Trinity Shower in SLO

This week will be mostly some blogging of photos from some of my baby showers friends and family so graciously gave us this summer/fall. To start, the sweet ladies of Trinity Presbyterian in San Luis Obispo gave me a sweet, crafty shower in July while we were in California. It was the beginning of many whale-themed events to come.


Cute whale cupcakes made by Beth Appel.


Favors also made by Beth.


Chip and Beth's house decorated so cute!


Playing a game. Guests had to mold play doh into a baby behind their backs.


Picking the winner


Andrea, on the left, also hosted. Friend Annie on the right. Chip watching strategically from the food area.

Give them Grace - Review, Study & Resources

This summer I was able to help lead a quick book study with some moms on this book, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. The book has lots of good things in it. There are some things I don't agree with, things I would challenge, but I'd definitely affirm:

• The authors expose the formula many of us operate on in raising children: Good parenting in, good children out.
• The authors correct this false formula: "Parenting with grace must not be employed as another formula to try and control God and your children." - page 52.
• On page 54, "One way to judge is to consider your reaction when your children fail."
• And page 59, "There are no promises in the Bible that even our best parenting will produce good children. None."
• "God may use your parenting as a means to draw your children to himself. But he may use other means and at a different time. Or he may use your child's rebellion and disinterest as a way to accomplish his unexpected will." - page 61.

The book has discussion questions for each chapter, some are good, some need work.

As part of our discussion, I also wrote a case study to help us talk about some of the principles, with accompanying questions. You can access it here:

"I know what the Bible Says!" - Parenting from the Backseat

We also read this article from The Gospel Coalition Blog:

Failure is not an Option

Which was somewhat in response to the July/August 2011 cover article from The Atlantic:

How to Land Your Kid in Therapy - Why the obsession with our kids' happiness may be dooming them to unhappy adulthoods. A therapist and mother reports.

And I wrote these discussion questions:

Questions for Failure is not an Option

DIY Flower Hairpins & Washcloth Lollipops

Made these for friends & family and packaged them with some baby bath products or lotion for a fun & cute gift. Lots of baby showers these days....


I still need some work/help on putting it together for presentation...


I was inspired and helped to make these hairpins by my dear friend Andrea (check out her blog and etsy site). I gave them away as party favors at one shower, game prizes at another, and part of a hostess gift for another.

DIY Wedding Programs Created by Me

These are the wedding programs I created and assembled for my wedding in 2008. I always planned to post pics of the process and never did.

I used red card-stock for the backing, and cream colored paper that I printed the pages from my designs on the computer for the other layers. I used a corner-cutting punch to make the corners curved and then tied all the layers together with gold ribbon.

I had lots of help from friends and family assembling it all as well :)

Here are some more photos

Nationwide Free Night of Theater!

Theatre Communications Group's
FREE NIGHT OF THEATER

Over the past six years the Free Night of Theater program has introduced more than 250,000 new theatergoers to the thrill of live performance. This year tickets will be offered for performances from October 1-31. Tickets become available beginning in September.

This is apparently a nationwide event. Click here for more information on how to get free theater tickets at a location near you:

http://www.freenightoftheater.net/

St. Louis tickets will be given away for the following theaters starting Sept 19:

Avalon Theatre Company (enter to win 2 tickets to Oct 15 performance of PORTRAIT OF MY PEOPLE)

Black Cat Theatre

Insight Theatre (enter to win 2 tickets to Oct 1 or Oct 2 performance of RABBIT HOLE)

The Black Rep

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Upstream Theatre

Click here for more information for St. Louis.

I am bummed, because since the tickets will be for October, it won't likely be possible for me to go, but I hope someone else does!

Sweepstakes loot

About to list all this on ebay

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Smith Update - The Return to St. Louis

We met up with Patty (Brittany's mom) and her friends who were vacationing in California. We toured The Hearst Castle.

Inside of Hearst Castle - this dining room was used for inspiration for the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies.

Awesome pool.

Awesome pool #2 - indoors.

Last sunday at Trinity Pres in SLO - sweet friends.

This was the group of regulars from Theology Pub for college students that Dan went to most Monday nights.

Dan with the Trinity elders.

Sweet friends, from L to R: Julia, Iris and Annie.

We love the Appels!

Sunset at the Hermosa Inn on the way back to Texas.

Happy 3rd anniversary!

The summer flew by, and it’s already been a month since we drove east toward the rising sun, away from the Pacific Ocean and the wonderful people of Trinity Presbyterian Church in San Luis Obispo. Though the internship ended, our full schedule did not.

• Dan preached our last Sunday at Trinity Pres in SLO - it was a great way to end, although sad to say goodbye to all our wonderful friends in California.

• The Hermosa Inn, Paradise Valley, AZ. Our first stop driving east was at this wonderful boutique inn in Scottsdale, AZ. We stayed two nights for our 3rd wedding anniversary and began readjusting to the heat we did NOT face in SLO. We highly recommend this inn- especially if you get a deal through Jetsetter.com

• We stayed a week in Texas- splitting between Dan’s hometown- Longview, and the Dallas area. We had two baby showers- one from the Gracey clan (Dan’s mom’s family) and one from the Tanamachis, Menascos, Leard, and friends. We enjoyed celebrating with our friends and family the coming arrival of Jonah. We also stopped in Tulsa, OK for a night, to see our niece Katherine’s baptism Sunday morning. Our travels through Texas and Oklahoma provided great time with friends and family.

• We separated for our drive back to STL and Brittany drove our new Jeep Grand Cherokee- a great and truly appreciated gift from Dan’s parents. Thank you so much!!!

• Since being back in STL, we’ve: continued prepping our 300 sq ft apartment for Jonah’s arrival; started a 6 weeks childbirth class at the hospital; Dan’s returned to free-lance landscaping and Brittany has substituted taught at Covenant Christian School.

• Dan’s school started back this week. He’s excited about his classes- especially his class about the Psalms and Wisdom Literature of the Bible, and a class about Leadership and system dynamics in relationship in ministry. Brittany will also spend time at the seminary this year- she will be a Teaching Assistant and Grader for one of her great education professors- Dr. Donald Guthrie.

Life is pretty much getting back to normal... except we have a baby coming in about a month!!!

Prayer:

We are grateful for how the Lord blessed us this summer. Please give thanks with us for:

• The hospitality and love of the folks of Trinity Presbyterian Church and the Medlock family for letting us live with them
• Much love and support showered during several baby showers
• A great safe car for Brittany and Jonah- Dan’s parents’ former Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now we have a safe place for a car-seat that has working AC.
• A wonderful scholarship from First Presbyterian Church, Longview, TX
• An amazing blessing of a full tuition waver from the seminary. The scholarship is for students in their final year, planning to enter pastoral ministry, and who met certain qualifications.

Please Pray

• For Jonah’s continued development and preparation for his arrival in about a month
• Brittany’s health as she becomes more uncomfortable and closer to delivery
• Dan as he tries to figure out how to balance caring for Brittany and Jonah, as well as diligence in study, and regularity in his landscaping work.
• Our future as Dan starts applying for jobs for when he graduates in May.