We're home!

We're finally back home. Thanksgiving break was good and very needed for us. We spent much needed time with family and just relaxed. I have so many pictures to share, but am now just trying to get them all uploaded. We have 400+ pictures from Thanksgiving alone! My family loves taking pictures. Randy calls them the paparazzi! Yes they came from 3 cameras, no one person took 400 on their own. :) Here is a sneak peak:

Christmas Pictures - finally! :)

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to you and your family! Randy & I pray this letter finds you blessed. We can hardly believe that Christmas is almost here again. This year has just flown by! Of course, we have done our part to keep it busy, but we wouldn’t change a thing. Here are the highlights from our year:

• November 2006 – Randy proposed! On a snowy night, at my apartment Randy asked me to be his princess for always. I said yes and it was official. We were getting married!
  
• January through March 2007 – Wedding planning had begun! From picking flowers, colors, cakes, tuxes, and a wedding gown – our lives were almost completely wedding. We had engagement pictures taken, I found my dress, we picked out flowers, went to 3 wonderful showers given by our wonderful friends, discovered that there is way more that goes into a wedding than we realized, and through it all thoroughly enjoyed every part of our engagement.
  


• April 2007 – This was a very busy month in our lives. I quit my job at Fossil in Richardson, TX. It was going to be too far for me to drive once we were married and living in Arlington. Thankfully, I was blessed with another opportunity in Irving with BancTec, Inc. Our God is faithful to provide just when we need it. Then I moved out of my apartment, and moved in with Paul & Shannon Mints for a few weeks before the wedding. Randy & I have been so blessed with family and friends who helped us in so many ways leading up to the wedding. Thanks! And squeezed in between all of this activity – I had a birthday! I am looking forward to a calmer birthday next year!
  
• April 28th, 2007 – Randy & I were married at Marietta’s First Baptist Church in Marietta, OK. It was a very blessed day. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. Our family and friends were there to share it with us, the weather was wonderful, and we were getting married! Thank you to all of you who shared in that special day with us. We thank God for friends and family like you.

• May 2007 – Randy took me on a wonderful Honeymoon to Lake Tahoe, CA. We settled into married life – how fun! Randy also started EMT classes at the end of May. Our first nephew was born on May 12th – Caleb Matthew. He is a cutie!

• June 2007 – We moved – again! I moved 3 times in 3 months. This time we moved from Randy’s apartment (his lease was up) to the apartment we are in now. It is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment and we love it! People say that the most stressful events someone can go through are getting married, moving, starting a new job, losing a loved one and divorce. We did 3 of the 5 in 3 months! Whew!

• July 2007 – Randy had his birthday on the 12th – complete with a double layer chocolate cake. Ask him about that sometime. It is quite the story. Oh, and our friends Jacob & Laura got married. We have been to so many weddings this year. I have to say 2007 was the year to get married!

• August 2007 – Randy finished his EMT classes. Yay! He finished as one of the top in his class. He also started his Paramedic classes. He should be finished by this time next year. Our church, The Community at Lake Ridge, also held a baptism at Lake Joe Pool, baptizing 8 people! If you want to know more about our church, check out the website – www.thecommunityatlakeridge.com. It is growing like crazy and God is working in amazing ways. Randy & I help with our kids’ ministry – KidRidge and we have grown from 40 at Easter to 70+! We are so blessed to have a wonderful church family – please be in prayer for what God is doing at TCaL.




• September 2007 – September was full of visiting family and friends. My cousin Waylon married his sweetheart Nina on Labor Day weekend. We traveled to College Station to visit Brian & Janelle Franklin (one of Randy’s best friends). The month ended with one of my best friends Tiffany visiting for the weekend. We are blessed to have friendships that endure despite the distance and busyness between us.

• October 2007 – Randy took and passed his EMT National Registration test! I am so proud of my smart husband. We also took a road trip to Odessa to visit Randy’s family. It was so good to all be together for the weekend.

• November 2007 – A surprise birthday party, Thanksgiving, a new niece – November was an exciting month. Randy, Daniel – my brother, and I threw a surprise birthday party for my mom. Boy was she surprised! We had so much fun. We spent Thanksgiving in Oklahoma with my family since we had spent last year’s in Odessa with Randy’s family. It actually was cold this year! At the end of the month, we had the privilege of becoming an uncle and aunt again. Bella Grace was born to Kristi & Andrew on November 28th. She is a doll!




• December 2007 – I love this time of the year. Christmas trees, snowmen, the Christmas Story, being with family and friends, celebrating Jesus’ birthday. It has to be one of my favorite times of the year. I love being with family on Christmas and reading the Christmas story. This is our first Christmas as a married couple. We are excited to look forward to what God has in store for us next year.
  

We pray at this special time of the year, that you would be able to spend time with your family and friends remembering the real reason for the season. Jesus was born in a stable 2000 years ago to be our Savior and Lord. He was the Ultimate Gift that first Christmas. May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We love you!

Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now Christmas is around the corner. Wow, this year has gone by fast. Randy & I have our 7 month anniversary tomorrow! Can you believe it? 5 more months and we will have been married for a full year. I know for those of you who have been married 5, 10, even 15 years, that 1 year is nothing. But still, it is a milestone for us! :) Anyways, back to the point of this post - Thanksgiving.

Randy & I headed north to Oklahoma Tuesday night after work. Wednesday Randy & Daniel went mountain biking at Lake Murray. I hear they have some pretty cool war wounds to show for their fun. Ask them about them sometime. Mom & I baked and cooked most of the day on Wednesday. Mom & Dad hosted Thanksgiving at their house last year and did the same this year. Thursday all my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents came to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. There was way too much food (as usual) and lots of full stomachs by about 2 o'clock! This year (which isn't normal) almost everyone had to head somewhere else for supper. Normally, everyone stays and we eat leftovers for supper. The boys braved the cold to play a little football and have a pecan war outside.

Friday was pretty laid back. Randy & I spent a couple hours at the doctor, waiting on a breathing treatment for Randy. It seems his allergies/asthma didn't appreciate the cold weather/pecan war/being in Oklahoma. We aren't really sure what caused all of his breathing problems, but after a 10 minute treatment he felt much better. My grandparents came up that afternoon and picked up the rest of the pecans from our pecan trees. The poor squirrels were wondering where all their nuts went that evening. We wrapped up our Friday with a double date with my little brother Daniel and his girlfriend April.

Saturday it snowed(very little)/rained/misted almost all day long. Mom & I put up the Christmas tree with help from Dad and Randy. It was a long process, but their house looks very festive now. Sunday we went to church and enjoyed worshiping with our friends and family in Marietta. It was good to see old friends and catch up on everyone's lives.

All in all Thanksgiving break was wonderful. A relaxing break, away from the busyness of Dallas, getting to be with family and friends, and most of all stopping to thank God for all his many blessings on us this past year. We have much to be Thankful for - much more than 1 day of celebration can represent.

Thank you God, for blessing us this year. Thank you for giving us your Son as our Savior and Lord. Thank you for giving us health and life. Thank you for our family and friends, our church, our jobs, a place to live, food to eat, a bed to sleep in, for our freedoms we take for granted. We don't deserve any of your blessings and yet you continue to bless us - without reserve. Thank you. We pray that our lives would be a thanksgiving offering back to you in how we live each day. Not to us, O Lord, not to us. But to your name be the glory.