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celebratory weekend

Our weekend was full of wonderful celebrations:

• celebrating a belated 12th birthday for sweet Hayden
• celebrating the ministry of Calvary Chapel and preparing for a new small group
• celebrating the upcoming arrival of baby Joshua, all the way from South Korea!
• celebrating Becca's 26th year of life - with Tony's and a movie and cupcakes
• celebrating the break in rain to accomplish some much-needed yard work

It was all-around good.

Things I am looking forward to this week:

the real arrival of spring

some actual training for this

helping Lynn prepare for her Worth show

small group

4-day work week

a trip to COLUMBUS Friday- for Easter and Mom's birthday and puppies and family

Book review: Kaleidoscope

Emily turned me on to BookSneeze- a way to get free books in exchange for a book review on your blog! A of all, I love books and reading. B of all, I have a blog. C of all, I love all things free. Perfect fit!

My first book, Kaleidoscope: Seeing God's Wit and Wisdom in a Whole New Light isn't one I probably would have picked out of a store, but it was a good read. The book is 33 short chapters each elaborating on a few verses in Proverbs. The summary on the back says "On first glance, the book of Proverbs appears to be a disorganized array of advice for all of us..." and though this book didn't seem to organize them any better, it was helpful to see each verse as an individual lesson rather than a verse of a chapter. Oh, and Patsy Clairmont is funny. Seriously, I laughed out loud and read several parts to my husband.

One of my favorite chapters is about Proverbs 25:11a "A word fitly spoken..." (it's pretty noteworthy how much you can glean from just the first part of a Proverb!).

We can fashion words to fit each heart that will be easy for the recipient to receive, something that will remain with him or her and continue to build equanimity. We can care for others by using words that gleam with love, that sparkle with authenticity, and that shimmer long after the conversation is over. Most important, we can we choose words that fit each person perfectly. I can't think of a better way for us to share the cross of Chris than in a conversation full of divinely appointed words that are spoken at the precise moment they need to be said.

Don't we all know this to be true in our lives?! I can think of instances of divinely appointed words spoken into my life that have made an impact long after the conversation is over. And on the flip side, we all know how much a word ill-fitly (I made that up) spoken can hurt us.

This book is rich with thoughts just like this one. There are lessons that are practical, personal and hillarious. Each chapter ends with questions and other related verses, making this book a good one to use in a group setting.

"The word kaleidoscope means beautiful shapes to look at and examine... Proverbs is like a four-mirrored kaleidoscope..."

...boy do we have lots of beautiful things to examine!

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as a part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

this and that

last night we watched this:

perspective 

this morning we did this:

 ---->

working towards this

and these boys did a lot of this:

watching lots of this. 

(Yes! Brady is here!)

Tomorrow I am going here:

... be back later next week!

Kris10

In honor of my good friend Kristen and her Chattanooga visit last weekend, I have decided to take a stroll down our friendship memory lane, highlighting spring breaks along the way.

our first picture together...

Oh, college. This is such a typical picture. (back when the Currie was home to boys!)

Spring Break 2005:

Camping and backpacking in North Carolina

Notice the bandage on my hand... it's a good story, actually. On the last night of our backpacking adventure, I sliced my finger while opening a can. It was a really deep cut, but not worth bailing on our night under the stars. Fortunately for me, we had prepared for injuries and packed a first aid kit. Unfortunately for me, someone had blisters along the way and used all of the gauze. So, we improvised and tied a true bandana tourniquet around my throbbing finger and I braved the pain through the night (ok, I'm being dramatic, but it seriously hurt). The next day we stopped in at Abby's dad's office in Knoxville (he is a neurologist... and I was there for a tetanus shot...) and he hooked me up. Back to the unfortunate part: I hadn't showered in multiple days and he (remember: he was my good friend's dad) had to give me the shot in my rear. Good times. Oh, and I still have a numb third of my ring finger on my right hand.

Spring Break 2006:

Cruise through the Caribbean

Still to this day one of my favorite vacations of all time... I read 6 awesome books and did some serious napping.

Spring Break 2007:

Key West, Florida

33 friends.

One seriously long caravan from Birmingham, AL to Key West, FL.

A spring break to remember!

Spring Break 2010:

(hey, it's Samford's spring break this week... at least we can pretend like we're still getting one!)

So, I love this kid. Looking back through all of the pictures just reminds me how much! Kris is back from a 2-year term with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, and she is seriously the coolest person I know. While she was gone she learned Amharic, created programs to help victims of the HIV/AIDs epidemic, taught English, bathed out of a bucket, built a mill to give orphans work, ate injera, celebrated new holidays, seriously fell in love with some new friends and learned a ton about herself and God's heart for this country (and so, so much more!). We could probably not be at more different points in our lives, but it is amazing to see friendship endure over many years and many, many miles. You are awesome, Kris!

pre-digital

Remember when you had to take your film to be developed, then wait days or weeks until you could see the images you took? We were good friends with the photo lab ladies at Winn Dixie. It's amazing how much technology has changed just in the past 10 years!

Well, I recently ran across this website that I had scanned pictures into from my pre-digital age. They really aren't that old (beginning with 2003), but they are fun to look back on! I can never remember what the website is (Webshots), so now I can save it here:

http://daily.webshots.com/scripts/signup.fcgi

Also, last time we were at my parents house, I went through several boxes of old pictures, and I found some real gems! I love old pictures, and these just made me happy:

...probably my favorite... hahaha!

Ashley and I are seriously a mess (A MESS, right Shelby?!). What the??

Love these two. Best Bourkelings!

And, my I have large ears. 

gettin' hitched

Courtney is like my sister. She and Ashley have been BEST friends since pre-school.

She came to celebrate with us when we got engaged.

She helped a ton with our wedding events.

She graciously handed out programs and served our wedding guests.

She came to visit after we were settled.

...and this is just some recent stuff!

Of all my pre-David friends, the Getkins have become some of David's favorites. They love him like they love me, and that is like family.

We've gotten to know Jonathan over the past couple of years, and we could not be more excited for them to be GETTING MARRIED!!

Jonathan a) surprised Courtney with a trip to New York City over the weekend (her spring break) and b) asked her to marry him in Central Park.

My sister texted all of us to share the exciting news and Courtney called me moments later. I just cried with joy for them!

Here's the text message ring picture we got! The diamond is from her grandmother's ring that she always wears (Jonathan had to do some sneaky work to get it off her hand!). It is so special!

They have the whole thing on video (way to go J!), so hopefully I'll share that when they get back. 

 Marriage is the best gift ever, and y'all are going to be so blessed as husband and wife. We love you guys, and we are praying for you as you begin this journey together!

let there be light

Before:

During:

After:

One of the very first things my dad said when he saw our new house was "Whoa. There isn't a light above the kitchen sink!" Frankly, we were a little upset that of all things, that was his first impression (don't get me wrong, he loved the rest of the house... it just disturbed him that there was no light).  We didn't see what the big deal was.

Fast-forward about 20 months... it drove me CRAZY! Seriously, it is so hard to wash dishes at night without a light right there. You wouldn't notice it unless it was missing, but obviously... ours was.

David rectified the situation this weekend by installing a handy-dandy pendant light. Now we can see!

the diaries of a sick puppy

For the past two days, this is what Harley's life has looked like:

He's on the mend, but still feeling puny!

the box

We have a fabulous screened-in porch. It gets lots of usage when the weather is nice (and Harley loves it regardless of the weather), and we love having it as an extra sitting area. However, the seating is limited to the two awesome chairs + ottomans we received from David's parents and some miscellaneous fold up chairs (that I think are my parents...). We have a couple of events coming up (a wedding shower in April and a baby shower in May!), and we're banking on good weather so we wanted to maximize our outdoor seating. Hence, the box.

I emailed David last Wednesday:

"Do you think you can figure out how to make the box based on this picture:"

and a second email said:

"Oh, and this one:"

I am so helpful.

His reply:

"I think I may need more direction than that…. We can look together at plans to make what you want. "

I love that kid!

So, the story of the box was born.

Our goal for this weekend was to have a clear plan drawn out and to buy all of the supplies.

However,

we finished the ENTIRE thing!

I'm so excited about this. It is exactly what I had in mind.

Here is the BEFORE:

...buying lots of wood and supplies at Lowes...

...Harley hanging out on his redneck leash (tied to the car)...

end #1

working on the sides

done with all of the pieces -- taking a break!

After dinner we realized we could knock this thing out! David noted that we were basically building a casket...

paint and hinges

Done!

Harley's favorite spot- he loves looking at the birds and squirrels.

the finished product!

I am going to make a cushion and pillows for the top, so I guess it isn't completely done, but it is full of stuff and serving it's purpose so far! I'm so excited about it!