A Servant's Heart

For President's Day weekend, we took a quick trip to TX to visit my parents & Paul. Paul was living in the rehab center during our Christmas visit, recovering from a fractured pelvis. We made the best of it and trusted that God was providing the right solution for him, but we sure did miss him being with us at home!

Since Dan & I were both off last Monday for President's Day, it was a great chance to make up for lost time since Paul's back home now! He's been through the wringer for the past few months with multiple changes in his pain meds (due to adverse side effects), and there's an adjustment period for his mind & body to get used to any new prescription. But he's much less anxious at home, and he's slowly getting his strength back. An occupational therapist comes to the house 3x per week to exercise with him, and he's working on regaining his independence. One small step at a time adds up, so keep at it, Paul! We're cheering you on!

We got to treat Paul to lunch out - only his second time to eat at a restaurant since before Christmas!

My parents are truly amazing. Their lives have changed just as drastically as Paul's has, and they exemplify Christ's love and humility on a daily basis. I think a person's true character and strength are revealed in the most difficult, stressful situations, and it is clear that my parents are rock solid in their faith, their relationship, and their willingness to serve in any capacity needed. My Bible study leader, Chris, sent me an excerpt from John MacArthur's teaching on footwashing (in John 13:1-17) recently, and I think it describes my parents perfectly.

"When he washes his disciples' feet, Jesus is saying, "Behave in the same manner as I have behaved." Jesus' humility is the real lesson--and it is a practical humility that governs every area of life, every day of life, in every experience of life.

The result of that kind of humility is always loving service--doing the menial and humiliating tasks for the glory of Jesus Christ. That demolishes most of the popular ideas of what constitutes spirituality.

Some people seem to think that the nearer you get to God the further you must be from men, but that's not true. Actual proximity to God is to serve someone else.

In terms of sacrificing to serve others, there was never anything Jesus was unwilling to do. Why should we be different? We are not greater than the Lord: "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed [happy] if you do them" (John 13:16-17).

Do you want to be blessedly fulfilled and happy? Develop a servant's heart. We are His bondservants and a servant is not greater than his master. If Jesus can step down from a position of deity to become a man, and then further humble Himself to be a servant and wash the feet of twelve undeserving sinners, we ought to be willing to suffer any indignity to serve Him. That is true love, and true humility."

Belated Birthday Post

I've been meaning to post some pictures from my birthday for a while now. It is, after all, one of the best days of the year! I was showered all day with phone calls, cards, e-mails, and Facebook messages from people saying they were happy I was born. What's not to love? :)

Also, Dan woke me up with some gorgeous flowers, which I took to work so I could enjoy them all day.

They smelled amazing, and the bouquet got even prettier as all those buds opened up.

Since my birthday was on a Wednesday, we went out to dinner by the beach & had a low-key, relaxing evening. It was perfect! We tried the Firehouse Restaurant in our neighborhood, which shares a building with a firehouse (go figure)

Dan ordered this dainty morsel of halibut

And I got this enormous platter of fish tacos, chips, & beans. :)

And of course no birthday is complete without ColdStone's ice cream!!

Over the weekend, I got to celebrate with friends, too. My friend Cynthia took me to the Aubrey Rose Tea Room in La Mesa for a formal afternoon tea. It was really girly & we had the best time enjoying the ambiance and sampling all the teas & foods. I've read countless historical fiction books set in Victorian England, but this was the first time I've experienced a real "tea time" for myself.

I loved all their personal touches & the pretty decor.

Cynthia & I had three flavors of tea with plenty of cream and sugar. Some of the tea tasted like dessert by the time we doctored it up. :) We also ordered a three-tiered platter of delicious foods. The bottom layer was sandwiches & pastries, the middle layer was fresh fruit, and the top layer was an assortment of desserts. Everything was sample-sized so it didn't look like much food, but we were full by the end!

As a sidenote, while I was sipping tea with my pinkie in the air, Dan went trail biking. He underestimated a downhill slope and ended up flying off his bike! Thank God he had his helmet on, but he's pretty sure he was knocked out for a little while after he hit the ground! After the world stopped spinning, he was able to bike back home sporting a bloody knee, an swollen hand, and a lump on his head. Men ... *sigh* He's been forced to rest for the past few weeks, since he can't play hockey with an injured wrist/hand.

That night, we met one of my old coworkers from Denver, Bob, at the Brigantine in Del Mar. He was in town for a company sponsored event, and it was great to catch up with him! (Sorry the picture turned out so blurry - my camera battery was on its last leg and the lighting was low.)

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that we're well into 2012 already! We celebrated New Year's Eve with our friends, Dave and Cynthia, and their daughters, Olivia and Kailey. It was especially exciting to visit their house since it was Kailey's first week home ever! She's had surgeries on her heart and esophagus and other related procedures since her birth day. That little girl has been through more in her 4 months of life than most of us adults have! But God has blessed her and she's doing really well at home. We're so thankful!

As opposed to most nights (ha!) we were not wild party animals on New Year's Eve. We drank sparkling cider and watched the ball drop at 9 pm, which is midnight in NYC. :) But we had a blast catching up with Dave & Cynthia and playing with the girls, and then we headed home at about 10. I'm not too crazy about driving late at night on New Year's Eve, anyway, when there's a good chance of drunk drivers on the road.

Dave & Cynthia, ready to ring in 2012!

Dave & Kailey were happy to sit back and enjoy the live entertainment

Which consisted of Dan & Olivia teaming up to torment their cat, Kobie, with a red piece of yarn. They'd shake it in front of him until he went crazy.

And then Olivia would run in circles around the kitchen to get Kobie to chase the yarn. It only worked sometimes for Kobie, but it successfully wore Olivia out for bedtime. :)

Olivia went to bed before 9:00, but Kailey was right in the middle of our party after the New Year's countdown in Times Square

Dan & I are toasting Kailey's milk (she has a feeding tube for now, since her esophagus is still healing). Happy 1st New Year, Kailey! We're so happy you're home!

And while we're on the subject of babies coming home, we got to meet Chris and Adessa's two-day-old baby, Owen, on Friday night! We drove up to Anaheim for the Ducks vs. NY Islanders game that night. Chris, Adessa, & Owen had just gotten home from the hospital that afternoon, so we bribed them to let us come over by bringing them dinner before we headed to the game.

Owen is so tiny & sweet! He was really alert when we were visiting, so we hope he slept for a good long time that night.

Brand-new dad & mom, Chris & Adessa! Congratulations, guys!

Then we headed to the hockey game, where I had the worst seats in the arena. Seriously, this was my view, and Dan's wasn't much better. And they didn't even warn us that the seats had an obstructed view when we bought tickets. Bad form, Anaheim! The game wasn't sold out, so we moved down a few rows after the 1st period, which was a lot better.

Despite our support for the Islanders, they lost their lead during the 2nd period and the Ducks won 4-2.

And in other news, Dan & I have been making strides towards some New Year's goals. I'm hoping to run another half marathon this year - hopefully in March if I can build up my mileage that quickly, but if not, I'll try for a summertime race. I got a new pair of running shoes from my parents for Christmas and dug my older shoes out of my closet. They'll become walking shoes - one pair to keep at work and one pair for home. Dan thinks it's hilarious that I have three pairs of the exact same shoes, but I hear it's good to buy new shoes every year, and I'm afraid if I change styles I won't like them as well.

We also bought a recumbent bike for Dan! He watches hours of hockey every week on TV, and his New Year's resolution is to work out during the games. It took us 1.5 hours to assemble this baby, but it was well worth it.

This bike was perfect - reasonably priced (at Costco) and it's super quiet, so he doesn't have to crank up the TV volume at all. It also has a book shelf, so I can read while I ride it. So far we both love it!

Christmas Part 2 - in Williamsburg

We spent the second half of our Christmas trip with Dan's family in Williamsburg, VA. The weather was great - sunny and mid-60s, which is a far cry from last year when the east coast got so much snow our flight was delayed for 2 days! We appreciated the warmer weather, especially the evening we spent outside at Busch Garden's Christmas Town. We had a great time with Dan's family as always, playing games, eating great food, and just enjoying time together.

The nice weather was also perfect for Dad J's Christmas gift: a new shed! One man built the entire thing, and it took him a day and a half - Dad stayed outside with him most of the time to make sure he did it right. :) Dad teaches woodworking to our nephews who are homeschooled, so the shed will also double as his classroom a couple of days a week.

Robin bought tickets to Busch Garden's Christmas Town on Friday night for the whole family. It's become a fun annual tradition to spend one of our evenings there!

Benjamin and Dan stuck together while we walked around the park and rode rides

And Nathan and I buddied up. He's a daredevil on rollercoasters - a man after my own heart!

Tim, Dan, Nathan, and I are in the 2nd to last row on the "Battering Ram"

Benjamin and Nathan rode the hang gliders

Grandma and Aaron rode, too!

Christmas Town is best at night, when the lights come alive and music fills the air.

We wanted to eat dinner at Das Festhaus, which has indoor seating and a show, but the line was insanely long! So we settled for pretzel sandwiches and pizzas under the cold night sky before riding our last ride and seeing our last show of the night.

On Saturday morning, Dan and I drove to Fredericksburg to meet my brother, Steve, for breakfast. He was in Washington DC preparing for a job fair, which is only 2.5 hours from Williamsburg, so we agreed to meet in the middle. It was great to see him during the holidays, even if it was only for a couple of hours!

When we got back to the Jesters' house, Benjamin and Nathan's Christmas Eve gingerbread houses were being built and decorated with tons of candy!

We went to Christmas Eve service at church, and then ate dinner at Peking Chinese Buffet. Pete, Joyce, Christina, and Kimberly King were able to join us, too.

So much good food!!

We went to church on Sunday morning, then met back at the Jesters' house to exchange Christmas gifts.

Then the men got to work helping to assemble the new toys.

Nathan got a Lite-Brite cube! Four times the fun!

And Benjamin got this awesome pirate ship! The pool table was the perfect "ocean" to sail it on.

Aaron's favorite gift was a microphone that made you sound like an elf.

Later that evening, the Kings and the Baileys joined us for dinner, more gifts, and group games. Aaron and Nathan serenaded everyone with the sweet, soothing music of their accordion and harmonica duet. A match made in heaven. haha!

Mom J. and Mrs. Bailey

Christina, Joyce, and Kimberly King

Siblings Dan, Robin, and Tim

Our nephews Benjamin, Aaron, and Nathan, looking sharp in their Christmas Eve service outfits. They're expecting another little brother in March, and we can't wait to come back to meet him!