oaxaca.

i just got back from spending a few days in oaxaca, mexico on a buckner international trip. the group was made up of some incredible women who love to laugh and love to love on children. it was a BLAST. here are all the mother/daughter duos:

and, of course, my favorite mother/daughter duo:

buckner mexico is doing great work. they have multiple community transformation centers, feeding programs, and orphan homes. they're also helping families provide for themselves by giving them chicken coops and greenhouses and teaching them the skills to operate these things. it was pretty amazing to see. our time was mostly spent seeing the ministries, but also participating in them. we helped with the feeding programs, then did some crafts and stories to teach hygiene skills to the moms and children at the community transformation centers. i could post 100 pictures of the beautiful children there, but this girl might have been my favorite little cutie:

oh and did i mention that we got to see the biggest tree in the world?!? if you know me, you know i love trees, so of course i loved it. this thing was HUGE! this is all the same tree:

and finally, last night i returned home to my sweet husband who was apparently MISERABLE without me (just as he should've been, right?). i've been finding little notes all over the apartment this morning -- pitiful, but absolutely adorable.

thankful for another great trip. thankful for good time with my mom and sweet friends. thankful to see god at work in oaxaca, mexico, and to be reminded of his missionary nature and his unfathomable love and care for the orphans of this world.

long time no see.

remember how i have a blog? oops. i'm not sure why i haven't blogged in almost six months -- maybe just flat out busyness (lame excuse). then, of course, somewhere in there it got to that awkward point that friendships get to sometimes -- like when you don't want to get in touch because you haven't talked in so long, what would you talk about? you know the feeling.

well for whatever reason, i think it's time to start it up again. but before i get into all my most recent profound thoughts (right), i think it's only appropriate to get caught up on the last six months. let's just say, a LOT has happened... we'll take it chronologically:

1. i spent one week in may at christ of the desert monastery in northwestern new mexico. it counted as a "wilderness theology" course for seminary credit. dr. gloer (a NT prof at truett) takes a small group of students each year, and this year, katelyn and i were lucky enough to make the cut! spiritually, it was one of the best weeks of my life.

2. this summer i did a mentorship with cindy wiles at GCPN (global connection partnership network). i learned so much from her and the people there about what it really looks like for mission to be done through the local church.

3. after living in longview for 30 years, my mom moved to dallas -- kinda crazy, but also kinda exciting. she's got a great place there and has already made it feel like home. i'm hopeful for her new life there.

4. i graduated from truett seminary with an m.div!! i'm DUNZO with school!! woohoo!

5. the wedding celebration began -- showers, showers, and more showers!

6. our WEDDING -- chris and i got MARRIED! i'm a BRISTER! (maybe i should change my blog address...?)

7. honeymoon in hawaii (read: paradise).

8. we moved to norman, oklahoma to help plant a church: providence road communities. norman is such a fun place -- cute college town with lots of local shops and restaurants, and only 20 minutes from okc! we really like it here and are really enjoying the prov road fam.

9. my beloved texas rangers returned to the world series only to suffer another loss. i can't really communicate how much this broke my little heart. maybe you can get a taste of it from a post i wrote last october. makes me miss my dad in a big way.

10. my sweet nephew is almost 6 months old and cuter than ever. i'm obsessed.

so those are the top 10 highlights of the last 6 months! whew! sorry for being long-winded, but it felt good to catch up. hopefully it won't take me another 6 months to write the next post, huh?

proud sister.

this post is somewhat belated, but i couldn't miss this opportunity to brag on my brothers. in one week, both of my brothers celebrated some pretty major life milestones.

on may 10th, my brother and sister-in-law welcomed their first child into the world: whitley david crowson. little whit is the cutest thing i've ever seen in my life, and being an aunt is way fun. look at this precious little guy:

congrats, luke and teri!

then, just four days later, my other brother graduated from denver seminary with a master's degree in christian formation and soul care. 3 years of hard work finally paid off!

congrats, drewby!

yep. i'm a proud sister.

mom's day.

happy mother's day to the best mom in the world.

she's quite the rock. i'm so thankful for such an incredible example of what it means to be a godly woman, wife, and mom. i'm constantly impressed by her--she's brilliant, passionate, funny, and cool--i mean, let's face it--she has square oakley glasses, wears sanuks, and reads people like donald miller and francis chan. i probably take for granted about 95% of the things she does for me, and i'm sure i don't even know half of it. she's just absolutely amazing, and i'm sad for you if you don't know her.

and last but not least... in about 2 or 3 days, she'll be a grandmother!!!! (thanks, luke and teri!!)

i love you, mom!!

justice juxtaposition.

i read this article on the resurgence written in response to the news about osama bin laden's death. it's about about loving your enemies. ouch.

at the end of the article, it articulated well exactly what i was feeling--a tension. i feel like i'm being pulled between the tension of these two verses:

proverbs 11.10: "when it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness."

proverbs 24.17: "do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles."

i don't really know where to land on this. do i think justice is a good thing? well sure... but i just don't think it can possibly be right to be dancing in the streets over someone's death... no matter who he is.

praying we would know what jesus meant when he said, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."