awesumn.

August, September... Where have you gone?

busy  [biz-ee]

adjective

1.actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime.
 Curtis has been busy relearning lines, busy at daytime rehearsals, and busy performing in ELLIS ISLAND at Bass Hall.
 

2.not at leisure; otherwise engaged.
 Curtis spent 3 busy weeks working on a very consuming outreach production of The Sound of Music. He was "not at leisure" between 60 and 80 hours each week.
 Meg was busy at work preparing for, attending, and catching up from a Family Ministry Conference in Dallas. She also kept herself "otherwise engaged" with household projects while Curtis worked so many hours... that part was a little more fun, but still falls under the "not at leisure" category.
 

3.full of or characterized by activity.

 Dang, life has been busy.

We at teamShides have felt positively consumed by the past couple of months with little time together, let alone time at home... but it looks like October will bring us that fresh breath of autumn air that we're so in need of! Figuratively. And possibly literally, if the weather forecasts hold true.

We've planned a remedial month, taking some intentional time to spend together. We're really excited about it. October has been our anticipated horizon for a long time now. It's that awesome month where we'll finally paint our house, read on the porch, go on dates, relax with each other, relax with friends, etc... AND it sort of marks the beginning of our very favorite season: autumn.

It's decided: As of tomorrow (October 1st) we will wake up and it'll be Awesumn. 

awesumn [aw-suh'm]

adjective/noun

1. slang terminology for the especially awe-inspiring fall season. See definitions for "awesome" and "autumn."

  Rocktober is totally awesumn.

Join us in celebrating, won't you?

God is good.

God is good.

Today has been one of those days where I allow little things to irritate me, stress to consume me, and emotions to take over. All I want to do is seclude myself in our bedroom, read my bible and sleep until it's tomorrow.
Praise God for the wise and encouraging women I work with, and for a God who is so sovereign and merciful! He reveals more of his awesome steadfastness to me daily... today he's doing it by using my co-workers.

I'm so blessed to be surrounded by these Godly women at work. They love their husbands and families deeply, are continuously acknowledging God's work in their lives and pray passionately for his will to be done and his name to be glorified. I could not ask for a better environment to be immersed in day after day. I know he is using this time in my life to really grow me and shape me. I just feel abundantly blessed on a day like this when I feel like my consuming Self has caused me to wander off the lighted path.

Today is no longer about self pity, but praise! And that's a good thing. A very good thing :)

In other news, Curtis has been working incredibly long hours as our church gears up for their production of The Sound of Music. It's taken it's toll on him, but we've been blessed in his overtime, and in learning better what marriage looks like during those busy show times when he's only home from 12AM - 8AM.
Despite his lack of personal time and our lack of together time, I think it's going pretty well. I couldn't be more proud of him and his desire to continue to work hard and do the work well.
I'm also looking forward to seeing him up on stage again at Bass Hall in a couple weeks in Ellis Island!

Life is blessed when it's busy.
and it's going to be AWESOME when it's not busy for a little while :)

haircuts and wildfires

If you haven't seen us in a week, you may not know that both Curtis and I got our hair cut. Way off.
Ta-da!

(Cut-credit goes to the talented Mel Florey.) I meant to update about that sooner, but we've had a busy weekend :)

Friday was my dad's 60th birthday, so Curtis and I made the drive down to Austin after work. We also got the pleasure of seeing my friend, Meg Steiner, rock out in a production of Hair. I loved watching Meg up on stage again. The whole family had a good night out, and we got to quietly celebrate my dad's birthday over "24 karat" cupcakes from Hey Cupcake after the show.
Curtis had to work a wedding back in the Fort on Saturday, so we capped the short trip off that morning.

The day after we left, my parents' neighborhood (Steiner Ranch) was one of the Central Texas areas that caught on fire. They were evacuated yesterday and are still unable to return as of this evening, but luckily their house is still untouched. Praise the Lord for watching over them! --If you haven't heard about the wildfires here in Texas, please be praying about them! Austin, especially, has been effected this weekend... please pray for the families, homes that have been lost or are in danger of being lost, Bastrop farms/ranches, those fighting the fires, and for RAIN! Weather forecasters haven't predicted any in the next week, but God can bring relief if we ask him.

At some point this weekend Curtis and I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Apollo 18 --both really well done movies. We recommend seeing them.

...So, have I to mention the gorgeous weather yesterday morning. Autumn is our favorite season, so when the thermometer read in the 60s, Curtis and I decided to celebrate. We spent a fantastically tiring day together and look forward to an entire week of cool temps!

Until next time,
Peace :)