missing in action-but I'm still here...

It has been quite a while since I've written on here. I haven't left blogging by any means--I just haven't updated my own blog. I've even caught myself getting frustrated with other bloggers who don't update enough but then I realize it's been three months since I have! Last time I updated I was feeling miserable with stitches in my mouth. It felt like I was never going to feel normal again back then--and here I am feeling completely normal. Rather than write forever I'll just update in bullet format about a few things. I'm not gonna lie--this might be a pretty dry post but I wanted to update nonetheless!

-I've started a photography business! It has been a whirlwind-a roller coaster of emotions. I never thought I could really create a business around something I enjoy doing so much. It has taken time, and still is taking time, but I'm having fun. It definitely reminds me of the complete reliance I have on God. It constantly puts me in battle with sin and I have to submit each day to God's will and not my own. It's also given me so much joy to hear people excited about the pictures I've taken for them. I want to give all credit to God because he has given me this gift to bring Him glory!
Read my photography blog LMP Blog
and visit my new website LMP website!

-Jonathan and I are looking at houses! I never thought I'd be saying that! We haven't looked too much but we're excited about hopefully find a great starter home. The housing market is kind of different here in Midland (compared to places like Houston) so it's been interesting figuring it out. One house we were kind of liking just went into contract--bummer. I like even more now that I can't have it! I'm excited to be on this adventure with my best friend and husband. Some of the houses we've seen have cracked us up! People are so funny...and weird with the way they live. One person had 4 fridges!! FOUR! Really now, is that necessary??

-A couple of weeks ago we can became members of our church, Christian Life Center. We are so thankful for our church home for so MANY reasons. God's word that is preached there faithfully each week by Pastor Billy, our new friends who have loved us so well, Pastor Billy himself for embracing and loving us (I saw him at HEB today and it made my day!), but most of all everything that God has taught us while we have been there. I thank God that he promises to sanctify us continually. Where would I be if it weren't for God's grace and mercy?

-This week the Petroleum Museum (where I work) is having it's annual birthday party! It's going to be a long night but fun at the same time. It's western themed so I'll be wearing my new boots and hoping they don't kill my feet! I'll be sure to post pictures of the party.

Okay, it's 9:30 and since I take about 20 minutes to get ready for bed I better get off this thing. Yes, I go to bed early-don't judge!

I've missed blogging...sorry I've been so bad.

a year ago today...

Happy Anniversary John and Laura!

I can't believe it has been a whole year since John and Laura's wedding. It is just unreal. The memories of that day...the memories of the weeks leading up to it and everything else are so fresh and real. I feel like I'm still getting over the excitement of the whole thing. It was a whirlwind weekend!
John and Laura got married in Dripping Springs, TX at a bed and breakfast. It was a perfect Texas hill country outdoor wedding.
It has been a joy to have Laura in our family. I only wish we lived closer together so we could spend even more time together. I'm thankful for the time we did have in Austin before I moved away...
Here are a few of their engagement pictures and bridal portraits I took last March and May.

**Update**
the pics will have to wait till I have the energy to get on my other computer. I just got my wisdom teeth out so the energy isn't really flowing...
That's another thing...when I look at these pictures from their wedding...I never thought I'd be sitting at home, miserable, with stitches in my mouth a year later! I would much rather be dancing at my brother's wedding right now ;)

Okay I just got them off Laura's facebook instead...





...and they're tiny, oops! Eh, I'll fix it later!

-L

forgive

A quote from the book I'm reading right now...

To forgive someone means to release from liability to suffer punishment or penalty...forgiveness is undeserved and cannot be earned...forgiveness requires that you absorb certain effects of another person's sins and release the person from liability to punishment. This is precisely what Jesus accomplished at Calvary. He secured our forgiveness by taking on himself the full penalty of our sins. Remembering what he did to purchase our forgiveness should be our greatest incentive to release others from the penalties they deserve.

I don't think I've ever understood what forgiveness means...especially in my marriage. I hope that God will grow me in this continually.

My life these last few months...in pictures

Okay. I always have things I want to post. In fact, I write the post in my head...but then I never find the time to do it and then before I know it's just too late. So since I really don't have that much time right now I've decided to post a few pictures to just show you the things I want to talk about. I hope you enjoy!




Jonathan and I have been babysitting our sweet Abigail (niece) every other Thursday (more or less). I must admit she gets a little spoiled over here...although we do try to lay some ground rules ;)




Back in March we all (me, Jono, Jeff, Jenni, Jim and Peggy) went to a ranch outside of San Angelo that my father-in-law's company owns. Charlie and Michelle drove out from Dallas to join us as well. It was so much fun. This picture is just after we got back from a late night "mule" ride to go star watching. It was quite chilly!



Here is a picture of our new friend Haley. She has a counterpart too...Justin...but this is just of the girls :) We've been hanging out with Justin and Haley a lot lately. In fact I think she's coming over in a bit while the men are being "manly".




Of course, I have to post these pictures... but do they need a caption? See previous post if this doesn't make sense.
By the way, he was so kind and so familiar. I felt like I've met him 10 times before. He was completely gracious...




Easter! A happy girl chasing bubbles and hunting for eggs.




OH MY GOODNESS. This girl is precious. Last night was her very first recital (!!! she's so old!). She might seem old to us but she was by far the youngest dancer there. The picture of all the legs is not mine (but I'm tempted to say it is). Apparently during the recital the little girls need to be entertained...they're watching a movie in this picture. Abigail is on the far left. This picture is PRICELESS!

Hall of Fame 2009

Today will be long...

Hall of Fame at 6:30 tonight. 900 + people...and I'm a hostess. I'm looking forward to getting dolled up, greeting people...
There will be a lot of Midland money in this room...a lot. I hope my 3 1/2 in. heels don't kill my poor feet...who am I kidding? They will! But hey, they're RED!

Will I get to see George W?? Hmmm?

The inductees are... George W. Bush, Ted Collins and Herb Ware (team), Jim Henry, Johnny Warren. Three of these are alive.

It will be exciting but I'm really looking forward to the weekend!


-L

"Mom...it's no big deal, it was just a photo shoot" -Chloe

Jonathan and I went over to the McKnight/Lawless household for dinner last night. It was a fun evening and RELAXING...even though Kristi and I road around the neighborhood on a tandem bike! I didn't see that coming! It was an easy little workout and the weather was PERFECT.

Here are some cute pictures of her girls...

sweet Kayleigh

This is going to be super fast! I wanted to give you a sneak peak, Shawn. I'm going to be out of town this weekend with family so I won't be able to edit the pictures and get them to you until next week. But I've been playing around with them before work this morning. I had to post some of them for you to see! These are some of my favorites...

Satan cowers

I have a list of things I need to be getting done right now. But I need to post this. My best friend, Emily, was in the hospital exactly a year ago. It was life threatening. It was really scary and it took a long time for her to recover. She just wrote this post as she remembers this time of her life exactly a year ago. It's a post that glorifys God. I love it and I just want more people to read it. I hope you don't mind Emily...

"I just had a moment. This exact time last year was a Tuesday/Wednesday. And this moment exactly 365 days ago I was lying in a hospital bed praying and pleading with God that if this was going to be the end of my life that he would just take me and not make it drag out any longer because I was done. The phrase I used was "I'm finished fighting." I remember beginning to cry and wishing that someone would wipe the tears off my face because my joints were arthritic and swollen and my body was toxic and I couldn't raise my arm to do it myself. I remember thinking, "God, truly your will be done because I don't know what else to do," and that was the last coherent thought I had for the next 3 days. It was a Tuesday. And the next twelve Tuesdays after were all some of the worst Tuesdays of my life.

But God showed me that He is faithful. And God showed me that His hand is not too short to deliver. And God showed me that his will is good. And it is pleasing. And it is perfect.

And I cried a lot. And I was angry for a little while. And I just plain did not understand.

But God showed me through my brokenness that His provision was perfect.

And even though I felt like the world was moving on while I was frozen {literally, with swollen shoulders and no range of motion; and the pain in my back so intense that I could not get out of bed by myself, wash my hair, face, hands, or eat by myself},

God showed me that His strength is perfected in weakness.

And His love is abounding. His timing? Flawless.



I have night-horrors every now and again where the memories of pain and frustration are so real that I wake up crying. Sometimes the fear is so strong that my mind recreates it and my back will begin to tremble with spasms. I fear it. In the last 365 days there is not a single one I can remember where I did not remember the last year.

But then I have a moment, and God just says, "Beloved, Who am I? Did I not carry you through that? Did I not fulfill my promises? Did I forsake you though you doubted me? It was My hand. It was My will. I am. I will always be."

And then I remember. And I can lay down the burden and the fear. I can walk by faith because it was He who taught me. Is it appropriate to raise an Ebenezer here? Let me declare, "Look what God has done. God and none other."

None other."

I think this illustration by John Piper describes wonderfully what is happening in response to this post and Emily's faith...

In time God's wisdom will be plain

Valentines

Happy Valentines Day :)

It's valentines and we woke up to rainy, cold weather. Usually this would make me cry (literally...maybe) but today it made me excited! I love when I have no where to be but it's rainy outside...especially while watching a movie. I feel like I haven't done that in forever! :)

Jonathan is off getting milk...for his cereal and THEN waffles for lunch. He's taking a while....hmmm....


--EDIT--

Today has ended up being such a beautiful day. The rain cleared and now it's sunny again. I always like the sun...even when we're in a drought (does that make me a bad Midlander??).
Jonathan took forever at the grocery store! He came home with hydrangeas, wine, chocolate and a gift. He had gone to his parent's house to get everything. Instead of explaining everything...I'll just show pictures:


My mother-in-law got me these sweet glasses that we saw about a month ago at an estate sale. I had no idea she bought them! If you come visit me I'll make you lemonade :)
Notice the daisy stir stick?? CUTE.





I got Jonathan peanut butter! Don't worry, it's not going to kill him. We watched a show about the best sandwiches in America. There's a peanut butter restaurant in New York that only sells PB sandwiches! You can order their peanut butter online at ilovepeanutbutter.com
He loved it!



Jonathan got me wine, chocolate, hydrangeas (not pictured) and a book with love letters written by famous Christians in history (i.e. Martin Luther and Martin Lloyd Jones). I loved it!
The wine bottle is really cool...



Then we made breakfast!



On a none Valentines related note...for those interested (mom, Laura) here is a picture of my teacup cubby! I am so glad I bought this thing (even if they didn't go as low as I wanted). It's not quite complete yet. I eventually want to fill each corner with a different tea cup (all four of them are the same). I need another unique and different one from anthropologie...you know to keep it looking young. I really love it! Mom, notice the center, left mug...that's the one I just ordered. In the picture above of our bfast table you can see the rest of the plates on the other side of the table. I LOVE them!




-L

the things of this world

“If you give your soul up to anything earthly, whether it be the wealth, or the honours, or the pleasures of this world, you might as well hunt after the mirage of the desert or try to collect the mists of the morning, or to store up for yourself the clouds of the sky, for all these things are passing away.”

Charles Spurgeon


Lord, help me to believe this with all of me, every moment of the day. Help me to treasure you infinitely more than anything in this world.

Kayleigh and Ethan

I took pictures of my friend, Shawn's, two children. These kids are the cutest kids. I told her that her kids make me want to start a family.

It was so much fun taking these pictures...I had to get used to chasing Ethan around. I'm not used to people walking out of shots! Thank you Shawn for giving me this opportunity!

oh my goodness...picking out pictures for my wedding album is SO hard!

I originally had 500 favorite pictures...then I was told I need to narrow it done to 100! I thought I was doing good but I still had 230! Now I have 165 and I don't think I can handle it anymore! Every time I walk away and come back to the pictures I find more I love. I just need to remember this is just for the album. I can frame all the pictures I want for the rest of my life!

Just had to share that with my few readers. ALSO, I have to choose a picture for the cover and a picture my photographer will create a "signature art print" out of. Goodness.

It has been fun re-living such a great time though! It makes me miss people though :(


-L

inspiration

I just stumbled across the website. It's so random. It's fun to come up with ideas though. I like the idea of collecting images of what I like and then reproducing them in real life with a REAL budget! I put this together...it's a representation of my living room...sort of...kind of...

Some of these elements I have some version of. Other elements are part of my plans for the future.
For example...we just got a white armoire similiar to the one pictured except it's shorter, longer, and cooler! But the feet are almost identical. It's where we keep our TV and I'm so excited about it. It's our very late wedding gift from J's parents.
Another example...the red pillow: I love this pattern and actually you can buy this fabric. I want to get it in yellow and recover this retro looking chair we got from J's grandmother. The plate represents all the plates I have in my living room (on the wall, mantle, etc). I am addicted to plates...seriously. The mirror represents the antique frameless mirror I have hanging on our wall. The chaise...well I love them and I want one! I love nesting tables but haven't found any yet. I like the white lamp...the yellow rug (from pottery barn kids!!). I just put the coffee table in there because my design needed one! Ours is so much cooler and one of kind. We're not sure who made it (J's great grandfather maybe). It's long and low and held together with wooden pegs. It's amazing. It used to have our TV on it but since we got the armoire we were able to resurrect it! The only thing missing from this picture is a couch...I just could not find a good one, oh well!

Michaela is the only one who's seen my place! I need more of my girls to come out to me! Read Michaela's blog...she says my guest bed is comfy!

Alright...back to my to-do list. J is at a men's only bible study right now so I have the evening to get things done!

Leave me some love!



LMT by jandl

Nap Eyelashes

Don't you just love that bent eyelash look you get from taking nap with your face smashed against a pillow while you have mascara on. Actually, no kidding, sometimes it looks good. It's bent just enough to look like I curled it...but only on one side of course.


This Christmas was by far different from any of my other Christmases but parts of it felt just the same. We spent it here with his parents, brother and wife, niece, aunt and grandmother. We had our own little Christmas in the morning (which I forgot to take a picture of!) and then went over to his parents house for the big event. Abigail is about 2.5 so this Christmas was such an event for her! We spent a lot of our time with presents unwrapped at our feet admiring sweet Abigail ripping into her prizes. But we found time to unwrap our own. I got a lot of thoughtful gifts among my favorites...a cake stand (antique), anthro gift card, and these two books:


Radical Womanhood
go here for an interesting video about this book...
www.vinegarhillpictures.com/video/video_pages/video_pages/radical_woman_hood.html


Heaven Without Her
I'm already half way through this one.

Jonathan basically got me both although he "sold" one of them to his mom to give to me. haha.

Jonathan's aunt, Mary Scott, spent the night with us last night. I was so glad to have her and I know Jonathan was too. She thinks Jonathan is precious and just adores him. He made us waffles in the morning and I know she loved it.

Michaela will be the next to stay with us and I couldn't be more excited to have her feet in my apartment all the way out here in west Texas!! Her parents and her are driving through on their way back from an "untraditional" Christmas in California.

Despite how at home I feel here with my husband I still miss my family this Christmas. It's just strange. It's not the same mailing each other's gifts and not seeing each others faces. I didn't even get to see our tree set up in the living room this year.

I thank the LORD for Christ's sacrifice on the cross. I thank the LORD that he has granted me his grace. It is by his grace alone that I have hope in this world and I hope that his name will be glorified! I hope that Christmas will be about Him every year of my life and not just on Christmas day.

-L

my love

My wedding photographer was wonderful. She captured how Jonathan treasures me...







On another note...things I've learned this week:


1. I noticed in my fridge on Monday a mysterious yellow/white object shaped almost like a giant jelly bean. My first thought was that Jonathan was trying to play a trick on me but he eventually convinced me it was not from him. We seriously stared at it forever! Jonathan smelled it, I poked it, we gave it to the dog (then quickly picked it up again). Then I SCREAMED when I realize I had been handling a RAW BOILED EGG! Rule #1 Don't leave boiled eggs in the fridge (especially if peeled)!! I wish I had taken a picture before throwing it like a mad woman into the garbage disposal (also a minor mistake)

2. No matter what, when making cheesecake, it will always come out different! I made one last week for Thanksgiving and then I cheerfully volunteered to make it for a party at work. Ahhhh! It looked horrible...my pies can look terrible for family, friends...but WORK! This was an appreciation party for our volunteers (mostly elderly women) so I kept thinking these experienced old women are going to scoff at my cheesecake! I'm being slightly dramatic...it was fine. Apparently it tasted fine too. Rule #2 Only make pretty things for work parties

3. I got a pizza stone for a wedding gift. I love these things...I've only used my moms and I really haven't made pizza since because it just makes it so much better than a normal cookie tray does. So this week I was so excited to make a pizza. I pulled my beautiful, perfectly cooked pizza out of the oven and started serving it... "JONATHAN-the pizza is STUCK!"
We had bottomless pizza for dinner that night.
Rule #3 Read the directions and grease your pizza stone! Apparently you're suppose to do that for the first few uses. I kept thinking my mom NEVER greased her pizza stone...well she did!


I had to share all of those things with my few readers! Alright, off to work on my wedding album...

-L

photos by Leslie Gawroecki
goodlightphotography.com

lunch break post

So I thought I would take part of my lunch break to update my blog since it's been TOO long!



To start out I'll share with my readers (very few I'm sure) what kind of snacks I make! Claire asked what I make so for anyone who is also interested! Seriously, nothing special but I think all of it tastes good togther and it's healthy. It's usually any combination of the following: smoked swiss and cheddar cheese (Hoffman's brand is the only one that makes it), almonds, water crackers, goldish, fritos, pecans...
I usually always have at least the cheese, almonds, and crackers and then I throw in anything else I might have at the time. I feel dumb posting this but it's fun to share!



When Jonathan and I were walking into the house after he picked me up from the airport he had a CHI box under his arm. Strange. Here is how it went:

L: Why do you have that?!?
J: Oh my mom wanted to know if you wanted it...(like it's just nothing!)
L: She wanted to know if I wanted it?? YES I want it! Do you know how much those things are??
J: No.

I proceeded to tell him...I still don't know why she gave it to me. I'll see her tonight and ask her. I know she wanted to get a flat iron but she did and I thought I saw it and knew it wasn't a CHI. Anyways...this is too great of a thing to just hand off to me!
So now I have no excuse to try to fix my hair like in the picture from my last post. He used the exact same thing and even trained me. We'll see...

This weekend I went to Austin to hang out with my Austin/San Marcos friends. I stayed with Emily but I got to see Megan and Liz. It was so good to have lots of girl time. We missed Michaela and Heather so much (the original plan was to have a girls weekend but things came up). I realized on the plane on the way to Austin that I forgot my camera! So I have NO pictures to show for it. I'm disappointed in myself...
On Sunday I hung out with John and Laura. It was fun. Laura and I went to the Container Store so I could spend my giftcard. I got one of those cool salad/salad dressing containers! :)



Alright I would write more but my lunch break is OVAH!

-L

Look at that HAIR!

I got a haircut. It wasn't drastic at all but I was so HAPPY to get it! My hair just felt old, heavy and boring. That's what happens when I go too long. I got it cut right before the wedding but not much because my hairdresser wanted my hair long for the wedding "do".

Anyways, my mom wants to see the pictures Jonathan took on Saturday after I got home. I got my hair cut at 8 AM saturday because my guy (Elias) is in high demand out here. So I took these pictures before I took a nap at 1! I'm glad I remembered because it sure didn't look like this when I woke up...



I know...it's a little wild. But I loved it! It was fun! He did all of that with a skinny little flat-iron. It was like a magic act...he showed me how to do it (he even made me do it with him!) but you know I won't be able to do that again. Maybe, maybe.
So, mom, you better be reading this because this is all for you!

Well, I started my new job last Wednesday and so far I've liked it. I'm getting used to being gone during the day. Yesterday was terrible though because I went to the grocery store during rush hour...which I usually avoid at all costs. No more avoiding, I'm a working woman now! Today it was freezing at work...it's always freezing but I wore the wrong thing today. I could barely stand it by the time I walked out.

Anyways...I need to go get a "snack" ready for Jonathan before he gets home. I've got him addicted to my snacks. I make good snacks (and healthy). He always thought it was weird before we were married but now I got him on board! We're addicted to cheese that costs $4 a chunck...we're giving up cereal to buy it! I found the cheese at Walmart on sale 2 for $5! I was too EXCITED!

-L

FOOD!

I couldn't decide which recipe to share with my (very few) readers so I decided to post two. One is my old favorite and the second is my new favorite. Both are good for the fall...even though it's not really fall- only in the morning here in Midland. Both are for the crock-pot but the first one can be done on the stove also.


Taco Soup

I LOVE this stuff. It's one of the only things I make that I actually crave and savor...usually these feelings are only for things I don't make myself. You know how it is...you always like things that are made for you or that you order at a restaurant more than what you've made yourself. Although, for me, this is starting to change since I got my panini press! That's a story for another day-back to the soup.

This can be made in the crock-pot but I actually have done it on the stove more often.

1-2 lbs. ground beef (1.20 is usually what I can find at the grocery store without buying more than I need)
1 medium - large onion, diced
1 can green chiles (the really small can/store brand)
1 can mild rotel tomatoes
3 cans diced tomatoes (sometime I buy the "petite diced" if I want a less chunky soup-or a little of both kinds)
1 can ranch style beans
1 pkg ranch seasoning
1 pkg mild taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water
1 can sliced olives
Fritos (this is a MUST!

Brown beef, do not drain. Transfer to a warmed crock-pot. (If making on the stove just brown beef in a large soup pot and add ingredients to that). Add all ingredients--do NOT drain any of the cans. I just realized I don't know how long to cook it in the crock-pot! Oops! I will be consulting my mom on this and I will let you know! BUT...for the stovetop: Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour. Stir often. Serve in bowls with chips, cheese, sour cream, avocados, etc. This soup is hot and I often burn my tongue so be warned. Remember, the Fritos make this soup...in my opinion it's boring without them and not as good with tortilla chips! Next time I make this I'm gonna buy the store brand b/c Fritos are expensive!


Harvest Lamb (Beef) Stew

I love this ALMOST as much as Taco Soup. It's my new favorite. Peggy (mother-in-law) made it for us and then I made it...pretty easy and such a Fall meal! I halved the recipe which was plenty for two but doesn't leave as many leftovers--which are great too! So if you want to, make the whole thing and enjoy it for a couple of days. I made it with beef...I have no idea how it is with lamb but it's probably great!



2 1/2 lbs. lean lamb stew meat (about 1-inch pieces)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz) can beef broth
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped sweet onion (or yellow-about half an onion)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
*1 small butternut squash (about 1 lb.), peeled, seeded and chopped
hot cooked mashed potatoes or grits (I love it with grits but not everyone loves that stuff)
garnish: fresh parsley sprigs (I didn't do this)

1. Rinse lamb stew meat, and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss in flour, shaking off excess.
2. Cook half of lamb in 2 Tbsp. hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occassionaly, 10 minutes or until browned. Repeat procedure with remaining lamb and oil. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Add broth, and stir to loosen particles from bottom of Dutch oven. Transfer mixture to a 6-qt. slow cooker.
3. Stir in celery, onion and garlic. Top with butternut squash. (Do not stir to incorproate.) Cover and cook on LOW 4 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Serve over hot cooked mashed potatoes (or grits). Garnish if desired.

I also made dinner rolls (Rhodes frozen rolls). You have to have bread to "sop" up the stew! ;) Jonathan thinks I'm funny about that.

*This is the only tricky part...those things are hard to chop. I read in "What's a Cook to Do?" (Laura's bday gift!) that the best way to cut up a butternut squash is to cut it in half, seed it and then chop into cubes and THEN cut off the skin from these pieces...rather than peeling the hard skin off at the beginning. This was still tricky but I think it's a better alternative. Try looking this up online...I'm sure there's some great advice somewhere! Just be careful...I could see how easily you could cut off a finger!


One more thing...I got a JOB! I know this should probably be a post on it's own but oh well! I start tomorrow! I'll be the archival assistant at the Petroleum Museum. I'm so excited and so nervous. This is such a new thing! I thank God for providing for me. I'll continue to trust him with this job.

-L

cookies

I baked cookies today.








Before I got married I NEVER baked. I'd only made one batch of cookies by myself. I've just never had the desire. I cooked all the time in college--I just didn't bake. Now I love to do it! It's probably because I have a KitchenAid Mixer and someone to eat my desserts! So if you have any recipes, please pass them on to me! Michaela, I forgot to tell you today that I made your pumpkin bread on Saturday with my mom...it was so good and so easy! :) Oh and thanks for letting me copy your idea of posting pics of your cookies.

-L