proud auntie

yesterday my 6 year old niece briana took part in her 2nd gymnastics competition. gymnastics is something she takes very seriously for such a young girl, but her hard work has paid off! she won 5 gold medals, and was named the nutmeg state's best all around competitor! GO BRIANA!!!!!
1st place!!!!!:

briana with my sister in law, peggy:

briana with my brother, chris:

5 minutes after bri told my sister in law she was going to go in her room for a little while:

the theme for this year's church picnic is "take me out to the ballgame!". amazing. i LOVE baseball. knowing we all have to bring a dessert or side dish to share, i made this:



isn't it adorable??

"there is more to your life than you ever thought. there is more to your story than what you have read." - max lucado

these words were on a birthday card sent by a dear friend of mine from choir. those words came just as i was mourning my twenties... thinking of all the things i wanted to accomplish this past decade and and failed to do.

upon graduating high school, the plan was to graduate college by 21, find an amazing job by 22, buy a house by 24, be married by 25 and be done having kids by 30. oh, i had it all planned out. i would teach part time after having my children. i even envisioned a white picket fence! but oh... the Lord had other plans.

with hitting 30 the itch to marry is getting stronger... of course i need to be dating a guy for that to happen. and the maternal pull is getting stronger... of course having a husband helps in that area. at 30 did i see myself with just a half year of teaching under my belt? did i see myself teaching in new london of all places? did i see myself living with my parents still? did i see myself parent only to a dog?

no.

but i also didn't see my walk with the Lord being stronger than it ever has been. i didn't see the amazing people currently in my life. i have an amazing family, great friends, wonderful coworkers, beautiful nieces and nephews, a job that pays decently, a church family that is an incredible support system. i have my health, a roof over my head, a comfortable bed to sleep in, food to eat (often times too much :P), a very cute car... and so much more.

so... i guess my point is... while i was lost in my self pity... this card with the words of max lucado couldn't have come at a better time! i KNOW that this was just a reminder from God that while i'm finished with my twenties... He's not finished with me yet!

i'm going to miss this child. my sister, nieces and nephew left today after a nearly month-long visit.

this video was taken on wednesday - i was trying to distract my niece so my sister could leave and run some toddler-free errands. my favorite part is at the end, when natalya turns, smiles, and says "toot toot". :)

"Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message... despise our person; but they are helpless against our prayers."
~ J. Sidlow Baxter