May-heee-co

For our 10^th anniversary John and I went to Cancun Mexico. We have known since our honeymoon we wanted to take a big 10 year anniversary trip. We always thought we would go to Hawaii. After buying a house in April, we toyed with the idea of not even going on a trip! After some praying we decided we needed to go but should probably stay a little closer to home and save a little money.

There were a lot of things playing against us; a lost birth certificate, passports needed in a timely manner, finding a LOT of childcare, etc. But like everything that is supposed to happen in life, the cards fell in place and we were able to go.

Thanks to my very sweet brother-in-law, we stayed at the El Dorado Royale in Playa de Carmen. This place is swank. It is an adults only all-inclusive resort. There are over 8 different restaurants, 2 dozen pools with swim up bars, several hot tubs, hundreds of secluded ocean side cabana beds and loungers, a spa, 2 gyms, a daily stocked mini bar, the friendliest staff imaginable, the most gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean and an endless supply of guac.

The first night was our only rough patch. I had only slept 4 hours the day prior to departure. I didn’t have anxiety about traveling, but I was worried about everyone I was leaving. Did work have everything from me to be gone a week? Did the three different people keeping my children have all the information they needed? Did I remember to unload the dishwasher? And sitting here on the plane ride home, I just realized we didn’t ask anyone staying at our house to check our mail. Oops. See, it can’t all get done.

We landed in Cancun at 1:30, but didn’t get settled in our room until 4:30. There were tons of check in procedures and champagne to drink and celebrations of our arrival. This place really does make you feel important. We left the room around 5:30 to walk on the beach and relax with a beverage before getting ready for dinner. We had no clue how crazy that next hour and a half would be. We locked ourselves out of our room, had to skype call the boys standing on the front porch of the casista while the maintenance men broke into our room.  John was trying to troubleshoot a TV issue while I showered and my hair dryer kept overheating which means it only worked for 3 minutes at a time. By the time we finally got to dinner at 7:30, I was ready for my first glass of wine!

I am happy to say the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. The food was absolutely incredible. It was ‘fancy’ as one of my friends would call it. Each meal; breakfast, lunch and dinner were at least 5 courses, and yes, while you are there you feel like you have to eat all 5 courses. I cannot say enough about the food. I am not sure if my turkey sandwiches are going to be as good when I get home.

The resort had a great gym and John and I worked out every day. I know some of you are going to say, “It’s vacation!!” but I like working out. I like working out with my husband the best. We never get to work out at home because of conflicting schedules. He works out in the morning before work and I work out at night after the boys go to bed. So to be able to work out together made me happy. And hey, there is no finish line.

We also went kayaking which is a work out in itself! We saw a couple sting rays floating across the bottom of the ocean, but not much else. This did help me get over my fear of the ocean! I am proud to say I got in the ocean multiple times on this trip without medication or alcohol influence!! The water is beautiful and clear and you can see forever. I only saw one tiny little bitty fish, but it was too pretty to be icky.

We also were able to have a candlelight dinner on the beach. Everyone there was shocked to learn we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary. They thought we were honeymooners. J

We are so thankful to everyone who helped make this trip happen. Thank you Jason, Melissa, Caroline, Phyllis, Donna, David, everyone at John’s work and my school, our boys for being such good boys while we were gone.

And thanks to you, honey, for saying I DO 10 years ago.

Fall Break

The boys and I were off for last week for Fall Break. While we didn't travel anywhere this year, we did enjoy the sites around town and the beautiful weather.

The boys going for a morning jog on Saturday of Fall Break

The Tuesday before Fall Break, John and our very talented friend Kate led chapel for JK-5th graders on the Germantown Campus. I was so proud of Evan! He got in front of the entire student body and introduced his daddy. Evan was so proud his daddy was leading a praise chapel. Evan told the audience that Miss Kate also has a baby in her belly. I was very very proud of him for being so brave and talking in front of everyone.

Fall Break was spent enjoying each other and the beautiful weather. We kicked off the extra long weekend with a trip to YoLo's and the trains on the town square. Evan says he loves ice cream, but what he really loves are the toppings. Now we just fill his and Luke's bowl up with topping and forgo the ice cream. 

On Thursday we made it over the the playground. Luke used the big boy swing for the first time! He spent a solid 20 minutes swinging all while belly laughing. 

Can't you just hear his laughter through this picture??

Later this month, our church service is celebrating our 11 year anniversary. The Stirring always has an art show in conjunction with the service. This year we are completing a special collaborative art piece. Luke and Evan got in the spirit of collaborative art on Thursday afternoon when we painted mariposas. Evan insisted on using the spanish name for butterfly while we were creating. Since I don't have an artistic bone in my body, I literally gave the boys free reign. Evan mixed all the colors together and painted his entire butterfly that color. Luke....he painted himself.

On Friday my mom, the boys and I went to The Big Backyard at The Botanic Gardens. Luke is officially in the "runner" stage and will take off in whatever directions he so chooses no matter what I say. And chasing him just makes him run faster and laugh harder. I was so thankful when my mom said she'd go with us so we could divide and conquer. They boys had a blast!

I struggle all the time with my decision to be a working mom. All. the. time. I know that is who God made me to be. I know I am actually a better mom to my boys when I am working. It also makes me love these little mini-stay-cations even more.

Team Smith

Most of you have probably seen me post on Facebook or Twitter about my friends Cheryl and Smith. They are two dear friends I met while serving at The Stirring. Cheryl is known as the "female face of The Stirring", but she is oh so much more. She gives countless hours, a tremendous amount of thought, energy, and love to Hope's The Stirring. She is one of the founding members of the service and has been rocking right along with it for the past 11 years. Smith has been right there with her. He is always the calming spirit in Leadership Team meetings. Volunteering to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Passing out hugs, kisses, handshakes, and smiles to every single person that walks through those doors. After meeting Larry, you feel like you have known him for life.
But what I admire the most about both of them is their faith. It doesn't falter. It never has. In the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, they put God first and don't even think about not praising His name.

Smith and Cheryl's life changed forever two months ago.

Whether than me trying to rehash the story, I want you to hear it in Cheryl's words.

  "A fingerprint…we all have them and somehow they are all individually identifiable.  According to the definition it is a pattern which presents “unambiguous evidence”.   On August 10th, 2012 my husband, Larry Smith, otherwise known to me as Smith, took a dive into Greer’s Ferry Lake while visiting our favorite hangout with our best friends.  Unfortunately, in the darkness, he was unaware of the depth of the water which tragically proved too shallow.  Three of his closest friends jumped in immediately after him knowing something had gone wrong. Something was terribly wrong.  Upon impact his body went limp and his lungs filled with lake water and that night, his three friends, with God looking on, saved his life. 

 After being airlifted to the closest trauma center in Little Rock, his injuries were identified as a C4 and C5 complete Spinal Cord Injury.  My life and my body seemed to collapse as I was told there was a one in a million chance that the love of my life would ever walk again.  The “better or worse” commitment I took on Mid-Summer Night just four years earlier was being questioned in the ultimate test.  After two neck surgeries, six screws, two rods and thirteen days in the ICU, he was accepted and transferred to the world renowned Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia to continue his rehab. 

     It’s been a month and a half now and looking back we are overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of love and support from not only our friends and family, but our coworkers and family of faith.  These people provide the strength we need daily by sending cards, reaching out on Facebook and constant texts.  Just when we get to that breaking point, God places someone in our lives to be that encouragement - to take another step – to hold on another minute – to find one more ounce of strength to get through another day or just another therapy session. 

     With the help of our friends and friends of friends, God has assembled an incredible team to launch not only the Team Smith Facebook page, but Team Smith merchandise and the Team Smith website – all to support us with the sudden unexpected medical expenses and equipment necessary to make changes in our lives.  Our favorite ministry, The Stirring at Hope Church, continues to rally behind us by making it possible that we join them via Skype to get our worship on with our favorite worship band and our weekly does of God’s word through the message.  We are left in awe daily by the family of faith God has placed in our lives through Hope and The Stirring.  
     We are realizing that though this is unimaginable, this was indeed written a long time ago.  This was just a chapter in our lives, though we wouldn’t have written, it was there to be read.  The lines of the Team Smith fingerprint logo represent to us those people that come together not only to serve but to love.  Those people have become the “unambiguous evidence” of God’s fingerprint upon our lives.  And as this story continues, we don’t want this to be about an unplanned accident or about letting the ability to walk define our lives together.  We want this to be recognized for just what it is: a LOVE story…a story about loving others; a story about our love for each other and most importantly, a story of God’s love for all of us."   

One of the projects Team Smith has launched is selling merchandise to help offset the cost of the injury, rehab, and changes in their life from here on out.
The Asbell family LOVES sporting their Team Smith merch.

Team Smith's very own Cheryl and Smith showed up launch night at The Stirring...via Skype.

Sporting Team Smith Tattoos

Liz and I sporting Team Smith shirts at The Stirring.

You can get your own Team Smith merch here. This tank rocks!! I know weather is cooling down, but seriously, this tank is super comfy. The fit is true to size and it is sooo soft. There is also a hat that people are throwing elbows over. I might be ordering one of those very soon. All three of my boys have the t-shirt. There better be a long sleeved version in the works soon...just sayin'.

There are other fundraisers in the works. A Poker Run (yup, I had to wikipedia that one...), a concert featuring well known musicians around the city, and many more opportunities to help this amazing couple.

Their road, their journey, this new life is just starting for them. I hope you will pray (or continue to pray) for Smith's recovery, which has been upgraded to 'incomplete' (GREAT NEWS!). Pray for Cheryl as she takes on a new role in their marriage. Pray for the fundraising to help with all the new and unexpected costs of this life alternating event. Pray for God to keep shining through their story.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1) 

I heart nature

Most people who really know me know that have two thing I consistently hate (yes I know hate is a strong word). I hate fish and nature touching me.

People get the fish thing. They have buggy eyes. They are scaly. They are much nicer dead on my plate with a nice accompanying sauce. The latter item has gotten me a bad wrap. I love outdoors. I love being outside. I will pick eating outdoors, sitting outdoors, and entertaining outdoors 99% of the time. I just don't want to sleep outdoors....or roll around in it for that matter. Nature falling from the sky, not my cup of tea. Dinner outside on the patio where I have a table to sit at...I'll take it. See? Me in nature. Don't hate.

Either way, almost every day at some point my family ends up playing outside. When we were in the final process of choosing a house we had it narrowed down to two. One had a large backyard and one was basically a zero lot. I am so happy we listened to God's nudging and bought the house with the big backyard.

Each night there are a variety of sports played out back. Baseball, football, basketball, soccer and sometimes a new game Evan invented called BallPound.  There are wagon and train rides, snacks on the porch, and general boy mayham.

But most importantly I have learned a lot about my boys during our outdoor playtime. Evan is a kind big brother and really tries to look out after Luke. Luke loves throwing and catching baseballs. Evan might not 'get' soccer, but really can hit the fire out of a baseball when John is pitching. Luke loves bubbles and weirdly doesn't mind how they taste. Evan needs an audience and Luke is content being alone. Basketball probably won't be in either one of their futures...sorry guys...short Book genes.  If it's dirty or gross, slimy, or smelly, creepy or crawly it is going to end up in their hands, on their face, on their shirt or in their mouth. Nothing is off limits outside. Pick up a bug, play with a stick, dig in the dirt, climb a fence, roll around in the puddles - just do what makes you happy. And boys...you make me happy.