Sometimes you just need some time away...

There are times when all you need is to vacate your everyday life and go somewhere you've never been before. It's exciting to be out of your element and to experience things you've never experienced before!! Chris and I got to have the most fabulous vacation in February! It was an extremely early anniversary trip (our anniversary is in August). We went on a Disney cruise to Nassau and Castaway Key and then to Disneyworld after that. It was honestly the BEST trip we've ever been on together...even better than our honeymoon (I know...I know, but it's true!) I know Chris so much better than I did when we first got married and there's a level of intimacy that exists there that only time and trials can create. We've had an amazing ride these past 4 and a half years and it's only the beginning! Every day I'm surprised by how Chris gets me, blesses me, knows me, and makes me feel at home. I can be completely myself and yet at the same time I trust him to tell me when "myself" isn't very holy! I think we have the marriage that everyone dreams of...I mean really! I can't wait to see what the road holds for us. We are always individually a work in progress, but I'm thankful that our relationship only continues to get stronger as we give ourselves over more and more to the healing of the Holy Spirit! So, if your marriage is needing a little pick-me-up...I suggest that you allow the truth of God into the places in you that need His voice...I promise it will bless your marriage in ways you never thought possible!! Just a thought.

It takes something good to get me writing...

So, Jenna...you've tempted me into coming out of blog-writing semi-retirement with your tag challenge. I graciously accept and hope I can do it justice!!

Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were tagged...
List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

1. I sometimes regret my major in college...sorry mom and dad! If I could go back and do it again I think I would have either been a social work or church-state studies major. I dream of going back to graduate school!!

2. I refuse to me a mom who drives a mini-van...I'm not gonna do it and you can't make me! I don't care how snazzy the features are or how much better the gas mileage is!!

3. I absolutely can't stand it when moms dress their little boys in "smocked" jumper outfits with saddle oxfords that look like they belong on a little girl. I know some people love them, but they disturb me tremendously!

4. If we had the money I would get a pedicure twice a month...I know...spoiled.

5. I am a nerd...I love planners, calendars, school supplies, organizers, buying new cleaners, getting a new kind of shampoo, finding a great coupon, showering in a clean shower, organizing my monthly allowance money, using my calculator at the grocery store and coming in under budget, etc.....yup...I'm a nerd!

6. I sometimes hate living in Waco...I know it's like blasphemy to say it! I just really want to live somewhere beautiful, the beach or the mountains...something! I want a town with a Whole Foods, a BabiesRus, a Super Target, and a Williams Sonoma....come on!! I want to live somewhere we can live our lives outdoors...rock climb, hike, ride bikes...ride our bikes to Whole Foods....oh, yeah that's the dream!!

7. I'm starting a training class next week to learn how to counsel people in Jesus and I'm scared out of my mind. Can I really do this?

8. This might be gross to some, but I sometimes look at my husband and think that he looks like a beautiful Greek statue. Don't worry...I've told him that before...I probably should tell him more often though.

9. I have become a gym girl...I never thought it would happen, but it's true! Gold's Gym has become my second home and I'm really loving it! Anyone who has had kids knows that there is nothing more fulfilling than seeing your post-baby body return to you. Hello, old friend...how I've missed you!!

10. I'm really thankful for my in-laws who are helping send Chris and I on the most amazing week long trip (a cruise and then Disneyworld) next week!! Thank you, Jesus, for incredible family who loves to give gifts to people they love. Oh, and did I mention they are watching the boys for us as well?! Amazing!

Ok...I did it! That wasn't so painful! I do this part too, right?!

Here are the rules:
1. Say one nice thing to the man in your life:
Christopher Lee Otts, I think you are the only person in the world who really knows me, gets me, and loves me in spite of it!!

List at least 6 ways you measure success in your life.
1. I am successful if I only have a small mound of laundry on the utility room floor.
2. I am successful if I get my 3 year old to eat anything new or different without a fit.
3. I am successful if I drag out something pretty to wear to bed.
4. I am successful if I keep my cool while my 2 year old eats some sort of snail thing that he found in the yard.
5. I am successful if I go to the gym and not laugh out loud at the ridiculous things people do and wear there!
6. I am successful if I update my blog every month...it hasn't happened yet. Shoot!

I tag...
my husband http://chrisotts.tumblr.com/
my mother-in-law http://vickie-otts.blogspot.com/
my sister-in-law http://www.kingfamilythings.blogspot.com/
my brother-in-law (even though he will hate it, but he'd write something amazing!)
http://www.rosskingworldtour.blogspot.com/
Cherie because she'd be great at this...http://cheriemariephotography.blogspot.com/
Hmm...I need more blogging friends!!

I'm out!

A Christmas to remember!!

This Christmas has been my favorite by far! It's so special when you start to see Christmas through the eyes of your children. Micah is finally old enough to really understand Christmas and all that it entails. He loves the "baby Jesus" story and singing Jingle Bells...he loves presents and turning the Christmas tree lights on! He's walks up to me some times and says, " This is the best Christmas ever! Merry Christmas, Mama!" It's enough to make your eyes tear up and heart constrict. It's such a gift to get to celebrate this season with my own little family!

We just moved into our first house this past year, so this was our first Christmas to put lights on the house and have a real big Christmas tree! It was fun to go together and pick out a tree and tie it to the top of the Jeep just like everyone pictures it. We used pictures of family and friends on ribbon to decorate our tree and I especially love this years picture of Gavin crying as he sits on Santa's lap! HAHAHA! It's priceless and may make it into our new year's letter this year!!

My parents gave us an amazing gift this year of a trip on a real train for a Polar Express experience! It was the highlight of our Christmas this year so far and was definitely an experience to remember! I've posted a ton of pics on facebook if you want to see more!

Merry Christmas everyone! I wish you sweet memories this Christmas and a deeper stirring of the presence of God in your life! He is Emmanuel...God with us- then, now, and forever!

My son...Mr. Incredible!!

Micah is turning 3 on November 21st! All he talks about is having a birthday party and getting to eat cake and have balloons and presents! It's really funny! He also has this new Mr. Incredibles outfit that he is going to wear for Fall Fest this year...he wants to wear it all the time! When he puts it on, his hands immediately go to his hips and he makes a very serious face like he means business. It's hilarious and he loves this costume so much that he's even slept in it a few times...which is funny because you'd think the padded "muscles" would be uncomfortable to sleep with. He's definitely my "Mr. Incredible"! I'm so proud of him and I love that he wants to be a hero and save the world. I love that he's likes to be rough and tumble and at the same time he loves to be sweet. He has such a good sweet heart and his imagination seems limitless. When he's not pretending to be Mr. Incredible, he likes to put in Chris' HUGE cowboy boots and stomp around the house in them. He calls himself "Bootey"...which is actually "Woody" from Toy Story. He pretends that Chris' basball cap is a cowboy hat and he even has a little metal star that attaches to his shirt like a sheriff's badge. He's awesome! It's one of the things I love most about having boys...they think of some of te craziest things and I feel like I don't understand it at all...of course Chris totally gets it!!!

I really want to garden...

I really want to garden...
Our backyard is a mess of weeds and very little else. I really want to start a garden and put down some grass for the boys. I mostly want to have a lifestyle that is spent more outdoors. With two small boys it can be hard to even get out of the house to go to the grocery store. The park is overwhelming for me to take them to alone, so playing outside is relegated to our backyard! Micah putters around in his little cozy coup car and Gavin likes to play with rocks and get dirty! It's simple, but they seem to have fun anyways! I just wish I could have a place to piddle while they play...like a little vegetable garden beside the shed and garage...and a little spot for them to join me! It's a dream I have and I'm praying we get to do it soon! Oh, well...just some random thoughts this morning.

While running...

While running...

So the other day I was running....trying to do 3 miles...and I was listening to a World Mandate cd on my ipod. At the end of one of the songs, you can hear the crowd shouting, "One more song! One more song! One more song!". As I listened to this, I started to loose it as I was running. I probably looked so ridiculous. I thought that this was such a strange response and so I tried to figure out exactly what was going on. As I continued to run I realized that my heart isn't always longing for "one more song". I don't cultivate a life of desiring to be in God's presence. I want my heart to desire another moment with the Lord...another touch from Him, another real honest moment before Him. I want to revel in the presence of the Lord and never want it to end. Is that only for heaven? Is that just a dream and longing for something to come when all this is done? I want to believe that it's possible now and that it's a dream the Holy Spirit put in my life for right now. Jesus, continue to touch my heart like this...even if it is while gasping for breath as I run!

Let it break you...

Ever since our church missions conference this past January I have been wrestling with God calling me to be an advocate. What does that look like for a mom of two little boys? I feel like most days I'm lucky if we all even get out of the house and run errands! But, God led me to join a justice group though our church. We meet every other Sunday and discuss things that God has put on our heart. We are also reading this amazing book called Good News About Injustice by the founder of International Justice Mission. I'm feeling challenged to cultivate a prayer life specifically focused on issues of injustice in America and in the world. My hope is that during this crazy season of life if I can learn and pray and teach others about what is going on in the world, that one day God will lay out an even bigger dream in this area.

Learning God's heart for those who are hurting and oppressed is hard and freeing all at the same time. The burden that comes with hearing horrific stories is balanced by knowing that the God of the universe hears their cries and longs to save them! We can be a part of that through prayer, giving, going, defending, fighting for, rescuing those in need. The best part is that after you free a child from slavery you can then free their souls from eternal death! What an amazing gift to bring life and freedom with our hands and our hearts.

The issue in the book I'm reading that most stirred me is about children in India who live in bonded slavery to pay off the debt of their families. Some of these children work for 12 hours a day and get paid only 75 cents a week! It's a cycle of despair and their childhood is stolen through hard labor and lives. This article by Human Rights Watch give some great information!
http://hrw.org/reports/1996/India3.htm

Pray for these children. Pray that God will show us all how to be proactive in advocating for those without a voice.