So yesterday Hubby and I decided that I do not have to go back to work. Recently Hubby got a promotion at Old Nave which meant that I had to leave. I was happy to see my awesome Hubby excel and gladly left Old Navy with the expectation of getting another job in the mall at Justice. I even interviewed. But then we began the discussion about me not having to go back to work.
Wish me luck. And if you know of any seriously easy and yummy meals then send them my way please!!!
The moment when Hubby & I were just dating & we went south to visit his family & we went out to eat with his mom & stepdad at a mexican restaraunt & hubby & his mom belly laughed for a solid half hour because our waitress was ditzy.
The morning all our moms, lil Ronni, & I went to buy my wedding dress & I sat with my mama in law while she had her coffee and chatted.
Everytime she hugged me and told me she loved me.
The time she made fun of me and told me I was unAmerican because I didnt like watermelon.
The way she loved me unconditionally from the very moment hubby brought me home to meet them and loved me strong until the end.
The way she let me love her first born without hesitation.
I love you Mrs. Darlene so much and miss you so bad it hurts. My heart hurts so much for the loss this family is experiencing for the gaping hole that is here because you are gone & because nothing will ever be the same again.
I'll take care of your baby for you always & take care of lil Ronni as much as I can too. Love you.
My husbands mom passed away this morning. She had a long and hard fight against cancer!!
She beat it as today she is in Heaven with Jesus, cancer free!!!!
We will miss her until we see her again in heaven!!
Keep our family in your prayers!!
God is at work & moving in and through this!!! We can see Him & feel Him!! But there are some tough days ahead!!
So today was my last day at Old Navy. A place I have spent just short of a year learning and building relationships.
I have learned that change makes me cry even when it is good change. I was weepy when I found out I was leaving and a lil weepy today as well.
I am leaving Old Navy for a great great reason!!! My wonderful Hubby who began working at Old Navy four months after me got a promotion!! I am so proud of him. He is such a great leader and Old Navy is very blessed to have him and we are blessed to have Old Navy as well!! Unfortunately because we are married and he is now a manager I had to leave as we could no longer work together. I truly am so proud of him and so excited to see him excel.
I believe this will also be such great experience for us to use in our future as pastors!!!
I will likely be moving to another store in the mall called Justice which I also think will be great experience in the world of tween girls for me!!
So as one chapter ends another will most certainly begin. We are excited to see what this next year will hold for us.
My precious lil sis-in-law is coming to visit us for a week!! We pick her up on Monday!! I cannot wait to have her here!!
She needs the break from taking care of her incredible mother and I have so much planned for our time with her!!
Monday: We pick her up in St. Louis from the airport. We will be exploring the city and taking in the zoo!
Tuesday: Pool Day!!! We will be sunbathing and splashing all day!!
Wednesday: We are taking her to Silver Dollar City in Branson!! Roller coasters and water rides galore!!
Thursday: Pool/Pamper/Picture day!! We will be doing at home mani’s & pedi’s and I want to do a photo shoot with her!! She is a beautiful girl!! I want pictures to hang!!
Friday: Shopping!!! We are going back to Branson for some outlet shopping and more girl time!!!
Saturday: She’ll get some down time while we work the morning and then we are all three going to a baseball game!!!
Sunday: We are all going to church and then driving to Mobile!!
We will be in Mobile until late Wednesday visiting Hubby’s family and while there we will be celebrating his birthday!! I am glad he gets to be with his mom on his birthday!! I think that will be wonderful for the both of them!
We are all looking forward to this time together and I am praying that it is beautiful, fun, deep, fun, and everything it needs to be for all of us!!
God has placed her in a special place in my heart since hearing the doctor’s report about the road we are on. She is on my heart and in my thoughts EVERYDAY. I can’t wait to have her here with us for a while and take care of her and have fun with her and talk with her and hold her.
Thankful beyond words to get this time with her and to get to love her through this. Humbled and thankful!
We packed up our life as we knew it and moved away to follow God’s calling on our lives.
We left our home, family, friends, comforts, and salaries.
We took a leap of faith.
When not everyone could or would understand we followed God.
We were supported and questioned. We questioned ourselves at times.
That was the scariest thing I had EVER done in my life. It was hard. It hurt. It was exciting. It felt good. It was God’s will.
All I can say is WOW!
We have been blown away by God time and time again. He has been faithful and so very very good to us.
We have been here a year and God has completely transformed everything we thought we knew. He has blessed us above and beyond and He has shed His light on our path.
Incredible. Our God is truly Incredible.
Currently I have completed my freshman year at Central Bible College. I have a 3.6 GPA. I have approximately one year left and will hopefully graduate with my brother May of next year with a few classes left to complete the summer after graduation. Hubby has changed his course from teaching to Church Leadership. He has been accepted to Central Bible College and will be starting their degree completion in August. He will graduate approximately the December after I do. God is birthing a vision in us for Children’s/Family Ministry. We want to work together to see the Families and Children of this world touched and changed and welcomed into the Kingdom of God. We are both currently working at Old Navy. Hubby works on the shipment team in the mornings and is up for a great promotion if I can find another job. Since we are married I have to leave for him to be promoted. I hope to be offered a job at Cato closer to our new lil apt. We have moved to the North side of the city and are approximately 3 minutes away from the church that we both love and where we work weekly in the Kid’s church and with Wednesday night classes and where I am currently interning and 4 minutes away from our school. Hubby also works at a deli and he loves the people there.
We are thankful and grateful and humbled and blown away at this last year. We look forward to what God has for us ahead.
We are holding tightly to each other, love, God, and family.
Last week we received a call no one EVER wants to receive. Hubby’s mom called. She has been fighting cancer for a while now. The doctors had told her there is nothing more they can do. She however is not done fighting. I have been completely blown away at the strength my precious mother in law has shown since I have known her but mostly in these last few months. She is absolutely incredible and precious. We are all praying for a miracle and for peace. We know that even though we do not understand and this hurts more than anything we have ever faced that God is still God and that nothing is impossible for Him.
My heartbreaks again everyday thinking about our sweet family and how strong everyone is being and how beautiful this family is. My heartbreaks thinking about what everyone is feeling and facing right now. We are thankful for every single day. We are praying every single day.
This is where we are and this does not surprise God and He has not for one second left any of us. He is here holding us. “This is what it means to be held and know that the promise was when everything fails, we’d be HELD.” God promises never to leave us or forsake us. He never promises hardship and heartache will not be part of our lives but He promises to be here with us EVERY step of the way.
This is where we are and if you would pray with us for healing, miracles, faith, strength, hope, peace, and God’s will, we would be grateful.
In the good
In the hard
In the unbelievable
In the moments that shake you to your core
In the moments of awe
In the moments of flooding tears
In the moments when you cannot draw a breath
In the times it seems to be too much
In the TRUTH
In Jesus Christ
In hope
In disbelief
In the hour of darkness
In the new morning brimming with new mercies
In the desperate on your face prayers
In the frustrations
In the whispers of encouragement
In the strength that blows you away
In the PEACE THAT SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING
In the moments when there is NO understanding
In every step you continue to take forward
In the moments when you stop and fall to your knees
In the new
In the old
In the unknown
In the murmurings that only your heart knows
LOVE LIVES
JESUS LIVES
GOD IS GOOD AT ALL TIMES
GOD IS TRUTH
GOD IS LOVE
LOVE LIVES
It’s been a year and a half…
Wow I can hardly believe that hubby and I have been married for a year and a half. Incredible.
It seems like time has passed by so quickly since we got married.
A lot has happened in the last year and a half…
>we moved nine hours away from our friends and family
>we set up residence in a brand new city
>we got new jobs
>we began living in a much lower tax bracket
>we started back to school
>we found a new church home
>we made new friends
>we began working in a new ministry
>we changed our direction slightly for ministry
>God is birthing a vision for children’s and family ministry
>we bought a scooter
>Most importantly GOD HAS BEEN SO FAITHFUL AND WONDERFUL
I look forward to all that God has for us and the rest of our lives!
We are currently talking about a possible anniversary trip in October.
Goings On…
Lots going on…
Moving
Our move date has been pushed up a whole month and I am both excited and scared!!
I am ready and excited to be in the new apartment closer to school and church, but slightly scared because I have no idea how we are going to pull off a move in the middle of finals week and work!! It will work out somehow though, it always does.
Home
We are making a trip home this weekend for a wedding and quick visit with my family and my best friend. Hubby is looking forward to seeing his college buddies again and hanging out with them. I am dreading putting on a dress for the occasion as I have gained so much weight and do not feel proud of the way I look. But it will be alright. I am looking forward to time with my momma and Neesie and Dad. We will be celebrating my 30th birthday early while we are there so that will be fun. Then we will stop by my best friend’s new house briefly before heading back home on Sunday. I can’t wait to see her as she is pregnant with her second child and I can’t wait to hug her so big and see her new house and my nephew!!
Easter
We have a busy weekend planned for Easter. We will be having several practices for our Kids Service that we are doing Saturday night. We will spend lots of time prepping children’s church for Saturday night as well as packets to hand out Sunday morning. We will be heading to our pastors house for lunch after church on Sunday and then afterward we will celebrate my 30th birthday with dinner and a trip to “The Cup” a cupcake place downtown that I have been dying to try!! Very exciting weekend!!
Semester Ends
Then finally the semester ends at the end of this month. I have several projects I hope to get finished on the road this weekend or first thing next week and then only two finals and a move sandwiched in between!!
Summer Begins
Summer will begin with a break from school during the month of May :) (big grin here).
My sweet sister in law will be coming to stay with us for a week at the beginning of June. When we take her home we will spend a weekend with Hubby’s family in south Alabama. And I am begging for a day at the beach during this trip.
I will begin my internship with our children’s pastors in May I believe.
I will open my availability up at work and be working more hours at Old Navy.
Hubby and I will both be going to kid’s camp for a week in July! And then we will both start back to school, Hubby possibly sometime in July and me in August.
Busy Busy but we truly love every minute of once again being busy. Last summer was so different, as we had no friends, no connections; we were just attending a brand new church.
Then next year of our life will be CRAZY busy and hard but it will be more than worth it when we graduate and move into full-time ministry somewhere!! I am not convinced I am ready, it sounds so scary but God knows what He is doing and we will follow him.
It’s the little things...
>When I worship so freely I feel like I could float away
>When God uses me to really touch someone’s heart
>When my hubby takes me out for a fun day just because
>When my family just gets me and loves me
>When something I am so nervous about ends up going well
>When something I am confident in doesn’t go so well but I can learn from it
>When I can just sit on the sidewalk in the sunshine with pure happiness in my heart
>Hearing God whisper in my ear that He is in control and loves to blow me away
>When pieces of the puzzle of life just fall right into place and I had nothing to do with putting them there
>When I can plan but then take my hand off and let God really have his way instead
>When I am appreciated
>When I am not appreciated
>When I see glimpses of who I really am
>When a plan finally comes together and we can rest in them
>Dreaming of our future
>Understanding something new about the Bible that I never knew before and then going back to read it with this new understanding
>Using commentaries (love them)
>Reading fiction by my favorite author
>Hot Baths & Face Masks
>Snuggling
>Hugs from kids at church (overwhelming joy)
>Peace that transcends all understanding that comes only from my Heavenly Father
>A deep worship song
>Pandora internet radio – Kari Jobe station
>Texts from special people telling me that I can do it
>Hearing that someone is proud of us
>When someone completely loves and accepts my husband
>When someone from home randomly thinks of us
>A hubby who is off to church to work with lil boys in Royal Rangers
Father, Your love is one of the most Beautiful things that I have ever experienced. Thank You. I have no other words, but Thank You. You alone Father are worthy to be praised. Thank you for making us better and better. Thank you for your leading and your conviction. Thank you Father for all of the little and not so little things as many of the things I listed are not so little really. Thank you Father for this life! In Jesus precious name, Amen.
Crazyness Ahead
Hubby and I registered for my fall classes today and WHOA!!
The next year of my life is going to be absolutely insanely crazy. But if I can pull it off (& I am determined to) then I will graduate in just TWO more semesters!! That would be amazing and it would save us a lot of money!! So lots of prayers are WELCOME!!!
I will be taking a FULL load for the next two semesters as well as interning, working, and being a wife. It is going to be intense but I know that God will get me through!!
Let’s Do This!!
A Rainy Saturday...
The Rainy Saturday before Spring Break officially ends! I am almost depressed that Spring Break is ending! But there are only five weeks of the semester left and for that I am very thankful!!
We have just arrived back home from work at Old Navy. We stopped off at Hubby’s other job (Nearly Famous Deli) to grab sandwiches for lunch. Then dropped by the grocery store for steaks and potatoes for “Din Din”, Hubby is grilling!! We are now nestled in our lil apartment away from the rain with full bellies!!
I am going to venture out to Walmart in a lil bit for Purple finger nail polish and the next book in the series I am reading by Karen Kingsbury. I plan to spend the remainder of the day and weekend while not at church in my pajamas on my sofa with my nose in a book.
This is our life today. It is bliss. We will be discussing games for service tomorrow later and Hubby will be watching lots of basketball.
I intend to drain the last bit of fun out of this Spring Break before it officially ends at 8:30 am Monday morning.
Just Sayin.
I fully plan to psych myself up about finishing the next five weeks STRONG!!
Today was a first…
It was the first day I received an allowance from my hubby.
It was at my suggestion and I think I am going to like it. I think it will help me control my spending and not ask for so much all the time. I didn’t even really want to spend my money on Starbucks coffee tonight (thought I did but only because I was ready to pass out at work), otherwise I would not have spent the money.
So we will definitely see how this goes. I am excited!!
