husband.

I told Rob this week that if I knew how to get up on the roof, I would shout from the rooftops about how proud I am of him for everything that he is accomplishing with work and school and around the house and with MOSES. But, since getting up on the roof seems a bit dangerous, this will have to do and let me tell you, I want everyone to know how proud I am of my husband and how much I love him. Here's a guy who works full-time, who is studying towards his Masters in Social Work and has probably written more papers this semester than he ever has before and  is getting As on every assignment or exam he completes. All that and he still makes sure that we pay our bills on time, is helping re-landscape our yard, keeps all of MOSES' finances on track, helps me plan Sunday School lessons every week...and still somehow finds the energy to love me day in and day out.

So sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to help provide a fun (quirky?), relaxing evening to get her husband's mind off of all things work and school and just REST for awhile.

And so...I built a fort in the living room. Then we ate chips and cheese, wore "comfies", drank Ruby Red Squirt out of wine glasses and watched the episode of The Biggest Loser that we missed on Tuesday.

Hopefully he knows how much he is appreciated and loved. Because he is.

From the very deepest downs of my heart.

mr. & mrs. lang.

After four years of dating and a year and nine months of engagement, their day has finally come.
Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Jakob and Sarah Lang!
Sometimes pictures speak louder words. I think today is one of those days.

Congratulations, Jake and Sarah. May God bless you richly. Happy honeymooning! 

a love story.

Last night was the wedding rehearsal of my dear friends, Jake and Sarah. We rehearsed, we ate amazing food, we laughed, we found out we have get to be at the church at 5:00am tomorrow morning. But, my favorite part of the night was watching the picture slideshow that is being shown following the ceremony tomorrow.

We watched pictures scroll across the screen from the time Jake and Sarah were born until just last week. And I am so blessed to have been able to see my face show up in pictures with Jake from the time I was 4 years old and with Sarah from the time we were in elementary/middle school. Now, let's not get confused here. I wasn't blessed to see my face on the screen in some sort of egotistical way (though, I was a pretty cute kid). No, I'm blessed to be able to recognize the fact that I have had friends so wonderful as Jake and Sarah for the majority of my life.

I think of the verse in John when Jesus tells us that true love is when a man lays down his life for his friends. What a gift to have true friends in my life for all these years that have walked with me through smiles and tears and what a JOY to know that Jake and Sarah are about to enter into a sacred covenant of love and sacrifice when they get married tomorrow morning.

The future Mr. & Mrs. Lang playing "The Shoe Game" at their Rehearsal Dinner!

Jake and Sarah, I am so grateful for both of you and I love you both so much. I'm praying that today is relaxing and fun-filled and that you both get a good night's rest tonight. While my 4:00am wake up time for tomorrow morning doesn't sound all that appealing...I can't wait to watch your faces as you walk down the aisle, speak your vows, and kiss for the first time as husband and wife. 

In fact, I'm so excited that I wish I could figure out a way for Tyler and I to do the 360 degree spin in the air-back flip-heel clicks off the steps tomorrow during the recessional like we talked about during rehearsal. My heart could do it. It's the dress and heels I'm worried about. ツ

chicago.

This past weekend, my mom, sister and I spent Friday and Saturday enjoying Chicago! I can't say that the weather necessarily cooperated with us, but despite the wind, rain, clouds and cold weather on Friday, we managed to have ourselves a fabulous time and Saturday's sunshine was a perfect ending to the weekend.

We spent a good 3 hours at IKEA, walked and walked and walked at the Woodfield Mall, browsed Borders, found some great jeans at Old Navy, ate pizza for supper and Panera for breakfast, went back to IKEA for a second helping, went back to Woodfield Mall for a second helping there too, drove for miles to find an Arby's on the way home (curly fries never tasted so good!), and made it back with lots of great finds.

But, more than the stores and the shopping and the good food and the surprisingly comfortable hotel beds, what I'm most thankful for is the beautiful family that I have. The weekend trip was a gift from my dad out of a bonus he received at work. What an example of selflessly blessing others out of the ways you have been blessed. And, on top of that, I got to spend the weekend with the two most special women in my life - my mom and my sister. They are inspiring women in more ways than one and I am truly blessed to call them my family. They are godly and selfless and loving and fun and beautiful just they way they were made. Really.

Now, I'm not sure that M*A*S*H is the best place to learn all of life's lessons, but Colonel Potter sure got it right with this one when he said:

"I don't care how poor a man is.
If he has family, he is rich."

Jeep.

Rob bought his bright red 1997 Jeep Wrangler in 2002. It was the only vehicle he wanted and the only vehicle he has driven since then. He had senior pictures taken with it in high school. He moved a dorm room worth of furniture to and from college with it more than once. He towed a friend's Yukon XL with it. He took me on our first date in it. If it was warmer in December when we got married, we probably would have driven away in it! Rob loved his Jeep.

Yes, loved. In the past tense. 

Now, of course it will always be "his" Jeep, but it will be his in memories only. Last Thursday, we traded in the Jeep for a new vehicle. A lot of Rob's job is on the road now and the Jeep was no longer making the cut. I'm sure you're all thinking: "Steph! What did you do?! You made him get rid of the Jeep!?" Not at all. You can even ask him. The time had come. 

 

Call us sentimental, but Rob has had a lot of fun with the Jeep and we have had a lot of fun together with it as well. But, even though we both still love the idea of it, it was old, slowly falling apart, and not practical for every day use. I took a few picture of Rob with the Jeep before we brought it away to trade in. I love the picture on the right. He thought I was setting up the self timer on the camera - which, I was, sort of - but I snapped a quick picture of him in the process. I love my husband.

We were talking about how having a Jeep gives you a sort of personality. There's the "Jeep Wave" - special to Jeep drivers only. Or the way that Jeep drivers can somehow talk to other Jeep drivers [for what seems like hours] even if they'd never met until they parked their Wranglers next to each other in the parking lot. It's kind of a strange vehicle, but everyone seems to love them. What other vehicle allows you to take the doors and windows and roof off of it and still legally drive down the road? Too fun!

But, enough with the sentiments. We are now the proud owners of a 2008 Saturn VUE. 

We lost a little bit of flair in our lives when we traded in the bright red Jeep for this silver VUE (especially seeing as my car is silver too), but I do have more peace of mind knowing that Rob is safe when driving down the road and knowing that his vehicle won't just shut off randomly when waiting at a red light. 

I know it's just a car, but we are thankful for all the fun times the Jeep brought us and hopefully someday Rob will be able to have another Jeep. But for now, I think this will do.