We love you, Jesus

Whenever I whip out Ruby Sue, I immediately rush to listen to the Shane and Shane album Pages. Over the past week or so, the lyrics from the song "We Love You, Jesus" have been resounding in my brain:

We love you, Jesus

For so many reasons

For death and life and freedom

Even now we love You

We love you Jesus

In and out of seasons

In valleys and on top of mountains

Even now can we sing

What manner of love is this that you would say

Your sin is mine - I'll take it to the grave (then rising)

Death oh death, where is your sting today?

Death is swallowed up in victory

We love You, Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

It is such an upbeat, joyful song- as it should be, no doubt. Yet I have not stopped thinking about and wrestling with that first part: "We love you, Jesus - For so many reasons - For death and life and freedom". Really? We love you for death? Frankly, I don't often do this. Actually, I never do this.

This past week has been a challenging one as I remembered my aunt's death on October 27, 2007. Death is not something I am thankful for, not one bit, but David reminded me - as I was vomiting my frustration and lack of understanding - that it isn't death itself that we are thankful for. It is the end of life on earth that is reason to love Jesus. It is salvation. It is eternity in paradise that we celebrate. To be honest, I really have a hard time with this. Death is so, so painful, and I haven't brushed the surface of it in my life. Even through the valley of deaths our family experienced last fall, we were so spared. And yet- I still lay awake at night and sob over regrets and missed opportunities and loss and sadness and guilt and so much hurt.

Even still- death is swallowed up in victory. Jesus conquered even death to give us life eternal. And that, my friends, is reason to love Jesus.

catching up

I got back in town last night from my workshop (which was great, by the way, more to come on that) and dashed straight over to hang out with Sarah, Becca & Kate for a little bit. I know we all have a lot going on, but that time together is a TOP priority for me.

We had a great weekend (until I left town), and of course I have a few pictures to document it. Friday night we carved a pumpkin (advice: if you plan on carving 2 things on a pumpkin, get 2 pumpkins):

(David mimicking the crooked face I drew on the pumpkin...)

And... the finished product side #1

side #2 (my side :))

Saturday, David got up before the crack of dawn to venture out on his inaugural hunting adventure. He was Patrick's "buddy" for a juvenile hunting day. The Bryant's decked him out in hunting apparel and showed him the ropes. They saw lots of animals early in the morning, but no one shot anything. He had a great day with the boys and hopes to go back out again sometime and see some action!

Precious.

Even Uncle Skeeter made an appearance at the hunting property.

So, while David was out doing boy things, I was home doing girl things :). I made pillows! Since my mom refreshed my memory on sewing a few weeks ago, I've been really excited to make some things for around the house. Thus, our new throw pillows. Don't look too closely or you'll see the atrocious errors that abound.

Tada! The finished product- a coordinated living room. I'm pretty proud of myself!

Falltastic

Man, it's been a crazy Friday. I've been working feverishly as the Employee Campaign Manager for our UTC United Way campaign (which is a pretty big job with about 1053 university employees!), and now I'm getting going on an e-solicitation that will go to our GOLD alumni (Grads Of the Last Decade). It's keeping me busy, and I like that! However, I leave on Sunday to trek the 5 1/2 hours to the University of South Carolina for "The Art and Science of Donor Development" workshop until Tuesday. I'm NOT excited about the super long drive (especially late Tuesday night), but I am looking forward to learning a lot more about major gifts- an area that I'll be working in more in the spring.


On a lighter note, I'm so glad it's fall! David and I are going to carve pumpkins tonight (even though it is super gross and rainy) and I'm so excited (you can definitely expect pictures when I get back next week). Last night David and I had a great falltastic dinner:

Happy Fall Ya'll!

a cool place to work

I work at a cool place. Yeah, my job is good and the people that I work with are great, but the actually building we work in is awesome. The Development house (clever, I know) is home to the Vice Chancellor for Advancement, Associate Vice Chancellor for Development (my boss), 4 fundraisers (I'm one of them) and 5 support staff. It was built in 1910 as the President's House. Here she is:

Pretty cool, huh? It's even better on the inside. It just has that old house feeling that is so fun to be in. Downstairs there is a conference-like room, but really- it's a living room. Serious, there's a fire place, a piano, a bunch of couches and chairs and a dining room table. We also have a kitchen (which most offices do) that everyone uses like it's their own. It's not unusual to find Matt in there at 9am frying up some bacon or everyone down there for an afternoon snack of apple pie. Have I mentioned that it's awesome?
My office is on the second floor and it was likely a bedroom. Actually, it was definitely a bedroom. It is a jack-and-jill with a huge closet (which was really rare for 1910) and french doors that lead out to the roof-top. It's pretty awesome.

Proof:

Note the rug. I've learned that I'm not much into office decor, but fortunately the ladies I work with are. While I was on my honeymoon, they bought me this awesome rug! So, this is the view from my doorway.

And to the right...

And to the left...

Have an awesome Thursday!

our other family

One of mine and David's favorite things to do is spend time with the Bryant family. And eat at Amigo's. So last night we combined the two and had dinner together! Granted, this is not an unusual occasion... especially since we did the same thing on Thursday :) But this time...
Look who's home for fall break! Mary Shelton is a freshman at Samford this year, and we miss her so much! It stinks that she moved to Birmingham at the same time I moved to Chattanooga! We love MS and have loved being friends with her over the past three years. It's so fun to watch her succeed- especially at soccer right now! I've already mentioned how she's a baller in a previous post, so I won't bore you with those details again, but know that we're still super proud of her. I hope she comes home for Jan Term so we can hang out :)

HayHay has always been our cuddle bug- especially with David. They are BEST buds, but she loves me too :). I'm hoping she'll stop growing and fail 5th grade so she won't have to go to middle school and grow up. Yeah, that sounds good.

And in other Bryant family news, Patty's driving!! We haven't ridden with him yet, but based on his skills as a boat and ranger driver, I can imagine he's pretty decent. Again, it's been great to watch these kiddos grow up and conquer exciting new times in their lives. We love the Bryants so much and are SO, so blessed that they have welcomed us into their family!

I didn't take any pictures of John last night, but he's awesome too. Johnny-boy does have a girlfriend, Lizzie now... so that's big news. Well, as big of news as an 8th grade romance gets :).

it's fall!

It is 44* in Chattanooga right now. Holy cow! No wonder I'm cold! I do LOVE the fall weather and it made for such a fabulous weekend. You can always count on a great Monday morning post of our weekend happenings :).

Friday: Nothing.

Saturday: Morning errands, a little baking, and FAMILY! My mom, dad and Greg got into town around 12:30 and it was SO great having them here. We missed Ashley big time though! Saturday we ventured out to Whitwell for the Ketner's Mill festivities. Since David and I are new to town, we thought we'd check it out. We all had a great time since the weather was absolutely perfect and it was good just to be outside. It was a bit of a bummer that we spent more time driving than we actually did at the mill and that it cost $5 to just get in. It probably isn't something we'll do on an annual basis, but it was fun to check it out.

When we got home, Dad and David scoped out a potential "man room" addition that has become David's newest project, and Mom and I (Greg watched) worked on my newest project- sewing! She brought me one of her sewing machines so I can polish my [few] skills, and she refreshed my memory on the whole thing. We made Brianna this cute Halloween pillowcase dress and hair bow (it's going in the mail today, Beth!):
This Saturday is Greg's 17th birthday, so we celebrated early with the peanut butter cookies I made:We went to dinner at Big River and headed home to watch a movie. Unfortunately, the movie of choice was Saw 4, so I opted out. The rest of the fam tortured themselves through the entire thing though!

Sunday: We had a lazy Sunday morning, complete with Dunkin' Donuts that came all the way from Newnan, GA. Man, I miss Dunkin' Donuts... When I finally got ready to go, David and I took the fam on a little Chatty outing. We went back to Renaissance Park and enjoyed the gorgeous day, great company and a beautiful city with fun photo ops!

Two of my favorite boys:

Greg and D climbed to the top of the landfill hill:

Lastly we drove through the National Cemetery, which we all enjoyed, but especially my dad :).

All in all, it was SUCH a fabulous weekend (well, day really) with my family here! I'm glad they aren't far down the road so they can come back and visit soon!

After everyone left, we watched some of The Office (of course) and then headed to the Rochas! We just hung out with Becca, Keith and Kate, watching football and doing stuff around the house and then we ventured out to enjoy the great outdoors! Again, the weather was perfect and our night was just as good. We went on a walk and threw the football and it was a perfect fall day! It quickly turned cool(er) and we made a fire and sipped on hot chocolate. That baby is just durn perfect, and it was so fun to pass her around and love on her all night.

What a wonderful weekend!

good for your soul

I didn't get a chance to blog about Wednesday night before Kate came- and she was WAY more important and exciting to talk about! So now you get to hear about our date night :).


Wednesday morning David told me he had something planned for us to do after work, but he wouldn't tell me what it was. I was super excited and anxious all day because I love surprises! So, I got to his office (we carpool and I drop him off and pick him up... it just works well that way) and he popped the trunk to reveal a change of clothes for each of us, a picnic blanket and dinner stuff! I was pumped. We went down to Coolidge Park and walked along the river and all through Renaissance Park. Neither of us had ever explored down there and it was SO fun! We are planning on taking my mom, dad and Greg through there this weekend. The weather was perfect and so was the company! We finally walked up to Subway, got sandwiches and made our pallet on the grass. It was wonderful. I smiled from ear to ear the whole night because it was just wonderful to be outside and be with David. Nights like that are good for your soul.

Big ol' zit and nasty-ness, but loving our time together :)

How could you not LOVE this city?? Seriously- check out the blue sky and the green grass... ahh... outdoor perfection

a miracle

So, I am still overwhelmed with this whole "have a baby" thing. Yesterday was the most wonderful, amazing day for Keith & Becca as they welcomed Kate Elizabeth into the world, and it was such a joy to be a teeny tiny part of watching it all happen (well, not all). David and I stopped by the hospital around 7am yesterday morning before anything had really happened. I am so thankful we were able to see and spend time with Keith, Becca, Diana and Liz (yep, all photographers... what a family!). I braided Becca's hair and David helped book a flight for Keith's mom in Chicago and we headed off to work (unfortunately!).

We received frequent text messages from Keith giving updates as they started pushing and finally when Baby Kate arrived at 11:47am. Smack in the middle of the day on her DUE DATE! I think it's pretty cool that she started off life so prompt :). I had some obligations at work that kept me busy until after 2, but as soon as my boss (who is awesome) said the word- I was out of there! I raced back to Erlanger, 5th floor, room 5040 to meet Kate. I have hardly stopped crying since then. We watched her through the nursery window, and I was just overwhelmed! She is beautiful, perfect and such an image of God's grace. They brought her down to the room and Maddie, McKenna and I just watched as Keith and Kate memorized each other. Seriously, I cried the whole time. Keith is already such a wonderful daddy- he is enamored with his girl- and Becca is a natural at being tender and loving. Becca was totally and completely herself- the exhaustion hadn't set in just yet. I was (and I know will continue to be) so blessed to watch this family (extended family included... they have such an amazing support system) go through this process.

So, after visiting for a while, I ran home, made a much-needed Wal-Mart run, got David and we watched Patrick run in his final cross-country meet of the season at Baylor. David is an all-star and has been to everyone of Patty's home meets! He is so good at loving those kids. We had a great Amigo's dinner with the Bryants and of course- headed back to the hospital! David got to meet Kate, but he refrained from holding her so I could have more time :). Again, it was great to just spend time with Becca and Keith- who we hardly have gone a day without hanging out with since we moved to town- and now Kate. We know things will be different now that Kate is here, but they will only just be getting better! I know I keep saying it, but I am completely overwhelmed by the miracle of birth and life and families and health and love and friendships and all of these wonderful gifts that God has blessed us with.

Now, if you want to cry a little bit (which I am getting used to doing pretty regularly these days), check out the slide show that Diana (Becca's super sister who spent the entire process with them at the hospital) has already put together:

http://www.dianasimpson.com/slideshow/babykate/

Kate's coming!

Becca's in the hospital right now anxiously awaiting Kate's arrival! They're both doing great, just waiting til she's ready to come out :). More pictures to come as the day - and the baby - progress!

We're praying for you Keith, Becca & Kate!

What do you see??

Our grass is growing!

We'll have a luscious green yard for playing in by next summer for sure. Thanks Geyer-side fam for making this possible!

extreme tv shelf makeover

This really isn't that big of a deal, but I am excited nonetheless. David and I have been annoyed by the arrangement of our TV and TV accessories since we moved into our house, and yesterday we tackled the problem. I took before and after pictures so you can see what I'm talking about.

Before: Note that the cable box and the DVD player/sound system box are vertical. This is fine for the cable box, but the DVD player doesn't like it so much. Hence... the white towel. The DVD player occasionally makes funny noises (and we assume it has been because of it's precarious position), so that helps buffer the rattling.


After: Tada! We built (yes, built) a perfect little white shelf to organize everything under! It was a super, super easy project, but I'm so proud of us for doing it ourselves. We bought the wood, put it all together, painted it (with leftover house paint!) and it is perfect!

It's amazing how much joy and satisfaction can come from something as simple as this shelf when you do it yourself and do it together.

yep, I'm doing this

I remember when these little lists about yourself was the only thing email was valuable for. I was all over these things in middle school. So, now that I'm out of middle school and feeling a little nostalgic, I'm going to fill this sucker out for old time's sake. (Em Rozell emailed it to me, by the way, I didn't just go looking for it)

1. What time did you get up this morning? Well the alarm went off at 6:10. I think I got out of bed at... 6:39
2. Diamonds or pearls? usually pearls
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema: The Traitor... don't see it
4. What is your favorite TV show? of all time? Friends. of right now? The Office
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? cereal or yogurt
6. What is your middle name? Louise (after my great, great aunt)
7. What food do you dislike? this could be quite a list... I'll categorize them all by saying healthy foods
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? shane & shane "pages"
9. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Trailblazer though I most frequently drive the Accord since we only take that car to work
10. Favorite sandwich? club royale from Jason's Deli
11. What characteristic do you despise? disrespectfulness (yeah, it's not a word...)
12. Favorite item of clothing? either my chacos, my red long-sleeved "Awanita" tshirt or my black Patagonia pull-over
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I would take a round-the-world trip to see all of the places my dad has lived and traveled to
4. Favorite brand of clothing? JCrew (though I don't shop there much)
15. Where would you retire to? somewhere with a big porch and a hammock (hammOCK, right Jayme?)
16 What was your most recent memorable birthday? I guess my 20th because David surprised me by coming into town- that's when we started dating!
17. Favorite sport to watch? basketball
18. Furthest place you are sending this to? well, let's see... who reads my blog from far away? probably Sara in Thailand (though I'm not sure if she reads it...)
19. Person you expect to send it back first? since I'm not doing this like I'm supposed to, that could be interesting. I'm going to say Sarah is the most likely to also fill it out on her blog
20. When is your birthday? August 26, 1985
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning
22. What is your shoe size? 8.25 and unfortunately shoes don't come in that size
23. Pets? none... yet :)
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? not really
25. What did you want to be when you were little? I don't remember... maybe a gymnast or a teacher or a librarian... yeah, librarian. I was a nerdy little thing (no offense mom, it's just not what most kids hope to be one day!)
26. How are you today? pretty good. kinda sleepy (but that's typical) and ready for my dinner date with David at Big River
27. What is your favorite candy? Junior Mints
28. What is your favorite flower? sunflowers
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Whatever day Kate is born
30. What is your full name? Emily Louise Geyer
31. What are you listening to right now? background office noise- but it's pretty quiet
32. What was the last thing you ate? a peanut butter & honey sandwich
33. Do you wish on stars? nope
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? earthy green
35. How is the weather right now? cool
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Tim Gaudin- a faculty member at UTC
37. Favorite soft drink? sprite, but I try to stay away mostly
38. Favorite restaurant? right now... Big River
39. Real hair color? brown
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Hmm... probably dress up clothes
41. Summer, winter, Spring or Fall? Fall for sure. I'm loving it right now!
42. Hugs or kisses? hugs
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? definitely chocolate (unless it's ice cream, then vanilla)
44. Coffee or tea? neither... yuck
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? nah
46. When was the last time you cried? Monday
47. What is under your bed? miscellaneous stuff
48. What did you do last night? had dinner with Drinkwine at our house!
49. What are you afraid of? loosing someone I love
50. Salty or sweet? sweet
51. How many keys on your key ring? 8
52. How many years at your current job? 4 months
53. Favorite day of the week? Saturday for sure
54. How many towns have you lived in? Torrence, CA, Columbus, GA, Savannah, GA (can you count that? it was just one summer), Birmingham, AL, Chattanooga, TN
55. Do you make friends easily? I think so
56. How many people will you send this to? however many read my blog
57. How many will respond? probably not many!

post of a million pictures

Alrighty, this post just may win for my longest one yet! It was a VERY full weekend, thus there is lots to write about and show pictures of. This weekend was both Geyer family visitation weekend and landscaping 101 weekend. Friday afternoon Keith dropped off a truck full of top soil, so I snapped a picture of the boys being boys.

Then, we went to the Baylor/McCallie game Friday night and hung out with Patty, Matt & Becca! It was so great to hang out with Matt & Becca (and Patrick of course, but we see him all of the time)! Unfortunatley, Baylor didn't do so hot...

Late Friday night the fam arrived! Saturday morning was spent re-landscaping our yard (well, David, Jim, Cathy & Jayme worked on it... I pitched in intermittently). They worked their tails off and got the whole thing tilled, rocks raked out, top soiled, seeded and strawed (strawed?). Now David is fervently watering so hopefully one day we'll have a luscious, green lawn! Thank you guys so, so much!

Saturday evening (after we all had naps), Cathy, Beth, Brianna and I headed to a Children's Festival in town. It was so fun! The weather was perfect and Brianna had so much fun! The first thing she did was the "pony" ride. Though, it was clearly a full-grown horse. I was so impressed by how fearless she was!
There was a petting zoo, and she got to see rabbits, sheep, chickens, a pig, goats, a cow, a donkey, and a horse. It was awesome! Her favorite part was the make-over station. They painted her nails, did her make-up (and yes, she picked blue eyeshadow) and gave her stick on earrings. She loved it!

Also on Saturday, Andy came into town! He was driving through on his way to Atlanta, so he was able to hang out with us Saturday night and part of Sunday. Brianna loves "Annie" and David likes playing with him too. They hit the driving range on Sunday while Jim and Jayme went to Talledega and the girls ran around town.

We went to the Market, got some ice cream, checked out the dog park, had lunch, got more ice cream, and did Brianna's favorite thing- shopping! It was a fun girls afternoon!All in all, it was a fun-filled weekend with the Geyer fam! Once again, the post is mostly about Brianna, but we had fun with Beth, Jayme, Cathy & Jim too!Brianna loves her Uncle David!