garbage Plate and he was open to new things like trying golf for the first time. We were so sad to see him go and we hope to see him again one day. Our daughter misses him dearly so we've already begun the cards to mail to Thomas. So much for all the financial worry, we replaced and diminished those fears with faith and a priceless experience for all!