Birthdays

Since I'm behind, here are pictures from both my & J's birthdays this year. It was the pivotal turn of a decade for me, embracing the big 3-oh. Jason and I both spent our birthday dinners at The Cheesecake Factory (where we are in love with the stuffed mushrooms!) Jason surprised me with thirty red roses...I honestly didn't know he had that big of a romantic bone in his body:) Since I wanted to celebrate 30 in a big way, we went to San Diego the weekend before (those pics will be the next blog entry). Jason got tennis rackets from his parents since we now have tennis courts in our new neighborhood. We've broken them in a few times already, but sadly the immense heat is keeping us indoors these days.

Jason's family

Friends at The Cheesecake Factory

Sedona & Oak Creek Canyon

Five years ago this August, Jason asked me to be his girlfriend on a summer Saturday in Sedona. There must be some magic up there in the vortexes after all! From time to time, we enjoy going up to visit the red rocks and the beautiful landscape of Oak Creek Canyon (as most Arizonans do in the summer!) In April, we went up on a gorgeous Saturday, hiked down along Oak Creek, had dinner at the same restaurant as our initial visit, window-shopped in the town of Sedona, and admired the red rocks from the Church of the Holy Cross. Only place in the world to see rocks this color...another fingerprint of God for sure.

Church of the Holy Cross - built back into the red rocks

Down at Oak Creek Canyon

Cacti & Hummingbirds

Here are some pictures taken at the Botanical Gardens of crazy mutant cacti and hummingbirds, which were buzzing all over the spring flowers.

Fruits & Flowers

We decided at the beginning of our marriage that we were going to start giving traditional wedding anniversary gifts each year to one another. Year one: paper Year two: cotton Year three: leather Year four: fruits & flowers WHAT?! Fruits and flowers - how lame! Finally we decided to attend the Chihuly exhibit at the Phoenix Botanical Garden and buy each other tickets. Chihuly is a renown glass-blowing artist and has created some phenomenal pieces. If you've ever been to Vegas and walked in the Bellagio Hotel, the lobby ceiling is covered with enormous flower-shaped glass pieces, which were created by Chihuly. He has sculpted pieces that travel around to botanical gardens and landed in Phoenix for a 6 month stint. It was an awesome exhibit to see - glass of all shape, size, texture and color mixed in with the desert landscaping. Here are some examples of the exhibit.

Titled "The Moon"

Titled "The Sun"

Close-up of 'The Sun'

Stewardship

Along with photos from the recent five months' activities, I wanted to write on some valuable lessons we've learned. One of these is concerning stewardship. Moving out to Arizona meant some significant financial challenges...we lived with Jason's parents for five months until 1) we sold our house in VA & 2) I was able to start working again at Remuda. Living on one income for a few months and being in the desperate position to sell our home in this economy led to some severely stressful moments. We would venture out to the nearby park to clear our head and engage in some deep, gut-wrenching praying. There were days we would sit in the park, numb from all the stress and worry, asking God what on earth He was up to. We began to read and study some verses and books on stewardship, looking back on how we've perceived and used our income over the past four years. The one truth that kept hitting us in the face is that everything is the Lord's. Several months ago, I would have agreed to this concept and rattled off some theological thoughts on the subject, but not sure I lived according to this truth. Actually seeing every possession, every paycheck, every opportunity, every gift as God's - that takes major work! We began to admit that we had viewed all these things as ours, fruits of our labor. Being stripped of financial security eventually led to the scales of our pride dropping from our eyes and seeing the awesome responsibility of using wisely what God has placed in our stewardship. We also ran across some great literature on the stewardship of time & talents, not just money. Now that things have settled down, it is easy to fall back into the same routine of seeing things for temporary, selfish purposes. Remembering those helpless days in the park is a necessity to stay on track. Hopefully, you too have opportunities to remember those helpless 'days in the park' and not retreat to the ease and monotony of life. Here's the verse that helped wake us up to greater stewardship:

"Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. Riches and honor come from you alone, and you are the Ruler of all mankind; your hand controls power and might, and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength."
1 Chronicles 29:11-12

4th Anniversary

Ok, so I am WAY BEHIND in posting on the Nixon life. Some excuses are valid, others are not. I am going to try and be committed to adding a new blog entry every day this next week til I'm caught up. Hopefully this expectation isn't too high! The last entry was regarding the sale of our house in VA and since then, a LOT has happened.

This initial update since February is on the mark of our 4th anniversary, which was March 19th. One of the good things about being back in Phoenix is having a Houston's Restaurant nearby. This is where we had our first date and try to go back to for anniversaries. They have the BEST ribs in the world! That's all I can say about that...well, that, and the fact that the past four years have been amazing. Jason is more of a husband than I could have ever dreamt of and it is entirely true that it's possible to love someone more as the days go by. Sigh...

Inside Houston's
(they have a dark, romantic atmostphere that requires squinting to see your loved one across the table!)