Love

Yesterday was our two year anniversary.   

We spent the weekend celebrating at the Westin Galleria Hotel.

On Friday night we ate at Star Pizza, and we watched Sherlock Holmes.

On Saturday morning we had french pressed coffee in bed.

We also celebrated at Nordstroms and J Crew.

( this was Chris's first shopping experience at Nordstroms, and his life is forever changed)

We laid out by the hotel pool.

We then ate at La Vista

I ate this:

And we drank this:

The we went back to the hotel and watched It's Complicated.

The next morning we slept late and drank more french pressed coffee in bed and had wonderful conversations about life.

We determined that year two of marriage brings with it a comfortableness with each other that year one simply does not have.   You simply trust one another so much more.

We then went and ate at Yao Ming's Chinese restaurant for lunch.

Chris wore this:

And I drank some of this:

All is all it was the most fantastic Houston weekend.   

It is amazing how you can spend the whole weekend with the person you are most in love with, and then still miss them when they go to work on Monday morning.

How I met Mr. Hill: Edition 3

I believe this weekend Mr. Hill will be giving his side of the story on how we met.   So stay tuned ....

I will continue with my side :)

As I remember we had this amazing conversation where I was rendered speechless and light headed and Lauren Lust had declared to the world that I would marry this man Chris Hill.

You see Lauren Lust, Wes Whitney, and Daniel Weizel all had this communication class together that particular semester.  It is also possible that the beautiful Sheridan Murphy also had that class with them.  Sheridan let me know if this was the same class!  I believe the very next day as I was getting off the bus on campus all three of them ran up to me, accosted me, and told me that I was going to marry Chris Hill.   Then they ran off and left me standing there bewildered and a little angry.

The next three weeks were all quite interesting.    Later on that same week Kristi and Lauren sabataged me at the Chi O house with Chris in tow.    I tried to act a little aloof but I was already totally smitten.   Chris and I began talking on instant messenger.   Yeah - we totally exchanged AOL im names.   My username shall remain a secret forever and ever.

Chris and I started talking via the computer and facebook and email.    Then I invited the entire Lone Star Verde over for Fratty Friends Friday at the sorority house.    This is week two after Chris and I had our three hour conversation.   We served pizza that Friday and it was a ton of fun.   Chris stayed after to talk to me as I was having a few problems with Mr. Boy from freshman year.

You see during this whole two week period of Chris and I recognizing that each other existed in the world.   Mr. Boy from freshman year had come back on the scene and thought that he wanted to date me again.    I was so very confused, and feeling lots of pressure to make a decision about which boy to choose.   This particular Friday marked the weekend before I was so to have FIVE tests the following week.    In fact ALL FIVE test fell on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of that next week.

I was feeling a little pressured by Mr. Boy and feeling TONS of pressure about my tests.    I sat Chris down in the sorority house and told him about all of my troubles.    He instinctively gave me some great advice about Mr. Boy.   Which of course I cannot remember.   He did not muddle or munipulate, he was just very honest and wise.   He was confident and not threatened at all by Mr. Boy.    This greatly attracted me to him.

Mr. Boy made several phone calls later on that afternoon as I was trying to study.   He very much felt that we needed to date again and was putting the pressure on me.    Chris being the studly man that he was sensed that I was under duress and made an executive decision.    He called me and said that I was to put on some super comfy clothes, gather up my books, and wait for him to pick me up.   He had cleared all non-studiers out of the Lonestar Verde, made coffee, and had even gotten some blue bell ice cream.

Chris came and picked me up and took me to his house to study.    Matt Sloan was there too and together the three of us studied in peace all night.   Chris protected and provided.   Mr. Boy was still calling and pressuring.

The next week I took my tests after being well studied thank to Mr. Hill.   But I was still confused about Mr. Boy.   Chris and I were definitely friends, and were definitely not dating yet.  I could tell that Chris was being supremely careful and cautious and was not about to make any sudden moves.

[  Little did I know that Chris Hill had taken Mr. Boy out to dinner DURING my accounting test and gave him a good talking to. ]

My Cowboy Daddy was drilling in Papau New Guinea at the time that all this was going down, so I was not able to talk to him much.    But I was in some desperate need of some good fatherly advice so I gave him a call and was able to get him on the phone.   I quickly explained the situation and he said one thing and hung up the phone.   He said "God leads and Satan pushes".

Instantly I knew what to do.   I called Mr. Boy up and set up a meeting in the park.   As we walked around the track I told him that it was time for me to be fought for, pursued, and cared about.   I put up that challenge and told him what I wanted.

After a summer of spending time with the Lord and talking to my Dad I suddently knew who I was and I  was no longer willing to compromise anything for that.   I wanted to present myself wholly in a relationship and not leave out the deep love I had for Jesus, or any of the opinions I had about life.

This definitely awoke something deep inside of Mr. Boy that I believe he had been searching for.   But, I had already made up my mind.   I told Mr. Boy that I did not want to date him, and that I just wanted to be friends with Chris Hill.

Mr. Boy was very confused.  FRIENDS?  I said yes, just friends.   Chris Hill had so intrigued me that I was content being just friends with him without any promise of a future.    God had stirred something deep inside of me and I was willing to risk my heart for Mr. Hill.   Mr. Boy was not happy about that at all.  Especially since when he and I had been dating the previous year he had confided in Chris about our relationship.   Chris had no idea who I was at the time.

After our conversation I went over to the Lone Star Verde with Kristi and Lauren.   Chris and his friend Brian Cooper had just gotten back from dancing at the Hall and were eating What A Burger (which I had always thought was Water Burger growing up).   Chris paid no attention to me at all.  This was mostly because his entire hosue of roommates had been pestering him that we were going to get married.

So I sat there on his couch, while he was ignoring me, thinking to myself "I have just sacrificed the relationship that I had wanted so badly for YOU."   I seriously think Chris said nothing to me that night.

More to be continued later on this weekend

Mr. Boy update:  later on that year God did some awesome and amazing things with Mr. Boy.   I believe he went on to meet his future wife that year.   They are happily married now and quite an amazing couple.

How I met Mr. Hill: Edition 2

Lauren Lust marched me up to the front door of the Lone Star Verde while I was still holding my large vanilla dr.  pepper from Sonic.   I was also wearing a dr. pepper t-shirt from Urban Outfitters and my old worn out Abercrombie jeans.    Please note: this was the same outfit I wore the last time I was at the Verde, which of course was a crime of humanity.

So, Lauren is marching me up to the front door all the while I am complaining and resisting because we were not invited.   I was not a boy chaser.   I did not go places uninvited.   I did not walk into a boys house just to say.

Then the front door was pulled open and there Chris Hill was sitting on the couch in a green John Deere shirt playing Madden on PlayStation.     The neck of his shirt had been stretched out a little so I could see some chest hair peeking out ---- and I thought this was totally sexy.

I was smitten like I had just seen Brad Pitt, and as far as I was concerned I had.

I sat down on the couch across from Chris and Lauren sat next to me.   I believe Wes and Matt were also there. At first we were all in the room together talking.    Then all of the sudden Chris scooted over closer to me.  My heart sank and started beating really fast.   All of the sudden Chris and  I began having our own conversation, and all of the sudden we were the only two in the room.

Chris was talking a lot -- and I was glad because I had been rendered speechless and light headed. You see that previous summer I had sat my Cowboy Daddy down and handed him my list of requirements for my future husband.   He agreed to the terms and signed off on it.   As I sat there on the couch, and while Chris was talking,  God slowly took me through that list and checked off each item.   I kept thinking WHAT IS GOD DOING.  I am SINGLE.  I want to be SINGLE.  But this man is so incredible.  

You see I had never met a person who I was both intellectually attracted to and physically attracted to -- who also loved Jesus with his whole heart.

Chris was:
1. A Cowboy
2. Radically loved Jesus but was not weird
3. Loved business
4. Had also lived in a different country
5. His dad also owned a business
6. Believed in excellence
7. Was raised with on the same principles as me
8.  Grew up going to the same kind of church as me
9.  A Cowboy :)
10. Had chest hair
11. Was really, really, really TALL
12. Had shoulders that were as wide as I am tall
13. Had deep blue eyes
14. Had dark curly hair
15. Had vision
16. Was so attractive that I could barely stand to sit on the couch talking to him

We talked for three hours straight, about everything.   Our hopes, our dreams, our previous relationships, everything.   I just sat there thinking, "God what are you doing?".

Then Lauren came back out and we started walking to the car, and before we got in  it she looked at me and said "You are going marry him".  I told her that I was not and there was no way she could know that.

But in my heart of hearts I knew that I had just met my future husband.

And that was just beginning .......

How I met Mr. Hill

I thought it might be fun to tell y'all the long saga of how Chris and I started dating.

I think it will be fun for me to tell my side of the story and then for Chris to tell his side.  That way you get both point of views.

I think I will give you the long version.  Does this interest you?

My freshman year  I dated a boy.   He was a nice boy.   I was a nice girl.   We were just not nice for each other.   That ended in April.   I was mad at God for letting me waste my time.    I was living in the sorority house at the time and I remember lying on the floor of my room which was also called "The Cave" and being angry at God because  I felt like I had wasted my time dating this boy [who was and is a very nice boy].  

Then God said two things to me that got me up off that floor.  He said first "I do not waste your time".   That brought great peace to me but my heart still felt like it had gone through a cheese grater.    I asked the Lord what I was supposed to do and he said "Hope and Wait."     So that is what  I did.

That summer I went home and interned with Young Life and worked at a day spa and hung out with my super bestie Kelley Samu Ellis.    It was awesome and got awoke a hunger in me for Him that was unreal.   I was pouring into people while also getting poured into by Jesus.   That month was busy.   Every moment was planned.   I grew so much.

Then my family went to Cains, Australia for the rest of the summer because my Dad was drilling in Papua New Guinea.   I went from barely having time to think to laying on a beach doing nothing and all I could think about was marriage.   I was pissed.   I remember lying in bed next to my Mimi telling God that I did not want to think about marriage because it was driving me utterly insane.   Then God said something interesting to me, he said "I do not give you passion without purpose".    In an instant I had such complete peace --- it was awesome.    Then I went on this whole search for understanding God's goodness which you can read about here.

Then we did all kind of wonderful things in Australia and I decided that if there was no Texas that I would live in Australia even though they had British food.    The Chinese food there was glorious, so was the Great Barrier Reef.

As soon as my feet landed back in the U.S. it was time to head back to College Station for sorority stuff. Once I was settled back into the sorority house Mr. Boy from freshman year came back on the scene and was interested in dating me again.   I was thrilled to say the least.

I had two friends in Chi O who were older than me and had discipled me the year before,  Lauren Lust and Kristi Stewart Lewis.   They were and are wild for Jesus and everything I needed and wanted in friends at that time ---- and still to this day.    Kristi Stewart Louis had been partners with Wes Witney at Impact camp that summer.    Wes Witney had just moved into a house with four other boys the beginning of my sophomore year.    One of which was Daniel Weizel who I knew because of my friend from high school and roommate freshman year, Ellen Armour Olive.    Wes and Daniel just happened to be friends with Chris Hill who was living in the house, called The Lonestar Verde, with them.

Kristi and Lauren started hanging out there all the time.    About two weeks into the school year they called me up one day and said they had met this awesome house of guys through Wes.   Lauren was like "Yeah, and there is this guy named Chris who is super hot and loves Jesus and business".  

Little did Kristi and Lauren know that the previous night I had just been to a party at Kristi's house and had the awesome realization that I was single and I was in college and the boys at the party knew I was single.   And I liked it.

But remember Mr. Boy from freshman year is still on the scene --- calling me and what not.

Then Daniel Weizel invited me and some of my sorority girlfriends over for a Thursday night party.   This would be the second time I met Chris Hill.   The very first time was at the Marina for a football BBQ --- but I was there because Mr. Boy from freshman year was there and I did not have any eyes to take notice of Chris.

I get to the party at Daniel's (The Lonestar Verde) and Kristi and Lauren are waiting to introduce me to Chris.    I walk in and Chris is standing in the hallway announcing to everyone that he is going to bed because he has an accounting quiz the next day.    And he was wearing his glasses.    I thought he was dorky.

That was on Thursday.  On Sunday we had our first co-ed bible study.   Kristi, Lauren, Shaina, and I and several other girls had bible study every Sunday night the year before.   This year we decided to open it up to everyone who wanted to come.

I was late and I walked in and Chris Hill was sitting in a chair.   I was captivated, smitten, and totally taken.    He was dressed in his maroon air jordan

I did everything I could to ignore him completely.   I kept telling myself that I was single and I liked it AND there was Mr. Boy.    At the very end of the bible study this stunningly handsome Chris Hill asked if he could pray for me.   All the girls gasped in delight and my heart sank.   I thought man if he touches me I might faint.  

Then he prayed for me.  He read my mail.  He prayed everything I needed to hear.   He spoke to the Lord about every secret of my heart, and then he read me the part of scripture that I had been reading all summer.

Then he left.

Then the girls rushed me to Taco Cabana and sat me outside and announced:  YOU ARE GOING TO MARRY THAT MAN.    Then I yelled at them and told them not to be silly, immature, and annoying.

Then on Tuesday I went to Houston and got my hair done and drove back to the sorority house.    Lauren Lust called me and asked me if I wanted to go get a vanilla Dr. Pepper.

But what she really did was kidnap me and force me to go over to The Lonestar Verde unannounced while wearing the SAME shirt I had worn on Thursday night.

That is when everything started which I will tell you all about later  :)

This is when the story gets really good and I stop saying then, then, then  :)

Keeping a Husband

I will define keeping a husband as this:  an ongoing environment where the wife creates an atmosphere of love and safety while also doing little things for her husband that no one else on earth would do or could do.

Men and women are totally different.   I realize this is a totally new and profound statement :) - but it is very true.    My man [ THE Hubby Bubby] is the head of my house in absolutely every way.   He does amazing things for me every day.   But this here post is not about what my Hubby Bubby does for me, but is about what I do for him and why it is important.  I just wanted to make the statement that I realize boys are girls have different "gender roles"and are thus "different",  but in this day and age the roles have been greatly expanded and the boundaries have been blurred.   While I support a lot of the new expansions of gender roles there are some foundational principles that I feel are extremely important and need to be revisited.

I as the wifie mama [ wifie to the Hubby and mama to the puppy ] view my house [ also known as "The Barn" ] like the Fort Hood of our family.   Where I [ the wifie mama] go Fort Hood also goes with me.   In the sense that I create the atmosphere of home no matter where or what the structure we create it in is.

Why is it so important to have the atmosphere home in the family?  Because the world is cruel, manipulative, and extremely difficult.    And everyone needs a place to call home they need a place of safety, a place of vulnerability, and a place where priorities are re-prioritized.

Keeping a man starts with creating a "home".   Girls are naturally gifted with the ability to create home.  You do not have to be domestic or be able to cook and clean well, but you have to use your gift to create a nurturing atmosphere.    That nurturing atmosphere could look very different across all different households, but it accomplishes the same thing.  It establishes the home.  Girls if you feel like you are unable to nurture or create a home like atmosphere then I want you to ask God to show you how.   That ability is innate to you by the virtue of the chromosomes you carry.   That ability could be asleep inside of your heart, and simply just needs to be re-awoken.  Ask your first love Jesus to wake it up for you.   After you have discovered the desire then we can talk about implementing.  

Back to keeping a man.  I am going to list out some things that I do for my man in order to show you what I mean by keeping your man.    Please note:  what I do could be opposite of what you do and that is 100% ok.  You could even think I am crazy, but that is not the point.  The point is the principle behind my craziness.

These are in no specific order:

• I want to be the first one to tell him he is hot in the morning, so that if some floussy flouncy [these are not real words] tells him he is hot at work he can just say "thank you" my wife told me that this morning.  This creates a realm of "safety" for the man that he can travel in at all times.
• I sit on the couch beside him sometimes while he plays video games, because that counts as "doing" together and I know that is extremely important to him.
• My Fort Hood Barn is the safest place for my man to feel vulnerable.   If my man does not feel safe to feel vulnerable at home, then he will go feel vulnerable somewhere else.
• I make him his favorite foods - just because and for no special occasion -- just because I love him.
• I adapt certain ways of cleaning, cooking, and doing things in order to show him respect.
• I learned how his mother [Mama Bear Hill] took care of him, and I asked her about it and learned from her.   Because she is super awesome she let me do that and taught me little things to do for the Hubby Bubby that would mean a lot to Him.   
• I make him his lunch everyday, so that when he eats it everyone at works knows I love him.   That is the real reason I make his lunch everyday.  
• I have a real strong opinion about a lot of things and I share what I think with him, because no one wants to be married to a door mat.
• I ask and learn about what he does at work because that makes him feel important.
• I stay involved in what he is interested in so that we can talk about topics he feels really strongly about.   This is how you grow together -- because usually he will also do this for you.
• I get off the computer to engage in conversation with him when I do not want to.
• I write thank you notes to lots of poeple because that is extremely important to him.
• I allow myself to continue to fall wildly and passionately in love with him, because that type of marriage is way more fun.   Maybe more work but way more fun!
• I am honest with him about what I am feeling and thinking - so we can talk about it.  This keeps me rational and much more fun to be around.
• I spend time with Jesus so that I can continue to be beautiful on the inside.

These are just some things that I could think of, and some of them might drive your husband crazy so you would not do them for him.   But please get my point -- you sacrifice some things in order to keep your husband.    

The Hubby Bubby does a million incredible things for me.    But I feel like in the world of counseling and preparing for marriage we focus a lot on what the man should do around the house or for the wife, and we totally forget to tell the woman that she must also create the atmosphere of home.

Wives when your Grandmother would tell you or show you how to do certain things for your new man and you at the time thought she was so old fashioned - you were wrong.  Her methods might have been old fashioned but her principle for doing so remains the same today.   That principle needs to be reinstated.

If you as the wifie mama are totally confused or even angry about this post --- then let me know because I would LOVE to talk to you about it.

SWWM - that looks good in a bikini

My friend Julie Prothro sent an email out to all of us Lone Star Marina girls last fall asking about what we thought about mentorship. Basically wondering how does the best mentor / mentor relationship come about. Which is an awesome question, but not what this blog is about today.

It was during this email exchange that I came up with a description of the kind of woman that I want to be.

Super Woman Wifie Mama - that looks good in a bikini

It seems to me that as we women grow older our responsibilities seem to grow as well as the expectations we put on on our selves to master these responsibilities. The Proverbs 31 woman is quiet daunting and accomplishes so much in her day, yet Proverbs is not clear on how one arrives at such achievement.

Thankfully I have several great examples of awesome women in my life: my mom, my nana, my mimi, and my great granny Ima. All of whom taught me how to cook and serve and love. They all love and serve in different ways, each of them being highly necessary. My Mom especially showed me what is means to be selfless and to look to satisfy the needs of others before my own. Because of all these women I came into marriage knowing exactly how to care for my man, and for this I am so grateful.

Yet, it was not until I got married that I really began to understand what it means to be a truly awesome Godly woman. Please understand that I believe this understanding is not general and cannot be applied to all women. It is unique and specific to what you feel God has called you too, and what you want to be and accomplish. As I write the next part of this blog do not heap guilt upon yourself if this completely describes the opposite of you. This describes me and what I feel I am called to. God made you to be you - and not me.

SO - I continue -

It was not until I was married did I truly understand what was called of me. All of the sudden I had so many things to juggle:

1. Spending time with Jesus so that I could actually be sane
2. Spending time with my husband and loving him
3. Meal planning, cooking, grocery shopping - OH MY - and saving money
4. Laundry
5. Cleaning
6. Social Obligations / maintaining contact with the outside world, and fostering good relationships with people that add to your life and you add to theirs.
7. Going to church and being social
8. Career -- UHHHH HELLO this takes 40 + hours a week of your womanly time
9. Working out
10. Christmas shopping / Birthday shopping / Remembering to give the presents you actually bought
11. Knowing what your husband is allergic to
12. Decorating
13. General organization
14. Remembering to feed the puppy
15. Building relationships with both sets of parents and siblings.

16. LOOKING GOOD IN A BIKINI while wearing platform heals

Ok - I don't know about you, but juggling all these things and maintaining balance is hard. Some of you out there may have all this down. Some of you, like me, may be desperately searching for answers.

My answer: The secret to being a SWWM - who looks good in a bikini is DISCIPLINE

SO:

I have found there are two types of people in the world:
1. People who have clean houses
2. People who don't

These two groups of people struggle with discipline in two entirely different ways.

Group 1: Clean house people are very busy type A people. They create to do lists and check them off. These people have to discipline themselves to balance their to do list to make sure they prioritize the people in their life before their to dos. Basically - they have make sure they are building good relationships.

Group 2: Non clean house people focus all on relationships and not enough on their to dos. These peoples lives can become unorganized quickly thus stressing out their loved ones. They must discipline themselves to balance their relationship time so that they get their to dos done. [ I fall into this category ]

It all comes down to how you are wired. Every single one of us is different and really cannot be categorized into two groups. But every single one of us must choose between what we always WANT to do and what is GOOD and NECESSARY for us to do. As a wife I have become to realize that if I want to be the wife and future Mom that I know my husband and family deserves it is going to take a lot of self sacrifice on my part.

Examples:

1. I want to provide healthy meals. YET - this takes an amazing amount of planning and time. You must look at recipes, make lists, plan, go to the store. This happens EVERY SINGLE week - whether you feel like it, whether you have time, whether you have decided that eating is for losers and no one should ever do it again. You HAVE to go to the grocery store.

2. Have an awesome relationship with my hubby. Sometimes this means that I have to get off the couch and engage in conversation with him. Sometimes this means that I cannot read books for 5 hours once I get home. Sometimes this means that I sacrifice what I WANT to do for what he WANTS to do. Usually this means that I get up way too early in the morning to make him breakfast and lunch - because I love him, and for no other reason than I want to bless him.

3. I want to have a clean house. This requires me to watch less TV, read less, and walk around aimlessly less. This is an area that I struggle in and I am discipling myself to be better at.

4. My time with Jesus is extremely important for me so that I am not: grouchy, cranky, rude, anti-social, and irrational. I have to get up early in the morning so that I can get in some time alone. I sacrifice sleep.

5. LOOK GOOD IN A BIKINI: So it is not really about just looking good in a bikini (even though that is awesome) -- it is about having enough energy to do all things life requires of you. It is about looking good for the hubby, for yourself, and so that when you are 45 you are still able to train your football playing sons during the summer - or keep up with your 2 yr. old toddler. This is another area [working out consistently] where I struggle -- and am having to discipline myself --- this is the area where accountability is key for me -- and my friend Julie Prothro has stepped up to the plate. Thank you Julie. I sacrifice whatever else I would rather be doing than working out.

6. Career and Family Provision: In this time and age it is important for both wife and husband to contribute to the family income. It is been a big learning curve for me to learn how to manage my work responsibilities and my home responsibilities. Again, this is area where people differ in how they struggle. I am much more domestically in-tune, so I have to make sure I am giving work an equal part of myself.
- This is also an area where I feel like God is completely re-working me. Because of that I really can only see today - as in I have no idea what the future looks like, but I know God is doing something. This is another area where I am seeking and asking the Lord to show me what this looks like - done well. Ya know - one day we will have babies, and the work thing is some how going to have to adapt to that era of my life. God knows what he will do. If we could somehow master the Mom works at home thing and still is a productive person in society - that would be awesome. :)

UPDATE: my friend leah makes a good point - Moms are essential to society and that alone is a massive honor.

Work + Family: I want to learn how to balance and manage this well. We are in a new time and I believe God can gives us new ways to do things.

7. Spending time with awesome girls who add to your life and understand you. Sometimes this requires you to sacrifice a little of that treasure hubby time --- but if he is a good hubby he will understand. Plus that hubby of yours needs to spend time with his boys too.


I will end here. :) Being a SWWM - that looks good in a bikini requires discipline, self-sacrifice, and balance. AND A WHOLE LOT OF LEARNING - and probably a whole lot of mentorship.

The Excited List

The top ten things that make Mr. Hill exuberant at the behest of our friend, Travis Bearden...

This is so much harder than making "The Angry List".  A couple of differences are obvious to me as I begin to try and think through this list - These are in order of importance, there are many more things in life that make me excited in life than make me upset, and trying to describe the emotion that rises up at the thought of these things is beyond me.

1) My Jesus.  This is not here as cliche.  I am who I am because of Him.  He is my love.

2) My Wife.  Again, not cliche, simply true.  She is my partner in everything that I do.  My life would be completely awful without her.  Watching her be who she is enthralling.

3) The thought of being a father.  No, we have no kids on the way, nor any plans for them currently, but I have wanted to be a dad since I was little.  The honor and privilege it will be to be a daddy is beyond my words. 

4) Having the opportunity to be a blessing by the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Be it giving, encouraging someone, or teaching.  I am alive for these moments.

5) People.  I love people.  I love being around them, talking to them, watching them.  People.

6)My G Puppy.  Cutest and smartest ever.  No debate.

7)The Diamond H Ranch.  I proposed to my wife, learned how to bass fish, shot my first big deer, bled and sweat, grew in Jesus, learned to build fence, and generally became a man on that piece of land.  It is very dear to me.  

8)Sports.  I love playing sports.  I love watching sports.  I love sports - especially Aggie Sports and playing basketball.  My wife probably questions my sanity with how excited I get at the thought of playing basketball.

9)Nike and Ralph Lauren clothes.  They fit right.  They make me really excited.  Undoubtedly, Nike makes the coolest sport apparel.  Period.  It is the best, and it makes me happy.

10)Music.  I don't even want to be honest about how much memory on this Macbook is taken up by music.  I also do not want to be honest about how much money I have spent in  my life on music.  It is likely disgusting.

11) Ten just wasn't enough for this list...Cowboy Boots.  The way they smell when they come out of the box.  How dependable they are.  How good they look.  How versatile they are.  The world should wear boots.

I love my little wife, her pretty red shoes, and how well she fits in my arms.

Jess is back

Hi everyone,

I have finally returned from a long period of no blogging. A period of time where I did not have any good excuses for not blogging other than it was the holidays and for some reason my blogger took off from Thanksgiving to Christmas without telling me. Thankfully I have wrestled that blogger of mine back into commitment with reality and she is finally ready to share her life, heart, ramblings, and what-not with the world.

Really, what I think happened was that I had several really deep blogs in late October / early November that I really wanted to write, and then I chickened out and convinced myself that I should not share such things on the inter-webs. For some reason that one decision made my blogger go on vacation. I think it has something to do with the fact that God has called me to be vulnerable with the world, and when I refuse to be vulnerable He shuts off all my creativity.

Do you like how I started off explaining why I didn't really know why I stopped blogging and then ended up just really telling you? I think the part of me that wants to be real is starting to get stronger than the part of me that wants to be politically correct. Mmm...

Well regardless, here I am and today I want to talk about PIZZA.

The first meal Chris ever bought me, when he sternly sat me down and told me he just wanted to be friends until God forced us to date, was pizza. Brick oven made pizza at Blue Baker in College Station. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Mmmm....

That whole story of me and Chris shall be saved for a different time, because today I want to talk about how Pizza is one of the foundations of our relationship.

Neither of us can resist pizza. We have no checks and balances on pizza at all. I want Mexican all the time, but Chris doesn't. Chris wants fried chicken strips all the time, and I don't. I could go on, but you get the point. Pizza is the one thing that neither of us has any restraint on whatsoever. We love it. It emotionally bonds us together every time we eat it. We know we should feel guilty about it, but we absolutely do not.

We love gourmet pizza like organic Pizza Fusion. We love frozen pizza like Digiorno's. We love take out pizza like Papa John's. Finally, we love homemade pizza that I make :).

There is just something about that crispy and chewy crust, and the stringy cheese, and the sauce, and the toppings. MMM..... For us Hill's it just completely revitalizes us and strengthens our relationship. It is safe and comfortable. Pizza creates that atmosphere that you are both escaping from life for just a moment to enjoy something both you love.

For Christmas I got a pizza stone from Williams & Sonoma and last night I tried it out.

That's it right there in all it's new glory. I must tell you people that the pizza stone made the crust of our pizza SO crispy on bottom and SO soft and chewy in the middle. Chris was in heaven.

During the first football season of our marriage when the Cowboys played I would make homemade pizza, and Chris and I would sit on the couch and snuggle and I would inevitably fall asleep. It was awesome - except for the fact that my crust was always soggy. That problem has been solved with this awesome new pizza stone!!!

This is the sauce that I use for make pizzas with. Usually I get the "pizza sauce" but our HEB was out. It is awesome and totally makes a difference.

Here is the pizza pre baking. MMMM.....

And, finally here is the pizza after it is done. Chris likes his crispy on top. I have to say this was the best pizza I have made yet, and let me tell you I have made lots!

Here is our sweet Giada girl sleeping during the Pizza making process. She loves pizza because she sometimes gets to eat the crust!

Last night we were babysitting Jack the Great Dane, Luke and Mikala's dog, and I found these two sleeping on the same bed. They are super silly but they love each other and they love pizza, even though one is much bigger than the other - kind of like me and Chris.

Point of View

So let's see how quickly I can describe what just happened here on our glorious Sunday morning.


Preface:
Yesterday we slept late. I got up before Jess, like I usually do, and went downstairs to turn on the coffee. After the coffee was made, I poured myself a cup of unadulterated morning awesomeness and began the process of concocting my wife's morning brew.

Sugar goes in the cup first, then the creamer...wait, where's that creamer?

I look on the top shelf of fridge with all of the other milk/breakfast liquid products. Nothing doing.

Hmmmm, think like your wife, Mr. Hill.

Literally picture me standing in front of the open refridgerator looking at the top shelf, but then ever so slightly (or maybe not so slightly) bending my knees to "squat" down to the height of my beautiful wife.

BINGO.

Right on her eye level shelf at the very back sits the majestic box of her "Silk" creamer.

I literally would never have seen it had I not done that.





Today's happening.

So Jess is making herself some coffee. We're kind of silly this morning.

I tell her how funny it was for me to find her creamer yesterday, as she's pulling it out.

I say, no really, check this out...I walk over to her, literally pick her up and say, "here's what I see." Then I set her down and proceed to tell her the rest of my Silk seeking saga. After we finished laughing about my ordeal, she goes, "I have such a better view of the fridge than you do!" There can be no argument on that point. I see the top shelf, and that's about it.

Life with someone you love is simply an excuse to make something fun out of looking for the creamer.

Proverbs 12:4

"A wife of noble character is her husband's crown."

I have truly obtained favor from the Lord.  I am a blessed man.



Mr. Hill

Big Sibling Weekend, etc, etc...

Opening thought:

Man.  I really, really like who we are.  I really like who we Hills are.  I like our marriage, I like our relationships with Jesus, and I like where we are in life.  I'll tell you what though, I think most of all I like how much we want to change.  I like how hard we are working to make our marriage better, I like how we wake up everyday and ask Jesus to change us, and I like how we know that where we are in life today is not where we are called to.

So there's my opening thought.  It comes as I drink a Coke Zero and watch my wife cook.  Man she is hot. I don't care if you don't think I should say that.  She is, and I love the ever-living daylights out of her.  The way she talks trash to her onions as she sautés the crap out of them, the way she dances and sings out of key to the new Gavin Degraw cd thats playing in the background, and the way that she drinks her little Diet Dr. Pepper in her A&M koozie.

Yes, I hope you understand a little bit better the place of sheer marital bliss where my opening thought bubbled out of.


So now, onto our weekend last weekend.  We went to A&M and hung with our awesome sibs.  They are super cool.  We had lots of good laughs.  We went to the Aggie game and watched them Beat The Hell Outta utah state.  We ate at all of our favorite places in College Station (including Blue Baker and Wings & More - I swear they put a drug in that wing sauce.), and went to this AWESOME NEW CHURCH IN CS called Antioch - no really, you should go there...Hilton, 10am.


The weekend was a huge success.  We really love Luke and Tige.  They are two incredibly wonderful friends we happen to be related to.  Makes things fun.

Honestly, my favorite night was Friday.  Mikala (Luke's super sweet girl friend) and Luke made us a dinner that was easily 5 star Italian.  Parmesan and Pancetta stuffed chicken with Luke's roasted red pepper pasta, fried zucchini, homemade yeast rolls, red-velvet cupcakes and mini cheese cakes.

Needless to say, I didn't even know what to do with myself.  I ate so much I nearly died.  It was so good.  It was so fun to hang out with them!  The most fun part of the night came via the game Catch Phrase.

Most of you know how to play the game...if not check out the wiki link.  I have to say that between my little sister and I we were pretty awesome.  The Hill family bond is pretty tight to say the least, and sadly Jess and I were on opposite teams, so "The Unimind" was not in action.

Easily the funniest part of the night came at my expense, but I am willing to bring it up b/c it was so freaking hilarious.  We were playing Catch Phrase.  I must say, I was surprised to see how many totally random people, places, and things they manage to get into that game.  Ted Kennedy, buzz cut, "without a paddle", back hair...the list was totally random and a lot of fun.  That is about where the funny part kicks in.  I was sitting to Jess's right.  She gets handed the game and begins to laugh uncontrollably, all the while attempting get out some words and being pointing in between my shoulders but slightly down my shirt neck..."Chris (lots of laughing) has (lots more laughing) (I being to turn red and feel the awful truth creeping in as to what she is trying to say) this!!!"

Perplexed looks around the group while Jess continues laughing uncontrollably and pointing furiously at my back.  Most of them don't know me that well.  The timer is speeding up.  She's nearly crying at this point she's laughing so hard.  Luke, Tige, and Mikala begin to catch on.  Someone says it, and as the song says, "we just fell about the place."

Yes, you guessed it, she was pointing at my small, insignificant, awful, little patch of back hair.  "Back Hair" was the catch phrase.

I mean really.  What are you going to do if you are me but laugh?  It's freaking hilarious.  Totally embarrassing, but really, really funny.

I guess its laser for me someday...until then I'm just another prop in Catch Phrase; oh, and the timer just ran out.


Mr. Hill


"Take that, onions."
"A good onion never reveals it's appearance."
"I'm ruthless!"
"Food gives up in her presence and bows as the mention of her name."

I do - 6_7_08

I, Christopher Carl Hill, do hereby vow - before our Lord and man alike - these things to you and you alone, Jessica Ann Jordan:

I commit my life to the prescribed soil of your heart.

I vow to always follow and love Christ Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, so that in my leading, I will always reflect the Lord’s character.

I vow to love you, my wife, even as myself; so, that in this love there will be no sacrifice too great for me to make – that Christ’s perfect will be completed within you.

I vow to support, provide for, and protect the dreams and desires of Christ that He has placed within your heart.

I vow to live my life of service with you and for you before Christ…Being submitted one to another out of reference for Christ, the Messiah.

I, Jessica Ann Jordan, do hereby vow – before our Lord and man alike – these things to you and you alone, Christopher Carl Hill:

I commit my life to the prescribed soil of your heart.

I vow to submit, adapt, and cleave myself to you, always putting my needs as secondary to yours, and to always serve you as I would the Lord.

I vow to adorn myself inwardly so that I might always have a gentle and peaceful spirit towards you.

I vow to respect, admire, and honor you and to lift you up and encourage you to be the man that God has called and destined you to be.

I vow to go to the Lord daily to find my joy, satisfaction, beauty, and nourishment in Him, so that I may freely give of myself to deeply love and cherish you always.

Wives you should fight like a girl!

Lisa Bevere wrote a book called "Fight Like a Girl". If you are a girl and you have my phone number in your phone then you have probably heard me talk about it, or I have recommended it to you, or I have even given it to you. It is a book that I think every woman should read whether you are married, engaged, dating, or single because it shows us women the power we have in the world.

Now many of you might read this and think POWER - OH YEAH, or if you are a man you might think SCARY. Yet, many of us women do not realize that we desperately abuse the power we have as women or that we allow it to lie dormant and out of use, but we must realize (and Lisa Bevere excellently reveals ) that God gave us power as women so we can be a mighty force in the world, in our marriages, families, friendships, and jobs.

My husband so excellently wrote about the importance of consistency in a husband. Let me tell you he wrote that so well because he has allowed the Lord to teach him how to be consistent. I have benefited greatly because of his consistency. I have grown and have become more confident, consistent, and brave in every part of my life because of him. I feel safe and loved which opens all kinds of doors for me in my life and my marriage.

So... some might think that your husband might need to get on the consistent train and everything would be better, or you might just add that to your list of expectations of what your future husband should be (which is a great and necessary trait ) - but let me tell you there are two sides to every coin and two people in every marriage.

Wives are the guardian of the heart. Women have the unique ability to look at their man and see who and what God has destined him to be. We see his potential as a businessman, a lover, a father, a friend, a leader, and a man of God. In this vision we have two choices: we can either encourage and love our men into what they are called to be, or we can compare him to the man he is called to be and tear him down piece by piece. Women can either make or break their men. We have power in our words because we greatly control and see into the heart. We must realize the power we have so we can use it wisely and effectively. Believe me the enemy wants us to tear down our husbands and see him as a failure, but God has partnered us with our husbands so that we can lift him up and so he can grow into who God wants him to be.

Also as guardians of the heart I believe we should love with everything we have. Women feel safe when they have consistent husbands; conversely men feel safe when they know they are loved. Lisa Bevere says in her book "It is when we learn to love fearlessly that we will find ourselves perfectly loved" - I know many of us long for this and yet many of us know how hard it is because our love has been hurt in our life. Let me tell you are huge secret: When you give all of your love to the Lord, He will return it to you whole. Everyday we must go to Him who embodies love and receive perfect love from Him. If we as women can get our needs met by Jesus on a daily basis then we are set up for success in our marriages. Then we are able to love our husbands without restraint or fear and we will see him grow into an even more awesome man.

Love is woman's domain to protect, and no one can see potential in a man's life like a woman. These are Lisa's words and they are so infinitely wise - if we can grasp these two concepts not only we will be power houses in our marriages and family but we can have a huge impact in our church and community.

I encourage you to read this book. It is will change everything :)

To the singe men out there - look for a woman who can see the potential in your life, she is worth fighting for.

One last thing I would like to share with you all are the vows that I committed to my husband on our wedding day. God helped me write these out of Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3.

I, Jessica Ann Jordan, do hereby vow – before our Lord and man alike – these things to you and you alone, Christopher Carl Hill:

I commit my life to the prescribed soil of your heart.

I vow to submit, adapt, and cleave myself to you, always putting my needs as secondary to yours, and to always serve you as I would the Lord.

I vow to adorn myself inwardly so that I might always have a gentle and peaceful spirit towards you.

I vow to respect, admire, and honor you and to lift you up and encourage you to be the man that God has called and destined you to be.

I vow to go to the Lord daily to find my joy, satisfaction, beauty, and nourishment in Him, so that I may freely give of myself to deeply love and cherish you always.

Remember no human being is perfect and therefore every marriage is flawed, but when two people are fully committed to Jesus then the possibilities are endless and love will always grow. Our hearts are safe in His.

Husbands=Consistent

con·sis·tent

Pronunciation: \kən-ˈsis-tənt\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin consistent-, consistens, present participle of consistere

Date: 1638

1archaic : possessing firmness or coherence

2 a: marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity : free from variation or contradiction consistent style in painting> b:marked by agreement : compatible —usually used with withconsistent with the truth> c: showing steady conformity to character, profession, belief, or custom consistent patriot>

— con·sis·tent·ly \-lē\ adverb

 

Those things in red.  Those are my desires as a husband.  That is my heart: to remain consistent as a man, husband, leader, lover, spiritual man.  Why?

 

-“Consistent” means “Safe” in wife speak.  I want my home to be a greenhouse for my wife to bloom in.  Sheltered, protected, loved, desired, and safe from the battering of the world that would seek to leave her maimed and tattered and dreamless.  My home will be a place for her dreams to come alive.  I set the standard.  I am the leader.  I must be consistent in my word, in my action, in my relationship, and in my Faith.  I truly believe that when Jess opens her eyes every morning and awakes into this home, that every day she will awake to a safe place to become the woman that Christ set her apart to be.  Nothing else will do.  Too much is at stake.  Her heart it too precious to my Master and to me.  “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

-It is my duty and heart’s desire to Consistently reflect Christ in my marriage.  The head of every man is Christ.  The head of every woman is man.  Men were created in the image of Christ, and the woman taken out of the man.  The Greek word for image is IKONE.  A reflection.  My wife is (and someday my children will be) a reflection of my relationship with Christ.  If it is healthy, intimate, consistent, passionate, and from a servant’s heart; then my relationship with Jessica will be all those things.  She will be healthy in every way.  Conversely, if my relationship with Christ is twisted, from a far, full of variation, disheartened, and from a selfish heart; then my relationship with Jessica will be all of those things.  She will be sick in every way.  (See 1 Cor 11)  I want to consistently reflect Christ and His love for me.

-His love is Consistent.  He served when He was spat upon.  He forgave when He was murdered.  He kept no record of the wrongs paid to Him.  He died for His Bride’s freedom.  His love and action through it never varied, but He was a constant and faithful reflection of His Father’s character, love, and desire to the Church.

 

So, in a summarizing and practical sense, what does that mean?  I like practical.  I am a big fan of things that can be practiced – that means that you can do them and get better at them!  So, this means that when I come home from stress, traders, f-bombs, non-stop, and trials – a.k.a. work – I do the dishes.  Yup.  I come home from those things and attend to Jess no matter how I feel.  MY CRY before the Lord is that the question, “what about me?” NEVER be able to enter my heart or mind.  It never entered His mind when He hung on that cross.  I am thankful for that.  So, I listen to her heart at night when I want to sleep so bad it literally hurts.  I take out the trash.  I deep clean the bathroom when I want to sit on the couch.  I watch Project Runway instead of Sportscenter.  I watch Giadda Delorentis shows because my wife is obsessed with cooking. J  I listen when I want to talk.  I listen when I want to do things that boys want to do.  I encourage, I love, I bless.  I do not speak out of anger.  I do not lose my temper.  I do not shout.  I remain consistent.

 

Sadly, I am still human.  I struggle a great deal.  These things require choices that are often difficult.  Sometimes I do not make the proper choice.  Nonetheless, my wife is correct when she said that God is for marriage and that He will fight for it.  He fights in me.  He changes things in me when I ask Him.  I believe that when I want to be more like Him, He makes it happen.  He is good.  Marriage is good.  He made marriage, and He made it good.

 

Consistently,

Mr. Hill

Long Time

It has been a really long time since either of us have blogged! Life gets so crazy at times and sometimes takes a little "wrangling" to get it back in order.

Since I have begun working I have had to get used to a busy schedule - ya know - which I am sure none of you can relate to at all :). Do any of you ever wonder how all of our Moms did it; I wonder this all the time. How she was organized, had dinner ready, did laundry, loved us, talked to us, loved and talked to my Dad, worked, did bible studies, bought Christmas present, and on and on and on....

I am learning how to organize, clean, cook, plan, decorate, talk, love, work out, work, do laundry, grow up, be good at being married, be a good friend, daughter, sister, granddaughter - all the while learning how to prefer and adapt to the awesome man in my life during while learning all of these things. I am definitely not saying that my awesome hubby does not do SO MUCH for me and with me, it is just an adjustment to doing things for two. So, I know have such a tremendous respect my Mama who had four kids and did all these things for SIX people!

Anyways - I have said all of this to say - sometimes we get busy but we cannot let our busyness over take us - we must over take our busyness. In my mind I would like to think I am Winston Churchill during the war except I am fighting for a balanced life that glorifies Jesus and reflects being excellent and not busy!

On to say:

Chris and I would really like to start a discussion about marriage and how important and awesome it is. In our generation marriage is something that is easily tossed away and discarded, and that is a horribly tragedy that is having a terrible effect on our nation and on a lot of us individually. We realize that we have only been married a few short months but that does not mean we cannot encourage and build up the idea of marriage.

So if you have been hurt by divorce in any way shape or form you might want to follow along as Chris and I try to let the Lord have a voice about something he cares deeply about. I also want to comment that it might not resonate in you that you might of been hurt by divorce so I want to say it another way... Follow along if you are afraid of marriage or have doubts that marriage cannot be solid and full of amazing blessings. God designed marriage. He loves marriage. He is willing to fight for marriage. So, when you lay marriage at His feet He picks it up and molds it into a beautiful, loving, beneficial, fun, and growing relationship. When two people want marriage to work and are willing to let God be the center of their relationship, their marriage will have a strong foundation on which they can stand on.

We cannot promise to answer to everything or even chip the edge off the the idea. However, we can share our experiences and the wisdom we have found and the wisdom that has been given to us by people who have been married for a long, long time!

It is our heart to lift up the heart of anyone that is hurting because of divorce.

We want to share our lives with you, because we want you to see what God can do with two selfish, prideful, broken, hurt people who simply just want to glorify Him.

A little something different…

So, we are really excited. We are really excited about one thing in particular:

Marriage. Yup, we're really excited about this new part of life that we have begun. We think it's wonderful. We've only been at it for a little while, but we want to write about it here – so we're starting a "blog mini-series." So here come 3-4 entries about how much fun marriage is when you do it like Jesus has designed it to be done.

Look, we aren't crazy. We understand. You might be thinking, "What do you guys have to say about this? You've only been married a little while." Yea, we know that, but you have to understand something – You are exactly right. We've only been married for a little while, and this thing is so much better than our wildest dreams that we can't help but tell you about what's made it great for us.

Stay tuned, as my good friend Jonathan Armour would say, "The Hills are alive."

 

Mr. Hill