my happy place

So many elements of this weekend really epitomized things I love.

1. Grandparents. We went to Baylor to watch John play lacrosse, and I chatted with Dr. Mosier (Lynn's dad) the entire time. David usually does this at sporting events (they like to talk about stocks and sports and business- and they love each other!), but it was my treat on Friday. We could have gabbed all night, and I just loved it. Friday was Grandparents Day at Baylor, and I impressed on the kids how much they should appreciate having their grandparents available for such a special day (the Mosiers won the award for having the most grandkids at Baylor- 5! and they made it to each of their classes!). My grandparents lived in California and Virginia, so they were never able to come (we did have our surragate g'parents come with us one year, and it was so special).

2. Rain. I don't always enjoy the rain, but it is oh-so-nice to wake up or fall asleep to it on a lazy Saturday.

3. Pizza, games and movies. John and Patrick spent the day & night with us on Saturday and we took advantage of the rainy day to veg. We did run errands and we did accomplish a lot around the house, but we also did watch National Treasure 1 and 2, play Pit and eat 3 Hot & Ready pizzas (+breadsticks)(JB is an eater).

4. Guests. Not new news, but we love having people in our home. John & Patch were with us Saturday-Sunday, and they were awesome. Yeah, they were silly teenage boys (and David reverted to his teenage self too), but they are such good ones. They were so helpful. It was awesome. For example, after church on Sunday, David put them to work with him in the yard:

Seriously! And this was after they had each helped me make food for the shower and cleaned the upstairs (we took a 30 minute break from watching the movie and everyone got a task to accomplish. Work is so much easier when you do it together!) In all seriousness, these boys are such a blessing to know. They fart and laugh about it (a lot) and do other typical-teenage-boy things, but I never have to open a door when they are around. They are model gentlemen, and they treat me like a princess (maybe one day they will treat Hayden that way... one girl at a time). Some girl is going to be so lucky to get each of these boys (when they are 35), and we just pray if we have boys that we can learn from Kevin and Lynn how to raise them just the same!

I wanted to take a picture of the boys (though they were gross and sweaty)(aaand John hadn't showered in multiple days), but they awkwardly stood next to each other. This was the simultaneous response I got when I said "touch each other!":

hillarious, boys. really, hillarious.

They really do love each other.

Our Sunday just kept getting better and better.

We hosted a wedding shower for our sweet friends Deb & David. Deb asked me what she could do to help, and I said pray for good weather. She (and God) definitely delivered! The weather was perfect for a leave-the-door-open-and-let-people-sit-inside-and-outside afternoon shower. Having David & the boys help me prepare kept my stress level to a minimum, and they helped pull off a lovely event. It was so fun to visit with people from church and camp, and Deb & David had a great time.

The last guests from the shower left around 5:30 and the fun just continued into the night! We met with our new small group from church for the first time at 6pm! We are excited about the group the Lord has brought together to work through The Justice Mission and learn about God's heart for the oppressed. We are so thankful for: 1) a church that has a true vision to see people move from corporate worship into being known in the context of small group ministry, 2) Jency & Nathan and their heart for international justice and 3) God's heart- for the oppressed and for each of us- that forgives us and loves us regardless of ... well, us!

By the time everyone left and we got the dog from the neighbor (she graciously agreed to let Harley play with her dog Dolly during our small group- which is a HUGE blessing) and we cleaned up and put away leftovers, we were beat.

However.

We were both so full of joy from such a great weekend. I was tired in the best possible way. Having people in our home is my happy place, no doubt about it. I have had a long battle with my "call to ministry" (another topic for another post), but after several Myers Briggs and Spiritual Gift Indicator tests I can say confidently that a large part of the call to ministry God has put on my life (and my husband's!! what a blessing.) is hospitality. It really is the simple things that God can use as ministry, and we are humbled to be a part of that.