friday fav.~bonus

to continue celebrating dad's 60th year here are a couple family pics. we're looking forward to a weekend of celebrating with the family!

part of the reason why I Love this pic. is that it captures the spirit of Jason~ totally goofy with a streak of mischief. Same with my brother~ check out his face!

emotions training

My children will only be as disciplined with their emotions as I am with mine.





Ok.. don't get any ideas.. I don't have kids (yet) BUT this post on this inspiring blog , rather this quote, TOTALLY inspired me. Not only as a future mother but as someone in ministry and as a wife. Wow. What an amazing challenge! Lord, I pray that you would develop in me the right kind of attitude. That you would continue to mold and shape me into what you would want me to be. That I would see others and situations through  your eyes. I pray specifically that you would help me to grow in this area in preparation to be a mother. I know that I will never be perfect, but I also know that I am a work in progress and you have a plan for me. I pray in advance for my children. I pray that my attitude, Jason's attitude would be upright and godly. I trust in you. This is my heart's desire.. truely.. deeply.

Here are more words of wisdom from the Women Living Well blog. Be challenged today.

So here is how we are currently working on poor attitudes in our home.
1. When a child rolls their eyes, yells, or scowls - I say “repeat yourself without.. the eyes rolling, loud voice or scowl.”
2. If the words they said were inappropriate – I ask them to “say it again but this time with respect“.
3. When a child slams a door, I ask them to open the door and try again – this time closing it gentler. If it takes us 10 times to get that door closed correctly – then that is what we have to do.
Sometimes tempers flare in our home – let me be honest – disrespect makes me angry. The anger I feel is not wrong – it’s a red flag notifying me that my children are off course…but if I respond with anger - I won’t be much of an example to my children.

My children will only be as disciplined with their emotions as I am with mine.

So I want to humbly share my journey with you. Training takes time – lots of time. But Titus 2 calls me to be a manager of my home. I need to step it up, and get on my knees in prayer – because this battle will not be won in my own strength. I need Jesus’ help in my home

LIVE IN LOVE!

he

In honor of his 60th birthday today..

rarely raises his voice
has a passion for the outdoors
collects rocks
loves movies
cares for his family deeply
grew up in the chicago area
was a toe head growing up
is an amazing father
never says an unkind word
loves to do yard work
doesn't have a lazy bone in his body
works hard to provide
appreciates the simple things in life
loves himself a hammock
has one younger brother
both of his parents are in heaven
likes to explore
has a heart for teaching kids
used to be a chemistry teacher
loves to travel
has a deep love for the Lord
respects others
is somewhat soft spoken
treats his wife like a queen
takes joy in giving
has often played an angel because of his blonde hair
has a contagious laugh and he laughs a lot (especially during movies)
when he smiles, his eyes smile (i get that from him)



he is my dad, Paul David Schaade- Happy Birthday dad- I love you!

exploring by the creek

It was a BEAUtiful day on Saturday so I took my camera along on a mini adventure with Jason and our 14 yr. old nephew Devon. We were collecting rocks for a very special project for a certain family member's birthday. (hopefully he doesn't read this post). Anyway.. I took my camera along. Here's a peak.

the gift of photography

I'm having a blast learing about photography. I really really could see myself sticking with this one. I want to make money doing it someday.. but for now.. I practice and enjoy blessing people by capturing their special memories. I've go soo much to learn, but it's gonna be worth it. Just look at that sweet face! Memories have always been special to me and I want to make sure that my friends, family , ane maybe even someday people I don't know have sweet memories to look back on.

Baby Brielyn's photo shoot was a wonderful time and I hope to do more like this one...

Think this is cute?! check this out

friday fav.

this is from back in our single days~ my bff Kerri and I were roomies and proud of our kitchen poster. Good times!

i'm a sucker

Because i'm such a sucker for The Pioneer Woman.. i'm dying for her new cookbook!! As  a requirement, I am blogging about my entry to win a free autographed cookbook from the Pioneer woman.

@HeatherLC02 is giving away a copy of The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook. Check it out! http://browneyedbell.blogspot.com/2012/03/pioneer-woman-cookbook-giveaway.html

Wish me luck!

praying for my husband from head to toe

Head
Father, I ask that you would continually renew my husband's mind, resulting in a transformed life. Help him bring every thought to Christ and make it obedient to you. Give him a greater understanding of Your word. Help him to think on things that are pure and right and worthy of praise. (Psalm 119:15,Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 10:5)

Eyes
Lord, keep my husband's eyes to spiritual truths that You have for him. Help him to see things as You see them. Please guard his eyes from things that make his heart wanter away from you and me.
(Psalm 119:18, Psalm 119:37)

Ears
Father, help my husband to hear Your voice clearly. Give him wisdom to recognize your voice with certainty. Protect him fro listening to those who aren't seeking or walking with you. Guard him from negativity of what others say, and help him to discern between good and evil. Thank you for giving him the ability to determine what is of You and what is not. (Isaiah 30:21, 1 Kings 3:9, 1John 4:1)

Mouth
Jesus, help my husband to speak the truth in love. Your desire is for him to be quick to listen and slow to speak- so I pray that you would make that his desire too. Give him courage to lovingly confront when necessary. Let the words he speaks be yours, not his own. Help him to speak words that bring grace and truth the the hearers. Thank you that You want to help him grow in his ability and desire to communicate with you and others. (Psalm 19:14, 119: 13, 41:3, Ephesians 4:15, 4:29, James 1:19).

Heart
Lord, instill in my husband's hear a desire to seek passionately after you. Teach him to guard his heart with dilligence and wisdom. Help him deal with anything in his heart that is not pleasing to You or that separates him from you. Create in him a pure heart, O Lord. Thank you that you are enabling him to lead our family with integrity and honor. (Psalm 78:72, 119:10-11, Proberbs 4:23, 1 Thessalonians 3:13).

Hands
Lord, I pray everything my husband does would be done with his whole heart, serving you rather than man. Seeking to please You alone. I pray you will increase his skills and his abilities so that he might bring honor and glory to you-and feel like a good provider for our family. Thank you for blessing everything he puts his hands to. (Psalm 24:3-4, Collosians 3:23)

Feet
Jesus, I pray my husband would love your words and walk i your ways. Help him walk in a manner that is worthy of you, bearing fruit in every good work. I pray you'd show him how to creatively share you truth with our kids as he does life with them each day. Father, when he walks through the valley of the shadow of doubt and difficulties, I pray he would fear no evil because he knows that you are with him. Thank you for loving and leading him. (Deut. 6:7, 8:6, Collosians 1:10, Psalm 23:4)

www.ReneeSwope.com

She...

Ok y'all.. I have an idea. Although it's not original, it's an idea that excites me. My amazing friend Jennifer, who I often blog about, does this narrative about her boys from time to time. She starts it out with a simple "he.." and goes on the explain the traits of her 4 sons or her husband. She's not the type who would mind if I copied so i've decided to do a series of posts about my family and friends using this same style. Since the loverly Jennifer inspired me to do this.. I will give her the first slot.

She...

has been a friend of mine for what, about 3.5 years now? 4?
LOVES to read- especially the bible
has an amazing knowlege and memory for scripture
shares my fierce love for Tyler Perry movies
uses words and quotes from Madea
is my mommy hero
hums to herself
has super curly thick hair
loves her family with all her heart
shares my love for all things Beth Moore
loves her job as an elementary scool aid- especially the kids
appreciates the simple things in life
cries at the drop of a hat (she's very sensitive in a good way)
is a wonderful writer
inspired me to blog
loves animals
has a heart of gold
would do anything for her friends
loves to journal
takes joy in the happiness of others
sensitive to others needs
is a forever friend

She is the lovely Jennifer Goodwin

and I love her dearly

trust the builder

I love to blog and I love looking at other people's blogs and seeing their creativity. I am amazed at times. I love to look at the mom blogs.. I love seeing their sweet babies' faces. I definately look forward to the day that I can post my sweet babies faces on my blog. For now, I get to post my sweet husband's face.. he's my family.. we are the foundation.

As a 30 year old woman.. my desire to have children grows stronger and stronger all the time. Most of my friends have 2 and 3 kids by now. It was the same when I got married.. all or most of my friends beat me to the alter by a long shot. But you know what, Jason has been well worth the wait and I know that when God gives us the green light to have babies of our own, it will be his PERFECT timing, just like it was when he brought Jason in my life. Everything worked perfectly with us.

I had to play catch up today on my Proverbs 31 e-mail readings and one of the devos. fits perfectly with what i'm talking about here. I hope this word encourages your heart as it did mine.


God is the builder of everything, including us. We are God’s house, His temple, where His Holy Spirit resides. He is always at work building our lives so that He can be glorified through us.

The Barnes Notes Commentary refers to the meaning of Hebrews 3:4 in this way: “Every family must have a founder; every dispensation an author; every house a builder. There must be someone, therefore, over all dispensations….” And that Someone is God.

The theological definition of the word ‘dispensation’ means “the divine ordering of the affairs of the world; an appointment, arrangement, or favor, as by God.”

God is arranging and re-arranging our lives in accordance with His will. Step-by-step, day-by-day, and with each circumstance we face. He is constructing a dwelling place for His Presence within us.


God has a holy vision of the divine masterpiece He is building in our lives. Although we may not understand or like the building process, we can trust our Builder and know that He is always looking out for our best.

Dear Lord, I trust You are doing a good work in me. Help me embrace the promise that You are building my life based on Your beautiful design, even when I cannot envision the outcome. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.


Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” (NIV)

beautiful baby brielyn

This is baby Brielyn

Her mom Jessica, my co worker and friend, let me spend the afternoon taking her pictures for Easter

This is one of my favorites... This  baby girl is pretty much perfectly beautiful and I pray that God blesses me with children this beautiful someday..

Until then.. I will just enjoy taking pictures of them... (less long-term work, right?)

Keep an eye out for more Easter pictures of baby Brielyn on my photography blog- they are still being edited. ;)

friday fav.

this was taken at the Waln family engagement party- you could say this was the inspiration for our joint e-mail being titled twopeasinapod!

fresh from 1989

It's another trip down memory lane. Last night, Jason brought me something very exciting that had come in the mail. He knew I would be excited about it and he was right. ( I love how he knows me so well). Anyway.. I opened up this little treat..

Straight from 1989 and my childhood. I actually had the casette version of this wonderful little children's CD. So why, you ask, does a 30 year old woman have a kids cd? Well, It's because we are using one of the songs from this CD for our church kids to sing on mother's day. The song is called "Love Makes a Friend be a Friend Like You" It's the sweetest song where a mother and daughter sing a prescious little duet. We're planning on having the kids sing all the solos of course. There won't be a dry eye in the house on mother's day.

So, back to 1989. I would have been about 8 when this CD came out. And Oh my goodness.. I was obsessed! I loved every single song. This CD is timeless and I would highly recommend it if you have kids.

Right around the time this tape (back then) came out, I was a part of an all kids singing group that was formed and directed by kids called "The Group" (yeah, we came up with the name ourselves). We performed exclusively for our children's church body and we even had a for real director who would stand in front of us and wave his arms like a choir director. It was classic! We sang a couple of tunes from the tape and some of us girls fought over who would get to sing Sandi's parts. (After all, she was our favorite singer at the time).

Last night, as I was driving home, I had the windows down and I was belting out the songs like I was 8 years old again. I remembered all the words and everything. It was a sweet time! I was excited to hear myself much improved from when I was 8. I could hit all, or most, of Sandi's notes. =)

now trending

because it's about the little things in life...

I have a fellow blogger and bff ~the loverly Jennifer~   (this post in particular)  that is so amazing at remembering the little details in life. I wish I had her memory, but I really don't. Part of the reason I blog is to remember the details.. the sweet moments and life events. I want to look back and remember. So.. I'll start a new series.. "now trending" to make sure I remember what was top on my list and what i'm liking/doing at the moment-some minor details and some not so minor... So.. without further adue..here's my first installment:

~Gold nail polish by OPI- by Sephora- LOVE IT! (It's currently on my toes).

~Party Planning!- i'm in the thick of planning two: dad's 60th retro birthday bash- the theme is 1950's retro. So fun! We'll be doing a simple family only gathering an grilling out his fav. foods.. steak, tomato salad, and top it off with peanut butter shakes - YUMM!!just to name a few...  ~ and these!

Jason's graduation party- lots of family and friends, yummy grill out picnic style food, and a very special cake. I"m so proud of my man!

(both events will be properly documented)

~Easter photo shoot with baby Brielyn- my co-worker Jessica had a beautiful baby girl in  November and I get to capture her adorable self in some Easter shots at the park. Jessica and I talk about the shoot every day, sharing ideas... we're just a smidge excited.

~ The Pioneer Woman!!

 I read her blog every day and her newest blessing to us: her cooking show on the Food network! LOVE!  it's refreshing dose of wholesome happy family values and simple, yet totally memorable activities- it makes me want to be a better cook and I can hardly wait to start a wholesome family of my own! oh! AND HER NEW COOKBOOK CAME OUT TODAY~ a must have!

~ Easter musical prep- I'm in the ensemble and Jason is playing a Roman soldier named Marcus. We only have like three weeks- Yikes!!

~Hobby Lobby- I pay a visit at least once a week, if not twice. With all these parties coming up and the adorable Easter photo shoot, i can't get enough!  ( not to mention the fact that we plan for a kids service every Sunday night).

~Driving like a granny- Jason and I are enrolled in a new money saving program through our insurance called "Snapshot" Basically if we drive like grannies, we save money. The negative side of this- we have to do this for 6 months to get our final discout.

~Leg warmers with high boots (but not for much longer)

~ leggings!! I love me some leggings and I hope they stay in style for a LOOOONG time!! (I particularly enjoy them while i'm feeling fluffy).

~Fingerless gloves (just for the winter)

~ Guilty Pleasures~ The Bachelor (totally disappointed in Ben's final pick)

 America's Next Top Model

~ New show "Smash"- (the verdict is still out on the show itself,but i LOOOVE the concept~ it's about a developing broadway play) The music, dancing- LOVE! I"m hoping it doesn't get too scandelous.

AND right at this moment~ a Dr. Pepper icee~ Ahhh!! MUCH NEEDED!

friday fav.- monday edition

those were the days- fine arts festival at its finest! In honor of fine arts season~ here we were- the large vocal ensemble from First Assembly in Memphis- in our fabulous orange dresses at National Fine Arts in Orlando, Fl. But don't make fun- we won that year! Sweeet memories. =)

the calling

Jason and I have been working as part time staff members at our church and we're absolutely loving it. We are responsible for the Sunday night services. We have the privelage to work with another couple who handle the rest of the duties of kids ministry. Their names are Marshall and Tabbie. We really enjoy working with them and have also enjoyed getting to know another couple that is our age and without kids (a definate rarity). Last night, Tabbie was in our joint office and shared this amazing reading with us. After an emotional reading, we made plans to hang it up in our office wall.

I am a minister. I minister to the largest mission field in the world. I minister to children.

My calling is sure. My challenge is big. My vision is clear. My desire is strong. My influence is eternal. My impact is critical. My values are solid. My faith is tough. My mission is urgent. My purpose is unmistakable. My direction is forward. My heart is genuine. My strength is supernatural. My reward is promised. And my God is real.

In a world of cynicism, I offer hope. In a world of confusion, I offer truth. In a world of immorality, I offer values. In a world of neglect, I offer attention. In a world of abuse, I offer safety. In a world of ridicule, I offer affirmation. In a world of division, I offer reconciliation. In a world of bitterness, I offer forgiveness. In a world of sin, I offer salvation. In a world of hate, I offer God’s love.

I refuse to be dismayed, disengaged, disgruntled, discouraged or distracted. Neither will I look back, stand back, fall back, go back or sit back. I do not need applause, flattery, adulation, prestige, stature or veneration. I do not have time for business as usual, mediocre standards, small thinking, outdated methods, normal expectations, average results, ordinary ideas, petty disputes or low vision. I will not give up, give in, bail out, lie down, turn over, quit or surrender.

I will pray when things look bad. I will pray when things look good. I will move forward when others stand still. I will trust God when obstacles arise. I will work when the task is overwhelming. I will get up when I fall down.

My calling is to reach boys and girls for God. It is too serious to be taken lightly, too urgent to be postponed, too vital to be ignored, too relevant to be overlooked, too significant to be trivialized, too eternal to be fleeting and too passionate to be quenched.

I know my mission. I know my challenge. I also know my limitations, my weaknesses, my fears and my problems. And I know my God. Let others get the praise. Let the church get the blessing. Let God get the glory.

I am a minister. I minister to children. This is who I am. This is what I do.

Roger Fields

friday fav. ~ old school version

I would guess i'm about 4 years old here.. which would make my little bro. about 2ish. Jason took this pic. when he was doing some work at my grandpa's house. He is quite amused by the fact that my little foot is "jimmying" as he would put it- my legs are always moving- Jimmy Leg! Oh to be little again- maybe just for a day.

more faith

Oh my goodness... inspiration alert! I got this devo. yesterday as part of my daily e-mails from Proverbs 31 Ministries. I LOVE what this has to say. So much in fact, that I printed it out to take home to my husband and read it during our couples devo. Umm... be blessed by this anointed word today AND sign up for Proverbs 31 daily devos. So rich and relevant.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)


Have you ever wanted something so badly your heart ached with each thought of it? It seems life would be so much better if you had that.

There would be more happiness.

More contentment.

More fulfillment.

More satisfaction.

More peace.

We can envision ourself with this thing, this person, this opportunity. And all things are better. So, why doesn’t God give us this longing of our heart?

Because He wants us to willingly release it to Him.

Ouch.

Not the answer we want. Why would God let the aching desire linger and not make things happen? He could. He’s certainly able. But when He doesn’t it seems unfair. Not good. Confusing.

It’s easy to get down when we’re constantly let down.

We hope this thing will happen… we’ll meet this right person… we’ll get this job… we’ll finally be healed… we’ll get that chance… we’ll see that family member turn their life around. Time and again it doesn’t happen. That’s when it’s easy to slip.

We can so easily slip into feeling a little distant from God because we feel hurt by God.

That’s what happened when the man I thought I was going to marry told me he met someone else. That’s what happened when I didn’t get the job I was so certain was going to be the answer to all my financial problems. That’s what happened when my son didn’t get into the charter school we were so certain would have been perfect for him.

But, in each of these things, I eventually had to make a choice. I could either become consumed with my unmet longing or comforted by trusting God.

As an offering of trust, we must give up that which could so easily bring us down.

Not give up as in discouraged surrender. But give up as in placing this desire in the hand of God and saying, “Either way, I will see Your answer as the good answer and walk in trust.”

Remember the Scriptures promise, He rewards those who honestly seek Him: “And without faith is it impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)

Sometimes I get so consumed with seeking my unmet longings, I don’t earnestly seek Him. But then I miss out on His reward. And His reward is the only thing that will fill the void in my heart.

Yes, I still struggle with unmet desires.

But not as much today as I did yesterday.

And that is good. Not easy. But good.

Dear Lord, I sacrifice chasing this so I might more fully and with more focus chase You. I release this grip of desire. I praise You for who You are, what only You can bring, and how You will fill whatever gap this release might leave. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

midwestern sunset

 Last week Jason and I went on a sunset stroll...

What an amazing and creative God we serve. Just soak it all in. Spend more time outside and enjoy God's beautiful creation. Simple pleasures..