On my way to 27 (part 2)

So I apologize....I definitely lied to the blog world when I said I would post "tomorrow" last week :)

In an attempt to finishing recapping on the last year here are 5 things that I learned (or was reminded of really) on my way to 27 -

1. Sharing makes the family work - If there was ever a year where I lived in this phrase it was this past year. By "sharing" I mean giving generously out of abundance and poverty and by "family" I mean the church and at the same time I literally mean our family. As we were in need people have seriously shared their car, money, house, clothes, food, time and countless other resources with us this year. What a beautiful picture of the church?! I pray that as we have been abundantly blessed this year, we have also in some way been a blessing to others by sharing what we have been given.

2. Waiting is hard - Ben started looking for job six months before we moved to San Francisco. We lived here for four months before Ben found a new job. Waiting for Ben to discover the perfect job in San Fran was a tough time for us. We definitely learned a lot but the waiting was really hard at times. One upside to waiting a long time for something...when you finally receive it the celebration is huge :)

3. My life is richer because of the people in it - I feel too lucky/blessed/fortunate/undeserving when I think about the amazing people in my life. I find myself short on words to adequately express how grateful I am for the people who surround me with love, encouragement, honesty and prayer.

4. My husband is a ROCKSTAR - One of those people who make my life richer is the hubs aka Ben Lee. He works hard to protect and provide for me. Ben makes life fun for us and goes to great lengths to keep me laughing. Ben supports and encourages me every day to pursue the dreams and to explore the passions God has given me. Through the waiting and not so easy times of this last year, I watched Ben persevere with strength and grace. I have the upmost respect and love for my sweet husband. He really is the best :)

5. God loves me and is faithful - Through the sharing and waiting and pursuing and living this past year, I was reminded of this over and over again...God loves me and is faithful. Those may seem to be two simple truths but they are two simple truths I held tight to on my way to 27.

Here are just a few things I am looking forward to on my way to 28...

• Epic Church launches on Feb 13th
• Friends getting married
• Ben turns 30!!!!
• Visits from family and friends to SF (hint...hint) :)

And I promise to try not to lie to the blog world about posting "tomorrow" aka in ten days.

On my way to 27... (part 1)

I decided to combine my "reflecting on 2010" post with my "reflecting on year 26" post since the dates are close to the same :) As I rang in the new year and then celebrated my birthday on Jan 5th, I couldn't help to pause and remember all that happened in the last year. So here are some of my favorite moments on my way to 27....

*Kicked off the new year (2010) in Chicago

*Trip to Nashville for Benefit Haiti Concert with my dearest friend Lahh

*Last Semester at The Well

*Extra day at San Destin with my Tuscaloosa staff family

*Spent the day at Magic Kingdom

*Ben and I celebrated 5 years of marriage

*Moved to San Francisco

*Saw WICKED

*BBQ with neighbors at our apartment complex

*Epic Kids had a baby shower

*Ben got a job!!!!!!

*Epic Church had its first three worship services

*Ben and I got to spend Christmas in the south with best friends and family

So so much has happened in the last year - there is MUCH I am leaving out...but here's to some of the fun moments I'm remembering. I also learned a lot this past year. I wanted to share 5 things I learned but I'm fading fast...so part 2 tomorrow :)

Thanks to my husband, friends and family who make my life so much fun!

Can I post date this one?!

So I am waaaaay behind on blogging. I should be posting on reflections from 2010 and looking forward to the new year but I have to document our Christmas some more. Let's just say that December kind of got away from me :) So can we post date this one?!

Since Epic is not having weekly services yet I was fortunate to be able to take extended time away this Christmas. I left the city on December 18 and returned on the 31st! Here are some of my adventures from those 14 days...

I started my trip in Tuscaloosa. It was a super special treat that I got to stay with my best friend Lauren and her husband Alan for a couple of days to start my break. Ben and I are so grateful for their friendship - the only bummer is Ben couldn't join me! I had so much fun catching up, laughing and hanging out that I decided to push my flight back and stay an extra day :) While in t-town, I got to see many people/families that I love dearly and worship with my Calvary church family. I also got to eat Chick-fil-a and go to Hobby Lobby (thanks Karly:)) which was awesome since there are NONE in San Fran. I soaked up and enjoyed every minute I was there!

These are the only two pictures I managed to take with my phone while I was there.

*The Hendersons and I, along with Jordan and Carlin ate one night at Hokkaido which is my favorite hibachi restaurant of all time.

*Me and Lauren at the BAMA basketball game.

After t-town, I headed to New Orleans to see my family! My sister and my sweet nieces greeted me at the airport. We saw Tangled, went to the zoo, roasted marshmallows and ate way too much while I was there!

*At the zoo with tons of animals and all these two want to do is climb trees :)

*Did I mention that icees are hard to come by in San Fran...So I had atleast one a day while I was in Louisiana!

On Christmas Eve, Ben flew into New Orleans. We drove 6 hours to Shreveport to spend Christmas with his family. It was so great to spend time together with family. On Christmas I was more excited to carve the turkey and ham than to open presents - I think I get that from my dad! I actually asked Ben today if I could have an electric knife :)

Ben had to be back on the 28th so I hung out with my family for a bit longer before heading back to the city on the 31st. It was nice to be back in our apartment but I loved the time we got to spend with people we love so much but don't get to see that often!

more on reflections from 2010 and anticipation for the new year to come...I think I am starting to fall asleep typing...