(En)Rapture

To the know and bask in the rapture of love and to live in a state of being enraptured by his love.

The very same term used in meeting Christ midway in the air upon His return.

Well done and well-named, God!

RAPTURE
noun

   1. ecstatic joy or delight; joyful ecstasy.
   2. Often, raptures. an utterance or expression of ecstatic delight.
   3. the carrying of a person to another place or sphere or existence.
   4. the Rapture, theology. the experience, anticipated by Christians, of meeting Christ midway in the air upon His return to earth.


ENRAPTURE
verb

   1. to move to rapture; delight beyond measure.

 
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Sunny & 85!

Honestly, where did summer go? It is passing by so quickly in a blur of activity and fun under the sun.

My momentum is high and I am always needing one more day of sunshine. One more day of making the most of every day in all things health, fitness, sunshine and with David.

Much to my relief Brooke is loving high school and I am loving her back into routine. Adjusting to no longer having my mornings to myself, due to Mariah no longer being in school, I look at this as a weening time. The shift before David and I blend our lives together. The season of my life where my routine is beginning to shift and I welcome that.

Two months left of amazing weather ... September and October. I do love October!

Today is mostly sunny and 85 degrees.

Today is summer and my one whole day off in the week.

Plan wisely.

Her 19th Birthday

Nostalgia fills my mind and I remember vividly the day Mariah was born. The details and the moment she was placed in my arms still takes my breath away. My gosh was she beautiful and perfect.

That was the beginning of unconditional love for me.

Fast forward 19 years later ... her 19th birthday.

I am thankful I was home, the living room staged with her birthday presents and a floral box delivery that I brought into the house for her arrival.

Curious, we both assumed it was from Jeremy.

We read the note together and our eyes locked in shock. 

Her daddy planned her 19th birthday gift before he passed away so she had something from him on her special day.

Truly a moment I will never forget. 

Her heart cried in the bittersweet moment of missing him terribly from listening to his voicemail messages she had saved until he could no longer talk early yesterday morning to relief that he made sure he was still a part of her birthday.

Well done, Eric!

We went to Gervasi Vineyard for dinner ... David, Mariah and me. Mariah and I enjoyed a lobster pasta entree and David had swordfish in a stunningly beautiful bistro restaurant.

Late last night, Mariah did what the new rage that all of America is doing, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in honor of her dad.

Timing perfect.

Happy 19th birthday, baby girl!

I love you,

Mommy xo

... With God and David

How many times have I thanked God for David? How many prayers of thanks and protection have I sent to a holy God? How many healthy decisions and choices have I and do I make to keep our relationship safe, happy, healthy and respected every day.

The answer is countless.

I cover our relationship in prayer every day. It is me fervently covering what I love to my most trusted source of love, God.

Over the last few weeks something has changed ...

David has always given me his best, but he has stepped up his own game and speaks my love languages like a champ. As if he knows what I want and need to hear and feel and he provides. Always present and truly my cup is pouring over in love.

How truly blessed I am.

To love, admire, respect, crave, be wildly attracted to and crave my best friend in the whole world and have him.

When I was young, in the senior high youth department where we met, I vividly remember the youth pastor asking each of us to right down a list of wants we wanted in a partner. I smile at what that list must have read.

My whole life I believed in love, hoped for love, dreamed of an ultimate love. After a lifetime and decades of faith, hope and love being my significant driving factor, I found my perfect and he is far better and more than I ever dreamed.

I have fallen deeply in love twice ... with God and David.

Know whom to ask. Know whom to thank. Know whom to go to daily to cover and protect those you love most.

Me, I'm a pretty smart girl, I go directly to the Author of Love.

"Thank you, God!"

My 3-day vacation has truly reflected my personality and each day I have sent a "Thank you, God!" for 3-days off with sunshine and mid-80's!

VACA DAY #1

David and I took Brooke and her friend to Cedar Point for the day.

David and I rode our 1st roller coaster together, Mantis. Yikes! He was nearly green when we got off and both of us did the parental thing and rode low-key rides the rest of the day.

Except ...

... when we saw the Dragster. It goes 120 mph, shoots straight up to heaven spinning the whole time, does a U-turn in the sky and goes straight down to the ground spinning.

I felt a cool breeze and realized that while we were sitting in the very front seats of the front car, my halter top was pulled down by the force of the ride!  

It was funny and I do believe the guy sitting behind David saw it because when I turned around to see if anyone had seen, he was smiling pretty big.  

We raced off the the screens to make sure it wasn't captured on film and as the ride workers said, they deleted the topless shots immediately. Whew!

The girls enjoyed their teenage freedom of a day spent together in an amusement park with a little spending ca$h!

VACA DAY #2

Warrior Dash 2014!

VACA DAY #3

Is about to begin!  The sun is shining, my kind of plans are firmed and I am about to make the very most of this day.

"Thank you, God!" for 3-days including all things I love.

Carpe diem!

Warrior Dash 2014

I did it!  Competed in Warrior Dash 2014, a 5K with 13 obstacles and completed it in 52 minutes versus my last time of 1 hour/1 minute!

This is me after swimming through three ice-water obstacles, fully submerged and falling under and pulling myself through the most mud I have truly ever experienced in my life!

I smell like mud, too.

A before shot with *bling* and clean ...

After with my team ... 

Dawn, Lisa and I are in our mid-40's which makes the competition exhilarating! We do it because we can and each of us refuses to want to slow down; rather, step it up, work harder.

Today I feel each muscle and I reflect on exactly which obstacle I utilized each muscle for. It makes me feel very alive, healthy and strong.

3-day Vaca

I can't believe it has been six months since I began at the rescue mission.

Working over 40 hours per week, six days per week, record breaking days and months, I am taking my first vacation day starting today!

I get one Saturday off per month and it happens to be tomorrow which is Warrior Dash! I will actually have a 3-day weekend.

Sunny & 80's is the forecast.

There is a certain hope for a much-needed few days of not rest & relaxation; rather, playtime, sunshine and fun that becomes my personal stress reliever.

Going into these few days off, to ensure they are the very best they can be, I will absolutely request God-breathed blessings and favor over my time off to take a 3-day vacation and make it feel like a successful several day vacation that isn't even on the horizon.