The Story

Okay, so there is just no time to post on my blog! Can I tell you how busy I am right now? I am so blissfully happy these last few weeks, I'm flittering around trying to come down to reality often enough to feed and clothe my kids and do my job! But anyway...I am so very happy right now, as we all are when things are going right. But I'm sure that you can imagine it runs deeper than that. I'm looking at a big picture and I see God's hand. And can I tell you? This whole blessing of an amazing man to be my husband and a dad to Benjamin and Cait is so not deserved. Seriously. I mean, God cared for us and lavished us with His care and provision and salvation. Hello! That would have been so much more than I deserve in and of itself. But...isn't it just like God to give us what we don't deserve to show us that it isn't about us. It's about Him and His unfailing, ever-flowing love. I am one blessed girl.

So...how did he propose? Well, going back even further, I told you the story of how we met here. If you didn't hear that story you can go catch up. It has been 8 months since that first meeting and God is so good to lead us here! Woo Hoo!

So, on September 14, Paul and I had a great day together. The kids were with Chris, which is unusual for a Sunday. But none the less, we went to La Madeline around lunch time and had brunch. This is one of our favorite things... to go there for brunch and sit outside. We bring our Bible and devotional book and read to one another. It's wonderful! That day was no exception. After brunch we ran to the mall and we shopped a little. He bought me a new pair of jeans and himself a few things also. It was a fun afternoon hanging out. Then, we went back to my house and got ready for dinner. He took me to my favorite restaurant...Jaspers. It is WONDERFUL! It's at the Shops at Legacy. Divine food!

Okay, so the reason this restaurant is significant is because this is where Paul took me on our second date. The first date was awkward!!! But the second date had given us two weeks of getting to know one another over the phone and it was comfortable, fun and sparks began to fly that night. Can I just tell you how handsome he is??? OH! He makes my heart flutter! I remember how I felt the beginnings of that flutter that night. It's a night we go back and relive often. "Remember on our second date when..."

So we drove to the restaurant on THE night and he had asked for our table. The waitress walked us straight there. No suspicions yet. Then I see Paul has a beautiful gift bag in his hand. Then I start to get nervous. We sat down and chatted, giggled and gazed at one another. He was so stinking relaxed. "This isn't it!!" No way could he be relaxed if he were about to propose!!!

So after the meal he pushes over the gift bag. I open it and find a Kodak book that he had made for me. It was the story of our courtship. It documented every little thing with words and pictures. I love that man! At the back there was a message from him that said that these memories with me and B and C were precious to him and that he wants to make a lifetime more of memories. He said that he knew God's hand had been in brining us together long before we met and that now he's grateful, eventhough it was hard to wait for me sometimes.

And then I turned the page one last time to read:

TAMRA
WILL
YOU
MARRY
ME

I looked over at him to find him with a ring box in his hand and tears in his eyes. How precious he is...oh if you only knew! I've waited for that day for a long time now and I can't believe it came with all the joy and healing and promise that I hoped it would.

Can I just say that my blog title, "Strength for Today, Bright Hope for Tomorrow," has so described my road. God gave me those things because He is perfectly faithful. Thank you Lord!

Paul and I are excited to be engaged, but more excited to be married! So, the plan is to have a tiny family wedding on November 22 (yes, of this year) here in Dallas. Paul's dad will perform the ceremony at this beautiful little chapel we found. Cait will be our flowergirl and Benjamin will walk me down the aisle. They will be the only ones to stand up with us.

Intimate is our theme for the wedding and I think we have that mentality because of the kids. We know that hundreds of people will be rejoicing with us in that day, whether crowded in the tiny chapel or not.

THANK YOU for your prayers and your joy expressed for us! It blessed us beyond belief to read your comments! God is good!

Okay, now I need help!

Hey everyone! This week has been a whirlwind...of fun and praise to the Lord and smile muscles hurting. Paul and I are so giddy!

Thank you ALL for your comments and e-mails! What a blessing they have been to both Paul and me! I am looking forward to the journey!

The one thing I am NOT looking forward to is the stress of planning a wedding, honeymoon, merging lives. I just want all the fun stuff! HA!! Anyway, here is where we need your help. We are looking for a place to have our wedding. We don't want to have the reception there (unless it's a beautiful restaurant), just the ceremony. Very small, but we just want it to be beautiful! Ya know? We're going for atmosphere. Like a gazebo somewhere with a beautiful setting behind it...or a gorgeous park somewhere. What about a quaint little, tiny wedding chapel or a courtyard at a hotel or church? We want to get married in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Can you help???? Several of you have offered to help...so now I am taking you up on it. You know how it goes...you research and research and dead end! It's frustrating! Oh! The other thing is that we don't want to spend a lot! Small order on our part, I know!

Thank you , friends! And thank you for being patient with me while I get around to giving you the details of the engagement! It was perfect, by the way!

He asked...

The post that I have longed to write for so long now...and now that the time has come I'm at a loss for exactly how to say it. God's blessings have come full circle. The cycle of leaving Egypt, walking the desert and learning, growing as I trust Him have all culminated in arriving at the Jordan. On the othe side of the banks I see the promised land. And can I just tell you...it is flowing with milk and honey, frineds! It is rich and more than what I hoped it would be.



Paul Lewis, my best and dearest friend, asked me to be his wife. And I eagerly replied, "Yes!"


The ring of all rings! Perfect!

Thank you Lord...not only for where I am now, but thank you for the journey. Paul and I both have met you in a more intimate way in these last few years, than we could have planning our own steps. You are a gracious God...loving and perfect in all your ways. Thank you for caring for us both and bringing us to one another. We are so thankful and we can only hope that we, as a couple bring more glory to your name than we could as individuals.



"O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
You have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago."

Isaiah 25:1

Labor Day 08

So it's kind of the last hoorah on Labor Day weekend at the lake. After that it is pretty much too cold to get in the water or else we're just too busy with school and stuff to get up to the lake. So, it's sad, but it's kind of the closure to a really fun summer...always!











Fun in the sun, of course and then some down time decorating cookies.


Eli cared WAY more about eating the icing than putting it on his cookies. Life is short, right? Eat the icing off the spoon, I say!




Pooped boys in need of a nap.




Feeding the deer corn is one of our lake house rituals. The kids love it...especially when we get to see the little fawns. By this time of year they are being weaned from their mothers and starting to eat big deer food! So sweet to see, though.





My monkey climbing across the porch swing, upside down.


Cait can always sweet talk Paul into playing with her. This day it was coloring. This was before the broken arm and so she was coloring inside the lines, instead of making everyone else color for her and she acts as boss of which color goes where.


Fishing with Poppa







Paul and I got a great workout in the kayak. This was a BLAST!! To be honest, we did get in a minor argument when I was in the front. I think we had two leaders that way! The next time I let him sit in front so I could follow his lead. Much better that way! HA!



I cannot stop cracking up at these pictures! Ryan was throwing B up in the air and into the water. So crazy when I see how high he was really flying!!!







And my favorite!!


And the biggest thrill of the weekend for us all was Paul's big catch! He and dad went fishing one night and Paul caught this 8 pound 6 ounce bass!!!!



Dad just can't wait to show this off to his fishing buddies! Good job Paul!!





Another great weekend...another great summer!

The circus

Okay...I told you I was behind on blogging! But I couldn't leave this one out!
Paul gave Cait tickets to the circus for her birthday. We went on her actual birthday, which gave us something really special and fun to do that night. It's been years since I went to the circus and I loved it just as much as an adult as I did as a child...minus the commercialized products they are trying to get you to buy!




She's 5 now!



Okay, so the tickets were expensive enough! And Paul reminded me in advance of all the glow things they were going to be selling there, so I got an idea! We made a trip to the dollar store and stocked up on everything we needed and more for that night.



We bought glow necklaces, glow bracelets, glow sticks...we bought candy for all of us. We even found this cool package of Barnum and Bailey Circus gummies. Perfect!
Total spent on snacks and glow thingies= $7.00
At the circus: one bag of cotton candy= $12
RIDICULOUS!!!!!





This was Cait's favorite...dancing dogs with little costumes on!



These were my favorites...the acrobats flipping in mid air and landing in a pyramid.


TIGERS, oh my! They look littl sweet BIG kitties, don't they?








This tiger is hopping like a rabbit. Notice his feet are not touching the ground.


A kiss from Blanco




These girls were freaky bendy! It's what I wish I could do in my yoga class!!!


Thank you sweet Paul for such a fun night! The kids asked on the way out the door that night if we could go to the circus again tomorrow. I think it was a hit!

BLING!!

Check out Cait's new and pretty cast! Cait and Mommy painted and made that sad little cast a little bit better!
She's doing really well with her cast and has no pain, but her sling hurts her by the end of the day. She calls it her slingshot! hee hee!

One month ago

Well I told you that I was behind on my blogging, but this is ridiculous! On August 8-10 we went to the lake house to celebrate 3 birthdays...Cait (with the fam), mom and Danyel. It was a GREAT weekend! It was also three BIG birthdays to celebrate.

Cait turned 5.
Mom turned 55.
Danyel turned 30.

There are almost exactly to the day 25 years in between each of them. So neat!

So I thought I'd just show you a few pictures. Here is Cait opening one of her presents, which is now our favorite nightgown!


Mom finally getting the mug she has been asking for with her grandbabies' picture on it.


And Danyel opening her heaviest gift of all.


30 cans of her favorite cream soda that can only be found at Central Market. Actually, all of her gifts were in increments of 30.
30 Twix bars
$30 gifts cards
30 minute massage
30 dollar bills
You get the idea.

Her last, and my favorite gift was a book, "Thirty People that Love You."
Here she is opening her book and reading from 30 different family members and friends that love her and told her why they do. It blessed me to read that book. THANK YOU if you are one of the people who contributed to that little project. I think she liked it!



Now it is tim for cake! This is another Lisa cake...same lady that made Kristi and Cait's cakes. It was strawberry swirl on the inside. Mmmm.....




Paul had these made by a guy at work. Aren't they hilarious?! Thirty dollar bills with her face on it. "Danyel Dollars." "In Danyel we trust...NOT!"


Later that night we played a game that Paul and came up with. We researched the years 1953 and 1978, the years mom and D were born. Then we made up a trivia game about music, movies, world events, etc. of those years. It was a lot of fun!!

I had to throw this sweet picture of prissy Mia in here from the next day. It was a good weekend, save the fact that Paul and Tyler both got sick. We were so blessed to have Kristi, Tyler and Bill come with us this trip. The more the merrier, esecially at the lake!