MAKI - Create Your Own Sushi Rolls!!

Matt and I have been meaning to tell you guys about this sushi place we've recently discovered that we love!

Sometimes we go in there and it's busy, but a lot of times there has been know one else in there, and well... quite selfishly, we want this place to succeed.

One, it's good. Two, it's affordable. Three, I don't even have to use soy sauce. Basically, you get custom-made sushi rolls w/ fresh ingredients! I saw someone else call it the Chipotle of sushi, but I think that is a disservice. Same concept, but it's better than Chipotle. :)

It's located in the Arbor Walk shopping center at MoPac and Cap of Texas Hwy. Here's the website.

My favorite part is that after you pay the guy at the checkout counter (who is also the guy that started it) says, "Thanks for rolling with us."

Check it out!

(BTW, New York trip details coming soon.)

big city, bright lights

We leave tomorrow for our trip to NYC!

weather proof

What could Matt possibly be watching??

teapot

Matt bought us some fair trade tea at an event at our church last night. Today, he set out to make it.

Matt: "How do you work this teapot?"
Leah: Stares and smiles.
Matt: "Do you put water in it?"

Three minutes later...

Matt: "Is this thing gonna hum when its ready?"

You're welcome.

Christmas

I'm remembering this year the way that God displayed his love for the world. If you ever want to know how you can know that God loves you, think of what happened on Christmas.

"In this the love of God was manifest among us, that God has sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him." 1 John 4:9

Amen and Amen!

random musings & updates from "the gibsons"

1. Wintery Mix. You know you live in Austin, Texas when people get excited about sleet. You know you are married to Matt Gibson when you were not one of those who was surprised that it was going to sleet/snow because you had already seen it on the radar.
2. Gas. I have sitting next to me two receipts. One is from June 16, 2008- 13.34 gallons at $3.86/gallon = $51.47 to fill up! The other is from December 9, 2008- 13.73 gallons at $1.59/gallon = $21.82!!! Now this brings something else to mind. Has anyone seen the bumper sticker that says, "When Bush took office, gas was $1.46?" Politics aside, what are those people going to do with their bumper stickers?!!
3. The Gibsons. Last night while we were eating dinner Matt referred to us as "The Gibsons." I told him that I thought it was weird and that it makes us sounds like his parents and to never do it again.
4. MSG. After a conversation with some friends yesterday, I decided to google "MSG" to educate myself about it. You see, 'till recently I had always thought MSG was just something sort of bad for you that they put in Chinese food to make it taste better. I'm not going to go into a spiel, but MSG or "mono sodium glutamate" is not good for you. Anyway, after reading these articles, I started checking the ingredients on about everything in my pantry and guess what! This stuff is freakin' EVERYWHERE! Are we going to have a complete diet overhaul at the Gibson household? Possibly.
5. Real Estate. It's an EXCELLENT time to buy a house if your credit is good (or refinance) because interest rates are so low right now. Tell your friends to call me!
6. Blogging. I am sorry for the lack of posting on BOTH blogs...and especially sorry to those of you who check blogs at work to pass the time. Contrary to what you might expect, this is not because I have too little to blog about but because I can't seem to narrow it down to one thing.
   
7. New York. Matt and I leave for NYC one week from tomorrow!!! My sister and brother-in-law are going with us. We are in the process of making an itinerary which is so not my style, but very necessary. Personal recommendations please!

Wow, you made it through the musings. Thanks for caring! We love our blog readers.

Introducing... MITCHELL!

Big apologies- Mitchell does not look like this anymore at all; it turns out that we have no recent pictures of him. Now, he is probably almost as tall as (and bigger than) Matt. Mitchell is Matt's youngest brother, and he is the third youngest Gibson child. He is almost 16 and a sophomore at Westwood HS. Where shall we begin?

Well, for starters, if there is anyone who eats more candy than me, it's Mitchell. If sugar or high fructose corn syrup is the first ingredient, then Mitchell will eat it. About 50% of the time, Mitch is consuming Mike and Ikes, Skittles, Lemonheads, or something of the sort.

Speaking of "consuming." Consumption is one of Mitchell's strong suites. He will shamelessly beg for treats anytime he is with anyone who has buying power.

Mitch is without a doubt the social butterfly of the family. He could be with friends all day everyday and never come home, and that would be perfectly fine with him. Rumor has it that even though he usually makes the a-team in school sports, he'd prefer to be on the b-team so that he could hang out with his closer friends more often. Most other things come second to social life for Mitchell.

Usually when the whole Gibson family goes out to dinner together, Mitchell can be found doing one of two things. He is either 1) playing games on his cell phone or his ipod touch, or 2) spitting ice through his straw at one of his siblings. This hasn't changed since I met him 6 years ago. I should add that his brick-breaker score is like 500,000 or 480,000 or something like that.

We love Mitchell! He is a warm-hearted, easy-going extrovert who loves to consume things and socialize. He is also good at ping-pong, and based on the one football game we saw this year, he's a really great quarterback too.

the price we pay for being scared of rats

I thought you all might be interested in an rodent update. To put it nicely, I think we got screwed. I think the pest control guy was trying to scare me. Yes, I saw a rat, and they caught a rat, but an infestation? Doubtful.

Next time, if there is a next time, I will have to brave the attic by myself... that or I will insist that Matt do it. A word of advice if you are ever in this situation: seal up the holes and put down the traps by yourself...or at least try to check the situation out by yourself first because the pest control people are so not worth it!!!!!!

And shout out to ABC Pest Control! Your rat inspector guy should get an award for his acting... or a bonus or something.

P.S. A friend told me about a story she saw on Dateline about how pest control people will actually put down fake rat poop so they can talk you into paying for their service. I am not saying the guy did this, but I do find it odd that there were some random rat droppings in my driveway (right next to my car) after this dude left.

Whatever dude.

I finally got Matt to dance on camera!!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thank you to Emily/Jen for introducing me to this!

why I will no longer set foot in my garage

Last night was going pretty well. Matt and I drove home from Houston and stopped by HEB on the way home. When we got home, I continued my domestic domination by baking the most delicious almond crusted salmon and a cherry pie! We cleaned up the house, started doing laundry and getting ready for the week.

For about 6 months the door knob to our pantry has been loose, so I decided that last night was the time to fix that. I was going to need a screwdriver, and that was in the garage. My original instinct was to ask Matt to go get the screwdriver, and he of course said that he would do it. But usually when I ask for favors like that, I mean "now." "Now" for Matt means whenever he finishes what he is doing, or it means a minimum of 5 minutes from now. I could tell Matt wasn't gonna budge, so I put on my shoes and headed to the garage for the screwdriver... opened the door... turned on the light, and boldly started to walk across the garage, when I spotted a little friend...A RAT!!!!

I slammed the door and began jumping and screaming bloody murder for a solid 30 seconds till I lost my breath, and then when I got my breath back, I screamed again for another 10 seconds or so, and then I started crying. Matt probably thought there was an armed robber in the house or something. Well it gets better...

The pest control came out to inspect the house today and concluded that we probably had an infestation of rats... a whole little community making a home in our attic, pooping everywhere and nesting in the insulation. His exact quote was, "They're pretty happy up there." Apparently they've had to come out to over 100 houses in our neighborhood recently. He said if they haven't found a way INTO the house yet that they will soon enough. Vomit!!!!

I am no longer parking in the garage. I am also spending as much time as possible on top of beds and couches... these feet are not going on the floor unless I have to walk, and I will only do that with my running shoes on.

On top of this, nothing makes me want to cook LESS than knowing that there is a rodent nearby. They don't let it happen at restaurants, so why would I do it at my house? And I had big plans for making some yummy Thanksgiving food this week. Oh well- I am taking a hiatus from the domestic lifestyle until all the critters are GONE.

No, Hell has not frozen over... but Austin, Tx has.

Since Sunday I have cooked 1) a pot roast, 2) a delicious peach cobbler (pictured), 3) yummy and spicy tortilla soup, 4) banana bread, and tonight I am making lasagna - my first time ever not to buy a frozen one.

grouper or groper?

Yes, we did just have this conversation. And no, the "groping" was not what you're thinking, you sicko!

Matt: Quit groping me.

Leah: Sorry, I'm a groper. That's what I do. I grope.

Matt: No, a groper is a fish... you are not a fish.

Leah: No, smarty, you're thinking of a grouper.

this needs to be told

I was reminded of a story the other day that I have yet to blog about, but it is totally worthy.

A few months ago, I picked Matt up after work to go to a meeting for church that was really close to his office. The meeting started at 7, lasted till 8:30 or so, and then after it was over we went to Jason's Deli for a fancy dinner date. After dinner, I dropped Matt back off at his office so that he could drive his own car home.

I left, drove home, and started putting the laundry away. About ten minutes after I got home, I started to wonder what was taking Matt so long, but I didn't try to call him or anything. Twenty minutes later I heard the doorbell ring. I opened the door, and our friend/neighbor, Justin, was standing there.

Justin: "You need to go pick up Matt; he left his keys in your car."

Leah: "Are you serious?"

Justin: "Yes."

Leah: "Dang it, Matt!!!!"

Justin: "Sorry."

So I checked my phone and, sure enough, I had missed about 5 calls from Matt while it was on silent. I drove 10 minutes back to Matt's office to find him sitting there- pitifully locked outside of his office and his car. These types of things are normal occurrences for us.

role reversal- what happens when Matt does the chores?

I love Matt. You will also love him more after this post. This morning, he woke up and voluntarily started doing some chores around the house. He really is a very helpful husband. However, the way he went about completing those chores left me with some serious blog material.

Exhibit A: Laundry. Matt sorted the laundry all on his own this morning. I was helping him switch out the loads, and I found three white socks in the dark load, a couple of dark socks in the light load, and some of the same shades of yellow and blue in both separate loads. Now I know that he's color blind, but I am confident that white is distinguishable from color. I concluded that Matt doesn't so much sort the laundry according to color as much as he just arbitrarily separates it.

When it comes to folding the laundry, we usually do that together. I pointed out to Matt today that he always skips over my clothes and only folds his. His response was, "That's what I feel most comfortable with." Ha.

Exhibit B: Cleaning up the kitchen. This is only funny because if Matt has to put away something that is not an "everyday item" then he typically does not know where it belongs. He usually asks me, and I usually make him guess. I love watching him open drawer after drawer to try to figure it out. It's almost as if it was his very first time in our kitchen.

Exhibit C: Making the bed. I'll just let the pictures below illustrate what "making the bed" means to Matt.

No, this is not how it's supposed to look.

You're welcome.

Meet Dashing David

Allow me to introduce you to my brother, David. He's 22 and the youngest of the three Buescher children. He just graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Accounting (that degree runs in our family), and he just got a job with a commercial real estate company in The Woodlands, Texas.

If real estate doesn't work out for David, I'd suggest he consider a career in stand-up comedy. He is most famous in our family for his humor and his accurate impersonations of almost anyone, including me. Everyone has a reason to feel a tad bit self-conscious around David because he is most likely paying more attention to the way you say your words than to what you are actually saying. Most likely, if you know him he does have an impersonation of you, but usually only very close friends and family members know about it.

David did grow up with two sisters, so we are probably to blame for the fact that he is a little more conscious of his appearance than the average male. I think he has more shoes and shirts than I do. He goes shopping on his own, which I thought was pretty normal for a guy until Matt came along. Also, he has expensive taste, which he most definitely inherited from my dad.

As the youngest, David has always been unashamed to ask our parents and grandparents for things he wants. Spring break trips, designer watches, etc. - he's taken full advantage of being the youngest.

David is also a good conversationalist. He can do the small talk pretty well, but he prefers deeper conversation. He's relatively good at analyzing people and situations, so that sort of stuff usually comes up when he gets in the mood for deep conversations. Side note- my mom loooooves analysis, and so she loves trying to have deep conversations with David.

From what I've experienced, David should not try to be a professional golfer, athletic ability aside. Although in his most recent years, he has matured a lot, I am afraid he might be susceptible to impatience, anger, and some slight profanity on the golf course. Let's be honest, I would probably not fare well as a golfer myself - nor would anyone else in my family.

David has a tender-heart, a pretty face, and a traditionally messy room and car. Over the last year, David has matured a whole lot. He's becoming a man, and he will make a great husband and father whenever that time comes! We wove our wittle Mavers. (My mom calls him Mavers.)

Monday's Fabulous Moment of the Day (X2)

The first fabulous moment of the day happened this morning at about 3:45 am, when I woke up restless in the middle of the night. I walked out into the living room (pitch black), and reached for the switch to the lamp. "Click... click..." Annnnnd...darkness. Thank you, Matt.

The second fabulous moment of the day happened tonight, when I was trying to get Matt to dance on camera. (Oh I haven't forgotten.) I agreed to go "on the record" with my own dance moves as an encouragement to him. See below. (And excuse my hubby who filmed sideways.)



I was trying to sing the song, "Dangerous" by Akon.

And here's the second try.

The last shall be first. Meet Maddie!

Allow us to introduce you to MADELINE, the 7th child born to Matt's parents. Maddie just turned 11, and she is in 5th grade.

What you need to know about Maddie.

• Maddie's energy level is unsurpassed, except by her mother. For about the first five years that I'd come over to the Gibson house, Maddie (and her big sister Mary) would inevitably start doing dance routines, hand stands, and all sorts of gymnastics in the living room. She is also the youngest triathlete I know, and the only 11 year old I've ever met who willingly goes running for fun. She begs to participate in races like the Turkey Trot (5 miles) and the Cap 10K (6 miles). Crazy little lady.
  
• Another thing about Maddie is that she LOVES playing games of all sorts. Card games, board games, pool, ping pong, you name it. Sweet Maddie often has to put up with the old boring people (like me) who don't get quite as excited about the games as she does.
• A girl after my own heart, Madeline loves her planner and to-do lists. One of my favorite things about Madeline is that she used to (and maybe still does) write notes to herself at night before she'd go to sleep to remind herself of all of the things she needed to do in the morning before school. This was taking place as early as 3rd grade. Beautiful.
• Youngest? Yes. But don't mess with Maddie. She's strong and physical, and she's not afraid to show it. If you don't believe me, just ask Mary. Feisty she is.
  

• Something else I personally appreciate about Madeline is that she has picked up on some of Matt's facial expressions and learned to mimick them. When Matt gets frustrated, he sticks his tongue out about 1/5th of the way and bites it. I thought I might be the only one to notice this, but observant Madeline has also pointed it out.
• Maddie is an excellent dancer, swimmer, and student. She's very smart (and she knows it). She's also very beautiful. Oh, and she likes to whistle. We love Madeline!

(This picture was taken almost 3 yrs ago at our wedding. Mads has grown a lot since then.)

blogging is therapeutic

I finally remember what it's like to get my hopes up again. I reeeeeeeeeeally don't like Texas Tech... at all. And I REALLY don't like Alabama. And as my grandmother pointed out, Mike Leech looks like a parrot...an ugly parrot. So not only for Matt's sake, but also for my own sake, I really wanted Texas to win tonight. Normally I would sit on the couch and try really hard not to get my hopes up. I'd normally make pessimistic comments about how Texas will screw up and yada yada. This saves me from having to be embarrassed or disappointed. But tonight I went all out for the Burnt Orange. And now I remember what it feels like to be disappointed. Deep breath. UGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile Matt and our friends Evan and Jess got a glimpse of what it might be like when I have a child playing sports. I might pull my hair out at little league games. My kids will probably have to cry to Matt when they lose in sports. I will make them do pushups when they lose.

I need to go to sleep.

Meet the Families

I had a brilliant idea. Over the next few weeks (or however long it takes), I am going to be introducing all of you to our immediate family members. We will write an individual blog post for each of our brothers and sisters and parents. We will probably do in-laws and nephews (since there are only two) as well. This might be a daunting task since Matt has six siblings, but I am looking forward to it. It is time we bring the familial idiosyncrasies into the light. Get excited.

the latest mattism

A friend of ours told Matt that her sister had saved $50 a month on her electric bill by unplugging everything that they weren't using during the day. (ie lamps, blowdryers, computers, toaster ovens, you get it...)

This info helped Matt's case. We've been at war over this since we got married. Until now, I have insisted (in ignorance) that no electricity is used when the things are off. Matt has never seen it my way. I just don't get it. Unplugging lamps? Really?

This morning I came back to our desktop computer to print something... push the power button... nothing. Oh Matt. I called him to make sure there wouldn't be any other surprises this morning. "Just the lamp," he admitted. Oh Matt.

These little things make me love him. Coming soon: more stories about Matt and the weather.

He does eat.

Wow! It seems that many people are concerned about my cooking apathy. Don't worry; I will be fine, and so will Matt.

Mid-life Crisis Affirmed

My dad is officially there. First, he got a motorcycle. And just when we thought it couldn't get worse... He got a parrot. Lord, help us. But, it gets better... or worse depending on how you think about it. The parrot's name is... O'Reilly. Yes, after Bill O'Reilly. Please, refrain from judgment. Lord, let this please be the last toy.

the joy of cooking

Recently, Matt and I started working through this marriage questionnaire that a friend had sent me. The gist of it is that you ask each other questions about your marriage, so you can identify any behavior to improve on, etc. It's basically a tool to open up communication.

So Matt and I were sitting at Rudy's one Saturday morning, as is our weekly custom, going through this survey. And all was well until we got to question 11.

"Name one way I serve you that brings you great joy."

Hmmm.

Matt's answer? "It brings me great joy when you cook dinner."

Leah's reply, "daaaanng it." Haha.

Next question.

"Are there specific ways that I can serve you that I am not already doing?"

Matt: "You could cook dinner."

Leah: Sigh.

What is this "joy of cooking" I hear people speak about, and where in the world can I find it?

Haiti - Matt's First Blog Post!

This is my first and potentially last blog posting ☺. I’m not a gifted writer when it comes to detailing what I’ve learned, experienced, or felt. I’ve tried to be concise, but know much has been left out. I do better in face to face conversation and would love to talk with anyone that is interested about my time in Haiti! It was an eye opening and life changing experience that I’m very thankful for. At the end of this post I’ve added a link to a blog for RHFH. I’ve also copied a comment from a blog visitor that explains in a much clearer and more concise way a lot of what I thought and felt during my time in Haiti.

My trip to Haiti was actually a very spontaneous decision for me as I decided on Thursday the 18th to go on a trip that started Monday the 22nd! The purpose of the trip was multi-fold. First, we were going to observe a children’s rescue center and clinic called “Real Hope for Haiti”, or “RHFH” and to vision cast possible future involvement of Austin Stone in Haiti. Second, we wanted to observe and document a water pipeline that was recently destroyed in Hurricane Ike that provided clean water to thousands of villagers where RHFH is located. Finally, one of the team members is in the process of adopting two Haitian children and needed to file paperwork with the US Embassy.

We flew into Port Au Prince, which is the capital city and home to approximately 2.5 million people. Port Au Prince was a little intimidating as it felt very chaotic. Streets are extremely crowded and full of activity from street vendors. It’s polite to honk your car horn to let other cars know you’re passing, that you’d like them to move faster, that you’re moving into the intersection, etc. so horns are constantly sounding. Traffic laws are virtually non-existent, though traffic lights were recently put into place. Adding to the intimidation factor was the fact that Haiti is very unstable politically, not considered a “safe” place for foreigners, no one looks like you and very few speak English.

While in Port Au Prince we visited the US Embassy so that our team member could file adoption paperwork. Adoption in Haiti is a difficult process due to the corruption of the government. Laws change regularly and timetables for adoption largely depend on whether government officials feel like signing paperwork and in many cases, whether cash is handed over under the table. This is just one example of excessive government corruption.

The embassy was very busy with Haitians hoping to get a visa to the US. Many Haitians try to leave the country in hopes of a better life in the US; however, fewer Haitians are granted access to the US these days as the US has become more cautious in giving out visas. Some of the US caution can be traced back to violence attributed to Haitians (mainly young men) in Miami in recent years and cases of Haitians not returning to Haiti when their visa expired.

The afternoon of day 2 we made the trip to Cazale, a village located north of Port Au Prince, to visit RHFH. The trip took 2.5 hours, 3 trucks (“tap-taps”), and lots of help from locals in carrying bags and food across washed out roads and collapsed bridges destroyed by recent hurricanes (namely Ike).

RHFH is run by two sisters (Lori & Licia) from Indiana and approximately 75 hired Haitians. Most of the Haitians are not educated past elementary school, but have been trained by Lori (a nurse) and Licia to care for mal-nutritioned children, provide medical assistance, and take care of administrative tasks.

One part of RHFH’s work in Cazale is taking care of mal-nutritioned children. Currently the center houses approximately 60 malnutritioned children. The children are typically dropped off by a parent or family member that is not able to care for the child. RHFH will care for and nurse the child back to health until they are strong enough to return to their home. In some cases, children will be left at the gate of RHFH and abandoned, in which case RHFH tries to find adoptive parents for the child. It’s heartbreaking to see children that are too weak to cry or children that have been abandoned because of a deformity, lack of want, or in some cases, the inability to provide adequate care or nourishment. What’s striking after so much trouble at their age is the smile on each of their faces. They just want to laugh and play and to be shown love and attention.

RHFH also provides medical services for those in Cazale and surrounding villages. Patients sometimes walk hours to get to the clinic and come to RHFH for things as minor as headaches and as major as AIDS, severe burns, pregnancy, machete wounds, etc. Typically people will start lining up outside the RHFH gate around 3am. By the time clinic opens at 7am, it’s not uncommon for there to be a line of 250-300 people waiting to be cared for. At 7am, clinic workers will go out to the people in the line, hand them a card with a number on it, and collect little cards containing medical information from prior visits. Patients are brought into the clinic in groups of 10-15. While waiting to be cared for, they sit on benches, take part in singing, and are presented with the Gospel.

This summer, Haiti was hit by multiple tropical storms or hurricanes, the most recent being Ike. Ike caused large scale flooding and massive damage throughout Haiti. In Cazale, houses were leveled, farms washed out and covered in boulders and rocks, and their clean water pipeline completely destroyed. Since the flooding, RHFH has been using filters to produce 600 gallons of clean water a day, which is distributed to the community. All 600 gallons were used each day. Within the last week and a half, Water Missions International installed a filter at RHFH that will pump 6,000 gallons of clean water a day!

RHFH is also involved in community development within Cazale. At some point in the past, Lori and Licia started a “community group” composed of villagers that are interested in serving their community. Members pay $5 a year and meet every Sunday for 2 hours to discuss the needs and current situations within the community. The group undertakes projects to meet the needs of villagers and better the community. Currently the group has approximately 30 members.

Part of our time at RHFH was also spent packaging and distributing food to villagers impacted by Hurricane Ike. We packaged and distributed beans, rice, peanut butter, soap, and other supplies to about 70 families. Most of the family representatives that picked up the supplies were women. They stuffed the supplies into large rice bags and carried them home on their heads!

One thing I learned first hand in Haiti is that showing mercy to those considered “undeserving” is not always popular or commended. Recently RHFH took in a man they found unconscious at their gate. This man had murdered multiple people in the village and the villagers had cut off his lips and left him to die. The man somehow made it to the RHFH gate. Lori & Licia knew the history of this man, but felt that if he still had life in him, they had to help him, both physically by caring for his wounds, and spiritually through prayer and sharing the Gospel. This display of mercy was not popular amongst the villagers as they felt justice for this man was death. The mercy showed by Lori & Licia is a great representation of the mercy God has shown me through Jesus.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved.” Ephesian 2:1,4-5

I also realized during my time in Haiti that I have grown very accustomed to the comforts of suburbia USA that much of the world does not have. There’s nothing wrong with these comforts God has blessed many Americans with; however, it’s my fear that comforts lull many to sleep. My prayer is that my heart would never be so attached to the comforts of the world that I’m hesitant to obey if/when God calls me to abandon them for the sake of his name and purpose.

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http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/

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“It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve visited this site.
I forgot that as my hectic life continued, lives there continued to end.
It’s easier to not look, so you don’t have to feel the sadness. Just because I don’t look doesn’t mean that they don’t hurt.
I forget.
How can I forget about them?
Because my perfect, blessed life here in my own bubble continues.
I promise to look more.
When I do look, I find myself almost holding my breath. To see children the same ages as my own suffering.
Dying. To become almost in a way attached to a picture of a child, only to see the pictures of their lifeless feet at the end their beds, just days later. I can’t-not do anything about it.
It’s not right. It’s not fair. It doesn’t have to be this way.
I promise to remember more, and to be thankful for our health and the health of our children.
To do something more about what they are going through.
We all fall asleep under the same moon each night and wake to the same sun.
I wonder what the motherless and fatherless have to look forward to?
Do they know who Jesus is? Do they know that he suffers with them?
I wish that I could get my hands on them.
I plan to make that a reality.
Remember them tonight while you pray and seek within your hearts, to help these precious children.
Blessed are they to be within arms reach of these women and in the Hands of our Heavenly Father.”

the sports tension

Right now, the Texas Longhorns are #1, and it's the MLB playoffs. I am not amused. Matt, on the other hand, is ecstatic.

Matt gets really funny around football season. I don't see him get excited about many things the way I see him get excited about college football. Every single Saturday during the season, he HAS to wear his burnt orange. In fact, this fall he was so anticipating the season that he wore his burnt orange the Saturday before the season had even started. I caught on to this enthusiasm and exposed it immediately. Now, since the only A&M shirt I have has holes in the armpits (and since I have denounced the Aggies), I started wearing an Auburn shirt on Saturdays just to mock Matt's excitement.

Also, every year he starts to daydream about the Texas/OU game about a week or two before. It's so funny. This was the first year that he hasn't gone to the game since his freshman year of college or something like that. Anyway, he starts saying over and over again really enthusiastically, "MAN, the Texas/OU game is such a good time..." and then he ALWAYS brings up the turkey legs at the State Fair. I don't get it; why are the turkey legs such a distinct part of Texas/OU weekend? Nevertheless, he is very enthusiastic about the turkey legs. So enthusiastic that I have to make fun.

The other thing going on right now is baseball. My personal opinion is that baseball is boring to watch. Matt gets sooooo excited about baseball season. I'm usually thinking, "Why are you so excited? It just ended like two days ago." So right now, since it's playoffs, we have the games on all the time. I usually just beg him to PLEASE change the channel. Right now he has fallen asleep on the couch in an effort to see the result of the Tampa Bay/Boston game. I guess I could get away with changing the channel, huh?

The thing about that I've realized in my 2 1/2 years of marriage is that THIS IS NEVER GOING TO END! Before football season is even over, Matt's going to start getting excited about college basketball, and before that's over, he's going to start getting excited about baseball again. Sigh.

I just had an idea. I think I am going to stop washing his UT shirts. Eventually he will run out, and that will be a funny day. Yesssss! I have games of my own that he knows nothing about. :)

Nutrition 101

Don't take a multi-vitamin or an omega 3 supplement on an empty stomach. You will eventually barf it up in H-E-B and the smell of fish and iron will abound. You will then have to call someone else over to clean it up and smell it. You will also realize later that the putrid smell has remained on your hands and clothes.

I should make money for this kind of wisdom.

i live

I am so sorry for the lack of posting. I am in the process of thinking about what to write next. In the meantime, everyone in the world needs to check out this commercial that I have been seeing on TV. It is very funny. My favorite part is the "party" scene. Please watch and enjoy! (Click on the word "commercial" above.)

whatever it takes!

I spent some quality time with the Lord this morning, and as I was with Him, this sentence sort of spewing out of my heart without fear, "Whatever it takes, God! Whatever it takes to please you, to have more of you... I'll take whatever you've got for me."

God doesn't call his people to easy things. His word is clear. Those who desire to live a godly life WILL be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3) We are called to get our hands dirty for the sake of the gospel.

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" (Isaiah 58)

Light has to invade darkness. God is calling his people, his light, to invade the darkness. We have to take the light of the knowledge of the glory of God go to dark places and to dark people.

The call of the gospel puts a lot of things at stake: your health, your reputation, your safety, your dignity, your life. Let's not be naive; it's a scary thing.

But there's something else that's much scarier to me. Losing the favor and presence of God. There's nothing worse than that. As long as I have God, I have everything I could ever need or want. I'll take God at any cost.

I KNOW that there will be times in days ahead that this will be much harder to say than it is right now. But I believe God is going to continue to pull us through the friction of those times until we arrive again at this resolve: "Anything for more of You." God can do ANYTHING with that heart.

Things to take away from this:

1. If you don't presently feel like you're able to give everything for God, but you know and believe that He is worth it. Pray. Pray. Pray! Pray the prayer in Mark that says, "I believe. Help my unbelief!" Pray that God would change your heart. He loves to change hearts.

2. If you're on board, then continue to trust Him. Don't step ahead of him, trying to come up with your own sacrifices. Wait for him to move first. "[He] will guide you continually." (Isaiah 58)

another quick thought

I love that God takes pleasure in showing grace.

quick thought

The American Dream is boring.

the day my mom got on facebook

Today goes down in history.

Yes. You read it right. My mom is now on Facebook. Speechless? Yeah, me too.

For about six months now we have forbidden her from doing this very thing. I got the dreaded phone call about fifteen minutes ago...

"It's peer pressure, Leah," she explains, after naming all of her friends that have hopped on the Facebook bandwagon. "Don't worry, I won't ask you to be my friend," she assures me.

Mom, I am not worried. It's just that now you are one of those moms, whoever they are.

I remember when it was weird that people my sister's age were joining. My sister is 5 years older than me. She still is not on Facebook.

Disclaimer: My mom is much nicer and sweeter than I am. Most everyone that I know of thinks she is just "so cute." Those will be the people that think this is funny.

In the meantime, I will try not to get too embarrassed when my empty-nester mom and her friends do empty-nester mom things. This includes Facebook, which I suppose is now one of those things.

Pictures AND STORIES

Click to see Haiti pictures.

Of course, Matt failed to include himself in these pictures.

I thought I would add this link to Jamie's blog. She was on the trip with Matt and updated daily while they were there. She and her husband are adopting two children from Haiti.

Matt says he will blog about the trip, but that's highly unlikely.

These links go directly to Jamie's Haiti posts:

Pictures with Explanations

More Pics w/ Captions

Day 2

Day 3 Part 1

Day 3

Day 4

home sweet home

Well, I picked up sweet Matt at the airport tonight, and he's home safe and sound. But let's just say that we didn't show much affection right off the bat at our glorious reunion. Although he had showered in Port au Prince, he still smelled very much like Haiti.

Upon entering the house, I issued an immediate mandatory laundry cycle.

"Get the water as HOT as it goes. Empty your suitcase. Everything goes, even those jeans, and I don't care if you wore them or not. Put that dirty clothes bag in there too... all of it. And double the detergent."

Matt is in the shower now, and should be there for awhile. I expect that sufficient cleanliness will take a minimum of 45 minutes.

More updates from his trip to come!

Happy Birthday, Rach!

Love you, Rachee!!

please explain this man to me

If there is one trademark that I totally do not understand, it's this guy, The Michelin Man. Is it me, or is he just weird? He's been around since 1898, according to Wikipedia. Amazing.

What's more amazing? The fact that I busted out my computer at 1am to write about this. I was watching TV, saw a Michelin commercial, and couldn't help myself.

I know Matt will be proud of how I've spent my time in his absence.

embarrassment- the shame you feel when your inadequacy is made public

Why? Why? Why do I say really stupid things?

This morning I went to a breakfast meeting for Goodwin Management, Matt's company. I was invited because I am an agent for Goodwin Partners, the real estate brokerage. Matt, of course, was in Haiti.

So when his boss started introducing people, my immediate expectation was that if he had originally planned on introducing Matt, then I am surely going to be introduced in his place. Sure enough, that is what happened. So I could feel my face start to get red when he said, "And I wanted to introduce to you the head of accounting, Matt Gibson, but he's in Haiti this week. His lovely wife is here with us..." Uh oh, here it goes. So he proceeded to introduce me... but he didn't stop there.

"Tell us, how is Matt doing in Haiti?" (Here's where it went downhill.)

"Um... he's good... he's alive... he's gaining weight."

WHAT? Nice details, Leah. "He's doing well" would have been a fine answer. Instead I spewed out, "he's gaining weight" as if he was there specifically for that purpose.

As usual, I didn't get embarrassed until I got in my car and started thinking about what I had said. Aaaaaah.

but God

As long as we rehearse the strength of our sin more than we rehearse the great strength and grace of our God, we cannot expect to change.

Bon Appétit

Since Matt has been gone, all healthy eating habits have gone down the drain. The line up? Rudy's, Chick Fil A, Jason's Deli, Chili's (gross I know), Chipotle, and Frozen Pizza. Yes, I am feeling pretty gross right now.

So one of my concerns about Matt going to Haiti was that he'd fall below that all time low weight of 159. This concern was only heightened when I considered that I could possibly be tripling his calorie consumption.

But it's worse than I ever expected.

It turns out that Matt is actually "eating pretty well" there. I talked to him tonight, and those were his exact words. It turns out that the people at the Real Hope For Haiti center are cooking tasty and nutritious meals for Matt and his team. "Greeeeeeat," I thought to myself sarcastically. Why is this a bad thing? Let me answer your question with another question.

Would you want your husband to go to a 3rd world country and get fed better than he does at home? Doubt it.

I am not sure whether I should feel gratitude or shame. Probably both... but I mostly feel shame.

Haiti Updates

Some updates about Matt's Haiti trip here.

can't wait

This is what it will be like when Jesus comes back to reign on earth.

Isaiah 11:1-9

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

Now there's a change we can believe in.

Sunday's Sermon

Go to my church's website, and download the Sermon, "A Tale of Two Cities."

God reveals himself through my big sunglasses

I was driving today, thinking about what it's gonna be like when Jesus comes back. It's a very pretty day today, and so I took off my sunglasses for a second to look at the sky and the trees. God showed me that when he comes back and we see him as he is, that it will be like taking off our sunglasses. Everything will appear brighter and more beautiful in light of Jesus. And in fact, he is working right now to lighten the shades we have on now so that our eyes will be able to behold Him when he appears. Lord, do it now! Take off our blinders. We want to see you.

he thinks he's so hilarious

Leah: I know what I want to be when I grow up.
Matt: Oh really, what?
Leah: Guess.
Matt: I don't know, an astronaut?
Leah: No. Just think of something that would fit me; it's really easy.
Matt: You want to do sleep studies?

you gotta love matt

Matt is very well trained. Yesterday afternoon, I got my hair highlighted. Matt knows how excited I am every time I get my hair highlighted. I usually ask him like 10 times if he thinks it looks awesome, and every single time he humors me and tells me how much he likes it.

Well, this time, I wasn't finished with my appointment until about 7:30pm. It gets dark these days around 7:30. After I was finished, I called him to see if he wanted to go out to eat (because who the heck wants to cook with newly highlighted hair?). And to my surprise he was on board with that suggestion.

So I picked him up from home in the PT Cruiser (oh yes we still have it) at about 10 till 8, and it's definitely dark at this point. He hops in the DARK car, and the first thing he says (almost w/out looking) is, "Your hair looks great!" Ah ha! I caught him! "Umm babe, you can't see my hair. It's dark." Oops. Good try though. Don't worry, when we got to the restaurant he told me he liked it again.

danger is his middle name

If you know Matt, you know that he doesn't make spontaneous decisions. In fact, we are both pretty lacking in the spontaneity department. Matt is actually worse than me, if that tells you anything. I mean we have to plan our vacations like 6 months in advance or else they won't happen.

So you can imagine that I was wondering what had happened to my Matt when he decided today (Thursday) to go to Haiti on Monday for five days with a group from our church. Not only is Haiti the poorest country in Western Hemisphere, but it is also a little on the dangerous side (and that's an understatement). This is soooo not Matt-like.

We'd both appreciate your prayers for him and the group he is going with!

I'm thinking that since he is leaving on such short notice and going to such a dangerous place, I may have a little bit of leverage right now. There is only one thing I ask before he goes... (Picture me smiling really big right now!) :) Yes, I WILL get him dancing on camera.

Regretting the PT Cruiser Decision

I forgot when I chose this car that Matt wasn't actually going to have to be seen in it. I am actually very embarrassed about it. I have found myself looking around to make sure that no one I know is near when I get out of the car.

I was at the church office today, and someone that "sort of" knows me saw me getting out of the PT. "Great," I thought, "She's gonna think this is my car." Later I saw her, and I quickly informed her that it was a rental. She laughed and said that I "didn't seem like the kind of person who would drive a PT cruiser." I don't know what that type of person is, but I'm taking her comment as a compliment.

Cruisin' Together

I love Enterprise Rent A Car. You can always count on excellent selection and service. For me, it was either a Kia Spectra or a Chrysler PT Cruiser. When the guy told me my choices, I laughed out loud and said, "Oh Gee." Haha. Then I considered how much Matt hates PT Cruisers and the decision was easy. "What the heck," I said, "I'll take the PT Cruiser." And there you have it. My car, which was recently hit while parked, should be out of the shop in a few days.

consumer reports

1. A "Frosty Shake" from Wendy's. Tonight I ordered a chocolate frosty shake for the first time. Can I just say, "UGHHHHHH that's NAAAAASTYYYY." I think they thought I said a copper frosty shake, because that's what it tasted like. Blend some pennies and milk together and put a cherry on top, and that's what a Frosty Shake from Wendy's tastes like. I kid you not. $2.59 down the drain.

2. A latte with protein from Starbucks. I must admit that I haven't actually consumed this product. The reason is that just thinking about it gives me a stomach ache. Two words came to my mind the first time I saw this product on the menu: farty and bloated, just like Mugatu. I didn't even try the free sample.

3. The ipod shuffle. I like it! It falls short in only one way: it hasn't motivated me to go to the gym yet.

matt: an incredible dancer

One thing you wouldn't expect about Matt is that he can truly shake it. For two nights in a row now, I have been trying very hard to get Matt dancing on camera. He hates it. He says that I am treating him like a zoo animal. (You decide.)

So one way I tried to get him to dance was by playing the Michael Jackson song, "Rock With You." This was actually a very good decision on my part because not only was it next to impossible for Matt to resist dancing, but he also had to resist singing. He took the easy way out and crawled into the bed, where I know that he was secretly tapping his foot to the beat.

Not sure if you know this, but Matt sings like a Backstreet Boy. Truthfully, I don't have words to describe what it sounds like when Matt sings, but rest assured, I am working AROUND the clock to get it recorded for you.

The first time that I demanded that Matt dance on camera his response was, "My dancing is not for the world to see." I must respectfully disagree.

I had big plans to show you a couple of my attempts so far because they are hilarious. Unfortunately, my computer is not cooperating, and I am tired.

News on other fronts? Hurricane Ike is headed for Central Texas. Not sure if Matt is excited or concerned, but one thing is for sure... he's LOVING the weather drama.

oh and one more thing on the stomach virus

I forgot to tell you that Matt caught the stomach virus, too. Now last Tuesday, Matt tipped the scale at a whopping 172.5 pounds. This is the most he has weighed since we've been married. I was so happy for him! Then came the virus. By Friday he had reached an all time low since we've been married, barely weighing in at 159.

what happens when Leah eats donuts

I love donuts. I love all sweets, actually. (Which is why I've had like 1000 cavities, but that's another story.) When I was in high school, I could DOWN me some donuts. :) I'm talking like 5, possibly more.

So I knew I was getting old when this stopped being enjoyable. I remember very clearly the first time I felt terrible after a donut binge. Matt and I were in our first apartment, and it was a Saturday morning. We went to HEB to pick up breakfast because, as usual, there was nothing in the pantry.

Matt's choice? A bagel and orange juice. Leah's breakfast of champions? Two donuts and chocolate milk. So we get home, and (as is also custom) I started and finished eating before Matt sat down at the table. (He still doesn't understand...when it's time to eat, there is NO TARRYING!)

Now I am not quite sure why, but in like 5 minutes I passed out- asleep. It must have been that my old body could no longer handle the sudden spike in blood sugar levels. I got back in bed before Matt had ever started his breakfast, and I was there for a good two or three hours. I thought this was going to be an isolated instance, but after several occasions of having sweets for breakfast, I realized that I could no longer do it and expect to stay awake.

Now in my old age, the sweetest thing I can have for breakfast is high fiber cereal. Okay, but I'm getting off topic. You see, I still haven't learned my lesson completely.

Last Wednesday night I, for some reason, decided to go to Krispy Kreme for dinner. I had two donuts (one was free) and regular milk (instead of chocolate). Let me just say that I don't think my body was made to digest those babies...

Wednesday night was the beginning of a long, drawn out stomach virus and illness that I never ever want to repeat. (You thought I hadn't blogged because I was busy, but actually, I was sick.) And although the virus and the fever probably didn't have much to do with Krispy Kreme at all, I am temporarily cured of my lifelong love affair with donuts.

Shout out to Rachael, my fellow donut lover, who inspired this awesome blog post.

new york fund

I am saving up a little extra cash for NYC. As you can see, I am keeping it in a piggy bank. Last night, Matt suggested that we put it in the real bank "so nothing happens to it." I responded, "What? Are you afraid someone is going to break into our house and steal it or something?" You might not be surprised to find out that he is actually just afraid that I am going to steal it.

little nephew

This is Peej. Just before he got in this odd looking position he said, "I have to poop." I asked him if that was how he pooped and he said, "Yeah." He lied, though. He ended up just doing somersaults.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

What a sweet smile! BTW, I taught him to say, "Uncle Matt's a ding dong."

for the Love of God!!

Two reasons boasting in the Love of God in Christ is not arrogant:

1. Because you know that you did not do one thing to deserve it.
2. Because you know that he loves the next person just the same.

blows my mind

It's easy to believe in a God that forgives you when you make mistakes for the first time or in difficult situations. But it's mind-boggling to believe that he loves and forgives even when we should have known better.

terrible

Depressing: The mileage sign right by the exit to our house on I-35 that says "Austin, 15."

Depressing: My putt-putt score of 45, which is considered "amateur par." I actually cheated to get this score.

Depressing: Matt knows the words to the water conservation song that the Austin Water Utility has put on the radio.

more mattisms

Well, it's way past my bedtime, and I can't sleep. So, I will do my favorite thing, which is to tell you more exciting things about Matt. One thing you may not expect about Matt (since he is very responsible and dependable) is that he loses things ALL THE TIME. I'm telling you, the man needs a purse!

I can't possibly begin to tell you how many times he has "lost" his wallet. The first time was our freshman year of college in the CiCi's parking lot in College Station. I remember frantically looking for it all over the place and then finding out it had fallen behind a seat in his car. At this point, I had no idea that losing things was such a common occurrence or I wouldn't have gotten so worried.

Now the story goes a little differently. It usually starts with Matt telling me in a somewhat unsettled tone, "Hmm... I don't know where my [fill in the blank] is..." And my response is usually either to ignore him altogether or to reassure him that he will find whatever it is that he lost this time. I NEVER get frantic when he loses things anymore.

Twice now, I have spotted Matt's belongings on the side of the road while driving. The first time was right after we got married, and it was a pair of shoes that had fallen off the car on his way to work. The second time was about 8 weeks ago, and it was his Ray Ban sunglasses which had also fallen off his car. I must admit that we knew those were lost, and I was actually looking for them on the side of the road. (They were barely visible- sticking out under a pile of leaves.)

In the past month he has "lost" his wallet twice. The first time it was (thankfully) turned in at Whole Foods. The second time he just forgot that he had left it at home.

I find it funny that he has never managed to lose the crackberry.

someone help me figure out my husband

I want to take this opportunity to tell you something about Matt that I have recently discovered but find very odd. When it comes to food, Matt can be very hard to please. The reason is that (this is my recent discovery) he won't eat the same thing twice in one day. So, he was still hungry the other night after dinner, and I pointed out that he could have a waffle and eggs, and he declined because he had that for breakfast. We had the same incident yesterday afternoon. He wouldn't eat a granola bar because he had already had a granola bar in the morning. I don't get it because, you see, this is the guy who has been eating the exact same lunch every day for the last 6 years. So what's the big deal about repeating a food on the same day? I am really not sure.

I have a lot more Matt stories to come. He is very different than you might expect.

P.S. Some of you may have already seen the "good-morning" picture of Matt that I posted. After thinking about it, I decided that I probably wouldn't want him to put really terrible pictures of me on our blog, so I took it off. Sorry, you who were not on top of things... you missed out on some great entertainment.

mean duck, glass window, spelling test

Poor Matt has gotten the brunt of my humor the last few posts. So I thought I'd take an opportunity to make a little fun of myself, and tell you 3 things that happened this weekend.

1. The mean duck. We went to the Arboretum with my nephew on Saturday to see the ducks. We were walking around the pond, and I was just walking innocently when all of the sudden... a terribly ugly duck started chasing me! And he was freaking scary! All I could think was, "Holy crud, this duck is about to start pecking at me." So, I did what any 24 year old would do... I started screaming and crying! Haha. Of course, Matt was laughing.

2. The glass window. Today, Matt and I were leaving the gym, and the whole front entrance is covered in glass. I was inside, looking up at the sky (because of course we were talking about the weather), and before I knew it I had face planted into the glass window. Just straight up walked right into it. I guarantee I had NO idea it was there. Matt's response was, "Really? You didn't see that?" Nope, sure didn't.

3. Spelling test. Matt works for a property management company, and because I am a good wife, I volunteered to take minutes for him at a home owner's association meeting last week. Today he was helping me condense/edit the minutes, and he found a couple of misspelled words. They were: "gesture" (spelled "jester"), and "cul-de-sac" (spelled "coldosac"). I've never claimed to be a good speller.

Moving on. The next few days should be sunny with a high in the mid to upper 90s. Also, you and Matt can all celebrate because the hottest part of the year is behind us.

A real conversation

Leah: "Since we aren't moving, can we go ahead and work on our house because there are a lot of things I want to change?"

Matt: "Like what?"

Leah: "Like everything."

Matt: "Like what specifically?"

Leah: "Like, specifically... everything."

Matt: "Oooohhh. This is what I love about you."

Leah: "And also, we will need to hire contractors because I don't know if you know this but I am not really a do-it-yourself type person..."

Matt: "Oh really? I had no idea."

------------------------------------
Newsflash! It is pouring down rain, and yes, I just caught Matt looking at the radar again!

more proof

(read previous post first!)

first thing matt said at dinner tonight = "did you see the radar today?" He wasn't kidding.

five seconds ago... "let's check the radar." also not kidding.

hahaha. I love Matt.

the other thing i forgot to mention is that matt gets even more disappointed when it doesn't rain or when it's too humid than i do... and he complains about it also. okay. enough about weather. no more. the end.

how many times a day does Matt check the weather?

Matt LOVES to check the weather. I mean LOOOOOVES it. He checks the weather almost as frequently as he checks fantasy baseball, ESPN, and his e-mail combined. Never in my life have I known so precisely the chance of rain at a given hour, but thanks to Matt I now know. (Poor Matt. Sooner or later he's going to have to contribute to this blog to defend himself or at least make fun of me somehow!)

One thing you should know about me is that I try really hard not to have expectations. I'm not saying that I try to have low expectations; I just mean that I try to not have any expectations at all. If you're expectations are too high, you constantly get disappointed, and if they are too low, then that's a whole other problem that I don't have time to get into. Anyway...

This obsessive weather checking thing has inevitably created expectations. How can it not? And since meteorologists are overly optimistic when it comes to highs and lows and chances of rain, I am increasingly disappointed... I have found myself saying things to Matt like, "The more you want it to rain, the less likely it is to rain." Also known as looooow expectations and extreme pessimism.

Since Matt's love for weather.com and weather on the eights and the weather channel aren't going away anytime soon, I will have to learn to live with predictions while not succumbing to expectations.

Anyway... that's all I really have to say. And, take heart. If you are ever without access to weather information, you can ALWAYS call Matt.

To Do

Love
Be Loved

Peej!!!

Next week we will be taking our semi-annual birth control. (That is, a week babysitting for my nephew who I looooove... but don't kid yourself, it's still birth control.) His parents don't blog about him, so I thought I'd give him a little tribute on the world wide web.



We are trying to figure out if he will be on the football team or in the marching band. Or he could pull a Matt and play varsity sports AND pursue musical interests.



This is at his 2nd birthday party in H-town.

the meat thermometer

Santa (aka my mom) likes to buy us stocking-stuffers from the dollar store. The latest and greatest stuffer? A meat thermometer. Needless to say, this dollar store gem did not last very long. However, the dollar-store version made us aware of our need for a "real" one. So...

I went out and bought a $20 one... you know, nothing too fancy, but still 20 times more expensive than the old one. I was actually excited about it, especially because Matt doesn't get toys very often, and this was sort of like a new toy for him.

Well, you can understand then that when he told me "I don't like our new meat thermometer... it really sucks," that I was feeling like a bit of a failure. That is until we had some friends over to grill out one night and they showed him HOW TO USE IT...

Turns out that Matt didn't realize that the fancy thermometer has a cover... so for about 3 months, he's been sticking the thermometer in the meat with the cover on it. No wonder it sucks! I have attached a picture of the old thermometer, the new thermometer with a cover and the new thermometer without the cover... for those of you who appreciate visuals!

big apple here we come!!!

December 18th-23rd we will be traveling to NYC for a little Christmas Spectacular of our own! I am super-pumped.

you'd think we don't have a shoe rack...

But we absolutely do have a shoe rack. We also have two shoe closets. Matt hates all of them. Based on this post, you might also think that I don't have a life...

beginning to rub off!!

Get excited...Matt is becoming a little more Leah-like! (Should I be happy or nervous? Probably nervous.) Yesterday morning, after being at work for about 45 minutes, Matt decided that "work really sucks." This conclusion propelled him to leave work for about an hour at 9AM to go mosey around in the Arboretum. I am so proud...but I don't know if our family can survive with two Leahs.

great sinner, Greater Savior

One look at all of my shortcomings, failures, trespasses, and I am tempted to despair. But I hear the Lord telling me that his blood is enough to cover it all, and that his great love reaches higher than the mountains. I hear him telling me that I can rest. "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He's asking me to be more obsessed and enamored with the Great Savior whose blood paid the price for my sin than I am with the greatness of the sin itself.

oh Sarah

me: sarah just called me back
rachel: yay
she isn't ignoring!
me: she just called a farm
rachel: what
3:06 PM me: that the maker's diet suggested
rachel: a farm?
for what?
me: like dwight's beet farm
3:07 PM rachel: for advice on food or something? i am lost
me: she wants to make sure it's "legit"
3:08 PM before they start delivering weekly goat yogurt
oh my gosh
hahahahaha
she thinks that she's normal
or "semi-normal"
3:09 PM rachel: that is the weirdest thing i have ever heard
how are we friends?

Well look at what the cat brought in...

This morning I was rummaging through some old journals, and I found... the quote book! Let me introduce you to the quote book.

The quote book first came into our lives in December of 2002.
It was my first ever Christmas present to Matt.
Its purpose was to record "all of the ridiculous comments that come out of people's mouths." (Matt Gibson)
And some of it's pages read:

"Rach isn't gonna worry about the whole dating thing. She's going straight to the 'F' word." - Sarah Michel (Apparently the "F" word in this sentence was supposed to be fiancee.)

"Well, at least we know I am not invincible anymore." - Matt Gibson, College Station after a failed attempt to leap over a pile of mud in which he fell while simultaneously spilling a blueberry smoothie all over himself. The funny thing about this incident is that apparently Matt did not know he wasn't invincible beforehand.

"I hate when people give me pity wins!" - Me (Leah), after losing a game of Connect Four to Matt that I thought I had won.

"Some days I wake up and I feel like I'm rotting." - Rachel Rogers Erwin

"Hold on... tilt your head up. Yep, you look like a Cabbage Patch Kid." - Me, referring to Matt's hairline/face shape.

"It's not that I don't like them; they're just not my kind of people. I have people!" - Andrew Erwin

You're welcome.

Luke 18:13

the longer i live, the more i pray this prayer...

"LORD, have mercy on ME, a sinner!"

DINK?

Recently, Matt and I ran into one of our friends from church at a restaurant. She has two kids, and when we saw her, her hubby was out of town, so she was handling the chaos on her own. I was not envious when her <1 yr old kept throwing his spoon on the floor repeatedly. Anyway, in the middle of her meal she came over to us and said, "Enjoy your DINK status while it lasts."

For those who don't know, DINK= Double Income No Kids. Hmmm.

After she left, Matt looked at me and said, "The only reason we are DINKs is because I work two jobs."

This is the truth. But after some thought, I would like to take the credit for not having kids.

Psalm 84: 10-11

"For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."

On Obedience

I was reading Beth Moore’s book, Breaking Free for the gazillionth time the other day, and she was interpreting Isaiah 30:15, which says “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” She pointed out that the Hebrew word for trust in that verse means, “there is nothing more that one can do.” And then she wrote a couple of sentences that have a lot of weight if we take them to heart. She wrote, “Once we’ve obeyed God, we can do nothing more. We then wait on Him to bring the victory, knowing that the consequences of our obedience are His problem and not ours.”

I think that this sentence could be easily misinterpreted, so I want to clear that up first. I don’t think she means to say that if God doesn’t respond to our obedience that somehow it’s his fault. I think what she is getting at is that if we walk in obedience, we can trust God for the fruits of that obedience.

For me, this has profound implications. Why? Well, I tend to worry about the outcomes of the decisions that I make. Many times, my decision-making becomes confusing because I try to predict what the outcome will be beforehand. (Yes, there are some decisions in which it is wise to seek many counselors and to consider all the possible outcomes, and even count the costs. But when we count the cost of obedience, we must trust that the favor of God in obedience is far greater gain than anything else we might have gained through disobedience. )

An example of this in my life is that often times, although I sense a strong urging to encourage someone with scripture or truth, I will not do it because I fear that it will be taken the wrong way. “What if they think I think I am better than them? What if they will just think it is silly? What if this and that and this and that?” Many of these concerns muffle the clarity of my calling according to Scripture.

But how different would our lives look if we really did trust and obey? What if we listened to the Spirit of God, obeyed the word of God, and didn’t worry about the things that we so often worry about. What if we didn’t worry about how other people will perceive what we are doing? What if we didn’t worry about how obedience might affect our relationships with other people? Maybe then we would share the gospel with unbelievers, not fearing that they will think we are weirdo Bible-beaters. Maybe then we would hold our Christian brothers and sisters accountable, not fearing that our relationship might be severed. Maybe then we will humbly receive rebuke, criticism, or instruction, not fearing that we might seem incompetent for doing so. Surely we would be much more concerned with God and the advance of his Kingdom than we are with what others might think.

It comes down to this: who is it that we fear? Fear of God, trust in God, and obedience to God are inextricably linked throughout the entire word of God. We obey Him because we trust that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do (fear). The rest is up to God.

Look at Psalm 34:7-10, and see the promises God makes to the one who fears him!

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”

Now may we look exclusively to HIM, and let our lives be marked by a unique desire to please HIM alone! We will not be put to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:6).

Jesus is Better than Candy

If you know me at all, you know that I have a serious sweet tooth. I have heard it runs in the family, but I am by far the worst in my immediate family. Examples? I generally keep a stash of candy in my glove compartment, specifically Fun Dip, Smarties, Cherry Sours, Sour Patch Kids, Gumballs, Nerds Rope, Air Heads, and the like. In college, my roommate made fun of me because I kept assorted candy sprinkles in the car to pour on top of my McDonald’s ice cream cones. Dessert has generally always been a requirement for me.

This began to get a little out of control (you don’t need dessert after breakfast), so I decided to stop eating sweets for a little while. So far it’s been about 10 days, and God has seriously been working in me through it. I mean, I NEVER realized how much I was counting on candy for satisfaction. I know it sounds so stupid, but it’s so true. So I’ve started to substitute Jesus for candy. If you are wondering what that means, it means that when I finish lunch and start to crave something sweet, I consider it my cue to pray. I let Jesus be enough for me. Don’t really know how else to put that, but I like it. It’s good. He is good, and He absolutely is enough.

Good News

The word of the cross, the power of God for salvation(1 Cor 1:18, Romans 1:16):

16 From now on, therefore,we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Amen.

Quotes from Andrew Murray's Humility

From Andrew Murray's book Humility (Chapter 6):

"True humility comes when, in the, light of God, we have seen ourselves to be nothing, have consented to part with and cast away self, to let God be all. The soul that has done this, sand can say, So have I lost myself in finding Thee, no longer compares itself with others. It has given up forever every thought of self in God's presence; it meets its fellow-men as one who is nothing, and seeks nothing for itself; who is a servant of God, and for His sake a servant of all. A faithful servant may be wiser than the master, and yet retain the true spirit and posture of the servant."

"In striving after the higher experiences of the Christian life, the believer is often in danger of aiming at and rejoicing in what one might call the more human, the manly, virtues, such as boldness, joy, contempt of the world, zeal, self-sacrifice,-even the old Stoics taught and practised these,-while the deeper and gentler, the diviner and more heavenly graces, those which Jesus first taught upon earth, because He brought them from heaven; those which are more distinctly connected with His cross and the death of self,-poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, lowliness,-are scarcely thought of or valued. Therefore, let us put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness,long-suffering; and let us prove our Christlikeness, not only in our zeal for saving the lost, but before all in our intercourse with the brethren, forbearing and forgiving one another, even as the Lord forgave us."

"But let us not be discouraged. Let the discovery of the lack of this grace stir us to larger expectation from God. Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us, as God's means of grace, God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our Life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the All of God, and the nothing of self, that, as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God's power, only seek to serve one another in love."

C.S. Lewis Quote

'I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise ... the world rings with praise – lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game ... I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits, and malcontents praised least... Praise almost seems to be inner health made audible ... I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.' -C.S. Lewis, Reflections on The Psalms

Recent IM Conversation

This is how our relationship usually goes:

me: i kind of want a polar heart rate monitor
4:50 PM
should i get one?
4:52 PM
Matt: what's the benefit?
4:54 PM
me: tracks your heart rate, tells you how hard you need to workout in order to get the most from your workouts, tells you how many calories you've burned and keeps track of your workouts.
4:55 PM
Matt: why don't you wait for your bday?
4:56 PM
me: fine
4:57 PM
Matt: :(
i feel like a dad
4:58 PM
me: hahahahaha

some songs

These songs and psalms have been on my heart and lips recently. I hope they serve you!
----
"I lift my eyes up, to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from you, Maker of Heaven, Creator of the earth. Oh how I need you, Lord. You are my only hope, you're my only prayer. So I will wait for you to come and rescue me, to come and give me life."
----
"You're the God of this city, you're the King of these people, You're the Lord of this nation, You are. You're the light in this darkness, You're the hope to the hopeless, You're the peace to the restless, You are. For there is no one like our God, there is no one like You God!! Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city, greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here. You're the Lord of creation, the Creator of all things, You're the King above all kings, you are. You're the strength in the weakness, You're the love to the broken, You're the joy in the sadness, you are. FOR THERE IS NO ONE LIKE OUR GOD, THERE IS NO ONE LIKE YOU GOD! Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city..."
----
Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he has mercy upon us. - Psalm 123:2
----
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
Holy, Holy is he.
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat.
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.
With all creation I sing,
praise to the King of Kings,
You are my everything and I will adore you..."