Some free time ...

Claire fell asleep really early this evening ... we had a great/busy day spending time with the youth team. She played at her bestie's house for a couple of hours this afternoon and conked out before I could feed her dinner.

Needless to say, I have some time to myself this evening ...

I've had a lot on my mind an heart lately, just thought I'd share.

Our Community ...
We had a great weekend. Ethan kept Claire on Friday night so I could go to a ladies dinner. We relaxed Saturday morning, went to the park and out to lunch Saturday afternoon and spent a quiet evening at home.

Sunday was jam packed with church, lunch with friends and then I had an epic, unforgettable girls night out at a local restaurant. It was a perfect weekend that left us thankful as we head into another week.

That's what weekends are for, aren't they? Spending quality time with family and friends to remind you how good God is to each of us? God reveals himself in amazing ways through the people we love.

We are so blessed by our community and it has been a huge topic of discussion between Ethan and I recently. Perhaps we live our lives a little backwards in the eyes of some, but others understand completely.

Our jobs are not what we plan our lives around and not what's most important to us when making a move. As we begin to prepare to move into a house in January, we considered moving closer to Ethan's job so his commute would be smaller. Ethan and I both felt like that was the wrong move for our family as it would put us about 30 minutes away from our church and community.

Thirty minutes may not seem like much, but for us it might as well be an hour away. Our friends live nearby, our church is nearby, our babysitters and doctors are nearby ... how could we consider moving away from that? This past year, God has really shown us how important community is to our family. After much prayer we believe he's placed a neighborhood on our hearts and we are excited to explore the homes in that area.

My ministry ...
I've been praying a lot through my career and what it will look like when we have two kiddos. I'm working part-time from home with the student ministry doing graphic design and preparing the Sunday morning presentations - and I love it. I adore my team. I adore the church.   I adore the ministry. I'm passionate about what we are doing and what God has for us in the future. I find so much joy in watching my team love on Claire and her love them in return.

I'm also a part of the production company at church doing various graphics which has been a goal of mine since we've moved to Austin. I'm excited about the projects God has put before us!

Our routine will look different when baby #2 arrives, but I feel God calling me to continue to be a part of these ministries and I'm excited for what he has in store. He's also revealing things to me that I can change about our home and my routine so that I can be successful as a Mommy (first and foremost) and with our ministries.

I'm thankful for a God who makes things clear and places his desires for us on our hearts ... Four years ago he gave me a vision and I wake up every morning thankful he made that vision a reality for our family.

God is so good.