God Done Shed His Grace On Thee

you should probably press play on this before you scroll through the rest of this post...for this was the theme song of our fourth. {and quite possibly for all of the fourth of julys ever until the end of time, if i have my way.} it plays in the most patriotic of sandlot scenes, and my friend chris played it while we rode bikes down to the park for fireworks {and i cried because, come on--riding bikes with friends after a day of pool time and ice cream--that's like the best day for an eight year old and that's really how i want to measure all my days, don't you?} he played it again during the firework show and you can bet i cried that time too, but so did cheryl, so i didn't feel nearly as silly in that moment as i did while wiping tears from my face with one hand and holding the handlebars with the other.

in fact, i am a little teary-eyed as i listen to the song and write this...words i've heard {and sung in dozens of choirs over the years} seem a million times more moving with his passion and soul behind them. o beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife, who more than self, their country loved and mercy more than life. i mean, well done, ray...well done.

Texas Forever {Part 2}

The rest of the week in Texas was spent at THIS beautiful property!

Each morning, our team would wake up to a fully home-cooked breakfast, fresh donuts from the local donut shop and HUGE carafes of coffee {when our hostess found out I prefer iced coffee, she began to make extra and keep it in the fridge for me...talk about hospitality!}

After breakfast and a reflection on a Bible story or character, they'd take us out on the lake for all sorts of water sports! I learned to wake surf {!!} which I am pretty proud to say, since I'd never done anything like it {and there were quite a few others who couldn't do it!}

We had many, many hours of tubing: three tubes with at least seven people being whipped around, guys jumping from tube to tube...I would get thrown in to the lake and be laughing so hard that I swallowed, easily, a gallon of lake water each day. But someone did mention that they were never concerned that I was hurt because they could hear my laugh from the middle of the lake.

One afternoon, we took a duffy boat down river {past Nolan Ryan's property!} to a big tree with a rope swing and a platform at the top. This photo makes me look like I knew what I was doing...the actual event was considerably less graceful! On my second climb, I opted to jump from the platform up above, thinking it would hurt less than smacking in to the water on the rope. 

After lunch, naps {well, I took a nap while everyone else played volleyball} and more lake time, we'd have delicious BBQ for dinner, Blue Bell ice cream {often ice cream floats} and then settle in for a few card games before bed.

On our final morning, I was so sore from all of the tubing that I opted for some quiet reading and chatting instead of final runs behind the boat or on a jet ski. And really, with a spot like this, can you blame me?

We left early for the airport to give us time to stop for BBQ at City Market in Luling.

Oh. My. Goodness. This place was incredible.

They have a smoker {where they cook the meat} in the restaurant, so when we walked in, it smelled so much like Kenya that I almost burst in to tears!

The boys ordered for us and brought these giant pieces of butcher paper filled with ribs, brisket, sausages and pickles to the table. And then threw down three or four loaves of white bread and a half dozen bottles of BBQ sauce.

So. So. So. Delicious. We left Luling super full and happy...feeling like we'd had a pretty complete experience of Texas: Riggins, Blue Bell, boating and BBQ.

Texas Forever {Part 1}

The week after Father's Day, my team at work was given the amazing gift of a week together at a house on a lake in Texas. {For those of you thinking, 'A week on "vacation" with the people I work with--no thank you!' I apologize. The people I work with are really fun to be around, so I knew it would be a good week.}

About three weeks before we left, I realized that we were flying in to Austin. Austin just happens to be the home of Friday Night Lights...a show I have watched twice alone, once with my previous roommate and have just started again {yep, for the fourth time} with my current roommate and our great friends. Needless to say, I was over-the-freakin-moon excited at the thought of standing in front of Tim Riggins' house wearing my Panthers jersey. {I almost burst in to tears about ten times imagining it.}

{Pause for a moment}

You see, I'm new on my team. I started at this campus in January. And I'm only there part time. So I didn't want to look the oh-so-gift horse in the mouth by asking to add a little Friday Night Lights tour on to this already incredible trip. I knew I had to approach the ask gently.

{Play.}

I began by asking how far Gonzales {the town we'd be staying in} was from Austin. I also asked {not my boss, but my go-to team member} how long we'd be in Austin on arrival and departure days. When I found out that we'd be in Austin for a whole SIX hours between arrival and dinner in the city, I knew I had to ask.

So, I subtly inquired {one coworker at a time} about who on my team had seen the show. As it turns out, about half of my team is huge fans and were fairly easily swayed to visit the homes around town during our free afternoon. And then...my boss' kids started watching the show--so I knew this dream was becoming more and more a reality.

I did some research and found this map of the homes and locations. Mentioned {more than a few times} my excitement over an instagram with me in my Riggins' jersey.

When we landed in Austin, we were given the keys to a 15-passenger van and set out {about eight of us} to see Dillon, Texas in real life. I very nearly cried all the way to our first stop: Coach and Tammy Taylor's House. The rest of the van was kinda giggling at me...until we pulled up. Then they understood the joy.

As we stood on the lawn taking photos, the woman who lives in the Taylor house came to check the mail. I thought, for sure, she'd be telling us to 'get the heck out', but instead she offered to take our photo, told us how to get to The Riggins' house, and then explained that they filmed the show inside her house too and it looks just like it did on TV{!!!!} One of the women with our group asked if we could go inside and see, and the homeowner politely declined. We took our fair share of photos and jumped back in the van.

We drove a few blocks over and found Tim and Billy Riggins' house. I threw on my Panther jersey {from the NBC store years ago} and jumped out for a quick photo--trying my hardest, and completely failing, to play it real cool.

Honestly, we could have been done at this and I would have been so happy!

We turned a few corners and found the Dairy Queen they used for the scenes at Alamo Freeze. We filled up on blizzards {to go, of course--places to see!} and drove across town to Panther Field.

A few miles away, we found the Panther Fieldhouse in all its Dillon, Texas Glory! We took a moment of silence and gazed in awe at this legendary {and now kinda run-down} site.

As we drove to the second round of stops, we passed The Landing Strip. I begged my friend driving the van to turn in so we could take a photo. He was not super thrilled with the idea of pulling in to a strip club parking lot, in a van full of women and teenagers, in the middle of the day, but we convinced him. 

So, here it is--a true Dillon landmark. 

We passed this one three times before we could find it. Initially going to be our lunch stop--it used to be a real {and delicious} BBQ place. Thankfully, I googled it beforehand and found out it had been closed down. On the third pass--as we were about to give up--I saw the broken sign stowed in the back of the lot. My pregnant co-worker climbed out of the van to take my photo and have hers taken too.

Our last stop was Matt Saracen's. As we turned the corner, and saw the house, our whole van was full of excitement. It looked exactly the same as it did during the filming! {Minus the junky old gate and the Quarterback's practice tire.} As we stood out on the curb to take a picture, the front door opened and a little girl peeked her head out to say, "You can take a picture on the front porch, if you want!"

And, believe me, we did want.

We drove back to meet the rest of our team for an amazing steak dinner, {okay, I had chicken} already reminiscing about all that we had seen that day. Later that night, as we pulled in to the driveway of the lake house in Gonzales, I thought to myself, 'I could go home now and it would be a fully and memorable trip. I can't believe we have four more days to go!'

And it was only more exciting from there!

...to be continued

A Top Ten List

Top Ten Movies I Love and Often Find Other People Have Not Seen:
(How's that for a lengthy list title?!)

1. PeeWee's Big Adventure
2. Drop Dead Gorgeous
3. Only You
4. Adventures in Babysitting
5. Donnie Darko
6. Romeo & Juliet
7. Robin Hood
8. Yours, Mine and Ours {1968}
9. Big Business
10. Overboard

Operation Make July As Great As June

Well, June was great. Really great. And I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that July is equally {if not more} awesome. 

The other night {between a few episodes of Friday Night Lights--we have TWO first-timers over here and the excitement is amazing. Cheering and crying just the way God intended it} we made a list of a few things we are hoping to do in the next month...and document well, of course.

--> go to Afters Ice Cream

--> visit one museum

--> see two concerts

--> host an outdoor movie night

--> go on a trip

--> hike to the Hollywood sign

--> go to Bass Pro Shop

--> recreate 'that photo'

--> go to the movies in the cemetery

--> ice block

--> roller skate

--> go to the beach

--> dinner with the guys in apt 3

--> water balloon fight with HS girls

--> watch a season of TV in one weekend

--> cross-stitch something

What are we missing? Any must-see, don't miss, classic summer items?

Throw A Dollar In The Washing Well

A few weeks ago, I was preparing to spend a week in Texas with my team from work. {Those stories are coming soon, I promise.} Since we were leaving early Monday morning {which is typically my day off}, I had to do all of my grown-up, day-off tasks on Sunday instead. This week, it meant about five loads of laundry. 

You know those times when it seems like every towel {bath, beach, hand, kitchen} is dirty at once...and it just so happens to be about the time that all of the transitioning-from-cold-nights-to-warm-nights bedding needs to be washed too? And what do you do when you live in a new apartment complex with one washer and dryer set that really isn't large enough to hold two comforters, let alone dry them in one $1.25 load? You grab a friend and a Frosty and head to the local laundromat.

// ATTENTION: Wendy's now serves Frostys in WAFFLE CONES. If you haven't tried this yet, get on it. //

I had never really been to a laundromat before. I mean, I've seen it on TV, and I've passed through one or two for various reasons, but I didn't really know what to expect when we arrived. 

Thankfully, Cheryl was willing to come along to share a snack, catch up on recent travels, and document the day.

Alright. Washing Well. It's awesome: clean, uncrowded, reasonably priced, quiet. Also, there was a really nice breeze, which is essential when it is the middle of July and you're in a room full of gigantic dryers!

I threw all of my stuff in to four side-by-side washing machines and then we set out to take some photos that would pass the time and cause the other patrons to stare.

Channeling Rachel in the laundry basket.

Cheryl had just come home from two weeks in D.C. so we had a lot of life to catch up on. It was really fun to eat our ice creams and wait for the loads to finish. And--four loads happening simultaneously?! What could have been a full day's worth of laundry done in under two hours. Heck yeah.

And, of course, we had to put Cheryl in a dryer before the day was done. We did wait until we were the only two people left in there {and until all of my laundry was done} for fear that we would be kicked out. 

Washing Well is the way to go if you're in the market for a laundromat. If you're spending the day there, let me know...we could sing Ross' laundry song together.

Oh June, I Loved You So

June was such a fun-filled month that I recently started a new project called Operation Make July As Great As June {which I will post about this week...}

Thought I'd use this little space to record some of the greatness for posterity. 

//see also: the road trip and upcoming posts on a trip to Texas and a day at the laundromat//

++++++++

One afternoon, I stopped by to see my friend Emily and her two boys. When I got there, they were sitting in the backyard, the boys climbing in and out of the kiddie pool. 

When it was time to get out, I asked Deacon {who had been a little sick that week} if he wanted to go to the park, he said no. I asked if he wanted to go on a walk, he said no. I asked if he wanted to go snuggle on the couch--expecting a third no--and he said yes. So we wrapped him in little frog blanket and sat down on the couch, where he fell asleep for over an hour while Emily and I caught up. Such a sweet little sick kid.

When I left Emily's that evening, I headed over to Taffy and Sue's to have dinner and see our friend Josh who was in town from South Carolina.

My roommate and I have agreed to constantly have fresh flowers in our home for one year. So far, we've been successful and the arrangements have added so much to the kitchen, especially for such inexpensive bouquets!

There was one Sunday in June that was jam-packed with celebrations: 

A baby shower for Candice and Sweet Baby Girl B

A graduation party for Valentina

And a joint birthday party for my 74-year-old Grandma...

and 25-year-old cousin Logan

My mom was there too {surprise eyes and all!}

Our Mariners Worship Leaders hosted a dinner for all of the worship leaders across all Mariners campuses and ministries. It was such a great night to be together and eat really delicious, handcrafted burgers.

And a fun night to make Trev feel a little awkward

Deacon's brother, Theo, has taken to smiling and saying "Cheese!" every time a phone is anywhere near him...

I ran in to my friend Ally and her sweet little girl at a friend's art show. I was so happy to finally meet Luna--and teach her some sweet dance moves.

Mid-June, our friend Jason moved to New York. {Obviously I am super jealous that he'll be living my dream.} We said goodbye in true Costa Mesa fashion: with a few hours of dancing at Pierce Street Annex.

Seriously, June. You were the best month yet. If the summer gets worse from here, I'll understand...if it's any better, my heart might explode from all the joy.

My 35 By 35 {An Update}

1. Record the life stories of all four grandparents {2 completed. 2 in-process}

2. Travel to 15 never-before-visited states {7}

          a. Massachusetts
          b. Rhode Island
          c. Connecticut
          d. Maryland
          e. Pennsylvania

          f. New Mexico

          g. Oklahoma

3. Visit the Rose Bowl Flea Market

4. Raise $1000 for charity: water

5. Write 365 notes in 365 days

6. Learn to use a sewing machine

7. Do the splits both ways

8. Read 40 books {6}

            a. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

            b. Night Film

            c. Special Topics in Calamity Physics

            d. Intensity

            e. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

            f. Flappers and Philosophers

9. See 25 bands play live {10}

            a. Bethel

            b. Moxie

            c. Ivan & Aloysha

            d. The Lone Bellow

            e. Cast of Once pre-show

            f. Dominik Michalzik

            g. Tyson Motsenbocker

            h. Lowly Spects

            i. Noveller

            j. St Vincent

10. Participate in the freeing of a child slave

11. Learn to drive a stick-shift

12. Create "memorable childhood moments" for kids who have had to grow up too quickly

13. Travel to 2 never-before-visited countries

14. Attend a balloon festival {planning for October!}

15. Make a lobster dinner for two

16. Complete 60 DIY projects {33}

            a. bjork swan dress

            b. pumpkin garland

            c. donut pumpkins

            d. Mike Wazowski

            e. black and white canvas

            f. animal masks {16}

            g. claw gloves

            h. pink ribbon canvas

            i. stocking garland

            j. sequins ornaments

            k. cloth napkins

            l. embroidered map routes

            m. pinecone garland

            n. mood board

            o. brooch magnets

            p. paris calendar

            q. herb pots

            r. painted bobby pins

            s. vodka gummy bears

            t. mounted animal heads

            u. dentistry mobile

            v. surfer canvas

            w. legwarmers

            x. chalkboard wine glasses

            y. felt owl

            z. Golden Birthday party decorations

           aa. repaint chalkboard wall

           bb. rehang kitchen cabinets

           cc. repair deacon's robot

           dd. mend alex's jeans

           ee. gwenivere's bunting banner

           ff. striped living room

           gg. rainbow pancakes

17. Be in a photo shoot

18. Complete an entire Annual Bible Read with Mariners

19. Write a song

20. Read the Complete Works of Shakespeare

21. Address a set of envelopes in calligraphy

22. Camp 

23. Hike to the Hollywood sign

24. Watch every Hitchcock movie in which he made a cameo {10 of 36}

            a. North by Northwest

            b. Rear Window

            c. The Birds

            d. Vertigo

            e. Psycho

            f. The Lady Vanishes

            g. The 39 Steps

            h. To Catch A Thief 

            i. Suspicion

            j. The Lodger

25. Complete a Color Run {Go Team 'Color (Run) Me Badd'}

26.  Speak conversational Swahili {trying!}

27. Host an outdoor movie night

28. Spend 52 days unplugged (one day a week for a year)

29. Watch planes land from the hood of a car

30. Learn to use my camera // take and frame two photos

31. Take OT and NT classes {currently listening to an OT class on iTunesU}

32. Watch 3 new TV series

            a. Melissa and Joey

            b. That 70's Show

            c. The West Wing {finished it yesterday and cried, of course}

33. Record a Christmas album

34. Buy a domain for my blog {Thanks to Griff, allihibb.com is finally up-and-running. re-design coming soon!}

35. Have coffee with Bob Goff

{previously on 35 by 35}

He Is Faithful

On May 20th, I was supposed to fly to Kenya. On May 18th, my trip was postponed due to terrorists attacks and threats of more attacks. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. I had waited months after buying my plane ticket to even let my heart be excited about going because it felt too good to be true--that after nearly three years of hoping to go back, of hoping to see friends who had become like family, whose families had grown in the years that I have missed...

And two days after I had decided to believe it was really happening, allowed myself to purchase supplies and gifts, we made the tough decision to postpone my trip until November.

Now, I'm already pretty much a crybaby {commercials, a good TV montage, Taylor Swift songs} I consider it a victory when I make it through a full day without crying.

But, this Kenya trip being postponed kinda destroyed me. I laid in bed for two days straight {watching The West Wing and playing 2048.} I cried in the majority of my meetings at work {thankfully, no one was too surprised--see above.} I was a wreck.

My incredible friends and family members did all sorts of things to help ease the pain of the loss of this adventure {even a few off of my 35 by 35, and my 2014 goals!}

May I present to you, in some sort of chronological order, what happened in the weeks of my life that would have been spent in Kenya.

Our High School small group met for the last time until next Fall. My co-leader and I made a paper chain for each girl to count down to the end of the school year.

I was able to fully unpack, decorate my room, and empty the house of all of the boxes that had been strewn about since we moved in!

Cheryl took me and Cathi on a picnic to watch planes arrive at the airport. 

A whole group of us visited the Aquarium of the Pacific and watched as their boys discovered all kinds of marine life.

The following week I took a spontaneous road trip to Oklahoma.

Oh, I also ordered and received this beautiful package from Japan...

...which contained the washi tape to stripe our living room wall!

In the back of my mind, I knew that no amount of adventuring would cure my heartsickness, but I really did want to try...and we made a lot of really fun memories, for relatively little money {!!!} 

Over the six weeks, I have prayed and cried and argued with God over what felt like a direct withholding of my heart's deepest desires by keeping me away from Kenya. Through some honest confession and some difficult times of listening to His voice, and through the rest and refreshment from each of these activities, I have felt God smiling upon me. I have felt comforted and loved and seen by God in ways that I hadn't dared hope for recently. 

It was a really, really tough end of May, but God was and is and will continue to be faithful...even when I am faithless.