~Proverbs 31:The Wife of Noble Character~

"A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life .

She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still dark;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her servant girls.

She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She sets about hr work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that here trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.

She is clothed with strenght and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

'Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.'

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate"

~Proverbs 31: 10-31

ok, so most of you are familiar with this passage and I think that most Christian wives do want to strive for this in their own lives. I hope so anyway. Am I this woman the passage is describing? Not yet...But, I belive this is the character that God wants me to have..the character He wants to build in me this next year. That excites me! For too long I have clung to the "I'm not good enough" or "I could never do that" that comes from fear and guilt (obviously not of God). Praise God! He has brought me out of that and has made me more sensitive to the spiritual warfare that is going on around me. Thank you:)

let's go back to Mothers Day 2008.....

....yep, this is what I woke up to on Mother's Day 2008:) totally took me by surprise...after all, I'm not a mother. But Mike was so sweet to buy me a beautiful heart necklace, a teddy bear and chocolate with a card from him and a card from Rose (our dog). It was so touching and one of the many thoughtful things he has done for me in the years we have been married. Just wanted to share:)

The Martyr's Song...and other stuff

Mike has been reading to me at night:) In case you can't tell by the smiley face...I really like when he does that. My dad use to read to us when I was younger and he still reads to my mom. I think that's why I like it so much....seems to be family tradition. It is just relaxing and nice to be read to....so much nicer than just sitting in front of the tv and letting my mind be turned to mush. Mike just finished Ted Dekker's The Martyr's Song . It was really good short read and even has a Bible study guide in the back. So go buy it! I think you can get it on Amazon for about $4, or at a Christian bookstore if you have to have it immediately. I like Amazon because it's nice to get packages in the mail:)

Now I need to find our next book to read! For Christmas Mike bought me New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series. I finished it in no time and then went and bought Eclipse as an early birthday present for myself. I haven't started it yet but I do plan on taking it to work tomorrow just in case it's as slow as I think it might be. I intended to read it today since I was off of work but I actually slept in today (8:45 is sleeping in for me) and then took down our Christmas decorations and then did absolutely nothing. Very lazy I know, but was nice.

Not sure what our plans are for new years eve. I think we will be doing something with our good friends Travis and Lalanya. Last night Travis, Lalanya, Selvin and Laurel came over for dinner (we had Taco's and Mike's delicious Taco Bake...yum!), games (Clue:The office edition!) and just talking about life and seeing what God really says about it....while you can argue with peoples advice, it's a bit harder to disagree with God's point of view! It was an uplifting time and I went to bed last night so thankful for our friends, for Mike and for the grace that has been given me by my Savior!

softball and the beach...2 of my favorite things:)

my first half marathon...whoo hoo!

Highlights

With Christmas over and a new year quickly approaching it's been nice looking over the past year...the highs, the lows, the good, the bad and the ugly. Did I accomplish half the things I intended to? Not by a long shot, but it's ok:) No need to beat myself up. The next couple of entries are just some highlights of the year:) Enjoy:)

~Highlights of 2009~ Daniel & Jamie's wedding-May 30th~

Almost here!

*so I'm not sure how this didn't get published the other day...*

It is hard to belive Christmas is only 4 days away! We have had a wonderful, busy Christmas season. Saturday morning my parents came through on their way to the beach and we had breakfast together (I made Autumn Eggs with Potatoes and Crescent Rollups and lemon poppy seed muffins...quite yummy if I do say so myself), and then we opened gifts. Mom and dad gave us the game Would you Rather. I also got an awesome pair of homemade knit socks from my mom (she is an AMAZING knitter!) and chocolate (can't go wrong there!) Mike got a really nice pair of gloves and...something else. I can't remember. I know, that's horrible.

Saturday afernoon we had Christmas with Leah & Shawn (Mike's step sister and her husband), Ron, Kathy, Noah and Ryan (Mike's step brother and his wife and 2 boys), Sheila, Kaitlyn, Cassidy & Chandler (Mike's sister and her kids) and Ralph & Wyanne (Mike's step dad and mom). We had a really good time! It's the first time we have celebrated with all of them....I hope it is the first of many years to come of celebrating our Saviors birth with all of them:)

That night we had a Christmas party downtown at Ben & Claire's. Their place was decorated so nicely, the food was amazing (I know, sounds like all I've done is eat...well, truth be told, that's all it feels like I've been doing!) Mike made a squash casserole and it was gone in no time, so there's another dish that is "his"

2:14:57...

...was the time it took me to run my half marathon! yay! it's over:) I had so much fun, I beat my estimated time by 15 minutes and was actually not in too much pain the next morning. I placed 178 of 322 in my division (Females 25-29) and overall I placed 1508 of 2688, so I am really pleased! I was able to run the whole thing and not take any walking breaks. After a short break I'm ready to start training for my next one- The Albany Snickers Marathon. Figure I'll do one more half and then train for a full.

It was interesting. I have never considered myself a runner before, even while training for the race. Well on Saturday morning as I was riding on the shuttle from parking to the start line it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day....it was cold but the sun was coming up and not a sign of the rain they had called for and I just felt God smiling, telling me to enjoy this, that I was a runner and that this was the day He had given me. I think I smiled nonstop for the first 6 miles...after that there wasn't much of a smile...after mile 10 I think I had a grimace on my face until about the end. lol.

Anyway, here's to goals being accomplished that you never thought possible just a year before!

T-minus 22 hours!

I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be at this point:) Tomorrow at 8:00 I will start my first half marathon. yay! I am super excited! I feel I've put a lot of work into this and I'm just looking forward to getting started and finishing it! I'm hoping to finish in 2 and a half hours...of course my main goal is to just finish and I have no doubt that I will! Tonight my good friend, Starla, and I are driving down to Kiawah Island, SC to stay the night and then she has been kind enough to volunteer to drive me home tomorrow (should my legs tighten up like I think they might:))

As excited as I am about tomorrow I am sad I won't be here tonight or tomorrow:( Tonight several of the girls from youth group are having a concert at their school and I really really wanted to go support them. Oh well. Sigh. Tomorrow is the ladies Christmas tea at church which is always fun and I wish I could be there for that. Again...oh well....and another sigh:)

Hard to believe Christmas is 2 weeks from today! Aggghhhh! noooo!!! I'm not ready! I thought I was, but I'm not...I don't have my Christmas cards out yet, I'm dragging my feet on the homemade goodies I'm making for people and I'm not done Christmas shopping! Guess I'd better get on the ball first thing Monday:)

Please Pray!

Last night I found out that a friend of mine is in the hospital. I had known she had a flare up with her Crohn's disease so I figured it was related to that....well, it was, but I was SHOCKED to find out she had had a stroke! What?! I did a double take when I heard it. Here is the email from her mother explaining it.

It's 3:00 am ,I just got home, and have to be back @ work in 3 hours, so this will be somewhat brief...please pass this email to the prayer chain and our Sunday School class...

Please pray for Lauren, our 17 year old. She had a seizure this afternoon which we learned this evening was the result of a stroke which the doctors believe was related to her Crohn's flare up last month. There is almost no blood flow going to the entire left side of her brain due to the very large clot that is forming. It is imperative to treat the clot before severe damage is done. The standard treatment for this is a "blood thinner". Making the situation even more critical is the fact that "blood thinners" and Crohn's disease are not a good mix...especially when the person is still recovering from a flare up as Lauren is. They will have to monitor her digestive system just as closely as her brain.

She will have a blood transfusion early in the morning due to her hemoglobin being 6.5 (a lingering and worsening result of her flare up). There are risks associated with giving blood as well since they are trying to "thin" the blood. So she is somewhat trapped in a very dangerous cycle right now, and she is being very closely monitored (they will be waking her up every hour to assess her).

The upside to all of this is that she is considerably stable. After her seizure she was very disoriented and confused for a couple hours. However, by the time I left her side tonight, she was "appropriate" (as we refer to it in the medical field). She looks and acts "normal" for the most part. She still looks puny as she recovers from her flare up, but otherwise she seems fine. The neurologist is amazed at the fact that she is so normal neurologically given the significant size of the clot...we know Who gets the credit for that! I never thought I'd be thankful for a seizure, but I have foudn that the Lord was gracious enough to send us one to give us a heads up!

Thank you in advance for your prayers for Lauren and her family!

~Questions for God~

~where did Lazarus go when he died? The Bible says it is appointed for man once to die. Can you imagine in Lazarus went to Heaven and then got pulled back to earth 3 days later. That would kind of suck:)

~Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the flesh? In Genesis it talks about God visiting Abraham (when they told him Sarah would give birth to a son) and it came in the form of 3 visitors...was it God and 2 men or God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit?

~What did you write in the sand? Before answering a crowd about stoning a woman who had been guilty of adultary you wrote something in the sand

~If Heaven was such a perfect place how was it that Satan sinned there?

~Where exactly is the ark of the covenant?

~What is my new name? (ok, so I know I won't have to ask. There is so much anticipation to hear Him call me that as I rush into His arms)

~what was the forbidden fruit? I get tired of people referring to it as an apple....well it might be, I don't know

~Can you explain the whole "time being no more" thing to me? My mind just can't grasp it. How there be no time?

~Did you really have to make snakes?

~will I one day taste manna?

~Am I doing enough? I know I am saved by grace and that my best is filthy rags compared to you. It is not by works .....but at the same time....faith, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

5 years ago....

.....I married the love of my life:) In all honesty we were strangers. We had known each other for a grand total of 3 months and for some crazy reason we thought it would be a good idea to get married:) I can say that we did have huge odd against us in the first year alone and it is only by the grace of God that we are together and closer than ever. I give Him the thanks alone and trust Him to continue to work in our marriage. My prayer is that we would glorify Him in our marriage and that it would be an example of the love of God.

When I look back on my wedding day I smile:) It was a gorgeous day...sunny and warm. Mike wrote and sang a song for me just for our special day...awww, how sweet:)We didn't spend a lot of money on our wedding (which I love...I tend to be a cheap skate!) My dress came from David's Bridal $99 sale, the only fee we had to pay for the church was the clean up fee, the church was already decorated for Christmas so we didn't have to decorate, a friend of Mike's made the wedding cake and grooms cake, a friend of a friend did our pictures and a friend of Wyanne's (my mother in law) did the catering. There weren't a lot of people that came and that use to bother me...looking back, it was perfect.

We didn't spend our wedding night in a fancy hotel. We stayed in our apartment before heading on our honeymoon the next day. We didn't go on any fabulous cruise or all inclusive resort. We spent our honeymoon in a small cabin in Hiawassee. It rained the whole time. We slept on the sofa bed in the living room so we could sleep in front of the fire. We made smores in the fireplace and curled up and watched movies. Not exactly what some would call an ideal honeymoon, but it was ours and I wouldn't change it.

The past 5 years have been full of ups, downs, laughter, tears, anger, joy, messy kitchens, walks with the dog, falling asleep in Mike's arms while watching a movie, parties, family get togethers, me grinding my teeth in my sleep, going to watch many softball and basketball games, putting up our Christmas tree 6 times, moving once, new jobs, bills, car troubles and everything in between. Even though we don't agree on certain things I can definitely say I would rather spend my life with him than anyone else.

Intentions

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes God has such an "annoying" way of bringing my true intentions to light. It can be something very noble or worthy and I feel like I'm doing it for the right reason....and then God weighs my heart and I see that my intentions were less than honorable. Today He chose to reveal it to me in the drive through of McDonalds. Poor Tiffany....I began getting some stuff off my chest and yapped and yapped all the way home. She was super understanding and was totally supportive though:)

Proverbs 21:2 -"All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart"

Of course now I can't help but wonder if my intentions will ever be "right"?

Hmmmmmm. I think so. Although, I don't think I should ever be surprised in the future when my "good intentions" turn out to be not so good.

How do you handle disappointment?

This morning after waking up and a quick stop at Starbucks, Mike and I headed to Atlanta for the day. We have had plans to go to the Georgia Aquarium for the past month. We bought tickets online and originally we had plans to stay the weekend, go to a really nice restaurant or two and just kick back and relax. Last week we decided to change those plans a little and not stay the weekend so we could save a little money. Not a big deal. Still had plans to go to a nice restaurant and the aquarium, which we did.

I'll be honest. I was disappointed in the aquarium. I don't know if it's because there were sooooo many people and everyone was just getting pushed and jostled around....or if I had just built it up much in my head that there was no way it could meet my expectations. My favorite animal of the day was the Australian Sea Dragon

After being there for a whole hour it was time to leave:) we walked to Centennial Olympic Park and played in the fountain of rings....just kidding. we didn't play but we did watch kids trying not to get wet and one woman who stepped out of the rings at the right moment and got soaked.

We then headed to Legal Seafoods across the street from the Aquarium and had some yummy seafood. Mike had the Louisiana Catfish Matrimony (sautéed with bay shrimp and andouille sausage)and I had the salmon special which ended up being a sandwhich. Was actually really good. It was nice to just sit, talk and eat:)

We are now home and getting ready to curl up on the couch and watch a movie.

Here's to life being wonderful even when it's not what you hoped for!

Thanksgiving:)

ok, so this is only 2 days late (seeing a horrible trend in my blogging here)

Thanksgiving was great as usual but this year it didn't "feel" like Thanksgiving. I'm not sure why. We saw my parents, 2 brothers and sister in law last week and had an early Thanksgiving (no traditional Thanksgiving meal, but we had a great time and were truly thankful for having each other...as my mom says "it's not the meal that makes the day...it's me being thankful for the moments I do have with you." well said mom)

Thanksgiving day was spent at Mema's (Mike's grandmothers) with Kaitlyn, Cassidy, Chandler, Adrienne, Megan,Donna, Larry, Ralph, Wyanne, Daniel, Jamie, Wade, Holly, Charles and Mema. Food was excellent and as usual overate and then needed a nap. After getting home and watching a movie I debated on if I should even go to sleep at all. I did indeed go to sleep but was back up at 3:30 and met Wade and Holly at Wal-Mart right before 5:00...surpisingly we were out of there in 30 minutes...wow! Went to the mall and found absolutely nothing. Wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be...think the longest line I saw was at Starbucks.

After shopping I headed home and we decorated for Christmas. Yay! so glad that's done! Think the only thing left to do is to put the Christmas china in my china cabinet and put all my storage boxes back up.

When overwhelmed....

...it's important to not become paralyzed with the emotion! I've found that I have gone from one extreme to the other. Go figure! It's amazing how I think I have so much to write and then I start typing and it's gone...just gone...nothing to write. oh well. I will take that to be God saying "be still, shut up and listen to me!" (not sure if God would say "shut up" but you get the point:))

Let's see, got to be something to write. Today after work I picked up my friend Tiffany and we went to grab a bite to eat, hang out and run some errands (including getting her passport pictures for an upcoming mission trip to India!). Let me tell ya, I love this girl! She is 17 and in the youth group at church. It is so exciting to see what the Lord is doing in her life. She is so quick to focus on the things of God, quick to share her heart and quick to extend a helping hand and I've been blessed by getting to know her. I feel she is someone who I can share my heart with and not be judged. So here's to her and her wonderful journey in the hands of God.

"Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" - Exodus 15:11

catching up

been a total slacker lately! sorry! I had somewhat of an excuse this past weekend....was at the beach...and when I'm at the beach nothing else seems important! the following is a journal entry from this past weekend. I usually do not share things from my journal but here it is.....

So many thoughts! 11/20/09

Have lot I feel I need to write but somehow the urge is diminished a bit as I sit on our 12th floor balcony looking at the ocean! We are staying at the Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach. Wyanne (Mike's mom) has her Alpha 1 conferene here so Mike, Mema and myself came with her. It is hard to believe it's November though! I am sitting in a t-shirt and jeans and the weather is gorgeous! Thinking about putting my bathing suit on and going down to the hot tub (have already seen people on the beach and down at the pool in bathing suits...they must be from the north!)

we arrived in Myrtle Beach a little after noon, checked in, went to barefoot landing to walk around a little. we ate at Johnny Rockets and then came back to walk on the beach. Again, it is soooo nice! i did put my feet in the water but it was freezing!

Plans later tonight are to eat leftovers while Wyanne and Mema are at their dinner and conference and maybe do a little shopping. I brought one of my Aunt Dimity books so I can read that later. I could just sit here all day listening to the ocean and reading:)

tomorrow we will head to Oak Island, NC and visit with mom, dad, Steene, Jon and Rhonda. We always have a great time with each other and I always look forward to these trips!

more later!
Love,
Sarah

Randoms....

1. I love old movies! old Alfred Hitchcock movies and pretty much any movie with Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Doris Day or Rock Hudson are good and I could spend hours just watching them all back to back. I'm also the same way with the tv show I Love Lucy

2. When I was 10 or 11 my brother threw a baseball at me as I was running (away from him) into my room and it hit me right in the mouth, chipping one of my teeth. It hurt so bad and I was so mad! I remember being scared to tell my mom....think I told her the following week....or month (it was obviously a very small chip or she would have noticed). To my brothers credit...he had a very good aim! The ball just made it through the door as it was closing. lol.

3. I have a very large scar on my left side that I have thought about having 'fixed' with plastic surgery. Also the scar of a cross over my heart and scars on my neck...all from being a preemie and the surgeries they performed.

4. My current favorite tv shows are Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth, Biggest Loser, The Office, 30 Rock, Monk and Psych (good grief, do I really watch that much tv?!...very sad!) . Also like Little People, Big World; 18 kids and counting and....Bridezillas....part of me has issues with the show and I think of of the Bible verse that says "I will put no vile thing in front of my eyes". Plain and simple, these Brides actions are vile....and I laugh at it.Sad that I find humor in bad behavior.

5. I love to read. Especially mysteries, anything by C.S. Lewis, Harry Potter books, children's books...I love variety:)

6.I have a bachelors degree in Natural Health...but I don't use it:( Very sad, but it was good for my personal knowledge. Who knows. Maybe one day I will have a job where I need it:)

7. I can't sleep in past 8:30 unless I'm sick! No joke. I wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 on weekdays and even when I try to sleep in on Saturdays it never works! usually I'm up by 7:00...on the couch with my journal, a book and the remote. Sometimes I'll go yard sale-ing. Here lately I've been doing my longer runs on Saturday mornings though.

8. Speaking of running....my first half marathon is in 3 weeks and I'm getting a bit nervous. I don't doubt I can do it. I know I can. I'm still nervous. Luckily, a good friend of mine is going down with me (it's on Kiawah Island, SC near Charleston) for support and to drive me back home if I need her to.

And that's all for tonight:)

Wilbur?

I know I promised some random things today, but they can wait.

In my parents move I inherited a lot of things including most of the family pictures. I decided to re do my baby book.....I can just move the pictures from a large, old brown picture album to a cute, small pink one. First picture I take out is my first (and only) ultrasound. I turn it over and on the back is written "Wilbur's head 31 weeks in utero"....what?? Wilbur? I knew my parents thought I was going to be a boy and had discussed the name Patrick...but Wilbur?

Soooo.....I had to call my mom. After the "hey, how are you", "are you having a good day", etc. I ask " Were you going to name me Wilbur?" and it is immediately met with laughter...."hahahaha, no, we weren't going to call you Wilbur....hahahaha....Jim Sprinkle (a friend) called you that before you were born....hahahaha....did you see something with Wilbur on it?"

So, I got my answer:)Amazing what you find while going through old stuff:)

so not cool!

I had my blog all ready to go and for some reason it was there one minute and gone the next. oh well...luckily it wasn't a long blog...just some random things (that I will blog about tomorrow). I am fighting a little bit of a cold and at the moment I have a cup of hot tea and my bed waiting on me so good night!

"All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." - Proverbs 16:2-3

getting the hang of this

ok, so I think I may finally be comfortable with blogging every day:) of course, no guarantees at this point but it is promising!

Looking forward to this week....well, the later part of the week. Friday Mike and I are heading to Myrtle Beach with his mom and grandma. His mom has a support group conference for her lung condition and was sweet enough to invite us. There is no bad time to go to the beach in my opinion...and it doesn't hurt that the hotel has an indoor pool:) Then Saturday afternoon we are heading further up to Oak Island, NC to visit with my parents, younger brother, older brother and his wife. Think the guys have a deep sea fishing trip planned (no idea what us women-folk will do but we'll figure it out) and I'm sure we'll have a nice pre-Thanksgiving meal with them since we won't be together on Thanksgiving.

verse for the day-

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger"-
Prov. 15:1

Yeeeeee Ha!

Tonight we had a wonderful time at the hoe down at church....good food, good fellowship and of course dancing:)

do si do kind of day

last night Mike and I went line dancing and square dancing....well, it was practice for the Bridge the gap youth hoe down tomorrow at church. We practiced Monday night as well and I was ready to give up! But last night was better and I actually enjoyed it. Now I just need to go find a cow boy hat and boots and I'll be ready to go:)

Afterwards Mike treated me to a yummy gingerbread latte from Starbucks. It seriously felt like we were on a date. So I had to point out that that was something simple and inexpensive and yet it made my day so there's no reason we shouldn't go on more dates. Then we went home and watched our Thursday night line up of Community, Parks and Rec, The Office and 30 Rock followed by me reading in 1 Timothy and of course Psalms and Proverbs.

Want a good way to get through Psalms and Proverbs every month? Whatever day it is, read that Proverb. Today is the 13th so I'll read Proverbs 13. For Psalms start with the day as well (today I'll do Psalm 13) and then add 30 to it (Psalm 43) and another 30 (Psalm 73) until you run out of Psalms. However, you do skip the 119 Psalm on the 29th and save it for months that have 31 days and read it on the 31st. This was something my mom did with me and my brother in the mornings before school (we were home schooled) and has been something that I've done ever since. Granted, I have been very sporadic with it but it's something I always return to.


"But godliness with contentment is great gain" - 1 Timothy 6:6

Not that anyone reads this....

but I think it's good for me:) An aquaintance/friend of mine has committed to writing on her blog every day even if it's just something small and I'd like to do the same thing...we'll see how it goes.

Today is a cold windy day, I'm going on 5 and a half hours sleep and I really want to be home in bed (or on the couch) with hot chocolate, my journal and my Bible. I've been doing a study on 1 Timothy and it's really good. When I say study it's just me studying it...no special book or commentary...just me reading and rereading, picking out favorites and having the intention of learning something and really knowing my Bible.

For the past 4 weeks I've been helping lead a purity Bible study with the youth at our church. I have the middle school girls and although it's only a small group I have been so blessed with their desire to remain pure until marriage and also their desire to walk with God.

~update~

In June I had blogged about Mike's step sister Leah (and her husband Shawn) who had lost their one year old son. I also mentioned that she was expecting again. They have found out the are expecting a baby boy! yay! what a blessing in their lives:) They have showed so much faith and perseverance over the past several months and have been an inspiration to many. I just wanted to share that with you and also invite you to check out Asher's memorial website. It is a beautiful journey of his life here and is filled with love:)

www.robertasherfinley.com

wonderful, busy weekend:)

Sometimes I like relaxing weekends where I do nothing but sleep in, read and lounge in front of the tv with my husband. This was not one of these weekends! Friday night we had our friends Selvin and Laurel come over for dinner and games. We had a great time...good fellowship and lots of laughter. They stayed until just after midnight and then we stayed up to watch a little tv. I did have every intention of sleeping in the next morning....but 8:00 came and I was wide awake and with nothing to do I decided to go yard sale-ing while Mike slept. Found a lot of good finds on clothes (a beautiful pants suite, a skirt, 3 tops with the tags still on them, a pair of cute American Eagle shoes and a cute sequin top all for about $12....not too shaby:)). Then we headed to our friends Travis and Lalanya's to help them move some things to their new house. They were sweet enough to treat us to dinner and a rodeo at Ft. Gordon. It was the first rodeo I had ever been to and it was awesome! I really didn't think I would like it, but I loved it!

Today we had the regular Sunday activities (Sunday school, church & lunch at Mema's) then Mike went fishing with Travis while I went to have coffee with Brittany ( I can't tell you how nice it is that Starbucks has their Pumpkin spice latte back! yay...that means fall is almost here!) Then I headed back to church for children's choir and home to fix us dinner. I was even able to get a couple loads of laundry done, dishwasher unloaded (and reloaded) and living room and bedroom straightened so I'm feeling really good and ready for a new week! Think I'm going to head to bed early and get a good nights sleep! good night:)

August already?!

ok, so so much for planning on blogging at least once a week...or even once a month for that matter:) I don't even know if anyone reads my blog at all...oh well. It's good for me to get my thoughts out sometimes. I don't really have anything to write about so I'll do some random stuff for the heck of it

~softball season is over:( I loved playing again and am looking forward to next season. I made some wonderful friends that I probably wouldn't have had I not played

~I just signed up for my first half marathon in December. As soon as I did it a wave of panic came over me and all I could say was "what have I done? Did I really just commit to running this thing?" If you know me at all you know that running is not my favorite thing to do...I don't love it like some people. But....I do need a goal to reach for and this seemed like a good one. If I don't want to die after the half marathon I'd like to train for a full marathon. Last October I went to San Francisco with my friend Brittany where she ran her first marathon and it was amazing to watch...can't imagine the thrill of running it. Of course the fire fighters in tuxedo's at the finish line with tiffany finisher necklaces isn't a bad thought either! Anyway, training seems to be going well and I'm not as sore as I thought I would be (yay!)

~karate: even though I am not actively training I don't know if it will be something I can ever give up. The only thing I am doing right now is teaching a beginner class once a week (mainly kids which I love!) at our church. Every now and then I get an itch to compete but I always get scared whenever a tournament comes up. I really just need to accept the fear and do it anyway. What's the worst that could happen?

~ My parents got an offer on their house. It is kind of bittersweet. I'm happy that they got an offer in an economy where houses just tend to sit on the market for months and months...and even years. But I'm sad because it is the house I grew up in (from 3rd grade up). I am sad that they have to sell it but happy because they have a plan and when they sell their house and walk away they will owe no one anything! what an amazing feeling I'm sure! They see life as an adventure, they feel extremely blessed and know that God is in control and has a plan. I love them so much and are so thankful that they are my parents.

~It's Friday! ok, so nothing huge about that but I love Fridays...the beginning of a weekend, time to relax with my husband, catch up with friends over coffee or dinner and then church on Sunday. I really do love my church family. It really feels like a family. We see each other outside of church...we go to dinner, movies, hang out, play sports, etc. and it's great.

~Anniversary trip. So our anniversary is still 4 months out but we are already planning and I can't wait. I would give details but knowing us it will probably change 5 times before then so more later:)

have a great day!

Sorrow....

I had totally planned to be blogging about my awesome party planning skills or our (mine and Holly's) cake decorating skills today. This past Saturday we had my mother-in-laws 60th birthday planned. I had planned and stressed over every little detail and we finally had everything down and ready for Saturday when we got the call Friday night....

it was Mike's sister Sheila saying that their step sisters one year old son had been rushed to the hospital, that he had had a brain aneurism and wasn't expected to make it through the night and that Ralph and Wyanne (Mike's step dad and mom) were heading to Charlotte to be with them. My heart just dropped immediately. Suddenly everything that had been important that morning just disappeared. Nothing else mattered. Mike and I got on the phone and text friends and asked our prayer warrior friends to pray, which they graciously did. We are so blessed to be surrounded by these friends.

Wyanne kept us updated all throughout the day Saturday and we found out Sunday that Asher was not going to make it and that they had decided to donate his organs. So because of their unselfishness, 6 babies will live because of it. I am not a parent but can still not even begin to imagine the pain they are in. My prayer is that they will turn to the Lord and to each other in the days, weeks and months ahead. Please join me in prayer for Shawn and Leah and the whole family. They are so amazing and I just pray for peace and comfort. Also, please pray for the baby that Leah is carrying right now...they had just found out they were expecting again.

Issues!!!

So apparently I have some competitive issues that didn't go away like I thought:) Last night we had a softball game. It was the third one of the season and we had won the two before it. I don't know why last night was an off night but I did absolutely horrible! Walked God knows how many batters and just watched the third strike go accross the plate...didn't even swing. I was half tempted to use the excuse of the pitching rubber being moved up 6 feet since the last game but it doesn't excuse my hitting. I don't even think it's the losing that gets to me....it's the feeling of letting everyone down that just weighs me down.

As soon as the game was over I grabbed my keys from Mike and high tailed it to Starbucks to self medicate the crappy mood I was in. I ordered an iced coffee and a chocolate chip cookie (which they gave me for free by the way) and went home to Mike who tried to calm me down. Yeah, about that. God love him. I know he was just trying to encourage me and he didn't want me to beat myself up (sorry hon, it's what I do...I know it's not healthy, but it is what it is....definitely have some past issues tied to this though and know I need to work on it) but I let it upset me more than I should so I decided maybe, just maybe, I shouldn't be around anyone at the moment....so at 9:00 I left for the gym. I didn't even work out. I had gotten a call from Holly and just sat in the parking lot talking with her. It really calmed me down though to get my mind off the game so I went home, watched the Biggest Loser finale with Mike and fell asleep.

What?!

has it really been over 5 months since I last blogged?! ok, so I'm sure I don't have a huge following....maybe a handful but oh well. I've been doing very well journaling but no so much with the blogging.

So, what's new? Absolutely nothing. Well that's not exactly true. Each and every day is a new gift that is given and I have learned and grown so much just since the beginning of the year. Jobs are still going well, getting out of debt is going well (YAY!) and just staying busy all the time seems to work best for us. Between church, softball teams, family stuff and jobs we stay fairly busy. I haven't played softball for years so I was SOOOOO excited when our church started a ladies team. So far we have played 2 games and we have won both of them. This is the first time I have pitched slow pitch but surprisingly it is going well. I still get butterflies right before a game...I think that's good for me actually. I've loved playing with these women and it is just nice to hang out, play and have some Christian fellowship. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

Don't really have a whole bunch to write at the moment...just wanted to come by, smack the back of my hand for not blogging in such a long time and say "hi":)