Dannifer

Everything Everleigh - 6 Months!

2011-03-08T16:27:00.010-06:00

Dear Ev,
Well, sweet girl, I can't believe it! You are six months old today! As I sit here watching you sleep in the monitor, I find it almost impossible that we made it this far together! It may seem to some like six months isn't a long time, but for us it has taken a while to get here! It has been the greatest, most challenging, step-outside-of-myself six months I have ever had. I am better for them. I am better because of you.

In the past six months you have overcome so much. Your tummy seems to be feeling MUCH, MUCH better, though you still aren't eating anything but momma's milkshakes. ; ) We have been able to back you completely off of the Prevacid you were taking, and now you are just taking your Dysmotility medicine twice a day. We hope to back you off of that soon, and plan to try some green beans again this weekend.

You are a STRONG girl, both physically and mentally! You weigh a precious 21 pounds and are just the most delicious roly-poly baby I have ever laid eyes...or hands on, and you are about 28 1/2 inches long. You have some serious thunder thighs that make your legs as strong as pillars! You are able to bear all of your weight on your legs and stand on your own for a good amount of time. However, you are still lacking balance. You have ZERO interest in being on your tummy, but you can push up with the best of them. Because of your lack of interest in being on your tum-tum, you aren't rolling over yet. It will be a whole new world for you when you do! I feel fairly confident that you will walk before you crawl because you are so strong on your legs and show no interest in anything that would lead to crawling. That's okay! Do it your way, sister!

You love to play on your play mat, but would rather talk to and make faces at us and your other friends. You are for sure a social little gal! You LOVE your Sophie Giraffe and your face lights up when she squeaks in front of you. You also love your crinkle book. You love to be sung to and your favorite songs are "How much is that kitty in the window", "The Duck Song" by Elmo, "The Elmo Song", "Open the Eyes of my Heart", and "The Monkey Song" by the Wiggles. Mommy doesn't care how silly she looks singing them to you. Your smile is so worth it!

Right now, you are trying to get some teeth, so you are a drool fountain and chew on EVERYTHING! You are fascinated with hands...your hands, my hands, anyone's hands, and love to put them in your mouth, chew on them a little bit, pull them out and look at them, then put them back in. You are also starting to reach out for people when you want them to hold you, and you also reach to touch our faces while we have you in our arms. Sweetest thing!

You have the sweetest voice, and you love to hear it just as much as we do! Recently, you have started puckering up your face and spitting bubbles when you are frustrated or not happy. I can only imagine what you would be saying if you had words! It's too funny when you do it though!

You are sleeping like a champ! You wake up between 6:00 and 7:00am and take a nap every two hours from when you wake up throughout the day. Then you go to sleep by 6:45 at night and wake up one time for a 15 minute feeding during the night. We are able to put you down awake because you are such a big girl and can soothe yourself to sleep. That has been such a help to mommy and daddy. Especially at night!

You are such a little darling, Everleigh, and have brought more joy to our lives in just six months than either of us have ever experienced. We love seeing how you grow and change every single day. You will always be our first love and we hope you feel it every day of your sweet little life. Can't wait to see what the next six months bring for you, my sweet angel baby. Happy 6 month half birthday, pretty girl!

2011-02-05T21:17:00.006-06:00

Gramma's comin' to town! Tomorrow at 12:10pm, we will pick up Gramma (my mom) from the airport to stay a week with us! We are so, so excited! Truth be told, she offered to come because she got a couple...well, maybe a few...hysterical phone calls (the kind with BIG tears) early last week from a daughter whose baby REFUSED to sleep...day and night. It was a rough week, fo' sho! But, momma is coming to hang, and that makes it all better.

Being away from my parents has been one of the hardest, most unforseen challenges of being a mom. If you have kids and live close to family, DO NOT...I reapeat, DO NOT, take that for granted. Let them come over as MUCH as they want to and DO NOT get annoyed! I would seriously give both of my arms for my parents to live close by. Well, at that point I would NEED them to live close by, but I digress. I miss my momma and daddy every day, and am so glad my mom will be here tomorrow.

LOVE YOU, GRAMMA!

2011-02-03T15:33:00.001-06:00

It has been a rough few days here! We think Evie is starting to have some movement in her teeth. Though we cant see or feel any little chompers yet, we know they can start moving months before they ever break through and cause little ones to feel yuck! She has been so, so fussy, whiney, and extra clingy, has been drooling like a faucet, gnawing on her hands, my hands, my shoulder, and anything else she can get to her mouth, and has a little rash on her cheeks and chin. All classic teething symptoms.

She sure is cute though. Gosh!

YouTube Video

- Posted from my iPhone

Growing Like a Weed

2011-01-30T13:43:00.002-06:00

Look how much my baby has grown in just four short months! I am not sure how I feel about this! It's impressive, to say the least.

Week in Review

2011-01-29T16:10:00.019-06:00

I feel like this past week just FLEW by! I finally got the BlogPress App for my iPhone so I am able to post on the go. However, it's still no fun to type a long post from your phone. I'm convinced I have Shrek hands. It's hard for me to type and not hit every adjacent key on the phone! Anywho...here are a few highlights from our week!

I have been working for the past month or so on a new Web site for the amazing Beautiful Dream Society. They are an organization based out of OKC who works to fight, and ultimately end, human-trafficking in the country of Lesotho, Africa. They were founded by our pastor's wife, Jennifer Crow, after having a very real dream about the country and the human trafficking industry. CLICK HERE to read the whole story and to view their amazing site!

I have also been busy working on two wedding invitations for two sweet gals! It's always so fun for me to see how different people's tastes are! Some brides are very, very traditional, and some very, very funky! I love getting to know each of them and creating something that is perfectly "them" for their most "perfect" day! Here is a sneak peak of the two, with names and details changed so the invites are still a surprise to those who will receive them!
One of the MOST exciting parts of our week was taking Everleigh to her GI Specialist appointment on Tuesday. We have been anticipating this appointment in hopes that they would start to back her off of her medicine and that we could possibly start eating some solids. She has been so much better with her tummy since the last time we went to see this specialist in November. We couldn't have asked for a better appointment. The doctor agreed that we should start pulling her off of a dose of medication per week, starting with the Prevacid for acid reflux, and see how she does. She also said we could start introducing green beans and squash, since those are the lowest carb, easiest to digest of the first foods. We gave Everleigh her first little taste of squash at lunch today, and she did GREAT with it! Watch and see!

However, I am sad to report that within an hour after eating her squash, she was screaming in pain, just like she used to before she was diagnosed with her dysmotility and put on medication. Needless to say, we are very discouraged by that. We just knew she was better and ready to move on. For now, we will put the solid foods on the shelf, stick with breast milk, and try them again in a couple months. :'( Poor Evie.

Another kind of discouraging event this week has been Everleigh's sleep. We aren't quite sure what is going on, but our girl who was doing so great with her morning and afternoon naps, and sleeping all night, has started to completely boycot all naps and has begun waking again for a nighttime feeding. I have read and read and researched everything pertaining to sleep training, naps, nighttime feedings, etc. and nothing seems to work in our situation. We can't let her cry it out because she is a tummy sleeper who is laying in a pool of drool in a matter of seconds if we let her cry. We can't put her on her back because all she knows of laying on her back is playing and having her diaper changed...totally confused. We can't go in and pat her without picking her up because that only makes matters worse. My girl is a FIGHTER, and I'm not sure how to remedy this one. It's hard on momma. Especially because I can't get ANYTHING done during the day. She is also letting up on eating, which is hard. She is not eating as often or as much, but is also not on a schedule so she eats at different times every day. Good thing she is cute enough to eat up, or I might spank her! ; )

I leave you with some cutie pics from the week. Hopefully next week will bring good sleeping, eating, and lots of laughs!

Everleigh fighting sleep, suited up for a walk

My little hippy girl

Someone is ready for the beach! That makes two of us!

She's the boss at home, and now she is the boss at Daddy's office

Our girl FINALLY pushed up during tummy time! All 19 pounds of her!

I cleaned out Ev's closet and drawers this week. The clothes on the right are what she has outgrown in four short months. The measily stack on the left is all that still fits her!

Cashy Kitty is enjoying the warm weather and glad to reclaim his place in the open window

Move Over Michelin Man!

2011-01-27T09:04:00.001-06:00

There's a new kid in town!

- Posted from my iPhone

Nothing Sweeter...

2011-01-26T21:09:00.001-06:00

Than a sleeping baby...

- Posted from my iPhone

The Things We Do...

2011-01-26T12:13:00.001-06:00

It's amazing the things we will do to get a smile out of a baby. I have made more crazy faces, sounds, motions, etc. In the past four months just to see that big gummy, open mouthed grin!

Lately I have been trying desperately to get that baby chuckle out of her...you know, the one that comes from deep down in their little baby bellies? Well, the other night during bath time I got it. Granted she was deliriously tired and I haven't gotten it like that agin. She had the hiccups somethin' fierce and I was mimicking her. Who knew that would get it, but I will never, never forget it. Most precious sound I've ever heard! And thank goodness Mrs. Maggie was there to capture it!

YouTube Video

- Posted from my iPhone

Daily Obsesh

2011-01-17T15:41:00.001-06:00

Pretty sure my Boo Boo Baby needs THESE

Nicknames for Everleigh

2011-01-17T14:04:00.005-06:00

The hubs and I are partial to nicknames. Dan says it's because he can't remember names half the time, and I just think they are endearing. Needless to say, I have a LONG, running, ever-growing list of nicknames for my most endeared, baby Everleigh. Here they are as of Monday, January 17th, 2011.

Ev
Evie (Ehh-vee) not (Ee-vee)
Elohlee (Eh-low-lee) thanks to my friend Sarah Henry's little girl, Ava, who couldn't quite pronounce Everleigh yet)
BooBoo Baby
Baby Bear
Little Bear
Lovey Bear
Lovey Dovey
Luhbee Duhbee (Mispronunciation of the above)
Angel Face
Monkey Bread
Doodle Bug
Tootle Bear
Tooter
Shooga Boo
Sugar Bear
Sooga Sooga Sooga Bear
Puddin' Pop
Momma Baby

At this rate, we'll be lucky if this kid EVER knows her name! Amazingly, she seems to answer to all of them with a big, toothless, open-mouthed grin. : )

Four Months!

2011-01-11T11:52:00.006-06:00

Everleigh had her four month well-care doctor's appointment this morning! I weighed her at home a week or so ago, and she weighed in at approximately 17.5lbs. Today, we are happy to report our little bear is a healthy 17 pounds 9 ounces (6lbs 15oz at birth) and 26in long (20in at birth)! For a little gal with a rough start because of her tummy, she sure is growing! She is in the 97th percentile for height and weight! Way to go, little sweetie pants! She got some shots, so she is sleeping in her crib right now.

Developmentally, she is doing great! She is following us with her eyes from across the room, and has done that since early on. She is grabbing for and holding her toys, pulling ALL things up and into her mouth. The only thing she is not really on track with is her mini push-up when she is on her tummy. Granted, I don't give her a ton of tummy time because she hates it...but her weight probably has something to do with it as well. It's a tough job to lift all that lovin'! So, we will be painfully working on that for the upcoming weeks, strengthening her neck muscles.

On a sadder note, our little buddy Ty McCullar got some sad news yesterday. The tumor they found in his tummy was diagnosed as stage 3-4 Nueroblastoma. Ty has had a rough go at life since day one. He is absolutely THE sweetest and MOST BEAUTIFUL little boy! My little sister, who is a nurse in the infant and toddler unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital, met Ty when she cared for him in her unit. She fell in love with him instantly, and became his in-home nurse one day a week when he was released. Since then, I have had the privilege of meeting him and getting to know his sweet mom. They are near and dear to our family's heart, so we are asking for HUGE AMOUNTS of prayer for COMPLETE healing in his little body. No child should suffer. I spent a sleepless night last night just thinking about him and crying out to the Lord to renew his little body, give him strength, and take away all of his pain. I watched my little girl in the monitor for a good portion of the night, just thanking God that she is healthy and praying over every little cell in her body. A healthy child is truly a miracle, and we are praying for a miracle for this little guy. Click here to read Ty's story and keep up with his progress

Climbing Out from Under This Rock

2011-01-07T22:39:00.003-06:00

Well, it's safe to say there is NOOOOO way to recap the events of the past 17 weeks since my last post. Many of the experiences I just can't possibly craft words for, and it seems like the most viciously overwhelming task to even try. So, I will just hit some high points.

I am cautious to write anything of the first few months for fear of sounding ungrateful for the precious gift who is sleeping like an angel in her room across the house. So let me preface: Everleigh is the most loved, most wanted, most treasured gift I have. I now know a mother's love, and it is definitely THE most powerful, and sometimes overwhelming, feeling I have ever felt. I think that's what makes it such a journey for a first-time mom. It's like learning to drive, driving the fastest, most powerful car out there...just turned loose, unbridled, behind a force more powerful than anything you've ever felt.

We obviously had Everleigh later in life than most...we are both 32. I pretty much helped raise many a friend's babies, so I just knew I was going to be GOLDEN when I finally had kids...knowing exactly what to expect and what to do with even the most unexpected. I was a seasoned vet...right? WRONG! I can sit here and conjure up the exact fear that I felt walking into my house with Everleigh for the first time knowing that this was it...we are on our own now...left to raise this perfect little person and make sure she turns out right. YIKES! But, the first two weeks were a cake walk! She slept when she should, and hardly ever cried. Granted, she woke up to eat a lot at night, but that was to be expected.

Around the two week mark, we started seeing a different side of our little angel. She cried more often and was harder to get to sleep and REALLY hard to get her to stay asleep outside of your arms. Day by day the times of crying got longer and the sleeping got shorter. The next thing we knew, she was crying constantly. At her doctor's appointments, we were told she just probably had colic and we could look for her to grow out of it by about 12 weeks (which felt like a CENTURY away!). I wasn't buying it though. My girl wasn't just crying. She was SCREAMING out of pain, and did so from the time she was coherent enough to realize she wasnt' sleeping anymore...before she even opened her eyes, she would begin screaming. And scream until we could finally rock, bounce, sway, or pat her with all the force we had in us. Dan would come home from work every day and I know I had a crazed look in my eyes because I had been doing a vicious cycle of all of the actions above since he had left that morning...and she would NOT let you put her down. She was also eating every hour, and would scream and fight me during the feedings...and she wouldn't have anything to do with a bottle. There were many times that we were both in tears. I hardly left the house at all for those first weeks because she just screamed. I also had to quit my job since my maternity leave was up and she couldn't be put down.

Finally, at seven weeks, Everleigh was diagnosed with acid reflux and a condition called Dysmotility, which basically means her little digestive system wasn't fully cooked when she was born. Switching her to formula was out of the question because she wouldn't be able to digest it in her condition. I have had to cut everything out of my diet including any and all dairy, wheat, gluten, citrus, tomatoes, garlic, potatoes, caffeine, and carbonated beverages, in order to make my milk as easy as possible on her little tummy. Luckily, with the meds we were given, and my restricted diet, she is a different baby. She is now sleeping well, and eating on a normal schedule (before, she was eating so often because babies cannot differentiate between a stomach pain and a hunger pain...so she was eating to soothe her hurting tummy, which was only perpetuating the problem). She is laughing and talking A LOT! Sweet little thing!

**We ALSO took Everleigh to a Chiropractor and believe the treatment she received is a HUGE factor in her quick turnaround.

All that to say (and this is where I automatically feel like a bad mom), it's been hard. It has not been what I expected motherhood to be. There have been lots and lots of tears shed...some mourning the loss of the picture perfect idea I had built up in my head of life with a perfectly healthy, sleeping, newborn. I can't count the number of times I said OUTLOUD to myself, "God gave THIS baby to YOU becuase YOU are the most perfect mother on the face of the Earth for her. No one else can love her and care for her like you can." The power of our words is amazing. The power of our thoughts is too because there were many days I would think myself into a hole..."I can't do this. Is she going to sleep? How long will she sleep? What if she doesn't sleep? When will I sleep? What does that cry mean? How can I not know how to help her if I am her mother?"

It has been really hard being away from close friends and family during this season. I have struggled through some pretty "alone" feelings, but hear that is normal for a first-time mom...especially one who is uber-social and has had to quit her job to care for this little one.

I will tell you what though, that baby's smiles and coos heal me every day. Every time she looks at me and smiles out of sheer joy that I am in her presence absolutely makes everything worth it. No, it's not what I expected, but she is mine and she loves me regardless of any inadequacies as a mother I might have. Though my best may not be THE best, it's good enough for her, and she loves her momma. We are enjoying watching her discover her world. She is mesmorized by her little hands, and it's the cutest thing to watch. She loves for me to say, "MOMMA!" to her. She loves for us to make funny noises with our mouths using our tongues, and mimics us. She loves the Octopus (who we have appropriately named "Ocho") on her Baby Einstein playmat. And best of all, she LOVES her Praise Baby DVD's...I even think she is trying to sing along with the worship songs sometimes! She is the most beautiful angel in the world, and we are blessed to call her ours.

In 2011, I promise to keep up with my blog. I really do. Now that I am figuring out this new life balance, I should have no problem doing it. So, keep your eyes open for the lastest musings in our life with baby Ev! It should be getting fun VERY soon!!!

She's Here!

2010-09-15T09:07:00.008-05:00

I'm so embarrassed that I haven't blogged since June 5th. Not that anyone was chomping at the bits for a new post, but I don't pride myself on starting things and not keeping up with them. However, there is news to share!

Our little Everleigh Hazel Maciuk made her debut one week ago today on September the 8th, and it has been THE best week of our lives! Since we have people all over the country...and world for that matter...who haven't heard the details, here they are!

**Scroll down to the bottom of this post to view pics!**

For the few weeks before Everleigh arrived, I was plagued with some serious heartburn and GERD (Gastro-esophogeal Reflux Disorder). I hadn't been sleeping much at night because of it and even though pregnancy was amazing for me, I had gotten to that proverbial place where I was "READY!" We had gone to our weekly doctor's appointments with much anticipation that SURELY I was dilated and efaced further, but were only told we were barely moving along. In fact, the day before she was born, we were told we were STILL parked at being dilated to a two and 75% efaced. Discouraging to say the least, however, her official due date wasn't until the 9/13, so we were just waiting! That afternoon, my heartburn/GERD was in FULL EFFECT! In fact, I ended up having to leave work at 4:00pm to go home and take medicine for it. I crashed on the couch in discomfort and couldn't get up for hours. I didn't know WHAT my deal was! I also reverted to the eating habits of my early pregnancy...all I wanted for dinner was veggies. Dan obliged and grilled me some K-Bobs.

Later that night when I was feeling a little better, I realized I had not felt Everleigh move all day like I had been. I knew she was running out of room, but I also knew that she should be moving the same amount, just differently with big movements vs. little kicks, etc. I just wasn't really feeling anything at all. I read up on ways to try to get her to move, and when to be concerned and notify the doctor. The next morning, after not feeling her move all night (and NO sleep), and I was trying to talk myself out of calling my doctor. I hate to be "that patient"...especially "that first-time mom patient" who is paranoid about EVERYTHING! I actually felt her move a little during my breakfast, and had all but talked myself out of calling. However, my motherly-instinct got the best of me on my drive to work and I called the nurse. She, surprisingly, told me to go to the Labor & Delivery Triage at the hospital and let them do a stress test. She said she thought everything would be fine because Everleigh's heart rate had been great at my appointment the day before.

I checked into Triage, and sure enough, her heart rate was perfect! And after drinking the cranberry/apple juice cocktail, our little angel was moving all around. They told me they HAD to monitor me for 30 minutes, but that I would be able to go after that. About 20 minutes into my 30 minute monitoring, the head Triage nurse came in and asked, "Do you want to have a birthday party today?" Now, if you know me, I am ALWAYS down for a birthday party...especially if it involves CAKE! : ) But I was confused. She then said, "She is not liking those contractions you are having, and her heart rate is dipping down every time you have one." I had NO idea I was having contractions, which was nice! She said they had called over to my doctor who said I was full-term, and because of the unknown reason her heart rate was dipping, they wanted to induce and let us meet Everleigh that day!

We were super excited! I was a little scared because this was not my *plan*. My plan was to go into labor on my own, and have the natural childbirth I had been mentally and physically preparing for my entire pregnancy. However, I had already made a deal with myself that if they had to induce for any reason, whether it be for concern or that Everleigh was just cooking too long, that I would forego the natural route because of the intensity of Pitocin contractions. I wasn't doing the natural route to be Superwoman, after all! So, that was a little disappointing, but quickly overshadowed by the joy that we were going to see her sweet face in just a little while!

After making all the appropriate phone calls to families in AR and TN, my Pitocin was started at around 11:00am. We were told it could be anywhere from 12 to 15 hours from there, so even though families and friends were jumping in cars and bustin' down I-40 and the turnpike from Fayetteville, we knew they had time. As had been the case with my progression until then, I was progressing slowly. Every time they would check, I had either not dilated anymore, or had dilated less than half a centimeter. I was checked at 3:00pm before the nurse shift change and was dilated to a five and 90% efaced. Finally! Some progress, but still a ways to go! The new nurse came in 30 minutes later and wanted to check me at the start of her shift and what a surprise we got! In that short time, I had gone from a five to a 10, and was 100% efaced! She sat me up and said we would "labor down" for 30 minutes, then start pushing! Dan got on the phone and notified all of the cars en route that they needed to put the pedal to the medal! My sister was to be in the delivery room with me, and she was an hour away at the time.

The 30 minutes flew by, and it was time to push. With Dan and our sweet friend Maggie by my side, I began to bring our little one into the world. With every push, I could feel the pressure of her getting closer and closer. It turns out that the reason her heart rate was dropping with contractions is that she had her little arm raised above her head with her umbilical cord squeezed between her arm and head. Every time I would have a contraction, it would squeeze a little harder. With my support team of doctors, nurses, Dan and Maggie, I was well coached and assured that I was doing a great job! After only 6 sets of pushes and 15 minutes, I heard a cry and the sweetest face I have ever seen was laid on my chest for the first time. Tears in my eyes just typing that sentence. She was and is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen...and the most perfect thing I have ever done in my life. My sister ran into the room just as they were laying Everleigh on my chest. Perfect timing!

Now, they had told me for months that Ev was going to be a "big baby" just based on measurements. They weren't sure about weight, but knew that our gal was measuring LOOOONG! So, in the weeks leading up to her arrival, I took all of her little newborn clothes back and traded them for the exact same items in the one size up for length. As soon as Dan cut the umbilical cord (after it quit pulsating...so about 3 minutes after birth), they took her over to measure and weigh her. They shouted out, "She is 6lbs 15oz and 20" long!" My doctor and I both said, "WHAT????" This presented a problem since I had taken all of her tiny clothes back! Oh well, it just meant more shopping! : )

After that, I nursed her for the first time, which was one of the aspects of motherhood I had been looking forward to the most! I had no clue how to do it, and had been prepped for the difficulty that it can be sometimes. Not for our little gal! She latched on correctly immediately and nursed for 15 minutes on both sides! The nurses were AMAZED! Our little over-achiever. : )

Since then, it has been nothing but joy! Some tears have been shed, but they are out of pure joy and overwhelming emotion. I never dreamed I could love something so quickly. It's emotional for me to look at her and think that I grew her inside of me for nine months, and now she is here and more perfect than I ever could have imagined. She is BEAUTIFUL!! I told Dan that I just never imagined she would be this beautiful. Not that I thought she would be ugly, but that I just couldn't imagine in my little mind anything THIS beautiful! Kind of like the Bible promises...what He has for us is good, and perfect, and pleasing, and more than we can ever ask, think, or imagine with our mere human minds.

We are so blessed, y'all. Pregnancy, delivery, and mommy-hood have been more than I ever could have dreamed. Before I married Dan, I really struggled with the overwhelming desire to be a wife and a mother and not knowing if it would EVER happen for me. At 4:00am when I am staring at my little gal while she is eating, I feel this fullness in my heart knowing this is exactly what I was created for...the reason that nothing else was completely satisfying. I was made to be Dan's wife and Everleigh's momma. Praise God for his love, mercy, and faithfulness in always bringing me back on course to His plan for me. It is so fulfilling.

We love you all, and can't wait for you to meet her! We are being pretty protective of her for the first however many weeks of her life, but will bring her out for show-and-tell when she is good and ready! For now, here are some pics that my sweet friend Brooke Robinson took at the hospital. She was one of the first phone calls we made when we found out Everleigh was coming, and she IMMEDIATELY took her kids out of school, loaded up her hubby, and headed to OKC from Fayetteville to meet our little one. Forever grateful for frienships like that. Brookie, you are precious to me.

Love you all! Thank you for sharing in our excitement and joy throughout this entire time.

Now, I present to you, Miss EVERLEIGH HAZEL MACIUK!

Official

2010-06-05T00:01:00.002-05:00

It's official. No turning back. I am way pregnant and have several new forms of proof...

My bellybutton is OFFICIALLY turned inside out. Ick.

I OFFICIALLY have a linea negra (dark line) down my tummy.

I am OFFICIALLY hungry ALL...THE...TIME!

I am OFFICIALLY being woken up at 4:00am every morning by a kicking Everleigh who is in a big hurry to get somewhere!

Good times! Only 15 weeks left!

Everleigh's Nursery

2010-05-27T23:41:00.012-05:00

Well, after much turmoil, debate, back-and-forth, color psychology, and split-personalitied indecisiveness...we have FINALLY decided on a nursery for Miss Everleigh. Y'all, you would have thought I was picking out china patterns for the Queen of England, or even worse, having to pick out my wedding dress again! The horror!!! But, I have finally decided, and here it is.

This will be her furniture, and I am absolutely in love with it. I love the little crystal knobs and the detailed carving. It's black, but has a hint of brown in this pic...

This will be her bedding, etc., which interestingly enough is called "Harlow"...one of the names I loved for a little girl...

And this will be the color of her walls...

Heart Day

2010-05-04T22:08:00.004-05:00

Just in under the gun!

Look at this YUMMY, creative cradle!!!! Je t'aime!

For those about to ROCK...
We salute you!

Our Little Lovey

2010-05-03T12:53:00.005-05:00

The big news is here! We are having a baby GIRL! Everleigh Hazel Maciuk will join us in September and we are just giddy with excitement and anticipation!

We told our families on Friday night by ordering a cake that was iced in white but the cake on the inside was the color of the gender of our little lovey. You can imagine the excitement and surprise when my little sister cut into it and pulled out a PINK slice of cake! We also had everyone there dress in either pink or blue, depending on what their gender guess was! FUN!

Many have wondered where we came up with the name, Everleigh Hazel, so here it is. Dan and I were wanting a unique name that was also classic and timeless. A blogger I follow regularly, mostly because of her BEAUTIFUL writing and way with words, had a daughter in January. I was reading the post about her birth aloud to Dan one night when I came across the name of her daughter, Everly. Dan and I both just stopped and said, "THAT'S IT!" We instantly fell in love with how sweet, delicate, and timeless it sounds, as well as how unique and almost old Hollywood it is! At the time we didn't know we were having a girl, but we just knew this was to be her first name if we did!

Now here's the really cool story. Her middle name will be Hazel...the first name of my precious, beloved Grandma who lost her fight with Lupus & Parkinson's Disease on September 18, 2008, just before Dan and I were married. I ADORED my Grandma, and have wanted to honor her by naming a daughter Hazel for as long as I can remember. When we went for my first ultrasound, they set my due date to September 17, the day before the anniversary of when she went to be with Jesus. I have been a little sad about that because I wouldn't want our baby to be born on a day that will forever be a little sad for me. However, when we had our ultrasound last Thursday and they told us we are to be the parents of a baby GIRL, they ALSO changed our due date to September 13, which was my Grandma's BIRTHDAY!! Now, the chances of us actually having her on our due date are slim, but it confirmed that this girl was meant to be Hazel. I know my Grandma is smiling in heaven at the thought of that. I rarely saw her smile in the last few years of her life, so that makes me happy.

We are already in love with just the thought of her. We find ourselves daydreaming about what she will look like, how cute she will be in her funky little clothes, how funny she will be, how much HAIR she will have, playing the piano and drums, doing ballet, etc. : ) Hey, a parent can dream, right? Most of all, we daydream about how much our hearts are going to explode with love every second we spend with her. We have prayed for her for a long time, and know she is a precious, timely, gift from God. A reminder that He does love us dearly, and finds us worthy to bring HIS children into the world and raise them in the way they should go. I can't wait to be a momma to Miss Everleigh. I love you little girl!

Heart Day!

2010-04-26T22:37:00.007-05:00

Is it cheating to post my "Heart Day" blog the day before my actual "Heart Day?" Isn't that the essence of these "Heart Day" posts...to give me a break from my usual hectic Tuesdays to reflect on the little things in life that suit my fancy? Well, I know tomorrow will be exceptionally busy for me, so I am already thinking about these treasures!

I ADORE this crib!!

But will probably be just as happy with this one since it's LOTS cheaper!

This onesie is a MUST HAVE around our house! What a great way to explain to your baby EXACTLY where they came from! ; )

This DELICIOUS blue chair with silver nail heads and upholstery that feels better than velvet!

And last, but certainly not least, I believe this is my life anthem...don't you?

A tummy, time out, and treats!

2010-04-18T22:18:00.006-05:00

We had a FUN weekend! We went to Kansas City to see our fun friends, Jared and Mandy, and their PRECIOUS girls, London (4), Cadence (3), and Rilo (1). They are too much fun!! It's always nice to be around friends that you can just be so silly and laugh until your belly hurts. We have some FUNNY stories from the weekend, for sure! Love you guys!

We finally bought something for our little sweetie pie this weekend! Is it sad that the first thing we bought it has to do with discipline? This little white patent leather chair will serve as our "Time-Out" chair. It is TOOOO cute! You can't really tell how little it is here, but it stands about 36" tall. If our little one loves this chair as much as I do, we may have to re-think the "time-out" plan.

Now THIS is a big deal! I guess this is considered our second baby purchase. If you saw my first "Heart Day" post, you know that I want an old vintage pram stroller so badly! However, they are SUPER expensive, so I knew I wouldn't be able to have one. Not to mention how unpractical they are! They are MASSIVE and you can't really fold them up and put them in the back of your car to go to the park. BUT, they are gorgeous, so dream I did. Until my dream came true on Saturday! My sister-in-law found this original Marmet pram, made in England, at a garage sale in Nashville! These prams range from $600 to $1000 on EBay right now! It was owned by an Olympic swimmer from England, and made its way to the states, and now into my arms! I can't WAIT to push our little one around in this! Our baby is ALREADY stylin'!!!!

And last, but certainly not least, the tummy pic. Oh boy, this sucker is growing at a RAPID rate! My doctor DID tell me a couple weeks ago to expect to double in size over the next few weeks, and I am WELL on my way! It's fun though! I love pregnant bellies, and mine is no exception. Last Thursday we got to go have another ultrasound because we have a friend who is an ultrasound tech at the hospital. We watched our sweetie for 45 minutes! It was moving all around, sitting Indian style, sucking its little thumb. At one point it even took its thumb out of its mouth and gave us a thumbs up! : ) I was measuring about a week ahead, so I fully expect my due date to change at our official doctor's appointment on the 29th. I am now feeling movement quite often. It is THE neatest feeling in the world! Every time I feel it, it still makes me sit straight up with my eyes wide open. I hope I never get used to it. We are in love with you, baby Maciuk! You are already the apple of our eyes!

Heart Day

2010-04-13T23:15:00.004-05:00

Not gonna lie...today was a rough one. The pregnancy emotions combined with the usual stress of my Tuesday schedule got the best of me. But, I designed this diaper bag tonight at my fave, 1154 Lill Studio in Kansas City, and it's making me feel MUCH better! Oh, and I also designed this wedding invitation for my dear friends Matt and Maggie tonight! They loved it, so SCORE! I think it's pretty cute too...just like them! They are getting married on my birthday, and that's THE best present anyone could give me! WEDDING CAKE ON MY BIRTHDAY! Hope you all had a MUCHO FAB Tuesday!

A Great Man...

2010-04-09T22:46:00.004-05:00

Sometimes you meet someone in your lifetime who you know is a treasure from that first moment. That's how I felt when I was introduced to Tommy Van Zandt in 2004. I was to be the Account Executive assigned to his commercial real estate business at the agency I was with at the time. Tommy and I hit it off QUICKLY! You see, I'm a daddy's girl somethin' fierce, and I learned quickly that Tommy's great love was being a husband (to one of the most beautiful women I know) and, a father. My heart tends to seek out those types...the "Dad" away from my Dad, if you will. Although no one will EVER, EVER, EVER top my daddy in my heart, a girl can never have too many "dad-figures" to admire when she doesn't get to see hers every day. I found that in my friendship with Tommy Van Zandt. Over the next few years, my career path took me in a few different directions. No matter the direction, Tommy would always check in...like a "dad" would. When I would see him at the gym, at the coffee shop, or out on the town, I always got a "dad" style hug, and that big TVZ smile. One day I saw him in Panera Bread, and he introduced me to one of my future bosses, David Roth, President of WorkMatters, an incredible faith in the workplace ministry, that I later worked for for a little over a year before moving to Oklahoma City. Whoever was a friend of Tommy's was a friend of mine!

About a year and a half ago, I did a rebranding project for Sage Partners, Tommy's commercial real estate company in Fayetteville. Our friendship really, really blossomed during that time when I would office with them about 15 hours a week. We would laugh (he thinks I'm crazy), I would share about my relationship with Dan and how it was progressing, and he would share about his family and kids. He would ask advice on raising teenagers since Dan was a youth pastor and I was fully involved in his ministry. Sweet, sweet times. In fact, similar to what a young man would do with a girl's father, Dan went to Tommy before he proposed to me to let him know what he was planning to do, and ask permission to take me away for a few days. I still have the email Tommy wrote in response to Dan. It was the sweetest thing.

Last February, Tommy was injured cutting limbs in his backyard after the ice storm. He fell from a 10-foot ladder and immediately knew he had broken his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. Our hearts were completely BROKEN for Tommy and his family. I remember laying in bed the night I found out and just bursting into tears of compassion and hurt for them. I called my husband just bawling. How could something like this happen to such a good, precious, LOVED man? A man who was so active! I used to see Tommy at the gym five mornings a week running before work...an avid outdoorsman...the father of two teenage boys? After a stay at the hospital in Fayetteville, Tommy was moved to Denver to a rehab hospital where he would stay for months. In the meantime, Dan and I moved to Oklahoma City. The last conversation I had on the phone with Tommy was telling him that we were thinking about taking the job in Oklahoma City.

Fast forward to this morning. I had the PRIVILEGE of going back to hear Tommy speak about his experience and his influence at the WorkMatters Eight-to-Five Unplugged event. I also got to see all of my old co-workers from WorkMatters! No one knew I was coming, which was really fun, including Tommy. I snuck in the back door because I was running a few minutes behind the 6:30am start time. Right when I walked in, Tommy and I locked eyes for the first time in over a year, and he winked at me to acknowledge he knew I was there. That was the beginning of the water works for me.

This is an amazing man. The room was PACKED...standing room only...with people who love and admire him for who he was before the accident, and who he has become after. He spoke about how he felt the Holy Spirit on him and in him while he was laying on the ground waiting for someone to find him that day. He spoke about how God is using this situation to influence others in his life on a day-to-day, minute-to-minute basis. He talked about how prayer really works. He talked about how life can truly change in the time it takes to fall from a 10-foot ladder in your own backyard. Then after, people got to stand up and tell how Tommy has influenced THEIR life.

I didn't say anything in front of the crowd, but wanted to. I would have told Tommy that he is a precious friend and has poured so much into my life. He has been such an example of how a husband should love a wife. I remember him telling me on more than one occasion that he "married WAY out of his league." We would laugh about that and assure him that he, in fact, HAD married out of his league! : ) However, what he doesn't know is that one of the moments I knew I was going to marry Dan was when he told someone I was "out of his league." And that was all because of Tommy. I admire and love him as a business man, a husband, a father, a friend, and most of all, as my brother in Christ. I would have told him that I don't understand why this is God's plan for his life, but I know he must be considered worthy to carry such a ministry position.

People's lives were changed today, and I have no doubt that they are changed every day because of Tommy. I have tears welling up in my eyes right now just thinking of him and how brave and humble and courageous he is. He has embraced this situation with such grace and beauty, and my heart needed to see that after a year. I got to speak with Tommy today and joke around with him like we always did. I "tried" to ask about Robyn (his wife) and the boys, but all he wanted to know about was me...my pregnancy, our house, my job, our church, etc. That's Tommy for ya...typical Tommy. I love that man. I absolutely adore him. And I treasured our time together today. Thanks for who you are, Tommy. You are a precious, precious man.

2010-03-24T23:42:00.003-05:00

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday! I was so excited because I thought we were going to get to see our little nugget again! Guess I just thought you got to see them every time. I had hoped this was true because sometimes, when you haven't really been sick at all or had any weird cravings, you wonder if they are really in there. Anywho, we didn't get to see the baby, but we DID get to hear the heartbeat again! And by the sound of it, I think this is what we are having...

Not because it was saying "ribbit", but because they had to chase the precious little thing all over my stomach to keep track of the heartbeat (which is very healthy, by the way)! The nurse even commented that it was a very active baby, and because of that, I might start feeling it sooner than later! I cannot wait for that day!! This also might explain why I've been so dad'gum tired! They baby is active enough for both of us!

We went over some desires and plans with our doctor, whom we LOVE, as well. She asked about where we wanted to deliver, if I wanted to breast or bottle feed, etc. One of the last questions was epidural or natural delivery? Now, those of you who might not know me as well, I've got a little hippy, flower-child, running through my veins. Just enough for me to prefer organic vs. non-organic, make-up that makes you look like you don't have any on, boycott on most over-the-counter and prescription meds (see the movie "The Constant Gardner"), the windows down on the car and up in the house, and truth be told, a shower every other day or so (I take a sink bath on those days...don't worry). So natural childbirth is naturally my first option, and no, I'm not a glutton for punishment. There is something very pure about it in my mind. The way God intended it to be (after the fall, of course). An uninhibited expression of "I am momma, hear me roar." And I'm sure I will roar plenty! Something is so sweet and attractive to me about experiencing every bit of pregnancy, the joys and the pains, right along with this precious lovely one I am growing inside of me. I have been called everything from stupid, to idiot, and everything in between when sharing that with most. I was relieved to find that my doctor fully supports it, with the proper preparation both mentally and physically. It is my desire to spend as much time getting ready for this as I can including, yoga, reading, meditation and pain management breathing. It is also my desire to hire a doula, or labor coach, to help me through it. So, call me what you will, I feel like it's the right thing for me this time. It is in NO WAY an attempt to be SuperWoman. Just something I feel deep down in my spirit.

We will find out what we are having on Thursday, April 29th! I am down with whatever! I will be in love no matter what! My hubby, on the other hand, is smitten with the idea of being a daddy to a baby girl. I think he daydreams in rose-colored glasses already, and I'm SURE he would paint that nursery pink TODAY if I would let him! Cutie! We are pumped, no matter what, and are blessed and honored to be chosen to raise a little one.

With that, any wagers on what we'll be having? Girl or boy?

Heart Day

2010-03-23T22:16:00.004-05:00

If I had known this dress existed, I would have married my husband in it. It is so delicate and elegant...and BLUE! Beautiful!

Heart Day #3

2010-03-16T13:40:00.004-05:00

I am super busy at work and working through lunch, so this will be a quick "Heart Day" but well worth it!

I have watched this 100 times, and could watch it 100 more. It makes me giggle like a little girl.

Oh, and I'm ready for summer dresses that fit high above my ever-growing tum-tum...like this one...
Happy Tuesday, my dearies!

Might Be the Death of Me

2010-03-11T13:36:00.002-06:00

This is what my knees looked like when I woke up this morning. These little things just might be the death of me! HIVES! I have broken out in hives for over a year now. It started on March 7th, 2009, when I was at my parents house for a wedding. I didn't sleep all night because I was itching. I usually only break out on my knees, elbows, ankles, shoulders, etc. and only at night when I am under the covers. I have seen many allergists and I am not allergic to anything. I have Cholinergic Uticaria, or hives that break out due to heat or lack of airflow to the skin. They are chronic and can last anywhere from 6 months to 3-5 years. I've got one year under my belt, so that's good. There are only two things I can do to help them: 1) Take an antihistamine like Allegra or Zyrtec every day. I don't like to take medicine, especially something I have to take every day, so that's out. OR 2) Just get naked and cool off. Which has been my method of choice for a year.

Anyway, if you think to, just say a little prayer for my hives. I just want them to go away for good. They are annoying and have worn out their welcome.

Heart Day #2

2010-03-09T11:06:00.010-06:00

So, on this second Heart Day, I thought I would explain the "why" behind Tuesdays being my least favorite day of the week. Tuesday's are blah...for lack of better words. Monday is typically the worst day of choice for most. However, to me, Monday holds a little bit of excitement. Key words being "little bit". You have just come off of the weekend, and somehow things seem new again. Then you get to Tuesday. For me, I have meetings all morning on Tuesday, starting at 9:00am (which is TOUGH to pull off when I am preggers and tired) and ending at noon. So right off the bat, half of my day is squashed. But overall, you are just sitting in the middle of the week, closer to the beginning than you are to the end. And it's just yuck to me.

So with that said, here are my "hearts" for the week...and they certainly make me smile today!

Red lips...AND Sandra Bullock. I love matte red lipstick and I love Sandy at the Oscars.

McDonald's Hot Fudge Sundae! Best hot fudge in the nation...hands down!

These pink peony letter press thank you notes. Love, love, lovey!

This lovely, flowy, feminine, feathery, peach top...bellisimo!

Heart Day #1

2010-03-02T12:41:00.014-06:00

Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week. Hands down. It's a lull, a drag, a big fat pain in the you know what. So, in an effort to lift my spirits on Tuesdays, I am going to post a whole slew of things I heart. So instead of being "hard days," Tuesdays will now be known as "heart days." Here's the first dose of things that make me warm and fuzzy and giddy and well, just lovely things...

J'adore this bed and the wallpaper (that's a dirty word)! I am obsessed with this vintage pram! Our baby needs this. Too bad I would have to sell our baby to pay for it! Actively searching for a knock-off.

My Cashy kitty. I might heart him the most off all these things.

Beautiful bassinet. I love you.

Love the horizontal stripes and the lamps hanging above the crib in this nursery.

Love the birds on the ceiling in this nursery!

This nursery is INCREDIBLE!!!! One of our faves for sure!

I just want to drink the pink in this room! And the mom looks like my Brookie!

LOVE the dust ruffles under these cribs! Gorgeous!

I love everything about this girly nursery. Precious!

And last but not least...I heart Sesame Street and Feist FOR SURE!

First Baby MUST-HAVE!!

2010-02-28T23:54:00.006-06:00

This is the first of many, I'm sure...but if we have a little girly-girl, you can COUNT on her rockin' these....

You + Me...and BABY makes 3!

2010-02-28T14:06:00.003-06:00

I know...I know...I am terrible at keeping up with my blogging. When I really think about all that has happened in our lives over the past year that I HAVEN'T blogged about, I feel like a world-class loser! I promise to be better. I HAVE to be better, because...

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!

That's right...we are going to be parents on (or around) September 17, 2010! We have known for about eight weeks now, and it is still just as exciting to say it as it was when I walked out of that bathroom with a positive pregnancy test in my hand! We were so shocked...so excited...and SO SHOCKED!!

We have been "trying" to get pregnant...well, really just "not preventing" it...since we got married. If you know me well at all, you know I am not a proponent of birth control. Not for any religious reasons, but just not being completely comfortable in my spirit with it FOR ME. We also want as many babies as God wants to give us (hence the reason I LOVE the Duggars!). We had actually stopped "trying", using ovulation strips, etc. in December when we closed on the house. We knew this dwelling was going to take every bit of energy, time, and resources we had, so we just put it on the back-burner. I also had a much-anticipated appointment with a hormone specialist in January that would tell us for sure if we were ovulating correctly and hopefully FINALLY explain my spotting between periods for the past two years. Out of that appointment, they confirmed that my progesterone levels were "normal" and that I had ovulated in January. They sent me skipping away with the word that we should be good to go when everything settles down for us, and "to pretend like we were 16-year-old's in the backseat of a car because they don't want to get knocked up and they do." No joke. The doctor said that to me.

The week after that appointment, I was EXHAUSTED! We had been working for nearly two months on the house and I was plumb tuckered OUT! I was also STARVING like I never had been before...craving the most random things at the same time...which is not too far off for me since I am a food junkie at her finest. Something inside me just kept asking, "are you pregnant?" But I KNEW I wasn't because of the doctor's appointment the week before...so I dismissed. Finally, one Sunday when I couldn't even pry myself off the couch to go to church that morning, I asked Dan to pick up a pregnancy test on his way home from church. Now, had we been really trying and expecting, I would have taken the test by myself and surprised him with the results somehow. But, I KNEW it was going to be negative, so I just hopped up and went in the bathroom and took it, with Dan on the couch watching some man show. The next steps go like this...

1. Pee on stick
2. Notice dominant pink stripe coming through
3. Wait a few and don't see anything else coming through, confirming what I thought
4. Get up and wash hands
5. Out of the corner of my eye see not one, but TWO pink stripes in the window of the test...PREGO!
6. Emerge from bedroom
7. Yell, "Dan! You better get in here! That thing is positive!"
8. Assume it was user error and plan on taking the second test of the 2-pack in the morning
9. Take another test the next morning which is VERY positive!
10. Make appointment with family doctor who confirms the results with a blood test and informs us that we are about five weeks pregnant.
11. Jump, scream, shout, thank Jesus for giving us this baby, pray for health, swear each other to secrecy for the next 10 weeks until we are in the clear

Over the next weeks we found out that my progesterone was IN FACT low, not "normal," so I am taking progesterone for 12 weeks to even me out. That explains why the hormone specialist didn't know I was pregnant when I was in. My progesterone LOOKED "normal" to them, when in fact, it was high for me since I was pregnant. We have also seen our little chicken nugget twice since then, the last time being last Monday when it had its foot in its mouth and the heart beat sounded like a racing horse. (See pic below) Now we are just basking in the thoughts and dreams of being parents...and trying to put together a plan to get this house that we thought we had all the time in the world to finish, finished in 6 months! Not to mention a nursery! (Monetary donations and donations of time are being accepted)

I have never been this sleepy in my life. I have never spent more time in my pajamas, hair in a pony tail, and no make-up in my life. I am just lethargic. It's all I can do to get in the door and in my pj's after work. Praying that part goes away soon, because I am a busy-body at heart and this is killin' me. I have not been that sick though...can I get a hallelujah?? I have been pretty consistenly nauseas, but never sick, sick, sick, proving that God is not just good...He is GREAT!

I have dreamed of this since I was little girl. I am a mother at heart, and have always known it. If you have kids, I have probably loved them as if they were my own at some point in time. I have a heart for children, and have longed for nothing more in life than to be a wife and a mother. God gave me both in a little over a year. Mmmm....so sweet.

So now, we just wait and pray for our little one. Pray for it to grow, grow, grow into a healthy, beautiful, sweet little thing. Pray for it to experience love from us and Jesus before it even enters the world. Pray for it to have a life of joy, passion, purity, kindness, and love for Jesus and others. We have loved this baby since it was just a thought, and pray it feels that already.

Thanks for celebrating with us. YAY! Stay tuned for more baby bid'ness!

Hiatus

2010-01-30T17:23:00.002-06:00

It's been a while! Since the last time I posted, Dan and I closed on the house I previously blogged about, and have been living in renovation and remodeling heaven...sometimes it has been hell, not gonna lie. We have sanded until our fingerprints and fingernails are no more, caulked until our hands hurt from pulling the trigger, sledge hammered and torn out until our shoulders can't take anymore, etc. However, we are ALMOST there!

Y'all, my husband...ohhhhhhhhh my husband is so many things! He is Superman, Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and well...he's just my hero. He has pulled all the weight in this remodel and has built something both of us really never dreamed we would have. He has been a plumber, a carpenter, a painter, a sheet rock hanger, a wall texturer, a tile layer...you name it, he's done it. He is amazing, and everytime I am grateful for this house, I am over-the-top grateful for him and his hard work.

We are also so grateful to all of our friends who helped us out with this project. It has been seven weeks of intense labor and we couldn't have done it without you...you know who you are. We also want to thank our family and friends for their patience with us. We haven't seen or even talked to most of our loved ones in seven weeks, as we have been at the house every free second before and after work for that time. We can't wait to reconnect, and hopefully have you all come visit soon!

The plan was to move in this weekend, but have been set back because of the ice storm. We will move in next weekend, and I will post more pics then! The pics below are organized by room in the house and show progression from beginning until the first coat of wood paint went on last week. I don't have pics of the final woodwork yet because I haven't been able to get over there in the ice. Keep your cursor at the bottom of the photo to read the caption.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post these! I really haven't had a spare second until now. Enjoy!

He Gives & Takes Away

2009-11-28T12:31:00.003-06:00

What a past couple of weeks Dan and I have had! As MANY of you know, we have been anticipating the closing of our new house. Apparently there REALLY was a mortgage debacle, and I can now say with all confidence that has to be easier to get guns through airport security than to go through the loan process right now. It has been two months of jumping through hoops to get information that seems absolutely ridiculous to outsiders, but the underwriters need it for some unknown reason. Two months. We were originally supposed to close on October 27th. Well that date came and went in the blink of an eye. Since then, we have been told time and time again that we will close in a couple of days. Those days come and go, and we stare in anticipation at another closing date a couple days later. Needless to say, we have felt similar to cards in the spoke of a bicycle wheel...around and around and around and around, hitting our heads with every turn of the wheel. It has been two months of HIGH anxiety and waiting. If you know me, you know that patience is the very LEAST of my virtues. That "Type A" personality just doesn't allow for it.

All things said and done, we have just been hoping to close before the Thanksgiving holiday so we would have days to work on this house without having to take vacation days from work. We also have a sweet friend moving to OKC from South Dakota who is going to live with us for a while and she will be here tomorrow. When we didn't have a closing date at the beginning of this week, we started to get a bit panicked. We were calling our poor lender every couple of hours asking for updates. After all, it HAS been two months and they have everything but our elementary school report cards and blood samples. As we drew closer to Thanksgiving day, we knew this was not looking good. Finally on Wednesday morning, our lender yanked our file out of underwriting and asked them to push it up to the Regional Manager because nothing was being done on it. The good news is that they responded within 30 minutes of that call. The bad news is, they filed us as a risk and denied our loan after having our file for two months...just like that. Our lender was so upset, and told us that he knows they just got mad with us pushing and looked for the first "risky" item to deny us. That risky item was the fact that Dan does roofing on the side, and has done quite a bit in the past few months. What??? Wouldn't that make you feel safer knowing that if something were to happen to one of our salaried jobs, we would still be able to bring in income???? So, we have reapplied with another lender, and hopefully they can push it through for us this week. Not cool. What's a girl gotta do to be in a home? The worst part was that we felt completely blind sided. We were both made to think that it wasn't a matter of "if" we were going to close, but "when." Hard stuff.

Needless to say, we were pretty bummed on Wednesday. The thought of not getting this house is just too much to bear right now. I can't even go there in my mind, but have to prepare myself for whatever may come at the same time. All the plans we have made are tentatively on hold until we know more. We already have things moved into the garage of this home. However, God totally smiled on us Wednesday in the midst of our grief and frustration. Dan was getting ready for youth service when he heard a little cry from the bushes outside of the youth building. He kept hearing it and hearing it, growing louder and louder. A pitiful little cry. When he started looking, he saw a little kitten buried deep in the bushes, scared to death. He worked to get his hands on it, and finally did. He took it inside and let some of the youth girls comfort the little baby until I could get over there. When I got there, it was over. That kitty was no longer homeless. He is the sweetest little thing. He is a chocolate brown, long-haired kitten with bright green eyes. He is SOOOOOO lovey, but he is super scared. He limps on his back leg and has a tail that is broken off about 2/3 of the way up, so it makes a hard 90 degree angle and just hangs on the tip. When he is not running from hiding place to hiding place, he will let you love on him and just purrs and purrs. He is precious.

We took him to the vet yesterday to have his leg and tail looked at, as well as his overall health examined. We found out that he is about 9-10 weeks old, and is pretty sicky. He was running a fever of about 103.7, which would be about 101.7 in humans. The doctor seemed to think he had probably been attacked and bitten by a larger animal, which explained the leg, tail, and fever. He also had some fleas and roundworms. He was treated for all of those, and given an antibiotic to take for the next seven days. Poor little guy. He's had a rough run for the first few weeks of his life. Wednesday was his lucky day. He found a home where two people will absolutely adore him. It hurts my heart to think about where he came from and how he has been living. He is so scared of humans. We can love on him and he purrs, but the second you put him down, he is instantly afraid again. It will take him a while, but we know he is going to be just fine. We are trying to name him, and thinking Jett, Sambo (Sam), or Rocco. Little cutie.

So see, the Lord DOES give and takeaway. We are being taught serious trust right now, but in the midst of that, we can see that the Lord gave us a little special gift to show us He loves us and also to keep our minds off our current situation during the Holiday weekend. Pray for us if you think about it. Pray for this house and for our hearts. Also pray for our little kitty to heal and feel at home with us. He found us Wednesday, we didn't find him. He has already brought new love into our home. Sweet little baby.

18 Kids...AND Jenn

2009-11-23T23:27:00.007-06:00

Can't believe I haven't posted these pics of my time spent with my favorite family (other than my own) in the entire world! THE DUGGARS! Most definitely two of my favorite pics EVER! And yes, they are as sweet in person as they are on the show, 18 Kids & Counting. Thank you, Brooke, for letting me experience this with you!

Oh, hi Jim-Bob and Michelle! Happy 25th Anniversary (and congrats on #19 in the oven!!!!)

Just kickin' it with the Duggar girls! Jessa, my FAVE, is to my left. Happy day!
I asked them if they got to pick out their bridesmaid dresses, and they said they made them...of COURSE they did! Silly me!

Our Not-So-Nice Neighbor

2009-10-28T21:42:00.005-05:00

So, as you know, we are buying this new house. The GOOD news is, they have agreed to fix the AC! Woop! Woop! We are pumped about that! We were supposed to close yesterday, but they aren't starting the work until this Friday. Hopefully we will close a week from today! The BAD news lies in a little adventure that started a week ago tomorrow...last Thursday.

My little sis, Whit, was in town last week. I love it when she is here. She's my BFF. I knew we couldn't get into the house since we have it under contract, but wanted to walk her around the outside of the house to look in the windows. Now, let me back track to the week before when we were there getting bids to repair the AC. It was dark, and the last company was outside examining the AC units. They came in quickly and said, "Umm...a dog just busted through your fence from your neighbor's backyard!" We were standing in the living room, and sure enough, there at the back door was a black dog. We really didn't think much about it, and I guess I just assumed he had gotten in by digging or something. We left that night, and I hadn't thought about it since. Now, fast forward to me walking around the house with Whit...

We had just walked through the rod-iron gate to the backyard, and were looking in the window to the mother-in-law suite, when Whit said, "Uh-oh!" Then I saw in the reflection in the window, what was obviously the dog who had busted through the fence standing about 20 feet behind us, on point (front paw raised, ears raised, and tail straight up in the air). We were really still, and tried to act like everything was okay. I was really wanting to see what the dog would do before we moved. He went over to a bush, went #1 (pee), then started crouching toward us. I told Whit, who was closer to the gate about 8 feet away, to GO! She went as quickly as she could and I was right behind her. But as we were moving, so was he...and QUICKLY! I BARELY made it through the gate before he lunged at the gate, barking viciously and biting. I had to hold the gate closed with all of my body weight just to keep him from us; then when he rared back to come at us again, I was able to reach down quickly and lock the gate. We were both so scared. He was inches from getting me before I got to the gate. Whit's phone was in the car, and there was NO WAY she could have gotten him off of me if he had attacked me. We also noticed that there were several places where he had, in fact, busted through the fence...taking out 2x4's and all. There was also a note on the front door where people who were there to do inspections and other work on the house could not complete their work because they couldn't get in the back yard. Here is a pic I found online of what the dog looks like. He is obviously a Pit Bull/Boxer mix, and I'm pretty sure his name is something like "Lucifer" or "Satan."

When we left that day, I called our WONDERFUL realtor, who said the listing agent had been over to the neighbor's about the dog three times and no one was home. Then I called animal control, who said all they could do is go out to the neighbor's house and talk to them. They couldn't go onto the property if he was contained. I talked to a friend whose kids were attacked by Boxers in their neighborhood when they were little, and she was telling me there isn't much you can do legally unless they actually attack and are willing to pay in a law suit. I was getting discouraged, and told Dan on Saturday that this might be a deal-breaker for me if we can't do anything about it. One of the things we loved most about this house was the backyard, and the fact that we could have our youth over to play all the time. As it stood, we couldn't even get three feet in our backyard with that dog. So, we called our realtor again and told her how concerned I was. She said the listing agent had gone over again, and they said it wasn't their dog. PERFECT! Now we have a rabid STRAY dog, and animal control could surely take him!

I drove by again on Sunday, and there he was, coming from the neighbor's yard. This time I stood outside the gate, and he ran full speed at the gate and hit it head on trying to get to me, barking and biting the whole time. VICIOUS! I called animal control AGAIN, and they said they would send someone out to file a complaint, and call me before so I could meet them there. Then they could go on the property. They never called.

All the while, I felt like Dan might have thought I was exaggerating just a bit. He hadn't ever seen the dog himself, and I think he thought if he went over, there would be a chihuahua in the backyard. So Monday morning, I sent him over by himself and asked him to simply walk up to the gate and say, "Hello." I also gave him Animal Control's number. It didn't take him long to call them when he got there, as the dog was back and mean as ever. He called them with the dog right next to him going nuts so they could hear it. They said they would send someone out, but 2.5 hours later, nothing. He called them again, and finally they told us that we weren't a priority because no one had been bitten. So, we called the Police, telling them we had called Animal Control four times, and they wouldn't come out. We were supposed to close on this house, and a stray dog was preventing us from doing so.

The police came out and handled it immediately. He called Animal Control and told them to get their butt's over there and get this crazy dog. He went to the neighbor's where he was told they didn't have a Pit Bull/Boxer, but had a Lab/German Shepherd. The policeman made the owner walk him around back, and as soon as they walked into the yard, the dog charged at the policeman. The owner had to grab him by the collar and hold him the entire time. The policeman told him that was, in fact, a Pit Bull, and he had to keep him INSIDE the house at all times, and repair the fence immediately, or they were going to come back and take the dog. When the policeman came back over to our house to make sure the dog was in, he walked into the backyard with his gun drawn...THAT'S the caliber of dog we are dealing with. Animal Control finally showed up, and went over to give the neighbor a warning. If that dog so much as sticks his NOSE on our property, WE (Dan and I) will have the choice whether they take the dog and issue him a ticket starting at $7500 to get the dog back, or file Dangerous Dog charges against them, and if he is found guilty, the dog will have to be put down.

So, for now it's handled. I can't say I feel completely safe in the backyard just yet. The fence isn't repaired, and I'm anxious to see how long that dog is kept in the house. I do feel better knowing now that there is a record in Public Services, Animal Control has to respond IMMEDIATELY to any call we make about this dog, and we have the choice of what is done with him. The policeman told me that if that dog had gotten a hold of me last Thursday, he would have killed me. That's not cool. Not cool at all, dawg!! I feel safe to say, my hubby would probably take care of him first if it came to that!

That Hamster Wheel Called "Life"

2009-10-15T22:12:00.005-05:00

Well, life has been crazy, y'all. For reals. So crazy that I haven't blogged since 'Nam! Sorry 'bout that. But I find myself home alone tonight, and all I want to do is dump this brain. Bear with me, this could be lengthy...

Update since my last post...we did NOT get the house below. As I expected, our highest offer, and their lowest asking price had a big gap between them. We didn't even counter back, which made the realtor a little mad, but the price just wasn't smart for us, so we went on our merry way...to a foreclosure in a neighborhood close to the one I grew up in. This house was DIRT CHEAP, and more house than I believed we would ever live in!!! It needed some work, but we were excited about that. My hubs is bomb at construction and renovations, and the profit we were going to turn if we sold one day was SICK! I literally had $ $ for eyeballs! So we made an offer...the first one in the five months the house had been on the market...or so we thought. Turns out another couple made an offer an hour before we did. What are the chances? The listing agent told our realtor that our offer was higher, so we felt good! The bank came back a day later and asked for best and highest offers to be submitted by a certain time. We went full price, and the other couple "said" they weren't going to resubmit an offer. The house was as good as ours. However, they came in at the very last minute and made an offer lower than ours, but with a loan that is more beneficial to the bank in a foreclosure situation. So, we lost house number 3, and I was HEARTBROKEN over this one somethin' fierce! We fought for this one...tooth and nail, and I felt like I had been knocked out after 12 rounds. I had completely moved into that sucker in my mind. Shoot. I had things in the attic and the Christmas tree up, for cryin' out loud! I told Dan after many, many sobbing tears that it felt like a horrible break-up. Like I would never be able to even LOOK at another house, because nothing will EVER be better than that one! How many times have we all said THAT, only to find the next one usually IS better?? Can I get an "Amen?"

Well, it did get better. Along came the house one THUNDERBIRD Drive! I like to say it like the Nascar commercials, "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUUUUUNNNNNDDDDAYYYYYY!!!" Say it with me in that deep voice, with your chin down..."THHHHHUUUUNNNNNDDDEEERRRBBBIIRRRRDDDD DRRIIIIVVVVVEEEE!" Fun, huh? ; ) Totally Oklahoma. All we need is a Dream Catcher on the door. This house is in a neighborhood that has a golf course and country club, which is why it has maintained its value through the years. It was built in 1977 by a couple who were its only owners until they both passed away early this year. The house is now owned by their five kids through their trust, and they are ready to get rid of it. Again, it needs work, but that's what I am looking for. It would almost be a shame with Dan's talent NOT to buy somewhat of a fixer-upper. And with the $8K tax credit, we'll have the money to do it. Anyway, this 2,900sf, 4 bed/3 bath/2 living/formal dining sucker was listed way out of our price range, so I wasn't really sure why we were even looking at it with our realtor. But she convinced me, and we made an offer that day...a LOOOOOOOOWWW offer, at that. I thought, 'what the heck do we have to lose at this point??' The sellers came back the next day and simply asked if we could pay $1,000 over our original offer and close three days earlier! In the words of my beloved Napolean Dynomite, "HECK YES WE CAN!" And it was done. Just as easy as that! Or so we thought...

We had inspections on Monday, and in older homes in OK, the HVAC duct work was run through the foundation with vents in the floor. After receiving some great advice from a dear friend, we decided to pay to have the duct work scoped with a video camera to see if they were still in tact. Guess what...they weren't. And with that size of a house, there are TWO AC units, one on each side. They both need to be replaced, and all duct work needs to be run through the attic. Our loan won't be approved until its done. So, we have spent the past couple days getting, oh, anywhere from $16,800 to $20,000 bids to have the work done. The listing agent will present the estimates to the seller tomorrow, and we will go from there. The good thing is, they stand to make 100% profit off of this home since it is paid off, so anything they spend will just be backed out of that. The bad news is, they are basically GIVING us the house already. Our fear is that they will fix it, then put it back on the market touting new AC units and ducts to get a higher offer. Either way, they will HAVE to fix the problem, or disclose the inspection findings to every potential buyer down the road. So again we wait, with hopeful hearts. Not sure what I will do if we lose this one. I love this house. It's a home. Our home. You can almost feel the love that lived there for years. Mmmm...good stuff.

Outside of the house hunting, we have been busier than I can remember...ever. Could just be that we are still in transition, so nothing much feels settling, but shoot, I'm slammed! We are right at the launch of the two-year capital campaign at Victory called "Light A Fire", and it's ALL marketing, ALL THE TIME! I love the purpose and passion behind LAF, which includes my hubs getting a new youth building (YEE-HAW!). But I have learned the dictionary meaning of "Light A Fire" is to "burn the candle at both ends." I have definitely been doing that. It's so going to be worth it though. Every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears poured into this thing. It has been amazing to watch the staff come together to get things done at all costs. We had our first church-wide LAF event last night, which was a Prayer Journey: a night of praise, worship, and strategic prayer over this movement. It was AWESOME to see how the church responded. I believe the Lord is beginning to knit the hearts of Victory Church to the vision of Light A Fire, and it's going to be RIDIC! Better watch out OKC! This fire's gonna spread pretty quickly!

All that to say, I'm tired. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror today, and it made me sad. I have actually had blood tests run in the past week for some health concerns too. I'm just plumb worn-out, and it's written all over my face and "innards." Dan and I run at a rate that would tire most people after just a few days. We have been running at that rate since we got engaged last June...almost a year and a half ago. Constantly rushed. Constantly things on the agenda that you are running to get to. Never any REAL downtime; and IF there ever is, I don't even know what to do with myself. I get so anxious just sitting, because I DON'T have tons to do. That's not good. I told Dan the other day, "We HAVE to slow down. Like, we HAVE to carve out time every week where we literally do nothing, and PROTECT IT like we would our own child!" His response was that it was just "a busy season." I quickly negged that (for those of you who don't know my lingo, that means I shot that down), and told him that we had been saying that since we got engaged. "After the wedding things will slow down. After we move, things will slow down. After we are in a house, things will slow down. After Light A Fire is over, things will slow down." I don't believe it. What I DO believe, is that this busyness has gone from "a season" to "a lifestyle." To the point that I can't function outside of it, and have lost a bit of myself in it. I can make a long list of the things I would like to "do" if I ever got real downtime, but isn't that just being busy again?

I want REAL downtime...where there IS no checklist...not a few hours sandwiched between two calendar items...not a day where I cram in all of the stuff I can't get done any other time, like grocery shopping, house cleaning, taking my FLIPPIN' clothes from the top of the dryer, into my closet, and actually ONTO hangers...ge'ez LOUISE!! REAL DOWNTIME, PEOPLE! Where I can watch all of the girly movies I want to, INCLUDING and not limited to, the Hannah Montana movie, first and foremost (don't you judge me)...where I can sleep without an alarm clock...where I can stay in my pj's all stinkin' day if I want...where my calendar items on my phone don't sound like a handbell choir for the whole day...where I can paint these toenails...where I can just PAINT again! I love to paint and haven't in a year and a half because of this "busyness" thing we have let run our lives.

I'm telling you now though, a new season is coming in the lives of Dan and Jenn. One where we can say "no," and not feel bad. One where we have time for "us" AND for "me." One of health, both physically and spiritually. The Lord has been speaking that over me for a couple of weeks, and I'm clinging desperately to His words. He IS hope for the hopeless...He IS healing for the broken...He DOES carry the weary...He DOES rescue the hurting...He WILL make us whole again. He is THE ONLY ONE who can, and I trust He will do all of those things and more in my poor, weak, tired bones and spirit.

I love me some Brooke Fraser. Sister can SING! But I think more of a gift is her ability to write. If your speakers are up, you are probably listening to some of my favorite tunes right now. One is my favorite Brooke Fraser song called "Shadowfeet". My friend Jenny told me a couple years back that it was my theme song. I agree. To me, it's like the Bible, in that it is living and breathing. The Bible is the only book that reads differently just about every time I pick it up, depending on what "season" in life I am in. This song does that in me too. In this particular season, it speaks to my weariness, to my self-defeat, to my messy spirituality, and to the promise that when I feel so tired that I can't stand, as the song says, "when the world has fallen out from under me, I'll be found in YOU, still standing", that HE "makes ALL things new," and that I even though I'm stumbling at times, I am most definitely "made of different stuff than when I began"...though it doesn't always feel like it.

Scroll down to the music player at the bottom of this page, turn your speakers up loud, click play on "Shadowfeet" (it's number three), then come back up and read these lyrics as she sings. It will make you smile...

Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
Toward home, a land that I've never seen
I am changing
Less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
And I have sensed it all along
Fast approaching is the day

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

There's distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
But I've heard rumours of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

You make all things new

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

...see...you're smiling, aren't you... ; )

The Impossible...possible??

2009-09-08T13:14:00.005-05:00

Many of you know that Dan and I had signed a contract on a house that was in early construction phases at the beginning of July, then were forced to back out of it last week because the builder was being less than honest (and downright shady) with us. Sad day at the Maciuk house. We are trying desperately to take advantage of this $8K tax credit since I am a first-time home buyer. So, the search for our first home in OKC begins again.

Last week, we found an AMAZING older home that has been "flipped" (for those of you HGTV'ers like myself). I mean, the sucker has been gutted like a dead fish, and is brand new on the inside! Not to mention the fact that is is over 1,000 square feet larger than our house in Fayetteville (and 1,500 sf larger than our current apartment!) I can close my eyes and clearly see our youth group piled in the huge living room, sprawled out on the furniture and floor, hanging out with me in the huge kitchen, and spending the night whenever they want! It is the perfect ministry house for us! The price it is listed at is within our price range, but it is at the high end of the comparables sold in that old neighborhood in the past year, because of the upgrades. However, it still needs new windows throughout, as well as a new air conditioner...two HUGE things!

We have been debating on the price to offer for this house, because we know the owners put a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and are highly unlikely to accept our offer of $10,000 less than asking price (to accommodate for new windows in the next few years), PLUS a new AC...however fair WE think the offer is. And our first offer, is as high as we are willing to go, because we don't want to improve the house above it's market value. Not to mention there are other asthetics we would like to fix...paint the exterior brick, hardwood floors in the living, etc. Ugggh!! Last night, being the hopeless pessimist that I can sometimes be, had myself talked out of even making an offer, for fear of being disappointed. I totally know that with God, all things are possible, and that He is in the business of making the things that seem impossible, totally possible! I know that. However, this is REALLY impossible in my mind! But, my always optimistic husband says, "MAKE THE OFFER, AND SEE!" So we shall! The realtor is on his way to my office as I type for us to submit the formal offer. They have until 5:00pm, tomorrow, Wednesday, to respond. Here are some pics...

All that to say...PRAY WITH US!!!!!!!!! And also to say, God is so stinkin' cool! Look at this devotion that was in my inbox after lunch today...just after I had given the realtor the green light to bring the paperwork to me. Unreal...

FAITH IS SPELLED ‘R-I-S-K’

“And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised.” Hebrews 11:39

It always amazes me how many believers are hesitant to claim God's promises because they're afraid they'll be disappointed. Perhaps they feel that if they don't expect too much from God, they can avoid the pain of being let down. I've heard it said that real faith is spelled "R-I-S-K". I think there's a lot of truth to that. It takes a lot of courage to trust God to come through for us when our senses aren't giving us any support. But that's exactly what the Lord expects from us. If you look at the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, you see that God approves of those who put their faith in His promises, whether or not they come to pass. The verse above confirms this. And so does Hebrews 11:13 (NIV): "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance." The Scriptures reveal that God holds in high esteem those who live by faith and continue to hold on to God's promises, even through long periods of waiting. The fact is, if we really want to please God and reap the rewards He has in store for us, we're going to have to risk putting our faith and trust in Him, even when it looks like the odds are against us. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) tells us that, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

The first verse of Hebrews gives us a biblical definition of faith: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." And the next verse reveals that it's this kind of faith that God esteems: "This is what the ancients were commended for." (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV) The words "sure" and "certain" make it clear that faith is confidence in God and His Word, even when we don't see any tangible evidence to justify that faith. And the verse that follows reveals why our believing in what we don't see isn't just "pie in the sky": “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” (Hebrews 11:3 NLT) The Creator of the universe isn't the least bit hindered when our circumstances look "impossible." Making something out of nothing is what our God does best.

Now you need to ask yourself how serious you are about pleasing God. If you're really serious, you aren't going to be able to avoid taking risks with your faith. Yes, you're going to experience some disappointments you might have escaped. But I guarantee you this--you're going to witness some miracles in your life that you would have otherwise missed. Hebrews 11:33 (NLT) tells us that "by faith" some of God's people "received what God had promised them." The bottom line is this--whether or not we receive all the promises we believe God for isn't the issue; the issue is whether or not we are living by faith, trusting God with all of our hearts in every circumstance every day of our lives. When we do, along with God's hearty approval, we'll have a peace and joy in our hearts that will enable us to live the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. Today, my heartfelt prayer for you is that you will dare to believe!

Lord, forgive me for the times I've missed Your perfect will because I was fearful or timid. Give me a holy boldness that will dare to believe in Your promises, and to risk disappointment. Help me to keep my eyes on You and Your Word, instead of on my circumstances. Thank You that as I live by faith each day, I'll impact the lives of others with my peace and joy!

Lovey #1 - Miss Sarah Votaw

2009-08-19T23:20:00.006-05:00

So I have decided that I love my friends. I love them so much, I am going to tell you ten reasons why I love a different friend once a week. I will call them "Lovey's"...appropriately.

This week, that one is Miss Sarah Votaw!! Sarah is one of our FAVORITE new friends in OKC...and she just happens to be 10 years old! Here are 10 reasons why we love Miss Sarah!

1. She is THE COOLEST dresser in the world! And she dresses herself!
2. She laughs at everything I say
3. She is really, REALLY cute! Even when she just gets out of bed and comes to the office!
4. She is a great singer, and leads worship in VKIDS, the children's ministry at Victory Church
5. She loves cupcakes...we were destined to be friends
6. Dan and I were the only adults invited to her birthday party this year
7. She has the coolest hamster, Humphrey, and almost bought me one for my birthday this year!
8. She loves her family, and always wants to honor them
9. She has a bit of a giraffe obsession, which is good because Dan and I are really tall
AND
10. She made Dan and I feel so loved when we first moved here, and continues to love us even though she knows us well now!

Sarah really is one of the coolest kids ever! If we could keep her, we would! For now, we'll just invite her and Humphrey over to spend the night!

Now THAT'S a Wedding Processional!

2009-07-28T15:27:00.001-05:00

WHY? WHY? WHY?????? Didn't I think of this!?!? Genius, and we totally would have pulled it off. Too bad it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal. : ) Njoy!

There's more where that came from...

2009-07-24T16:01:00.003-05:00

Last weekend I got to go home to Arkansas to spend some much needed time with the fam. Some that I haven't seen in too, too long, and other's that I am blessed to talk to and see more often. Regardless of how often I see or hear from them, I love them all, and it was so good to exchange hugs, many laughs, and be at rest with the ones you cherish most.

A vital part of that fam is my Grandpa Chancellor. As I mentioned in my previous post, he turns my heart to absolute mush. I talked to him on the phone Thursday evening and told him I was going to come see him in Malvern on Saturday. He was so excited! I asked him if he wanted me to bring him some "sweetnin'," which is his word for "dessert." He said, in the sweetest voice, "Nah...you just give me a kiss and that'll be sweetnin' enough." Presh!

Here is a picture of my precious Grandpa. Poor thing. He was feeling awful that day. In fact, we found out his blood pressure that day was 90/18, which is dangerous stroke territory! Luckily my little sis, Whit-Whit, is a nurse and she was able to direct him on how to get it back up with his medications. Whew! No matter how bad he felt, he managed to pop off one of his hilarious Grandpa Chancellor-isms, that Whit and I have come to love more than just about anything in this world. The way he shows affection has historically been that of a second grader who pushes girls on the playground to tell them he thinks they are pretty alright. When some might say, "I am so glad you're my granddaughter" followed by an embrace, we have always gotten "Who's girl are you!????" with his dukes up in the air, as if he was looking for a good fight. He also regularly throws out the fact that he is going to "drop kick" one or both of us. I think our all time favorite, though, is when he told us to sit really close to each other on the couch so that he could knock both of us out with one punch! Oh man. I have NEVER laughed that hard in my life! Anyway, this past Saturday, he came at it a different way. Instead of physical harm, he was going to use a scare tactic. Imagine, if you will, an 83-year-old man who talks like Boomhauer from King of the Hill. In all seriousness, he said, "You almost walked in on a stranger!!! I found a long wig out in the shed and was gonna put it on with some earrings, and you'da thought I's a stranger!" I cracked up. The man...never, EVER know what you're going to get. I sure do love him.

When I got home Sunday night, we had Questions and Answers night with our small group of teenagers. (I say small, but it's really about 40 kids) Q&A night is where they can ask ANY question that's on their mind, and we'll try to answer it to the best of our ability. One girl asked if we thought someone could really die of a broken heart when someone they love passes away before them. That hit close to home after my visit with my Grandpa. He has gone downhill significantly in health since my Grandma passed away last September. That question combined with being a newlywed, has really made me think a lot this week about losing someone you love, whether a spouse, a child, a parent, a sibling...even a close friend. Of course I believe that our death is written in our book of life from the beginning. It comes as no surprise to our God if someone passes away soon after the loss of a loved one. However, more than a broken heart could devastate you to the point of death, I think a broken spirit is the cause of it all. My Grandpa and Grandma had been together their whole lives basically. In her last years, he cared for her in the most admirable, loving, committed way...the way all of us long to be loved and cared for. I am so thankful I have grown up with that example of commitment and marriage before me. So thankful. I know that when my Grandma was finally gone, his tired spirit went with her....that was his lifeblood, and I believe what caused his heart to beat. Without your heartbeat, the body shuts down. I believe it's the same without the spirit.

I also looked through old family photos at my Grandpa's house for a Chancellor family history web site we recently found. It was so fun to ask my Grandpa who everyone was, what they were doing, where they were, what happened to them, etc. It did my heart good to see that spirit back in him as he relived moments and relationships while looking at those photos with my dad, mom, and me. It sweetly reminded me that we were created for relationships and fellowship. We were created to love one another and do life together. To care for each other and hold each other up, no matter the distance between us. It also reminded me that families are such a gift from God. My family is wonderful. On both sides, and I am blessed for that. All that to say, love on each other...tell each other you love one another and why...laugh together, and let your spirit soak up every moment together on this side of Heaven. Life is short, but life is precious, and life is good.

Tears

2009-07-05T22:46:00.010-05:00

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they
are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.
~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, 1860

Not sure what the cause, but I am SO weepy lately. I can't decide if I am in a season where I am surrounded by more sorrowful situations, or if my heart is just overflowing with sensitivity and compassion, more than ever before. Either way, poor Dan. He has to hear it and see it all the time. Some of the things making me flow like a faucet lately...

Old men. I can't handle them. I bawl...immediately. They hurt my heart in unexplainable ways. It really, truthfully feels like someone is standing on my chest when I see an elderly man. I have to turn away. I tell this story all the time, but when I was younger, I was banned from going on children's choir trips to nursing homes to sing Christmas carols because I would cry the entire time. It's so bad, that the girls in my youth group wrote a song about my old man "handicap" entitled, "Oh, the little old man!"
Going hand-in-hand with old men, is my Grandpa, Raymond Chancellor. He absolutely breaks my heart. He is (with the exception of my Dad) the best man alive. He is the sweetest, most loving, generous, hard-working, God-fearing, "salt of the earth", obedient, funniest man I have ever met. I could spend every day, all day with him and never grow tired or bored. He has provided for my dad's brothers and their children, his whole life...giving them anything and everything they have ever needed to survive in life. He cared for my Grandma, the love of his life that he married when she was 15, so willingly and selflessly until she passed away last September with Lupus and Parkinson's. Today, he is still working heavy machinery to repair roads in southern Arkansas at the age of 83 to care for my dad's brothers and their kids. (Don't even get me started on that!) Dan had to comfort me a week or so ago when I heard that he was seen picking up and paying for the prescriptions for all who live under his roof after a long hard day at work. I was sobbing on the couch out of helplessness. I would move in with him tomorrow and care for him until he goes to be with my Grandma, if I could. I love that man with every bit of my aching heart. It pains me to not be able to help him and love him every day. I have tears now.
The thought of not being able to have kids. Now, I have ZERO idea why I even think about this. Dan and I have just begun "trying" (whatever that means) to start a family. However, I, at times, am completely crippled with the fear of not being able to have kids. I just can't imagine the pain. I am one who has wanted kids since I was a kid myself. Getting married later in life presents a sense of urgency in that. I know God has such a plan for us though. His ways and timing are always WAY more exciting and perfect than mine, so we shall wait to see what He has!
Another hand-in-hand is the idea of adopting babies. I have such a heart for the hurting and less fortunate. Dan and I have always said we would like to have two or three of our own, and then adopt one or two from another country. We even talk about where we would want them to be from. Given my love for Africa, I always say somewhere in Africa. Dan being from South America, always says Paraguay, etc. However, yesterday I became Facebook friends with a sweet friend that I used to work with in college. She and her husband have adopted two little girls from an orphanage in Vietnam in the past three years. She is a professional photographer, and has done a beautiful job of documenting their story and their little lives as they unfold. In one day, I am obsessed. Check out her blog, and you will be too. Needless to say, if we ever adopt, I will be contacting my friend Kelly, and heading to Vietnam. Done, and done.

Those are just a few things that are top of the mind, but I also cried today watching "16 and Pregnant" on MTV, and "Wedding Day" on TLC. I teared up on Friday when I found out that a man that I reached out to on Facebook to help me with the geneaology on my dad's side of the family was in fact, my second cousin. Oh, and I cried in the movie "Up" last week, but it's about a little old man, so that was a given.

Again, not sure what is going on, but I love to cry, so I'm okay with it. It shows my heart is still working, and in a family chock-full of heart disease, that is a GOOOOOOD thing!

Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either.
~Golda Meir

Too Much of a Good Thing!

2009-07-01T23:14:00.005-05:00

So, I'm a TOTAL TLC JUNKIE!!!! From What Not To Wear, Say Yes to the Dress, Jon & Kate Plus Eight, Cake Boss, 18 Kids and Counting, Toddlers and Tiaras, Baby Story, Mystery Diagnosis, Little Couple to all of the Biggest, Tallest Person(s) shows. You name it, I watch it...and make my husband watch them too. God love him!

Well, last Friday night, I had a dream. I had a dream that Dan and I found out we were pregnant. The way I found out was that I was somehow hanging out with Michelle Duggar, the mom from 18 Kids and Counting: The Duggar Story. Many of you know that the Duggar's are from northwest Arkansas, where we used to live. Anyway, they are like local celebs to us, and I think they are the absolute SWEETEST family in the world! But, back to the dream. I was hanging out with Mrs. Duggar, who OWNED her own ultrasound machine. Why wouldn't you after 18 kids???? I mean, sounds reasonable enough! She was giving herself an ultrasound, which is how she always found out she was pregnant (in the dream), and decided to give me one where she found that I too, was preggers!

So I woke up to tell Dan, thinking he would laugh hysterically at what I have resulted to dreaming about. After he laughed, he officially grounded me from watching TLC, citing an overdose. I told him it could be worse! I could be dreaming about us getting a divorce from watching Jon & Kate Plus Eight! ; ) So he's asleep now...and I'm watching TLC. Shhhhh! ; )

Do You Know?

2009-06-23T10:08:00.006-05:00

First, I apologize immensely for the "blogging sabbatical"! So much has happened! So much! There are a couple of reasons for the absence. The first of which is lack of words. One of my bestie's, Milt, put it best in her recent blog "On Creating and Resistance". For us creative kind, words can be overwhelming at times. We put so much weight into each individual one, that it's hard to find the *perfect* word to describe each feeling, emotion, thought, etc. to accurately depict the story going on in our heads. And I think that's what they call good 'ol writer's block. All that to say, I've been a bit overwhelmed with all the BIG THINGS that have transpired in our lives over the past month or more, and the thought of just dedicating a few less than *perfect* words to them, makes me want to not write about them at all. That may have to do with the perfectionist in me as well, but that's a whole 'notha blog!

The second reason for my absence is that I get a little blogged-out sometimes. I think we, generally, believe our own lives are WAY more interesting than everyone else does. At times I feel like blogs are posted every time someone goes to the bathroom or gets stuck in traffic. Now, not to deem anyone's life and its happenings less than "important," I just choose to use discretion on what, in my life, is blog-worthy. That way I won't water down the really good stuff, which there IS some, and I'll post about all of that a little later!

However, today I have something that IS blog-worthy. So blog-worthy my heart is about to jump out of my chest. NO, we are NOT pregnant! (but that would DEFINITELY be blog-worthy, and I hope to write on that sooner than later!) Since I believe in Jesus, and I believe in the Holy Spirit (don't quit on me now those of you who aren't sure...this is gonna get good!), I know that recurring "heart themes", or things that continue to affect my heart, are often movements of the Holy Spirit prompting something. I've had one of these lately, and it just keeps on keepin' on. It all started at the Wonder Tour a few weeks ago in Osawatomie, KS. Our friend Mandy Scholz was stopped in this small town for speeding. Her 4-year-old, London, is one of our all time favorite kids. If there ever were to be a star on the show "Kid's Say the Darndest Things," this is your gal! Anyway, as the policeman was questioning Mandy about her lack of knowledge of the speed limit, little Londey-poo was in the back seat shouting, "Mommy! Does that policeman know Jesus!??????" She was dying to know, and they just might have gotten out of a ticket because of her preciousness. Later that night, London was sitting on my lap in a large group of HS students, listening to the run-down for the week ahead. She pointed to a boy sitting next to me, leaned to my ear and whispered, "Does that boy know Jesus?" I just couldn't believe that this 4-year-old was so concerned with whether or not everyone around her knew Jesus like she did, and was willing to ask, and even shout it out! They just happened to all be boys she wasn't sure about, but again, that's a whole 'notha blog! ; ) KIDDING! Conviction delivered through a 4-year-old...priceless.

Fast forward to this past Sunday. The sermon series at Victory Church (or as I like to call it, "Bomb Church" because it's the most bomb church ever!!) has been "What If" for the past four weeks. This past Sunday, it was "What If We Loved the Lost"? Now, I've never really been a fan of the word "lost" when referring to non-believers for a few personal reasons. I would rather say "those who don't know yet." This video by the magician Penn Jillette, from Penn & Teller, says it all to me. Penn is an atheist, as he will tell you in this video, but you can TOTALLY see the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart here. All because ONE MAN cared for "those who don't know yet." Those of us who DO believe, this should convict us and feel like a bit of a cane beating at best. If not, you might check your pulse. Check it out...

I'll just close with these two thoughts.

If you profess to believe that Jesus Christ did in fact hang on a cross and die for our sins, so that we can spend eternity in heaven, and that all others will spend eternity in hell...HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE TO HATE SOMEONE TO NOT SHARE THAT WITH THEM? Would you not push them out of the way if they were standing in the middle of the street and a bus was about to hit them?? When do we stop being like London, and letting the first question out of our mouths when we meet a stranger be, "Do they know Jesus?" if we truly believe they will spend eternity in hell if they don't? If we believe that we, as believers, hold the secret to everlasting life, why do we KEEP it a secret? I challenge you to think about those questions, as I have been for weeks, and then make a bold, important statement to the world. Don't be quiet anymore.
If asked the question, "Do you know Jesus?" you would have to answer "No," I want to share with you the love that brought me out of a life of perpetual lies, deceit, addiction, immorality and loneliness. Jesus Christ died on a the cross for my sins, and for yours, so that we never have to think about those things again. I am made completely new...every single day. Because I know Him, I never have to be ashamed again, and I will get to spend eternity with someone who loved me more than ever imaginable. I want you to know Him too. My hurt aches for you to know Him. Please contact me through this blog, or click here, or call 1-888-NEED HIM if you want to know more, and I pray that you will!

I will not be quiet anymore!

Keep Up With Us!

2009-04-15T17:32:00.003-05:00

So many people have blogs these days, it's hard to check them all for updates! Since we aren't very good at updating regularly, now you can subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email notification by clicking on one of the links to the right. If you subscribe via email, you will simply enter your email address, and the system will generate an authorization email to that address. When you open that email, click the link it gives, and you will begin receiving an email each time we post to let you know there is something new out there. It's a totally safe and easy way to keep up with us...should you want to! : )

Huntin' eggs gots NOTHIN' on our Easter weekend!!

2009-04-12T23:00:00.005-05:00

Dan and I were in OKC for our first full weekend! I am still living in Arkansas, but I was there Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We stayed with our sweet friends, Adam and Kristy Starling. Kristy is an AMAZING Christian Music artist, who leads worship at our church, and Adam is the college pastor at Victory.

If you know me at all, you probably quickly learned that the way to my heart is through cake of any kind...especially cupcakes! Since Dan is a man after my own heart, he took me to two of my new favorite places on earth! One is a cupcakery (I LOVE that word!) in an old, renovated house in downtown OKC called Sara Sara Cupcakes. The owner is Sara's mother. Sara died suddenly at a young age from a heart dysrhythmia. Before she passed away, she loved baking...especially cupcakes. After her death, her mother decided to honor her by opening Sara Sara Cupcakes, in which most of the proceeds go to fund a researcher at OU Medical Center, who is researching Sara's condition. So sweet...in more ways than one! It was such a neat vibe at 9:00 on Friday night! It was packed, and they had acoustic live music, and best of all...a milk bar! You could self-serve plain white milk, strawberry milk or chocolate milk from an old chrome refrigerated dispenser. Love it! The decor was very retro with lots of clear plexi-glass, and white...very clean and lots of white...with splashes of hot pink and silver to accessorize. And the marketer in me has to say, their branding was top notch!

As if that weren't heaven enough, Saturday night after church we hit up ANOTHER cupcakery called Cuppies and Joe! Appropriately named since we had cupcakes and coffee! This little place was hoppin'...and I don't mean just in time for Easter. It is located right in the middle of the Asian District in an old remodeled bungalo house. There wasn't a seat to be had, so we had to park it with a girl who was working on her laptop alone at a table for four. Again, they had live music, but this place had more of an Indie, Anthropologie-ish vibe than our stop the night before. Right up my alley! Very, very hip, and obviously the place to see and be seen for young peeps in OKC! This was the crowd fave for sure! If you come visit us in OKC, you can bet we will have some "Cuppies and Joe" before you leave!

Well, we rounded out our weekend with Easter Sunday at Victory Church. Wow. That's all I can say. What a blessing it is to be part of what is going on there. Our pastor, Mark Crow, is an AMAZING communicator. The sermon was not your typical Easter Sunday sermon where we walk through the death and resurection of Jesus Christ for all of those who come to church on Easter Sunday and Christmas only...God love 'em. ; ) Mark taught on "Jesus the Revolutionary"...and boy did he BRING IT! I was in the 12:00 service and saw over 100 people come to know the Lord in that service alone. And they weren't just your average Joe or Jane. They were hard-core, tatted-up, worn down by life looking people, who as pastor Crow said, "might have just missed hell by a minute." I was moved to tears to say the least. If you want to watch the service we experienced on Easter Sunday, you can do so by clicking here.

Ode to Milt!

2009-03-27T07:15:00.006-05:00

Today I get to celebrate another friend! Another friend in the group of girls I mentioned in my previous post. Elizabeth Vaught, often, and more preferably known as "Milton" (her maiden name), pretty much rocks my face off. At least she makes me laugh until I feel like my face is going to fall off. She is the friend that gives you the sore cheeks from laughing so hard. She can dance with the best of 'em...she's super creative and always makes great gifts...she's so thoughtful...she's so ghetto, but so wallflower all at the same time (how does one even accomplish that?)...I could go on for days!

But most importantly, and what Milt has poured into my life, is loads of wisdom and truth. She is a wise sage at a very youthful age, and she is so Proverbs 31 to the point that I'm jealous! She loves Jesus and it shows by the way she lives her life as a true friend, a loving mother, and an awesome wife (I think Christian would second that!). Instead of a WWJD bracelet, I want a WWMD bracelet for "What Would Milt Do?" ; )

Milt, I've learned so much from you in the time we have been friends, and you are one of my very best friends...near and dear to the heart. Thank you for loving me (always!), for sharing your heart with me, and for being the amazing you that you are! So tonight, we shall go fill our bellies with pizza and shake our booties to some 80's at Boom Kinetic in YOUR honor, celebrating YOU, friend! Can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Milt!

A Season Full of New Beginnings...

2009-03-26T07:41:00.007-05:00

If you are anything like me, you are SO SUPER thankful for new beginnings! Taking with you what you've learned through experiences in life so far, and a chance to start fresh. New beginnings can be refreshing, challenging, exciting, scary...a whole range of emotions all wrapped up in one. This has definitely been a season of new beginnings for us.

New Beginning #1: As you all well know by now, Dan and I were married on December 6th, 2008. I have felt the need to blog about that experience, but find it so overwhelming to think about actually capturing it in the confines of text in this blogosphere. I don't want to do it any injustice or leave ANYTHING out. So in effort to preserve it, all I can say is it was THE most perfect day in my life...more than I ever dreamed it would be. I married the man of my dreams who is perfect in EVERY way for just me. It brings me more joy than anything I have ever experienced to say that we did things "right," according to what we believe God intended for our dating relationship and marriage to look like. With no guilt or shame, only joy and excitement bubbling over, that day was the greatest day of my life. We are loving learning each other, growing together and being full-time roomies! I love waking up every morning and thinking, "I have the best husband ever." Here are some pics of our day....courtesy of the one, the only, Brooke Robinson

As much as I love new beginnings, they often require a goodbye. This brings me to my second "new beginning".

New Beginning #2: Because of the life I led in my past, I have often cycled friends in and out of my life. It was only when I started walking with the Lord that I realized what true friendship was and what it was always intended to be. With that realization, I have been blessed over the past four years with life-long friends...girls I know deeply, make every attempt to invest in, and know they truly care for me. One of those friends is my friend Jenny Robertson (now Shelby...YAY!). I met Jenny through a random series of events about 5 years ago when she was living in Little Rock working for the American Heart Association, and I participated in an event in Conway with my mom, who had recently had open heart surgery. It wasn't until two years later, when Jenny moved back to Fayetteville, that our path's crossed again on a mission trip to Gulfport to do hurricane relief work. That was the beginning of one of my most treasured friendships...one that makes life so much sweeter. Jenny understands me like very few do. I can tell her ANYTHING...and I mean ANYTHING...and she will love me unconditionally. We laugh harder together than I laugh with just about anyone. We have cried pretty hard together too. Jenny holds a precious place in my heart for showing me what real friendship looks like. Jenny was married last month to Matt Shelby, the PERFECT man for her, and they moved to Green Bay, WI. Though it's so hard to be away from her, and I miss her terribly, our friendship is one that spans miles and miles. I love you, Jenny, and miss your face!

New Beginning #3: This past week has been the most recent series of goodbye's, but also some hello's! We said goodbye to Transfer and CLC last week. It was hard....really hard...but we know the Lord has called us to Victory Church, so there is MUCH peace in that! CLC has been Dan's family for the past five years, and they are so wonderful. We have felt so loved by the kids at Transfer and the congregation at CLC, and feel blessed to have been part of that ministry. Dan spoke in both services on Sunday morning, and as his wife, I feel the liberty to say, HE BROUGHT IT! He was amazing. He shared is heart, and I think his heart is beautiful. You can watch or listen to his talk here. Dan will transition to OKC on Saturday of this week, with his first youth service there being next Wednesday! We went over last Saturday for a little party with the youth leaders, and had a BLAST! We are SOOO excited to be a part of this new ministry, and can't wait to see what God has in store. We know it's going to be HUGE! We are so hungry to be used, and KNOW this is just the place. We have been so welcomed and accomodated, and already love the heart of this church and the people there. Please continue to pray for us as we make this big step!

Last little new beginning tid-bit, and this is funny...as you know, we are trying to sell/rent/barter/trade for gummy bears...whatever we can get...our house here right now. We are working with an agent who is a dear friend of ours, and he found a renter! For some reason, I was wanting to meet this person...not sure why...just did. Apparently, this is not the norm in the renting process, so I was told by my husband who knows all. ; ) But, I still wanted to meet the potential renter. When our agent told the person about this request, they were frustrated because we had strung them out for a week, and were now wanting to meet them and they needed to make a decision...understandable. When Dan was telling me all of this, I said in all of my girliness and glory, "Dan! This is OUR house! I LOVE this house! We watched our first movie together in this house! We fell in love in this house! We had our first kiss in this house! We came home to this house after we got married!!!" I didn't have to add anything else to my list because he was looking at me like I was NUTS! Finally, I said, "I think I'm too emotionally attached...you just handle this." And so he is, and I believe we have it rented!! GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!

"Where da GOLD at?"

2009-03-17T07:14:00.001-05:00

In honor of St. Paddy's Day...one of the funniest things ever. I laugh HARD at this every year. N-joy, and "get da GOLD!!!!!"

OOOOOklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains!

2009-03-04T22:41:00.001-06:00

I chose the picture in our blog header because it is one of our favorite engagement pics, but it will be pretty appropriate soon, as we are...drumroll please.........MOVING TO OKLAHOMA!!!!

For those of you who have been living under a rock, Dan has accepted the youth pastor position at an amazing church in Oklahoma City called Victory Church. They have multiple campuses, but their home church is in OKC and ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 in attendance. Dan will be moving in April, and I will join him in early May after the Leadership Conference for my job is complete on May 8. We are SUPER excited about this opportunity and are sure this is where the Lord wants us to be! This is such an honor for Dan to be pursued by a church of this caliber, and I am honored to serve with him. opportunity and are fully confident this is where the Lord w

If you would like, you can pray for us in the following capacity(s) as we transition.

People say we are crazy to move right now, because it involves quiting jobs when there are very few to be had, and selling a house! The big thing right now is for our house to sell or rent at an amount that will not cause us to go in the red, which is tough to do these days!
For us to find a house in OKC (preferably with a tornado shelter!) that will allow us to lease-to-purchase until we can get rid of ours here. We found one we love, but will have to convince the builder to go the lease-to-purchase route.
Work for me. I am having to leave a job that I love in order to move to OKC, and we will need a double income...especially if we have to cover our mortgage here for a while. I am in talks with the church about a marketing position for the production arm of the church, so hopefully that will work out for us!
Please pray for Dan's youth group here as we transition out. He fills a "father figure" role for a lot of these kids, and they are heartbroken that he is leaving. Pray that his spot would be filled quickly and with the perfect person for a seamless transition.
Finally, pray for us as we step into this new role. Pray that Dan would be FILLED with wonderful ideas and wisdom, and that the numbers would grow from the first day we are there! Pray that kids lives would be touched through this ministry and through Dan. Pray that our marriage will grow as our ministry there grows.

We love you guys, and hope you will share in our excitement with us! Most of you know I grew up in Oklahoma City, and honestly never thought for one second that I would be back there. However, I am very excited to see what the Lord has planned for us, as He promises it is more than we could ever imagine when we listen to and follow Him. So that's what we are doing! Oklahoma will no longer be just cowboys, indians and tornados! We will be there too, so we hope you will come visit!

Slacker-ific!

2009-02-10T14:25:00.001-06:00

We are total slacker's at their finest when it comes to updating this blog! Actually, I am...don't even think Dan knows our username and password. So much has happened, and I promise to blog about most/some of it later. Maybe just a picture montage, but we will catch you up soon! Life is super exciting for us right now, and about to get even more so!

Stay tuned!!!

I'm so glad...

2008-10-07T19:31:00.001-05:00

I'm so glad Brooke Robinson is one of my FAVORITE friends! She is brilliant!!!! ...and she's REALLY pretty too! : )

An a-fair to Remember

2008-09-29T21:15:00.001-05:00

Well, these are a little late, but life has been....ummm...BUSY TO THE MAX! If you know Dan and I at all, you know that we love the fair...like, more than the average redneck loves his mullet. Dan even threw a "fair" in his backyard for my 30th birthday! (His is in three weeks, and boy do I ever have my work cut out for me!) Sooo, it seemed fitting to shoot some engagement pics at the fair! Our amazing photographer and sweet, sweet friend, Brooke Robinson, was TOTALLY game! Hurricane Ike, was NOT game. As we sat in line to park at the Benton County Fair, you could see the storm line in the sky moving closer and closer by the second. It was a navy blue vs. light blue sky, and the dark, stormy navy blue was winning! We finally got to the front of the line, but they were trying to make us park at the back of the lot and walk about a half a mile in. We didn't have time! We told the guy parking the cars that we needed to go to the front of the lot. He looked at me in my white dress with my pink heels and said, "Are you a contestant?" Dan's response from the driver's seat was, "Yes!" and away we went, with Brooke in tow. Genius! Well, we got into the fair and knew we had just a few minutes before the bottom fell out of the sky. We got one shot in, and the rain started falling. We were sprinting from shot to shot, Brooke directing us all the while. Brooke doesn't generally take a lot of "kissing" pictures, and in fact, she had done some research and had a list of about 15 shots she wanted to get of us. However, in our haste, all she could say was, "uuuuhhhhh....JUST KISS!" All in all, we got about three minutes worth of shots before we were soaked, I in my white chiffon dress (not good for rain), and Dan in his white shirt and tie. You can see the saturation as the pictures go on, and in some, you can see the rain in the sky. We love them...more than the fair!

"Dan vs. Wild"

2008-08-24T20:31:00.001-05:00

We had our own little episode of Discovery Channel's "Man vs. Wild" at our house last night...better named "Dan vs. Wild." Let me start this story with a little background. A few weeks ago, our friends Donny and Robyn were having gnat problems in their house. Dan and I were at Walmart where found this genius bug zapper tennis racquet...perfect gift for our friends with the bugs! So, we picked one up, and as usual, forgot all about it. Fast-forward to last night.. .

As I was sitting on the couch, hand-addressing close to 400 Save-the-Date's for our wedding (that's another post all to itself), a lone moth appeared in the living room. Dan, bored out of his gourd, suddenly remembers the zapper racquet and retrieves it from the kitchen pantry. Why our bug zapper was in the pantry with our breakfast cereal is to be determined. He needed batteries, and decided that teaching this moth a lesson was more battery-worthy than brushing his teeth, so he removed the batteries from his electric toothbrush to do the deed. What ensued next was one of the most hilarious, first grade boyish things I have seen in a LONG time! Keep in mind, this thing zaps bugs like an original bug zapper with the noise and a spark, but in mid-air with a full swing! I will let the picture essay below tell the story...

On the hunt...

Got it, but just making sure it's really dead...

That was too much fun to stop with one moth, so he headed outside, to the porch light, duh!, to find more...

But this one is my favorite! Look at his face! He is so excited and happy!! It's the simple things...ZAP!

Our Wedding Site

2008-08-21T13:21:00.001-05:00

Well, it has been quite the techy wonderland the past couple of days with the soon-to-be Maciuk's! Not only do we have our new little blog, but we also now have our very own wedding Web site! After the age-old RSVP debate...do we even send RSVP cards in our invites since no one RSVP's anyway?...we decided to create this little site to give our guests the chance to just RSVP online, and give out-of-town guests a little more in-depth info about the wedding, accommodations and attractions. It also has some fun stuff about us and our wedding party. Anyway, check it out for all things "Maciuk Wedding!"

http://www.mywedding.com/danandjennwedding

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!

2008-08-19T11:40:00.001-05:00

Okay, so it's old news...but it just doesn't get old!! For those of you who have been living under a rock, or who have stumbled upon this blog, Dan and I got engaged on the beach in St. George Island, Florida (amazing vacation spot, BTW) on June 12 of this year! He popped the question and I was TOTALLY not expecting it! I thought it was too cliche for Dan and his "surprise" antics! He's REALLY great at surprises. Anyway, everyone had been telling me, "You're gonna get engaged in Florida...I know it!" so I naturally assumed it was too expected for his taste. No sir. First night, we walked on the beach and had to pop-a-squat on a catamaran because the sand crabs were many and sizable. Little did I know, the Fed-Ex man had delivered my ring to the beach house we were staying in with our dear friends, Donny, Robyn and their little one (and Dan's God-daughter), Aly. I, of course, said yes. I have been ready to marry him, so I couldn't say yes fast enough! And if you know our story of God's grace on our relationship, you know we can't be more excited to finally be together.

Things have been fast and furious since then. The day after we got home from Florida, Dan flew to California to speak at a youth camp for a week. It was a snowball effect from then until now, filled with local missions trips, youth camps, missions trips to Paraguay, VBS, and engagement party in Nashville and one in Little Rock, etc. We are home now though, and the planning is in full effect! We are getting married on December 6th at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, AR. Since Dan is from Nashville, my family is mostly in Central Arkansas and most of our friends are in Northwest Arkansas, Little Rock was the perfect half-way point. Our reception will be at the Arkansas Arts Center, which is the state art museum. It's pretty phenomenal! And to top it off, Andy Warhol will be on exhibit during our reception! Both of us have always dreamed of a Christmas wedding, so this is PERFECT!

We hope to update this blog often to serve as a little bit of a journal during this fun process, and a way for our scattered family and friends to keep up with our fast-paced lives! If you think to, pray for us during this time! We both long to be the best spouse's to each other, and haven't the slightest idea how to! Any tips and pointers are welcomed! Now, off to eat the rest of our wedding cake samples from this weekend...YUM.