this day

i have been looking forward to this day for awhile now.
a bit dramatic?
maybe.
but i was seriously in need of a day off.
one where NOTHING is planned.
where NOTHING has to be done.

rob asked me a few days ago what i wanted to today, my day off.
i said, "nothing."
which wasn't entirely true.
i usually end up wanting to do something.
but my point was that i didn't want to THINK about what to do.
no planning.
i just wanted to let my heart lead me.

i've found that when life feels out of balance....
which it has this week.
i worked a lot of hours
and stressful stuff came up
and i was gone ALL weekend last weekend (pictures of that coming soon! it was a GREAT time!)
and having family in town the weekend prior.
whew.
please don't read this as complaining.
I AM NOT COMPLAINING.
the last month has been full of great things.
it's just that it has been FULL.

which left me feeling all out-of-whack.
i'm still trying to find my rhythm in this whole full-time-work thing.
when to do the laundry. plan meals. make meals. clean the house.
exercise. read my Bible. journal.
and be still.
so far, i just haven't figured it out.
but i know that I will
because I always do.
with God's grace.
and His strength.

so today i found time to BE STILL.
(and clean the house)
but my main focus was on being still and just letting my mind rest.

and what better place to do that
than at the beach:

okay, so there aren't any waves (which is a major bummer)
and it was ridiculously hot.
but we made it work.
and who cares where i'm at when i have this hottie beside me....


right?
i mean, really, how much better could it get :)

driving across the plains...

we drove through kansas this weekend.
okay. confession. rob drove through kansas. twice.
i looked out the window, talked, sang songs, read a book, slept, talked on the phone.
you get the point :)

but i wanted to share one of my favorite things about kansas:




the sky.
so much sky.
the perfect shade of blue.
big fluffy summertime clouds.
great sunsets that go on forever....
ya know, since there is nothing to block the sun :)
there are benefits to miles and miles of nothing.....right?



in case you were wondering what i looked like on our road trip :)



oh, kansas, i do love your skies.
and miles and miles of open fields.
wheat. corn. milo. grass. cattle.

I guess the old saying is true:
"you can take the girl out of the country.
but you can't take the country out of the girl"
:)

tired

the past couple of days have been Ca-raaaa-zy.
a couple of my clients had fireworks of the mouth on monday.
some 4th of July leftovers.
and their bottle-rockets were pointed at me.

lucky me, huh? :)

and today i spent 3 hours trying to get one of my clients in a car.
doesn't seem that difficult, right?
oooooh, but it was. it truly was.
and she is a high functioning 16 year old.
i might understand if it was one of rob's clients...

so tonight i feel tired.
but my sweet husband gave me a backrub
and i suddenly have enough energy to blog.
HA!

so don't feel too sorry for me :)

i have some fun things to blog about
stay tuned for pics of my sewing projects.
my decorated office.
and other fun things.

for now...i'm going to read up on how to sew curtains and then get some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's.

30 years

the weekend rob asked me to marry him our parents met for the first time.

i don't think i realized at that time the significance of that weekend.
i mean...i got that i was getting married! and I was stinkin' excited!
but i don't know if i truly understood how blessed i was that
both my parents and my in-laws were together.
not just in the same place.
but TOGETHER.

as our parents talked that weekend they realized they had a lot in common:
not only were their personalities and values similar, but they also
(1) were all born in the same year. 1958. yes, all FOUR of them!
AND
(2) they got married TWO DAYS APART!

June 30, 1980 --Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Hemmert
July 2, 1980--Mr. and Mrs. Robert Haude Jr.

and 30 years later we get to celebrate marriage with them.
my parents came for the weekend.
we took them out to eat and had fun just hanging out with them.
we look forward to the next time we get to do that with rob's parents.
we love spending time with both sets of parents. how lucky are we?!?!?



our parents' marriages have provided rob and I with such a great foundation.
it's a beautiful picture of family. not perfect. (whatever that means anyways) but it is truly beautiful. and i am so thankful.

Mom and Dad (x2)--WE CELEBRATE YOU!
We celebrate how hard you have worked to make your marriages work for the past 30 years.
We rejoice that you have prayed together, laughed together, and cried together for over 30 years.
We thank you for your commitment to each other and to us, your children.

Rob and I love marriage.
I entered into marriage with great joy and anticipation
because I saw how much my parents loved each other.
I know that Rob would say they same thing if HE were writing this blog :)

Here's to 30 YEARS!
hip-hip-hooray!
and to another 30 MORE!

wednesdays

are crazy at Excelsior.
not sure why...
but hump-day and troubled adolescent girls just don't seem to get along.

last wednesday one of my clients had an hour long standoff making googly eyes at her girlfriend.
"babe. babe, just stay with me, babe."
lovely.

today one of my clients mooned her class after a verbal altercation with a peer.
nice, huh?
when i tried to talk to her later because she was upset about being in trouble
she yelled at me and crumbled into tears.
even the most tough girls have a fragile side.

i couldn't figure out a word for "mooning" in spanish.
so when i called the mom I had to say, "she lowered her pants in class"
weird.

i love my job.
it is definitely an adventure.
i'm laughing even as i write this.

this week I have been memorizing Romans 5 and praying this verse over my work:
"we rejoice also in suffering, for we know that suffering leads to perseverance, perseverance to character, and character to hope. and hope does not disappoint because Christ has poured out his love into our hearts..."

weekend with friends

have you seen Couples Retreat, the movie where a group of friends
end up on a crazy island with therapists instead of cabana-boys.
well, we had our own version a couple weeks ago.
minus the therapists, of course, and all the drama.
(I know what you're thinking...I don't count. on either account:) )

in college rob lived in a house with a dozen guys.
or something crazy like that. :)
two weeks ago seven of them (+ wives)
had a mini-reunion here in colorado.

another bonus of being married to robbie :)
i still get to hang out with my guy friends from college!

we had a wonderful time in the mountains.
beautiful place.
beautiful people.
eating, laughing, playing games.
we spent one afternoon wandering around Grand Lake.


the 2nd night we talked about marriage:
laughed about our first fights and embarrassing moments.
shared about the struggles, the joys, and the ways God is at work.

most importantly, we rejoiced that we were not in this alone.
i love marriage, and I love friends.
good stuff.

my day off

was glorious!

french toast for breakfast.
while watching USA soccer.
an hour wandering around joann's fabrics.
where SO many great fabrics and sewing tools were 50% off.
tie-breaker tennis match with the hubby.
(which I won, in case you were wondering :) )
frozen custard (topped with strawberries) with a dear, lovely, wonderful friend.
joined with wonderful conversation.
a quick dip in the pool.
followed by an hour poolside reading and resting.
a delicious dinner of kabobs on the grill
eaten outside on the deck. (we're house-sitting..i wish we had a deck)

and my SEWING MACHINE arrived!

and we just ended it with a movie cuddled up on the couch.

gosh.
i'm gonna love Fridays this summer.
definitely.