Humility

I recently finished reading Humility by CJ Mahaney, and I have the feeling I'll need to read it once a week for the remainder of my life. Certain parts of it were just too good not to share, so I wanted to write down a few of my favorite quotes. I hope you find this as encouraging/convicting as I did!

My favorite part was regarding Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but ONLY what is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." CJ says:

      "Paul is referring to any and all communication that deters growth in godliness; any speech that hinders the cultivation of godly relationships; any words that have a deadening and dulling effect on the soul of another...there's to be no decay-spreading communication of any kind, in any way, at any time, by anyone...In my experience, when there's an absence of edifying words there's also normally the presence of pride and of self-righteousness, because those who are proud are too preoccupied with themselves and think too highly of themselves to care about building others up or to be sensitive to their true needs. It's the humble who are perceptive; they're skilled in discerning the work of God in others because they care about others and want to serve other. So I encourage you to memorize and meditate on Ephesians 4:29 and take it with you into your many conversations throughout day by day." 

Wow. I just think that is good, good stuff. And oh-so-easy to forget. Will you pray for me, that it will remain at the forefront of my mind...all day, every day?

Confession

I have a confession to make. Last night, we went to a Taylor Swift concert. And by "we" I mean that Thomas came along too. 

Now, let me explain. Our favorite band in the whole wide world is Needtobreathe. If you don't know about 'em, learn about 'em. We've been to 6 of their concerts. They're from South Carolina, and they are incredible. Anyway, back to the story. Needtobreathe is now the opening band for Taylor Swift on her world tour. That's a pretty big deal for a South Carolina band! So, they were scheduled to come to the Patriot's stadium in Foxboro this past weekend. I nearly forgot that they were coming until I saw the set-up crew at the stadium on Friday. I all of the sudden thought "oh my goodness, Needtobreathe is going to be playing live 5 minutes from our house and WE AREN'T GOING TO HEAR IT." So, I called my friend Kara and asked if she was planning to go hear Taylor Swift with her Taylor Swift-loving 4th grade daughter. Kara said "as a matter of fact, I'm buying tickets now. Want to come with us?" I did what any loving wife would do and said "let me check with my husband." I called and coaxed Husband into going. I said, "worst case scenario, you can leave and Kara will give me a ride home." He said "I refuse to like Taylor Swift, I cannot subject myself to this madness. But I will go only to hear Needtobreathe." So, that is how it came to be that we attended a Taylor Swift concert. 

We cheered loudly for Needtobreathe and thoroughly enjoyed the songs that they played. Then, the teenie boppers started screaming for Taylor Swift. And when I say screaming, I mean louder than it has ever been at any Patriot's game that I've ever attended. Thomas got a horrified look on his face and said "this is sad" over and over again. I, on the other hand, morphed into another person. I suddenly realized  I knew the words to more Taylor Swift songs than I care to admit. At one point I realized that Thomas was gone. He'd relocated himself to the television near the concession area to watch a baseball game. But Kara, K and I stood and sang Taylor Swift at the top of our lungs with 2039520398458 other teenie boppers. And it was fun. We even stuck it out through a torrential downpour at the end of the show. Don't judge me. I'm telling myself that it was all so my 4th grade friend would have fun. But deep in my heart, I know the truth. Taylor Swift isn't so bad after all. 

Thomas really wanted to buy a t-shirt, but I would't let him...

Although Needtobreathe couldn't unplug all of the microphones/equipment for the last song like they normally do, they did the next best thing and shut down everything except the microphone. It gives me the chills every.single.time. 

No, Kara and I are not pregnant. Those were just purses and sweaters underneath our shirts. 

Go Tswift. Rock on. 

What we do

Although it may appear via our blog that all we do is host fun guests and do awesome New England things, we do have a life during the week! I can't post much about my job for the sake of the kids I work with, but I absolutely LOVE working with the children and teachers at the League School. My days are never dull and I'm always entertained. The folks there are just so good to me and have been so incredibly welcoming. I am thankful!

 At the end of April I invited Thomas and a few of the other Patriot's players to visit the school, and it was such a special time. Thomas, Logan Mankins, Sammy Morris and Sebastian Vollmer all impressed my co-workers with how patient and loving they were with the autistic population and the kids were absolutely in love with them. It is always humbling to be reminded of why we do what we do in the NFL and what a platform it can be.

Thomas spends about 7 hours a day working on his job aka his body. He goes to the gym in the morning with a few other linemen for about 3 hours, then heads to the local hospital for another few hours of rehab for his ankle. He has worked so hard this off season and been really persistent. I am really thankful for what a hard worker I married.

While Thomas does work out a LOT, he also does the majority of chores around our house since I'm gone most of the day. I leave him lots of "honey-do" lists, which he just loves. He's become quite efficient with laundry, dishes and food prep. And going to the grocery store. He still needs some schooling on proper vacuuming techniques, but looks like hopefully the lockout will be over before he can master that.  Yesterday I was telling my co-workers about the list I left him, and they made a social story for him. (We use social stories for our kids throughout the day. It is basically photos that prepare them for what their day will consist of.) I'll leave you with this picture for a good laugh.

Brother Josh comes to visit

Thomas' brother Josh just left after a little 5 day visit, and if I say so myself, we gave him a pretty good taste of New England. Here, let me take you on a photo tour...

Thomas and Josh went camping in Maine for two nights. You can read about their adventures here at Josh's new blog. Check it out and become a follower of his blog as he begins the next chapter of his life! Their trip in his words is much more entertaining than what I would say here. 

They came home wearing the same clothes they left in, and Thomas' hair was literally standing on end because it was so dirty. And they were drinking out of this 2 liter Orange Crush bottle the entire time. Cheri, don't worry, I know you raised them better than this!

After the boys got home we fixed this amazing corn/pesto pizza with a mixed green and fruit salad--I threw fresh kale into the salad and it was quite delightful. Thanks for the idea Whole Foods! We also had sangria and Woodchuck Hard Cider from Vermont. It was the perfect summer meal. 

After church the next day we had brunch at Nick's on Broadway in Providence. Although we had a long wait for our meal, it was totally worth it for the fresh, local ingredients and oh-so-tasty too.  We later decided it would be a good idea to burn off our calories on a hike in the local state park. I realized on that hike that it was providential that I had to work during their camping trip and couldn't tag along. They were knocking trees down, running through poison ivy, kicking each other and bleeding by the end of what was supposed to be a leisurely hike. While I am thankful that Thomas and Josh can still love each other as only brothers can, it makes me NERVOUS. 

We also got to attend our first Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Thankfully the Sox won 14-5 so the fans weren't too rowdy, but we got a great taste of Fenway and really enjoyed ourselves. We are so thankful we got to spend this time with Josh before he jets off to Asia to serve the Lord there for 6 months! Please pray for his time there, that he would be faithful to our sweet Savior and build some great relationships along the way. 

Wedding Experts

We are now officially in the process of becoming wedding experts. Connoisseurs, if you will. We aren't going to be able to go to all ten that we were invited to down south this summer, but we were excited to get to attend Ben and Stella's this past weekend. Thomas was the best man and it was so much fun to see many of our college friends. We even got to crash with my brother and his family each night. I took a few fun pictures, and I'm so glad that I truly captured just how hot it was at the reception. I saw a thermometer that read 81 degrees in the building, but the thermostat was set on 65. It was incredibly hot on the dance floor and I'm fairly sure that Thomas lost about 5 pounds just from dancing and sweating. Nevertheless, we had so much fun and I'm thankful that Thomas has turned over a new leaf and dances with me at receptions.

With my dear friend Sandy who hosted us for one night of our trip and was a home away from home throughout our college years. 

Thomas and Mike displaying just how hot it actually was. I know this picture isn't very flattering of either one of them, but I just had to do it. 

Thomas with some of his former teammates and fajita night faithfuls. We miss these boys!

Myself and a few of my dear friends from college. 

Ever since our wedding when the groomsmen chased our getaway car down the driveway, it has become a standing tradition to chase the bride and groom away from the reception. It is a slightly terrifying thing to behold, I speak from experience. 

On Sunday morning Thomas went upstairs to help my niece and nephews get ready for church. This is what I found a few minutes later. Love the Mickey Mouse ears. 

As we were having lunch on Sunday these three trooped down the stairs dressed in an array of outfits. They proceeded to change clothes multiple times, and even came down dressed as a flag pole at one point.

While we had a blast seeing everyone, we were thankful to come back to the cooler temperatures in New England. I forgot how H-U-M-I-D it is down south, and I was relieved to walk off of the plane and feel the 60 degree weather! What is happening to me? Am I starting to love New England? Nah, I just remembered the snow and shuddered. 

Summer Salads You'll Love

I've been making a ridiculous amount of salads lately and these two are my current favorites. I recently went through some old Cooking Light magazines and remembered wanting to try these recipes. The good news is, you can make both of them with the same general ingredients. I've been taking them to school for lunch and I look forward to lunch every day!

1. Edamame Succotash  is just as good without the bacon, and I used frozen corn kernels. I'm pretty sure I ate the entire recipe in 2 meals. And you could substitute the edamame with lima beans if you live near The Bush-n-Vine.  Too bad I'm thousands of miles away and most local fruits and veggies aren't available here yet.

2. Golden Corn Salad with Fresh Basil doesn't have to be made with the Finnish potatoes, but it is fun to use those itty bitty potatoes. Shake things up a bit, ya know? This salad is best if you make it ahead of time and let it marinate in the fridge overnight. I ate it on top of fresh greens and it was divine.

That's all for now folks!

Visitors Part II

As soon as Maggie and Tyler left, our good friends Danny and Stacia rolled in on Tuesday for the Pat's workouts at Boston College this week. Stacia is quite pregnant with baby Wolfgang, and looking cuter than ever. Everyone says so! We always have a blast with them and this visit was no exception. However, Thomas had to fly out Friday morning for a wedding, and we all missed him being around for the remainder of the weekend. Life just isn't as fun without him! We drove into Boston on Saturday, and the weather was nothing short of glorious. It was 70 and sunny with a delightful breeze. We lunched at Paramount on Charles Street and I'm drooling remembering how delicious it was. 

We walked along parts of the Freedom Trail, and Stacia insisted that we take photos at EVERY stop along the way. 

Danny isn't a very good photographer. We wanted the words "City Hall" in the photo, but apparently he doesn' t know that you can in fact turn the camera sideways to get a better shot. So Stacia and I look like ants. 

By the time we had supper, Danny was really getting tired of being with the girls and he was missing Thomas. Can you see how much he missed him by that scowl on his face? We can't wait until the lockout is over and we are all living within a 5 minute drive of each other again! 

Reasons why

I love where we live for oh so many reasons, but mostly because of the amazing local places we've found. 

We live within walking distance to Loewen's Deli and we've become obsessed with their braided rolls. Homemade amazingness is what they are. They have Boar's Head meat and they have some great sandwich combinations. I seriously have to refrain from eating there more than once a week. 

And Ward's Berry Farm always makes me feel like I'm back at home at the Bush-n-Vine. They have great produce and a plethora of other local items. We love living in New England!

A Very New England-y Weekend

Our dear friends Maggie and Tyler came up for Memorial Day weekend, and we had quite the fun-filled New England weekend with them. We've seen lots of New England in the fall and winter, but everything is lush and green these days and we were excited to have picture perfect weather for the duration of their trip.

They flew into Boston on Friday morning, so we took them to breakfast at Henrietta's Table. This place is a MUST if you live in the area. It was incredible. Then we went on a little walking tour of Boston, and of course swung by the Sam Adams Brewery.

We also swung by Mike's Pastry in the North End. We were saving it for dessert once we got home, but Thomas and Tyler seemed to have eaten part of a cannoli when Maggie and I weren't looking. Check out those fingerprints on the box. 

On Saturday we showed them around our booming metropolis of Foxboro, then headed to Providence for our favorite sushi at 10 Steak and Sushi. 

We then walked over to Waterfire in Providence along the river. It was a really fun thing to see, but not something I'd want to do every weekend. There was a live band nearby and we all had a great time dancing. 

Sunday after church we headed to Newport to tour one of the mansions. We discussed pooling our money together to buy one, but decided against it. Too much upkeep, ya know?

We also played a lot of Canasta over the weekend (Thomas' family card game, and Tyler's new favorite) and Thomas claims I am becoming a better card player. However, he still calls "family meetings" every now and then to remind me of the rules and to take things seriously. No flippant players in this household, I assure you. 

Monday we went out to Cape Cod to visit my sister's in-law's and they gave us the royal treatment. We drove out to Crowe's Pasture  and spent a little time on the beach, had amazing food on the grill, and even got to go on a boat ride in the Bass River. Here is a parting shot of Thomas, Tyler and E playing with swords on the boat. Maggie and I always laugh at how they revert to 7 year-olds when they are around each other. We love our sweet friends!