Things That Make Me Up-Chuck

Whit and I recently upgraded to the ever trendy, awesome, handy, (near-idolatrous, in fact) iPhone. I've been waiting and waiting to get this phone. No lie, ask Brian Barton. So here's where God kindly reminds me that my joy comes not from the created, but the Creator! :)

The story on my iPhone . . . We both upgraded at the ATT store, immediately had to go to an annual meeting of Baptists in Enid. At the meeting, I had to 'use the room.' The iPhone slipped out of my chest pocket and into the toilet, no lie, within the first two hours of owning the dang thing. I immediately grabbed it - gross - and dried it off. It worked through the meeting, but then quit working when we got home. I googled some remedies and found a possible, slight chance of fixing it: I put it in a bag of rice over night, and to this point, it works. . . except the camera, the shutter won't open...

Aaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhh!

But for now, I am enjoying the multifaceted quality of our iPhones . . . God, you are the joy of my heart, not this piece of machinery, but Lord can I keep it?

A New Method of Putting Your Baby to Sleep (Bryan in Training)

We thought we'd share the latest adventure in the Life of the Laramore's:

First, Whit's current daytime responsibilities are taking care of two little girls, one is 4 months old and the other is 18 months old. This is perfect for the time being, for it affords me (Bryan) some practice before we begin having our own children. The other day, we were playing with the little one when Whit says to me, "Hey, will you put her on your shoulder so she can go to sleep." So, with a little look of confusion, I take Lil' E, that's what we call her, and put her on my shoulder, though, not how you moms are thinking . . . I took her and placed her up on my shoulder, like she was sitting in a chair . . . my shoulder being the chair!!!!

Whit turned around, looked at me in hysterical confusion and said, "What are you doing!?!? I meant lay her on your shoulder so she'll sleep!" My bashful response? "Oh . . . right . . . I'll get right on that . . ."

We had a good laugh at that one.

A follow up on that story: Lil' E's mom thought it was hilarious, so much so, that she came back into the Sanctuary yesterday after worship, holding Lil' E up on her shoulder, and said, "We just wanted to say by!" We laughed . . .

Welcome to the Neighborhood

As it has been FAR TOO LONG since last posting, this one will include pictures.

Here is our new life . . .

The Hacienda. Front and back of the house, the garden, and our pup Cocoa:

The Church and the Summit House (our all purpose building/coffee house/youth room/etc:

And OSU Nation:

Week One

This past week was our first full week in Ames. The house is great, the church is great, the office is great! We went to Ok City for our first hospital visit. I'll be honest, it was different walking into a hospital, not as a friend, but as a pastor. A strange, but full feeling!

We're really enjoying the pace of life up here. Easy going, good conversation, gotta love it.

We're still working on the house, we don't have a dining room table yet or bedroom furniture . . . well, we do have bedroom furniture, but we're going to buy a new bedroom suit (is that how you spell that) as our "welcome home" gift to ourselves. So, we will post pictures, as the previous post stated, just not yet . . .

Grace

A Good Start

Our official first Sunday at Ames Baptist Church was a great day.  We met so many great folks and had a great time.  We got to sleep in our new house for the first time.  It was quite strange really, we've gotten so used to only having one door that I kept thinking, did I lock both the FRONT and BACK door?  Oh, people, can I tell you how happy we are to have life size kitchen, a real fridge, a dishwasher, our own washing machine and dryer . . . AND MORE THAN ONE BATH ROOM!

It's great little place that in no time we'll make our cozy little home.

We're going to have little place tilled up for a garden . . . yep, that's what I said, a garden. Can't wait!

Also, "for the first time in my life I can proudly say that I am an American." Oh wait, that's not what I said, that's what our First La-- . . . oh never mind. :)  Anywho, I am proud to say that  "I have a yard." A man ought to have a yard to take care of.  And we have one. . .sweet.  Now Whit will just have  to see if her hubby can handle it . . . :)

Pictures of the empty house to come . . . to be followed later by pictures of our house with furnishings.

We move our stuff in this weekend, we'd appreciate prayers for safe travel.

Grace

Are Those Wedding Bells I Hear?!?!

The only thing better than returning from your honeymoon to open all of your wedding gifts . . .

is returning to your storage place THREE YEARS LATER only to re-open over a third of your unused, unopened, untouched wedding gifts!

This Memorial Day Weekend, we made our way to Holdenville, America for an annual family reunion. As we've been planning and preparing for our move to Ames, OK, we've been looking forward to picking up "the few" wedding gifts that we temporarily left home when we moved into our HUT. . . err . . . eh em . . . pardon me . . . our Student Village apartment at SWBTS ;) You know what I'm sayin'!

Anyhow, three years can really work over a person's memory! When we opened Whit's Grandma's garage, we were quickly struck with the realization that we had left many of our wedding gifts behind simply because our apartment couldn't hold everything! Here are some of the items we'd left behind, but are now greatly looking forward to using in our "new" home in Ames!

Well, It's Official

Our immediate future has been solidified.  We are now officially going to serve as pastor of Ames Baptist Church in Ames, OK.  We preached in view of a call this past Sunday and were excited to learn that they had a unanimous vote, "Yes!"  

The plan is to start on Sunday, May 31st!  We will have to do a little bit of back and forth between Fort Worth and Ames for Whit to finish school and complete a training session she has been obligated to for some time now.  

So, here is our summer schedule:

May 31st - June 13th: Living in Fort Worth, but traveling to Ames on the weekends

June 14th - July 5th: Staying in Ames

July 6th - July 31st: Living in Fort Worth, commuting to Ames on the weekends

August 1 and beyond: permanent residents of Ames, OK!!

Any prayers are much appreciated!  We'll update as time goes on.

Thai Tina's Wins the Day!

So we've lived here in FW just short of three years.  We are likely moving away in the next few months and JUST TONIGHT we experienced the restaurant of our lives!!  It was amazingly tasteful!  This place is called Thai Tina's and is worth every penny!  Go there and get in on the action.  Whit loves curry so she ordered the Massaman Curry Chicken and I ordered the Sweet and Sour Sauté Chicken and we were both blown away!

The cost is a little pricey, but please hear this, it is worth it!  Every bite was better than the one before.  Here is a map, get away from your computer and go there now . . . 

Confessions of an Uber-Goober

My (Bryan) uber-gooberness came out in full force this week.  I'm not even joking, what a moron, you'll see.  Here's what happened:  Thursday morning I walk into my 8am class, find my normal seat, and happen to notice a brown leather coat left all by it's lonesome over on a chair.  I intently think to myself, "Hmm, that's funny, somebody left their coat in here and it looks a lot like my brown leather coat . . . wait . . . that is my brown leather coat!!"  I had left that bad boy in there for probably a couple of weeks without even noticing it was gone.

Now, if I had only done that, I wouldn't have wasted your time by writing this blog . . . so stay with me:

Then when class is over, I pack up the Mac daddy (that's what I call the new mac book), happily grab my "long lost coat" and head out the door, all cheery-like.  As I exit the building, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of what looks like my orange bicycle with a plastic bag over the seat chained with a pink chain.  Yet again, I think to myself for a split second, "How funny, somebody else also has an orange bike with a plastic bag covering the seat chained with a pink chain!"  

I, Super-Goob, had left my bike chained to a walking rail on Tuesday morning before my 8am class! At this point, it's Thursday morning and I am just now realizing that my bike had not been at the apartment for two whole days!!!!!

Thank you for enjoying the Chronicles of an Uber-Goober!

Long Time Comin'

Well, it has been a ridiculously long time since posting, so here is a recap of the past many weeks.

• Over Spring Break, we interviewed at a church for a pastor position at Ames Baptist Church in Ames, Ok. It was very exciting. We had a great time of asking questions and being asked questions. This church is a unique one in that the pastor who is there now has really pointed them in the right direction in terms of good biblical teaching (i.e. expository preaching, that is, preaching through a book of the bible, not preaching topical, feel good messages) and guiding them towards effective discipleship. We intentionally prayed about it and carefully considered it and are now going to preach in view of a call on May 3rd. We're and anticipating good things in that regard!

• Also on Spring Break, we made a trip to Atlanta, GA to see my (Bryan's) sister, Melissa, bro-in-law, Seth, and two nieces, Ella and Moriah. Moriah was born on the immediate Friday before (3.13.09), so we greatly enjoyed spending time the our new born niece numero dos!! Seth is the Connections Pastor of a church plant south of Atlanta called Momentum Christian Church. He and my sister moved there almost three years ago and are doing an awesome work bringing people into/back into the church who otherwise likely wouldn't 'walk the aisle,' to put it in Baptist lingo. :) It is always great to see them and spend time with our niece . . . err . . . nieces!

• A few weekends ago, Whit's sister and our bro-in-law came down from OK for a visit. This was awesome not only because they are such a smokin' blast to hang out with, but also because they bring along with them their hunk of a baby boy, Logan Xavier! So, not only are we the proud aunt and uncle of two nieces on my side, but also the proud aunt and uncle of a nephew on Whit's side! Logie is a stout little five-month-old and totally adorable. We had a great time playin' with him and also playin' our new favorite family game, The Settlers of Catan. If you are a "Gamer of the Boards" and haven't played it, first of all shame on you :), but second of all you really ought to try it out! It's a blast!!!

• Last, but most importantly, this has been a very unique Resurrection Weekend for us [I'm beginning to strongly dislike what "Easter" has become in our society, thus I for now will call it Resurrection Weekend" ;)] Not only are we celebrating the resurrection of the Risen King, but it is also Whitney's Birthday!!!!!! (Happy Birthday again, love). It's been fun and interesting balancing in my mind the great importance of this weekend with the joy of celebrating my wife's Bday. For Whit's birthday, I kinda splurged and got her the newly released iPod Shuffle accompanied with an iTunes gift card . . . Oh Brad and Emily Gentry, what "Apples" we are becoming! ;) The Shuffle is sweet, it talks to you, yes talks to you! You push a button and a voice over comes on telling you what song, artist, playlist is on.

So, that about sums up the last month or more. We promise we will keep our posting up and going!

Cowtown Marathon

Whit and I hit a major milestone in our own lives this past weekend. We entered and completed an event where all you do is the one thing we both really don't like: RUNNING!!! Neither of us have ever enjoyed running or even desired to "go out and run." But, we got wind of the "running bug" and it took us on a wild ride.

We both ran the Cowtown 5k and successfully finished! It was hard but so much fun! We loved it. The adrenaline of running with 4,000 other people helped out a lot!

And here's the unanticpated result of running in the Cowtown: entrance into our next race, the Seminary Stride 5k!

Whit's Time: 44:43












Bryan's Time: 27:26

Valentine's 2009

For Valentines this year, we decided to forego the typical flowers, chocolate, and nice dinner. Instead we decided to shake things up a bit. We went to a marriage conference . . . yes, a marriage conference! Before you think anything else, let us just say, it was fantastic. Family Life puts on a weekend long conference called A Weekend to Remember. Boy was it memorable. It was held at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine.

Originally we had planned not to stay in Grapevine, but late Thursday night (like 10:00 late) we made the random, last-minute decision to stay in Grapevine! We first called the Gaylord hoping for a miracle that there woud be one open room. Of course, it was booked, full to the brim. We followed this action with calling six other hotels around the area and nothing, not one open room. We were prepared to shell out a bit of $$ given the last minute need for a two night room stay. Finally, we got ahold of Holiday Inn Express enough room for a two night stay for two! We were happy because it was a stone's throw away from the conference.

The conference covered subjects such as follows:

- Spiritual Oneness

- Conflict

- Intimacy and Romance (sizzle, sizzle)

- and more . . .

It was a fantastic weekend! Here are a few shots from the weekend:

Fun Things from Last Weekend

Last weekend was yet another busy, but satisfying weekend. Here's what went down:

- Friday night, we searched diligently to find something different, yet tasty for dinner. After thinking and thinking, all we could come up with was Tacolote. Err, what? Tacolote is one of those priceless dining experiences ON WHEELS. It's no secret that we seminarians live in quite the Hispanic Ghetto. I mean that gingerly, not rudely. The fantastic thing about our area: Meals on Wheels baby!!! Tacolote is a trailer that sets up in the southeast corner of the parking lot of Seminary Food Store. Upon first glance, it looks like something only in the movies . . . Come to find out, the food there is fantastic!!!!

- Friday night, later . . . we pre-purchased the movie Fireproof and have been waiting for the right time to watch it. Oh man, let us tell you, it'll change your life. Overlook the quasi-quality acting, look for the message being put forth, it'll change your life. Good stuff. No sex, no cussing, stuff blowing up, guy-gets-girl plot, can't beat it!!

- Saturday morning . . . First Euless hosted what they call the "Seminary Shopping Spree." In a nutshell, think of the ninety's show "Shopping Spree," only multiply it by about a bagillion people . . . see pics below . . . First Euless came up with tons of stuff (T.V.'s, computers, couches, baby toys, filing cabinets, kitchen items, beds, cleaning supplies . . . . a car . . . yes, a used car) and gave it all away. Here's the dealy: Students line up on three edges of a giant room, behind tape, surrounding the items to be given away. . . at the right moment, everybody hauls off and sprints toward the items they desire to stake claim on . . . you leave with whatever, literally whatever you could carry to your car . . . it was Cool with a phat-happy "C". Our friends Brian and Kayla made the trip with us as well. It was a blast. We came away with a four-drawer filing cabinet, bed risers, various cleaning supplies, and a 10 piece set of place mats and matching napkins, and a few other things . . .





- Saturday evening, we went to a surprise birthday party. A friend of ours turned 72 . . . oh, no wait, he only acts that old, but he actually turned 27 . . . (sorry Clay and Robin, I couldn't help it -Bryan- I think he was 27 . . . maybe it was 26 . . . it all blends together . . . :)) It was a blast of a time, though. Several folks gathered at a house and the birthday boy was completely surprised. Fun, fun time.

- Sunday morning . . . church. Pretty straight forward . . .

- Sunday evening . . . We went to our Sunday School Superbowl party. Good times, good eats, good laughter, terrible football game . . . nah, just kidding, it was a good one. It was a great time hangin' with friendly folk. We weren't happy with the final score, but it was a great night anyway!



Great Weekend . . .

B&W

5 Things We Love to Do as a Couple

For the fun of it, we thought we'd share 5 things we enjoy doing as a couple. These aren't necessarily in any order, neither are the exhaustive, but they make for a pretty good summary. Drum roll please . . . .

1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. We've been officially following the CSI: gang since Season Four, Episode 406 "Fur and Loathing." (Too much detail? maybe . . .) Whit had seen a few episodes prior to this one, but this is the first one we watched together and botta-bing botta-boom, we where hooked. We have since bought seasons 1 through 4 and are working towards collecting the entire series . . . kinda difficult, though, at $70 bucks a pop!

2. Movies. Nearly every weekend, we sit down to a rented movie. Ironically, we only rarely go to the theatre to see a film. It's not so much that we don't like going out to a movie, there's just something 'special' about watching a movie in the confines of our own hacienda.
Our favorite types of movies are romantic comedies, but the occasional action film satisfies us as well.

Whit's most recent favorite Romantic Comedy: The Holiday

Bryan's most recent favorite Romantic Comedy: Hitch


3. Friends. In our life, there's not much more that satisfies us than being home with each other. EVEN SO, we really love hanging out with our friends. There's something great about being with other couples . . . can't put our finger on it, but there's just something about the whole deal that is a blast! Friends are great!


4. COFFEE!!!!! We both love our nightly cup/s of coffee. Starbucks hardly suffices, so when it comes to indulging in a warming, choice cup of coffee, Dunkin' Donuts does the trick! As of now, of the 5 or so flavors Dunkin' Donuts offers, the Cinnamon Spice is where its at!


5. Church. We love our church. Travis Avenue Baptist Church has been our home church for the past 2+ years. We have been a part of a fantastic community of faith, heard excellent teaching and preaching, had opportunity to do ministry with kids from a local apartment complex.

These are a few things we enjoy doing week to week, hope you enjoyed . . .

Grace to You,

B&W

"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:2

A Fun Weekend In Review

We had such a busy weekend, but what a great weekend it was!

Friday night, Whit went out with some friends from Sunday School for dinner, movie, and dessert . . . mmmmmm!! Everybody needs to see "Bride Wars" and try out Simply Fondue in downtown Fort Worth in Sundance Square!

Friday afternoon, Bryan set out for a long weekend of Disciple Now. He was a Dnow leader of the 8th Grade boys . . . yeah, that's right, 8th grade boys . . . let's just say, no amount of Starbucks coffee could suffice for the amount of energy needed to keep up with them! In the end, he really felt like he connected with the guys and he and they had a great time!

Saturday, Whit went to lunch with her great friend Kayla (whose husband was also leading a group of guys at Dnow) and had a great time of catching up and what not. (P.S. During this time, Bryan was getting "The Beatdown" in dodgeball from Kayla's husband, Brian!! He throws a wicked-mean curving dodgeball!)

Sunday we both met back up together after being apart all weekend and enjoyed some R&R before heading back out "on the town" as we joined some friends in watching the AFC Championship game (wait, was there even a game then?) and played cards as well. Thanks Gentry's for opening your home up for a great time!!!

Monday, MLK day, we continued in our training for the Cowtown 5K . . . ouch, it only hurts a little . . . . and when we say a little, we're lying!!!!

This evening (Monday) we met Bryan's folks for a nice dinner at Abuelo's on their way in from Atlanta, GA. It was a great dinner and great to see his 'rents.


B &W

A New Blog

With all of what we fill our time with, we figured we'd just add another blog onto the end of the list. Come back in the coming days to see what we've got to share!