August 2012

August has been quite the month for our little household. In the beginning of the month we greatly surprised my wonderful mother-in-law for her Birthday. Brenda and Tom were already there celebrating their 30th Anniversary as well as her 50th Birthday and she didn't suspect any of the kids or grandkids to be there. Melissa even flew from Honduras to join in on the surprise. The excitement in the air before she walked in the door was crazy! There were tears and laughter to follow the rest of the weekend. Great job Tom for planning it all! 

Look at Tom as he stands their feeling proud of his work. Kudos Tom :) 

 (All of us hid on the stair case) 

Adyson wanted to help Grandma blow out her candles. Adyson believed it to be Brenda's 1st birthday all weekend. Guess it doesn't hurt to start the counting over at a certain age. haha 

OOPS, please excuse the random shot of JT and our nephew Ryker. I caught both of them off guard but i wanted you to see the chunky thighs on Ryker! LOVE that kid so much already. 

One of our dear friends, Jason Robinson, has been a part of this show for a couple years now and was so kind as to comp all 10 of our tickets for this special Birthday weekend. This will be the 4th time JT and i have seen the show in Branson. Yes, we are old but we can't help but LOVE Branson. I may or may not be planning my retirement already. 

Aunt Melissa with Ryker. It pays having your twin around when you have a little one to take care of. Katie was finally able to sit down for a bit and rest. We tried convincing Melissa to come back to the States and be a nanny for Katie and Dustin.....she didn't agree. haha Apparently Dustin wasn't ready for the pic either....man, these men just aren't picture friendly. :) 

I may have asked JT for one of these on our porch.......you can guess his answer. 

We decided Jaxon needed to dip his feet in the water for a bit. It was hot outside! I think Heather and Poppa enjoyed it more then he did. haha

We had a great time hanging out and I personally enjoyed all the babies! We now have 2 nephews and one beautiful Niece. The joke is that JT and are should be adding to the mix soon but alas, it is just a joke. We are loving this time in our lives when it is just the two of us...oh and Lily of course! 

I realize there is about one more week left in August and we have much more to share but i am running out of time this morning-- we are about to sign a lease for our new place in 2 hours!!! We have been blessed with an opportunity to save some $$$ this year in hopes of buying our dream home next summer. We are down grading a bit but feel so incredibly blessed to have this opportunity before us, Oh and they will take Lily!! (You'd be surprised how many places turned us down because of Lily's weight. Just rude. Guess you can't blame them, she is a hefty 70 lbs.) Well, I will keep you posted as best as I can with this whole moving process. Until next time, may God bless each and every one of  you! 

Well, to say the least, we attempted to take a family picture this evening. Our family may be small but we still enjoy a good photo from time to time. Needless to say, Lily did not want to sit still. Anyone shocked? haha JT isn't much of a picture taker either, so after about 3 shots it was time to call it a night.

One thing that never changes is my love for this pup. She is absolutely wonderful.

Change Is Constant

Wow the summer has been flying by the past couple weeks. Not to mention it has been a consistent heat wave of triple digits for over a month. Lily and I were going on 4 mile walks for the longest time but this summer has really put a damper on that. We still go on our walks but we don't last as long. I shouldn't complain, I prefer heat over the cold any day.

Well, things are really looking up since my last post. God is good and has provided some answers to prayers and opened doors that were closed. Whew! JT has embarked on a new adventure in McAlister's Deli as upper management. Leaving Braum's after 5 1/2 years was full of mixed emotions but it was time for some change. Not to mention we are slightly addicted to McAlister's sweet tea!! So, I welcome the enabled addiction with open arms. We are excited because JT has endless possibilities with this company. I'm so proud of him, he is such a hard worker and has impressed all workers so far in a matter of two weeks. Seeing him everyday by 4:30 doesn't hurt anything either.

I feel as if our new hobby is "Change" and we are looking for it in everything. Not that we don't have enough change on our plate, we have decided after a year here in Oklahoma that this is where we want to build our life together. We have been discussing buying a home and have been looking around at what is out there. Being first home buyers is scary to me because i am a penny-pencher at heart and it is hard to make such a large purchase. But according to people we look up to and of course Dave Ramsey, we are doing it right. Prayers are appreciated throughout this process. We trust that if it is God's plan then it will work out. If not, we are prepared to rent for another year. I'm just so stinking excited to have a place that it OURS. In time I suppose.

I'll keep everyone posted if our dream home shows up! Until next time, I pray that God blesses each and everyone of you.

Well it's official, that challenge all Christians have to "walk by faith" has become a reality to us the past couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong, everyday should be lived that way but we have recently felt the challenge more than ever. You name the area in life and we are walking by faith: financially, mechanical car problems, health concerns, future home/current home, family health problems, career pursuits, etc. I'm not here to complain. I cannot lie, however, it has been taxing on my heart. JT and i have had to practice a great amount of communication the past couple of weeks. That in itself is a challenge at times--when i finally meet God face to face i might ask him why women and men communicate so differently. Alas, the communication has been the only thing that has helped make this rocking boat of life seem a little stable. At church this weekend my rocking boat of life took on it's own identity. It was no longer a crazy, uncontrollable feeling but a peaceful, meaningful part of God's plan. While sitting out in the cushy seats, holding my delicious vanilla iced coffee, I heard Pastor Craig read 1 Peter 4:12-13 "12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." Rejoice? We are to rejoice over these trials of sharing one car? Really God? I had to really think about the message. That very night I decided it was a challenge I was willing to take. Our Lincoln Navigator had broken down 4 days earlier and we had been sharing a car. Sunday night JT and I were discussing the next week's driving schedule between the two of us when i felt slightly stressed. Then I remembered the challenge of rejoicing. I decided to thank God for allowing us the opportunity to spend extra time with each other while sharing the car. I thanked Him for allowing us to have at least one great car that was running. Better one than none! I felt a great amount of peace. That very night, the Navigator started and we took it to Auto Zone to find out that it had NO PROBLEMS other than maybe getting a newer battery. God is good!! Through it all, I can say that I have full hope that God has a plan and we are just along for a great adventure. Whether the boat is rocking or we are riding through still waters, we will continue to rejoice.

Our Lily Pad. We love that dog too much. :)

Well, this will be my very first blog ever. I'm exited to be able to share with our family and friends our life events in an easier way! Unlike other blogs, i'm not an artist with words or any type of political writer. This blog will be strictly about what God has been doing within our marriage and exciting events within our lives. Let the fun begin!!