Send North America Conference

Jeremy and I were beyond thrilled to be heading to Dallas, Tx for the Send North America Conference.  This conference is put on by the North American Mission Board, and its main focus is church planting.  They emphasize mobilizing church planters, as well as, encouraging established churches to get on board with supporting church planters. We were invited to go by Sean Pierce, who has been our main source of contact from Albany, NY.  We were so excited to get to meet him, and some church planters from the North Eastern United States! God lined up everything for this weekend to happen, and we were so blessed by all that we learned and gathered from the conference. 

^^^Our first stop was In-N-Out Burgers... first time there and it was delicious!^^^

^^^This event was held at Prestonwood Baptist Church. Much more like a mall than a church... it was huge!^^^

 ^^^This was the booth dedicated to North East church planting. It was so neat to meet so many people passionate about this part of the United States!^^^

 ^^^Jeremy finally getting to meet Sean Pierce! He is the Director of Missions for the Hudson Valley Association and has been our main source of information and contact throughout this process.^^^

Throughout the conference there were different breakout sessions you could choose from to attend based on the different topics.  We followed the church planters track, and attended some great sessions! Jeremy and I went to most of them together, but we did split up a few times so I could go to some of the sessions geared towards women.  The picture above was from the breakout for church planting wives put on by Shauna Pilgreen and Christine Hoover.  It was so amazing! They shared several things that they had learned from their journeys as church planting wives.  It was so neat hearing their stories, and learning from women who have walked down the path that I will be walking down one day.  The other breakouts we attended were great too, and we both left with so much information! 

^^^lunch the next day was Chick-Fil-A... totally hit the spot!^^^

^^^such a good reminder as we left the conference that day. Please join us in praying for the Lord to raise up more workers that will be passionate about seeing the gospel go forth to a lost world.^^^ 

^^^dinner that night... so good!^^^

^^^a little shopping at The Galleria never hurt anyone :) ^^^

^^^And of course, we had to end with lunch at Corner Bakery.^^^

#throwbackthursday

Found this amazing video yesterday while going through very old photos on my parent's computer. Perfect timing for a throwback post! Hope you enjoy a laugh at the expense of me and my best friend.

Don't worry... there's another one coming soon!

a summertime sleepover

For a few months, my cousin's oldest son had been begging to spend the night with us.  We waited until summer so school would be out and finally made it happen! We had our first sleepover with two handsome little boys, Carson and Aden! We had a blast, and they both did wonderfully sleeping in a strange place... our "hotel" as Carson calls it since he can't remember the word apartment.  I love how curious they are and how much fun they have just by being somewhere different. I cannot believe how big they are, and how fast time seems to be flying by. I am so thankful for these two boys... they have no idea how much they are loved by me and Jeremy.  Precious memories were made!  These pictures are just a glimpse into the fun that was had by all four of us!

family trip to Dallas

In July, we took a trip with Jeremy's family to Dallas, Texas to go to Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor! It was so much fun! Six Flags was unbelievably HOT, but we still had a good time riding the rides and spending time together. We had a relaxing night at the hotel, and then woke up early the next day to go to Hurricane Harbor. I had never been there before, and it was awesome. There were so many fun slides, and the cool water to hang out in was so refreshing from the hot Texas sun. We spent several hours there, and then went out for dinner at a little Mexican restaurant that night.  We all left at different times on Sunday due to our schedules, but we had a great time getting away for the weekend.

 ^^^You can't take a trip to Dallas without stopping at this place!^^^

summer fun with cousins

This summer I was able to watch my cousin's kiddos once a week for about three months. It was so much fun playing outside, doing crafts, reading books, playing dress-up, and all the other games their little minds could come up with! I was so thankful for the time I got to spend with them this summer... memories I will cherish forever! Naomi and Gabe hold a very special place in mine and Jeremy's hearts. We love them so much! Here's a few pictures from our summer together...

a little taste of the Davis life

Obviously, blogging has fallen down quite a few slots on my lists of priorities, but I do intend to get back into the swing of things soon! Life has been one crazy day to the next crazy day for the last few months, and I am exhausted! Between constant homework, work, church activities, and family time, we are constantly on the go. We are in a VERY busy season of life right now, and most of the times I feel like I'm barely floating above water.

However, with all of that said, we are so blessed and God has been so faithful.  His grace is always sufficient, and somehow we get all of our little "to-do's" checked off our lists.  Jeremy and I have really been focusing on priorities, and the Lord has been showing us that we have two choices... Do alot of things really poorly or do a few things really well.  I have had to learn to say no, and opt out of certain things that just can't be a priority right now.  I have learned that I am more of a people pleaser than I ever thought I was.  Saying no is hard.  Especially when you're saying no to things that you really want to do.  God has graciously shown me that I can resist this season of life or embrace it by prioritizing our time and being faithful with the tasks He has given us.  T.V. is rarely watched in our house, casual reading is almost non-existent, and I don't even remember if we have friends anymore because it has been ages since we have done any real "hanging out"-- at this point, bed time is seriously our favorite part of the day! Although most nights, it's just not long enough.

I don't mean for this to be one big complaining post.  Please do not get me wrong... We are loving life. God is teaching us new things, our faith is being tested, our marriage is being strengthened, and we are learning more and more each day just how dependent we are upon the glorious grace of God.  Life is good.

We will be traveling to New York in just a few weeks to visit the campus Jeremy will be attending next Fall, and get a look around Albany for the first time.  We are thrilled! Jeremy and I would both appreciate your prayers as we get a small glimpse of our soon to be new home town.  It is so very exciting to finally get to see where we will be living and drive around a city we have already fallen in love with.

Eventually I will post the rest of the pictures from our summer, because we had an excellent summer and I want to be able to look back and remember all we did during our last summer in Oklahoma. Check back soon and have a wonderful week!

here's to 730 days of love

Today, I celebrate 2 years of wedded bliss to best man I know. When I think back over the last two years, I'm amazed at how fast they have flown by and all that we have seen and experienced.  I think back to September 3, 2011 and see a 20 year old girl who thought she had love all figured out-- little did she know how much she had left to learn.  I knew I was jumping into the ride of my life, but I didn't know that ride would be so exciting and frustrating, joyous and painful, lively and exhausting.  Marriage is hard work and don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise.  This love that you've never felt for another person before takes lots of nurturing and protecting, and sometimes it just wears you out.

But with all of that said, these have been the best 2 years of my life.  I truly didn't know my heart could love this much.  I didn't know I was capable of caring for someone so deeply.  I had no idea I could literally fall more in love with the same man day after day after day.  Jeremy Davis rocks my world.

As we've been approaching this anniversary, I sort of had this idea that this year wasn't really that special. You know its just 2 years right? Like your first anniversary is so special, and then 5 years, 10 years, and so on.  But 2? No big deal... just another year.  However, as I woke up this morning (late as usual) I was reminded during the rush of both of us tripping over each other trying to get out the door on time, that 2 years is a big deal. 730 days. Why do we only choose to celebrate "big" or "important" milestones? You always hear about people's firsts and lasts, but how often do you hear about the in-between?

So this year I'm committing to living and loving each and every new day that God gives me and Jeremy to its absolute fullest. I want to appreciate and treasure the every day sameness.  I want to cherish all the "unimportant" moments that I so easily forget.  I want to pause a little longer to listen to Jeremy when he shares his dreams with me. I want to live in the moment even if that means getting behind on my ever-so-important to do list. I want to laugh a little harder when Jeremy teases me, even when I really "need" him to hurry. I want to intentionally smile when I'm going around picking up all of the things he's left out throughout the day. I want to "stop and smell the roses" a little more this year than I did the last.  I heard a quote the other day that said life only passes us by because we let it.  I think thats true.  We get so wrapped up into our routines and schedules and chores and obligations that life's little moments just fly right on past us.

So Jeremy, this year I vow to love you more intentionally, more passionately, and more thoughtfully than I did last year.  Every day that I wake up with you by my side is going to be a good day, regardless of what it may hold.  Together we are going to make it through the hard days, and we're going to share the laughs of all the wonderful days. Keep holding my hand as we walk this crazy journey and tackle whatever comes our way.

I love you MORE.