Perfect 7.

Our culture jokes about the "seven year itch" as the average year when a monogamous relationship (usually specifically a marriage) begins to decline in interest or love for each other.

In the Bible, the number 7 represents a wholeness or completion in God's plan... creation was completed after 7 days. In the 7th year, a Hebrew slave was to be freed having completed his service, and every 7th year there was a celebration. The 7th day of the week is set aside as God's sabbath, a day to rest and worship the Lord. There are also lots of symbolic sevens in Revelation.

Matt and I are celebrating 7 years of marriage today, and though we're certainly miles far from completion or wholeness (thank the Lord!) it does feel like a special number! No matter what number the anniversary, we never take for granted yet another year that God in his infinite love has allowed us to have together. Definitely no itching here!

Since for the past 3 years we've either been pregnant or had small kiddos (or both!) on our anniversaries, our celebrations are not the big, romantic occasions that some put pressure on anniversaries to be. In fact, we went out for dinner last year, and have only one single little photo of us to mark the occasion! It might be several years before we ever are able to spend our anniversary together in Paris again like we did on our 3rd... but each year that I think I can't love Matt any more than I already do, I find myself reaching our anniversary more thankful for him and more in love with him than ever.

If everything you can think to say about how much you love your spouse sounds like a cheesy romantic Hallmark card, I think something must be going right! And while our culture might tell us we're entering the boring old married stage of life, I'll take celebrating a wedding anniversary with the excitement of Kenna finishing potty training and Finn starting to crawl over some big expensive gift any day. I'm so thankful for God to have chosen Matt Brogli for me, and so thankful that God loved us enough to give us the gift of each other.

We are a triangle; in wanting to be closer to God, we're moving closer to each other as a result. Most folks have heard Proverbs 31 that describes the kind of wife I want to be: "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value."

But you can't read that and then not check out Proverbs 20: "Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him."

So to my best friend, my love, my partner in crime, my backup, my trickster, and my favorite... you're pretty much the best ever. Happy anniversary. i love you!

For more pictures, here are posts about our 4th anniversary, 5th anniversary, and our 6th anniversary!

A Day of Little Valentines!

Being 37 and half weeks pregnant does not make for much great planning ahead these days, but we managed to all sneak in some fun Valentine's Day surprises for each other this year! Even though Matt and I always say we are not going to do anything more than cards, I always know he's going to get me something, so I make sure to get him/make him a little something too. I also got to pick out some little surprises for Kenna this year, which is so fun now that she can interact with fun holidays a little more!

When I woke up Monday morning, this was waiting for me in the kitchen:
pink roses (that smelled amazing!), a heart made of my favorite dove chocolates, and a card that unfolded accordion-style and even sang to me! Matt has always been a really talented card-picker-outer!

So to go with the card I had gotten him and the one I helped Kenna make for him, we decided to make him cookies too. When he got home from work, this was waiting for him:
My neighbor friend had just mentioned that she and her husband both had Valentine's week birthdays, so I packaged up some of the cookies and chocolates for them too and even made a fun little Valentine for their dog with some doggie biscuits (from our dog, of course!) using these really cute printables:
I had the most fun picking a few fun things out for Kenna. When she went down for her nap, I set it all out so it would be waiting for her when she woke up. The little mailbox was from the $1/$2.50 section from Target, the sticker book was from the $1 section at Michael's, and I painted the pink "K" on a clearance sketchbook from Walmart (to put her stickers in).
Granddaddy and Nana B. had given her a balloon that I tied to the back of her chair:
But of course, she was most interested in the candy:
I let her stay in her hearts jammies all day:
Then, after letting hear eat two "pops" (little dum dum lollypops) and a mini box of nerds, I made her an all-pink and somewhat healthier dinner. Since Matt works late into the evenings, there aren't any men in the house at dinner time to object to our pink dinners:
juice in a pink cup, strawberry yogurt, ham roll ups, craisin cranberries, and pink/red fruit snacks... all on a pink heart plate, of course!

Hope you all had a wonderful "Love Day!" and a Happy Valentine's!

Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day weekend started out on Saturday night when Matt and Kenna cooked me a steak dinner! They also gave me flowers and a beautiful coffee mug (given to me the day before so that I could have it for my coffee on Sunday morning). Matt said that since Kenna and I have breakfast/coffee time together pretty much every morning, he thought it would be a good way to celebrate me as a mommy- it also has a lovely verse from Proverbs on it. I love it, and have used it each time I've had coffee since then!
I got to pick out my own flowers from Fresh Market, but Matt said I picked the ones he would have picked for me because they looked "a little antique-y." Oh how well my love knows me. And after I put them in my favorite green vase (extra special on Mother's Day since it was given to me by my mom) they matched my new coffee cup!
On Mother's Day morning, Kenna woke up a little worse from a cold she had had the past few days, and we decided she didn't need to be exchanging those germs with other little folks in the nursery. Matt had to go teach Sunday school, so I stayed home with her. It seemed appropriate somehow to stay home with a sick little one on Mother's Day. I love being her mom, rain or shine.

Matt had to work for the rest of the day, and he knew I was feeling a little sorry for myself that other than a great family dinner with the Brogli side, we didn't get to spend the day as a family. So, wonderful husband that he is, he took me later in the week to get some plants for our front porch. He worked to hang hooks so that we could hang planters, and also chased a cranky Kenna around for at least an hour while I looked at probably every single flower Lowe's had to offer. I am so happy with how it looks now! We were joking that now our front porch finally looks like someone lives here again:
I am a notorious plant-killer, so I am working hard to "mommy" these plants to a long and happy life! I just realized while uploading these pictures that the green plant stands were also inherited from my mom- doubly special!
And we picked out matching hanging ones for the ferns:
Kenna stayed fairly occupied playing in the fountains in the outdoor "greenhouse" area of Lowe's (taken on Matt's cellphone). If there is ever water to splash in, this girl will find it!

Big 'Ol Update

In these precious days of exploration and discovery, it's really easy to let the blog become pretty Kenna-centric, but since so many of you have told us you're praying for us, we wanted to give you a larger update about our family on the whole. I'll try not to get over-detailed, this is definitely the nutshell version!

In April of last year, God started us on a journey. We moved back to Wake Forest for Matt to start his Master of Divinity (MDiv) at Southeastern Seminary at the recommendation of our IMB (International Missions Board) representative- we had at that point already started the application process to become apprentice overseas missionaries (3 years on the field with the option to stay longer). We worked on settling into classes (I started taking some as well) and joined Bayleaf Baptist Church as our home church. Shortly after that, we found out that the program (International Service Corps) we had started applying for had been phased out because of lack of funds in the IMB.

However, in September we found out that it would be a possibility for Matt to finish his MDiv in the "2+2" program through Southeastern- meaning 2 years of classes and 2 years on the field (with 3 years on the field being an option if you wanted to work towards possibly becoming career missionaries, which we definitely wanted to consider!). Matt quickly changed his degree into the 2+3 program, and we were suddenly on the fast track of applying... which meant lots of meetings, lots of paperwork, doctor's check-ups, still both in classes, and working on several things we'd need to have done for medical clearance, which included losing 30-50 pounds for each of us. We decided not to pursue a full-time ministry position job-wise since we were planning to be leaving within the year. We want to have obedient hearts towards God, whether that meant moving overseas or staying in the U.S., and had immediately looked for ministry we could be involved in for the mean time when we had first moved back. We worked with a college and singles outreach to downtown Raleigh, Matt began co-teaching our Sunday School class and guest preached at several churches, and we started teaching an evangelism class together.

Family pic after church on a Sunday when Matt had guest preached:

In February, we found out that despite financial shortfalls and extreme budget cuts in the program, God had opened a place for us in Germany. We had been praying for a place in Western Europe to serve, and were so excited to have a specific people to pray for and a language to start learning! We had been given theological, mental, and relational clearance and this was the next step. We had already gone through several classes and meetings with our "departure group" of other students, and have met so many precious couples with a true heart for serving God. Within two weeks of finding out there was a spot for us, we also found out that we would not be able to get our medical clearance in time to leave this year. Not leaving this year, with our departure group, affected Matt's enrollment in school and the IMB could not guarantee that there would be jobs available at all in the next year. Knowing that there is still the option to finish the degree here and then re-apply as missionaries afterward, with much prayer and disappointment, we made the difficult choice to remove ourselves from the 2+3 program and release the position to another couple. If we can't go, we desperately want someone else to fill that spot and GO and TELL!

So Lord, what now?

We were still without full-time jobs, and our end-goal had just fallen through. Matt transferred his degree back to the Missiology program and of course, still plans to finish the MDiv. Honestly, I felt like just when my head was finally catching up to my heart being willing to change everything and move overseas, the plan was changing again. People often say "when God closes a door, He will open a window," but we felt like God was clearly saying the door was closed for a reason, and for this time and place we are in right now. Maybe it is not closed forever, but definitely right now.

In addition to the ups and downs of our plans changing, finances had become a major stress. Anyone who has gone through a job loss or other financial struggle knows the stress it can bring. When you don't have any, it's easy for money to become central to your life. Every part of your life and every decision you try to make is affected. Fear takes the place of trust as you worry if bills will be paid, if groceries can be bought, and the stress causes little annoyances to become unnecessary arguments. In the midst of it, God provided (and is providing!) in the most surprising ways... family members hired us to do odd jobs that they could have just as easily hired a stranger to do... Matt was able to work for a construction company owned by a church member and good friend... God provided buyers on craigslist to purchase some of our larger things we weren't using... and some very dear friends of ours, who are also in ministry and have their own wee one to take care of sent us a Target gift card out of the blue that we were able to use on groceries. When God provided a part-time (with health benefits!) job for Matt last week, we had almost gone an entire year on no full-time income at all- yet here we are, with our power on, our water running, and food in our pantry! Not to mention a healthy daughter that is pure joy to raise, a bit of weight loss under our belts, and a family that loves and prays for us through these days of change. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

We still know that God's plan for every believer is to help others become worshipers of Him, from your next-door-neighbor to the far-flung reaches of places on the map that you can't even pronounce. We don't know what God has for us from here, but we believe and trust in His plan, and we are praying that he will reveal it to us quickly. This has been such a time of learning patience and humility, painful at times, as He breaks down our pride and selfishness to become willing servants. I want to prove myself as faithful to Him as he has been to me. I hope that we will learn these lessons and that in His perfect timing, He will use us in full-time ministry again.

What will that look like? Where will that be? We don't know right now, but we are so thankful that our Heavenly Father, who loves us and desires good things for us, definitely does! Thank you all for your prayers, and for continuing to pray for us that God would lead us not according to our own wishes, but right where He wants us to be!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

***Edited to add: I forgot to mention it originally, but according to our little "ticker" in our side column, on Matt's birthday we had been married for 5 years, 5 months, and 5 days! How cool is that? Praise the Lord for a happy marriage!***

Yesterday was Matt's birthday, and we had a really good day celebrating him! We knew that with his birthday falling on a Sunday this year that it would be a really busy day, but we made some time for a little fun too. We started out the morning at Sunday school and church, and then headed out to Red Hot and Blue for some good barbeque for lunch with Matt's family (I got busy feeding Kenna and myself and forgot to take a picture). After lunch, we had a quick pit stop at home for some birthday cake!

I had asked Matt at the last second if he wanted his cake "in the shape of something" and he answered Pilot Mountain. Now, we have made some strange and interesting cakes for each other over the years, but this was a bit of a strange request to me. But I was ready for the challenge! I found this beautiful picture of Pilot Mountain to work from:
It's one of Matt's favorite places because it holds fun memories of his rock climbing days. I love when people discover this photo of Matt hanging upside down off the mountain at Pilot (it's hanging among some other photos in our dining room). I think it's so cool that someone was able to catch this photo of him in action.
We've also been to Pilot together a couple of times. This was in 2006 on our way to some good friends' wedding:
And here's how the cake turned out... unfortunately, I thought it looked a little like a leprechaun hat, but Matt loved it and it tasted delicious! We'll call that a win.
We treated ourselves to a little Starbucks on the way back to church for the evangelism class Matt has been teaching. Kenna seemed to be a fan of the Strawberries and Cream frappuchino!
(PS- terrible picture of us, but apparently I had just said something funny! The big red thing on Kenna is one of my scarves that I wore at Christmas, and it has been her absolute favorite thing to play with in the car ever since, so we just left it in there. It seriously can entertain her for hours!)

We were tired after church and decided to take home some take-out... and Matt made the good call to get a pizza from Mellow Mushroom. Who am I to argue with the birthday boy? Mellow Mushroom is the most delicious pizza, and they opened up right down the street in Wake Forest, so we don't even have to drive downtown anymore.
We ended the evening with a great movie (of course!) and a little more birthday cake (of course!). Happy Birthday, Babe! We love you Daddy!

15 Months!

Kenna is 15 months old today! I was looking back through some of our old posts and saw this little month-by-month photo montage that I made for her at 6 months, that I meant to redo at her birthday, but between Thanksgiving, then her birthday, then my birthday, that's a really busy time for our family so it never got done! This is probably the kind of thing that only mommies really get a kick out of anyways. It's so easy to get sentimental when your wee one becomes a not-so-wee one so quickly!

Less than 1 hour old:

2 Weeks:

1 Month:
2 Months:
3 Months:
4 Months:
5 Months:
6 Months:
7 Months:
8 Months:
9 Months:
10 Months:
11 Months:
12 Months:
13 Months:
14 Months:
15 Months:

Kenna also apparently has the distinct honor of having her 15 month "birthday" on the same day as National Pancake Day, February 23rd. Who knew? So of course we headed out to IHOP for our free short stack to celebrate along with all the other pancake-loving and carb-loading revelers, and for Kenna to have her first taste of pancakes.

She went first for the big scoop of butter, as we thought she might.
Then she picked up the whole thing and started eating it like a sandwich.
I think she was worried we would take it away.
Mmmm pancakes!
Shoveling it right in... we've been having to work hard at teaching Kenna not to toss food that she doesn't want on the floor, and it can make for some really messy restaurant experiences, but I kid you not, there was not a single pancake scrap on the floor when we left. She ate two entire pancakes!
It seems that Kenna may have started a bit of a love affair with pancakes, just like her Mommy.
And with maple syrup (dipped on the spoon) just like her Daddy.