First one to go . . .

This past weekend my family experienced a very momentous occasion: Chris, my second oldest cousin was the first to get married!

It was a great wedding. Beautiful, outside, perfect weather, great setting, close family and friends, some hilarious moments, and a dance off. The whole weekend was filled with fun moments with family, along with some crazy ones of course.  It was really fun to all be together. It has probably been at least five years since we have all been together and it was great to share such a special day together.  I'm super thankful for my family and the chance we had to be together.

First time the five of us have been together since May.

All the cousins, including our newest cousin

The 3 Fuller girls

One really cool thing about the wedding was the anniversary dance. I hadn't seen this before and thought it was really neat.  All the couples go out on the floor and then leave the dance floor as their anniversary is called. Like first anyone who is dating, then married for 1, 5, 10, and so on.  My grandparents were the last ones on the floor. They have been married for 60 years.  60 years!!! That is three times the length of my life! I mean it is entirely a lifetime! I can't imagine all they have been through together in that amount of time.  It just reminded me of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family, starting from the faithfulness my grandparents share.  I mean look how cute they are!!

It was a great weekend. A great time being with family and celebrating the commitment Chris and Lisa made to each other.  That sweet dance my grandparents shared was a great reminder of the Lord's faithfulness.  If two flawed people, as great as my grandparents are they are still sinful humans, can remain faithful and committed to each other for a lifetime, how much more faithful is my Jesus. My Jesus, who is perfect and absolutely blameless, is so faithful and he goes to such incredible lengths to show his children his faithfulness.  Thank you Lord for such a wonderful reminder.  

Praise the Lord, all you nations;

extol him, all you peoples.

For great is his love toward us, 

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. 

Praise the Lord

Psalm 117

Happy Birthday

This post is dedicated to the two most incredible women in my life.  My mom and my sister.  They share a birthday. Its today. Happy Birthday Mom and Carrie. I love you.

Let me tell you about these two women in case you haven't have the privilege of knowing them.

My mom is THE most influential woman in my walk with the Lord.  My mom is the most servant hearted person on this earth.  She puts nothing before her kids and her husband.  But my favorite thing about my mom is her passion for the Word. She is incredible at memorizing God's word and takes hiding it in her heart literally.  For as long as I can remember mom has been quoting scripture for practically everything in life.  That is definitely something I am so thankful for.  I can't even tell you the countless rides to school where she would have us going over Scripture memory to get our weekly pack of gum.  She either knew verses from memory or was able to quickly reference one for any situation we were going through.  She is always quick to apologize even when she had done nothing wrong.  She loves her family and is incredibly loyal to her friends.  She is incredibly creative, but always says she isn't (its just because she is comparing herself to my dad, and I mean he is an artist, he makes anyone feel not creative).  She loves puzzles. She hates t.v. because it means we can't talk.  She loves Jesus and seeks to know Him every single day.  She has a heart that beats to be hospitable to others. She loves having fun and is so goofy and crazy.  She loves watching her kids play sports, and she is quite the athlete herself.  She went to Ball State on a gymnastics scholarship.  She can still do an ariel cartwheel and she learned how to wakeboard this summer.  Today is her 50th birthday. Yeah, I don't feel bad about saying that.

Mom, I am so incredibly blessed to have you as my mom. I love you more than I can ever explain to you. You truly are the reason for my walk with the Lord and my love for the Word.  I want to be just like you when I grow up.  I want to be a mom like you who puts her family before absolutely everything.  You are truly an incredible woman of God and are so so wise.  I'm so thankful for you!! Happy Birthday!

Carrie.
My sister.
She is absolutely my best friend in this whole world.  I cannot imagine my life without her.  She is brave. She is strong. She is confident.  Every important memory of my life involves Carrie.  She used to get mad at me for copying her, which I truly did in everything, but I only did it because she is amazing and so cool.  She has been the most athletic girl on the soccer field since the day she stepped on the field at 5 years-old.  She is funny. She can make me laugh like no one else in this world.  She is very strategic.  She is one heck of a prankster, and everything I learned I learned from her.  She can throw a football better than Peyton Manning. She is tough. She takes what life throws at her with incredible bravery, consistency, and persistence.  She is brilliant. If you ever have a question about school or something related to being smart, just give her a call. Even math. She is smarter than she thinks.  She loves Jesus. Oh she so loves Jesus.  She strives to know him and love him.  She seeks Him every day and longs to point other people to Him.  She has a passion for others. She is the most incredible leader I have ever known.  She has an ability to command a group of people and get things done. Even things like having a blast.  She is hilarious when caught off guard, but she hates being scared.  She is an amazing water skiier and a crazy tuber.  She is so fun. She just brings the party.  She is wise and loves to help people and share her wisdom.  There is not a fun memory in my life that doesn't have Carrie in it.

Care,
I just can't say enough wonderful things about you. You are the most amazing woman I know. You are the most faithful friend. The most loving sister. I am so thankful for how close we are. You truly inspire me and I want to be more like you.  I am so so so SO thankful that you are my sister. I am blessed to be the closest person to you and I am privileged that you are the closest person to me. Gosh, I love you.

Mom and Care,
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it onto completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1)

I love you Mom
I love you Care

Happy Birthday!!!!!