2 YEARS

Happy Anniversary to us! 

 

 

 It's hard to believe it's been two years since this day.  These two years have marked happy times, challenging times, and a little bit of everything in between.  We have experienced sadness and heartache.  Success and failure.  We have been blessed beyond measure. 

 

Today, the gravity of the vows we made two years ago feels so much more tangible. The meaning of sacrificial love feels so much deeper.  I am thankful for that.  Thankful to live those vows.  Thankful to give and receive that kind of love. Thankful we have each other.

 

 

 

K is such a blessing to me. Gentle, kind, and exceedingly patient.

We are truly blessed beyond measure.

Life in Pictures

Despite the blog silence (or maybe as evidenced by the blog silence), life here has felt full lately.  Here are a few of the high notes...

K turns 30

K's mom and I teamed up to plan a surprise birthday party for K at our favorite mexican restaurant in SA, La Fonda on Main.  The party was a success, the birthday boy was surprised, and I took exactly one picture.  Oh well, we'll always have this picture of the cake and I'm told K looked very surprised as we walked in : )

Deer Valley

K's other birthday gift was a ski trip to Deer Valley.  Our sweet friends let us use their house as a gift to K.  The weather couldn't have been better and the skiing was amazing.

Valentine's Day

Do you all make a big deal out of Valentine's Day?  I feel like it doesn't end up being that big of a deal for us.  It feels kind of forced to do nice things for each other because you're supposed to on this "holiday."  This year, Valentine's Day was so off my radar I actually planned to take dinner to a friend whose husband is deployed.  And then I kind of forgot about dinner for us.  

We ended up with this pancetta-spinach-whole wheat pasta creation that was actually pretty yummy.  And a good representation of our combined tastes.  K thinks everything better with bacon.  I think everything's better with spinach.  This time we both won :)  

March?

And then there was the whole month of March.  I don't really know what happened, but March flew by.  We got sick, K switched teams and has been working every weekend, and we tried out best to carve out some time together in between.

Easter

March ended on a high note - Easter,  a visit from my mom, and a great Easter brunch with friends.  We opted for another al fresco Easter celebration and the weather totally cooperated.  On the menu?  To start - caramelized bacon (this was to.die.for) and Trader Joe's Rosemary Almonds.  For lunch - rack of lamb persillade, green beans gremolata, braised carrots and parsnips, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and fluffy rolls.  Plus, deviled eggs (thanks, Meghann!) and a frittata (thanks, Dom!).  For dessert - easter egg sugar cookies (that we scattered in 'nests' on the table), Mary Carolyn's coconut cake, and Deb's carrot cake.  I'm still full, but it was a wonderful Easter.  

Hallelujah!  He is Risen!  Hallelujah!  

  

Resolutions

Well hello 2013.  It's hard to believe 2013 is already in full swing.  I'm not much for new year's resolutions, but I do find the fresh start that a new year brings to be exciting.  There is always hope in new beginnings.  I really liked this prayer Scotty Smith shared on his blog on New Year's Day and thought it was worth sharing here.

SCOTTY SMITH|5:51 AM CT

A Prayer for New Year’s Day

     Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:14-15

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of a new year. Tons of confetti still cover the streets of Manhattan from last night’s party, gratitude fills my heart with the breaking of this day.

I’m thankful to begin this year with a little better understanding of the gospel than I had last year and the year before and the year before. I’m already praying that I’ll be able to say the same thing this time next year, and ten years from now; for the gospel isn’t merely good news for people getting ready to die—it’s good news for people who are now ready to live.

In the gospel you lavish us with your love, liberate us by your grace, and launch us into your transforming story of redemption. What more could we possibly want or hope for, in life or in death?

Because the gospel is true, I don’t respond to Joshua’s bold charge with a list of New Year’s resolutions—promises of what I’m going to do for you. Rather, I begin this year resolving to abandon myself to everything Jesus has done for us. Jesus is the promise keeper, not us. He’s the one who has promised to make all things new, including us, including me. Hallelujah!

Father, that’s why serving you is the greatest privilege conceivable and the purest delight imaginable. For Jesus is our Joshua—the one who has saved us, is saving us, and one Day will completely save us. Without any hesitation or fear of sounding cliché, I gladly affirm: Jesus saves! What other Savior died for us that we might find life in him? What other god bears scars that we might bear his beauty? What other god sacrificially serves us that we might gratefully serve him?

Because of the gospel of your grace, throwing away my idols feels less like a painful sacrifice and more like a liberating dance; for all my “empty nothings” have ever given me is momentary pleasure and lasting regrets. Remind me of this all year long when I’m tempted to think otherwise.

Father, may this be a year of considering our lives worth nothing to us, if only we may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given us—the task of testifying (by word and deed) to the gospel of your grace (Acts 20:24). So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ loving name, with great anticipation and much thanksgiving.

I hope you will feel lavished by God's love, liberated by His grace, and transformed by the story of redemption in this new year.

Celebrating Ellen's Little Pumpkin

My dear friend Ellen is expecting a baby and I got to travel to Dallas a couple weeks ago to celebrate  her "little pumpkin."  Here are a few pictures from the shower (which was organized by 13 hostesses!).

My contributions were "little pumpkin" muffins and the flowers, which were truly a Dow-Waldrep effort : )

It was such a fun day and such a joy to be able to celebrate this happy occasion with Ellen.  Can't wait for the arrival of Baby Peeps in February!

Little Pumpkin Muffins
*My friend Chaiss posted this recipe on her blog a while back.  It's been my go to pumpkin bread ever since*

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.  In a standing mixer, combine pumpkin, oil, water and sugar.  Mix well.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.  Slowly add the dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Fold in pecans.  Pour into loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Make 3 loaves.

This time, I poured the bread into mini-muffin tins and baked for 12-15 minutes.  In addition to adding pecans to the batter, I also chopped up some smaller pieces for sprinkling on top.

Time flies when you're . . .

too busy to slow down and breath having fun.  Seriously, though, we've been busy lately.  K switched to an in hospital rotation (which means he no longer gets to enjoy the schedule that comes with private practice) and I have been working non-stop to meet several large deadlines at work.  To say we've been busy is almost an understatement.  We're like barely getting our laundry done busy.  Thankfully we're still managing to have a little fun ;)  Here's a quick recap of life lately:

BYOP!

Our friends the Watsons had a BYOP (bring your own pie) party last month to celebrate Charlotte's half birthday and usher in Fall in San Antonio. (That's a little bit of an oxymoron, I know, but I promise the temperatures cooled off for at least two full days!) It was so much fun to sample the variety of sweet and savory pies and Mary Carolyn made a delicious salads to complete the meal.  Our contribution was a savory tomato, zucchini, and goat cheese tart.  Here's our tart just before it went into the oven.

Birthday Surprise

I turned 29 last week.  Yikes!  Work has been so busy that we didn't really have time to celebrate the day of, but K plotted with my bosses to surprise me with a quick trip last weekend.
It was a wonderful* surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed our little mini-vacation.
We played tennis, had a spa day and relaxed by the pool.

*Confession: I had to actively try to be excited about having my "plan" for Friday/Saturday thrown off.  I was actually a little disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to head into work at 6:30 on Friday morning to finish my motion and catch up on other deadlines before calling it a weekend.  I wish I was kidding.  I think that disappointment faded when I got to the spa mid-day Friday, but I feel like I have to at least confess the extent to which I am a control freak.  
Thanks for loving me anyway, K.

My Other Birthday Surprise

or Lucy's lesson in placing your treasure in heaven....
Last week, K and I made a big decision to buy a rug for our den.  I desperately wanted a patterned natural fiber rug, but we decided we needed something that would be a little easier to keep clean.  Read: a little more Lucy friendly.  We chose a neutral/patterned wool rug that I absolutely love.  We literally had the rug four days when I came home (on my Birthday no less) to this:

Yep.  Lucy ate the rug.  Or actually it looks like she sat there all day slowly pulling it apart.  Whatever.  She made a big fat mess of my pretty new rug.  I cried.  Then I immediately regretted that we had made a "big purchase" for the den.  Then I cried some more and went to bed.  A little dramatic?  Yes.  But I was frustrated and stressed and tired and it was my birthday.  K and I  decided Lucy was most likely trying to give us a not so gentle reminder that our material things just aren't that important.
She is so wise.  

Lazy Labor Day

It was a wonderfully lazy labor day around here.  I went into this weekend with a to-do list a mile long (that included things like catch up on work, ironing, laundry, cleaning).  I was literally excited to have three full days to get everything done.  

Yesterday morning when I told K I was feeling overwhelmed, he suggested I just relax.  Best advice I've heard all week.  We slept in, made a yummy brunch, baked banana bread (that Lucy ended up devouring when we left the kitchen to get ready), went for a long walk, and ate at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants at the Pearl Brewery.  It was perfect.  Not on our list yesterday?  Any of the items on my to do list!  So glad K is around to help me keep things in perspective :)

Lucy, We Have a Problem

Lucy has a new favorite hangout.  Our bed.  And she has become very aggressive about claiming her spot.  See how she tries to look cute so that we'll let her jump up?

It works every time.  We never let Lucy spend the whole night in bed with us, but pre-bedtime and morning cuddle time have become a pretty big part of her routine.  Plus, this body on the bed, feet on the ground pose is one of her favorites and since she's not technically, all the way on the bed, we let it slide.

The other new addition to her routine?  Bi-weekly trips to doggy daycare.  I know, I'm a little embarrassed to put this out there, but we take our dog to daycare.  But, remember this?  She had been doing so well, but after about a week of 12 hour work days for me and K, Lucy decided to expand her original hole in the wall and add a few others around the room to spice things up a bit.  I think she was trying to tell us something.  Anyway, we decided doggy daycare was a great alternative to leaving Lucy home to eat holes in our wall all day.  The result has been great.  So great that we actually had both holes patched.  Plus, the world of the dog-obssessed puppy-parent is kind of fun :)  When I pick Lucy up after a full day of daycare, I get "reports" on her day, like "Lucy had a great time playing with Spot today.  They were together the whole day."  One time they even offered to put me in touch with Lucy's friend's "parents" so they could play outside of daycare.  And, they generally tell me how sweet and well-behaved she is, which is a boost, because our little crackhead, while always sweet, is rarely well-behaved.  Also, if I were so inclined, I could log on to the website and watch the live streaming video of the playground.  You know, just to be sure Lucy was safe and having fun.  For the moment I am resisting the urge to become a helicopter puppy parent, but who knows what the future holds?

So, I guess you could say we have a Lucy problem.  She kind of runs the show around here, and for the time being, we're kind of ok with it.