Celebration night!

Today, Roy finished his second semester at DTS! He is halfway through his ThM! To celebrate, we went to Piggie Pies, one of our new favorite pizza places! I got my favorite, the Milano pizza, that has artichokes, olives, tomatoes, feta, mozzarella, olive oil and spices. It is SO good! Roy got his usual "cheesy bread" pizza :)

After dinner, we decided to take a walk at White Rock to enjoy the beautiful evening. We had a few great finds.

The barn swallows hung out on the bridge, offering us some good opportunities to take their picture!

We also saw this Baltimore Oriole high up in the tree! I love the color!

And my favorite...

The yellow-crowned night heron! I love this guy!

It's been a great night together, enjoying the fact that it's Friday night and the beginning of summer for Roy! We're really thankful to God for the blessings of milestones, pizza, and birds :)

Birding

White Rock Lake is one of our favorite places to hang out and an awesome place to see some of the best birds! A few nights ago, we decided to head over there and take a walk. Roy spotted this little hummer sitting on the branch. He wouldn't let us get too close, though, before he flew away!



The barn swallows have recently made their way back to the lake. They are one of my favorites to watch!



The scissor-tailed flycatchers are one of our favorites. Their tails are amazing and they are quite the acrobats as they catch bugs in the air!



We love finding new birds, and this was our new bird of the evening - the Western Kingbird! We saw many of them flying around and sitting on the wires and trees. They are beautiful with a bright yellow belly.

Cedar Ridge Preserve

Today we spent several hours at Cedar Ridge Preserve, which is only a short half hour drive from our home. The wild flowers were a highlight of the day! The Texas Bluebonnets (their state flower) were one of my favorites!

We also enjoyed the wildlife we saw, specifically the dragonflies, butterflies, lizards, and a few birds. We even saw a small snake!








If ever in my life I saw something that should be
dubbed "gnarly," this tree is it!



We had a great day hiking through the woods and enjoyed a picnic lunch at the end! It was a great way to spend our Saturday together!

A Dash of Spontaneity

Saturday morning, Roy woke me up for what I was expecting to be a day of hiking at a nearby nature preserve. However, a little bit of spontaneity got the best of us, and we found ourselves heading out at 10:30 on the road to Houston. We arrived a little before 3:00 at a nature center with trails. We spent awhile walking on the paths, enjoying the beautiful weather and keeping our eyes and ears attuned to whatever birds were in the trees.

The turtles were just chillin' out on their log, enjoying the sun.




My main excitement was over this pileated woodpecker. We had a hard time getting a good picture of him, but these guys are amazing! They grow up to 19", which is pretty big for a woodpecker!



We also enjoyed this female red-bellied woodpecker.


After we hiked the trails, we drove to Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston to see the Astros play the Phillies. Little did we know, it was throwback day! This meant our tickets (normally $15) were only $3.50 each! And the hot dogs and cokes were only $1 each! We were so grateful for such a blessing!





This is their train, filled with oranges, that goes back and forth on the track when they hit a home run. Thankfully, this only happened twice. The Phillies dominated the rest of the game, including a 430 ft homer by Ryan Howard. It almost went over the train and out of the park!





Final Score: Phillies 9 - Astros 6


Even though it was a late night driving home, we had a great day together! I was so thankful that Roy decided we should be spontaneous and take a day trip down to Houston (even though I know it was mostly because he REALLY wanted to see a Phillies game!). Life is so much fun when you get to live it with your best friend.

UP!

As sometimes happens, the end of the week came and I was sure ready for it. I came home, ready to plop on the couch and remain there all night. But that's so boring, and I always wish later that I'd done something else! After much indecisiveness, Roy and I decided to head over to the seminary for their movie night. They were showing UP! on the side of one of the buildings and giving away free popcorn, drinks, and candy! My spirits were lifted as we watched an adorable movie. We'd seen it once before, but it was worth seeing again (and again).

The movie reminded me so much of myself at times. I am often out for what I want, when I want it, how I want it, and nobody better get in my way. But then things come along, things that may be good or beneficial, but they aren't what I want. I want it my way. How often am I willing to put myself aside for what is more important?

Today, I was reading in Acts regarding the new believers who would sell and give their goods to the others who had need. They all had everything in common. Unity. How unlike us today! We protect our things, making sure they never fall into the wrong hands. Forbid anyone dirty our belongings, scratch one of our cds, spill something on one of our shirts! Those things are OURS, and we've sure spent enough money on them that we cannot imagine how dreadful it would be if someone caused our purchase to be wasted!

It all just got me thinking - to what extent am I striving for this unity? This selfless servitude?

This love.

Oh that my heart would be softened to those who are in need, that God would open my eyes to the world, and that He would raise me up to be more like His Son.