Words Just Aren't Enough

Words truly fail you sometimes. It doesn't seem often that this happens for me, but this past week they did. I'm still going to try to :)

Last week, I got a text message for Mrs. Pamela, who is my second mom. Her dad was in the hospital and wasn't expected to make it. God's hands were all over him, because all of the family was able to see him and even talk to him before he passed away. My heart was breaking for this sweet family all week. Mom and I even drove to Knoxville to pay our respects and be there for our friends during the funeral. So what does this have to do with my lack of words?

The Corks are truly my family. They were our next door neighbors when we moved to Tennessee and we all became fast friends. Our parents enjoyed hanging out and Whitney, Nicholas, Michelle, and I spent just about everyday of our childhood. 

I feel so incredibly blessed to call them my family. It's awesome to have a brother and another sister. I love spending time with all of them and I can't imagine my life without them. God sure knew what He was doing when he moved us to Mapleview Trail. I am so thankful for this family and the millions of memories we have and the lifetime of memories we have yet to make. 

Please keep them in your prayers as this is an incredibly hard time for them. I wish I could take away their pain!!!! 

                                    

                                              

It's A Splash, Splash, Splash

On Sunday morning last week, we drove back from Knoxville and headed straight to the Cork's house to celebrate Nicholas's birthday.

Whitney and Justin were in town, so I GOT TO SEE MY PERSON!!!! She looked adorable in that hat!

We all had a great time hanging out and messing around.

And dad had a blast messing around with my camera and some of the pictures are awesome. Like this one...

...and this one! Love the fast action feature on my camera.

Justin, Nicholas, and Whitney decided to show off their skills.

                                   

And then we played keep the ball up for a long time. We couldn't get to 50 until our dads joined in, and we made it the first time.

Such pretty ladies enjoying time together. I am so glad that they are best friends and are such great examples of Godly women. I just hope Whitney and I look that good in 25 years!

My parents are adorable!

The whole day was a blast and I love spending time with my most favorite people. It was definitely a much needed break for the Corks and I am glad we got to celebrate the best brother I've ever had! Can't wait until we are all back together again!

Dukes of Hazard Kind of Fun

This past weekend we went to visit Chris's parents in Knoxville. We had a fantastic time just hanging out and spending time together. After work on Friday, we drove down to Knoxville and stayed up late talking and such. Saturday morning, Kim and I went to spin class at the Rush, and let me just say, it was fun...not! But I definitely worked my butt off and I was so stinking sweaty (Chris would just stay stinky) which makes me so happy! 

Then we headed to Gatlinburg for lunch and to go to Cooters, a family fun place that is themed after the Dukes of Hazard. It was a little cheesy, but we had a blast! 

We started off with go karts...

...which were so much fun! The guy didn't want me to take my camera with me, but I did anyways :)

Then we played putt-putt and unfortunately, it is very clear that none of us have a future in mini golf. But we had a great time! Chris had a CREEPY eye-ball.

I got a hole in one!

Kim did well over all, but on this particular hole, she didn't even get it in 6 times...hence the pouty face!

Dan had to make more unique shots than the rest of us combined.

What a cute family!

We walked down the strip in Gatlinburg before heading back to their house for yummy cupcakes! We always enjoy spending time with them and can't wait to do it again soon!

Becoming Something Out Of Nothing

This week has been like most weeks when you get back from vacation...long and tiring. But we still feel so blessed about going to California, especially since it seems Mamaw has taken a turn for the worse. 

Chris got a promotion at work and I am SOSOSOSO proud of him! He rocks! 

I originally posted this on my old blog, but I love the story and pray that this would become my prayer! 

"I left graduate school believing that very soon I would have a job, career, ministry...something that I would feel fulfilled in and gain experience from. I didn't feel the need to pay attention to a conversation I had with my grandfather driving home cross-country back to Oregon. we were talking about knowing what one is supposed to do with one's life, and I asked him, "how do I know that it is exactly where I should be at?"

My grandpa shared a piece of advice I would forget, only to remember it after I had to learn the hard way: "Larissa," he said, "when you pray, pray as to get to know Christ. Prayer is about knowing our Father in Heaven."

A little taken aback at the seeming irrelevancy of the advice, I nodded my head and changed lanes. I have to remember this, I thought. Ok, I told myself, I should pray to know Christ.; OK, I have to do that...then I will know what God's will is for me.

Months down the road after discouragement, angst, anger, and frustration, I found myself still in the same place, still with no perspective future, unemployed, and even more worried and restless than before.

I sat on the rocks by a river near our house, having spent a week in tears and confusion, feeling broken and overwhelmed. I felt as though I had somehow fallen into a deep ditch, and I could not even find any foothold to climb out. I had never felt so discouraged in my life. When looking at where I could be in five years or even five months, I could not even conjure up a small picture through the blackness that enveloped me.

Looking out across the river, I just sat. I did nothing.

And a question came to me: "Larissa, what are you waiting for?"

That was easy. "For You, Lord."

"Larissa, what are you waiting for?"

Hmm. "For You, of course, Lord."

"Larissa, what are you waiting for?"

I began to feel like Peter, "Um...for You, Lord!"

"Are you really?"

This question came softly, like a gentle hand that lifted up my chin to help me see more than my feet.

I asked myself the question again, "Am I really?" It dawned on me slowly and my grandfather's words came back to me: "When you pray, pray to know Christ."

Yes, I had been waiting for the Lord, but for Him to come through for me with a job, a plan, anything that came up, just something more than waiting on the Lord.

"Waiting on the Lord" can become cliche quite quickly, but I began to finally see what my grandpa meant. I had an agenda each time I prayed. My prayers did not reveal a satisfaction in God but a dissatisfaction with Him. I knew I could trust Him, but I prayed as though my plans were wiser and better than His. I prayed as though I did not trust Him.

As soon as I began to pray without an agenda, my inner anxieties began to dissolve.

I relaxed about where I was and who I was.

My vision seemed uncannily clearer. I no longer prayed with the nonverbal ultimatum of "come through for me or else."

I arrived at a place of "being" instead of waiting. I became comfortable and comforted.

Sue Monk Kidd tells a story that reflects our often mistaken viewpoint on waiting. During a retreat at a monastery, in her restless state, she notices a monk:

"He was sitting perfectly still beneath a tree. There was such reverence in his silhouette, such tranquil sturdiness, that I paused to watch. He was the picture of waiting.

Later I sought him out. "I saw you today sitting beneath the tree-just sitting there so still. How is it that you can wait so patiently in the moment? I can't seem to get used to the idea of doing nothing."

He broke into a wonderful grin. "Well, there's the problem right there, young lady. You've bought into the cultural myth that when you're waiting, you're doing nothing."

Then he took his hands and placed them on my shoulders, peered straight into my eyes and said, "I hope you'll hear what I'm about to tell you. I hope you'll hear it all the way down to your toes. When you're waiting, you're not doing nothing. You're doing the most important something there is. You're allowing your soul to grow up. If you can't be still and wait, you can't become what God created you to be."

This is where God eventually called me after all those months: to a new perspective of becoming something out of seemingly nothing."

Wish They All Could Be California Girls

Chris and I are so blessed

Mamaw came home from the hospital the afternoon we got there, so it was good to see her and spend some time with my grandparents that afternoon before we headed to meet Michelle at Downtown Disney.

On Saturday, we visited Aunt Cora and had a fantastic time talking with her. Chris had never met her before, but he was very talkative and Cora ate it up!

We met up with Chris's Great Aunt Debbie that evening and she took us to dinner at Rubios. Yummy! It was my first time meeting her, but it was fun to chat with her and I LOVED all the candles she had all over her home.

On Sunday, we spent some more time with Mamaw in the morning and then headed to the happiest place on earth! We got there about 2:30pm and stayed until after 11pm! Chris was a trooper and we had such a blast. Chris had never been to DCA before and it was fun showing him around.

We rode lots of rides, including Toy Story, Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, and many other fun rides. It was a perfect day because it was overcast, so it wasn't super hot and it also wasn't very busy.

I always love to ride some of the "kiddie" rides because they made me so happy when I was a kid. Ariel, Dumbo, the Teacups, and Alice and Wonderland are the ones I forced Chris to enjoy with me!

On Monday, we met Cora for a great lunch at Marie Callendar's before heading down to Chris's grandparent's, Marti and Dinko, house in Huntington Beach. We had a blast hanging out with them and their three cute dogs.

We enjoyed some great Mexican food and a good lunch at Schooner or Later which overlooks the Long Beach Marina. 

Tuesday evening we visited Bootlegger's Brewery where we played cornhole and life size Jenga. It was really fun! 

On Wednesday, we went standup paddleboarding (even though I'm not pictured standing) near Balboa in Newport Beach with Michelle. It was a blast, but definitely a good workout! 

Michelle then told us about a really cool place for lunch and it was really good and had great views.

Chris wanted to revisit 1000 Steps Beach, where he used to hang out in high school. It was absolutely beautiful, but those 226 steps were very steep and not fun to walk back up.

Michelle then treated me to a Sprinkle's cupcake...yum! We split a chocolate marshmallow cupcake and a pumpkin one - which was the clear winner. It was FANTASTIC!

On Thursday, we met up with three of Chris's friends from high school. We ate lunch with them at Chomped, an amazing sushi restaurant in Fullerton. It was fun to meet some of his old friends and I know he enjoyed spending time with all of them.

California has some awesome restaurants that we don't have back home, so our only rule for the week was that we couldn't eat anywhere we have in Tennessee. We both love In and Out so we ate there 5 times during the week. Needless to say, we are on diets now! But it was definitely worth it! 

I have such a peace about our trip. It wasn't planned and we definitely wanted to save the money, but I know that it was the right thing to go out there. It was amazing to see all of our family and I am thankful that we had the money to pick up and go! God is so good and I know it was the right trip for us. Can't wait to go back and visit.

Life in May

So life got a little crazy...which lead to a lack of blogging on my part. May was a pretty good month for us, nothing too crazy, but it was still incredibly busy!

The first week of May, I had Foam Fest. It was very interesting...and it should have been called MUD Fest! Apparently rain and cold weather love to show up on race days for me. 

Even though it was rainy and freezing, we still had fun! By the time the race started, the foam was taller than I am. I had a few friends that did the race as well...I am so glad they did it with me!

We climbed over walls that were 6', 8', 10', and 12' tall. They were pretty difficult and Annie busted her arm on one of them.

                 Going through a mud pit on the way to the lake before we climbed over huge floating tires.

Our final stunt...5 people got taken away in ambulances! All in all it was a fun day, and I proved to myself I can do a few things I probably wouldn't have tried before. I have plans to do a few more races before the year is over.

Chris's mom, Kim, came to visit us the second week in May. We headed out to Cheekwood, which is a botanical garden about 20 minutes from our apartment. There were some really cool tree houses which we had fun walking through.

The gardens and walkways all had pretty flowers growing.

We took the scenic hike through the woods and enjoyed seeing some funny statues on the trail.

Kim has a thing for redbirds, and we saw this one. Chris took a bunch of pictures and it was cute to watch him try and get a good picture for his mom.

There was a nice mansion on the property with a gorgeous arbor which overlooked most of the property and rolling hills.

It is always good to spend time with family and this was no exception! We ate a yummy dinner at California Pizza Kitchen with Kim and she left the next morning. 

The rest of the month was flew by. To make some extra money to go towards our house, I've been cleaning and organizing for my grandparents. It is great because it helps us save extra money and it is good for my grandparents because they can't do as much as they used to. Win Win! Chris and I worked for them together one weekend and it was good to practice working in the yard for our future house :)

The third week of May, we received some news that my Mamaw wasn't doing very well and was in the hospital. We made the decision to make an impromptu trip to California the first week of June. We hadn't planned on taking any trips this year, but sometimes life happens and plans go out the window. That is a lesson I am definitely learning. We are very blessed that we were both able to take a week off work with such short notice and we found very reasonable airfare. God is so amazing and I am so thankful for all the he provided for this trip to make it possible.