Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh...Hangin' Tough!

Oh, yea, ladies!  Yours truly was there Saturday night for the live New Kids on the Block concert experience...and what an experience it was!

Important things you should know about the NKOTB concert:

Women LOVE the NKOTB...and they will prove it with their homemade t-shirts! This was only one of several groups who expressed their undying love through adorable arts and crafts:

Lest any of you doubt that the NKOTB are still adored by a HUGE following, let the 20,000 women who flooded into Houston's concert Saturday night be the living proof. I was privileged to attend the concert with the two biggest NKOTB fans ever!  

Here's Erin, still showing Jordan the love after all these years:
I still remember her sister Catherine's devotion to Joey in high school when she wore oversized buttons like this one:Catherine's devotion to Joey runs deep.  Exhibit 1:Exhibit 2:

Joey is still HOTT:

Jordan is still HOTTER:

I confess that I never really got into NKOTB back in the day. While they have grown into handsome men, I too have grown up to be a sensible woman.  I may have rocked a side ponytail to support the band, but OH MY STARS, turn the volume down!

Lincee from I Hate Green Beans was sitting right next to me!

My sister was sitting on the other side of me, which came in very hand at a concert where the music was so loud, we couldn't communicate with words. All we have to do is give each other one look and we just get it, ya dig? We have fun together: 

In case you forgot the hand motions to "Hangin' Tough" no worries!  Just wave your hands in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care:

NKOTB can still rock it old school, but they look good in their grown up suits!

NKOTB + Confetti = Total Estrogen Frenzy

Texas was very serious about thanking the NKOTB:

...Very serious...

no, seriously serious!

Thanks NKOTB!  It was an awesome concert!

My Fairy Godmother

Meribeth and her beautiful family in 2007 at my wedding reception.

Question from The Book of Myself:  My godparent or a special adult in my life growing up was...

I was blessed with a wonderful godmother, who also happens to be my cousin. Her name is Meribeth. I call her my Fairy Godmother, and she calls me her Fairy Goddaughter. The best part about Meribeth (how can I pick a best part, really?) is that she is 14 years older than I am, so she is between my mother's age and my own.  That makes her the perfect confidant. Young enough to confide in like a big sister, but wise enough to give me sage advice!

I'll never forget a very special letter I received from her. I was about 14 years old and she came to visit me during the summer. That stage of adolescence is so difficult, no matter how well-adjusted a girl might be. She came to spend a week or two with my sister and me while my parents were out of town. 

After she left town, my sister and I were having some sort of sibling rivalry and I was feeling like a generally angsty teenager. I guess my mom sensed that I needed someone (besides a mother) to talk to about my feelings, so she suggested that I write Meribeth a letter. I decided to do just that.

If I recall, the root of my angst boiled down to the fact that I really wanted to become an actress and I had no idea how to make that happen, living in suburban Houston at 14 years old.

Meribeth wrote me back the kindest and most understanding letter. She suggested that I enroll in acting classes and was just generally encouraging. What I remember most from her letter was that she believed in me. She heard what was in my heart, and she believed in me and the importance of my dreams. Even writing about it now, I have tears streaming down my cheeks.

It is not lost on me that my decision to major in Theatre Arts in college was probably made a little bit more easily because my wise Fairy Godmother once told me in a letter that taking acting classes could really help me to fulfill my dreams. And it is not lost on me now that the woman who believed in my dreams when I was 14 years old still believes in them 20 years later.  She has traveled many miles over the past year to see me perform in two plays in Los Angeles!

Meribeth, thank you for being the best Fairy Godmother I could hope for!

Blogging Inspiration!

Image found on Amazon.com

In the checkout line today at HomeGoods, I spotted The Book of Myself by Carl and David Marshall.  It is a "Do-it Yourself Autobiography in 201 Questions". Fascinated, I flipped through the pages and decided right then and there to buy it!

For our first anniversary, my mother gave us The Book of Us: A Journal of your Love Story in 150 Questions by David and Kate Marshall. It has since sat collecting dust on my bookshelf.

However, both books are now on my desk next to my laptop, and I've decided to begin chronicling my life in these books.  At the same time, I think the questions posed in the books will make wonderful prompts for blogging! Considering that I've been lacking in blog fodder lately, it seems like good timing!

Summertime!

These little cuties are the kids of some of our new friends here in TX. I couldn't resist the blueberry cobbler smeared all over their son's face!

Nothing says summertime like swinging in the late evening...

...fresh cut grass...

...and blueberry cobbler!

Focused Passion

I can't seem to escape thinking about mortality lately.

Between my own father's passing a year ago, the slew of celebrity deaths that have happened over the past two weeks, and news Brian received last night that an old work acquaintance passed away, it's practically impossible to escape thoughts of death and life.

Life is just so short--life here on earth, that is.  I believe in Heaven and that I will live there eternally after I die.

With all that in mind, my finite brain has some questions churning around in it:

~If life on earth is a gift that endures for a finite amount of time, how should I live it?

~If life on earth is preparation for eternity, how should I live it?

~If life on earth is a gift from God, how does He want me to live it?

In other words, I don't believe this life is all there is.  However, I do believe this life has great purpose that impacts both the here and now, as well as eternity. The big question I'm left with is:  With all this in mind, how shall I live?

One of the answers I keep coming back to is:  with passion!

I realize these are huge questions that can't be summed up articulately in a short blog post.  I can say, though, that if life here on earth has a divine purpose, I want to embrace it and to live fully!

I want to take seriously the things that matter to God. I want to enjoy this earthly life to the full because it is a great gift!  Today is God's gift to me--an opportunity to get to know Him better, to love Him with my life, to love others, to appreciate the beauty in His Creation, to give thanks for my home, for my daily bread, for my dear family and friends. 

Amazingly, I think I take so much of it all for granted.  Days slip away lived passionlessly.  

To live a life of focused passion and love for God and others--I think that is my purpose.

Note:  My husband, Brian, wrote a beautiful post today reflecting on this theme.

Celebrating TWO!

Thanks to all of you who left such sweet comments for us on our anniversary. I had to put a couple photos of the lovely roses I was greeted with when I walked into our kitchen on Tuesday morning!

We are planning to spend the weekend up in my hometown where we got married.  Of course, I love an excuse to "drag out" celebrating anything (birthdays, anniversaries etc.)!  We're going to stay at the hotel where we had our wedding reception, and we're also going to take a cooking class.  The class is called "Date Night in Rio de Janeiro", and all the recipes we'll be making are Brazilian!  Then we get to sit down and eat the delicious meal we cook!

Happy 4th of July weekend to all!

House Guests = Captive Photo Subjects!

About a year ago, some friends of ours from our church in California moved to Texas.  Nine months later, we did too!  So it was fun to be able to have a reunion with Lonna and her son Jamin.  They made a pretty long drive just to spend about 24 hours with us!  Thanks, guys!

I'm still taking baby steps toward setting up a photography business, so neither my Canon nor I could resist this adorable face!

Isn't he handsome?!

Tuesday morning, I wanted to do a mother/son photo shoot, but Jamin was in no mood to have a camera in his face!  I had discovered this waterfall in our community a month or so ago, and I'd been wanting to take some photos there. I can't wait to go back and shoot there again!  I love this photo because it just goes to show that capturing a silly moment is just as framable as two perfectly smiling faces making eye contact with the camera:

After our shoot, we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, and Jamin loved his ice cream cone!

If you're in the Houston area and you want me to photograph your family or your children, let me know!  I'm trying to build my portfolio, so I'll do it for C-H-E-A-P!

Two Years Ago Today...

I married the man of my dreams.

Marrying Brian was the easiest and best decision!

Our wedding day was full of joy and celebration--a moment in time I'll never forget!

Our marriage has been a blessing--a journey through time together with my soul mate.

Love * Loyalty * Lifetime

I love you, Brian! Happy Anniversary!

Doves...Like Pigeons, Only Cuter!

Since moving to this part of Texas, I have been so amazed at how many doves are EVERYWHERE! As I was walking down the stairs today, I saw this Mama Dove with her two babies sitting on the ledge of the window.

Just out of curiosity, do any of you know the difference between a pigeon and a dove?  They look very similar to me.  Doves are just smaller and maybe a little cuter.

To the People of Iran: I Stand With You!

To the Courageous People of Iran, those Marching in the Streets:

At a time in history when there is so much about which to worry, so much about which to despair--you are not wallowing in worry, nor are you cowering in despair.  You are taking it to the streets and making your voices heard!  

You are braving tear gas and police batons and asking as loudly as you can, "Where is MY vote?"

You are risking being beaten and even killed because freedom is more important to you than your very lives.

As I sit in front of my television, watching the videos and messages that you are sending out through Twitter and Facebook, I am amazed and inspired by your courage.  I want to do something to help you, but I'm not sure what to do or how to help, other than to pray and to write this post on my blog.

If you even have access to the internet, please know this:  Your voices are being heard by the world and we are watching! We support your valiant efforts to be heard and to be free!  You are my brothers and my sisters and I am with you!  I am for you!

May God grant you the freedom for which you so yearn!

Celebrating Father's Day at The Women's Colony

The Women's Colony is honoring the special men in our lives for Father's Day weekend. I wrote a post about my step-father, John, which is featured in "The Rec Room". You can read it by clicking here.

While you're there, poke around some of the other rooms of the Colony. Johnny Depp was spotted in "The Cabana" on June 2...seriously!

Backyard Follies with Samma-Lamma!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my nephew? SO MUCH. (!!!) 

My mom and I went over to Jilly's house today and we took Sam outside to cool down in his makeshift "pool".

Bubbles!

How about those eyelashes?

"Ah ba baa!"

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Happy Birthday, Honey! 

Beloved

Reliable

Inspired

Awesome

Noble

I love you!  May God bless you with an awesome year to come!

If you'd like to get to know Brian a little better, you can check out his blog here.

You Know You're Domesticated When...

...you can't stop running to your window to see how many birds are feasting at your bird feeder now!

My mom gave me this squirrel-proof bird feeder and shepherd's hook on Mother's Day this year. If she is trying to prove to me that I really do have what it takes to be a bird-watching housewife, it's totally working.

These Three Abide

Remember when I was working on an art project prototype?  Well, I finally created the actual pieces, and on Monday my sister helped me hang them over my desk in the office.

Here they are individually. I decided to go for a geometric look of three big squares containing lots of smaller squares.  The medium is watercolor and black pen on white poster board.  After I painted each of the three pieces, I cut them into smaller squares and then mounted them with foam mounting tape on black foam board. My sister gave me the suggestion of just using the foam mounting tape to affix the completed artwork to the wall. She said it wouldn't ruin the walls if I ever decide to take them down, and I just chose to believe her!

Here are some broader shots of the room, to give you an idea of how the office is coming together. As I sit at my desk and work on our adoption paperwork, it is encouraging to look up and remember that faith, hope and love are three major forces that keep us motivated through the process!

There are still a few more things I want to do in here, but I'm really liking how it's pulling together. It is by far the most contemporary and COLORFUL room in the house, which is probably why I enjoy spending so much of my time in it!

Happy Birthday, Dad

I'm finally coming back from being knocked down by some kind of a viral respiratory thing.  It definitely felt like the flu with aches, chills, headache and fever, but I tested negative for the flu (which is a good thing!).  Now, I'm just dealing with chest congestion and fatigue. I'm sleeping a lot and napping, too.  Anyway, enough of those boring details!  I would like to say one more time, though, that Brian rocks and has been the most selfless, sweet caretaker I could ask for!

In other news, I thought I'd give a brief update on our settling in process. I'm still feeling really good about our move. Our transition to our new life here has been much easier than I ever expected. God has blessed us with some new friendships at our church, and that's been so great. Our church is really big (2600 members), so to help everyone have a smaller community to really get to know people, there are small groups that meet in homes throughout the week. We joined a small group called "Orphan's Hope".  All of the people in the small group either have an interest in orphans & adoption or they are adoptive or foster families. It has been the most amazing place of support as we have begun our adoption journey. One of the other families in our group is traveling to Ethiopia this summer to adopt a 2 year old girl, and another family in our group is adopting from Kazakhstan. I feel like we've landed right where God wants us! 

In case you're interested in what our adoption process will be like, I have written a post on our adoption blog detailing the process.

To take this in a different direction, today is my Dad's birthday--the first since he passed away. He would have been sixty-nine years old today.  He died ten days after his 68th birthday, so I'm kind of dreading the anniversary grief that I may be experiencing in the coming days. Although, I know it is natural, grieving is never easy.  I do find a lot of comfort, though, in knowing that my Dad is in Heaven, free from suffering and pain.  Happy Birthday, Dad!  I love you!  XOXO

Jill, Dad and Me - October 2005

Dad's arm was in a sling because he dislocated his shoulder roping a calf.  He loved playing cowboy!

An Open Letter to my Knight

Dear Brian,

You are a true rock star.

On Thursday night when I started feeling like I was getting sick, you already knew that the weekend ahead we had planned was quite possibly about to go up in flames. You didn't even flinch. You just tucked me in to bed and told me we'd reevaluate in the morning.

Thirty minutes later, when the chills started in mixed with a cocktail of achy muscles and a fever, you calmly told me to hydrate myself and you hunkered down for next 24 hours, which I can only call The Day I Felt Like Doo Doo with an Extra Helping of Dukey on the Side.

You held my hand, you went to the pharmacy to buy my Tylenol, a thermometer, and Gatorade three separate times. Like I said? ROCK STAR!

You called your sister with whom you were really looking forward to spending the weekend (Mom, aren't you proud of how that preposition was handled?), and broke the news and you didn't even complain about my silly flu once.

That's right, I have the flu. When I got a little nervous on Friday afternoon about the possibility of it being the swine flu, you did internet research and then drove me to the local urgent care clinic, just so we could both rest easy.  

And then you tucked me back in bed and drove to my new favorite Mexican restaurant and bought me chicken tortilla soup because I was havin' a hankering.

You have been the sweetest, most loving caretaker, and I don't really know how to thank you sufficiently.

It was one of those weekends when I so appreciated having a husband who loves me so well. Life with you is exponentially better than life without you. Your love for me is sacrificial, and I love you so much.

This Starshine-in-distress knew she had married an awesome man the day she said "I do", but this weekend she realized that he is a Rock Star-in-shining-armor.

When he said "in sickness and in health", he really meant it, and that makes him more noble than any knight in the land.

Joyous Day!

I had such a great day today.  My mom, sister and Sammy came over to my house today, and we just had so much fun! I love seeing how much my Mom is enjoying being a grandmother. These pictures really say it all!

Sam continues to charm us every day. Lately, he has become keenly aware of music. He loves hearing music, clapping to music and even making music!  Today, his favorite toys were two painted wooden spoons that he tapped together and made some noise!

He is now 13 months old, and has learned to stand on his own without holding onto anything. He's not walking yet, but I think it will be happening soon!

Guest Room

Brian and I spent the weekend (a couple weekends ago) priming and painting this bedroom in our house. It was shared by two little boys before we bought the house, and below the white chair rail, it was painted navy blue. Above it was white.

Shortly after moving in, we spotted this bed-in-a-bag combo in a Bed, Bath & Beyond catalogue. We loved it right away, went out and bought it, and then chose the new paint color to coordinate. It is called "Natural Canvas" by Ralph Lauren, and available at Home Depot.

The beautiful sleigh bed and bedside table were given to us compliments of my mom. She had a bed in a storage unit that she wanted to move back into her house, so she passed this one onto us. We LOVE it! Thank you, Mom!

My New Full Time Job

In case you've been wondering what I've been doing to keep myself busy since I've moved to Texas, here's a little list:

~I've been fingerprinted to get an FBI clearance

~I've had passport pictures taken

~I've been examined by a doctor and had my blood drawn and tested

~I've had more documents notarized in the past few weeks than ever before in my entire life

No, I'm not going to work for the CIA, silly--Brian and I are adopting from Ethiopia! And let me tell you, all this paperwork is keeping me busy! It's my new full-time job.

Since the start of 2009, God has been leading us to internationally adopt from Ethiopia. It's been an exciting process and one of the biggest steps of faith we've taken. If you'd like to follow our adoption journey, you can bookmark our adoption blog: Always and Forever Ours!

I'll continue to post here about my usual Starshine happenings, but the new blog will be our place to post about our adoption journey! 

We are on the front end of the process, and it typically takes an average of 18 months to complete an adoption from Ethiopia. We would so appreciate your prayers as we walk this path! 

"God sets the lonely in families." -Psalm 68:6

Anchor in a Storm

When I moved to Los Angeles in 2005, I knew virtually no one there. I found my roommate through a website and signed a contract to sublet a room from her sight unseen. "Lucy" didn't turn out to be a good roommate at all. She mostly didn't speak to me or acknowledge my presence at all. In fact, once I made other friends there, one of them called her The Dragon, and another friend called her The Beast. She was horrid as a flatmate, and I was there to deal with it alone. 

God has an amazing way of growing us through trials, and I look back on that time as a significant chapter in my becoming a full-fledged adult. In a five month window of time, I had to decide that I would not continue to live with such a beastly person, I had to find a new apartment, sign a contract on it, break my contract with Lucy, hire movers (Shout out to Starving Students:  You're the best!), and then find a new roommate. Did I ever feel like a grown up making all of those decisions on my own!

Before all of that fabulous growth, though, during those dark early days in LA, I remember calling my mom from my cell phone in the Bed, Bath and Beyond parking lot having a serious panic attack, crying so hard I could barely breathe. I felt so alone. I remember my mom trying to calm me, but I knew that the only thing that would make me feel better was having her there with me. The rational part of my being knew that it would be ridiculous to ask her fly out to be with me--she had just flown home a few days before one the heels of driving me out from Texas--but the emotional part of my being desperately wanted my mom! Through my tears, I pleaded with her, "Mom, I just need to hear you say that you'll fly out here to be with me if I ask you to."

"Of course I will, Tracy." 

Those five words, which spelled out my mother's loyalty, were the anchor that helped me weather that awful storm. Knowing that my mom would come for me if I needed her helped me to survive. 

Mom, I would do the same for you in a heartbeat. Thank you for being the best mother I could ask for. Your love and loyalty are gifts that I'll never take for granted. You are a blessing, a true gift from God.

Happy Mother's Day!  I love you.

This photo was taken in February 2009, on her last trip out to visit me in Los Angeles before I moved back to Texas. Now I get to see my mom at least once a week, and I'm so happy that I get to celebrate Mother's Day with her in person this year!

Innocent Flirtation at a Restaurant

Yesterday, I was at a restaurant--the kind where you stand in line to order your food, then pay, and then take it to a table to sit down and eat. As I was standing in line, a beautiful woman walked through the door with the handsomest guy on her arm. He had strawberry blonde hair and the bluest eyes. I couldn't help but stare.

Not one second later, he looked straight at me, his eyes lit up and he waved at me. He waved. AT ME!

"Is he really waving at me?," I thought. 

A few minutes later, he and the woman he was with got seated at the table. My order was taking forever, so I was still in line. I stole a glimpse over at the table and guess what? Yep! There was Mr. Handsome waving at me.

By this time, the woman couldn't ignore his flagrant flirting with me any longer. She walked directly over to me with him, threw him in my arms, and said, "Here! Take him!"

What can I say? I'm in love with my nephew!