Busyness and Boys

Well...I have been taking tons of pictures and have been doing lots of things but have not had a minute to sit down and really write about it or share it with you. This makes me sad but that's the way that life works sometimes. I had much more time to devote to blogging and filling you in when I was not working everyday...but such is the life of a working woman...that and my priorities have been making memories and piling on the "to blog about" list rather than miss out on things to sit down and just write....but I think you understand!

Here's what's happening in my neck of the woods:

We had winter retreat...which was WONDERFUL! (Pics Coming soon!)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Arkansas...I wish we could have been with all of our family but we have to share our time!

I just taught the first teen girls class at church and it went amazingly well! I think I am finally getting good at this teaching thing!

My class is going well...we are about to do a big Bingo Night at school which will be totally fun!

My friend, Andrea, and I are starting a new craftivity as I like to call it...I will reveal more after Christmas because they will be gifts to others!

My nieces and nephew are growing SO fast! I feel like I am missing so many things...but all do a great job to make sure that they fill us in!

And the BIGGEST news yet....

I GET TO SAY NEPHEWS after April! Yep, Andrea found out she is having a BOY yesterday! I am SO happy for them! Brookie is going to be a GREAT big sister! Her mother sure was to me!

I hope everything is going well with all of you!

Love You Mean It,

It's About Time...

Well, it's about time that I updated this thing....it's been a whirlwind of a summer and I cannot even get my thoughts together enough to know where to start!! 

Here goes....

This year Matt and I learned a lot about ourselves, a lot about each other, but more importantly a lot about God's timing and plan. He has brought us to such a wonderful place full of people who are the most loving, warm, kind-hearted people that you would ever meet. We are BLESSED!

Let me catch you up:

When we first got here we went to camp:

 it has been a HOT summer....I am so looking forward to Fall!!

Then after camp, I went to Arkansas to see my cousin, Killian, and we went to the Old Mill:

There is a picture of him as a baby (last time I saw him) in this exact spot with his Mom!

That was a fun day....scratch that....a fun week!!

Matt and I have also been through a lock-in where yes...we survived...I even have a picture to prove it:

hahahaha....barely made it!

We recently went to a youth rally and this is the group we took:

A WONDERFUL group of kids that we are blessed to have in our lives! SO glad we get to be a part of theirs!

Matt is in his element! I love seeing him work for the Lord:

He is having a blast!!

We are both having the best time! And we have just experienced the biggest weekend in Henryetta: LABOR DAY!!! 

Here are the pictures from the parade:

We love this little town and all it's little niceties! We have been blessed since we moved here...every day we are blessed with something new! 

God is Good ALL the time!!!

He even blessed me with this:

That's right...as most of you know....I got a job! It's a really big learning year for me...first time in special education, but I think God put me here for a reason...and I am excited to see His plan unfold!

We hope that God is blessing your lives in every way...

Love You, Mean It,

What's the Story?

So as many of you know, I got to see my cousin, Killian,  from Ireland, for the first time in nearly 16 years this past January. WELL, he is getting to come back to the States the 26th of this month until August 16th! I am super excited about learning more Irish Lingo! (hence the title of this post!) Instead of saying "What's Up?" or "How's it going?' in Ireland they say, "What's the Story?" or "Story?" I love it! I love learning more and more about my long lost cousin! I am so glad he is a part of our lives again!

This is the first picture I received from him! He's so handsome! Just like his Dad!

(Killian, if you still look at the blog, I hope you don't mind that I posted this! I love this picture!)

So I will get to go see him for a week at the end of this month! Something that I have been looking forward to for some time now! My next mission, get a pic of us together! Several people have pics from his last visit, but i haven't got my hands on any of them yet so that is my mission this next visit!

Anywho,

Matt and I are doing well here in Henryetta! Matt's parents settled us in the house and My parents just came for a visit this past weekend!! Without them, this move wouldn't have been possible! It's been a really great time! I miss my nieces and nephews more than you could imagine! I think a trip from Megan, Justin, and the kids are in the works so I am pretty pumped about that! We are loving it here! This small town has been super friendly and inviting! I will have to take pictures so you can see what I mean! We have had several movie nights, game nights, and just quality time with the teens since being here! This place is just where God needs us to be and it is very evident! I thank Him (although probably not enough) quite often for the blessings that He has given us over the past few years! What a Mighty God we serve!

We are about to head to camp this next week, so I will be posting pics from that I am sure! I hope you guys have a blessed and happy week. 

Love You Mean It,

Where the Wind Comes Sweepin' Down the Plains...

Howdy Ya'll,

Yes, we moved to O.K.-L-A-H-O-M-A! OKLAHOMA! 

It has been a whirlwind of a month!! I cannot believe how fast times have flown by and how busy life has been but I am not able to finally sit down and fill you in on life! 

Matt got a youth ministry job in Henryetta, Oklahoma. It is a town of about 6,000. Yes...i said 6,000. So this is an adjustment for this city girl (where the closest Target is 45 minutes away...and the Super Walmart is 15 instead of just down the road!) But we couldn't be happier. Life is a lot more simple and a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. (Not that we don't stay busy here...because we certainly do! But it's just different and I am happy about it!) The Church Family that we have here has been nothing short of amazing. God really does know just what we need when we need it! We have been welcomed in such overwhelming ways! I wish I would have taken a picture but I didn't want to scare off our new family just yet!! But let's just paint this picture for you!

We arrived Saturday the 16th. We came four hours earlier than expected and there were about 20 people at the house (that they provided!) to help unpack the truck. Mom and DeAnne helped me set up the kitchen (HUGE THANK YOU!) and then we headed to bed! At church the next morning they held a potluck (they moved it specifically this day because we arrived!) and at this potluck we were greeted with sacks upon sacks of groceries!! I am telling you folks...the whole back of the XTerra and backseat were loaded! And since then, we have been greeted with hugs and dinners since! Plus, Matt's parents came in this past Tuesday and left this past Sunday and during that time here we did a LOT of things...they pretty much helped us get the entire house read in a week!  How in the world we ever deserve this is beyond me! God shines brighter and brighter each and everyday! He surely has the BEST timing and the BEST plan...beyond what we could have ever imagined! So a HUGE thank you to the Man Upstairs and a HUGE thank you to our Families and Friends here and beyond for the help, prayers, support, encouragement, and most of all LOVE. 

You guys light up our lives in so many ways!

Updates and pictures soon to come!

Love You, Mean It,

BLAH-GER....

Hello Friends and Family...

It has been a few months since I have been on this particular blog. Matt and I really don't have super fun things to share as of late...and when we do...i forget to take pictures! I am so bad lately! I have been super exhausted with work...oh..i got a promotion...I am now the Assistant Manager at Hastings. It's been good, just extremely time consuming!!! So when I do blog...I have been blogging a girly blog that I really enjoy! (not that I don't enjoy this one). And even that one I don't update quite like I would like to! I have been feeling

lately. 

It's sad really. I miss teaching SO much. Not that I don't enjoy my job now, but it is so much more rewarding to see minds grow from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. You don't really get that in retail. But it's all in God's timing and I know that He has some great plans in store for Matt and I. I am waiting patiently to see just where He leads us. I am super grateful for the family and friends we have. The support and encouragement from each of you is way beyond any words of gratitude that I could come up with. We are very blessed and so happy to have each and every one of you in our lives. Thanks for sticking with us...and checking the blog now and again to see updates that haven't been happening lately! haha! I really do need to start updating more often. But it would look something like this:

Today, we worked. Then we went home and had dinner. Then we went to sleep! 

Life is super exciting for us!! Let me tell ya! 

I am thankful for this time, though sometimes frustrating, because we are learning things about ourselves everyday. We are living life a lot more simpler and it's actually not so bad! I like it! God knows just what we need...so remember to thank Him for that next time you talk with him!!

Well, until next time...

Love You Meant It,

Long Time No See....

Hey Everyone! It's been quite a few weeks since I have been on here. It really is sad that there is not much to post about as of late! Literally all we do is work, come home and eat dinner, watch some tv and then go to bed! We look like this:

but feel like this:

(thanks google for this pic)

That's all she wrote folks! We are a 28/27 year old geriatric couple!

How are things in your world?

Love You Mean It,

Tis the Season...and so much more!

So I am not doing a very good job at posting these days. Life has been busy busy busy..but you are about to get a glimpse of the reasoning behind no posting...

First Up, Christmas!! 

Christmas was a bit different this year...as we get older though I have realized Christmas is what you make of it...it's not always going to be the same as when you were a kid...so here's to new traditions!

We did Christmas with my family on December 18th...Happy Anniversary to us and Merry Christmas to us all in the same day! It was fun though! We did Christmas at Andrea's house this year and that was super fun. We had a blast opening presents:

I mean seriously..is she not the cutest? (Nana too!)

Ok, so I did not get any pictures of my sister and I...but can you see why? I mean...I couldn't keep the camera off my sweet girl! She is just adorable!!

So Christmas with my family was wonderful! We got to spend some great time together which is what Christmas is about....apart from our Loving Savior of course...we never forget the Reason for the Season!

Then Matt headed off to the great states of....

and

I sure wish I could have gone with him, but I couldn't because of work and something you will be hearing about in a few more minutes!

Here is a glimpse of Matt's time in Kentucky and Ohio:

He played Santa!! Isn't he the best? I just absolutely hate that I missed this!!! I am a lucky girl!!

I really wish I could have been there to see my family but thankful for the time that Matt got to spend with them and even more thankful for their love and support even when I couldn't make it! I am a blessed girl! 

And even more blessed because my other parents got me this:

YES!! Isn't it awesome! I haven't put it down! And with the money I got from my parents I got accessories for it! WIN/WIN!!! 

So Christmas, while different than I would have like this year, was really good...we rolled with the punches and God really showed me just how blessed I am to have the family that I do. 

So now that Christmas has passed...Why in the world could I not have gone to Kentucky besides work? 

I got to meet my cousin Killian!

I have not seen him in 15 years! It was so good to reconnect with him again! It's amazing what good God can bring from tragedy. After losing my Uncle Keith this summer, it was really hard on the family. And amidst all the pain, God put Killian into our lives again and brought happiness into our hearts again.

AND....while he was here we got to do some really fun things!

We taught him the family game of Crying Canasta!

And he learned how to bridge while shuffling! He and Nanny made the perfect partners! They dominated the whole time he was in! It was so much fun!

Then we got to go to Hot Springs with Aunt Sherry, Uncle Randy, and Aunt Lea.

(I will add those pictures at a later time! They have the fun pictures!)

While we were there we went to the different art galleries, the Arlington, walked part of the trail behind the bathhouses, and went to Oaklawn to visit Captain Keith (my uncle Keith's horse that my Uncle Robbie and Uncle Randy kept in memory of Uncle Keith. I even learned that we have a Brown family crest! I wish I had a picture of it but apparently in latin under the crest is says "Let Majesty Flourish." SO fitting, I think!)

And then we were able to visit Eureka Springs with Uncle Robbie, Aunt Rhonda, and Sydney. We stayed in:

The Crescent Hotel!

This was my Room:

LOVED that tub!!! It was so fun!

We took a walk around outside and this is what we saw:

I loved every minute!! I have more pictures to post here later as well! But you get the idea for now!! I feel so blessed to have been able to spend that time with my family. I miss getting to that as often as we used to. But I think we all agreed it had been far too long since we had been able to spend that quality time so hopefully we will be able to do more from here on out!

It was such a good time to have Killian here. I miss him so much already! I am truly looking forward to his next visit...which hopefully will be sooner rather than later...

Such a good Holiday time with family...although I did miss my Eastridge family very much. I couldn't ask for better, more understanding, more supportive people to have in my life! God blessed me richly!

I hope you had as great a time as I this Christmas!!

Happy New Year and may you be blessed in many ways this year!!

Love You Mean It,