Wedding Belle

I went to Phoenix, Arizona a couple of weeks ago to attend the wedding of our cousin Jennifer. It was so much fun to travel with Mark's family. Mark stayed here to take care of Ryann, so I had a break:)Jennifer was a BEAUTIFUL bride and the outdoor setting for the wedding was breathtaking. It was truly such a God-honoring Celebration. Can't wait to see all the Robisons again over Christmas. Congratulations Jennifer and Devin!

Here are some picture highlights from the weekend

My New "Job"

The word "job" is very loosely used here. This semester, God provided such an amazing opportunity for me to stay at home and obviously take care of Ryann, but with the addition of an adorable Barrett Wood two mornings a week. He really is the cutest little boy ever. We have so much fun playing outside, making crafts (which Ryann is currently obsessed with),reading books, and learning about "sharing" (Ryann doing the learning) I could not ask for anything better.

Adorable.




Ryann's Craft

Happenings

Here are some recent happenings in our hood....

1. Ryann is in the middle of Potty Training. She goes about 3 times a day on the potty (me telling her it is time to go and sitting her on it, not her asking to go). She is not consistent, but we are getting there. She will hate these pictures some day!!




2. We celebrated our 6 Wedding Anniversary on Sept.20. We had such a great time...Mark bought me a dozen white roses (my favorite flower),ate a great dinner at Enos, ate dessert at Pokey-Os, Mark took me shopping and bought me an outfit, and ended the night by watching 17again. Great great date...love this guy!




3. Tina, my hairdresser since I was 4, cut Ryann's hair for free at my hair appt. a couple of weeks ago. Ryann just got a little trim, but you could tell she felt like such a big girl sitting in the chair.



4. In late August, my dear friend Annie Hunt had a beautiful baby girl named Hattie. Heather and I had so much fun taking Ryann up to see the new Hunt family. Congratulations Hunt family!! Hattie is an absolute doll.






5. This actually happened this summer, but found these pics on my camera and thought it was too funny not too post. I was in charge of ordering bandanas for the teenagers for our Guatemala Mission trip. Every teen is on a team and they identify what team they are on by wearing a specific bandana. All the colors were taken by the little kids so I had to resort to patterned bandanas. I was having a hard time coming up with 6 types of patterned bandanas, until I ran across a bandana website.oh, happy day, they had tons of patterned bandanas. They listed a "leaf" pattern. I thought that would be great for a team being that we are in Guatemala, lots of jungle leaves, etc. I bought 2 dozen of them. When they arrived , they had the word "cannabis" on the outside of the pack. Being my naive self, I googled "cannabis" and lo and behold....the cannabis leaf is the marijuana leaf. So I now had 24 weed bandanas. Needless to say, I did not take them to Guatemala. I threw them away, but not without a photo. Meanwhile Mark was in Guatemala during this time. I told him about the bandanas and he told Julio (the missionary they were staying with). Something got lost in translation and Julio thought I had accidently bought actual weed (Mark promptly corrected him)....would've have been a lot worse than bandanas.

Staycation

Mid August we decided to do a little weekend staycation before Mark started the semester. We gave ourselves a budget of $30 per day, including food. It was so fun and sort of a game to find really cheap activities around Dallas. Friday we started off our day at the Arboretum, where tickets were only a dollar for the month of August. Ryann loved all the story book playhouses. We then went and saw a movie at the dollar theater and finished our night with a meal at Mama's Pizza (Mark's favorite pizza place). Saturday we started off the day at Sandy Lake Park. I had not been there since the 6th grade when I went with FBA:) It is still there and rockin' Ry had so much fun on the little kid rides and proved to be quite the thrill seeker...which thrilled Mark. We had a picnic lunch and headed home for a nap. It was such a fun way to say goodbye to Summer. Here are some pics of our weekend...

Strength will Rise...

I love that Praise Song with the lines...Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, as we Wait upon the Lord, as we WAIT upon the Lord...This song has been in my head for the past week. I know the Lord put it in my head, because that is right where we are...WAITING.
Mark started his Last DTS semester this week. So hard to believe that this "crazy life change decision" is coming to an end and possibly resulting in an even Crazier life change.
I like Plans. I like to be in control. I knew where I wanted to go to college when I graduated high school, what I wanted to major in, and when I graduated what I wanted to do. I even knew that I was going to marry Mark WAY before he knew he wanted to marry me. Not that I was a slave to my plans, God had other avenues for us that in hindsight were absolutely perfect, although I definitely didn't think that at the time.
I want to know where in the world we will be, what we will be doing, what our family will look like. This Waiting game is so hard, but strangely empowering. We have to rely on Him to direct our paths...there is no way I can control our plans, which is a good thing.

Guatemala::Padrinos

Every year when I return from Guatemala, I say that "this year was my favorite." This year was no different. I can say without a doubt that this year was the most special. Mark and I are now Padrinos (Godparents). I met Gabbi when she was 17 in 2005. She was tender-hearted, shy, and absolutely beautiful. She became pregnant that year and had a son in 2006 named Alan. She was at camp with Alan that next summer and was in my sister in law's group. I didn't go to Guatemala in 2007, due to Ryann, but thought of her often during the week Mark was there.In 2008, I was so happy to see her. She and her son were in my group and she was pregnant with her second child, a girl, due on my birthday. She called the father of this baby her husband and they seemed to be doing really well, attending the adult Bible study during the evenings of camp. They were a family, and it made my heart happy that this baby, Gabbi,and Alan were going to be taken care of. Gabbi had her baby Girl, Sharon, in October. Her "husband" left her 2 months later, for a 17 year old girl in the village. Gabbi and kids had to move in with her parents. Mark went and saw Gabbi, and reported to me how she looked like a different girl...tired, tiny, and broken. When I got to Guatemala, I found her and gave her a lot of Ryann's clothes. She immediately took off Sharon's dirty onesie and dressed her in Ryann's frilly red Christmas dress...in the middle of July...love it. Gabbi smiled, which was so nice to see. I had the opportunity to talk with her at length that evening with a translator and told her how sorry I was, etc. I was crying, she was crying, the translator was crying. The next night, Gabbi, her mother, and the same translator came over to me and told me they wanted to talk. They told me they would like me and Mark to be Sharon's godparents. The wise translator told me I probably would need to talk with Julio, the pastor, just to make sure we all understood what that title meant culturally. I grabbed Mark, and we all went to talk to Julio. Julio explained to them that being from the States wouldn't allow us to do some of the things godparents would do in Guatemala, etc. He then asked Gabbi what her expectations were for us as godparents. She answered, "I don't have any specific expectations, I just want them to love my child, and to think she is special" Of course, our answer was YES! We then told her that we already love both of her children and that we pray for them everday...lots of tears and hugs were exchanged. If you think about it, please lift up the Augustine family in prayer. Gabbi is a believer, please pray that she sees herself as a daughter of Christ, and that she would find her total self-worth and significance in HIM alone.

Guatemala:: Pray for Anayeli

This is Anayeli. She was on my team in 2008 and is a firecracker, 100% full of spunk. Her father passed away 2 weeks ago due to an alcohol-related car accident. Please pray for Anayeli, her mother, and her siblings. Life is going to change for this family. Pray for strength and a peace that passes all understanding. Please pray that her mother will run to Christ for rest. Please pray that this family will find rest and peace in the Shadow of the Almighty.