H: Happy Anniversary!

Two years past and I'm still this happy!

January 7, 2008 marked our second anniversary. We had a pretty tough first year with all the transition, so we were very thankful for a much calmer second year. We had a very special anniversary celebration. We stayed at a hotel downtown and went to a fancy steak dinner at Jeff Ruby's just a few blocks from our hotel (ok, ok so I had fish at a steak restaurant...what's the big deal?)

Then Kevin took me to see "Phantom of the Opera." I LOVE "Phantom" and had actually purchased the soundtrack for Kevin as a Christmas gift before we had even decided to see the show for our anniversary. So I sang the night away and have continued to do so while doing dishes, cleaning, etc. Everything is better with Raul and Christine, right?

But my favorite part of the weekend was how intentional my husband was. A good friend of ours lent Kevin some questions from a marriage retreat that he had attended, and we set aside chunks of time during our weekend to evaluate our marriage, give thanks to God for His faithfulness in our strengths, and to pray, plan, and set goals to overcome our weaknesses. If you'd like to plan your own marriage retreat, here are some of the questions we discussed:

What could I do to cause you to feel more loved?

What could I do to cause you to feel more respected?

What could I do to cause you to feel more secure?
What could I do to cause you to feel more understood?

What could I do to cause you to feel more confident in our future direction?

What attribute would you like me to help you develop in yourself?
What attribute would you most like me to develop?
What achievement in my life would bring you greatest joy?
What would indicate to you that I really desire to be more Christ-like?
What mutual goal would you like us to accomplish?

How is your relationship with the Lord doing?
How is our sex life?

G: Guitar Playing Fool

When you’re a kid, learning new stuff is easy. Plus kids have no choice but to give themselves a lot of grace in learning because there’s just so much they’re learning to do at one time. Tie your shoes, ride a bike, eat with a fork…the world is just full of unknown skills! But for an adult, the tables are turned. We’re used to efficiency and competency.

For years, my dear husband has wanted to learn to play the guitar. He finally took the plunge when the whole family (my parents & his) chipped in to buy Kevin a guitar for Christmas. This picture is the “third” that my parents purchased.

He took lessons last semester and has been plugging away ever since. It’s not been easy to acquire this new skill (especially since Kev’s singing voice is somewhat lacking) but he’s persevering. I’m so proud of him! He’s actually strumming away right now as I type. We’re planning to go on tour shortly to debut Kev’s mad skills, but until then, I'll leave you with this picture of my rockin' musician. Who knows…maybe one day it will be worth millions!

F: Flu Outbreak

When Kevin & I were dating in college, the poor guy didn’t take very good care of himself. He averaged about five hours of sleep a night and his staple diet included tater tot casserole, $.99 frozen Italian meals, and canned green beans. When he got sick, the idea of slowing down to feel better never seemed very convenient so he just plowed on through. Needless to say, this eventually caught up with him. I was leaving for a trip when Kevin finally admitted that he was sick. I did my faithful duty as a girlfriend and made a big vat of soup for him to eat while I was away. I even wrote him a poem entitled “Soup for My Sickie,” which elicited much playful teasing from his roommates.

So it felt like quite a flashback when Kevin started feeling puny in February. (As an aside, my mom always used to call my brother or me “puny” whenever we didn’t feel well. I imported this phrase into my marriage but my husband didn’t find it as quaint as I did. Offended his manhood or something like that) And it turned out to be…dramatic pause…the flu. All the poor guy could do for a week was lay around and moan. And I literally mean moan. The doctor couldn’t do anything either because apparently the flu is a virus and it just has to run its course.

Eventually, we became a happy & healthy home again. The whole ordeal did make us much more thankful for our health. We certainly take for granted the ability to wake up in the morning and hop out of bed, ready for the day. (Well, maybe not hop every morning but you get the point) So we are more thankful to our Creator & Sustainer for the gift of health. And this wife is certainly thankful that she gets to hum a different tune from “Soup for My Sickie.”

E: Everyone Dry Your Eye

When this sugar mama finally found her sugar (ie-a job), part of the sweetness of it was having a desk five feet from dear Beth Wilson. Beth is a college friend whose life took a turn similar to ours. After marrying Lee in 2005, they moved up to Louisville to go to school at Southern. When we moved here six months later, she & Lee were at our door, ready to move in our boxes in the snow. A few months after we got here, I was hired at the same law firm as Beth. So we became friends, coworkers, fellow sugarmamas putting our husbands through school, and, best of all, Christian sisters trying to encourage one another at work and at home. I’ll be honest that with desks so close to one another, sometimes our work ethic gave way to chattiness, but overall I think we were both better workers because of the other. At least I know I was. God gave me Beth to help me adjust to the demands of the corporate world, and I’m entirely grateful.

What began as Jack Bauer Power Hour eventually evolved into what we now endearingly refer to as MND. The Wilsons began opening their home every Monday night for six of us, then ten, then twelve and even upwards of twenty. She graciously put food on the table for us all as we chatted, laughed, and enjoyed either “24” or “Last Man Standing.” I have never seen the gift of hospitality so evidently displayed as I have through Beth.

But all that God did to use the Wilsons here in Louisville, in His gracious plan, He has decided to use them elsewhere. Lee accepted a job at Union University and he & Beth bought a house and moved there in January. They moved there just before the tornado hit and were able to be there for the ministry to the students & community that followed the destruction. We had a going away party at work and the last MND at the Wilson’s home. At first, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it at the office without Beth’s encouragement and sensitivity. But the Lord has certainly sustained me the past five months without her. Beth’s legacy of MND has lived on, and we now alternate host homes between the five couples.

So, yes, dry your eye that the Wilsons moved on. But we are oh-so thankful for how the Lord intersected our lives for a season and for how He is now using them where they are. And in that we can rejoice.

D: Dunder Mifflin

We admit it...we're Office fans. It started with me. I love the dry humor and something about the reality of corporate life that this show portrays really resonates with me. Kevin hated it. He made fun of me for liking it. But then one day, the light dawned in his heart. Now we love it & laugh together. And that is a good thing. We're not sure if we like Dwight or Andy Bernard better. Dwight sure does know a lot about beets but then again Andy has walked two marathons. Anyway, if you're ever up for an Office party, we're all about it!

C: Crazy good times--New Years '08

Whoever said that seminarians don't know how to have a good time sure hasn't been to the Peek at the White Butts parties. Before you get any crazy ideas of what we do to entertain ourselves out here in Kentucky, let me explain. To welcome the new year, the Peeks (all four of us!), Blake & Alicia White, and Dustin & Jamie Butts all got together for dinner & games.

We also got to celebrate Sarah's birthday. A mere twenty-four years ago, she was the first baby born in Spokane, WA. Happy b-day Sarah! Glad you're alive!

B: Bread Mania

The rest of my family really puts me to shame when it comes to domesticity. Sister Sarah--well what doesn't she do? She bakes, sews, knits, and churns her own butter (maybe not the butter thing but I wouldn't put it past her one day.) Sister Shannon crochets like a champ (I'm so far from that, I don't even know how to spell it!) Me? Well...umm...does running count as domestic? I can cook and put food on the table but I don't delight in the crafty/cook-y side of life like these ladies. But all of that changed at Christmas thanks to my dear mother-in-law! I am now a bread maker!

Yup, that's me and my first loaf of bread. That I made. OK so it was with a breadmaker but I dumped all the stuff in, didn't I? So what if sometime I get the yeast/water/flour proportions a little off and it sinks in the middle? (When that happens, we call it bunny bread because when you slice it, it looks like the bread has ears like a bunny.) Kevin has awarded me exponential domesticity points because of my new found hobby. And you'll be pleased to know, dear mother-in-law, that I haven't purchased a loaf of bread from the grocery store since the breadmaker made its debut in my kitchen. If any of you remember my Blog post from last year expressing my disdain for Martha Stewart, I think I'm over that now because I'm pretty sure she & I are on an equal playing field now.

A: All Aboard to Tejas

Merry Christmas from Apartment 422!

(Belated of course!)

As usual, we traveled the great divide between Kentucky & Texas to spend the holidays with our families. This year was great because we had roadtrip companions in Chris & Sarah. More drivers=more sleeping time! That was especially helpful for me since 1) I stink at driving at night and 2) we left at 5 PM right after I got off work and drove through the night. But we made it safe and sound. We dropped Chris & Sarah off in Denton with Kev's parents and headed down to Austin to see my family.

We spent a few days with my family in Austin. Mark & Valerie flew down from New York but we didn't get to connect very long because our schedules didn't mesh very well. Just long enough for lunch though! (Aren't we so cute in our matching red!?!)

We got to spend some time with some friends as well that I've known & loved since high school. Fun times!

Then we went back up to Dallas to spend Christmas with Kevin's family. This was my very first Christmas not to wake up at my sweet Granny's house in Houston. The first of many I'm sure but neverthless it was quite a shift for me. What made it easier is that Kevin really does have such an amazing family, and I love spending time with them. I almost felt like I was cheating to get to spend Christmas with my best friends in Louisville (Chris & Sarah). We saw Kevin's sister Robyn's big ol' prenant belly (Landry came about a week later--we just missed her grand debut!) and played nerf gun war with the nephews--until Kevin shot me in the eye. Not the best way to love your wife but oh well.

Then back home to real life (and real cold!)

Absence Make the Blog Grow Fonder

For some reason, this seems to happen every year. I go strong with the blog during the end of the year and then the Christmas holiday throws me for a loop. Then I receed into blog-cave for about six months. Yes, it's been six months. You see what happens is that I have this thing for chronology. Life happens in sequence. I can't just leave out Christmas and move on. I've got to post Christmas. But then Christmas becomes anniversary and anniversary becomes the first snow day and it quite literally becomes a snowball effect until I'm just so far behind that nothing but a large chunk of time dedicated to blogging can redeem me.

Another apology is certainly due to all of your blog readers, though it wouldn't surprise me if I've lost you all by now. And it shouldn't surprise you all if I do this again next year. So bear with me, poor, feeble blogger that I am.

So in order to make it up to all of you, I present to you the Peek's ABC's of 2008. I will catch you up on the past six months (and oh it's been busy!) and it will be in oh-so cute alphabetical AND chronological order. So the moment you've all been waiting for...

(And yes, Shannon, the parrot will thankfully no longer welcome you to the blog.)

Christmas Fun

We had our office Christmas party last night at this fancy restaurant called Vincenzo's. We had our own private room & Mr. Vincenzo himself came to pay us a visit. It was fun to be able to dress up and hang out downtown with my friends from work. Plus I had the best looking date!










The highlight of the party was definitely our office gift to our boss, Jeremy. As in any negotiating business, there is a lot of pressure to settle files for a profit. When Jeremy is pressured by his bosses, ost naturally he passes on the stress to the rest of us. He'll frequently make trips through the office repeating, "Settle! Settle! Settle!" So what better gift could we have purchased than Squakers McCaw? We programmed it with all of Jeremy's choice "encouraging" phrases, and it now resides in his office.


As I'm sure many of you know, I am losing my dear Beth Wilson. Her husband Lee was offered a terrific job at Union University, and the Lord led them to accept it. Obviously, this means a move to the thriving metropolis of Jackson, Tennessee. It's hard to say how things will be around the office without Beth. She has been such an encouragement & rock among the crazy drama that goes on in our office. Not only will she be missed in the office, but who is going to host Texas Monday Night Dinner? Yes, it's become such a staple in our week that it's practically a proper noun & deserves capital letters. I'll certainly miss those them but Jackson is only four hours away and is a perfect stop on a trip to Tejas. So happy trails to you, Wilsons!

We're heading off to Tejas this evening. Pray for our all-night drive! Hopefully, we'll get to catch up with some of you while we're there. If not, I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures & stories once we return.

Christmas is coming!

We love Christmas around the Peek home. Everyday I before I come home from work, Kevin plugs in our Christmas tree lights and turn on Christmas music to welcome me home. I'm especially happy if my new favorite song of the season is playing. I've decided this year that I ove the Muppet version of "12 Days of Christmas" simply for the fact that Beeker sings the 9th or 10th day. Meee, meee, meee, meee, meee...or something. If that doesn't make sense, go listen to the song.

We're heading off with them other Peeks to venture the wide open plain between here and the west. Texas that is! We're pulling an all-nighter to head out on Thursday night. After depositing Chris & Sarah in Denton, Kevin & I will split our time between my family in Austin and his in Denton.

It snowed today! Not a lot of snow but enough for it to feel like Christmas. But then the weather warmed up and it turned into a nasty, slushy, rainy day. I was sad to give up my Saturday run (my only day where I don't have to fight the sunset!) so I dashed out for a bit when the rain let up. It was fun to zoom past all the residual snow patches...fun at least until I splashed in a huge puddle on the way home!

Besides the snow & Texas preparation, we've been hitting up the holiday parties. A late night of gaming at the Pennington Party Palace last night, a cookie exchange party this afternoon, Christmas caroling tomorrow night, and my office party on Wednesday...I'm thankful to have a 10 day vacation to recover from all the parties & traveling!

But in the midst of the bustle that can consume Christmas, let us not lose sight of the truth behind it all. Let us remember that Christmas is when God came in flesh to live a perfect life and die an undeserved death on our behalf. Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season but ultimately Easter is the culmination of Christmas. From the point of his birth, Jesus' life was leading him to the cross where he would bear the penalty for our sins and prepare a way for us to be in right relationship with God. So let us remember! Let us see Jesus this holiday season for who he truly is! Let us repent of loving & living for self and follow the one who is deserves our love & life! Let every heart prepare him room! Merry Christmas!

Death of a Loved One

It's been a sad past week and a half in the Peek home. We had to say goodbye to someone we dearly loved. Our car (who I named Tabby when I was 16) has left us for the great garage in the sky.

It all started the Friday before last when Chris was taking Tabby for her final voyage. She broke down on the side of the road and spend the next week in between the shoulder on Frankfort Avenue and two mechanic shops only to find out that her timing belt broke and her valves bent. It was going to cost $1600 to bring her to life again, and though we love her (and need her!), our budget just can't support that right now. I ended up selling her on Craigs List (yes, Beth Wilson, an idea fee to you!), and now we're learning how to be a one-car family.

In other news, we had a freakish warm front today. For the first time in weeks, I got to run outside in shorts and a T-shirt. Surprisingly enough, I've actually enjoyed my cold weather runs but this was nice for a change. I even had to be concerned about my ice cream getting melty in the car on the way home from the grocery store this evening. Not a frequent occurance in these parts during December.

Kevin finished his spring semester strong and then plunged back into the thick of things with a week long mini-mester class. They're called J-terms around here and it pretty much means Kevin leaves the house the same time I do in the morning and spends all day in class. Tonight he went straight from class to work! My husband is such a hard worker. I love that about him.

We're headed off to the Great Land o' Tejas next week! The other Peeks are road tripping with us so we're pulling an all-nighter to drive home. Well, most likely Kevin & Chris will do most of the driving and Sarah & I will do most of the sleeping in the backseat. But that's what men are supposed to do, right? We are all very excited to see family & friends. I'm especially excited to take a break from office life.

Well, that about wraps up the happenings around here. Thanks for reading!

In-Laws

I'm pretty sure I have the best in-laws of all time. Who even knew I would inherit such fun friends when I married my best friend? First of all, you've got this dynamic duo (well, maybe not really a duo...what do you call it when a duo gets married?):

How could it not be a blast being married to twins? Plus, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Sarah, she & I are quite similar in mannerism & appearance. In-laws are an interesting thing though. No matter what, you're friends for life. They'll never go away. That's kind of a lot of pressure! So I'm quite thankful that my in-laws are all quite pleasant & enjoyable.

I was reminded of this all over again when we had the whirlwind of family pass through Kentucky last week. Sister Shannon got to enjoy Louisville in all its autumnal bliss a few weekends ago.

We took Shannon to Churchill Downs to watch the horses run the fall meets. I've actually learned quite a bit about horse racing from my partner at work, so I don't make a half-bad tour guide at the track. We had a lot of fun, and I even won a bet! Since we were there with Chris & Kevin, how could I not have bet on a horse named Twin Talk? Granted, my total profit was -$.20 but I'd say that's a fair price for a thrill.

We treated all present Peeks and past Peeks (Chris, Sarah, Shannon, Kev & myself that is) to a scrumptuous dinner at the Melting Pot. Kevin still works there, and I have to admit that the food is growing on me. That's a lot to say coming from a girl who doesn't particularly care for cheese or chocolate!

But the fun didn't stop there! The day after Shannon left, dear ol' mother-in-law flew into town. Since she was here during the week, Sarah & I didn't get to spend as much time with her as the boys. But our evenings were so full and so fun.

Thank you Anne & Shannon for taking the time to come visit us! We loved having you and would welcome you back in a second!

Halloween Extravaganza

Here are some of my most lovely coworkers at a Halloween party this past weekend. Beth is part of Ricky Bobby's pit crew, Pete is one of the Geico cavemen, and Jen is rockin' out 80's style. There's rumors floating around the office that we're dressing up for work tomorrow. We'll see about that but I do know that there will be pictures of that for sure!

A Family of Three

That's right! We'd like to introduce the newest member of our family. Her name is Patty, and she made her fall debut today.

Patty is our little space heater. I named her Patty because of the manufacturer brand (you can barely read it in the picture). She warms my toes and keeps me nice and toasty. I'm considering making room for her in our trunks when we head overseas. All that to say, fall weather is officially here! It makes for a great run through the park with the brisk air and the beautiful trees.

In other news, I'm husbandless this weekend. Kevin is off at the men's retreat with our church. The retreat technically ends tomorrow afternoon. but he's headed straight to work after that. So I'll see him on Sunday when I wake up. I'm kind of getting used to this husbandless thing though since I've been sharing him with the book reviews, tests, and 15 page papers that have been swamping him lately. We spent four hours last night editing his most recent paper that he turned in today. To combat Kevin's most severe writing vice for future writing projects, I hung a sign above the desk that reads "Passive voice should be said no to."

I'm sure that you can tell by the frequency of blogs I've been posting that I've had some free time on my hands! You might even get one more post out of me before Kev returns to me. But for now I'm off to play games with the other husbandless ladies from church!

Old School Family Vacation

I know, I know...this is a little outdated but these are some pictures from the Corbin family vacation at the beginning of August. We all came from Texas, New York, and Kentucky for a little rendezvous in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee for a fun weekend together. I'm ready for the next one!

I stole this slide show website off someone else's Blog. How do you like it?

Happy Squirrel Watching Day!

Apparently, last week was the grand holiday of Squirrel Watching Day. It's a shame that this day of celebration was unbeknownst to the majority of the population, especially this particular household. My husband loves squirrels. In fact, he even gives them names and then we make up stories about their little squirrely lives. Our favorite so far (thanks to the contribution of the Corbin clan) is called "Slappy the Acrophobic Squirrel." (I think that was his name but I could be wrong.)

So from our home to yours...

Happy Squirrel Watching Day!

Things Unseen

For those of you who know me well, more than likely you've played the "How many fingers am I holding up?" game with me. And most definitely, sans contacts, my answer was dead wrong.

First there was my dental defeat. Now I've had another crushing blow from the eye doctor. As if it was even possible to believe, I'm getting blinder. It really is quite humiliating to sit in the doctor's chair with the big bug eyes contraption over your face and truly not be able to read the very top line. Contrary to popular belief, it's not always a giant E. If only it was! Then I could at least guess my way to good vision!

Kevin has been gracious to remind me that our failing bodies are a reminder to us that this world is fallen. In the very beginning, God did not create us for death. Our teeth weren't supposed to decay. Our eyes weren't supposed to depend on contacts. But when the fall happened and sin came into the world, our physical bodies were affected as much as our hearts. So today, even though I know that my eye sight isn't great affliction, I feel like I can identify with the Bible when it says:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ~2 Corinthians 4:16-18

(I had Beth at work figure out a tricky math equation that equals my oh-so terrible eye sight. But alas...Blogger can't handle all the crazy math signs. If you're that curious, let me know & I'll tell you.)

Dental Pride

The dentist used to be fun. Our dentist in Austin was this somewhat cooky old man who most definitely has a crush on my mother. The hygenist was an old family friend of ours, so she would occupy the awkward silence of teeth scrapping with her pleasant chatter. They would always rave about how healthy my teeth were & the fact that I had no cavities. It was fun. And then we moved to Louisville. Yes, I'll admit that it had been a year or two since I went to the dentist. I sat in a dentist's office for four hours last April while Kevin has his broken teeth fixed...does that count? Apparently not because I heard those fatal words uttered by my new dentist this morning that I've gone 24 years without hearing:

"You have a cavity."

What? Certainly not me! Well, it's true. I have to admit that the Lord has shaken my pride. I'm thankful for that at least. It might sound silly, but my confidence can never be in my unblemished dental track record or anything else other than Christ. Just like my teeth, my heart is quite imperfect, and that's why I am so greatly in need of Jesus as my savior. Maybe it's a stretch but why can't we learn things about God's character in the dentist chair? So back I go in a week or so to undergo the knife. Yikes!

Wife of My Youth

The Bible says that every good gift comes from God, so I am most thankful to God for blessing me with this beautiful woman you see me beside. Recently I had lunch with a single man and was reminded of bachelorhood. Though it was good to be single, I can not imagine going back. My life has forever been changed with Beck in it.




Beck works hard to feed me with healthy dishes. She wakes every morning at 4 a.m and goes to pick fresh fruit to put in our oatmeal...Ok, maybe not, but she does labor very diligently to take care of me by preparation of meals. The wife of my youth has freed me to do many other things leaving me to think very little about buying, preparing, and cooking food. For this I am most thankful.



My sweet wife has gentled me for the better. Though I tell her infrequently, she has taken this rough grizzly bear and softened him (but don't get me wrong, there is still plently of grizzly left in this bear). Beck has given me insight and thoughtfulness to others that I would otherwise miss. She adds a new degree to those that I can minister to and how I minister to them. For that I am most thankful.







Becky adds this whole new social flavor to my life. She befriends and loves people with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. Beck has a beautful personality which I love. It can be virbrant beyond anything I could muster for myself. She hosts and warms people to our home. This was one of the most blessed of suprises for me after we were married. For that I am thankful.






My sweet wife adds a new creativity to my life. There are new levels of fun that Beck has brought into my life, usually this fun results in laughter and memories. If anything can be said about my creative wife, it is that she makes me smile when she is creative. And that is one of the things I enjoy most about my wife. For that I am most thankful.




Is this the extent of my wife? Hardly, rather it is merely the limit of the pictures that I could apply to this present post. My wife serves and loves me in ways that a picture can't display. How do you photograph 40 hours a week, so that I can go to school? How do you photograph, trusting and following your husband toward another state away from family and friends? How do you photograph, sacrificing many things for the sake of your husband and where he is leading your family? You don't. This is the woman God let me marry. And though Beck is all these things and does all these things, the thing that I value most about my sweet wife, is that she would have no problem affirming that every good gift, namely the strength and ability and heart to do all these acts, are from God and not herself. I love my wife.