Test Day

Today's the day. Bryan's been studying for almost 12 weeks for the Series 7 exam. He left this morning, early, after a big breakfast to head to Grand Rapids to take the test. While he was calm and confident, I'm a little nervous. I know he'll pass the test. He's studied TONS in the last few months, giving nearly all his evenings to take practice tests and review the material. We hardly even celebrated his birthday yesterday, just because the test is today. But, it's just such a HUGE deal, knowing all that effort comes down to a few hours on a Friday morning. I can't wait to hear the good news and to know that he can relax and put that ginormous book away for good.





This series 7 test is just one of many licensing hurdles to go over in the first year of his new job. Even though studying and taking tests about rules and regulations is less than exciting, CapTrust has been such a great change for Bryan and our family. I love that Bryan enjoys going to work and that he works with such a wonderful team of people. He also loves learning, so even though I'd rather have all my teeth pulled than study for a test like the series 7, Bryan kind of enjoys this stuff, at least a little.





So, it's a big day over here. Lots of prayer and hopefully some celebrating tonight. I'm so very thankful for a husband who is dedicated to his job and has a great desire to succeed. God has blessed us in all that Bryan has accomplished and how he provides so well for our little family. I'm proud of him. He'll be embarrassed that I posted this. But, I'm counting on him being so relieved to have this crazy test behind him, that he won't really mind. :)

Happy 31

Birthdays seem to get a little lost when you reach 31 years old. It's not that you're truly less special than you were when you were little, but all of a sudden the world doesn't stop to celebrate you like it seemed to do 20 years ago.

That being said, I had a wonderful 31st birthday yesterday. Although it began super-early when I was woken up by Elise getting sick, the day got better and better. Elise made a speedy recovery and was pretty much back to normal by mid morning. (How do kids DO that, anyway?)

We spent the whole day together, Elise frequently reminding me that it was mommy's birthday and that she and daddy had made a cake. She also sang happy birthday to me several times all day long. So sweet! We played outside, read books, & had chocolate milk ( a very rare and special treat!) for lunch.

For dinner, the three of us headed downtown Holland for a little subsn 'n more outside. So delicious. Then back home for cake, singing, and my present.

How blessed I felt by the end of the day. No, nothing super-special took place. And, yes, I had my fair share of normal life: a vomiting toddler, laundry, yard work, dishes.....but, aren't all the normal day to day life happenings part of how we're so blessed in the first place?

I'm finding that even though birthdays as I get older get a little less special, the blessings that I enjoy everyday are really what I can take joy in as I look back at the years behind me and anticipate years to come. God has blessed me more than I could ever ask or imagine, and, in that, is everything I need to celebrate.

Thanks, Nanny!

I've been putting it off for a while. Elise's first haircut. Bryan's grandma, Elise's great-grandma, cuts hair, and so we thought we'd have her give Elise her very first cut. Elise talked about getting a "hairtuc" from nanny for weeks. We were all together over the holiday weekend, so it was as good a time as any. It's not that I dreamt of growing Elise's hair super-long, I just knew that once it was cut, she would look way older. And, she does!! She loved all the attention and did a great job sitting still.