Joy to the World!!!!!!!!!!

It's almost Christmas everyone! Yipeee! My favorite time of year for so many reasons! Most of all, I love celebrating what Christ has done for me personally and for the entire world if they will just accept his gift. I love being chill and relaxing with my fam. I love baking! I LOVE the decorations! I love singing carols and Christmas songs! It's all so special and magical! I hope everyone enjoys this weekend to the fullest!!!! Tonight I will finish up wrapping some gifts. Tomorrow, I will be baking a homemade red velvet cake for our Christmas Eve supper! (hoping that all goes well! haha!) I'm so happy that my hubby is off with me Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! But then he's back at it Saturday and Sunday. He switches to day shift next week.....Praise the Lord!!!!! The Lord has truly been with us during this time....it really hasn't been that bad. I am thankful! I pray that you all have a very special holiday and praying that we all get to share the love and gift of JESUS to someone this Christmas! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!!! xoxo

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so looking forward to having a few days off this week. yay! I love Thanksgiving time...for many reasons. Yummy food, time with family, rest, the start of Christmas, but most of all, I love reflecting on the blessings in my life and the goodness of God. 2009 has been a very challenging year for us...but I have been able to draw closer to the Lord through everything. Good and Bad! A few things I recall off the top of my head....my kidney stone, tim's skin cancer scare, career changes (and everything that goes along with that!). However, I got through my kidney stone, Tim has no cancer to be found, and Tim got a new job and will be getting day shift at the first of the year! PRAISE THE LORD!!! Those are just the main things that just jump out to me first. Through those tough times, there were way more good times! We have found the Lord to be faithful in all times...in every season. I am so in love with my sweet hubby and love how he LOVES and serves the Lord and LOVES me second. I love my family with all my heart, I love my home, I adore my puppy, I'm thankful for good health, I'm thankful that the Lord meets our financial needs, I love my church, I love working with teenagers and sharing Christ with them, I am thankful for my job, I am thankful for my good friends, I love love the little fun tidbits of life, and most of all I thank the Lord for saving me and completly changing my life! Finally, I am hitting a mile stone birthday this Saturday......25! Boohoo! That really makes me feel like I am an adult or something. I must say, I'm a little sad. But, I love birthdays! I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving! xoxo

Starbucks & Thrift Stores

Good Morning! I am sooooo sleepy! I have some coffee started, so hopefully soon I will get a jolt of energy! I had such a wonderful weekend! Friday, Tim took his small group to Incredible Pizza...and I got to tag along! :) It was so much fun and ruled on the skee ball machine! With mine and Tim's tickets combined, I won a insulated travel mug! haha! And it's pink! Then Saturday, I got to sleep in finally. It had been weeks since I last slept in. Next we got up and got a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (another very special treat I don't get very often) and we went to the thrift store to look for Halloween costumes. We hit the jackpot and are pretty much all set for Halloween! I can't wait. After that we picked Kim up and went to Pets and Pumpkin Days on the historic part of Commercial street. It was a blast and the dogs behaved very well. Jade also met us there with Rusty. It was perfect weather. Sunday we had our choir concert in Salem. It was a long drive but it was a great concert. I'm ready for another week. It's going to busy at work. We serve a great God and I love Him soooooo much! I am working on my list of "10" and will be praying! I pray that I can be a light to someone today. Happy Monday to you guys! loves! xoxo

Long Car Trips......STINK!

Hey everyone! Well, Tim and I are getting ready to leave for a mini-trip to Texas. Tim's cousin is getting married in Wheeler, TX. The drive will probably be around 7 hours. We are leaving early early in the morning and then driving back Saturday night after the wedding. We are cheap and don't want to pay for another night in the hotel....so Tim insists that we drive back Saturday! lol!! Even though we won't get back till the wee hours of the morning! oh my! I have offered to drive part of the way....but Tim won't hear of it! haha! We'll just see about that! He wants me to get some sleep in the car on the way back, but I won't be able to sleep cause I will be worried about him falling asleep at the wheel. Hopefully I don't annoy him too much. I get very bored on long car trips. I have plenty of things to do though. I am bringing my knitting, crocheting, crossword puzzles, circle the word puzzles, a book to read, my sunday school lesson and my lines for the christmas play to memorize! Surely ALL that will be enough to keep me entertained! Not to mention all the CDs we will get to listen to! Well, pray for us that we have a safe trip! And that I make it through the trip without getting too bored and asking Tim if we are there yet!!!!!!! :) Happy Weekend to you! xoxo

Thankful for today...

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend! Mine was good! I had a small little case of the blues yesterday and had a little pitty party by myself. :( Sometimes it just randomly hits me when Tim is gone at work in the evenings. I start missing him A LOT! I don't like going to church by myself at all. To top it all off....I was having a "fat" day! lol! So, I was down on myself about that! Goodness me! However....I am much better today. Today is the day the Lord has made and I am rejoicing and being glad! I am thankful for so many many things in my life and am blessed way beyond what I deserve. I love the verse...Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! Thank you Lord for today! One thing that made this Monday particularly lovely, was that Miss Terri sent Kevin to my work this morning with several bags of candy corn! What a sweet and thoughtful surprize. You SO made my day Terri! She had read one of my previous blogs about me giving candy corn out to the visitors that come into the church office everyday. So sweet. And it was fun talking to Kevin too! :) We had a great small group activity Saturday! It went well and I think my girls had a really good time. I posted the pics on facebook if you are interested. lol! I posted a few pics with the blog from this weekend. Is Izaak adorable or what??? Happy Monday to you! xoxo

Biggest Loser

Who watched the Biggest Loser last night? I was laughing and crying the whole time! Fun news....Tim came home early as a surprise! He normally doesn't get home until 1:30 am and he came home around 7pm! yay! Talk about a fun night! :) I think her name was Holly maybe....but the lady whole lost her entire family in a car accident! wow! I couldn't even believe it. That was terrible. She has such a wonderful attitude and I really hope she does well. I am so glad that Bob and Jillian are helping everyone together this season. I found this devotion for dieters online! haha! However, I always try to think of myself as a healthy person....NOT a dieter! That term is so terrible and makes you automatically think that you have to leave out all this stuff and have to be miserable all the time. I try to be healthy and make good choices. I feel like most of the time I make fairly good choices...but other times, not so much! :) I always try to keep my body hydrated and fit by getting some sort of activity in everyday. I might not be a size 2...but I try to be healthy! The verse for today on the devotions for dieters is a favorite of mine....Phillipians 4:13. I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens ME!!! Praise the Lord! And the thought for today...."I become more spiritually, as I become less physically." Have a great day everyone! xoxo

Harvest Home

This week I got a fall harvest candle for my desk at work! It smells so wonderful! I also got a little pumpkin with lid to put candy corn in to welcome the visitors into the office! So far it has been a hit with the mailman and UPS man! However, some people come by and take way too much! So, I don't know how much longer I will be able to supply everyone with candy corn! This could get expensive! I liked the idea though. :) I will probably get out the fall goods from my attic next week some time! Way excited for that! I am also going to start working on another painting. I will probably do a harvest theme since I did a Halloween one last year. I also need to finish the blanket I have been working on! It's almost done....finally! Has everyone seen that Walmart has the Febreze fall scents out now? They had a two pack last time I checked. Everyone have a nice weekend! xoxo

Stretching my taste buds.....

Well, I have decided that I am going to try seafood!!!! crazy! If you know me at all....you know that this is a huge step for Amanda. I don't know what has come over me! I think it is because I have been watching a lot of Food Network and some of the seafood they make looks elegant...not fishy or oceany! yuck! I still will never ever ever try shrimp. I can't get over the look and smell. I still hate the smell of Red Lobster and other similar joints. I was watching Melissa D'Arabian's new show and she made salmon cakes. They looked good and the salmon had other things with it. I think that will be a nice way for me to start out this new food journey I am taking! Hopefully I don't vomit! This is HUGE for me! Ahhhh...I'm so proud of myself. Babysteps though. Babysteps. I went to Nikkie Mosher's wedding shower last night and I said NO to the cake! Whoohoo....Go me! It was a fun shower. I love weddings! I have also been committed to my working out this week. I did Taebo 4 times! Here is something funny, but embarrasing......Sometimes Billy Blanks (taebo) makes me cry! Not out of physical pain, but at the end of his videos he always gives this amazing pep talk. He is also a Christian. Soooooo, after a hard workout his pep talks brings tears to my eyes! hahaha! Truly he is motivational! Oh Goodness. Well, thats about enough of that. Talk to you later! xoxo

Hey Everyone!

Hey everyone! Long time, no blog! :) I am doing fantastic today! God is good....all the time! Even through hard times, God has been so good to us. I can't believe that August is almost over! That went fast. Though, I am very very excited for autumn! While I am up in the attic this September getting down my fall decor...I will be hunting for my Easter decor. We couldn't find it anywhere last spring. But I know it is up there somewhere!!!! Tim absolutely loves his job! That is a praise! And he is awesome at it! What a great husband I have. The last few recipes I have made have not tasted very good! I hate when that happens! That doesn't happen very often....so I was sad when my recipes were gross! But I redeemed myself and made a yummy, quick recipe last Saturday! The interim pastor at Hamlin is always bringing me fresh garden veggies....so I haven't needed to go to the farmer's market at all. He brought me some corn, which we made on the grill and was delish! He also brought me some okra! Once I figured out how to make it...I loved it! I love to cook! Right now I am thinking about Vegas!!!! I can't wait to go! We are going November 12th-15th! We haven't really gone anywhere for vacation since our honeymoon 4 years ago! We have gone cool places on mission trips and made a few weekends trips to branson and KC.....but we actually get to go somewhere on an airplane! haha! I love love love my nephews! I love hearing Izaak talk! :) It just makes me melt. Well, I better get on with the day. I hope everyone has a great day....and we will see when I blog again next...could be tomorrow...or next month! It will be a surprize!

Me and Reba

I am smitten....totally in LOVE! Last week Tim and I celebrated 4 fantastic years of marriage! It is so fun to look back on the past few years. I can't beleive how much more I love Tim today, than the day we married! I can't imagine that I could love him anymore...and we have so many more years left! What will I do?! haha! I love my husband. I love his humor, his quirks, his many talents, his people skills, his sensitivity, his hotness, his kindness, did I mention his hotness?.....and most of all how he loves and cares for me and his great great love for our Lord! Thank you Lord for these blessings in my life! On another note...I LOVE summertime! We had a picnic at doling park last Friday! So fun! It was so relaxing and happy! I love wearing flip flops and sitting outside in the sunshine! I love so many things! haha! I hope everyone is enjoying there summers also. Soak it up people! But I don't mind saying.....that I can hardly wait for the crisp days of autumn!!! Probably my FAVORITE time of year! Ahhhh! I truly can't wait! Oh, I set off our smoke detectors with my hairdryer the other day!!! Our smoke detectors must be very sensitive...because I have set ours off at least 5 times in the past year! lol! Anyone else have this problem? At least I know they work! I love the Reba show on Lifetime!!! Anyone with me on that? That is my new thing....when I come home from work....it's me and Reba time! Here's your one chance Fancy don't let me down!!!!! XOXO

COFFEE!!!

I am so tired this morning! ahhh! I have already had 2 cups of coffee! They are definitely not helping! Well, we will probably have a busy week. We are trying to get ready for youth camp stuff, open our pool, clean the house......Oh, we got Maddie some good tick medicine finally! We got her the K-9 Advantix! It was 4 months for around $50!!! Wowza! Oh, well! I feel better knowing that my little Maddie is taken care of! I hope I get to swim this weekend! We will have to see if we get the pool clean by then or not. Tomorrow at church our youth make their True Love Waits commitments if they want to. I am so proud of them and excited for tomorrow. I probably won't make it to the gym this week! blah! I hate that! And I definitely won't make it to the gym the week of youth camp cause I will be stuck in the hotel all week! Oh, and Miss Brandi's birthday is coming up next week too! Happy Birthday! :) And then the baby will be here shortly after that! hooray! I can't wait to be aunt banana to two lovely boys! LOVE IT! I have started watching food network star on tv. I really like it! Anyone else watch that one? I also watch So you think you can dance. I have such a great husband! Man, am I blessed! He is fabulous! And I don't think he realizes it. Last night he made me a grilled cheese and read me some scripture! haha! I LOVE IT! I hope you all have a great day! Happy summer!

Wolverine!

So, after seeing the movie Wolverine......I am in love! I LOVE Wolverine and Hugh Jackman! :) heehee! It is Tim's favorite X-Men character and superhero. He is majorly in love, so he is happy that I am too! What a movie! Everyone needs to go see it! Oh, but stay in your seats through all the credits at the end....there is a special clip at the very very end. Congratulations to all the graduates out there! We went to Hillcrest's graduation last night. I thought the gym smelled like beer and cigarettes. Yuck! I am so very excited about the weather this week! It is going to be sunny and warm all week long! yipee! Tim has his doctor's appointment today. I am making him get some moles checked for skin cancer. He has a few that look different and have changed. I would rather get them looked at instead of sitting around worried about them all the time. Guess what I'm excited about.....American Idol finale!!!! I can't wait to watch tonight. I love Kris and I am so glad he made it to the finals! I have a feeling he is going to win! I am sooooooo tired today! Man...it's hard to keep my eyes open! Everyone go see Wolverine!

Pineapple Whip!!!

Hey! How is everyone doing? I am having a good week so far! I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday! Wednesday is a hard day to go to the gym because right when I get home from work, we scarf down supper and then head to church. We don't get done with choir practice till around 9ish. Then the gym closes at 10. There is just no time. Ideally, I would like to work out every weekday. But it never seems to work out for me! haha! We have been very consistent lately. I watched Idol last night. I love Danny and Kris! That would be AMAZING if they both made it to the finals!!! Yes, Adam is talented, but his voice really gets on my nerves now! Last night when he sang Crying...it made me want to cry, but not in a good way! It was sooooo annoying! I loved Danny's You Are So Beautiful! Amazing! And Kris' last song was awesome! I am excited for tonight's episode to see them in their hometowns! I am excited for Family Day on Saturday! Tim has invited some people at his work and they said they are coming! Yeah! We also invited our neighbors too. I LOVE pineapple whip!!!!!! For that matter....I just love pineapple! It really doesn't pay for me to buy it at the store, because I will eat a whole entire pineapple in one sitting! haha! You can't stop me people!

Amanda's thoughts on today....

Hey all! Good morning to everyone! I am ready for another week. Tim and I are doing this Bible study together about staying connected to God and "refueling" daily. I really like it. We are at the chapter where it talks about how we have such a good weekend at church and we are ready to go share the gospel, feed the hungry and return shopping carts in the walmart parking lot...etc!! haha! Then Monday rolls around and we face stress and problems at work, with family....life in general. The book just reminds us to connect with God all throughout the day....to pause when we are stressed. On another note...I worked out 3 days last week! I was going to work out 5 times, but I always run out of time and can't make it to the gym. Oh, well! I guess 3 is better than nothin! I think I will only be able to workout 3 days this week because we have STARS this weekend for the youth. If you don't know....STARS is a prom alternative for our youth at church. It is really really fun! I am excited about American Idol tomorrow! I love Danny and Kris!!!!!!!!! I also loved Matt and I'm sad he is gone. But I know he will put out an album! Well, I better get to work! It's going to be a lovely day!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Hello everyone! I am sooooo glad it is Friday! Whoohooo!!!! My day has gone by fairly fast thankfully. Tonight I get to go pick up my pottery piece at Firehouse Pottery! They said it will be done after 5. I took my small group last Saturday and everyone LOVED it! I was so thrilled. I hope my piece turned out okay! haha! Last night we had a really fun BBQ at my parents house! It was soooo much fun! I played some catch and now I am really wanting to play some more! lol! I bet Tim will be thrilled. He loves when I want to do stuff like that. When we go pick up my pottery we are going to have a picnic at Sequiota park. I'm so excited! Oh, we MUST get Miss Maddie something for her ticks! She has them all over and Tim keeps having to pick them off of her everytime she comes in. I think that stuff is expensive though! But she's got them bad. Poor girl! Not much planned for the weekend....just chillin! Oh yeah!!! :)

Whoohoo!!! It's Friday!

Love, love, love Fridays!!!! There is just a special excitment in the air! This weekend is going to be crazy busy! But, it will still be fun. We have our choir recording all night tonight and ALL DAY tomorrow!!!!!!!! Wowza! I pray that everyone's voices hold out and that we all stay positive! :) Tim told me that he is doing a bunch of things around the house! cool! We have a few projects/problems that he has to work on....and he LOVES that! haha! Seriously, he loves having projects around the house. It's adorable. Love him to pieces! Oh....my guess what? My pink necklace that my sweetie got me broke today! The chain broke, and luckily I found the pendant on the street where I park my car at Hamlin. I have had several chains break...I must be hard on them or something! I had some delicious coffee this morning and some Peanut Butter Captian Crunch cereal. :) So, that was lovely. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Peace out!!!

Well look who it is!

Hello Everyone! It's been a loooooong time since my last blog! I have been hearing from several people that I needed to start blogging again! Sorry to everyone who enjoys reading these that I have let down! heehee! Something cool just happened a few minutes ago....last night I asked God that I might get to tell somone about Him today and share the Gospel....well, I just did! We had someone off the street come by the church I work at, asking for food. Normally I just tell them my ususal thing and send them on their way. But today, I told this lady about Jesus! I wish I would have said more, but I know I planted a seed. Thank you God for the opportunity. What if I shared Christ ALL the time? What if ALL of us shared Christ ALL the time? Who knows what the Lord might do?! I'm in! Whenever the opportunity arises...I'm taking it! How about you? On another note....American Idol is tonight!!!!!!!! Oh yeah! I get so excited for AI nights! It's so funny! And Tracy get's excited whenever ANY reality show is on! haha! Lova ya Tracy! This weekend is our Broadway Choir recording weekend!! It will be very tiring people! Soon, you will be hearing all of our voices on the radio! hahaha! Well....you never know! Broadway Choir CD.....debuting June 2009....get yourself a copy! :)

Goodbye kidney stones!

Hello! Well, thanks to everyone who prayed for me last week! I finally passed the kidney stone! yay!!!!!!!!!! I have never been so happy! But it has really made me thankful for good health and thankful that I feel good everyday. It is a blessing that I never want to take for granted. Well, last Friday we had the middle school lock-in. All I have to say is....CRAZY! We had about 115 middle schoolers at this event! That must be a record. We didn't know a lot of them. Had a few rough kids, but all in all, it was a good lock-in and hopefully they left knowing that God loves them. I am still trying to recover though. Those things suck every single ounce of life out of a person! haha! Well, I think this weekend we have nothing to do! hooray! I love chill weekends! I can't believe it is almost March! I love Springtime! I wonder if Tim knows where my spring decorations are in the attic.........? I think tonight we are going to have to eat a quick frozen lasanga. No time to cook today! I don't think I have anything else to say....oh, american idol is not on tonight cause of obama's speech!!! I am quite upset! I live for Tuesday Idol night!!!! I guess I'll have to make it till Wednesday. Hugs!

KIDNEY STONES!!!!!!!!!!

Well, if you haven't heard by now...Amanda has a kidney stone! WOW! I think they are definitely of the devil! I have never felt such horrible pain in my life. I would not wish a kidney stone upon anyone! Saturday night I went to bed and told Tim that my lower back was sore. Well, I woke up early Sunday morning, around 5am with terrible pain in my lower back. It was so awful that Tim had decided to take me to urgent care. Well, we get all the way across town to urgent care and they didn't open till 8. So, he drove me to the ER. We get out of the car and walk to the doors of the ER and I suddenly felt better! I thought Tim was going to kill me, but he didn't. He got me some juice and we went home. Well I was pretty much fine all day Sunday. Then I went to bed that night and woke up at 2am with the most terrible pain I have ever felt! So, tim and I were up ALL night long! I refused to let him take me to the ER cause I didn't want to pay $150! I am so cheap! I said I would tough it out!! haha! Well, it was the longest night of my life. So, morning comes and we go to Urgent Care and they did a CT scan and found out I had a kidney stone! yuck! I did get to ride in a wheel chair which I had never done before....so that was fun! Anyway, they think I can pass the stone.....the past few days I have been waiting and drinking TONS of water!!!! I mean over 100 oz. a day! Right now I feel okay (hence why I am able to type this blog! ) But the pain comes and goes. I hope I pass the stone soon. I don't know how much longer I can go on like this!!! ahhhh! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me! I really do appreciate it! I love you guys! So, hopefully soon I will stone free!!!!

Hello! Well, I am soooo ready for the weekend! Our new bed came in FINALLY!!! It took them 3 months to get the bed in! We have been really irritated with Slumberland! Now our bedroom furniture doesn't match at all...it is a hodge podge. The bed we had been using was getting really old and was about to bite the dust. It was almost 20 years old! I like it though. I think Tim is going to stain all of our old furniture so it will match the new bed!! He is so talented! Tomorrow we have a high school activity. We are taking the kids to the 1984 Video Arcade downtown. Then Saturday is Valentine's Day! We don't get to go anywhere cause everything is too expensive. I think we are just going to cook something at home. That will be fun though! I am excited about being an aunt again to 2 more baby boys! Brandi is having another boy. And my other sis-in-law, Jen is also having a boy any day now! So, boys are ruling right now. I hope everyone has a happy valentine's day!! Hugs to all!

Grandma Yates

Last night around midnight, Grandma Yates passed away. Paul and Kristine were able to say goodbye to her last night around 11:30 pm then they left the hospital to get some rest. Then shortly after they left, grandma passed away. I am glad that they were able to say goodbye but not have to be there when she passed. Pray for the family this week. Grandma is going to be cremated and there will be a memorial service in Indpendence, Kansas on Saturday.

Random Thoughts on Monday

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone is having a great day so far. We had a fun weekend. I am sad that the Cardinals lost the game! It was a good game though. We had fun with our Sunday School class hanging out and watching the game. Well, I talked most of the time and watched the last 5 minutes of the game! Heehee! But that's when all the action happened anyway. I am so tired today! I stayed up way too late last night talking! Tim and I love to talk....we can talk to each other for hours. I don't know how we do this...but we always find more stuff to say. Oh, I love my husband though. He really is the BEST and I don't know what I would do without him. Tonight is the Highschool boys Bible study. Us girls have to wait until next week, so everyone can read the assigned chapters in our devo book. We are doing the Divine Dance. Tonight I am going to make Sun Dried Chicken Tomato Pasta for dinner! It is one of our favorite meals. Another thought...I LOVE my space heater! I love to be warm all the time! I keep this thing on high next to my legs all day!!! :) Also, pray for Grandma Yates and the family. She has gotten worse again and they have moved her to the hospital. They don't know how much longer she will hang on...so they just want to make her comfortable. Everyone have beautiful day!

Hey all! Last night I did my Taebo cardio workout....I didn't make it through the whole thing this time! haha! I was just really pooped. I normally do the whole video, but for some reason I just couldn't make it to the end. Oh well! I also made this marshmallow salad stuff, and I should have got the recipe first....I thought I knew what it was, but I was mistaken! It has pudding in it, so I thought I was suppose to make the pudding first and then add the rest of the ingredients. However, I learned that you are suppose to leave the pudding in powder form! So, it didn't turn out quite right, but Tim really likes it! The "creation" is almost gone now! I liked it too. But now I know for next time. heehee! You live and learn. And that is how new recipes are invented! Right now I am pretty sleepy....just trying to make it through the day!!! I must press on. Tonight we have church. I hope we have a gym full of youth tonight. We have been pushing 80 kids almost! I just know we will hit 100 very soon! Not much else going on in the Shepard household...we are having leftovers tonight. I made Cheesy Chili Bake last night! Delish! And maybe for dessert, "Amanda's marshmallowy goodness"!!! :)

My Before and After

I am so happy that American Idol is back on! I look forward to January every year because I know a new season of Idol is around the corner! I am addicted, I love it, it is definitely my favorite show. Last night I liked the guy who got sick and they gave him a banana!!!! I could not stop laughing. Well, today is suppose to be bitterly cold....good thing I wore short sleeves! I did wear my coat into work though. I just didn't realize how cold it was going to be until I looked on my computer this morning. I will put on something warmer before heading out to church tonight. Last night we also had youth visitation. No one was home for us girls, but I know that the Lord will still honor our efforts. We have lots of kids in our youth group that are now coming because we went and visited them in their home! So, I know it is worth it. This Thursday, Friday and Saturday Tim and I have our annual Tournament of Champions or as I lovingly call it TOC!!! We have been going to this together since we were 16 I believe. Wow! That's a long time! It is fun....a lot of basketball...but fun! I'm pretty much basketballed out by the time I leave their on Saturday! haha! I enjoy it, but Tim will definitely owe me a musical or some pottery painting classes or something! Just kidding.....I secretly like going. I shall leave you with the words of a song that are stuck in my head...."my before and after, i can't but sing. my before and after, i'll sing praises to my king. my before and after, here's the anthem let it ring. one love, 2 arms, 3 scars from us to where you are. no one's to far for you to change a heart."

Thankful for another day....

Hey all! I have had a stressful week. Just so much to do in so little time! I get all stressed out and then panic and then cry! haha! But I have been trying to rely on God's strength and not my own. When I do it is amazing how he calms me and gives me peace about things. I can't explain it. Problems might not go away, but He gives me the ability to handle them. I don't know what I would do without Him! Last night while we were sleeping, I had a beef stew in the crock-pot! When we woke up, the house smelled heavenly! I hope it tastes good. I have never tried this recipe before. But it sure looks and smells fantastic! So far, Tim and I have been faithful to the gym this week! We have started going right after work. I just keep my gym bag in the car. The gym is on my way home so it works out well. This Saturday is my momma's birthday!!!!!!!! Yeah! I love my momma so very very much! We are going to Cheddars! I am going to eat a salad there so I can have plenty of chips and queso! I love their chips and dips! lol! Then also Saturday I have to say goodbye to the pastor I work for and his family. They leave for Africa on Sunday. They are going to be full time missionaries! I am sad, but so excited for them! It should be a fun filled weekend! Hope everyone has a splendid day.....if anyone still reads my blog?! Who knows! hahahahah! Bye!

Happy New Year!

Hey Friends and Family! I wish you a very happy new year! Tim and I have lots of goals and dreams for the new year! I don't know why we feel like we have to wait until January 1st to "start over" or try something new, when we can easily do that anytime! It's funny how our mind works! Nevertheless, we are excited about all the possiblities! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We have just had so much fun these passed few weeks. We are so blessed and I am thankful to our Lord for so many things! I have got to get off of here....but I will blog later! Hugs!