Shopping Local Marathon 2012

One of my very, very, very best friends came into town on Saturday for our Annual (this was technically the first year, but it was so fabulous, we feel confident in saying annual) Saturday-Before-Thanksgiving Local Shopping Marathon.

Sally and I met in college. She lived in the dorm room next to me our Freshmen year and the rest is history. She and the two other girls we lived with throughout college have been super close ever since. We have shared so many belly laughs and tears in the many years since that first year, it’s hard to remember my life before Sally.

Our friendship has seamlessly moved into this phase of “having children” and although we talk frequently throughout the week, these conversations are often cut short due to our children being, well, “children.” In fact just a few weeks ago, after hanging up abruptly, Sal called back to say: “Sorry I had to hang up so fast – Katie (her 2 year-old and my proud namesake) was opening the door of the car while I was on the highway.”

You get the idea.

We hardly ever get uninterrupted time just the two of us so we planned long ago to take a Saturday before Christmas without our husbands or kiddos. We mapped out our day with the intent of sticking with the many wonderful local stores here in Columbus. As expected, we had a blast and got some great, unique Christmas gifts and even a few things for ourselves.

If you are in the Columbus area, I encourage you to think about shopping local this Christmas. I love the Gap as much as the next girl, but shopping local is much more fun and it puts money right back into our economy. The receivers of your gifts will thank you.

Here’s the run down on the places we hit on Saturday:

We started off by taking a whirl through the Craftin Outlaws show at the Gateway Film Center. This ain’t your mama’s graft show.  There were no goose costumes or teddy bear figurines. Just super cool local artists. Sal and I both scored some great things here and met some great people. We’ll definitely be hitting this again next year. It was a great way to start out our day.

Then we hit a few of my favorites in the Short North. Bink Davies and my favorite Short North store to window shop and dream, Ladybird. I am still semi-regretting not buying the coat I looked at for like 20 minutes from Ladybird. I am hoping I might be able to snag it on sale after Thanksgiving.

Even though our tummies were rumbling and more than tempted by all the yummies in the Short North, we pressed on to a Dublin fav … The Morgan House. It’s kind of a Christmas must. Although I did see a goose costume there, it is so fun to walk through their endless rooms of Christmas fun. We got quite a few good stocking stuffers there and ate a delicious lunch.

Refueled and ready to go, we headed over the river to adorable Downtown Powell. I love all of the little antique stores in Powell. They are all very organized and their selections are great. My favorite is A Paris Flea Market. After antiquing it a bit, we made a quick stop into The Candle Lab and then ended the day at my favorite place in Columbus to buy children’s gift’s, Cute As a Button. I found some adorable things this trip for the girls. It never disappoints.

We had some pretty grand plans of making our day last into the night, but with Sally being 8-months pregnant and me being … well just tired, we called it an early night. Satisfied and chatted – out, the day was a success.

Till next year!

Oh and for those of you who don’t know what a Goose Costume is, here you go:

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Days Away

We just returned from some wonderful time off. We’ve been blessed with some days away here and there since we launched Rock City in April of last year, but this was our first “Sunday” away and our first family vacation since we launched. The girls are at the perfect “Disney” age so we headed South just as the crazy cold rain hit Columbus.

Disney is a bit overwhelming. There are so many choices … stay at Disney or not? Dining plan or not? Drive or Fly?

Luckily, I had the assistance of an amazing travel agent who literally helped me plan every detail of our trip. She booked our dinner reservations, and even planned which days we should go to which parks to avoid the crowds. It was awesome and right up my “detail obsessed” alley.

If you are looking to head to Disney in the near future, I’d definitely give Amanda from Mouseketrips a call. Her services are free and she rocks.

Here are a few of my favs from our trip. The girls had an absolute, over the top, blast (as you can see). And Chad and I loved every minute of watching their little imaginations explode.

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On The Phone With Santa

The Christmas Crazies hit our house this week. This may seem strange considering we haven’t even crossed into November yet, but I’ve been on edge all week. I couldn’t figure out why until yesterday.

I was on the phone with Santa (yes you heard me correctly) talking details with him about our outreach events in December. The girls were coloring in the dining room quietly. A little too quietly. While on the phone I walked in to check on them and realized they had gotten out about 8 bottles of sugar sprinkles and were in the middle of a massive craft mess. Without even thinking I barked, “Do you know who I’m on the phone with?” They looked up at me. “I’m on the phone with Santa. That’s right … Santa!”

It’s not every day you get to say that.

Apparently it made quite an impact on them because when I returned a few minutes later the room was spotless and the girls were sitting quietly staring at each other.

Mission Accomplished? No. First of all, I’m pretty sure that Santa thinks I’m crazy now which is never a good thing. Second, this was not the first time I had acted ridiculously this week with the girls. They are kids. They make messes. They know better but so do I.

When you are in ministry, the Christmas season comes to visit you in about July and comes to a head the last week of October (if you are organized and good at planning). It hit me as I hung up the phone with Jolly Old St. Nick that what I had this week was a full-blown case of Christmas Crazies. Somewhere in the midst of print deadlines, proof reading, marketing planning and scheduling, I had kind of lost it and my children were baring the brunt of it.

I am reminded of this quote from Lysa TerKeurst’s book “Unglued“:

“I am more than the sum total of my feelings and perfectly capable of that little gift from Jesus called self-control.”

I really need to tape that to my mirror. And probably my dash-board, fridge and forehead.

It’s true. Despite what is going on around me, how many things are on my to-do list or how many things my kids have broken that day, the God of the universe is with me and I don’t have to lose it. I don’t have to come unglued. And I certainly don’t have to drag Santa into it.

As we head into the Holiday season, let’s resolve to make this our mantra. Let’ not let the Christmas Crazies catch us. Let’s enjoy our children and all of the fun that surrounds this time of year.

And only…and I mean only as a last resort, should we call Santa. I can get you his number if you need it.

 

 

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9 Things To Help Your Marriage Now! – Pt 3

Here are the final three of the 9 Things That Will Help Your Marriage Now.

You can read the first three HERE!

And the second three HERE!

7. We affirm each other publicly and privately. There’s nothing like hearing my husband was bragging on me to someone else. Husbands and wives want to know that their spouse is proud of them. What they do. What they’ve accomplished. The type of person that they are. Along those lines, Chad and I are both the type of people that desire honest and constructive feedback. There’s not a week that goes by that Chad doesn’t walk up to me after preaching a message to get my feedback. And I give it to him. Honestly and openly. But the tone in that moment must always be affirming. Even while pointing out some things that he could tweak to make it better, he needs my affirmation. He does the same for me.

8. We pray sneaky prayers. (This isn’t as weird as it sounds) I’m not the deepest sleeper. In fact, I normally wake up 2 or 3 times a night. This used to frustrate me to no end but several years ago, God really started to show me how much my husband needed me to pray for him. So, I started using those late night interruptions to do just that. Even if it’s just for several minutes each night. He has no idea I’m doing it, but I just quietly pray for him. Sometimes they are simple prayers, sometimes they are bold and crazy God’s-gonna-do-it prayers.  Rather than just laying there frustrated that he is sleeping like a bear in hibernation next to me and I’m wide awake, I make the most of my time and get some work done with God.

9. We just say no. I’ll never forget our first Christmas as a married couple. The thought had never occurred to me that I would no longer be waking up at my parents house on Christmas morning. When I mentioned this to Chad, I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. “Katie, we need to begin our own family traditions.” He was right, our lives had changed. It didn’t mean we didn’t see our families on the holidays, of course we did. But it meant that we had to start disciplining ourselves to ensure our family (and especially once we had kids) had the time and space to connect and be strong. This means that sometimes we have to say no. Even to our families. It means we don’t hop to 7 houses on Christmas Day and drag our kids to 6 Thanksgiving Dinners. It means our kids actually enjoy the holidays and aren’t beyond exhausted by the end of them. I’m thankful to Chad for making this a priority for our family. I never could have imagined the difference it would make and how good it would feel to just say no!

That’s a wrap. Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list. Marriage is much more than these 9 simple things, but perhaps you are at a place in your life, like I often find myself in, where you just need to start somewhere. Take some step forward. Start today. Start something simple toward making your marriage what you want it to be. I’d love to hear how it goes!

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9 Things To Help Your Marriage Now!

I am in the middle of reading pretty good book on marriage. It focuses on the motivations of men and women and how much tension and conflict is caused when we we don’t recognize what motivates us and our spouse. It’s good stuff … really good stuff. But for some reason, I am struggling to connect the dots. It’s not that I don’t think the advice that it is providing is good and that it’s not written from a perspective I agree with … it’s just that right now, we are in a phase of life where if we don’t focus on some super practicals, we just might lose it.

Let me explain. We are in the …

“I can’t find any clean socks – Dear!”
“Is that poop, I smell? Who pooped? Fess up! One of you girls definitely pooped.”
“Did you get that graphic to the printer by noon today? Crap! They needed it by NOON!”
“See you tonight at 6. For What? Morgan’s School Play. Crap! I didn’t know she had a play tonight. Really … because I’ve told you 20 times!”
“Is that peanut butter on the couch? Who smeared peanut butter on the couch!?”
“Ewww…what’s that in your cup holder? That is disgusting.”

Phase.

If the authors of the book I am reading saw our family in action, they would think we were nuts. And you know what? … They would be right. We are nuts. Our life is nuts right now. But here’s the kicker … most days I still really like my husband. 

Over the next couple days, I’m going to share some things that Chad and I have committed to in our life that keep us from going over the edge. These are really, ridiculously practical things and I think they are attainable for those of you who are in the “crazies” phase of life. They aren’t going to solve your deepest marital problems. But for us, they help ease the tension of life and get us to common ground.

Ready. Set. Go.

1. We go to bed at the same time. - This means when one of us is ready to go to bed, we both go. I know this seems weird but it honestly has made a world of difference in our marriage. Sometimes that 10 minutes before we nod off is all we have that day.

2. We send our kids away. A few years back I read a book by a prominent pastor in the U.S. that advised that couples in ministry needed to “go away” for at least one night every other month. I totally got where he was going with that but our careers, past and present, have allowed us to travel all over the U.S. and beyond. We have the Sky Miles to prove it. Most of the time we don’t need to get away. We need to STAY. This means about every other month (sometimes more), we pack our kids up and send them to Grandma’s. Not for one night but for two or three. This may seem strange but it allows us to really relax without the pressures and expense of travel. We veg. We order pizza. We go out to a new restaurant we haven’t tried before. We make breakfast together. We are together, just the two of us, to recharge and our kids have a blast. It’s a win – win.

3. We sit by each other on the couch. Again, kind of silly but can you imagine when you first started dating your husband or wife sitting on the opposite end of the couch as them? Heck no! You wanted to be as close to them as possible. It’s so strange that as our marriages progress, we lose that little excitement that comes from sitting next to the one you love on the couch. Now, I’m not going to tell you that you ever really get that feeling back. Because you don’t. But there’s really no reason to sit on opposite ends of the couch. We try to sit together or at least near one another as we are unwinding from our day. Sometimes we are reading or watching tv. But we are together.

Tomorrow, I’ll share three more things that work for us. Stay tuned!

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Bad, Bad Blogger

Well hello friends. I am clocking in for my monthly summer blog post. I’m not going to lie. I am consciously choosing summer over blogging. I have always loved summer and I loathe snow. I choose 105 degrees over 15 degrees all day long. It is summer that I love and I don’t care who knows it.

My blogs in the summer are sparse to non-existant. And you know what? It’s ok.

Maybe for you it’s not blogging but something else. Something you normally love doing but somehow in the summer you just can’t bring yourself to do. Let it be.

Summer is short. Enjoy it. Leave that dish in the sink. That bed unmade. That email unanswered.

Go outside. Play with your kids. Spend a record number of days at the pool.

Summer is short and this blog is already too long.

See you in the Fall. If you need me I’ll be at the pool

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Happy Friday

What a crazy two weeks this has been. It’s amazing how Summer can help make, even the hardest of days, easier. Hopefully I’ll be able to write about our recent loss in the coming weeks.

Last Sunday we spent the evening with around 500 of our favorite people at Columbus Commons. What a great night. Morgan and Macy spent a huge chunk of the night going around and around on this Merry-go-round that we rented for the event. I lost track of how many times they went on it. Needless to say, they had a blast!

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

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Meet Jane

Last week I had the privilege of interviewing a woman who has served Columbus for over 30 years. She and her husband David moved to one of the poorest parts of the city to be a light to the people there.

Sometimes you meet someone who challenges everything you think is normal and right. She is one of those people. Her heart for others is so real and so raw. When the interview was over, I honestly didn’t want to leave. I am looking forward to spending a lot more time with her on her cute little porch.

CLICK HERE to meet Jane.

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The Mondays – Normal Isn’t Working PT 3

Of Jesus’ many guarantees, there is one I never like to be reminded of:

John 16:33 – In this world you WILL have trouble. 

You only have to be alive for about 3.2 seconds before you realize the truth to this blunt statement. I wish He would have said “you might have trouble,” or “you will have trouble if you are a really horrible person.” But no, He does not. This is a one size fits all promise. No matter who you are, how much money you have, how much you pray, how much faith you have, you WILL have trouble.

Thankfully, He does not end the thought with that depressing statement.

John 16:33 – In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

I had the extreme privilege of spending several hours last week with a woman who has fully owned and received this promise from our Savior.

Lori found a lump on her breast 3 years ago as she was nursing her second child. After several false diagnoses, a biopsy revealed an extremely rare form of cancer that was in stage 4. The thought of hearing those words given to me by a doctor is, honestly, beyond my ability to comprehend. At the time, Lori had two young children, a flourishing career as a physician and a husband who adored her.

Three years later the cancer has spread throughout her entire body. She has traveled the country visiting the world’s most prominent doctors, lost her hair, gone through every treatment known to man and has basically been given just months to live.

As she shared her medical story with us, I just kept thinking: “How in the world is this woman even here right now? How could she possibly have the physical and emotional strength to recap with a group of complete strangers all that she has been through?”

After her medical story, she got to talking about her sweet children. What it has been like to come to the realization that she may not be here to watch them grow up. She shared how she has written birthday cards for each of their birthdays for years to come, bought them gifts for their wedding days that are to be given to them from her.

Can you imagine?

And would you believe in all of that she did not shed a tear? Not one tear. I’ve never seen such strength and peace.

Only when she began talking about her Jesus did the tears come. It was as if they were reserved for Him. This God who had held her hand so tightly these last three years. This God who she knew more intimately now than ever before. This God whom she trusted completely and unreservedly.

When Chad read Revelation 21: 4 this weekend, I immediately thought of Lori. How she must feel reading these words and how she has embraced this promise as her life’s song.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. And He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” 

Yes, we can count on the trouble. We can count on the fact that life will NOT go according to our plan. We can count on it being MORE than we can bear.

I loved how Chad summed this up on Sunday:

In this life:

-SYSTEMS will be shaken, but in God’s power we will remain STABLE.
-RELATIONSHIPS will be shaken, but in God’s presence we will remain SECURE.
-HOPES will be shaken, but in God’s promises we will remain CONFIDENT.

Here’s a pic of Lori with my sweet Wednesday Morning group. What a gift she gave us all.

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Just Be There

Several weeks ago, Chad and I were traveling in Texas. In between meetings, we stepped out to grab a quick bite to eat. Since we were in Texas and since I could eat mexican food three meals a day, seven days a week, we popped into a local place that had a nice patio and a big menu. About halfway through the meal, a dad and two girls walked in and took a seat a few tables away from us.

Having been away from our girls for a few days, my heart ached a bit as I saw their sweet little legs climb into their seats. And I thought to myself: “How nice. This dad is having a little daddy/daughter time.” And then, I watched as something unexpected happened. Each girl dug, from their backpack, an iPad and headphones and the dad, himself, reached into his laptop case and pulled out a laptop. The girls put their headphones on and got busy watching a movie. The dad, in between ordering, got busy answering emails and working. I thought perhaps when their food came, they’d put them away, but to my surprise they didn’t. They just ate and watched.

Now, let me be the first to say that I did not judge this man. In a moment when I need peace and quiet, the iPad is my very, very, very best friend. But as I watched this dad and his girls, something in my heart sank. I wanted to scream across the patio: “You’re missing it! They’ll be gone soon, and all you’ll be left with is your laptop!”

But I couldn’t. I didn’t.

And then something else happened. I started racing through all of the times over the previous  weeks I had blown my girls off … popped in a movie to keep them quiet … stopped by McDonald’s so I could get some work done at the office while they ate … caved in and let them watch one more Wonder Pets so I could do the dishes.

Why is it so difficult at times to just BE with our kids? What on earth could be more important than listening to Morgan recount her day or Macy tell me about her stuffed monkey? And what on earth could that Dad have been working on that couldn’t wait until after dinner? What is wrong with us?

Fighting my inner urge to go have a heart to heart conversation with a stranger in the middle of a mexican restaurant, I talked Chad into doing something a little more sneaky. On the way out of the restaurant, we paid for the family’s dinner. Now you may be thinking: “Why on earth would you do that?” To be honest, I’m not really sure why we did it other than it felt like the right thing to do.

We asked the waiter to give the man a note. And on the note, we simply wrote. “Be there for your girls. They need you to be there.”

I pray that father feels God’s love and is able to recognize the role he plays in the lives of those sweet girls.

Selfishly, I am grateful I was there that day. It was a little wake up call for me. Here’s a pic of Macy and I at breakfast this morning. She needs me to be there. So, aside from taking this quick pic, my phone and iPad were in my purse and we had a delightful conversation about escalators and elevators.

Best hour of my week.

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