Remember

"For You created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful,

I know that full well."

You love us Lord, all of us. You long for a relationship with us. Sometimes I forget what You did for my soul. Draw me close to You.

Love,

L. Norris

What a fun-filled weekend!

Matt and I had a quiet Friday night in. We knew we had a big and busy weekend ahead of us, so we rented a movie and snuggled up with the puppy.

Saturday we hung out with some of our favs at BWW.. I am so glad that D&B Rogers have moved back! I have so enjoyed spending time when them. Matthew and I didn't have any big plans for the 4th so at the last minute we decided to have a 4th of July slip-n-slide party! We ended up having a super fun group! We played this post-it game and laughed so hard that we nearly missed the fireworks.

Matt ended up being off today, but I spent most of the day with Kelly & Monica! It was soooo good to see them both. We always enjoy getting together. Kel and I talked about how natural and comfortable it is. Our conversations never break and the time always ends too quickly. I feel so blessed to have these friends.

I am feeling so challenged and adding things to my mental prayer list daily, or even more frequently than that. Matt & I want to know what church we are supposed to be a part of. I want to learn how to pray and support my husband. I know that I need the Lord to show me how to be his help mate. I want to be the woman he has always hoped for.

But I will take this walk with Christ one day at a time. My sweet Jesus, I need you so. I know that you want to use us Lord. Show us and guide us. We need Your grace.

Ready for a fresh week!

Love,
L. Norris

Life is full, full indeed

Last day at sea..

One night at dinner!

honeymooners!

Love this man.. :)

About to head to COZUMEL! We had so much fun shopping and walking around downtown.

Progreso! We were tired.. but enjoyed never-ending Coronas and the beach!

overlooking the big boat, catching some rays!

My sweet husband, my best friend

Enjoying the windy deck.

About to head to our first dinner on the big boat! So happy to be away...



Well, I know that I have a daily reader, or at least someone who checks to see if I have updated daily.. so Daddy, I am going to be more motivated to update! Not that we don't talk every day anyway... After all, I am so blessed to have parents who are also my best friends.

Blogging really helps me to process life's events and gives me a place to look back on to see all that has changed.

Matthew and I had a great honeymoon. Time seemed to move at a different pace than it does at home where we have bills, jobs, a dog and chores. My incredible parents took care of Vegas while we were gone. My daddy stayed with her and kept her company and we didn't worry about her one second while we were gone!

The week we got home, PaPa was not doing very well. He was ready to go and be with his Jesus. I am so thankful that Matt and I were able to be with the family during his final hours. I couldn't help but put my self in B's position and think about how I would feel if it were my father. I am certainly not ready for that day, however, my husband already prays for my heart. When you lose someone you love, it is an ache that you really can't explain. It is so final and irreversible.

But when you know where they will spend eternity, it is easier to say goodbye, see you soon.

I am really enjoying teaching at the Chinese school. I love teaching elementary-aged students. I am thankful to be working because I think if I wasn't I would spend too much of my day waiting for Matt to get home. This month we will be hunting for a house to rent. We have plans in place that should allow us to buy our first home late next year.

Life is so good and I am so thankful for where we are in life. I am enjoying being Matt's wife and learning so much about myself and him. I often catch glimpses of the woman I want to be, and I know that surrendering to Christ in every way is the only way I will get there. It really does take three. I say that truly believing it, but I'm not sure that my life always reflects that. One day at a time, Lord please use me even in my weakness and immaturity.

Side note: My little brother is playing the World Series of Poker Main Event in Vegas!! I am so impressed by the man that he is becoming. I would not be the woman I am without my brother and I am so thankful for his friendship and the inspiration he brings to so many.

How sweet it is to be Lindsi Norris. the people in my life are amazing..

OH!!!!! and I am 25 now. Cait treated me to a fabulous birthday lunch at Gloria's! So fun! We shopped a little and then Vegas and I enjoyed a birthday nap while we waited for Matthew to get home. Then, so many of our wonderful friends came over and celebrated with me! Today I have birthday enchiladas with my mom & dad, Matty and my Grams.

Okay, if I sit here any longer I will think of more things to update about... So, off to sleep. Chinese school in the morning!

Love,
L. Norris

hello ocean blue

My mind and heart have felt heavy lately. I am not satisfied with some of my actions lately.. I feel like I am short and impatient, and I take things too seriously when I wish that I could just laugh and move on. I want to be hard to offend so that I can be light-hearted when the battle doesn't really matter and save my energy for the battles that do matter.

My husband has worked so hard this week. Of course, he doesn't complain and he still finds the energy to spend quality time with me, take Vegas for a walk and play softball with our friends. Today he really impressed me... He took the time to talk with me about a little misunderstanding so that we could both understand the other better. I felt so lucky to have a husband who thought that it was important to talk and clear the air.

This week I have been off work. It has been excellent to have time to clean, organize, pack for our trip and get some other things done. However, I am very much looking forward to going back to work on the 21st. I am finding myself looking forward to Matt getting home... I will do better when I am doing something.

Life is strange sometimes.. I am okay with that.

Love,
L. Norris

God did a cool thing

This morning I had an appointment to get my 2 front tires replaced... I brought my Thank-you notes to work on while I waited, but the Lord had another plan. Lately I have been thinking about how much I wish Matt & I had an older couple in our lives who had been married for a while and walking with the Lord for a while. It was so cold inside the Discount Tire and the smell is awful so I decided to grab a chair outside.

I sat next to a woman who I recognized and later figure out that she is the mom to a friend of mine's husband! We chatted for about 30 minutes and I knew she was a believer. She was honest and sincere and I felt like I could really talk to her about being newly married and myself. Sitting with her really met a need I had today.

God, You are so good and You meet me just where I am. I want to grow closer to You, but I need Your help. Please show me how.

Love,
L. Norris

a needed post

I am finding myself to be so challenged lately. I am doing a lot of reflecting and examining of who I am, who I want to be and who I am not. I have so many goals, but most times I find that they are my plans and not the Lord's. I just finished school in Decemeber and I have been blessed with a good job thanks to that education. So why can't I slow down and appreciate the life I have instead of looking for the next academic commitment. I try to tell myself that that is just who I am.. but I think my motives are off. I want time to be the wife that my husband deserves and the friend I've always wanted to be and now I am hungering to follow passionately after my Jesus.

Matt & I visited the Church on Rush Creek this morning with Mer, Justin, David and Britt. The message was similar to others I have heard, the music was familiar and the early greeting is always the same. However, I felt more relaxed, I felt like I could hear Him better. My friend Sarah is in the middle of a soul cleaning by cleaning out the clutter from her home and life. I feel in need of this. Because in the last year and half Matt and I have joined all of our possessions, moved and gotten married, we have so much STUFF. We have a room full of stuff and garage full of stuff. Sometimes I close the door to that room just so I don't have to look at all of that stuff that is hardly being used.. but rather "stored."

I will be off this week and then Matt and I will be headed on our much anticipated honeymoon. When I come home I will be working part time with Chai Hui and also preparing for the coming school year. I would really love it if I could get myself to do just a little bit a day until the clutter is gone. I need to rid myself of a few things, actually way more than just a few.

This morning the pastor was mainly speaking to the men in the congregation. (Next week he will be speaking to the women and we will be gone! At least we can hear the message online.) He told the men "you do know that your family and your marriage and your wives are all under attack, don't you?" Sometimes thoughts will come into my mind and I can't help but think "this feels like an attack from the enemy to steal my joy and my peace." The Lord knows that we are under attack, and He has given us tools to block the fiery arrows. He gives us the armor... we need the full armor of God. We have His word, we have His Spirit. When the attacks come, I want to pray, I want to trust, and usually I want to melt into Matthew and hear that everything is okay.

I have been given such an amazing husband to be my partner throughout my life. I want to pray for his heart and know that he will be under attack. The enemy wants to either destroy our marriage or keep it mediocre. The Lord wants us to experience a joy and a love that will blow us away.. I choose the latter. I will choose Matthew.. every time. I will be his girl and his partner and teammate.

I need a concrete step that I can take. My flesh is battling me even as I type this post. Right now I am going to publish this post and go sit with my husband. I have so enjoyed spending so much time with him this weekend. It feels like a honeymoon preview! We can't wait and I will be sure to post photos.

Love,
L. Norris

poker tables and diaper cakes...

So Matt and I are living in a big house by ourselves right now. The plan is that we will have housemates, but right now.. it is just us. It is a great space for entertaining and I love having our friends over. But sometimes, I can't wait to have a place that is truly ours. I look forward to really being settled for the first time in my adult life. Matt and I are both used to moving a lot and renting and our living arrangements being temporary. Today, I have little Fairchild on my mind. It was cramped, inconveniently located and often a pain to maintain. However, it felt like our little place. It was easier to feel still there, there wasn't so much space to fill.

Matthew has been investing a lot of time in his incredible poker table! Here is a preview.. He hand-made all of the stencils and painted on all of the images. After the paint dried, I sealed the table with some modge-podge, my contribution to the masterpiece! We have this idea in our minds that we will host a weekly (maybe bi-weekly) poker night and I will make snacks and hang out with the girls. Post-wedding has brought a much slower pace, but I think I want to slow it down even more.
I think his creativity has inspired me! My sweet friend Elizabeth is having a baby boy in August. We have had the opportunity to study early childhood education together at UTA and now to teach community-based Pre-K together! I made her a diaper cake to celebrate the coming of her sweet baby boy. It is my first one, but I am really pleased with how it turned out!


I am really looking forward to teaching next year and so thankful for a summer to prepare and rest a bit. I will be teaching half-days, but I think this will keep my body used to waking up and getting going and my mind used to preparing to teach. I have grown so much this year as a teacher and learned so much by trial and error. This year was necessary and difficult at times, but next year will be awesome!

Sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by conflicting messages (and that is the reality of life on earth).. but I want to spend some time thinking on what I really and truly believe is God's plan for Matt & I. I think this is a day-at-a-time kind of journey, but I like that about a relationship with Christ. Every day He wants us, every day He loves us.

Counting down the days until school is out and then I will be counting down the days until our CRUISE! So excited to get away with my sweet husband.

Love,
L. Norris

So many thoughts lately

My mind hasn't been busy with wedding to-do lists and emails to send and plans to confirm. Truthfully, it has been nice to feel more calm and so nice to call Matt Norris my husband. I have shared so many conversations about that day and how wonderful it was and how some things didn't go exactly how I saw them going. But truly, the most important thing is that Matt and I have committed to love one another, for all time.

I have been thinking so much about the woman I want to be and the wife I want to be. Lately I have been feeling like in some ways that I might need a perspective adjustment. I am so blessed, so blessed beyond measure. But I get stuck in my plans for the future and sometimes forget to enjoy this time to the fullest. I find myself wishing that I could be more laid back in certain moments, more easy going.. more patient. I do feel, in all honesty, that the Lord wants more from me. That seems only fair, I want so much more of Him.

I am so thankful for our small group. Sometimes I am blown away by the blessing that it brings to me. I look back and I see times in our lives when God was preparing us to love one another, support and challenge one another, but also to experience Christ as adults. In some ways, it felt easier to make God first when we were immersed in a youth group full of adults spurring us on. But now, it is a daily choice. Who is my Lord? Who saved me? I believe it is Christ who did this, Christ who has given me life.

Steven was bold and he said we must be so cruel to know the love of Christ and not share it. If I truly believe that He has given me life, why do I serve so many other masters.

I want to let go more. I want to keep diving into the heart that God gave me so that I can discover more of my purpose, more of His plan. And truly, I want to be a blessing to my husband. I know that I need God's grace to do that. I feel encouraged and I feel the Lord working in my soul, this is good.

Small group tonight, meet us there Lord.

L. Norris

content & striving

I do not write this blog post because I am not content. I have everything I have ever wanted and more.. I write it because I never want to spoil my todays because I am wishing for what awaits me in all of my tomorrows.

I am still feeling so overwhelmed with blessing and thanks to everyone who did any part, small or large, to make this weekend all that is was. Today, I am a wife and it feels so amazing to be married to Matthew. He cares about me so much and I feel his love for me. Our wedding was incredible and certainly the best day of my life so far, but I feel deep in my heart that the best days are yet to come.

Our Wedding video trailer is posted and I LOVE watching it.. I feel like Leon captured our love for each other. I will post it here!

I love this man, with all of my heart.


Love,
Lindsi Norris

MARRIED!!!

I plan on sharing more about our wedding day, but right now I just want to say that our wedding day was PERFECT. Everything was perfect.. My heart fills with joy every time I see Matt's wedding band on his finger.. Life is so sweet, so so sweet. I will leave you with a couple of preview photos.

My beautiful and wonderful parents walking me down the isle. A time I will not soon forget..


My husband rapping his vows!!! It was incredible. I wouldn't have had that moment any other way. I love you my sweet husband.


THE KISS! Our first kiss as husband and wife. We both agree that married kisses feel different in the best way. FACE-GRAB! HOLLA! that moment was so sweet.

Dancing with my wonderful brother! I had so much fun celebrating with Brian. What a night!!

OKAY! More to come.. time to climb into bed with my sweet husband.

Love,
Lindsi Norris

4 days!!!!!

Matt & I have some INCREDIBLE friends. We are 4 DAYS away and counting by the hour almost... I can't believe how many people we are going to see! Family, friends, friends of our families.. It will be a day that we will never forget. The percentage for possible rain seems to be decreasing, so that is exciting! I could marry him anywhere.. any time with any kind of weather. I would love to walk down that isle though. I have been imagining myself walking down that isle for months and months. But nothing can take away from the power of those moments.

New development! Matt and I had planned to go back to our house on our wedding night. But when my brother heard about our plan.. he couldn't bear to think of it! So instead we will be staying at the ALOFTS!

I am looking forward to that so much. What an incredible time it is going to be!!! I am also glad that I will be leaving my class with a teacher that I love so much. When I come back on May 4th, I will be Mrs.Norris. Life has already been so sweet with Matt, but I really believe that the best is yet to come. My love for him has grown and grown and I am so excited to see where life takes us as husband and wife..

I think I won't be able to resist updating every day! So... talk to you tomorrow!

L

6 days!!!

There were times when time seemed to be going by so slowly, not it seems to be flying by! I am enjoying my relationship with Matt more than ever and what a wonderful way to celebrate the 6 day mark! In less than a week Matt & I will be husband and wife. He makes me better. He sees my heart and sometimes I feel so blessed that I can hardly stand it.

Saturday afternoon was my bridal shower. I am completely blown away by the friends and family I have been blessed with. This was a chance for my Mom & I to thank the women in my life that have meant the most. Each of the girls had the opportunity to write me a card during the luncheon. I read them today and I just couldn't believe how encouraging and thoughtful each note was. So many blessings for Matt and I. These girls can see that Matt is the one for me and I can't explain how good and right that feels.

Last night we had our joint bachelor/b-ette party. We all me up at our place and then the girls went to Fat Daddy's for dinner and drinks and the boys went to Hooter's to do the same. My girls treated me, so generous and so thoughtful. We all met back at the house and continued the celebration. I was overwhelmed with the turn out. So many people gathered to celebrate and we had such an awesome time! It was a perfect day and I'm a little sad that it went so fast. It was also so special that My brother joined us. Having him there meant so much.

Matt and I had a lazy morning and a protein enriched breakfast and then we headed to the Ranger game with some of our dear friends! I won't question how we are this blessed, I know who is responsible. Thank you Lord for loving us so much and blessing us so abundantly.

This week will be busy and we do have some things to get done. However, I want to continue enjoying every day. Everything will get done and then we can celebrate with the people who have had a part in making us who we are and agreeing with us as we join our lives together. Soon, I will have so many photos to share!

6 days!!

L

9 days....!!!!!!!!!

So, I just have to make time to blog.

I feel so blessed today. I have been emailing coordinators and vendors all morning and everything seems smooth so far! We should be getting our video soon from Leon and I can't WAIT to see it!

I was still going back and forth on the summer job idea.. the possibility that I had fell through and I just can't get excited about training for a job that I stay at for 2 months. So my friend calls back today and tells me that her school does need a summer teacher, half day! It is perfect! I fell so blessed. I feel like the Lord sees my needs and is blessing me in a way that I feel I don't deserve.

Matt and I met with our minister again on Tuesday. We talked about the ceremony and planned it all out. I have a more vivid picture of the big day in my mind now. I am trying to think of every detail and remain as organized as possible. However, the most important thing right now is that I remember that in 9 days I will be Matt's wife. I want to be the wife he desires and is proud of. I need the love of Christ to bring this to Matt's life.

I know that our relationship will go to a new level on our special day and I can't wait to be by his side that night celebrating the joy that it will bring us. We really are so blessed, I do not say that lightly at all.

Last night we walked/jogged to Barbara & Tony's with Vegas. It was a little longer than we expected, but I so enjoyed being by his side talking about the exciting times to come.

Feeling great, feeling blessed, feeling so at peace.

L

13 days (that's less than 2 weeks!)

It's been a very eventful couple of days..

Well, I have been doing pretty good at staying calm and not stressing out.. but then I was sitting in church this morning and all of the sudden I started to think about all of the things that are not done. I really want to enjoy this 2 weeks as much as I can. I want to cherish this time, because in 13 days, we won't be engaged anymore. I really can't believe that this last year flew by the way it did.

Yesterday, Mini and I got together and enjoyed some long over due catch-up-chatting. I am blessed with some very sweet friends. I had a to-do list all ready for Saturday while Matt played softball.. but something in me thought spending the day with Matt at the fields would be so much better than that to-do list. I was certainly right. I enjoyed being next to him and cheering on his team, which consists of some very dear friends of mine.

Each day we are a little more settled into our new house. We are adjusting and so is Vegas. I know that this is a temporary landing place for us, but I still want to feel as settled as possible here. We will be welcoming our friends here next weekend to celebrate our wedding coming up! While there is a lot to get done and a lot of things coming up in the next 2 weeks, I am so happy to be in this season with Matt. I wanted to rush through this time.. I admit. But now, I just want to hang on to this time as much as I can. Then, I will be his wife and I will cherish those times in a way that I can't yet imagine or understand.

Leon, gooddayproductions.blogspot.com, posted our love story video preview! It is amazing!! We are so anxious to see the finished product. I feel so thankful that we found such incredible vendors. I highly recommend Leon and Colton Bradshaw as well (who is our amazing photographer!). Enjoy the preview!


Friday night, we went bowling with Matt's dad, Christi and the kids! It was so great to meet them and we look forward to many more times together in the future.

Okay, back to my productive afternoon!

L

Open House..

Last night we had open house for my Pre-Kinder kiddos. I knew that I would enjoy seeing the parents and giving the families their set of Eduplates http://www.eduplate.net/.

But I didn't think that I would hope it wouldn't end. I have enjoyed this year so much as a first year teacher. I am looking forward to next year! I know that I will feel more prepared and ready to serve my students and their families. There were a lot of moments this year where I was just trying to survive and get everything done that needed to be done. This summer I will be able to plan and prepare and do so much more than just survive next year.

I have learned SO MUCH, but mostly I have learned that I was meant to be a teacher. It is the right fit for me and that is a nice feeling..

Right now I am really debating on what I will do with my summer. It will feel so strange not to work, so I am thinking about picking up a summer job. However, would it be fabulous to take the summer off and get SO MUCH done for next year, hang out with my dog and be a newlywed? I mean.. I like the idea of Matt coming home to a clean house and a good meal. I go back and forth on a daily basis.. But I am sure that I will come to a decision at just the right time!

Tonight we are going bowling with Matt's dad and his family. It has been so great to see Matt have the chance to reconnect and for me to be a part of this family. We are blessed beyond measure and I am so thankful.

Lately, I have been hearing how un-stressed I look! That is so great to hear! I am committing to enjoy the next 2 weeks of being engaged. This is the last period of time that I will be Matt's fiance and I want to take in every minute. Everything will get done, maybe some things won't.. but in 15 days, I get to marry Matt. Everything else seems secondary to that very powerful and life changing reality.

I guess I am really moved by a blog I spent some time reading yesterday.. because this is the second time that I have shared an idea that I read there! I don't want to be enough for Matt.. or good for Matt.. I want to be great! I want to make his life so sweet as his help-mate, best friend and partner. I think that we will make each other very happy in this life and I trust that even when difficult times come, he will stay by my side and I will stay by his. I believe that we need strength that only the Lord can give to do this.

The weekend is here again and while it will be busy, it will be great! I plan on getting a lot done for my girls.. our luncheon is next Saturday! My mom has gone above and beyond to make that day perfect. I am so blessed! Okay, I have crammed as much as I can in this post..

L

16 days!

So today I decided that I really want to blog more. I get so much enjoyment out of reading old posts and seeing all that has changed and how I have grown.

In 16 days, I will be marrying the the man that I adore.. I can't believe the day is finally almost here! We met with Dennis, our officiant, on Tuesday to discuss the ceremony and some other things that are good to talk about before you enter into a marriage. I went with few expectations and left knowing that Dennis is exactly the man who is supposed to marry us. I also feel closer to Matt and while I didn't think I could be more certain, I am. Our journey has been so sweet and it started over 10 years ago. Never did I think that we would be here and I am thankful every day that we are.

I read a blog today and she said something that really got my attention... she said that she didn't take for granted, not for one moment, the love that people poured out on her and her new husband. I want to be able to say that.. I know myself and I am afraid that I will worry about small things that are so not significant.

In 16 days I become the wife to the man that I have adored for 10 years. How can it be sweeter than that? I am so looking forward to celebrating with all of our friends and family.. It will be a day that we will always remember and look back on. I have done all I can to make sure that the day is documented!!

But really, I can't wait to be his, to become one, to be a family and love and support each other for all time.

So much to think on... Can't wait!

L