mix.

i have a few things to say but they probably don't relate well. instead of doing a few blogs - just enjoy this collage of words.
we've had a few visitors over the past week. mom came last week (see blog below) and then todd's brother and wife came over the weekend. we actually had two dates last week. amazing. we made ourselves incredibly sick on popcorn and reeses pieces saturday night when we drove through the pouring rain - and walked through it too - to a movie. it's still really weird to be away from loralai. but we were thankful for the time to be together and enjoyed the movie. the pictures above don't relate to the date - they're from a quick beach trip we took on friday. i'm posting them b/c i just think that loralai is so dang cute in her full body swimsuit and non-matching hat. she is such a fair-skinned little babe (she definitely got that from her mama) that we try to cover her from the sun. but the hat always blows off and her head is almost always looking down...it's like she's trying to leap out of our arms and into the sand. she had a lot of fun pushing the sand around with her feet. she's changing so fast and all the time. just this morning she showed us that she can do a little army crawl. oh boy. and this afternoon i left her in the livingroom where she usually plays safely. but when i returned to the room from being gone for about 2-3 minutes, she was stuck. under the couch. she'd scooted over to the couch and had her legs shoved under the couch. she wasn't frustrated, though, so it was really cute. she just looked up at me like, "ummm, ok, now what?"

sunday was our first church service in our new building. www.portcitychurch.org oh wow. it was just so awesome. and it was so amazing to finally see the hard work that had gone into the past 8 years. i went to port city when i was in college. when i gave my pocket change as a tithe, then, i had no idea that those few cents would help in the creation of this church. but it's just proof that God uses everything - every penny, every prayer - everything. church was so powerful on sunday. the music, the sermon, the people. i sat next to an older woman. i think she is in her 80s. we got to our seats as the first song was being sung and my heart lit up. to my right was a couple that i went through Starting Point with http://portcitychurch.org/startingpoint.php three years ago and to my left was the older woman. God knew exactly what he was doing. i miss old people. (more on that in another blog). but i was just so moved. oh man - Jesus showed up in a big way on sunday.

i'm out of words and i have too many things floating around in my head to try to organize thoughts. so come back on friday and i'll have something posted. and it will make sense. i know this blog is probably pretty lame to read - but it's been a long day and i'm pooped.

on a good note, my best friend is getting married in a week. it's hard to believe. i'll miss my gilmore. but i'll welcome the owings. i love you merf.