April Recap

I made laundry detergent with my dear friend Brandi.

I participated in my first 5k. 

I've been wanting to do one for a while, and I wasn't sure what to expect, 

but it was fun, and I felt good afterwards. 

My friend and I did walk-run intervals for the first half, but after she was winded, we walked the rest of the way. Until the end, of course. You have to run across the finish line. Have to.

I think I would like to do another one over the summer, maybe, after things have slowed down.

I don't like to run, but I liked participating. Especially with a friend.

Spring came. Then snow came back.

Typical, unpredictable Kansas in the spring. 

Easter was great with the family, as usual. 

(I took a selfie with Rascal. He reminds me SO MUCH of Curly.)

April was good, but bring on May.

It always builds into stressfulness then ends in sweet relief.

I'm ready for the sweet relief!

Easter Road Trip

I know it's almost been two whole months since Easter, but let me share some of the highlights from that weekend.

The hubs and I and a few other friends went down to Eagle Pass, TX to see an old friend and attend his wedding in Mexico.

1. We all piled in a rental car but quickly made a stop in Wellington to meet up with friends. 
2. We stopped in Austin, TX thinking we could say hello to the hubs' favorite morning radio program peeps, but it didn't work out. We did, however, stop at a Denny's for some breakfast.
3. One night in Eagle Pass we all went to Fuddruckers. We were supposed to meet up with the groom (and possibly meet the bride) but that didn't work out. We did have a good time, though, and I enjoyed my first visit to Fuddruckers.
4. The bride's father is a preacher and performed the ceremony *in Spanish.* Having a translator fell through, so the bride was sweetly whispering to her groom what her father was saying.

1. Another fun Fuddruckers photo.
2. The girls and I were waiting for our ride to the wedding. All of us waited for a long time for someone to pick us up which was strange because we had the groom with us.
3. The reception was beautiful. We had lots of fun participating in and watching the Mexican wedding traditions combined with the American ones.
4. The guys waiting on the ride to the wedding. The wedding was supposed to start at 7:00. It probably didn't start until closer to 8.

1. One of the fun Mexican wedding reception traditions is throwing the groom in the air.
2. Another interesting tradition is putting the groom's big toe in the wedding cake. Then the bride licks the cake off his toe. I'm glad that isn't an American tradition. NO WAY. I'm not putting anyone's toe in my mouth. Yuck!
3. The newly weds decided to drive with us for awhile as we headed back to Kansas. We stopped by the Alamo right before it closed, so we sort of got to see the Alamo.
4. Then, we walked along the river walk in San Antonio and stopped for a last meal together.

We had a good time!

We also LOVED the wedding reception meal. My hubs remembers it as the best wedding reception meal ever.

The bride's family was so hospitable. Her mom made us delicious tamales. Yum!

We are so glad we all got to participate and witness this blessed event. We hope their future is filled with God's blessings as they get to know each other and grow more in love in NM.
 

Another Blessed [long] Weekend

Gotta love a 3-day weekend!

Thursday night was our communion service, since it was Holy week. That was a great experience. I got to be a part of the service in a way I have not been in a while.

I sang "In Remembrance of Me" in a little quartet. Awesome. I don't dig the performing in front of people as much with singing simply because I'm not confident. I'm very self-conscious. For me, it becomes less about worshiping my Lord and Savior and more about if sound or look ok. I can't get past it. I enjoyed this, though.

I also played "Be Thou My Vision" as a duet with our church's awesome piano guru. I [heart] playing my clarinet. In high school, I loved the concerts we performed in. There's nothing like the buildup of the song and the release at the end, when there's a moment of silence before the applause. It's enough to make me smile and get goosebumps. Awesome. Playing a duet or solo is not quite the same, but it is still fun because the combination [in my opinion] is bea-u-ti-ful. Love it.

Friday was cleaning day. Mostly because we were having a bunch of guests on Saturday. Really, though, cleaning stinks [and flairs up my allergies like crazy] but the end result is worth it. No one likes a dirty or messy house. Cleaning is a necessary evil [just like dealing with those nasty dandelions in the front garden area. The funny thing is that I used to like dandelions when I was little]. We also ran some errands and installed our stained glass window. [It's really a decal that looks cool, none-the-less.]

Saturday was the much anticipated get-together day. Fun times with the PWNK group from church. [That's people with no kids group, in case you were wondering.] It's been fun getting to know these people better. Turns out we have many similar interests and laugh at many of the same things. Good times! We chatted, played Drift on the Wii, and watched some good ol' SNL. Good conversation. Good food, as usual. Lots of laughs. Looking forward to our next get-together.

And Sunday. Easter. A wonderful holiday. A day we celebrate the sacrifice Christ made for us and the promises that were fulfilled. How thankful I am that my Father loves me THAT much!

The sunrise service this morning was awesome. One of our small group members shared a heart-tugging testimony. How powerful is our Lord God that He can take a person out of darkness and bring them into His light!

The church service was great too. We shared our first cardboard testimonies which also tugged at my heartstrings. It's always such a HUGE blessing to see how God has worked in someone else, how they have been changed.

I was actually invited to be a part of this wonderful experience in front of the church, but I decided to decline. I'm not sure what my cardboard would have said. I was afraid. I am still afraid, a work in progress. That's me.

Of course, there was the annual family dinner. It was great eating lunch with everyone again. I can't take that for granted! I [heart] family meals.