a.roof.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. -Romans 12:1-2 (the message)

this morning was a whirlwind of emotion trying to make wise choices for our family & ministry. we decided to let go of the townhouse that just did not feel right & honestly provoked tears! however, we still do not have anything finalized with the other house, although we are moving forward in that convo with the owners & we have some verbal confirmation, but no timeline... so we will continue this adventure for a little longer.

we are scared & excited at thought of making this the roof we live under...

more waiting&trusting... good refining for us. but whew!

the.house.hunt.

welp, our 5th house hunt for a rental in town is about to come to an end tomorrow! i can hardly wait to see what unfolds....

long story short our lease ends in a week & we will do another month here possibly with showings & random repairs, agh. they are ready to sell.

since time has passed since we were last hunting in 2010 the market has really bounced back. rentals last only a few days in davidson, its crazy!

we have 2 drastically different choices... a move in ready townhome for june1 or a messy, needy house for timeline unkown.

if you know us, the one needing some TLC is more up our alley.

praying these old doors open wide for us tomorrow & if not, for peace in accepting our backup.

we will know in 12hrs! ah!

7.year.anni.

wow. in the past 7 years we have.... both graduated from college & me grad school, lived in 3 cities, made 4 houses our home (soon to be 5), adopted a weimaraner, had 3 babies, & continued to LOVE each other through the ups&downs of it all... by God's grace.

our life is hands down the most chaotic that it has ever been to date as a married couple.

& yet ... somehow this man of mine still points me to Jesus in the midst of the crazy. not by words always, yes sometimes, but more by the way he loves me so forgivingly. i'm real stubborn & he puts up with me. i'm starting to realize more everyday just how stubborn i am.

i've found myself over the past year often saying: "we can do this right?!" with some lacking confidence... & all i need to hear is Ben say "yes mere, we can" & my soul is at ease again. what he says to me really matters. it gives me confidence to keep on keeping on.

something i've noticed ... ben is really gifted at YL. but beyond that he way more. he is a very smart, complex thinker. he is a skilled man who knows how to fix almost anything around our house. he points us to Truth when we doubt His goodness. he also has picked up the cello & is teaching himself how to read music. he loves to cook & is way better at it than me. + he does crosswords in no time at all. sometimes i feel a little inferior. but then i remind myself how blessed i am to get to live with such a skilled man & it makes me smile.

we lean into this guy real hard ... our family of 5.

he is our rock, after our Creator.
he reminds us what life is really about.
he provides for us.
he loves us so well.

i am so thankful to call him mine after 7 FULL years together.
we are coming up on a decade... we may have to visit the tetons again!

happy anniversary dear one.
i love you, more everyday.


i belong with you, you belong with me... you're my sweetheart...
& doesn't this make ya wanna make a sister for ellis jane? just saying... too soon?

[ejm] 3.months.

yesterday i realized that ellis turned 3 months old... then ben had to remind she was born on the 20th not the 18th. then i remembered i never made her 2 month appt. wow... my brain will never be the same as it was pre-babies i'm now convinced. so really, tomorrow e will be 3 months old!

ellis jane... so far this is what makes you, you:

you love eye contact & for weeks have been cooing for minutes at a time
you have slept on your tummy from week1
you like soft fluffy blankets
you reached for my face yesterday gently & i melted
you have such feminine features & yet look like a blend of your brothers
you nurse every 4 hours about & are quite efficient to my dismay
last night you slept from 8pm-5:30am, got a quick snack, then slept till 9am...thank you
you light up when big brothers g&j smile at you
you wide open mouth smile at mama, dad, & brothers... & sometimes others too
i dress you in bold colors ... lots of shades of blue with dashes of pink, but mostly lavender
sometimes you wear a bow on a headband, but not very often
the noise machine is now up to level 40 just like the boys
you nap in your crib after being awake for about 1 hour or so throughout the day
you like to rest on my over the shoulder or facing out so you can see the world
you are going to talk early & be super relational... its crazy how you connect so young
you have seen glimpses of tv more than i like but i pray you'll simply learn something
we are househunting & you have been pretty flexible riding in the ergo checking out places
you are about to outgrow your infant car seat, especially when wearing your fluffy cloth dipes
your eyes are light blue like J & dada, yay
you still have light brown hair in patches
your skin is silky smooth & your arm & leg rolls are squeezed alldaylong
i think you'll be reaching for toys before too long
i need to give you more floor time, but only when the boys are gone
your daddy is gentler with you than he was with your brothers, thankfully
i love dressing you up & packing your huge bag when we travel

we love you so very much sweet daughter of mine*

[rewind] mozelle's.

this sweet diner (featured in southern living) is a yummy place to stop in for lunch in winston salem. the aunts (all ben's moms sisters) found it last fall & it hosted scotties bridesmaids luncheon & now whitneys! we all miss great grandma (mozelle) stevens so much ... so its super sweet & emotional in a good way to remember her while brunching at a place with such good southern cookin for special events...

also, i guess its time to share what our "girl" name for grady was if he was gonna be a girl... we planned to name him mozelle gray & call her "moze gray" pronounced mo-zzee. but then we merged his name into Grady when we found out he was a boy! so again the name mozelle holds a special spot in our heart! now we have a grady & an ellis ... so we still have the gray from my grandaddy/uncle & ellis from my moms maiden name & ell is in there too from mozelle bens great grandma!

[rewind] dewberry.farm.

this sweet little bed&breakfast in nestled just north of greensboro in stokesdale. scottie&marsh had their rehearsal dinner here back in nov + whit&matt did to in april. it was fun too see it shift from fall with beautiful leaves to spring with blooming flowers & green grass... & i was swooning over my boys feeding the gorgeous horses! it was a magical night*

[rewind] whit&matt.hitched.

bens sweet cousin who sang in our wedding almost 7 years ago (wow!) married her highschool sweetheart in summerfield on april 13th! ben officiated their private wedding at gray gables & we all enjoyed celebrating at the reception together...