Lindsey & Phil

December has been a busy month, but also a month filled with a lot of joy. Observing Advent, a season of four weeks leading up to the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, we prepared by decorating our home with Christmas lights, a new tree, and manger scenes. Through doing little acts of intentional preparation, like leaving the baby Jesus piece out of the manger until Christmas Day, we could not help but think of our anticipation of bringing a child into our home.   As the weather got a little more chilly, Phil took advantage of using the fireplace more often. Cold weather and covid did not keep us from getting out and seeing Christmas lights in nearby neighborhoods.   This year we had Christmas with Lindsey’s family. We went to Church, then ate a traditional tamale dinner, sang Christmas hymns and carols with the kids, opened presents, played some games, and watched a holiday movie. Both of us were still able to have some time to ourselves Christmas morning with a delicious breakfast, including cinnamon rolls (Lindsey’s favorite), and giving each other gifts.   The festivities did not end with Christmas Day because we headed up the next day to Oklahoma to an AirBNB to spend a few days with Phil’s family. Only his parents and the younger siblings could come but it was still a fantastic time together roasting marshmallows in a fire pit, eating delicious meals, playing many silly games with lots of laughter, taking walks by the lake nearby, watching movies, giving gifts and even getting in some quiet moments to read and take naps. Overall, looking back over the past month, we have felt incredibly blessed at all that God has given and all the people which He has put in our lives to celebrate with.

 We both love this time of year! This year especially, we felt the importance to focus on the good and how thankful we are for so many blessings. For starters, Phil was asked to be a God Father to our newest nephew. We were able to celebrate his baptism and party with family. That is 3 kids this year, that Phil has been asked to be their God Father! We have spent time at pumpkin patches with nieces, built fires in our fireplace, and have admired all the Fall colors. Thanksgiving was filled with our favorite foods; green bean casserole, pecan pie, turkey, and stuffing to name a few. We celebrated with both sides of the family and enjoyed our time together. The weather was awesome so we played corn hole, went on walks, and played games together. We are looking forward to the Christmas season; events at church, decorating the house, shopping for gifts, helping others, and looking at lights are just a few things we would like to do before we close 2020. We are hopeful that one day soon we will be able to share all these special traditions with our little one.

Every Fall we take a trip to celebrate Lindsey's birthday and just get-away. We love creating fun memories. This time we traveled to a lake a few hours away in Louisiana. We enjoyed sitting outside in the beautiful weather, eating delicious food, visiting an aquarium, exploring the area, and trying a few coffee places. It was incredibly relaxing and allowed us to create some beautiful memories together. 

We are so excited about our new nephew Emilio and Wynn coming soon. We can't wait to meet them this month in person. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful growing families. One day we will get to introduce our sweet child to all their cousins. In the meantime, we will treasure ALL the aunt and uncle time we get to spend with our nieces and nephews. This month we have enjoyed the start of Fall by taking our nieces to the park and a picnic lunch. We are looking forward to celebrating all the Fall birthdays this weekend at a state park. Where we will canoe, picnic, and go hiking. This is our favorite time of year and we can't wait to see what else is in store! 

It might not come as much surprise that 2020 is a year of new things for many people. We are not an exception in that regard. There is no doubt that some of the new occurring in life has been difficult. Nonetheless, some of this newness that has begun has been nothing short of exciting. For one thing, Phil’s sister just had her second son Emilio about two weeks ago. Watching videos where we’ve been able to get glimpses into their already developing relationship has been so precious! Multiple videos we've seen showcase endearing encounters between the two with Lorenzo laying near Emilio, watching him with wonder. Next month is going to be so much fun when we finally get to see them in person! Many new things are a pure joy when they come into our lives. Others can be a labor of love. Lindsey’s sister Meagan and her brother in law Nich’s house which was recently purchased fits into this category. In the past month, we have been the renovation crew that came in to help break in their fresh digs (originally built in the 1950s)! It's incredible to see how even just simply adding a new coat of paint adds so much! Often we forget how much of a blessing it can be to spend time with people you love even working on projects. Having great conversations about life, or even just turning up the tunes to have a little dance break makes the hours fly by! Working on this brought our families closer together, which is worth any effort! Sometimes the new things in life take time to develop and show the difference that is happening, like my youngest sister Nancy who we just had a “going-away” party for as she got ready to leave for college. We had Phil’s family together for those who are in town to have lunch and celebrate all the aspects of Nancy that we love. It can be tough in college to continue in self-knowledge and identity. While new things are awesome, a lot of old things are pretty great too which is why we wanted to remind Nancy of all the things we love about her. While she is only a few hours away it’s exciting to see how being on your own, forming new friends, and learning new things will help shape her. Lindsey just finished her first full week of school, and while it was a rollercoaster given the current circumstances she took it in stride and continues to prove to be one of the best teachers a 4th grader could have. Teaching 100% of classes on a screen where the distance is only too palpable is not easy. Lindsey has not let that get in the way of putting her full heart into helping these kids know that she cares (learning a lot of names). She puts such a great effort to create a safe place for them to learn when they get back to classes in person. The effort going in to help them make the most of this year has been evident. Not all new things are easy. Not all new things are good. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean we can't find the silver lining. So far we’ve been pretty happy with the novelties in our life and we're looking forward to seeing what God wants to do with amidst all this newness.

A little more about Lindsey-  Favorite place to be: Time spent with Phil, coffee shops, family get togethers, and the outdoors. Something silly about me: I break out into song all the time- I’m basically Spotify! Something serious about me: I desire to make an impact on the world and those around me through treating others with dignity and love. Some of my favorites: I love to cook and bake, try new coffee shops, read historical fiction books and reading books with Phil, making big breakfasts, movie nights, exploring the outdoors, being creative through watercoloring and crafting   A little bit about Phil- Favorite movie: Marvel Movies, Arrival, Paddington, Favorite place to be: Time spent with Lindsey, book stores, coffee shops, time with family,  being out in nature. Something silly about me: I love puns and funny words. Something serious about me: I am a deep thinker; I love opportunities to share meaningful insights with others. Any other interesting favorites: I love to write lyrics, play guitar, cook, make different coffees, and graphic design.

We were fortunate to have wonderful childhood memories, centered around family and fun traditions, which we both brought into our marriage. Already we look forward to the day we can share these with our child. Some of the daily routines we have are making meals together, reading, prayers before we eat and bedtime. On the weekends we regularly wake to the smell of bacon and other tasty dishes for our big breakfast. Sundays are a day of rest to reset and refresh from the week. The day is filled with movie nights, playing outside, games, singing, reading, playing music- really anything that brings us joy! Family get-togethers often revolve around holidays. Some of our favorite family traditions include: decorating for Christmas, chili, and tamales on Christmas Eve before opening gifts, and going caroling in our neighborhoods. During the summer, we love to travel, go on a family vacation, watch fireworks and sing songs around a campfire. With a huge family, there are many birthdays to celebrate and we go all out; from themed parties, your choice of delicious food as well as presents and birthday wishes. These are just a few of the traditions we have and we cannot wait to create new ones as our family grows.

 Our little home is unique, cozy, and filled with laughter. On nice days you will find us grilling in the backyard, surrounded by trees and wildlife, which Phil loves. We also have a beautiful park within a few blocks filled with walking trails, a river, playgrounds, fields for sports, and gazebos for hosting parties. If you drive through our diverse neighborhood you will see kids playing, people taking their dogs on walks, and students walking down the street to school. Situated in a great location, our home has lots of activities nearby to take advantage of; there are two lakes, several libraries, outdoor concert venues, as well as festivals and parades located on Main Street. It is such a blessing to be near our families, church, and our community of friends. This allows us to connect with significant relationships often. We are excited for our child to experience meaningful community through; playdates, fun at the park, and gatherings with relatives. 

Our families are a major reason why we feel called to be parents. We are close to our siblings and would consider them some of our best friends. Both of us feel blessed that most of ourfamily members live within twenty minutes from us. As much as possible we try to live life with them. Some of our favorite family activities include; potluck dinners, church, festivals, games, movie nights, and concerts. For a few siblings that live out of state, we stay connected and share fun videos and pictures daily. Staying connected, to share in the everyday celebrations and events, is something we greatly value. Both sides of our families have many wonderful traditions all centered around quality time together. Our families are invested, supportive and enthusiastic about this opportunity to welcome a child into our lives. As the extended family grows, the child at this point will be one of 12 cousins. It is so exciting to think about all the wonderful memories they will create together! Without a shadow of a doubt, we know the child we adopt will be surrounded with open arms and hearts, by the entire family.

Being married to your best friend has its perks: we love hanging out together no matter what we do. On the weekends, we like to explore coffee shops and restaurants, Phil is quite the foodie.After work, you will find us cooking new recipes for dinner with our favorite jams playing in the background. We enjoy reading books out loud, movie nights with ice cream and serving our community together. It's a blessing when we have opportunities to host family and friends at our home. Gatherings typically include great food, family concerts, and silly games. At least once a year we love to take a family vacation. Our trips involve the beauty of nature, with unique adventure and always tasty food. Phil plays guitar and enjoys writing music. It is a great hobbynot only for him but Lindsey loves listening to him play while she watercolors. We look forward to including a child in our interests and building new memories together with them.

We feel so blessed that we were able to go to a relatives cabin to celebrate our anniversary! It was so nice to get out of our house especially during this time of Covid. We loved our drive there listening to music, podcast, and playing car games together. Once we arrived to the cabin we couldn't believe the weather. The hottest it got all week was 75 degrees! If you are from the South you know that is amazing in the month of June:) We watched the cutest little chipmunks run around each morning and the humming birds. Some of our highlights from the trip were; mountain hikes, a trip to the zoo, book store, coffee, playing games, reading and exploring little towns along the way. We had a blast!

Lindsey's younger brother likes to take credit for our relationship, since he was the one who introduced us. It's funny looking back at that time now because we never would have predicted the friendship we had in Colorado filled with skiing, sailing, and game nights would eventually lead to a wonderful marriage. Fast forward three years later from our first meeting. Phil moved back from Ohio and Lindsey from Peru to the great state of Texas. We were both coming home to be close to family. The two of us bumped into each other at a non-profit event. Phil quickly joined after finding out that Lindsey was a member. We worked side by side for the next 7 months at the non-profit and our friendship continued to grow. Six months of being in the “friend” zone, Phil finally decided to ask Lindsey on a date. Dating was fun and came naturally since we already knew each other. Soon we began going through a book of questions to ask before you get engaged. It didn't take us long to realize that we were not only a great match but best friends. One rainy evening in November, much like the night we started dating, Phil asked Lindsey to be his wife. To be honest, Lindsey did not think Phil was going to be able to pull off a surprise engagement. She was amazed when at the end of what she thought was simply a beautiful date Phil got down on one knee and pulled out a ring to propose. She said yes! The engagement was a time spent seriously, working hard to build solid communication and plan for life together. Seven months felt like forever! However, the wedding day finally arrived in June. Our wedding was spectacular and one of the best days of our lives (so far) it was filled with our friends, family, dancing, food, and a fantastic honeymoon to the coast of Oregon! As the two of us are approaching three years of marriage, we can say in all sincerity that we love each other more now than we did on our wedding day! Being married, we have found we are one remarkable team. We balance one another out, encourage each other and know we can always count on the other to be a supportive rock. Both of us come from solid families, it's a big part of what brought us together in the first place. Our deep desire is to have a child be a part of our family and to know they will not only be loved by us but by many.