We flew back into Nashville, spent the night, and drove to Texas.  Are we crazy?….yes.  But I’d really like for someone to tell me how to fly to Mexico for 2 weeks, have to check an additional bag for work purposes which means we only get to check one bag each, and then go to Texas in cold weather for 10 days, and also transport Christmas gifts…without having to come back to Nashville…ok, I’m already confused again. Anyways, we had to come back to Nashville to travel to Texas, solely because of luggage.  We decided to drive and I think we hit the jackpot with $1.50 gas the whole way.  It made the expensive Thanksgiving plane tickets all that more expensive and it made our trip so much easier to have our own car.

Anyways, my Grandfather had a 90th birthday party the weekend before Thanksgiving in L-Town and the whole family (30 including the little Tardy on the way), was there.  I know it meant the world to my grandparents to have everyone there and despite being just a little crazy, it went really well.  It was great to also get to see my parents and siblings because we will not get to see them for Christmas.  I decided after this trip, however, that I have not changed all that much in my life.  Big groups of people are fun to me, but I always leave feeling very drained and tired whereas Daniel gets energized off of big groups.  So, by the time we got back home, I was EXHAUSTED.  I feel like the little ball in a pinball game the whole time and I’m constantly trying to keep up or recover from the last thing I just hit.  Am I the only one?

My grandparents after the big party

Gran Gran being cute and funny.

We had just “crowned” him with our name tags.

My parents

We spent the rest of the week in Dallas with Daniel’s family for Thanksgiving.  I did not take any pictures of our time together which makes me sad.  It was very fun to see where both of Daniel’s brothers and their wives are living since they both moved to the Dallas area this summer.  We were planning on visiting them in February but we now have some other plans which are taking precedence.    So, Thanksgiving worked, too.  A few of Daniel’s siblings ran the Dallas Turkey Trot and we had two different meals with two different sides of the family on two different days…both incredibly good.  It was absolutely nonstop and I think we drove all of Dallas in the few days we were there.  We also were able to see our friends Matt & Micahl which is always fun too.  Micahl threw me a baby shower on the Saturday after Thanksgiving which will have to be its own separate post but is the final reason we drove to Texas.  Whew!  Through all the whirlwind, I did not have much time to reflect but I guess more than anything, the theme of this Thanksgiving was being thankful for family.

Well, we are already half way through January and I’m just now getting in my first post of 2008. It’s sad really. Especially since it’s been over a month since my last post! Ugh! I really would like to be more consistent in this but I also think God is using other things in my life right now that are more of a priority than blogging. Also, I know there are many of you who are reading this and are not commenting so sometimes I find myself being unmotivated to blog because I don’t think anyone is reading. I am very guilty of this too so I think I’m going to work on this. So, if you are reading, at least give me a shot out comment or “sign your name” or something. Maybe that will motivate me! I also may revamp my blog to be on www.wordpress.com because I won’t have to take up as much space on my own computer. We’ll see!

So I guess I’ll give you the highlights of the last month of my life. The day of my last post was a turning point for me. I haven’t been the same since and I don’t think I will be. I guess that’s a good thing! My perspective has been broadened and I am no longer trying to figure anything out or waiting for something to change. I’m here, as I am, right now, in the moments of life that God gives me. Everything could change tomorrow or it could stay the same forever but I am living and breathing with Him…resting in His perfect sufficiency. Resting. I think I’m finally resting. This is HUGE!

The middle of December took Daniel and I to Texas to see my younger brother Michael graduate from Texas A&M. I like to give him a hard time that I completed in 3 years what took him 6! However, I am really proud of him and know that he gained a great education…not just in college but in life and I praise God for it. We also helped move him and my sister-in-law Erika into their new house in Houston. I’m glad we got to see it because I like to picture where people live when I’m talking to them or thinking about them.

We flew back just in time to make it to Daniel’s Christmas party with The Lampo Group. It was phenomenal as usual! Dave Ramsey sure knows how to do it up right and I am eternally grateful for the ongoing physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional investments he makes into my husband, my family, and to countless people around the world. Thanks Dave!

And wedding bells started ringing too! Daniel’s brother Evan got engaged to the wonderful, amazing, beautiful and talented Kasey Jo! They will get married sometime in May or June and Daniel and I will have the honor of standing with them as a groomsman and bridesmaid in the wedding.

We went to Texas for the Christmas holidays and first stopped in Dallas to visit my older brother Andy, his wife Kristy, and their two sons Westin & Reid. It was really fun to get to see where Andy works, hang out, and play with the boys. After that, we headed on to Lubbock to see the rest of our families. Daniel’s parents are adopting a 13 year old girl named Regina and we got to meet her! It was so awesome to spend time with his new sister as well as everyone else! Daniel’s siblings are one of the things we miss the most and we cherish the time we get to spend with them and always look forward to more. We also spent time with my side of the family and had the most relaxed Christmas that I can remember in a long time. It was really nice. The only bummer is that I did not feel so great most of the time we were there. The West Texas air really attacks my allergies and it got worse the longer I was there. I missed out on some things because of that which was a bummer.

We spent New Year’s in Atlanta and went to the Chick-Fil-A bowl. Daniel had some business there and I was thankful I got to go with him. It was a random, last minute, but fun getaway. The only thing that was missing was good friends to share it with!

Then that brings us into January which means the after holiday shock syndrome and readjusting to normal life. However, I’m back to life, back to reality (anybody with me?) and have spent the past couple of weeks reorganizing the house from the many travels chaos explosion, hanging out with great friends that I haven’t seen in awhile, spending some time with my FSM girls, reading, and hanging out with Daniel. However, I’ve been letting Daniel work on the house by himself in the cold weather. I’m a weeny. The front of our house looks completely different now! Our camera isn’t working or I would show you a picture.

This week, I’ve implemented my first sort of schedule that I’ve had since I’ve been home. It was purposeful at first to not have a schedule at all, and it is purposeful now to have a very loose schedule of sorts. It revolves around cleaning certain things on certain days. That’s it. So far its working but I really should be doing my Thursday floor cleaning at the moment so I need to wrap up.

I’ve also not been a huge resolution person but I also believe the phrase, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” So I thought I’d share with you the little mission statement I wrote about this season of life I’m in and really for the rest of my life. It’s my aim and I am depending on God to show me daily how to live it out. I wrote this last April but its still good in 2008 too. Beware, my nerdy, theological, wordy side of my brain was at work when I wrote this.

Emily’s Mission Statement: To glorify God by finding complete satisfaction in Jesus Christ alone through knowing Him by resting in His presence, personal prayer, and saturation of His Word. In knowing Him, I will reflect His image through the life, gifts, skills, talents, time and treasure that he has graciously bestowed on me to influence people (family, friends, the body & the world) for the furtherance of His kingdom.

The LBD Dual Significance: I don’t have it all together. Sometimes after I write a post like this and read it back, I wonder what it looks like through other people’s eyes. I guess that’s why I want your feedback so much because I want to know how others process life and I want to be challenged and sharpened by you.

I used to be a basket case a lot. I would cry at almost anything and I hated it. I realized that part of this was a gift from God in the sensitivity of my spirit and part of it was my own foolishness. As I learned to accept who I was in that, the more I found the truth, and the less I cried at things that were not worthy of my tears.

I think a lot of times I don’t write until after I have processed through the “basket case” areas of my life and sought truth. I am an internal processor and usually withdraw into my misery or withdraw into a search for truth. It’s always a big question of whether I follow my flesh or my spirit in those moments. Because of that though, I wonder if I come across like I have it all together. I just want to be completely honest and be sure you know that I DON’T! I may try and purposefully write during those “basket case” moments in the future just to prove it but just a warning…it isn’t pretty!

I really relate to Solomon on this one too. I’m so glad I have Jesus to lead the way through this life. I would forever live life as a basket case without Him!

Ecclesiastes 7:15-17 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

Earlier this week, I had an experience that does not happen too often in my world. I had just found a CD that had six songs from my brother’s little high school band and was listening to it on the way to a family dinner. My brother and I were pretty close during those days and I was reminiscing about that great time in my life. I could remember all of the concerts at Daybreak Coffee House, the late nights we would stay up and talk, how we would play his guitar in the stairwell of our basement (I guess the sound was better in that echoey space), and leading worship in our student ministry.

The funny thing was, I had a smile on my face that would just not go away. Not an ordinary everyday smile, but a deep, genuine, BIG smile. The more I realized that I had a big smile on my face while I was all alone in my car, the more I was aware that it wasn’t going away. The more I paid attention to it, the bigger it became. Not that I wanted it to go away, but it was a weird phenomenon all the same.

When I finally arrived at my destination, I finished up listening to the last song, took a deep breath, and then tried to wipe the smile away. I guess I just didn’t want to have to explain why I had this gigantic smile on my face. It was almost embarrassing, a little out of control, and I guess a little personal all at the same time.

The LBD Dual Significance: I think it is absolutely awesome how our emotions have no knowledge of time. What made me smile happened about 10 years ago, but I was feeling happy about it in the present. My emotions didn’t know that it wasn’t happening in the present because I was thinking about it at that moment. So, it’s almost like I was able to experience the joy of that time in my life over again just because I was thinking about it. Wow, how powerful our thoughts are. I want my thoughts to be on…. whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. Phil 4:8