by Bethe

I have a new big girl bed

I have a new big girl bed. Thanks to my fabulous in-laws who decided to change up their guest bedroom, we got this gorgeous thing as a hand-me-down. Swoon.

Mr. Right asked me what I thought, as I was lying in bed, feeling totally spoiled by a headboard AND a footboard. I told him I feel like a princess.
“And you know what?” he asked me. “There’s no duct tape.”
Ahh, yes. That’s how I know I’ve made it to the big time. I have a bed with a headboard, a footboard, and NO duct tape. Very unlike the bed I used for the past nine years… a hand-me-down from a sweet neighbor’s son (circa 1982) with a headboard that just leaned against the wall and a bed frame held together with half a roll of duct tape. And no footboard.
In case you’re wondering, duct tape could probably hold an 18-wheeler to a high rise. It held me for nine years, including a few times when I may or may not have jumped and/or danced on my bed (don’t judge).
Now I just need to figure out what to hang over our bed – I used to have two hand-carved boards from Pottery Barn that I somehow, in a fit of stubbornness, hung myself – wall anchors and all – even though they weigh about 50 pounds each. There are about 100 holes hiding behind those two hangings, so either Mr. Right is going to have to patch them, or we’re going to have to find something gigantic to cover the holes. I may have to give my interior designer sister a call for a consult. I’m hoping she’ll trade some tips for free babysitting… she’s going to need it come this summer when my nephew arrives. (enter squeals of excitement here)
Oh, and I should probably take the bedskirt we got as a wedding gift out of the package, now that I have my big girl bed. I’ve been meaning to do it for the past 13 months, but it requires ironing. And I hate ironing. But now I’m inspired.
As for curtains on that poor, naked window (there’s actually about four naked windows)… that will have to wait awhile longer. I’ll be too busy looking at my big girl bed to even notice them.
by Bethe

More hodge podging

So much to write about, but not sure where to start…

First off – I have lost a little bit of weight! Praise Jesus! I’m down five whole pounds from my peak last fall, and last week I wore a skirt I haven’t been able to fit into for much too long. Of course, I had to wear it a bit higher on my waist that normal, but it zipped, and it didn’t look obscenely tight on my hiney, so I’m calling it a win. This morning I hit a number I haven’t seen since last spring. What a wonderful feeling. It only took eight weeks of half marathon training to finally see a difference. Maybe now that the ball is rolling, the rest will melt off. Right? A girl can dream…

Speaking of half marathon training… we’ve hit that point where we do long runs on the weekends. As in, I have to run eight miles on Saturday. Nine miles next Saturday (but that’s about 900 calories). Gulp. It’s totally doable, I just listen to books on tape and try to distract myself from the monotony. We run five miles, twice a week, on weeknights. That takes me a full episode of the Kardashians AND E-News with Ryan Seacrest. I know way more celebrity gossip than I ever thought possible because it’s the only thing showing at the gym, and it keeps me from losing my mind from boredom on that treadmill. Oh how I wish for the day I can get Hulu on my iPhone and catch up on all my favorite tv shows… maybe then I can do a marathon. Maybe.

Mr. Right and I became ESL certified this weekend. We’ve done our training a bit out of order, accidentally taking an advanced two-day course last summer, leaving us utterly confused. But now we finally know the basics of lesson planning, choosing curriculum, how to structure our class. And I realized that everything I did last semester was completely wrong. My bad. Through God’s grace my students learned English anyway, and loved coming to class, and they still learned about Jesus, so I’m calling that a win (like my too-high skirt that finally fit).

Speaking of ESL, I’ve been praying a lot about our new semester, which launches in a few short weeks. I desperately miss my students, and I’m feeling a huge burden for internationals right now. Like, my heart aches to help them. We had our dear friend Timothy from Nigeria spend the night at our place Saturday night (he lives in the seminary dorm, so we try to have him over occasionally to give him a change of scenery and a home cooked meal). He has turned into a wonderful friend, and I have learned some wonderful things about his home country. Someday I’ll have to share some of the misconceptions he says he had about Americans. It’s fun because we have some of the same misconceptions about Africans. If you’re a praying person, please pray for his country, which is suffering from some major violence toward Christians right now.

Oh, and speaking of internationals… Mr. Right is going on a last minute international mission trip in February. For TWELVE DAYS. I was home alone for just two nights in December while he visited a friend in Oklahoma, and the house was a wreck, the dishes were dirty, and I was wearing his old t-shirts around the house as I moved from craft project to craft project. So please start praying now for both of us as we’re apart for such an extended period of time. I do so love his company. But I’m also wildly excited for this opportunity for him. All of my girlfriends can expect dinner invitations during those two weeks, and it’ll be a great opportunity to finish a few quilts (and start one for my nephew). And read a book or two.

I should start a list…

by Bethe

A minister’s wife pity party

I have an ugly confession.

Some days, it’s all about me.

That’s so ugly, isn’t it?

Here’s the deal: Mr. Right has a new job at our church. And we are so, so thankful for it. He’s got a wonderful opportunity to try some new, interesting things, and I’m 100% supportive of him.

But lately, out of nowhere, I throw myself a pity party. You see, he has to work during church. Both services, every week. Which means I don’t get to go to church with him.

Now, we spend tons of time together the rest of the week. We pray together every night. We serve together in our ESL ministry. I have a Sunday School class filled with old friends I’ve known for years.

But there’s something about having your husband sitting next to you at church.

The first time it really affected me was the Christmas Eve service. I realized, about an hour before, that I was going to have to drive to the Christmas Eve service. Alone. Sit in the Christmas Eve service. Alone. While everybody else was there with their whole family, I was going to be that girl. Alone.

It soured my attitude. Completely. Bah humbug.

The silly thing about it, is that we spent the ENTIRE day before and after the service together. With family. But the family didn’t make it to the service. So I was just going to be alone for about two hours. But I still threw myself an impromptu pity party and not only did it ruin my attitude, but I pouted to Mr. Right.


So not cool.

And of course, I had plenty of people to sit with. A couple that has been a real mentor to both of us said that of course I could sit with their family. No big deal. And it turned out that Mr. Right got to sit with me too. But by then, I was busy repenting and feeling guilty about my poor attitude. On Christmas, of all days.

For the next few weeks, it continued to bother me. I’ve worried that my new married Sunday School classmates who don’t know me will think my husband just doesn’t bother to come to church. I worry that they’ll judge me. I’ve worried about who I will sit with in church. Will I get on peoples’ nerves for tagging along? 

What will people think of me?

It’s a crippling thing to worry about.

But the truth is, I should be too busy serving and worshipping to worry about sitting alone. I should be looking for lonely people to sit with. This may turn into a wonderful opportunity to freely love on other people.

And it’s imperative that I relinquish Mr. Right of any guilt associated with me sitting alone. He needs to be free to serve others, to love on our visitors as they walk through the door. To take care of some behind-the-scenes logistics so that the rest of us can worship without distraction.

So do me a favor. Pray for the ministers at your church, and also pray for their wives. There are so many

by Bethe

Weekend Hodge Podge

It’s a boy!

No, it’s not our boy, much to the surprise of a few friends whom misunderstood my seemingly innocent Facebook post. It’s my sister’s boy… and he’s making his debut in just a few months!

My super cute sister and her husband hosted a gender reveal party at their house Friday night, and both sides of the family held their breath as we watched the parents-to-be cut into the cake. To our excitement, we got a blue cake (and blue mouths after eating the blue cake), and soon I’ll have my very first nephew. I can’t wait to start shopping!
Then again, we’ve already done a little shopping – Mr. Right and I found this moose rocker at an antique sidewalk sale last summer, and since my interior designer sister has an affinity for moose decor, I just had to get it. Even though there wasn’t even a baby yet. I knew he’d be here someday.

The next morning, Mr. Right and I drug ourselves out of bed to run six miles… ahh, the half marathon training. This was the first time since our training started December 5 that my run actually felt good. Thank goodness. Now if only all of those runs would translate to a few lost pounds… but alas, I’ve lost a grand total of two pounds after 61 miles of running. Life is so unfair sometimes.
After our run we raced home, sopped up our sweat and changed into nicer clothes so we could jet off to a late morning wedding. It was one of my favorites ever – he’s from Syria, she’s from Dallas, and they both love Jesus like crazy. The ceremony was done in both arabic and English, and maybe it’s because we’ve got arabic-speaking students in our ESL program, or maybe because I’m a huge softy at weddings – but I loved every minute of it. Plus I got to hold a baby at the reception.

After the wedding I went home for a much-needed nap while Mr. Right went to work for a little while, and then we got gussied up again (confession – I wore the same dress again… because it’s new and because I love it – you’ll see it at another wedding later this month as well) and drove to Carrollton to eat at a hole-in-the-wall Colombian restaurant.
I wore my new boots. I haven’t posted these yet, so here they are – as you can see, I went with a very understated style. Actually, I went as loud as I could go… because after all, these are boots that will never see dirt… or a stirrup… so I might as well go loud and fancy.

If you live in DFW, I highly recommend Casa Vieja. We were destined to love it, since we fell in love with Colombian food (and their people) during our trip there in 2010. Fried plantains, arepas, lot’s and lot’s of beef, and fruit juices served up like smoothies. I had lulo juice – a fruit only grown in Colombia – the juice was pea green but tasted amazing. Kind of like a mixture of grapefruit and kiwi…
Lulo
I’m so adventurous. But my adventure has its limits… like when you start ordering blood sausage or fried pork skin. Nope, my adventure usually ends with exotic fruits and big jewelry.
by Bethe

Happy Anniversary… for real this time

We’ve been celebrating for a week, but today, January 8, is our REAL anniversary. So of course I’m feeling extra mushy, going back and rereading Facebook messages from our wedding day, and thinking back to all of the things I was feeling, all the special people who were around us, and how I had no idea just how much I could love my husband.

This is the video we played at our rehearsal dinner… which makes me weepy and warm and fuzzy.

And this is what Mr. Right surprised me with this afternoon… he practically chased down a Girl Scout to snag me my absolute favorite cookies (I have a habit of hoarding them in my freezer and rationing them so they’ll last me until the following year). In fact, since he had to work most of today (which is why we’ve extended our celebration to a full week – a trade I will happily make), I will admit that I may or may not have spent my afternoon lying in bed, reading my book and munching on cookies (only two) with my electric blanket on full throttle, thus probably cooking my innards but keeping my toes toasty and warm.

And, he bought me dozens and dozens of roses.

I’m a sucker for flowers.

Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband and best friend.

by Bethe

Crushed under the weight of my own expectations

I was doing some heavy thinking on the treadmill yesterday… what else is a girl to do while she sweats out four very ugly miles as part of her half marathon training?

And what was I thinking, anyway, training for this half marathon? It has been an ugly few weeks… I have a dozen excuses of why I’m not very stallion-esque while I run, but none really matter… I’m still training through the ugliness. Even yesterday’s ugliness when I happened to forget my deodorant (gasp). I feel sorry for the person running next to me. (Let’s be honest… my nose has been stuffy for two months, so I was blissfully unaware of how much I really embarrassed myself.)

But back to the treadmill… I was mulling some deep thoughts as I sweated to Beyonce. I read a blog yesterday about ways to increase the amount of walking I do. Which is a great idea. You know the drill… park at the back of a parking lot, take the stairs, yadda, yadda, yadda…

And this is how my stream of consciousness progressed:

I should walk more. Heck, I’m trying to drop a few pounds, this sounds like an easy way to facilitate that.


But then I’d have to wear flats every day. And even my best work flats aren’t really made for a lot of walking. So I’d have to buy new shoes.


But I’m supposed to dress for the job I want… It’s proven science (at least, I saw it in a magazine once) that the most professionally intimidating women wear stilettos. And since I have a fairly public job, I need to be a put-together professional fashionista.


But if I walk long distances in heels, I’ll mess up my feet. I don’t need a bunion. Those surgeries hurt.

And then I thought about other contradicting expectations I put on myself:

I want to be a domestic goddess. I should be a fabulous cook. And baker. Good women know how to bake pies.


But I shouldn’t really eat those sorts of calorie-ridden foods. I need to be eating lean. Basic. The last thing I need to be eating is pie. 


But a domestic goddess doesn’t just make grilled chicken and steamed veggies for dessert. She needs to wrap that chicken in cream cheese and bread dough and bake it in the oven. And I should saute those veggies in some sort of wonderful Italian olive oil.


As a domestic goddess, I should have a clean house. I should put myself on a cleaning schedule, and have sparkling floor and dustless blinds. On all 20 of my 10-foot-tall windows.


But I work long hours. So if I spend much time cleaning, I won’t have time to work out.


Maybe I should work out before work. Oh wait, if I do that, I won’t get my quiet time in. I could try to do both, but then I would have to wear a pony tail to work. And then I won’t look fashionably intimidating. How can I juggle a quiet time, getting ready for work, cleaning my house, working out, and cooking healthy?

And suddenly I’m drowning beneath the weight of my own expectations.

The other night, as Mr. Right and I prayed together before bed…

Side note – a pastor at our church told us that the divorce rate for couples who pray daily together is 1%… and since divorce is not an option and we want to set ourselves up for success, we’ve adopted a nightly prayer time, just the two of us, before we go to bed… and I absolutely love it.

As I was saying… the other night, as Mr. Right and I prayed together before bed, he prayed the sweetest prayer over me. He prayed that the Lord would reveal what His expectations are for my life, and that He would save me from being crushed by my own self-expectations.

I never thought of it that way. I do tend to be my own worst enemy when it comes to holding myself to an impossible standard.

And I didn’t realize that Mr. Right had noticed.

What a sweet prayer for a girl who wants to be a Martha Stewart homemaker with a Jessica Biel body and a Condoleeza Rice brain. Marriage, in the midst of all the fun, surely is a sanctifying experience.

by Bethe

Happy Anniversary to me (and Mr. Right)

Last weekend we celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary – it was a week early, but this coming weekend we have a gender reveal party for my sister’s first baby, and we just couldn’t bear to miss it. So we bumped it up a week and had ourselves a glorious time.

We spent Sunday night at the Omni, the same hotel we stayed in on our wedding night. In typical fashion, Mr. Right sweet-talked the hotel into upgrading us to a suite, complete with two bathrooms, a huge living room and a gorgeous view of Fort Worth.

We got gussied up and treated ourselves to a  fancy dinner at Texas de Brazil (we even snagged a coupon that let us save a little cash). Other than that, we did absolutely nothing. We mostly reminisced about our first year of marriage – it was such a challenging one, but filled with such sweet moments (and so many laugh out loud, pee in my pants funny memories) that we relived again together. In typical Bethe fashion I cried through most of our reminiscing, because (a) I’m a girl and (b) I tend to get overwhelmed with gratitude when I think back to all the miracles God worked in our life over the past year – the dozens of answered prayers, the moments of celebration, the tender moments between just the two of us… and the other times when I felt extreme sadness, and yet my sweet husband was there to walk alongside me.

And then there was breakfast. Is there any greater luxury than ordering room service in a hotel? We ordered room service for breakfast, and I got to enjoy a giant stack of pancakes without having to change out of my pajamas. It made me feel like a princess (it doesn’t take much, does it?). Then we climbed back in bed and spent the whole morning watching movies. It was peaceful and relaxing and I loved every minute of it.

We spent the afternoon shopping and eating lunch at our favorite Fort Worth spot (Zoe’s), and I snagged the cutest red ruffled dress at a local boutique. And then we drove home, took another long nap, and spent the evening watching more movies.

It was the perfect end to a great Christmas vacation, and I feel recharged and ready to face the world.

To those of you who prayed for us this year, I want to say a whole-hearted THANK YOU. Trust me when I say that Mr. Right and I logged many, many hours on our knees in 2011. Please don’t stop on year two!

by Bethe

2011 Year in Review

It’s my FIFTH anniversary for my annual year-in-review. It’s crazy to look back at 2007, 2008, and 2009, and 2010 and see how much life has changed. This was definitely a year filled with all sorts of new experiences.

Where did you begin 2010?

Mr. Right and I invited my sister and her husband over for a quiet (gourmet) dinner at our house, and then we rang in the new year just the two of us watching TV. And then about 12:15, Mr. Right had to go home. It was exactly one week before our wedding, we were exhausted, and it was SO hard to send my man home, knowing he’d move in the very next week. But that’s how it goes before you’re married!

What random cool things happened in 2011?


Besides getting married and spending the most glorious week-long honeymoon in Mexico with my man? We took several trips – a week at Rosemary Beach (outside of Destin), two different ranch getaways (one just the two of us, one with Mr. Right’s family), several trips to Oklahoma and Midland to visit family, and the family reunion in south Texas.

I had a big year at work – it was my hospital’s 50th anniversary, so I helped plan TWENTY special events in its honor. Mr. Right got a promotion at our church. We started teaching ESL classes and absolutely fell in LOVE with our students. I spent some good quality time with a few close girlfriends. I became a much more serious quilter. My sister got PREGNANT. We went from owning two houses to ONE. And, we became completely debt free (except for the house).

My Bachelor-Watching Bachelorette Party


Books read in 2011?
Secrets of the FBI by Ronald Kesller (audio book)
Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile (audio book)
The Millenials by Thom S. Rainer and Jess Rainer (audio book)
The Man Called Cash by Steve Turner (audio book)
The Broker by John Grisham
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Confession by John Grisham
Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush
Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Heaven by Randy Alcorn
White Crosses by Larry Watson
Prisoners of Hope, by Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry
The Broker, by John Grisham
Decision Points, by George Bush (audio book)
I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 (audio book)
Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins
Bossypants, by Tina Fey
Frost/Nixon: Behind the Scene of the Nixon Interviews, by Sir David Frost (audio book)
The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008, by Bob Woodward (audio book)
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen (audio book)
To Live is Christ – the Life of Paul by Beth Moore

Do anything embarrassing?
I lived with a boy for the first time in my life… so of course I did a lot of embarrassing things, being in such tight quarters with another person. My most embarrassing moment was probably the night I almost threw up on him.
Oh, and I cut bangs. It was a bad idea. Not sure it was embarassing, but it was definitely not my best decision. I’ve been growing them out since July… Next time I want to get a dramatic hair cut, please, someone do an intervention.
What scripture did you study?
I did a Precept Bible Study on Isaiah (woah nelly, that was a tough one!), a self-study on the life of Paul (with the help of this book by Beth Moore), and lately I’ve been going through the four gospels chronologically/simultaneously, which is so interesting to see the different stories side-by-side in each gospel. I missed teaching my old Sunday School class, but got to fill in for two weeks in December, which felt a little like coming back home.
Did you know anybody who got married?
Why am I blanking on this one? All I can remember is David and Kelly’s wedding, but I figure we went to more than that… if it’s yours I’ve forgotten… I’m sorry. It’ll come to me in the middle of the night. I know in 2012 we have THREE weddings in January and then I’m the maid of honor for a dear friend’s wedding in March.
I love this picture because you can see all of us sitting in the audience (left side).

Did you move anywhere?
Praise Jesus no. In fact, January 3 marks my fifth anniversary in the little house I built. I did gain a new roommate, though, and we did sell Mr. Right’s house, which in retrospect was rather quickly, but in the midst of it, seemed to take forever. We also did some fun projects around the house – I am thankful I married a very handy man.
What sporting events did you attend?

We really only went to a handful of Rangers games… and of course the Cowtown Marathon, a local triathlon, and a little 5K in the fall. Not a big sports year for us. 



Describe your birthday:

(My father-in-law and I have birthdays two days apart)
I turned 31 rather quietly with some family dinners on both sides, and a simple night out with Mr. Right for Indian food and then to see the newest Twilight movie. (He’s a champ for sitting through that with me… he’s not exactly that movie’s target market).


What’s something you learned about yourself?

Ha… oh my, I have learned so much about myself this year. Probably because I spent the first four months in bed with PLENTY of time to contemplate life while I was doped up on medication with a mild fever. I don’t miss that at all. 
I learned to appreciate my health, and to love on people who are suffering through long-term health issues. People tend to pay attention at the beginning, and then forget about you. But I had some dear friends who continued to seek me out, remind me they were praying for me, and come over and hang out with me when I didn’t have the energy to leave my house. 
I learned that my husband is even stronger than I thought he could be. He took such good care of me this year, showed extreme patience as I battled sickness and then insecurities that resulted from being sick. He showed me love in such creative and tender ways. One of my favorite memories was in late April, when I had been sick with my latest bout for four weeks straight with no relief, and he knew I was lonely. So, he invited my girlfriends over for a “Royal Wedding Rehearsal Dinner” and cooked us a gourmet meal and then retreated to his home office so that we girls could have some girl time. 
I learned to be a better prayer warrior, as we were faced with challenge after challenge – from my health issues to selling a house and the fear that came with paying two mortgages and not knowing when it would end. We were robbed, we lost loved ones, I wrecked my car, we faced challenges at work and school and sometimes we were so very tired, and yet God never forgot about us. He not only proved to be very sweet in some of our toughest times but he answered many of our prayers much more abundantly than we thought to ask. 
This week I read about how Jesus healed a blind man, and everyone had thought that the blind man was blind as the result of some sort of sin. Jesus told them that he had been blind, not because of sin, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3). I think much of what we went through this year was so that we could see the work of God displayed in our life. 

Were you in school this year?
I went to a weekend workshop to learn how to teach ESL classes. And Mr. Right took 800 hours of grad school. (not really… but I think he took 21 hours).

Any new additions to your family?

I gained about 100 new relatives when I married Mr. Right. It was so fun. Over Thanksgiving three of his teenage girl cousins stayed at our house for the weekend… we watched Selena Gomez movies and drank hot chocolate and talked about hair… it was so fun to fill our house with giggling girls.
Later, when I was unsure about a fashion trend, Mr. Right told me, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m talking about – Selena Gomez wore that.” Things I never thought I’d hear come out of my husband’s mouth!
Favorite night out?
Mr. Right came up with the concept of Top Secret Date Nights, and those were some of my favorite evenings. He comes up with a date, sends me a calendar invite (because we live by our Outlook calendars), and then taunts me relentlessly about how much fun I’m going to have, but how he can’t tell me where we’re going. Sometimes I can wear him down and he spills the beans (because he’s as bad at keeping secrets as I am), but sometimes he stays strong and I don’t know where we’re going until we get there. This year we took secret dates to the Japanese Gardens, to the drive-in movie, to the Modern Art Museum’s special indie film series, and we went on a shopping spree at North Park Mall. Of course, not to be outdone, I planned a Top Secret Date for Mr. Right, taking him to the aquarium in Dallas. 
My other favorite night in was Valentine’s Day, when he turned our living room into a candle lit cafe, with our table in front of the fire place and a gourmet steak dinner and chocolate cake for dessert. It was something straight out of a movie. 
And then there was the symphony…
Oh, and there were two picnics at the river that were uber romantic…

What do you want to change in 2012?

I want to be a more patient wife. I want to be more flexible when my plans change and relinquish the need for control over my calendar. These are all things I’ve come to realize I struggle with after living in close quarters with my man – it’s amazing how many things you can hide from yourself when you live alone.

Where did you spend most of your time?

In the kitchen, cooking with Mr. Right (or watching him cook). Which would explain why I gained 15 pounds this year… and which is why we’re both training for a half marathon and watching what we eat now. Most of the time. (on the night this picture was taken, Mr. Right made THREE different types of Christmas cookies… from scratch… and two different types of icing.)

Do you have a new year’s resolution?
I want to do better at sending birthday cards, thank you notes, and bringing hostess gifts when we go to peoples’ houses. 
I want to run a half marathon – scheduled for the end of February.
I want to take some quilting classes (I finished three quilts in 2011 and am very close to finishing two more).
What was your favorite purchase?
My new sewing machine – I call her Magnolia. She’s electric.
Did you get sick this year?
Ha… I took 11 rounds of antibiotics and THEN got on a daily dose of antibiotics in early May that I’m still on… so I’m not sure how many additional rounds that will include… basically I glow in the dark.
Start a new hobby?
I did some intense quilting… and LOVED it! I finally got the nerve to try quilting on my machine (before that I did exclusive machine piecing and hand quilting), and yesterday I learned how to free-motion quilt, something I had been so nervous about. I love it. I am happiest sitting at my machine, listening to a book on tape and sewing something beautiful to give away.
A birthday present for my sister Sarah
Christmas present for Aunt Donna

Christmas present for my niece Ella
My first attempt at free-motion quilting, on this vintage quilt top Mr. Right found at an antique store… this quilt is for my man.
I’ve still got to finish hand-quilting the appliqued hearts on the side. It’s a gift for someone special in 2012.

What are you hoping and planning for in 2012?

I am excited to watch our ESL ministry grow – we are already praying that God will bring us new volunteers so we can serve even more students. I am looking forward to gaining a new niece or nephew in early June. I’m excited to be taking THREE trips with Mr. Right (one to Florida for a conference, one to watch him preach a revival somewhere far away – we don’t know where yet – and a mission trip to help a church plant in San Francisco). I’m excited to be debt free and to turn our focus toward paying down part of our mortgage and buying Mr. Right a truck with a back seat (because someday he may need a place to put a car seat… or two or three). And I’m looking forward to a second chance at being newlyweds.
Happy new year!
by Bethe

A hair-raising Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas, and praise the Lord for an uneventful holiday so far. Unlike 2008… here’s a little revisit of the “highlight” of my Christmas 2008.

(originally posted on Dec. 26, 2008)

Light of the world… literally

I went to my parents’ tiny Baptist church for their Christmas Eve candlelight service. It was very special… all the families gathered together, babies dressed in red velvet dresses, little ones anxious to come home and devour their presents under the tree, slightly older ones just ready to come home and devour Christmas dinner… and everybody looking forward to the climax of the service–lighting the candles and singing Silent Night.

Only at this tiny Baptist church, Silent Night wasn’t so silent.
Because I set my hair on fire.
I was being a bit mischievous. That’s what happens when you get my family together, we look for any excuse to laugh and have a good time. So of course, when I put my lit candle under my chin and made a scary face, kind of like one would do when telling a ghost story around a campfire, sister Sarah provided me with the reaction I was hoping for… a giggle. But then sister Lindsay, in a motherly way, brushed the hair back on my right side and said, “Don’t catch your hair on fire…””
And right at that moment I heard a gasp, then “BETHE!!!” and then she reached over and put the fire out that was starting on my left side. It’s amazing how fast hair can burn… one minute you’re just standing there, being silly and singing Christmas carols, and the next minute, “SPARK,” then “POOF” and a terrible stench of burned hair fills the room. Luckily she saw it as it happened, so I only lost a small amount at the bottom, and I have such long hair (and so much of it) that nobody will ever notice, except for the singed ends which I should probably trim off today.
I’m glad we were sitting on the second-to-back row and not in our normal front-row spot for all the tiny Baptist church to see. Only the rows behind us and in front of us really got to experience me adding a “spark” to Christmas… ruining silent light but taking Jesus’ command literally in Matthew 5:14 when he told us to be “the light of the world.” 
Merry Christmas, and may God bless you in 2009.
by Bethe

Best Christmas Ever

I figured out why I have so thoroughly enjoyed Christmas this year… it’s because it’s been the first Christmas in ages that hasn’t been overshadowed by life events.
Christmas 2010 – Got married exactly two weeks after Christmas… so I was drowning in wedding to-do lists.
Christmas 2009 – Graduated from Grad School (and threw myself a giant party)
Christmas 2006-2008 – Grad School Finals
Christmas 2003 and 2004 – Moved
So that leaves Christmas 2005 as my only quiet, normal Christmas since college. And that was ages ago! But this year we are making up for lost time…
Mostly by baking and attending parties.
From last Friday to today I will have had gone to six parties. And since Mr. Right and I express love through food (and crafts), here’s what we did:
Chocolate-dipped marshmallows for a dinner we hosted at our house last weekend. They had kids… and kids love marshmallows. And let’s face it, I love marshmallows too… so it worked perfectly. (Mr. Right claims to not like marshmallows, but let the record show that he ate enough to convince me otherwise.)

For a Christmas dinner Friday night I made chocolate-dipped strawberries and pretzel sticks. Chocolate + sweet + salty = love.

For a surprise birthday party Sunday night we made SIX DOZEN cupcakes – half iced in vanilla cream cheese icing, and the other half with Mr. Right’s super secret banana chocolate frosting recipe. It’s so good it’ll change your life.

We were smart and only left ourselves a few at the house, and left the rest of the leftovers at the party, except for a handful which we dropped off at Andrea’s house because (a) she has become like an extended member of our family and (b) she loves Mr. Right’s cooking as much as I do, so we always try to swing her some goodies whenever possible.
Now that we’re just a few days away from the big day, I’m trying hard to stay laid-back and stress-free about my long to-do list, which includes wrapping presents (we haven’t wrapped a single one yet) and finishing a quilt (I see some hand-binding while watching Christmas movies in my plans for this week). The unimportant things, like vacuuming, will just have to wait until next week when I’m off of work for one whole glorious week.
Or maybe I’ll save it for my New Year’s resolutions… I’ve got to leave something for 2012.