7-24-05

Last Thursday, Travis and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary.  It is hard to believe how much time has passed.  This year we decided to spend some time in San Diego and make a check on our list of things we want to do together.  We went horseback riding on the beach at sunset!  It was so much fun and I would highly recommend it.  It was a 3 hour ride with just the 2 of us and a guide.  Once we got to the beach we actually got to trot with the horses and take them into the edge of the water.  It was an absolutely beautiful day to reflect on all that God has done. 

Before heading down to San Diego, we ate breakfast at

 one of our favorite places down by the pier. 

Then off to the horses....

There was not even one person in sight all the way down the beach.  

If you are wondering...that is Mexico just on the other side of the fence. 

Trever and Brooke Hoehne

Trever and Brooke were married on Sunday.  It was an absolutely amazing wedding and I think one of the most beautiful couples I have ever seen.  I believe that the Lord was honored and glorified during that day.  I will be sharing more about it later, but for now you can click here to see a few pictures.  Michael Norwood was a groomsmen, but still managed to take a few amazing pictures.  Thank you Michael!

oh and it is our birthdays

It is so much fun to share your birthday with your friends.  Chris' birthday was July 13th, my birthday is the 15th, Amy's birthday is the 16th and Travis' birthday is 2 weeks later on August 3rd.  So, we get to celebrate together.  Plus, their anniversary is July 10th and ours is July 24th.  We were destined to be friends;) 

favorites...

2 of my favorite girlfriends from college  

Proverbs 31

This title may seem odd for a post with pictures of a baby's headband, but let me explain.  I, along with many christian women, have made it a goal to strive to become like the Proverbs 31 woman.  It seems the older I get and the new stages in life I face, I see this woman in a slightly different light. 

Lately, I have been thinking about how she "sees that her trading is profitable" (vs. 18).  This verse has really challenged me in the area of spending.  For her trade to be profitable, she must be making wise decisions in both what she is selling and what she is purchasing.  This is wear the headband pictures come into play.  

I am in the season of life where many of my friends are having babies.  I would love to shower them each with wonderful things that I have seen in so many adorable baby boutiques, however, the prices are ridiculous.  I was recently browsing in one of these stores and I came across a very similar headband as the one pictured below.  It was on sale for $18.95! I am so sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to buy such an expensive piece for one headband.  Instead I decided to make one.  The headband below probably costs me about $1.00.  Not only did I have a lot of fun making it, but I felt like I was making a wise decision in protecting what God has given us...or making sure my "trade was profitable".   I felt a sense of accomplishment.  May we as christian women strive to live differently in all areas of our lives...including how we spend our money.  And yes... I can't wait to someday be able to dress up my own daughter with these headbands;)

Brooke and Trever are getting married in 10 days!!!!!

Brittany and Taylor are engaged!!!

This is old news now, but I thought I should post about Brittany and Taylor's engagement.  On May 30th, Taylor took Brittany out for the day to celebrate her 23rd birthday.  While they were out Taylor proposed to Britt at the same beach where they spent a lot of time in the beginning of their relationship.  After he proposed he took her to one of her favorite restaurants on the Balboa peninsula.  The fun part is Taylor made plans for all their friends and family to be at the restaurant for what we thought was a surprise birthday party. 

When they showed up we all yelled, "surprise and happy birthday".  Brittany instantly started sobbing.   I thought it was so cute she was so excited we were all there to celebrate her birthday, but what we didn't know (except for, of course, the parents) was that we were there for a surprise engagement party too.  

Brooke looked down at Britt's hand and to her surprise there was a ring.  She turned back to me to say, "Brittany has a ring on".  We looked back at Britt to confirm our suspicions and at the same time Taylor whispered in her ear, "they don't know you are engaged".  Brittany instantly put out her hand and you can only imagine the screams that were heard.  

Taylor did an amazing job making the day so special for Britt.  He picked out the perfect ring and pulled off an incredible proposal.  Also, for dinner he had the restaurant make a personalized menu.  The menu was filled with all of Brittany's favorite things.   If you want to read the story from Britt's perspective click here. 

This was right when Brittany walked in. 

Showing off the bling!

This is the traditional sister engagement picture.  Whenever one of us gets engaged we take this picture, but the newly engaged girl puts her hand on top. 

Britt's bridesmaids.

The happy couple.

Britt and one her best friends and now engaged at the same time!

Congratulations Britt and Taylor! I can't wait for your Christmas wedding!  The picture below wasn't from the day he proposed, but I thought it was a cute picture of the soon to be "Mr. and Mrs. Neece".

Travis Ryan!

Our God is so good. His ways are definitely not our ways.

Travis' CD just came out this last week. It really is a testimony to work of God in our lives. As of 3 months ago, there was no budget for a project to record a CD. We had dreams and hopes, but ultimately everything happened in God's timing. In a matter of weeks, God provided all that was needed in order to do this project. There are so many stories to share of how God brought so many wonderful people to be a part of this. The purpose of this CD isn't to bring fame to Travis nor is it to bring riches. The purpose was to write music that was theologically sound and that was all about the glory of God. If you would like to purchase a CD you can either do so by contacting Travis or myself... or you can purchase it off i-tunes as of July 15th.

Trever Hoehne did the photography for the album.  He also took the pictures below which I took off of his blog. Here is a sneak peek of the Travis Ryan album cover.  Also you can check out his new blog by clicking here. 

Giaretta Baptism

A couple of weeks before I left for Rwanda, Travis was able to baptize some of our friends here in San Clemente. They have been in our small group for the past 2 years and we really have grown so close to them. You can read about them in one of my early posts. It was such an awesome experience, because they decided they wanted to be baptized in the ocean. So, their families and our small group met up one Sunday night to witness them being baptized. Here are a few pictures from the night.  And you must know the water was about 61 degrees!

I love this picture.  The joy found in the Lord...