Facebook

Facebook. Wow. We have a LOVE/HATE relationship with one another. I loved Facebook when it started out for people in college who could reconnect with their high school friends. It is always so fun to see someone on Facebook who you haven't seen since you graduated.

Then it allowed everyone to be on it. I can honestly say that there are some days that I just want to delete my account and be done with it. People can be SO mean and use it as a tool to get back at someone.

It has happened to me a few times. (by the same people..) I can't tell you how childish it is. Especially, when it is someone who is extremely close to me.

I wish I didn't wear my heart on my sleeve and let my feelings get hurt so easily. I've always been the sensitive one in the family who cries at the drop of a hat, and I think makes me an easy target at times.

But this time, I'm not letting this get the best of me. I am tired of worrying about what happened today. Because, what happened was STUPID and didn't even make sense. And I honestly didn't do anything to deserve what happened. SO silly.

I am going to stop focusing on facebook so much and use that time to focus on the Baby that is in the Manger. Because nothing else is worth my time right now. I wish that everyone could get that....

Merry CHRISTmas everyone

Heartbroken...

Tonight I sit here with my heart broken into a million pieces. So many questions we will never have answers to. How could someone do something so heartless?

Early this morning Heaven got a special angel. Courtney went to be home with her Mom and Jesus.

You may remember an earlier post I had about Sara Stevenson. Well, Courtney was the daughter of Sara. She also has the beautiful little Grace that I babysit when Mrs. Stevenson was to sick to take care of her.

Courtney and I really reconnected as I saw her a lot while babysitting Grace. We went to youth group together and then lost contact when we graduated, but over that summer I began to know Courtney and we became Facebook buddies. I had just chatted last week with her about what kind of camera she was getting so that she could start up her photography business she was so excited about.

Courtney was involved in a horrible crime. She was shot at her home last night by her ex-fiance. I can not imagine what good it has done to kill her. He took away a MOTHER to a beautiful little girl over something that was so petty. Poor Grace will now grow up dreading the holidays because her Mom was killed a week before. My heart breaks for the Stevensons.

I know that Courtney is in Heaven seeing her Mom again, what a blessings. But, there are so many here who just don't understand why this had to happen.

To Courtney, I will always remember you. I am so sorry that something so heartless happened to such a sweet, sweet person. You will always hold a special place in my heart. And Grace. Well, Amazing Grace will always be reminded what a wonderful mom she had. Until I see you again...

Hebrews 13:2

Hebrews 13:2, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it..."

Tonight, Christmas came a little early for me. I am home with my parents through the Holidays. :) So they invited me to go with them to the adult Christmas party at Lakeview UMC. I feel old going to an "adult" dinner. HA.

But anyways, we were getting ready to walk in the doors at church and I look over to my right and there sat a homeless man. I couldn't help but just stand there, kinda shocked to see him to be honest. The doors were locked to the church, because we were a bit early.

Of course, my first thought was so judgmental. What we HE doing there? WHY was he there? Was he going to hurt us? I didn't give him the benefit of the doubt..

My dad began to talk to the homeless man, whose name was George. George had been traveling from Centerpoint and trying to get to his brother in Gainesville. He had been on the streets since Friday.

He told my dad that he was extremely tired and hungry. He had been sleeping under the interstates and on the side of the road for the past few days. With hardly anything to eat.

My dad invited him in and to sit and have dinner with us.

My dad asked him if he would like him to take him to the Greyhound Bus station and buy him a ticket to Gainesville. I wasn't really surprised because my Dad would give the shirt off his back to anyone.

But, I couldn't help but think of how odd it was that George was there. I couldn't help but think it was a test from God to see how we, as a Church, would react to him. My amazing father didn't miss a beat. He didn't think twice about it. George took Dad up on the offer and off they went.

Still in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but freak out that my Dad was in the car ALONE with a strange man we had never met. I kept looking at my watch and thinking to myself, what if he tries to hurt my Dad.

About an hour or so later, my Dad came back in. I was very relieved to see him. I asked him a lot of questions on the way home. The first being, "WERE YOU NERVOUS AT ALL?" And Dad replied, "No, not at all." He just kept saying, he couldn't let him get back on his bike and ride and ride. He probably would have never made it there.

I have to thank my Dad over and over again for what I saw tonight. Dad didn't hesitate for a second. He didn't think twice.

Here, I have been so concerned about Christmas gifts, and my own petty problems. And then there is George. Who was living on the side of the road. Hungry, cold, and alone. It definitely reminds me to COUNT my BLESSINGS on a daily basis.

So, thank you, Daddy for being such an example of Christ tonight. What you did tonight, will forever be in my heart. I love you...

Blessings and Peace,

Thanksgiving Recap

Jon and I are finally getting settled back in Madison. We were gone over a week, so I have LOTS of laundry to catch back up on. YUCK. :)

We had a great Thanksgiving week. Mom and I began cooking on Tuesday morning. I love watching her cook and learning new secrets from her. :) We got everything made on Tuesday and that way all we had to do was throw them in the oven and cook them. :)

Jon and I had a wonderful lunch at his Moms house. Everything was great. Jon loved the Mac and Cheese so much, that I am going to attempt to make it tonight. Should be interesting. :)

After we had lunch with his Mom, we scooted back to My parents because we had a Baby Shower planned for Rachel. (Just family.) She got LOTS of cute PINK things. I can't wait to meet Miss Blakely for the first time. Not much longer now! :)

It was great having everyone around for Thanksgiving. There was one person who was missing and I missed him greatly. Pat, I can't even begin to tell you how much you were missed. I can't wait to see you. 26 more days!

After everyone left Mom, Kelley, and I began to go through the ads and plan out our day of shopping. We invited Kelley to go with us. She was a good sport considering she had to be at work at 3:30 pm- AT LEAST 11:30 pm that same night. We got up and headed to Target around 5 am. BUT, the line was so long to get in, we just left. It was WAY to cold to wait in that line. There was nothing we needed badly enough to stand in it! haha. We decided to head to the Summit and check out Belk and a few other stores. We went to Belk and racked up. I got some really cute boots that were only $20! Mom got Pat's Christmas gift in there as well. We decided to take a break and eat at Cracker Barrel for a quick Breakfast. It was yummy.

We then headed back to the Summit to finish up our shopping. As always, we got lots of great deals. And, we have a new place to shop the day after Thanksgiving. NO one was there! It was great.

We went back to Moms and slept until the IRON BOWL came on. We watched for a bit and then decided that Bama was making us to nervous so we left! We took Kelley to work and then we went to Target. BUT, it seemed like every where we were going the game was following us! So, we decided to go back home and finish watching the game. I can tell you that I was FREAKING out. I even went upstairs and took a bath because I didn't want to see the ending. Jon watched the game with a friend and kept texting me. He was SOOOOOO annoying. I hate dealing with him on Iron Bowls. HAHAHA. :) BUT, we all knew what happened in the end. CHAMPIONS ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO WIN!!!!! ROLL TIDE! ;)

Anyways, I have some laundry that I need to finish up on!

Have a great week and ROLL TIDE ROLL! Lets kick some FLORIDA TAIL!

Rammer Jammer....

I've got three words for all of you...........

RRRROOOOOLLLLLL TTTTTTIIIIIIIDDDDEEEEEE RROOOOLLLLLL!!!!!

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

I always look forward to Thanksgiving each year. Not only because of the good FOOD, but because its always a time when the family is together.

This year will be hard because it will be the first year that Patrick won't be there. I would love nothing more for him to coming walking in and surprise us all on Thanksgiving. But, the likely hood of that is pretty slim. We ALL will miss you, Patrick. Can't wait to see you December 28th! Counting down the days. 38 to go.. :)

This year Jon and I have LOTS to be Thankful for. We are getting a new start at life in Huntsville, a new job, new church, and time to restore broken relationships. I am FOREVER THANKFUL for all of these things.

We will spend some of our day at Jons moms house, then the rest of the day will be spent at my parents. It is always SO hard for Jon and I to balance the day out. Trying to be at 3 different places in one day is tough. We tried it one year and it was horrible. We were at each place for like an hour or 2. We didn't even get to enjoy ourselves. (Not to mention we ate so much we made ourselves sick. Haha.) So, we decided from then on that we would have to pick and chose where we would be. Rotate it each year. :)

Another reason I love Thanksgiving is..................

BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!

Haha! SAD but TRUE. I love nothing more than sitting next to the fire Thanksgiving night, looking through the ads and scoping where I will spend my day. Last year, Mom and I made the BIGGEST mistake by going to Wal-Mart. I was seriously having anxiety attacks. Mom decided to SPLIT up from me and go get something she wanted. I can remember calling out, "MOM" and about 50 women turned around to see if it was their child calling them. HAHA. SO, I told her I can't do Wal-mart again. Unless she wants me to have a SERIOUS, SERIOUS melt down in there. HAHA. I think this year we will be going to Target, Big Lots (who always has GREAT deals), Hobby Lobby, and Michael's. We are usually DONE shopping by 10 am. :) We can seriously get some good deals! :) I HOPE to be completely done with my Christmas shopping by then!

Well, I hope you all have a VERY VERY Happy Thanksgiving. :) We ALL have LOTS to be Thankful for! :) And I am THANKFUL for each one of you who read my blog. :)

Blessings and Peace,

Jesus Freak..

So, I decided to come "home" a few days early and help my mom with the kiddos while Natalie works Christmas Village this week. I was SO glad to see Kemp and Daisy. I have missed ALL of my nieces and nephews so much! :) Of course, they were more glad to see Mr.Wiggles than me. Haha. :) Kelley, Pat's new girlfriend, came over and helped with the kiddos. They instantly fell in love with her. She was SO sweet and good with them. :) Kemp asked mom before she came over, "Is she good with children?!" HAHA. I love that. He is a funny little duck to say the least..

Anyways, on my way home I heard a song I haven't heard in years. It made me instantly think..

Who remembers the song, "Jesus Freak" by DC Talk?? I use to listen to it a lot during youth group, but haven't really heard it since then.

Here is the chorus of the song:

What will people think if they hear that I am Jesus Freak

What will people do if they find out its true

I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak

There ain't no disguising the truth

These lyrics REALLY made me stop and think. I had to think about how many times I may not have shared my Faith with someone else because I was afraid of what they may think of me.

I have finally allowed myself to "get lost" in the worship at church. To lift my hands and cry out to Christ. I had always been too concerned with who may or may not be watching me and make fun of me for raising my hands. But, I have finally gotten to the point where I don't care. I want to worship my God and I finally feel comfortable doing it.

Just recently I have learned there are some people that I know VERY well who aren't Christians. They believe that Christians aren't even real. They believe that Christians only believe in Christ because thats what their parents taught them.

That REALLY breaks my heart and makes me mad to be honest! Because, I KNOW that there is a God. There have been WAY too many things in my life that could never have happened without God.

I couldn't imagine not having a relationship with Christ. He is someone I can ALWAYS talk to. Even when no one else is there, I know He is always right there with me.

I feel like in the past year I have become so much stronger in my walk with Christ. I feel a lot of that is to do with me being married. I am so thankful to have a hubby who believes in the same beliefs as I do. I couldn't imagine not having a hubby who wasn't a Christian. That was ALWAYS something that was FIRST on my list for even dating someone. I would have had a really hard time dating or marrying someone who didn't believe in Christ.

I pray that I can really show my Faith to these people who are not Christians. Show them that I am a JESUS FREAK and I am NOT afraid to prove it. :)

Blessings and Peace,

KnickNats at Christmas Village!

Just a friendly reminder that:

KnickNats Designs will be at Christmas Village!

Christmas Village is held at the BJCC from Wednesday- Sunday. I will be there on Saturday to help! Natalie has texted me a picture of her booth and it really looks GREAT! I wish I was there to help her! :( I can't wait to see it in person.

I can't even begin to tell her how PROUD of her I am! Christmas Village is a HUGE thing. She deserves this! :) Congrats, Natalie! Can't wait to be there to help you! You are going to do AMAZING this week! YOU rock. Love you!

Hope to see you all out at Christmas Village this week!

First Annual Cullen Halloween Party

Happy Halloween Everyone! :) (Just one day late!)

Jon and I hosted our First Halloween Party yesterday. It was a very very fun party if I do say so myself.

Jon and I went as...

Hugh Hefner and his NEW BRUNETTE girl. (BRUNETTES do have MORE fun! hehe)

*Jon looks JUST like his dad with his hair gray like that! It freaked me out a bit!*

Everyone had cute cute costumes!

Awards for the best costumes were the following:

Best all Around:

Funniest:

Sexiest:

Tie between yours truly and Amy

Most Original: (Amelia Earhart!)

Scariest: (Just b/c he's Jason-haha)

Then we carved pumpkins:

All in all Jon and I had a great night. Thank you to everyone who came!

Blessings and Peace,

I've been at my parents this week while working at Little Lambs! I have SO enjoyed being able to see all my friends and my precious little ones I have missed so much. Laurie and I have had so much fun making those tiny handprinted ornaments. The babies are the most precious as well as the most difficult. I am going to have to do one for Miss Daisy for MY tree. She wanted to do one SO bad. Kept giving me her hand to paint. Haha. :)

I have enjoyed being here with my parents this week, but am DEFINITELY ready to get back to the ole hubby. I am ready to have a week when I am HOME and not on the go. Ready for a relaxing weekend, but I don't see that any time soon. We are hoping to go to the beach with my family for Thanksgiving. (If we can find a house big enough for all of us!) I think that would be a nice relaxing time for us. Just hope we get to go! (HINT HINT, Big T! haha!)

I am really hoping we get to go to the beach so we can hit the outlets the day after Thanksgiving. Mom and I have had a tradition of going for AT LEAST 10 years now. JUST the 2 of us. No one else likes to shop like we do! :) Actually, I am ALMOST done with my Christmas shopping! I have tried to get a few things here, a few things there. :) One I am really excited about! Can't wait to give it! How will I ever wait 2 more months?!? I am the WORST at keeping surprises! And this one I am really excited about, so not sure it will be a secret much longer. Hahahaha!

The Halloween party is getting closer and I can't wait for it! I am glad that Alabama has a "bye" weekend this weekend and can actually enjoy the day! I have to give it to Bama for playing their HEARTS out. Last week was a bit scary, but Terrance Cody (aka MOUNT CODY!) saved the day for Bama! They've got some work to do against LSU, but I think Bama can win! Roll Tide Roll! :)

Well, I guess that's it for now! I am trying to blog more often..

Blessings and Peace,

Wow, its been a while!!

I have been a complete and total slacker on my blog lately. haha. My mom had dinner with Mrs.Konie and she told me that I was in trouble for not blogging. SO, Mrs.Konie, here we go....

Jon and I have been doing wonderful. We are SO enjoying Madison! And couldn't be happier to be where we are. And to make matters EVEN better we have found a church that we are in awe of, Asbury Methodist. A couple of Sundays ago it was JUST Praise and Worship. I had chills the entire service. The service was one of the MOST moving services I have ever been to. If NOT, the best. I left with my cup overflowing. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was. Jon and I both left and looked at each other and said "THIS IS WHERE WERE SUPPOSE TO BE!" Jon and I have been totally blessed with finding amazing Churches. :)

Mom came and spent the week with Jon and I this week. We had a BLAST. I even tried to convince her to move into our spare bedroom. HA. I know Jon was probably ready for us to get out of his hair. Poor thing, he is now SICK as a dog! I feel so bad for him. He was suppose to go on a "MAN WEEKEND" this weekend, but he is feeling so bad, he's not going. Which, I know Jon MUST be sick to miss it. I feel bad that I am not there to take care of him. (I am in Hoover because I am working at Little Lambs on a project next week! I can't wait to see all my girls and all those adorable babies that I have missed so much!)

Jon and I are having our "First Annual Cullen Halloween Party" on Halloween night. Mom helped me decorate the house and get it ready for the party. We have found our costumes and I must say they are so cute. I will definitely make some pictures and post them when the party is over! :)

Wiggles is still just the CUTEST thing ever. I think he is beginning to have more clothes than I do! He looks SO cute in his clothes and ALWAYS has on a shirt! He is getting to be a big little boy. At the last vet appointment he weighed 5 lbs 10 oz. I laugh because he was only suppose to be 3 lbs full grown. NOT that I care. (No, mom, I wouldn't trade him for anything..) We took him to the Petsmart Halloween Costume Parade and had his picture taken! LOTS of cute Halloween costumes! This year Wiggles was Mickey Mouse. He was a darn cute Mickey Mouse, too! :) Too bad his costume was just a bit to small. (I guess its all the dog bones he's been eating! LOL!)

The next few weeks are going to be BUSY, BUSY! Halloween Party, and then...KNICK NATS at Christmas Village! I couldn't be more happy/proud of Natalie for all she is doing with her earrings! :) Way to go, Nat! :) I know Christmas Village is going to be AWESOME! I can't wait!

Well, I guess that's it for now. Jon and I are kinda boring these days..LOL!

Blessings and Peace,

1 Year Ago..

Yesterday was mine and Jons 1 year Wedding Anniversary! I can't believe it has been a year! AND, what a year it has been at that. I'm not to sure there are a lot of couples who can say they've been through what we have in our first year. Saying that, we as a couple had to learn to fully and totally trust that God had His hand in every moment of our marriage. There were many times that we were uncertain and scared about our future. I am SO incredibly blessed to have my Mom and Dad who totally supported (financially as well as morally) 110%. They were there when I cried my eyes out and just hugged me and told me it we were going to be okay. Jons Dad and Step- Mom have been amazing as well. Jon and I are so blessed. :)

And as weird as it sounds, we are better off today than we were 1 year ago! We are at a better place in our lives. We have become stronger in our walk with Christ, more mature, and I fall in love with Jon more and more every day. I am SO blessed to have such an amazing man to call my husband.

There was some drama that occurred before, during and after our wedding. One in particular that Jon and I are having a hard time getting over. It's one of those things, that I just can't seem to get passed. And, just when I think I want to start working on making them better, I am QUICKLY reminded why we are in the situation we are already.

I have prayed and prayed about the "SITUATION" but just don't know what to do anymore. I have shed way to many tears over it and am tired of crying over it. But I am simply at a loss for what to do. I would have thought a year would have been plenty of time for things to be resolved, but I guess I was totally wrong.

I am going to totally "LET GO AND LET GOD!" Because, I don't think there is another way to go.

My prayer for Jon and I is that our 2nd year will be a little less eventful than the last. And that we will continue to fully trust our AWESOME, AMAZING God in everything that WE do as a couple.

I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us!

Blessings and Peace,

Introducing...........

Well, here is my secret that I've been working on for the past few weeks. (No, Im not preggers!) But, I do have a new shop on etsy called.......

K9 Barkery! I make homemade dog biscuits!! Please check out my shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=8043361

"My dog biscuits will leave your pooch drooling for more!"

More to come later!

Last night I experienced something I had never experienced before. (And hope I don't EVER again.) I had my first migraine. It was seriously one of the scariest things ever. My sight became blurry and then the whole left side of me went numb. I could hardly talk. I was freaking out. I remember my sister use to have these so I immediately called my mom. I am so glad she was calm. She kept telling me that Natalie had the same exact symptoms. She told me to get in a dark room and just sleep it off. I did just that. I woke up at like 11 pm and still had a monster head ache. So, I went right back to sleep. Luckily, this morning when I woke up it was completely gone. I hope and pray that I don't have another one of those. :( Totally a scary experience.

On a lighter note, I met up with my friend Monica before all that started yesterday. She has a cute little 2 year old named Ava. Monica is teaching me how to COUPON. :) I can't wait to start. If anyone has any advice on this please let me know. I already have the Southern Saver website,but if theres another please please let me know!

I was going to do my grocery shopping today, but kept thinking that I needed to cut my coupons before I go. I am trying to show Jon that I can save money. (This way maybe I won't have to work as much! This is my goal at least!) Anyways, Monica was telling me that she generally saves like $50 each week on groceries. She also taught me how to make my own laundry detergent and cleaning supplies! Which she says saves major $$$! I am all about that these days! :)

I got Mr. Wiggles Halloween costume in the mail on friday. It is seriously the cutest thing I have EVER seen! I can't wait to take pictures and post them! :)

I am going to Birmingham on monday since my dad is going out of town. Mr.Wiggles and I will spend a few days there and then come back. I am also excited because Jons dad and step mom have invited us to go to the beach. Unfortunately, since Jon just started work he can't take off. BUT, since I'm not currently working, I will be taking advantage of this beach offer! :) I haven't been since when I got married, so I am having beach withdrawals! :) haha. I will miss Jon and I SO wish he could be there, but I will still have fun without him! :) hahaha.

I am currently working on 2 projects. I know I keep saying I am going announce them, but they are taking a bit longer than expected! :) At least one will be up by next week! :)

PS..Happy Birthday, Michael! I hope your having a great time at the beach! See you guys soon!

Anyways, I hope everyone has had a great weekend. :)

Blessings and Peace,

Long weekend

Jon and I had a good LAZY weekend! We were planning on going to Birmingham on Friday because Mr.Wiggles needed his last round of shots...BUT..the cable guy could only come Saturday or 2 weeks from Saturday! SO, we had to stay here and wait for him. UGH! We were even more annoyed because they told us they would be here between 2-4 and it was 5:30 before they even showed up! Annnnnoooooyyyyyiiiinnnnnggg! :)

So, how about the CRIMSON TIDE?!? Wow, I was SO nervous during the game! Jon will tell you I could hardly eat my dinner! Bama always makes me SO nervous. BUT, they looked REALLY good! :) I can't wait to see how they play the rest of the year!

Jon and I were both saying on Saturday how GLAD we were NOT to be in Auburn on game days. We DO NOT miss game day traffic and I DO NOT miss my house being wrecked after weekend visitors. 

On Sunday, we decided that we wanted to start looking for a church up here. While we were out driving last week, we saw Asbury Methodist Church. HUGE church. We decided that we would try it out! We were running a bit late on Sunday morning (OF COURSE!) and had to hustle to get there on time. Luckily, it takes all of about 10 minutes to get there! 

We got there and I couldn't believe how many people were in their Contemporary Worship service. I'd be willing to guess there was 300+ people in there EAISLY. 

The music was uuuunnnnnrrreeeaalll! I mean, SERIOUSLY. They sang songs that are on 93.7 wdjc, so I knew most of them. It was a VERY worshipful time for me on Sunday. Something I definitely needed! 

The preacher was great as well. He was really funny. He kept my attention the entire time. :) All in all it was a great service. We will definitely be going back!

Jon really liked the service as well. (I am so glad he is now a METHODIST! haha! He is finally seeing the light! NOW, just gotta make him a BAMA fan!)

I hope to be able to announce next week what I've been working on! :) NOW, to keep you in suspense until I tell what it is.. haha...

Well, I had better run and start cleaning this house! :)

Have a great week!

Blessings and Peace,

settled in

We are officially settled in! I finished the last of what needed to be done today! The apartment looks so cute. (If I do say so myself!) I have enjoyed being able to stay home, clean and have dinner ready for Jon gets here! :)

Jon is really enjoying his job so far. Of course when I ask him how it went he tells me "Its classified information, I can't discuss it with you!" He is SUCH a brat. (But thats one of the reasons why I love him!) He was told that they interviewed QUITE a few (around 20) people for this position! I think that speaks VOLUMES for Jon. Finally things are going well for my sweet hubby! 

I am excited to be meeting up with a long lost friend next week. Monica and I met at Faulkner in 2004 and instantly became friends. She and her hubby and her adorable daughter Ava live in New Hope which is about 30 minutes from here. She is going to teach me how to COUPON. Which I am REALLY excited about. She is also going to teach me how to sew and make cleaning supplies by myself. :) I can't wait to see her! :)

We'll not much of an update, but I am trying to do better about blogging! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

ROOOOOOLLLLLLL TTTIIIIDEEE ROOOLLLLL!

Blessings and Peace,

Pictures

Here are a FEW pictures from the apartment. I haven't taken any of the guest bedroom or guest bathroom yet, but here are the rest!

The Patio

Our Bedroom

Master Bathroom

My angel boy!

My cute lil kitchen!

My piggies!

Dining Room

Den

My FAVORITE lamp ever!

Jon chilling on the couch

Jon and I are settling in! We still have to do our closets, but other than that things are pretty much done around here! It took us less than 48 hours to get everything cleaned, neat, and organized! :)

Jon starts his job tomorrow, so please say a prayer for him. ;)

Hope everyone has had a great week and a wonderful long weekend! Can't wait for some Alabama Football! Roll Tide!

Blessings and Peace,

Just an update...

I can't believe its already FRYday! This week has come and gone so fast! 

Pat (aka the blonde angel), has been in town visiting for the week, which has been fun. I know he was wanting this week to go by slow, but it has done the opposite! 

I had a WONDERFUL birthday. Of course my mom out did herself and gave me WAY to much. I do, however, LOVE it all! My favorite being a necklace from this girl: http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=17732568. 

It is absolutely adorable and I will wear it everyday! :) Thank you, mom! You are ALWAYS so thoughtful and always do WAY to much. Thank you for EVERYTHING! 

 My sister did WAY to much as well.  I love my dresses and Ulta gift card! THANKS, Natalie!

Jon and I start the moving process today. We go and sign paper on our new apartment this afternoon. We are going to go ahead and fill up both cars and take a load since we can get our keys today! We are SO excited. Jon is thrilled to have a job. I can't express how proud of him I am. :) Ill take some pictures today of our new place and post them tonight when we get home!

Mr. Wiggles has been a bit under the weather the past few days. Wednesday night, he woke me up coughing off and on. So I took him to the vet yesterday. They said he had a cold, so they gave me a steroid to help his throat. Well, last night it got worse. Poor little man didn't sleep to good. He is coughing and now sneezing like you wouldn't believe. I called the vet and I am waiting for them to call me back. Hopefully, I won't have to take him back in today. I am hoping they will just tell me to come get him some different medicine. Jon and I decided that since we love our vet so much, we are going to keep them for our primary vet. We will get another one in Huntsville to keep in case of emergency, but will be bringing him back down here for all his important vet stuff! ;) 

Well, I need to go and help Jon do some last minute packing! Ill post pictures tonight of our new little apartment! 

Blessings and peace,

Falling into place..

Things are FINALLY going on the up side for Jon and I! Today was so much fun! My mom, Jon, and I all went to Huntsville to fill out an application for an apartment that Jon and I fell in love with. It is SO nice.  We filled out all of the paper work and the lady said she would get back to us in a few days with the results of the application. I told her that tomorrow was my birthday, so we needed an early birthday present of more good news for Jon and I! hehe..

After doing that we went to the Bridge Street Town centre to have lunch.  I have to say that I am in LOVE with this shopping center! They have a lot of great stores including JUICY COUTURE!!! :) (YES, YES I am OBSESSED with Juicy!) 

We went and had lunch at Cantina Laredo and it was the BEST mexican food I have EVER had. It was a little pricy, but totally worth it! If you ever go, I HIGHLY suggest the guacamole. They make it fresh at your table. Absolutely delish!! 

After having lunch we walked around a bit and headed back to Birmingham. Jon and I went to Best Buy this afternoon to do a little price comparison! (Can't tell why, its a secret! hehe) While we were in Best Buy my phone rang. It was a 256 area code and I threw the phone for Jon to answer! It was the lady from the apartments we wanted. She was calling to let us know that....

She had an early Birthday present for me.....

WE GOT THE APARTMENT!! :) 

Not only that the rent had gone down by $30 a month today. Jon and I are STILL on cloud 9. We get to move in earlier than we thought as well! We move NEXT SATURDAY!! SO thankful that I really didn't unpack anything from our move from Auburn. Just got to go to dad's office and decide what I want to take and what I am going to leave in his storage area. Lots to do between now and next saturday. :)

I am beyond excited and thankful for this new opportunity for Jon and I.  I couldn't be ANY more proud of my hubby. He has been busting his butt to get this job and it has paid off. 

Jon and I have been through a LOT from before our wedding until now. I can only pray that this is a turn for the better for Jon and I.  I couldn't imagine going through this with anyone, other than my amazing husband.  

So to Jon..I am so BLESSED to be your wife. Thank you for CHOOSING me as your wife . I am MORE than excited about our new adventure that we are about to embark on. You make me the HAPPIEST girl in the world. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us. I LOVE YOU..

Doubts into Dragonflies

Many of you know that Dragonflies have always been my thing. Whenever I am doing something I feel like I should be a dragonfly appears. ..

Well, one afternoon Jon got a call about a job in Gulf Shores. He seemed very excited about it. And it all seemed perfect. I began to pray that God would send me the sign of the dragonfly if he was meant to have the job. The next afternoon I came over to my parents house and was sitting on the back porch. I saw it! There sat a dragonfly. I called my mom out and explained to her the situation. We tried and tried to get a picture of it, but it just wouldn't hold still. Every time I got close, it would fly away. Still, I felt like this was a sign from God that we were on the right track.

Jon went and interviewed in Gulf Shores and he was very disappointed after his interview. He said he just didn't feel like it was a "fit." I was disappointed because who wouldn't want to move to the beach?! Still, I trusted that God would continue to show us the way we should go.

A couple of days later, I sat back on my moms back porch. I began to pray that God would just let us know where we should go as far as a job. Jon got a call that afternoon from a company in Huntsville. About that time in flies a dragonfly. Ok, many of you are probably thinking its totally coincidence. I called for Mom to run get her camera and try again. Well, this time this is what we got....

(And actually we got a TON more but it is a PAIN adding them, so I am going to stop here..haha!)

Anyways, after my dad got home from work he was sitting outside and we were telling him about the job possibility in Huntsville. He then proceeds to tell us that his friends son lives in Huntsville and he needs to call him. I ask dad where he worked for and guess what?!? It was the same place Jon was interviewing with! I couldn't believe it! After seeing the dragonflies and now hearing that we had someone who worked with the company! Could it seem more perfect? Jon went the next day and interviewed with the company. He seemed very excited when he was done and even told me that there were dragonflies dancing along his car on the way up! But, he did tell me they were interviewing someone else and we would know NEXT week. I was SO bummed and discouraged! I just was READY to know something! Still, I kept the faith and kept praying and asking God to let us know if it was the right place for us. Later that night, Jon's recruiter called him and said the company wanted him to go to Atlanta to meet with the Executive Vice Presidents of the company! Jon was BEYOND excited and nervous about this opportunity. Of course, I didn't have work so I decided to ask mom if she wanted to tag along and go shopping! She did and we left for Atlanta bright and early the next morning.

We had fun in Atlanta, however, I will say I could NEVER live there. I was a basket case during traffic and it wasn't even rush hour. On the way home, I just about freaked out. On the car in front of me, guess what there was????

Yep! On the back window of the car, there was a decal of a dragonfly!

Each and everyday while waiting to hear about Jon's job I saw a dragonfly. I felt like this was the perfect situation for Jon and I.

We decided that this past weekend that we would go ahead and go to Huntsville and start looking for places to live. We went and got to meet up with Jon's college roommate/lifetime friend, Ryan, and his girlfriend, Emily. Ryan moved there a little over a year ago and is really enjoying it. He showed us Huntsville and then showed us the best part! The new shopping area! Man, is it nice! I fell in love instantly! :) We had lunch and then Ryan suggested that we go look at some apartments that he has seen pretty recently. Jon and I found them and laughed because we marked them off of our list for being "to expensive!" We talked with the leasing manager and they had some specials that Jon and I could actually afford. She then showed us the model apartment and we both looked at each and said this is IT! The apartments are SO nice, and even have screened in porches! PERFECT, I tell you. Jon and I left feeling very happy and excited about our future and could see ourselves living there. Jon decided that he wanted to GPS how far it would be from these apartments to his potential work. Wanna know the best part??? It was only 2.0 miles!!!!!!!! Everything was falling into place for us!

We came home feeling overjoyed! Not wanting to get let down, but it just felt RIGHT. The following evening we were celebrating my Mimi's 95th Birthday. We wanted NOTHING more to be able to announce at her party that we would be moving to Huntsville, unfortunately there was NO news to announce. I went to wish Mimi a Happy Birthday and almost began to cry. Mimi had a DRAGONFLY pin on. I couldn't believe it! It was like God was telling me, "Be patient! I am still here, and I have a PLAN for you and Jon!"

Well, yesterday, we were totally hoping to hear some news. But, 5:00 pm came and we had nothing. I began to get upset. I was angry that I let myself get so excited about the job, but feeling like I got to excited over nothing. Jon was in MUCH better spirits then I was. He kept telling me, "I'm not giving up on this until I hear NO from the company." His positive attitude soon made me continue to trust that God was STILL in control. There was NOTHING we could do until we heard for sure.

Well, this morning I had to babysit. On the way to work I heard this song. And the lyrics went something a long the lines of..

"Gods not finished with me yet, and He won't forget the plans He has for me". I immediately knew at that moment that God was speaking through that song to me. To again, just be patient and TRUST in Him.

Of course, I had my phone in my hand waiting for Jon to call. At about 11 am he called just to say hi. He seemed all down in the dumps. I anxiously said "WELL DO YOU HAVE ANY NEWS?!?!" And he said.........

"YES WERE MOVING TO HUNTSVILLE!" I couldn't believe it. My eyes began to well up with tears. I am so PROUD of Jon. And, even more so , THANKFUL to God who has never let us down through this whole process. Yes, Jon has been out of a job for 5 months to the day almost. But, we know that God had this planned for us. At the time, Jon losing his job seemed like the worst thing in the world. When in turn, it has been the best thing for us. I am feeling incredibly blessed and my cup is overflowing with thankfulness right now.

I just want to thank you ALL (yes, I know there are some SECRET readers out that-hahaha!) for praying for us! You all mean the world to Jon and I. We are extremely excited about this new journey we are being led us. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

I will update with our move to Huntsville. Jon begins work on MONDAY! I will follow as SOON as we get an apartment! Things are happening fast for us!

Again, thank you so much!