New Year...New Me

Well, in our culture, it's traditional to set some resolutions at the end of a new year. Many people set goals that are completely unattainable or that they don't really even intend to complete or fulfill. Most resolutions fail because there is no resolute plan in place for how one is going to carry out or fulfill the goal. I am working on putting plans in place to fulfill the following goals, with the reasons for setting these goals noted.

1. Pray to God EVERY day. I want to grow closer in my walk with the Lord. I want to speak to my Heavenly Father regularly so that I can have a more intimate relationship with Him. One of the ways I am working on this goal is by reading The Power of a Praying Wife and I plan on reading The Power of a Praying Woman after completing the first.
2. Read the Bible EVERY day. Part of growing closer to God is about talking to Him (see #1), but I also need to let Him talk to me! If I'm going to talk to Him every day, I need to give Him a chance to respond through His inspired Word. I am going to do a chronological reading (the same one that I did this year) that can be found at www.thebible.net/read/chron.pdf This is the way I have read through this year and I have learned so much! My tip for anyone who chooses this method is to print the 80 page document (yes, it's 80 pages), and use the last two pages to mark your completed readings. This year, I read through in the NLT and I plan to use the ESV in 2010. If you mark your readings using the last two pages, you will only have to reprint those two pages each time you plan to read (so if you are a couple, you can share and only print the two pages twice).
   
3. Get healthy. Yes, I said get healthy not lose weight for a reason. Even though part of this goal is to lose weight, I wanted to have all positive resolutions. I plan to be at a healthy body weight by this time next year. For my height, the healthy weight range is 125-169. I am only a few pounds away from the upper end of this range, but ideally, I would like to reach 135. I would be content with 140, however. Some of the ways I plan to achieve this goal are: a combination of the 3-hour diet and Weight Watchers diet, 8 Minutes in the Morning workouts, wearing my new Shape-Ups (thank you "Santa"), using my new Shake Weight (I can already feel the burn!), and walking on the track at work on my lunch break (this means eating while I work...fun!). I have struggled with my weight for this past decade, but I am finished with struggling!!! I am going to get in shape and I am going to be healthy! Even though I have set a goal weight, I am more concerned with being healthy than the number on the scale. I do have certain "assets" that are larger than most people's that must be taken into consideration (and yes, I'm one of those lucky people whose "assets" don't get smaller, no matter how much weight I lose). Also, I plan to be very active, which will mean more muscle mass. I'm okay with weighing 150 if a lot of the weight is attributed to muscle.
   
4. Be the wife God wants me to be. So in our society, this one is pretty tough. Tell people your New Year's resolution is to lose weight, they will offer tips and suggestions. Tell them you want to be a more submissive wife and you want to give your husband the respect he deserves, they want to have you committed! Nonetheless, I am committed to loving Alan more every day and I want to be what God commands me to be. Hopefully, goals #1 & 2 will help me in working on this goal. I don't think this is one that I can truly "complete," but I plan to work at it every day for the rest of my life.

Well, this is my list of resolutions for 2010. If you have any tips or advice, please feel free to lend it my way. I am always interested to hear people's suggestions! I hope that I can also encourage others to make positive goals for their life by my example.

Happy New Year 2010!

The holidays are upon us...

Well, the holidays are upon us. I am so excited about spending time with family and having time off from work! Best of all, I'm getting PAID even though I have only been there for three weeks, I still get vacation pay! I love it!

Alan's mom was in the hospital over Thanksgiving and didn't come home until December 10th. She had to have a major surgery, but came through it well and is recovering at home now. We are both so thankful that we'll be able to spend Christmas with her.

Getting through the week she had the surgery was very difficult. We were in Huntsville because I was training for the new job there. Alan had taken the week off so that he could adjust to sleeping at night (he works third shift) before he had to take the LSAT. We were very stressed because we knew the severity of Kathy's condition, but were unable to go visit her before the surgery. The last day that we were there was the day she had her surgery. We drove straight from Huntsville to Sylacauga to see her in the hospital. After visiting for a little while, we had dinner and then headed back to Birmingham. What a long day!

Thanksgiving was fun for us, even though we didn't get to see Alan's family. We went to my mom's house after lunch at my grandparents' house. It was so much fun because ALL of my brothers were home AND all of the nieces and nephews were there! We played monopoly and I got second place...but I got beat by an eleven-year-old...lol :)

I went to a recipe swap at Erika's house and it was so much fun! Alabama winning the SEC championship made it that much more fun! The only thing that could have made it better was if Ashley could have been there :( We did have some fun watching the tow truck pull David's Blazer out of the yard...lol!

I went to an ornament swap with the Vestavia ladies and boy were there a lot of people there! We had 36! I ended up coming home with a Rock 'N Roll snowman ornament that is so cute! I did have a big scare on my way there. I was merging from I-65 to I-459 and there were about 6 cars in the second lane (the lane I was in). One car was lingering in the far right lane that was ending (there were MANY signs that said the right lane ended and to merge right). Well, they did not heed the signs and when that lane ended, they slammed on their breaks. Instead of continuing on and making them wait (since they had PLENTY of time to merge earlier), the car at the front of the pack of six SLAMS on their brakes...not a smart move considering the roads were wet (not soaked, just wet enough to make the oil and water mix and VERY slippery). I was about three cars behind them and there was no way I would have been able to stop without hitting the cars in front of me. I made a snap decision to change lanes to the left (no time to check the lane for cars, use my blinker, check mirrors, etc.). I prayed as I switched lanes that there was no car in the other lane. Thankfully for me, there were no cars in that lane and I was safe. I ended up switching lanes RIGHT before my bumper would have hit the car in front of me. I was okay at first until the seriousness of the situation hit me. I started shaking really badly and was at the brink of tears. The rest of the way to the party, I prayed over and over "Thank you, God." I was so mad at that other driver for not switching lanes in time, but I prayed to God for taking care of me and I tried not to be angry with that driver (what good would it do? I'll probably never see them again.)

Alan's birthday was Monday. We went to Firehouse to eat dinner and watched a movie at home. I love spending time with him! Money is really tight for us right now so I had to give him an IOU for a keyboard. I know he's really been wanting to learn how to play for a long time and I wanted to give him something to help fulfill that dream. I can't believe that's the 4th birthday we've spent together!

I'm almost done Christmas shopping...just a few little things to get. I also need to finish making two presents for Alan and one for his dad. I love the fun of getting presents for people. I like to try and get unique things that no one else would think of or appreciate like that person. I love the joy of finding a really good deal. Two gifts I purchased, for instance, were regularly priced $36 and I got them on sale for $4! How great is that!

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is looking at Christmas lights. We haven't done any looking yet this year because we aren't really familiar with the residential areas around here and don't know where to look. Even though we've been here for over six months (wow, has it been that long?!?), we still stick to the main highways, which have very few houses.

I'm so excited about the possibilities that are ahead of us! Alan is going to start applying for law schools soon. There are SO MANY out there and so much to consider. We both want to explore the country and think it would be so exciting to go somewhere different and out of state. At the same time, I finally have a stable, good-paying job and we don't know if I'll have that if we go somewhere else. There is just so much to think about and time is ticking! Right now, we are keeping our options very open though. I just can't believe law school time is almost here! I am so excited for Alan! This is what we have been looking forward to for so long...it's part of the 'Plan' he told me about when we were dating :)

There is so much that I want to write about, but just don't have the time! I have some serious housecleaning to do these next two weeks! Working outside of the home is one thing, but I am so busy and this job makes me so tired! I wake up at 5 am to start getting ready, leave for work at 7:20 am, work 8 am - 4:30 pm, don't get home til 5 or 5:15 pm (thanks a lot traffic!), change clothes, eat dinner, spend a little time with Alan and then go to bed! That doesn't leave a lot of time for housework! Also, the first weekend I had off from this job, I worked the entire weekend at my part-time job, which REALLY meant no time to catch up on housework! Now that I have two whole weeks off from work (hopefully off from part-time too), I can get some serious work done here! For right now, I'm going to stay at the part-time job also, until we can get caught up on some bills. I want to have as much money as possible saved up before Alan starts law school. Hopefully, he will get some scholarship money and we won't have to get too many loans. I think we can make it on my salary if we are very careful with our spending. We got some really nice things for everyone for Christmas this year, but I was VERY lucky to catch some incredible sales, so we ended up not spending very much at all (about $350 for 15 family members, 2 friends, plus each other's gifts). That may sound like a lot, but the actual value of all the gifts we purchased would be about $1500!

Well, I do need to get to bed so that I have energy for worship in the morning and to accomplish some things tomorrow in between services! Merry Christmas!

Things That I Am Thankful For

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list of the things that I am thankful for. I could never compile that list...there isn't enough time!

I am thankful for:

1. A loving God who has blessed me in innumerable ways (for a sampling of these blessings, see numbers 2 and following).
2. A husband who loves me so much more than I deserve, who is patient with me, and who cares for me so deeply.
3. My parents who raised me in the church and taught me what is right.
4. The time that I got to spend with my dad. I long for the day when I see him again. There are so many things about him that I miss and I wish that I had him for longer. If you still have your parents, don't take them for granted!
5. My mom who keeps me grounded by always reminding me to think ahead
6. My brothers, who have all taught me different things about love and life. Even though we don't always agree, I respect them so much and love them dearly.
7. My parents, who blessed me with 5 brothers to teach me strength.
8. My parents, who didn't give me any sisters so I wouldn't have to share any of my stuff :)
   
9. My oldest brother, Ray, who encouraged me to remain pure until I was married and was unafraid to talk to me about these things at a young age.
   
10. My brother, Jeremy, who is one of the reasons I am a faithful Christian today and a reason that I'm with my husband.
11. My brother, Jonathan, who is one of my best friends and who I can always talk to and be open with.
12. My brother, Patrick, who always challenges the way that I look at the Scriptures. I've grown so much out of conversations with him.
13. My brother, Tim, who helps me to remember that there is always someone watching you and that your example can affect others.
14. My nieces and nephews, who have taught me love and what true unconditional love is.
15. Ray and Ginger, who blessed my life with Alex, MacKensie, and Riley.
    
16. My nephew, Zach, who lights up my life everytime that I see him.
17. Jonathan and Dana, who blessed this world with a beautiful child like Zach.
18. Ray, Ginger, Jonathan, and Dana for giving me the nieces and nephews to remind me why I want to wait a LONG time to have kids :)
19. My MawMaw, who has been such a strong fighter these past two years.
20. My uncles, who have all proudly served in our military.
21. Two of my best friends, Erika and Ashley, who have each blessed my life in more ways than they will ever know.
22. My new job that I am so excited about!
23. My friends, Bethany, Robin, and Tiffany. If it weren't for you guys, I don't know if I'd have made it through college!
24. How everything ended in Jacksonville and that making it so much easier to move.
25. Our church family at Vestavia. They have taken us in and helped us to grow so much!
26. My two and three year old class, that teaches me patience and love.
27. The air that I breathe. Thank you so much, God!
28. Having the ability to go into my kitchen and drink clean water.
29. Living in a country where I can worship freely.
30. My job at Jo-Ann and how it has taught me patience and to learn that God knows what is best for me.
31. The Bible and it's ability to always teach me something new.
    
32. Jesus, for dying on the cross and giving His life for me.
    

Throwing Out 50 Things

So I've started reading a book Throw Out 50 Things and it is really motivating! I started in our bedroom (in the order that the book dictates) and, so far, I've gotten rid of about four boxes worth of stuff. I haven't been keeping count, but I am going to go back and make a list so I know exactly how many things I've gotten rid of. She says that helps you to really see how much you've let go of. The hard part, though, is that multiples only count as one item. For instance, if you throw out one magazine or sixty magazines, that still only counts as one item of your fifty. Either way, I am well on my way to fifty and I'm confident I will reach fifty before I go to bed tonight. I'll probably stay up a little late tonight because I slept about 13 hours last night/this morning. I've been a little sick and haven't felt very well at all, but I am starting to feel better and I have lots of energy since I haven't been able to do anything!

I am really excited about the holidays coming up! I've almost finished Christmas shopping, except for a few things for Alan and my mom. The hardest thing is that I've got to get Alan's birthday present also. I have an idea of what I want to get him, but it's going to be hard to find the time to go shopping for it, especially since next week has the most dreaded shopping day! I am very proud of myself for not procrastinating this year. I'm normally shopping right up until the last week before Christmas...but not this year!

I'm also really REALLY excited about my new job! This is the position right below my dream job and I will finally have health insurance! I start on December 1st and I can't wait! I am pretty nervous about it too, but I know that they are going to give me any training that I need. I'm also going to have all of Christmas break to look over my materials and get familiar with everything. I'm also going to have an OFFICE :) I don't know if that means a desk in a room with a bunch of other people, a cubicle, or an actual office, but I don't care! It's so exciting!

Just a quick thought

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting my hair cut again (8 inches). I had it cut back in June and donated 8 inches to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. It was a decision that I struggled with because my hair looked beautiful before I cut it (or at least I thought so). I had been growing it out since Alan and I started dating and had said that I was either going to cut it when I got a job (in my field) or when we moved to a new place. Well, the move came first, so I went through with the cut. Mainly, not even because of wanting to cut my hair. What motivated me was a little girl named Meghan Brittain, who fought for so long for her life, and a young man named Chris Turner, who had a short battle with cancer because of the severity of it when they discovered it. Chris was a patient of my mother's and it hurt me so much to see how badly it hurt my mom while he was in the hospital. The morning I was on my way to get it cut, my mom told me about Chris and how she had been crying on her way home from work each morning. That did it for me. I realized how much she had sacrificed for her patients and I knew that cutting my hair was a very small sacrifice in comparison to hers.

I had an appointment to get my hair cut at 3:30 on that day. Meghan died around 3:15, I think, and Chris died a few minutes before 4:00.

Well, another crossroads has hit me. I've been wanting to cut my hair again and it has grown out so quickly that it's almost long enough. And I have a job in my field now and, if I'm going to cut it, I want to before I start, so I've decided I'm going to get it cut the weekend before I start work!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^My hair before the cut ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Me at the salon^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^After the cut^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I GOT THE JOB!!!

I got a phone call today and I was offered the job with Extension!!! I am so excited! This has been a dream of mine for a long time and it's finally happening! I start December 1st and I can't wait! And, there are little added bonuses to getting a new job...I'll need a new wardrobe which means ShOpPiNg!!! Can't wait for that either! I'm hoping that I'll be able to catch some good sales with the holidays coming up. I'm not going to get too many outfits because I'm still trying to lose weight and don't want to have to alter too many garments. I am so excited that I can barely stand it! I am so thankful to God for giving me this wonderful blessing and I want to say thanks to everyone who has been encouraging me and praying for me these past few months! I am especially thankful to have Alan because he is such a wonderful husband who is so loving and kind and he has been so supportive of me and has encouraged me every step of the way. I can't believe how blessed I am!!!

Pray for Us!

I'm asking everyone to please say a little prayer for Alan and me over the next few weeks! Alan is taking the LSAT (for law school) four weeks from tomorrow! This score will affect how much (if any) scholarship money he is offered...and boy do we need that scholarship money! Also, pray for me with my job situation. It's been hinted that I might get a certain person's job where I'm at now. I also had an interview this morning with Cooperative Extension (dream job!) and I got a letter about setting up an interview in Montgomery for DHR. Hopefully, something will work out! I felt like the interview went really well this morning, but we'll have to wait and see :) We would both appreciate any prayers for us! Thanks!!!