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!

162 Days until Prince Caspian!

Ok, so you can call me overexcited, but I just had to share. There are 162 days until the new CHRONICLES OF NARNIA movie comes out - Prince Caspian. The first movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was a great hit. I loved it not only because it was based on C.S. Lewis' children's series, The Chronicles of Narnia, but also because it was a well produced movie. I don't want to ruin the story for any of you out there who haven't read the books, so I will just post the link to the new Prince Caspian trailer and let you enjoy it for yourself.

Prince Caspian trailer

Pictures!

Here at some of the pictures of our visit to Tyler to meet Bella Grace! Enjoy!

Bella Grace is here!

It's official! Randy & I are an uncle & aunt again! Bella Grace was born last night at 8:24 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long. Mom, Baby, and Daddy are all doing well. Randy & I are heading to Tyler to visit Kristi, Andrew, and Bella this weekend. We can't wait! We'll have lots more pictures after that.

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.

Weekend with the Family

This weekend Randy & I went to Oklahoma to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday with her, my dad and my little brother. It was a great weekend - we helped them work around the house (more on that later), then gave Mom a surprise dinner party that evening. Check out the pictures from this weekend below. Sunday we went to church with them, and then spent the afternoon just hanging out.

Today is Mom's actual birthday, so Happy Birthday Mom! We love you soooooooooo much! Thank you for all you have done and do for us. You have been a blessing to us and to so many others whose lives you have touched. I hope you have a wonderful day! Love you!

Other news - my parents have been remodeling their house for the past few months. They put on a new roof, with new porch, took out a wall between the kitchen and living room, retextured the walls and painted, put in new doors and windows and put in central heat and air. Needless to say, they have been very busy lately. Here are some pics of the house and of our weekend helping out.

Bella Grace - We can't wait to meet you!

This weekend Randy & I had the pleasure of traveling to Odessa, TX to visit his family and celebrate our new baby neice, Bella Grace. She is due around the first of December. Sonia's wonderful friends threw Kristi the sweetest baby shower on Saturday. Randy's dad Ronnie, and step-mom Lupita, along with his sister Katrina, and her cutie son Caleb, were also able to come in. We had a great time visiting with everyone and celebrating Baby Bella. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Randy = EMT :)

UPDATE:
HE PASSED!!!!!!!!! Randy just got the results of his test and he passed! Thank you all for praying. Our God is good, worthy of our praise!

EMT Test is here!

I should have blogged about this sooner, but I didn't. I was sitting here at work and realized there are people who would like to pray and may not know. Randy is taking his EMT National Registration test today at 2:00 (like in 5 mins!). Please be praying for him. I know he will do well. God has blessed him so much this far. Just wanted to share and let you be a part! love you guys!

The Weekend

Randy & I had a great weekend. Just visiting with friends, church, small group, resting, etc. One of my best friends Tiffany came in to spend the weekend with us. Tiffany and I have known each other since 1st grade (we think) and good friends since 3rd grade. We can't really figure out when we first met, but that doesn't matter, right?! :) Anyways, I got to thinking about my life and how much Tiffers has been a part of it. So I thought I would give you a snapshot of our friendship and let Tiffers know how special she is to me and now Randy!


This is probably the earliest photo I have to Tiff and me. It was the 1st grade field day and we were running the 100 yd. dash. I am in the dark pink shirt, blue shorts and pig tails. Tiff is in the lighter pink shirt with curly red hair. This is probably the only time in our lives I beat Tiff in a race! ha ha ha!


This next one was taken when we were in the 4th grade, Mrs. Armstrong's class. The 4th grade had a tradition of reinacting the Oklahoma Land Run every year. We picked our "families" and made our own "covered wagons." Then we were given stakes and allowed to go pick our "plot" of land. Tiffany and I, along with Natalie and Ramon, made quite the family. Oh, and the little person in the corner of the photo is my little brother Daniel who had to be a part of the action too! Don't you love our wagons, stick horse and lunch!

Then we move on to 5th grade. This was after our end of year awards/promotion ceremony. Our moms checked us out of school early that day and we got to spend the afternoon at Tiffany's house. We thought we were so grown up! I'm just glad I wasn't the shortest one, that would be our friend A.J. By the way, what do you think of our choice in fashion? Pretty cool for the 90's, huh? :)


I'm almost hesitant to post this next picture. It could probably be taken and used against us, but oh well! We were having Nerd, Geek, and Dweeb Night at church in Middle school and this is what resulted. Please don't hold it against us! We only were getting into the spirit of the night!

On to high school, where things got a little more civilized. Here are a few from high school in random places:

Then we graduated and left for college, ECU Tigers! Tiff and I ended up living on the same floor in the dorm we were in. Thank goodness for that. We both wanted to spread our wings a little, but it was so good to know Tiff was just down the hall when I needed someone familiar. Ask Tiff sometime what our dorm floor smelled like after cooking sauerkraut and weenies! Yum!

Next came Graduation. Me from ECU and Tiff from TWU. We had finally done it. School was finished (for now) and we were ready to start our lives in the "real" world. We both always wondered why they call it the real world? What were we living in before that, a fake one? Anyways, I digress. I got a job in Dallas working for Fossil and Tiff got a teaching job in Gainesville. We didn't get to see each other as much, but still did our best to maintain our friendship.

Now to my wedding. From the day Randy proposed, Tiff was there to offer help and support. She listened to me try to decide on flowers and a cake, went with me when I had my bridal portraits made, planned my personal shower and bachelorette weekend, designed our wedding programs (and dealt with all the printing problems), and created an amazing wedding scrapbook for Randy & I to use to capture all our wedding memories. I know she helped with way more than I listed here. These were just some of the highlights. She went above and beyond the call of a friend and for that, I want to say thank you, Tiffany!

You have been an amazing friend to me through the years. I can't wait to see what God has planned for both of us in the future. Even though we don't see each other as much as we used to, know that I love you (and Randy does too!). You are very special to us and our door is always open to you. Love you!

Please pray!

Hey there! A good friend of ours from church and our small group is 8 months pregnant. She was hospitalized yesterday for some complications with the amniotic fluid. I just got a text from her saying she was sent home today and her fluid levels were up so she is on strict bedrest. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. Her name is Sarah, husband Grant and little boy Rhett (18 mos). Thanks!

Out of Town - Heading South!

Hey, we are heading south for the weekend to visit friends. We'll be away from our computer and internet for a few days. If you need us call our cells. Have a great weekend!

Rachel & Angela - ready, set, go!

Labor Day Weekend

My cousin Waylon got married this weekend to his sweetheart, Nina O'Toole. It was a simple, elegant ceremony. Randy & I were able to visit with family and friends all weekend. It was great to catch up with everyone and see how things were going. Here are some pictures from the wedding.

EMT down, only Paramedic to go!

Randy got his final grade from his EMT class today. He got an A!!!! Yay! He got a 97 on his final. Don't I have a smart husband?!! I am so proud of him. So next time you see him, congratulate him. He started Paramedic classes today, so keep praying! Thanks!

Just us being silly!

Wow!

Wow! That is the closest word I can find to convey what I am experiencing and feeling right now. As you know, Randy & I are a part of a new church in Mansfield, TX. We have been a part of THE COMMUNITY AT LAKE RIDGE since it launched last summer. In that time we have had various roles and been involved in several different areas of service. The most recent (well, current) is our role in helping to lead the children's area/ministry - KidRidge. If you are interested in how we came into this role, email me sometime. It is way to long to include here! Lol! :) Anyways, we have been helping lead this area since around last October. That was when the most kids we had on one Sunday was maybe 25. Now we have 60+! How does that happen you ask? How is it that in roughly 10 month we have more than doubled? No, we haven't had any new babies born in our church (yet! We are expecting 3 by the end of the year!). We have grown because our church is growing. New families seem to be coming in every week.

Randy & I were getting ready for today yesterday and I was going through some of the old sign in sheets. On a Sunday in November we only had 13 kids! This past Sunday we had 61 and today had 55. Seeing us grow and increase in size that much has been a blessing and very humbling to know God is allowing us to be a part of it. People in the Lake Ridge corridor really seem to be seeking out a church family where they can live in community with other believers and grow in their faith. It is awesome to be a part of what God is doing in this area of the Metroplex. So when you think of Dallas, just say a prayer for our church family. Pray that we would be able to reach those families who are looking for a place to call home. Pray that Randy & I would have the wisdom to lead KidRidge to be what it needs to be for the kids. Pray for the people who TCAL will reach over this next year. Randy & I joke that this time next year we will have 120+ kids. Actually it may not be far from the truth, the way we are going now. I know God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called, so I know that He will see us through whatever lies ahead for our church and us. I am so thankful to be a part of it.

Psalm 22:27 - All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,...

Oh, and we had an end of summer Luau party for our kids today. Silly me forgot to take my camera! Wish I had so you could see all the fun they had. Oh, well. Here are some pictures from back at Christmas time. Yes, we were much smaller then!

Our Apartment!

Here is our new apartment - almost fully unpacked and decorated! It has taken a while, but we are almost there. Thought you might enjoy a peek in. Let me know what you think!

More weddings!

We went to another wedding this weekend. This time our good friends Rebekah Scivally and Lucas Winslow got married Friday night. The ceremony was sweet and simple. Here are a few snapshots of the night:



We also had the chance to catch up with Shane & Amy and Abby. Abby and her friend Kora had a blast playing chase after the wedding was over!

Tag - You're It!

Surveys are out, tagging is in. Since I was tagged by Brian Franklin, and this is becoming a chain effect, I think I must oblige in order to not be left out.

4 jobs I have had:

• Secretary, Photographs by Lawrence, Marietta, OK
• Babysitter (too many places and people to name here)
• Staff Accountant, Fossil, Inc.
• Senior Accountant, BancTec, Inc.

4 films I could watch over and over:

• One Night with the King
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Cars
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (I know, that is more than 4 but when you group them they count as one!)

4 Places I have lived:

• Marietta, OK
• Ada, OK
• Dallas, TX
• Grand Prairie, TX

4 Favorite TV shows:

• Smallville
• Numb3rs
• I Love Lucy
• Any old re-run (The Cosby Show, Full House, etc..)

4 Favorite Foods:

• Cheesecake
• Strawberries
• Enchiladas
• Chicken-fried Steak with gravy (yum!)

4 Websites I visit everyday:

• Hotmail.com
• Facebook.com
• Myspace.com
• Blogger.com

4 Places I would love to be:

• Camping with Randy
• Lake Tahoe, CA
• Australia
• With family - wherever

4 Favorite Colors:

• Pink
• Yellow
• Purple
• Chocolate

4 of my heroes:

• My parents
• Mike & Karen Smith
• Beth Moore
• Randy (my hubby!)

I tag Sarah Williams, Shannon Mints, Daniel Dugger, and April Dooley.

You need to do this, because as Jack Anderson would say, "I asked you nicely."TAG, YOU'RE IT!!

Baptism at the lake!

Last night we had another baptism service with our church, The Community at Lake Ridge, at Joe Pool Lake. 8 people were baptized! It was very exciting and amazing to be a part of the service. Our church is growing each week! Randy & I have been able to be in the service for the last 2 Sundays and we are just amazed at how many new faces there are. We don't even ask if it is someone's first Sunday anymore, because for most of the "new" faces, it isn't! They think it is ours! They ask how long we have been coming and we say, since the church started and it is amazing how many wide-eyed stares we get. :) We just laugh and say,we're in KidRidge most Sundays, so we don't always get the chance to meet all the new visitors.

Here are the pictures from last night. Enjoy!