A child of God educating other children.

Tim and I went to the mall today to get a couple links taken out of my watch that he gave me for Christmas. We decided to go to a few different stores to see who had the best price. In the midst of that Tim got shopping fever when he saw all of the after Christmas sales, and had to go check them out. We made 2 big hits.

First was at the Christian Book Store. Tim bought 2 books, and then we got a couples devotion by Jim and Elizabeth George, and I bought 2 other books by Elizabeth George, one of with Kym had recommended to me a while back, and then I also bought Angela Thomas' 2nd and 3rd books she wrote. I loved her first book I read, and had wanted to get her others but waited since they were full price, but tonight I found each of them for half off. This book store was having a major sale!

Our second great hit was at the Van Heusen store. Tim got some nice dress clothes and I got some cute winter clothes. We went to a few other stores, of which Tim got a couple things, but these were our good deals.

Tim is actually on the phone with a friend right now telling about his awesome finds he got. On the way home Tim asked if we could go shopping again tomorrow! We'll have to see if I've got the strength. I'm not a big shopper, but man, now's the time to go when Tim is excited about it! :) We might try to go see what kind of sales Old Navy has. We'll see.

Posted in: on Saturday, December 30, 2006 at at 8:10 PM 7 comments    

All of our Christmas pictures are up on Tim's photo album now. Hope you enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/rockinyp

Posted in: on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at at 8:03 PM 0 comments    

What a wonderful day! Tim and I woke up after struggling to sleep in 'cause of the smell of our Christmas Chicken. Something about smelling delicious food makes it hard to sleep. We stayed up 'til 1am while I prepped our Christmas dinner. I didn't realize how much work went into making a holiday meal from scratch. I had fun with it, but am glad it is over. I still need to do the dishes (tomorrow). :)

When we woke up I heated up the oven and kept putting dish after dish in until lunch. Tim built us a fire, although the house was already warm...we just had to make it at least look like Christmas. It's bright and sunny outside right now. Tim and I sat by the fire as he read the Christmas story and we ate our breakfast pastries. Then we opened up our Christmas presents from the family, friends and each other. God really blessed us with everything we received.

Tonight we will go to the Sones for dinner. It'll be nice to spend the evening with friends.

Tim posted some pictures of our Christmas with my family last night. Click here to see all our fun! And check out my previous post to find out more info on the pictures.

Posted in: on Monday, December 25, 2006 at at 10:50 AM 0 comments    

It's Christmas Eve and I have finished making my grocery list for mine and Tim's Christmas dinner tomorrow. I'm really excited about everything I am going to try to make. This is our first Christmas as a married couple, and both of our first Christmas' to be away from our families. It'll be a small quaint Christmas Eve and Day, but I'm looking forward to God drawing us even closer together.

Last week we went to my parents on Wednesday and came home Saturday. We had a wonderful time with my side of the family. Everyone was there. We went and saw The Nativity Story, played Imaginiff, drove around and looked at Christmas lights, Tim and I bought a tri-pod so we could try taking good pictures of Christmas lights after studying up on it a little bit. All of us siblings also surprised our parents with a Christmas picture of their kids.

Althought Tim and I wont be spending Christmas Eve and Day with family I'm glad we had the chance to be at my parents with our whole family together. Tomorrow I can focus on Christ's birth, and on my new family, Tim.

Posted in: family on Sunday, December 24, 2006 at at 2:07 PM 2 comments    

I was tagged by my Husband. So here's my 5 things...

1. I have lived in 12 different houses with my family before getting married.
2. While making a fist I can move the tendons over my knuckles.
3. A large wild turkey chased after me and sat on me when I was 4 years old.
4. I have been on 12 separate mission trips at least one week long since 1998.
5. I really enjoy photography.

Posted in: on Thursday, December 21, 2006 at at 7:50 PM 0 comments    

I have started my transition out of my receptionist/administrative assistant position. I am going to start substitute teaching. One girl was brought in who was a complete flop, so they had to start their search process over. This time through I prayed that God would send a great girl to take over 'cause I finally set a time limit for the company to find someone in time for me to train them. So my last day is the 29th.

Prayers were answered and the girl that is learning the ropes is doing great. She is a fast learner, has great phone skills, and has a warm personality. She will fit in great and do a good job.

I have found out a couple things about myself. One, I'm a busy body. I can't just sit around, I have to be doing something of some use. The last couple days the girl has just been watching me go through a full day, and today she tried to take over for the whole day. She did really well for her first shot, with a couple glitches here and there. I had to keep something to do at all times so I wouldn't step in and do my normal routine and not let her work.

Yesterday as she watched my day, we ended things early, which I have been doing the last month since I have the routine down great. So today when she took over she was a little overwhelmed with doing everything herself. Thats how it was for me starting off, with having things that had to be set aside for the next day, like she has for tomorrow.

I'm taking the next 2 days off that will give her a time to do everything without any help from me. I'm interested to hear how it goes.

Through this time I have also noticed how attached I have become to my work place. I absolutely love the people. When I was overwhelmed with first starting I had to concentrate on how God can use me to serve the people in the office instead of focusing on all there is to do. God has really blessed me with the change of focus.

I'm nervous and kind of sad though to be handing over my position to someone else. I have really enjoyed my time and am glad I have until the end of the month with them. I'm excited and nervous about substitute teaching. I'm ready to settle down with things and get into one thing I'll be doing for a while.

Posted in: work on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 at at 10:19 PM 0 comments    

I have a couple scarves for my hair that I wear when my hair likes to go everywhere. I would call these my bad hair-days, except when I wear the hair scarf I get more compliments on my hair than I ever do. I don’t usually wear trendy things or try to start something fashionable. The first time I wore my hair scarf I was pretty self conscious going to a church party, but then noticed another girl wearing one, which made me happy. I have only seen a few others wearing these. It sure does help me from worrying about how my hair isn’t cooperating when I get compliments for trying to hide the fact! :)

Posted in: on Saturday, December 02, 2006 at at 5:58 PM 1 comments    

Okay. It's over. Lorenzo chose Jen. And I'm not happy. I don't think I'd be really happy if he chose Sadie either...'cause I really liked Sadie.

Sadie was my favorite of all girls. I liked her morals and her personality and how much depth she had to her.
Jen I didn't ever really like. She just seemed so flighty and airy to me. I never really saw much of a connection with her and Lorenzo like I did with him and Sadie.

I really liked that Sadie wrote in her list of what she wants in a man "Someone who cannot fathom being with another girl." It frustrated me this whole final episode that up until the last days Lorenzo was saying that he couldn't decide which girl he liked. With that I really didn't want him to choose Sadie because she deserves someone much better than that. I'm frustrated and upset 'cause I hated seeing Sadie hurt. But I'm also relieved 'cause I don't believe Lorenzo deserves her.

I hope that all the "confusion" through the finale was just for the show. I really hope Lorenzo knew who he wanted the whole time. I am glad that he didn't propose at the end...but I'm confused as to why he still gave Jen the family ring. He didn't ask her to marry him, so what was that?

I hope that things do work out for Lorenzo and Jen. I'm interested to watch the updates on "where is the bachelor now" type specials.
I really hope that Sadie ends up finding an incredible guy who will meet every requirement she has. It is possible. I have the best husband for me. God has truly blessed me with Tim. I am so lucky to have him as my prince!

Alright, that's my rant on this season's Bachelor. I didn't miss a show. And Tim was wonderfully understanding about my addiction to the show, letting me have my TV time.


The Bachelor Rome

Posted in: on Monday, November 27, 2006 at at 8:05 PM 3 comments    

We had a good time for Thanksgiving with my family. It was nice to have my whole family together. I brought our wedding pictures to show everyone who didn't see them online. It was fun getting to look at our wedding pictures over and over. :)

Friday I was able to decorate the Christmas tree with Mom and Tim. Tim even suggested us listen to Christmas music and listned with us...which is a big deal for him!

We came home Saturday after hauling in our car full of stuff. I think we came back with twice as much as we took...and we even accidently left some things!

Today I restacked all of our things in the dining room to make space for everything we had piled infront of our fire place. Then I put up our Christmas tree and ornaments and Christmas decorations that my mom gave us. It's fun to have decorations around. On Saturday while at Target I loved looking at all the Christmas decorations they were selling, but controlled myself from even asking Tim for things we didn't need. We did buy some stocking holders for the mantel and our "First Christmas" ornament. After putting up the decorations we have I'm glad we don't have any more this year because we don't have the space to decorate any more.

Almost all our Christmas shopping is done. We just need to buy for 2 more and each other. Presents are staying on the cheap side this year...especially with me about to take a pay-cut so I can substitute teach instead of be a receptionist.

I'm curious to find out tomorrow how much longer I will have my receptionist job. It all depends on how long or fast it takes them to find someone to replace me. I'm pretty sure I'll have this week to work...and maybe next week? We'll find out. I have substitute orientation on Wednesday. I'm excited and nervous. I just need to make myself go into it with the confidence I have for receptionist work.

Posted in: on Sunday, November 26, 2006 at at 7:31 PM 0 comments    

Tim and I are at my parents for the week. My dad's parents are coming in this afternoon, then tomorrow we'll travel to my great uncle's for Thanksgiving when Jon and Brooke will come up. I'm really excited to see all of my family. We'll have great times!

Tim and I still had a few wedding presents to open when we got here yesterday. Someone got us the silverware we registered for! I'm so excited, they're really nice!

I am going to start substitute teaching next month, so I have to take a TB test. I have to go in tomorrow then back on Saturday to get my results. I found out this morning that I'm really cutting it close to get that done in time for orientation, but it's all working out just fine.

I am so happy that Tim and I have this week to relax and enjoy family. I can't wait to find out all the fun stuff we'll do. In just a little bit we'll go up to the church, see my mom's classroom, check out the newly renovated sanctuary. They started work on it a couple days after our wedding. Talk about timing!

Then for lunch today Tim and I are going to get chik-fil-a and eat with Katelin at her school. I can't wait!

Posted in: on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at at 8:45 AM 0 comments    

Well, I'm sick. I haven't been feeling well for a few days, and today is my second day to miss work. I was pretty determined to go today so we wouldn't miss out on a second day's pay, but we can definitely afford missing two days pay over a visit to the doctor. I've been resting a lot. I haven't been taking as much medicine, I feel semi-better, just weak and needing rest.

What really stinks is that I got Tim sick too. He's still working right now, but not doing great. We have 30 hour famine tonight and tomorrow...an over night youth event packed full with stuff...I'm so frustrated 'cause I don't think I'll be able to participate at all, unless God miraculously heals me before then...but I don't know how good it'd be for me to fast 30 hours while not feeling well. And Tim is suppose to lead most of the weekend, but he's not feeling well.

God has everything under control. This is God's work this weekend, not ours.

Posted in: on Friday, November 17, 2006 at at 1:46 PM 0 comments    

A while ago I came across a website to my favorite baby dolls. In third grade I went crazy about these dolls, and luckily puchased and received as many as possible before they were stopped being made after 2 great years!
"After two very successful years, Galoob arbitrarily and abruptly decided to discontinue the line, even though they were one of the most popular dolls on the market at that time."
I was searching ebay for a workout video and then decided to see what dolls are being sold with Christmas coming up...maybe I could get one? I know, I know, I'm out of college, married, and am wanting a baby doll!? I guess I'm still a kid at heart. But once you get a look at how cute they are, it's hard to turn them down!

There's a website dedicated to the dolls. I'm curious to know if anyone else remembers these baby dolls and became as attached to them as I did. Of course, I grew out of my doll phase, but luckily my mom hung on to the dolls for me. They are definately loved on, and I would never think about selling them. 'Course, some people are making good money on theirs to doll collectors, but that's for the ones that are in mint condition and have never been removed from the box. I would love to have one or 2 more of these dolls (different than what I already have) to keep and give to a daughter I will hopefully have some time.

Here are the ones I have:

#14 So Cute Carmen - rarity ranking 7

#9 So Shy Sherri - rarity ranking 15

#21 So Curious Cara bathtub - rarity ranking 9

#9 So Shy Shelia - rarity ranking 9

Posted in: on Saturday, November 11, 2006 at at 4:08 PM 0 comments    

I have been reading through Romans lately and loving it. The past couple of days I have concentrated on Romans 9 with verse 16 really sticking out to me.

"So receiving God's promise is not up to us. We can't get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy on anyone he chooses."

I am guilty of trying hard to be a good person to please God, putting more emphasis on what kind of person I am than focusing on God and letting God shape me himself. I love this verse, it really hits me hard. I already have God's promise. He chose me! There is nothing I can do to win God's affection. God is already crazy about me. So the best thing I can do is spend more time with God and develop our relationship, and then he will develop me into the person he wants me to be.

Posted in: on Monday, November 06, 2006 at at 7:38 AM 0 comments    

I love working with girls and letting God use me to be a light in their world. I love that we have a “Girls Only” forum on our Youth Chat Board where girls can open up more and we can discuss things going on in their life. After seeing one conversation I signed onto AIM which I haven’t done in a while and think I should start being more available. I had a wonderful conversation with one of our girls and I loved being a listening ear and offering advice when asked for. That was a highlight of my week.

Another highlight was going to an orchestra concert of another girl in youth group. After the concert, Tim and Jessica, and I went to CiCi’s with our youth and her family. It was so great to get to meet her parents and siblings. We had such a fun time and I think we really started to build a good relationship with them. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better.

I think parents are such an important part in youth ministry. Both of these girls I just wrote about are community girls. Meaning that they were invited by a friend in our youth group and their parents either attend at a different church, or don’t attend anywhere. With church kids we see their parents on a weekly basis, but community kids it’s a rare moment to meet their family. Another reason why I think it is very important for youth leaders to make it to student’s events.

Community kids parent’s let their students attend our church every week without knowing what kind of people their children are hanging out with. We all assume that youth leaders have to be good people since they’re at church. I think that parents really appreciate though when they can meet the youth leaders and see that they really do care about their child by showing up to their extra curricular events. It’s great to see the parent’s faces light up when they see a group of church people at their child’s even cheering them on. It’s good to know that their child is plugged in with good people.

Since I started student teaching and Tim and I got married I’m exploring a different role for my position in youth ministry that God is setting up for me. At church my heart is with the 6th-12th grade girls. And I think I’m starting to find that my area is in supporting these girls outside of the regular youth group setting. We have lots of youth workers who are available on Sundays and Wednesdays, but it’s sometimes hard to juggle more days than that with their families and work. I’m blessed that God has made me available for other days of the week. They also make for fun date nights for me and Tim.

Posted in: on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at at 12:49 PM 0 comments    

I got an email from a friend with a link to a YouTube video, and forwarded it to Tim, who then put it on his blog.
Go here to see the video, and then you'll understand this blog. :)

My heart broke for all the girls when I saw this video come to an end. Even after knowing that this girl doesn't look like they advertise her as, it's still hard to overcome all that culture has put into our heads on what we "should" look like. I would love to see magazines and billboards with real people on there who haven't had computerized touch-ups.

Even with watching tv, most of the women on there wouldn't normally look like they do 'cause they spend hours in the dressing room with professional make-up and hair artists working on them.

It's so sad what they're feeding girls! I'm curious to know how many guys actually expect girls to look better than what reality lets us.

Growing up I would force myself to not wear make-up for a period of time 'cause after a while I started feeling like I had to wear make-up. But I was just covering up what God has made. I didn't want to become dependent on it, and so self concious of what I really look like.

I love having a husband that likes what I look like naturally!

1 Samuel 16:7 (New Living Translation)

Posted in: on Thursday, October 12, 2006 at at 7:32 PM 1 comments    

I am watching "Deal or No Deal" right now and theres a girl from a small town of about 500 on the show talking about her tractor races and what not that they have in her town. This weekend in Austin something spured me thinking of the small town of Golden that my family once lived in, and I mentioned that there was probably less than 500 in the town when we lived there.

Well, while watching this show I wanted to check up on the demographics of Golden and of the little information I could find on the town I found out that in the years we lived there the town had about 156 people there. Wow that is small! I didn't realize how tiny that town is! I haven't had the opportunity to take Tim to Golden yet and show him around. I like going back to the towns my family use to live in. Golden has been my favorite to revisit. I love the small town country atmosphere. It was perfect for me and Jon to ride our bikes all over the town, and our parents didn't have to worry about us. Last time I went to Golden the little convenience store that Jon and I would by 1 cent candies at was still open! I have lots of great childhood memories from Golden.

LOL, okay, so I did some more internet searching for Golden just now. They are famous for their sweet potatos so I looked for their festival, which is actually the last saturday of October! Well, when looking for info on their festival I came across a site that has a little clip from the Oprah show a few years ago and she did a little segment on their potatoes!
Right now I am so pumped and would love to go visit Golden and be there for the sweet potato festival. Tim doesn't sound too excited about the idea, but maybe I can either convince him about it, or see if my family would go. :) I'm sure I just have my hopes up, but I just think it's great!

Posted in: on at at 6:41 PM 0 comments    

*One in five girls will experience some sort of domestic violence by the time they graduate from HS (family or on a date). These girls are dramatically more at risk for suicide, eating disorders, drug usage.
*If one is female and under 18 years of age, one is more at risk to be the victim of a violent crime than anyone else in America.
*Parents are busy and more stressed than ever ... The average mother talks a mere 7 minutes a day to her teenager; the average dad only 5 minutes.

Today was the last day of the National Youth Workers Convention. I had the opportunity to go to Kerry Loescher's seminar about "Dealing with Difficult Girls." God has put a passion in my heart for girls. So I was looking forward to this session all weekend long. One thing I didn't think would happen at the session was that I learned a personal lesson for myself. We talked about all the different types of girls in each clique and how girls relate, both positively and negatively with each other. The thing that got me the most (where I learned my own lesson) is in "Forms of Aggression." Here's the notes from that section:

Forms of Aggression:
Relational - acts that harm others through damage (or threat of damage) to relationships of feelings of acceptance, friendship, or group inclusion. The relationship becomes the weapon. Most of the time the silent treatment is used for this.
Indirect - allows the perpetrator to avoid confronting the target. It is covert behavior in which the perpetrator makes it seem as though there has been no intent to hurt at all. Uses other people to inflict pain on the target. Such as rumors.
Social - intended to damage self-esteem or social status within a group. This is usually in the form of put-down cloaked in humor followed by "just kidding." i.e. "OMG you are so stupid! Just kidding, J/K J/K." These statements are really hurtful.

Kerry went on to tell us that we need to teach these girls how to talk out conflict with the person they are in conflict with instead of running away from the problem and "forgetting" about it. For girls it is really hard to forget a conflict that you've had with someone. I know this from experience. So while Kerry is telling me this I'm thinking to myself, "Man, I wish I had someone to teach me about this." So many times girls will get in a fight/conflict and their relationship is over. When a relationship is healthy there is still conflict, but there is also the knowledge of how to talk through and solve the conflict. With being a newlywed there are little conflicts that come up with learning how to be with someone all the time. But Tim and I have learned how to communicate through these times, and we know that no matter what happens we still love each other and are going to give our all to our marriage and friendship. I have only had a small amount of friendships with girls that have this type of commitment. And I am sorry to say that I have lost a lot of friendships because we never learned how to face our conflict and it seemed easier to run away and "forget" about what happened.

Knowing how much of an impact it would have made in my life even now if someone would have taught me earlier in life how to handle conflict, I really want to be able to do this for the girls that God puts in front of me to minister to.

There are a lot more wonderful things that I learned about in this seminar, but most of it I need to read over and meditate on and start putting into practice with youth ministry.

Posted in: on Monday, October 09, 2006 at at 7:10 PM 0 comments    

Tim and I are having a wonderful time at the National Youth Workers Convention. We're learning a lot. I have a lot of things in my head that I will have to take time to sort through when everything is over. Not only am I bringing back new things to implement into youth ministry, but also many things that relate to personal experiences, with me alone and with mine and Tim's relationship.

It is so good to take the time to come here and get encouragement from all these people to continue in what God has put before us. Ministry can be draining at times, and although I knew that being a pastor's wife would be hard, there have already been a couple more things that I am learning about that I didn't think I would come across. It's good to be surrounded by others who are experiencing the same thing, or have already experienced it.

I will probably blog about some of the sessions we went to later on.

Posted in: on Sunday, October 08, 2006 at at 7:50 PM 0 comments    

Tim and I are leaving at 6am tomorrow morning for Austin. We will be joining thousands of youth workers all over the states to dive into a full blown weekend of seminars and worship to not only equip ourselves to better serve our youth, but to replenish ourselves. This way we can come back and implement what we learn.

Tim and I had given up on the idea to go to NYWC a while back. Our youth budget was cut tremendously so we couldn't afford to make the trip on what money was available for the convention. This week Tim decided to see if any of the youth pastors on a forum he gets on had any extra tickets for NYWC. Well, the president of Youth Specialties, MarkO saw Tim's p

ost on the forum and emailed Tim asking if he paid our way for the convention would we still be able to go.

Right after Tim got the email we both checked with work if we were able to go, and God worked through everything! I was able to get off tomorrow and Monday, so we can go to most of the convention. It started today if you paid the extra cost to get the early bird seminars. I am really looking forward to what Tim and I are going to learn this weekend. I assume it's huge since God worked such a miracle for us to come. Crazy!

Tim will be blogging throughout the weekend if you want to keep up with what we're doing.

Posted in: on Thursday, October 05, 2006 at at 7:42 PM 1 comments    

Work has been great. In the beginning I complained a lot 'cause I'm not in the classroom, but God is helping me through that and helping me to be content where I am right now, and reminding me that he has a plan for why I am where I am right now.

I have gotten tons of compliments from work. I know I'm good at doing paperwork/receptionist work, organization and multitasking come easy for me...when it's doing something for someone else. (Now come to our apartment and you wouldn't think that of me at all.) :) Although I know I'm good at what I do at work, it is so nice to get compliments. It gives me energy and helps me to appreciate helping the people I work for when I know they are grateful for it. I didn't get my first compliment until 3 weeks of working, but it was totally worth the wait.

My first compliment was from the manager. He said that the others in the office have been really impressed and like having me there. And that I'm a great help. Wow that makes me smile just thinking of that! And then the lady who I have worked with the most so far came to me and told me what a great job I'm doing, and that even people who call the business and I transfer their call to whoever they need have been complimenting me and asking, "Wow, who do you have answering the phones now?" I even had a man who calls quite a bit and then visited one day tell me how pleasant it is to call now and have someone nice answering the phones.

My main job is answering the phones so they're not ringing all over the office bugging people while they work. And then my paperwork and data entry I do in between calls. That's when multi tasking comes in very handy, with remembering where I left off...and sometimes answering the phones while continuing what I do when I'm in a time crunch. That gets kind of annoying at times, but I know the people calling are my top priority so I make sure I always have a friendly voice and am more than happy to help get what they need.

I don't work directly for the company I'm at. I work for a temp agency who has hired me out to this place. The temp agency sent in another girl for a temp-to-hire position in the office and lasted a week and a half. I don't know if I raised the company's expectations, or if the girl was just goofing off a lot, but I was told someone new will be coming in to interview and try out for the position, and that they asked for someone like me! :) Or actually what the HR lady said was, "I told them we'd like to have another one of you." I think that was probably my biggest compliment so far at work.

My temp agency has also told me that they have gotten lots of compliments when they take our HR person out for lunch, or talk to them.

God knew exactly what I needed to help me be content with where I am working. He knows what lights my fire to keep me going. So I have started liking where I am more and more.

Posted in: on Sunday, October 01, 2006 at at 7:15 PM 1 comments    

You'd think since I've lived in Texas all my life I'd be use to the weather, or at least not mind it. But I am so tired of it. My favorite season is Fall 'cause I like when it starts to cool off and I'm not sweating every time I step out the door. Last week we had a couple mornings were it was cool and I wore a jacket, but then by the afternoon I was glad I had worn a sleevless shirt.

With our couple nice days last week Tim and I tried to save money by not using our AC and just open our windows. Only thing was there wasn't a breeze blowing through, so it was hotter in our apartment than it was outside. We tried to put up with the temperature inside as long as we could, then ended up breaking down and turning on the AC.

We went to Target and Wal-Mart the other day, to buy a fan to help cool down our apartment and go without the AC, except, the fans are all gone and the shelves are full of heaters. I understand it's October, and any normal place would start getting cold right now, but I wish stores would consider the location they're in, and tend to the weather that place has. This week is going to be in the 90s all week long, so a heater is not going to help us at all.

Although I'd rather it be cooler, it is nice to make smoothies. It's a nice refreshing way to stay cool in the heat.

Posted in: on at at 7:08 PM 3 comments    

I think from now on if someone asks if I can cook, I will say yes.
My roasts have been a success, and I even made good gravy.
My chicken is great and makes for wonderful chicken dishes throughout the week.
I just made my favorite smoothie! :)

I was laughing at myself this morning while preping our chicken. I noticed that my nose stayed wrinkled the whole time 'cause I'm completely disgusted by what preparations have to be made. But I just keep on reminding myself of how wonderful the chicken will taste for lunch. I even tried to stop wrinkling my nose at the chicken, but it didn't work. :)

So for lunch Tim and I had chicken, noodles, green beans and black eyed peas. With lots of left overs. We didn't have anyone over for lunch today. We enjoyed a fun and relaxing weekend together. I get so drained during the week with work and us only getting a few hours at night, that the weekend is wonderful to refill our tanks.

For dinner I sauteed some onions and through some chicken in left over from lunch to make chicken fajitas. We bought corn tortillas for tortilla soup which I will make later this week, and so decided since we've got way more tortillas than we'll need for that we'll have tortillas. So we had corn tortillas, sauteed onions and chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream and salsa. What a great meal!

I'm loving having homecooked meals instead of a meal out of a box or a frozen meal. I feel more healthy actually seeing each ingredient used too. And I'm having fun cooking too! It's kinda like science for me. Home experiments! :)

And to end my day of cooking I made my favorite smoothie so far. After I threw all the ingredients in the blender I had to come back and look at the recipe 'cause all it called for was fruit. No milk, no yogurt, no ice. This was the first only fruit smoothie I made. Well, almost all fruit, instead of oranges I used orange juice. Close enough though.

I found a recipe that was close to something I could do with what we have, and then had to tweak it a little. I definately recommend this one:

2 cups frozen red seedless grapes
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 banana
1 cup orange juice

Posted in: on at at 6:47 PM 1 comments    

I am watching the Tyra Banks show right now. They are doing talking about chatrooms and myspace and how dangerous it is for kids. A lot of the information and things they are showing are shocking. Pornography and sexual conversations are easily accessible to kids. With web cameras and all the technology that is available it's more dangerous. Live with her study audience Tyra is posing as a 14 year old girl in a chatroom getting hits buy way older men showing their everything with their web cams. Theres no special access you have to get to see things like this, only have the knowledge how to get a screenname and sign in.

This reminds me of about a month ago I was bored one night and decided to look around on craigslist.com Tim and I were looking for furniture before, and I decided to see what type of people had put adds on trying to find a mate. The women I saw on there seemed innocent and genuinely wanting a friendship/relationship. The first man's add I saw had a horrific pornography picture of him. And that was on craigslist that you can use to find jobs and furniture and tons more.

Most of all I want people to be aware of the online dangers out there. Whether you get in chatrooms and have myspace, or know someone who does, especially your kids. Keep an eye on it, have an accountability partner for it, just be safe.

I do believe that there are safer online communities. For one, I use Facebook. I through out my Myspace and switched to Facebook. No one can see your profile unless you approve them as a friend. I like that very much.

There are still lots of precautions to take even if you believe you're in a safe community. Especially with blogs. I try my hardest to not reveal the town/city I live in, where I work and so on.

Over all, be safe and be smart. And don't disregard all the warnings people try to give about things. It's easy to shrug something off thinking, "it wont happen to me" but I bet there are a ton of people out there who regretted having that mentality.

I recorded this episode of the Tyra Banks Show to watch again and catch things I missed 'cause I was typing on here. I have really come to like her show. It's a girly show, talking about important issues to girls and women. I have come to like Tyra Banks more and more over the last year. I don't approve of all the photo shoots she has done with her modeling, but I think she has a lot of good advice and wisdom to share with women.

Posted in: on Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at at 7:22 PM 1 comments    

Baptism has been a common topic between Tim and I lately. When we first started dating we talked about all our differences in beliefs and were able to come to an understanding on each others beliefs and knowing that the purpose of being in a relationship with someone is to see if they are a fit mate for marriage. With this we knew we had to be equally yoked in faith. With Tim growing up Baptist and me growing up United Methodist there were a few differences. The first 3 months of our relationship were really tough finding out if we were equally yoked with each other or not. But God used that time and each other to sharpen our faith and study the Bible and learn why we believe what we do, or change our reason for believing something to fit what we learned from studying the Bible.

Tim and I were both baptized differently, and accept each others baptism. I spent some time Friday afternoon studying scripture about salvation, really enjoying my time I had with God. Tonight I did a little internet searching on baptism.
I looked up baptism in Wikipedia.org and here is a section of what I found.

Form of Baptism

Among those Christians espousing the practice of baptism, the ritual is performed as:

Aspersion - sprinkling water over the head,

Affusion - pouring water over the head, or

Immersion - lowering the entire body into a pool of water.

For Christians who baptize by pouring or sprinkling, the washing with water from above pictures the cleansing of one's sins by the blood of Christ, by the Holy Spirit, who unites the baptized person to Christ in his death, and in His resurrection from the dead. It is administered from above to point to that gift of the life-giving Spirit, and to portray baptism as an act not of man, but of God. In contrast, a person baptized by immersion is enclosed under the water and brought out, to signify cleansing through death and burial with Christ, and consequent raising again in newness of life by the Holy Spirit. Regardless of the form, baptism is a public rite, in testimony to others of the grace of God bestowed upon the person, and as a seal of God's promises in Christ to those who believe.

If you want to read more from Wikipedia you can go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism

Posted in: on Monday, September 25, 2006 at at 8:03 PM 1 comments    

I read my first book about Ann Frank this weekend. I had heard her name growing up and heard people having to read her diary for class, but while in school I didn't like to read, and I wasn't about to read something I didn't have to for class.

Now I really enjoy reading and am working through a box of scholastic books I have bought over the last year. I read a biography on Ann Frank and am completely interested in her. I want to go and buy her diaries now to read next and add to my library. I stayed up late reading because I was so mezmorized by everything Ann and her family went through. The events of the Holocaust have always struck me hard. It is such a horrible event that it's hard for me to grasp the reality of it. And then noticing that it really was not very long ago that it happend is even harder to grasp. I started to calculate the years to see which of my relatives were around during that time. I'm curious to know their view on everything while it was going on.

Events of her life that I read about continue to run through my head after reading about her life. I am so grateful for the life God has given me.

Posted in: on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 at at 8:49 PM 1 comments    

Ice cream use to be on our grocery list every week. We've been trying to eat healthier, but still crave a sweet cold treat. We've been mixing yogurt and fresh fruit with whatever else a recipe might call for, but usually having to substitute for something else we have. Some have turned out okay, some could be better, and some have been pretty good. I think we've had a smoothie every night this week. Tim has been experimenting most of the time, but tonight was my turn. I made an Apple-Blueberry smoothie. I've been craving that combination for a few days now. I found a recipe online and then had to tweak it a little because of some items we didn't have, but we had something close.

It called for the same amount of yogurt and apples so I used the yogurt cup to measure with. Instead of vanilla yogurt we had blueberry yogurt. Then instead of fresh apples I used apple sauce. So I did one yogurt cup of blueberry yogurt, one yogurt cup of apple sauce, a few fresh blueberries, half a yogurt cup of milk, and 4 ice cubes. It turned out pretty good. A little too much blueberry, I could've done without the fresh ones. Towards the end I was able to taste the apples more.

Posted in: on Thursday, September 14, 2006 at at 7:33 PM 0 comments    

The manager had me crunch some #s for him, but first I had to blow up the paper he gave me so I could see the numbers a little better to work with. So I had to figure out how the enlarger works and how to make it back to normal. When I went out onto the production floor to pick up some papers to enter into a database one of the ladies was having trouble with her copier and couldn't figure out how to make it print normal again instead of enlarged. I was so excited to get to help her. And so thankful that God had me do something earlier in the day that dealt with that so I could help her. Praise God for experiences we go through that help others! I introduced myself to her after I helped and found out her name. It's good to know people by name. I go out to production every day, but don't know many of the people who work out there. I know the front office staff, and thats about it.

My not so good for the day is:
When I was on our street almost to the apartment I passed a school bus going the other way noticing the driver yacking away on her cell phone with lots of kids in the bus. I got pretty irritated with it, but then thought "Well maybe she has to talk right now and can't help it. Maybe she is taking care of something." But then about 5 mintues later as I was about to walk inside I saw her again still yacking away with kids in the bus. The first time I saw her I decided to let it go, but when I saw her the second time I made sure to see what district it's in and the bus number. Now I just need to figure out what number to call and report it. That's really scary having a bus driver talking on the phone. For one, it's a really big vehicle, and for two, there were many students lives in her hands at that time.

Posted in: on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at at 7:53 PM 1 comments    

I go from blogging a lot in a condensed amount of time to not blogging at all. With work I haven't been able to find a good routine to get into yet. The only pattern I've made so far is not cleaning anything during the week and leaving me lots of work to do on the weekend which usually ends up making for a late Sunday night. Which I need to get started on so it's not too late. But first I think Tim and I are going to watch a movie. We try to fit in as much together time as possible on the weekends before we're apart all day long during the week.

I tried to make cookies from scratch yesterday. I had about 5 turn out okay. The rest I burnt. It's probably a good thing 'cause they were so high in fat and sugar. It'll probably be about another month or so until I make them again...for our health. I bought a blender last week with our Dillards wedding money. I was saving the Dillards card for work clothes, but after shopping a couple hours, walking all over the store and not finding anything I liked, I called Tim and asked if it's okay that I buy us a nice blender. We've used it many times. Tim has gotten good at making some really healthy smoothies. We're trying to go without buying icecream, so our healthy smoothies are a good exchange for a good fun dessert.

I have been a success in cooking some things though! I'm not a complete failure in the kitchen. :) My roast today was awesome. And I was able to make good gravy with the juices. I was very excited about that. We had one of the youth guys over for lunch and he even got seconds on the gravy!
Also, last week I cooked us a chicken and had guests over. With the chicken broth and chicken left over I made homemade chicken noodle soup. That turned out really good too. And Tim went back for seconds on that!

I love it when people go back for seconds on my cooking!

Posted in: on Sunday, September 10, 2006 at at 6:44 PM 3 comments    

I just posted a ton of pictures. To get them in order you'll have to go backwards in posts, but forwards in order of the pictures in each post. Sorry if that's confusing. I posted all of my favorites at http://picasaweb.google.com/danawayman. I couldn't help but the share these pictures though. It took a lot to cut them down to this many to put on my blog, but I still think I over did it.

I could use some prayers. Work is going great. I'm really good at clerical work, or actually now being an administrative assistant. I'm stilling being trained in one or two new things each day. I think theres still more to learn tomorrow. I've been impressed with how I've been able to multi-task so much. And I completely give the praise to God God 'cause I wouldn't be able to do it without him. So why do I need prayer? 'Cause even though I'm good at what I'm doing, I would love to be in the classroom. It's not going to happen this semester, and I know that. So now I am trying to be joyous in the fact that God has given me a job to help support Tim and I and I should do this out of servanthood to Christ and Tim. I have a hard time every once in a while longing for a classroom, like when I was swamped with paper work and wishing that I could be spending time impacting children.

Posted in: on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at at 7:16 PM 0 comments    

Closing up the reception with the garter throw.
All changed and ready for our honeymoon!
Waving "goodbye."
Alas, a stow-away. We knew to look for one though after David and Adrienne's wedding last year. 

Posted in: on at at 7:13 PM 0 comments    

Hanging out with 2 of our youth girls from a previous church.
Eatin' some cake. I was so happy that Tim wanted to be nice about it.
Tim trying to fit the whole piece in his mouth. And me trying not to get it all over him.
And of course, you can't have a wedding cake without the bride and groom kissing afterwards. 

Posted in: on at at 7:10 PM 0 comments    

Visiting with family after the wedding and before our huge family portrait.
My aunt Cheryl. Her husband, my uncle Denny performed the ceremony for us.
Talking to my cousin Justin who is recently engaged and Tim's PopPop.
Tim and I waiting to be announced at the reception. 

Posted in: on at at 7:07 PM 0 comments    

Yes the kiss was long enough for one camera to get each of these shots! :) 

Posted in: on at at 7:06 PM 0 comments    

My brother Jon visiting us girls in the bride's room.
Jon and I! I love this picture!
Tim and I had a foot washing.
His socks were sooo hard to get off. They were so tight it felt like they were suctioned on to his feet. 

Posted in: on at at 7:03 PM 0 comments    

Mine and Tim's Moms.
My beautiful bridesmaids posing with their flowers.
Mark with all the ladies.
The Schmoyer guys hanging out before the ceremony. 

Posted in: on at at 6:57 PM 0 comments    

Tim and I telling Mark right before the wedding that he has a solo and that we hope he practiced.
Everyone smiling for the camera except Mark seems to be trying to figure out if he really has a solo or not. :)
Isn't my husband so cute!
Tim's brother David and his wife Adrienne. And Tim's sister-in-law Maggie and her husband (Tim's brother) Dan. 

Posted in: on at at 6:52 PM 0 comments    

Brianne mailed me the cd of her pictures she took at the wedding. Although I'm about the post a lot of pictures on here there are a ton more at http://picasaweb.google.com/danawayman. I wanted to choose a few of my favorites to put on here though. I had to delete 2/3 of my favorites that I was about to post though. :) I love these pictures!

Brooke (my sister-in-law and Matron of Honor) helping me squeeze into my dress. I cracked up seeing my expression!
Tim and his little brother Mark getting ready for the wedding

Me and my little sister waiting around before the wedding.

We took most of our pictures before hand so I had the photographer's wife clear out the foyer so Tim and I could have some alone time before all the craziness began...Well mostly alone time except for our photographer, his wife and Brianne. They are special. ;) 

Posted in: on at at 6:47 PM 0 comments    

This will be my first full week at the office. I'm glad I only had part of the week last week to get my feet wet. I'm nervous/anxious for some reason, and can't really pin point why. I think mainly I am just bummed that I'm not in my own classroom. I started helping out in the children's Sunday School class today instead of the youth, so that was nice to get to be with younger kids. I'm not really sure what God is doing right now. I'll have this job for 2 months, which makes substitute teaching impossible 'cause I'll be missing the orientation this Thursday. And even if I could make it, I'd have to turn down subbing positions for 2 months, and probably just after 1 that'd be enough to not get any more calls. So then I'll just have November and December without a job of what I can see right now...but maybe that could be time to call around to schools and see if anyone needs to hire a teacher for the 2nd semester? I have no clue. I am grateful that God has given me something stable for the next 2 months to make more of an income for Tim and I.

The people in the office are all very nice, and this keeps me busy during the day. I think I'll be feeling better after I've been there for a whole week. I think I just need to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Posted in: on Sunday, August 27, 2006 at at 6:51 PM 1 comments    

I am exhausted! I had a wonderful week. It seems like forever ago that Tim and I celebrated our one month on Tuesday. Work was good. That's why I'm exhausted though. I got up at 6 Wednesday morning, then after learning a little about the traffic decided I'm good for waking up at 6:30 and leaving by 7:15. Those 30 minutes make a huge difference!

Wednesday all I did was answer the phones and stuff a few envelopes. Yesterday I learned what to do with the invoices and go to go to about each one. Then today I did the invoices on my own. Fridays are crazy in the office. The phones seemed like they were ringing non-stop, and today was pay-day for their employees, so I had people constantly coming in the office. I got my user name and email set up today so I can do the rest of my duties. I'll probably be learning a few more things Monday and Tuesday also. It's defiantely the most involved temp job I've had, but it's paying better also.

I also really like each person there. I'm still meeting new people each day, and they're all very nice. My favorite is the first lady I met when I got there Wednesday. She is a very sweet hispanic lady. Theres just something about her that I'm drawn to. It's just obvious that she is a very caring person. I already know that on Monday I'll be meeting 2 more people in the office. They were out this week for some training, so that'll probably up my work in the office too.

I'm exhausted each day when I get home, but I'm happy that I'm able to help pitch in financially with my family. :) I started to feel a little sick today, and right now I'm feeling that way again. I need to go to sleep, and I will when I finish this. When I got home from work today I cooked Tim and I some hotdogs for dinner so we could make it to a volleyball game where 2 of our youth girls were playing, then left early to go to the marriage seminar at our church that our pastor is leading. It'll be most of the day tomorrow too. Then after that or on Sunday I need to clean the apartment and go grocery shopping. I also need to find time to work on thank-you notes. I thought I'd have time during the week after work, but between dinner and working out and trying to pick up a little, I didn't. Maybe next week I'll have more time. As much as I was worried about not having a job for our finances, I am really appreciating that time off I had now.

I miss Tim like crazy when I'm at the office. I took a wedding picture of ours to put on my desk so I can look at it throughout the day, and I get to call him on my lunch break for a few minutes. I'm excited to get to spend all day with him tomorrow. I need it.

Posted in: on Friday, August 25, 2006 at at 9:13 PM 1 comments    

Today went really well. Towards the end of work I started making notes of what I could blog about, but I'm too tired to make this long. I woke up at 6 this morning to leave by 7 so I could make it in to work at 8. I didn't know how the traffic would be, so Tim suggested me giving it an hour to go 23 miles in Dallas traffic. Well, I left 5 minutes before 7 and got to work 40 minutes early. So I just sat in the car and read until 7:50 then made my way inside.

The company is a huge postal service place so it's super secure. Everyone there is completely clean with nothing on their background history. Everyone has to go through an extensive background check to work there since they're dealing with over a thousand companies in the DFW area's mail. With the security I have this really cool magnetic key card that I just wave infront of the lock thing to open the door. That was fun.

I only did part of the job today since Wednesdays are their busiest days and since it was my first day. I answered the phones for 40 different lines. Only of which 25 I really had to transfer to. I also have to page people on an intercom if they're not at their desk. It took me almost all day to stop being nervous to page people over the intercom because everyone working hears my voice on it. I also sorted the manager's business cards, just to give me something to do, and mailed out about 8 things. It kept me busy all day.

Tomorrow they're going to give me even more work to do. Today I was able to read a book in between calls, but it sounds like this was my only day I'll get to do that. I'll still bring a book just in case, but it looks like things will be picking up. I took a few pages of notes which I was able to squeeze onto one printed out sheet of paper. You have to learn fast with being a temp. I'll be here for the next 2 months it sounds like. The people are really nice and helpful. I think I'll like it there.

Posted in: on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 at at 5:58 PM 1 comments    

Today marked mine and Tim's one month of being married and 3 years of being in a relationship. To celebrate we went to dinner at On The Border. It was nice to get to go out to dinner, we've been very careful not to do anything extra, so we could save up for our dinner tonight. Tim posted a little about it at his blog too.

Yesterday I applied to be a sub, and today my cousin Jeana called me with a place needing a receptionist. Although I would like to be in a classroom, subbing isn't ideal for me since kids are usually tough on subs. Also, with subbing it'd be the luck of the draw for me waiting around until I get a phone call to come into a classroom. With the temp agency I've got a job for at least the next 2 months as a receptionist from 8-5 Monday-Friday. It'll be a pretty far commute. It's 23 miles, Tim and I drove out there after dinner so I would know where to go in the morning, but it's something stable right now to give us a little more income. Now I'll just be praying for Tim's car to be okay with a commute like that.

I'm really excited to have a place to have to wake up early and be at. I worked out to my pilates video and took a shower just a bit ago so I will sleep well tonight. I'll probably go and make my lunch before bedtime so I wont have to worry about doing it in the morning. I have to there at 8, so I'll probably leave the apartment at 7 which means I'll be waking up around 6.

I have really enjoyed not working with Tim working every other day, 'cause that gives us every other day to sleep in and spend extra time together. It'll be interesting to see how me working changes things around here.

Posted in: on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 at at 7:39 PM 0 comments    

I woke up at 7:30 this morning to make it to the district office to turn in my application to substitute teach. Luckily I didn' t leave the apartment any later than I did 'cause I was one of the last people they accepted. They cut off the number of subs at 80. I think I was #75.

I got back home, put on some grungy clothes 'cause I've gotten tired of dressing up for interviews. And I made a tunafish sandwich for lunch. It's kinda one of my comfort foods since my mom made tuna a lot at home, and I haven't had it in a while since Tim doesn't like tuna. I just felt like pampering myself a little today.

After lunch I rested for a little bit, Tim came home and we got to hang out for a little while he took his lunch break. Then I got our grocery list and shopping list and spent some time out of the house. I bought more Thank-you notes to finish up our thank-yous for wedding gifts. (If you haven't gotten a thank-you note yet, it's coming. I promise. Just give me a little time. There's a lot to write.) I also bought some labels to make my own return address labels 'cause I got tired of writing out our address over and over again. It's a long address!

Then I went to the post office to buy a roll of stamps and then on to the grocery store. I used a few coupons to go grocery shopping and absolutely loved shopping with coupons! It's so nice to see the price go down as they scan in the coupon. It's even nicer to see how much money gets taken off when they scan in the Kroger Plus Card. We saved about $13 with the plus card and coupons. Not too much, but it still makes a difference!

I rushed home to get all the frozen and cold and fresh foods in the apartment. It was so hot outside I didn't want the icecream to totally melt in the trunk or our fruit to go bad. It probably wouldn't have even if I had taken my time...but it kept me out of the heat too. :)

Lets see...I put the groceries away, cleaned up the kitchen and bedroom and bathroom and living room and vacuumed each room. Got everything organized to write a few thank-you notes. Then took a break when Tim came home and we cooked left over spaghetti and made a salad together. After dinner we got to talk to Tim's mom and Grace. It's so nice to hear when Tim comes to me saying, "They want to talk to you." I love that! Makes me feel so welcome to my new family I have entered into.
I am real big on family. I cherish my family that I grew up in. Immediate and extended. I hold my parents and siblings close to my heart and have a longing for the next time I see them. Now that Tim and I are married I have even more people who are part of my family now, and I am so excited to develop deeper relationships with each of them.

After dinner Tim and I went for a walk, which was much needed for me. I've gotten overwhelmed every once in a while lately, so it was nice to get some energy out while holding Tim's hand and talking to God while we walk and having conversations with Tim. It was a great time that I will probably hang onto for a while.

I have been so impressed with Tim. With how much he has laid aside to serve me. I can't remember when the last time was that he played Guild Wars, which before all the wedding fiasco he would play every night almost. And I got so sick of that game! So that has been my biggest amazement of him. Also, my love language is physical, so sometimes I just need a random hug, or for us to sit on the couch together with his arms around me, and Tim will drop whatever he is doing to tend to my needs. He helps out around the house, and really just makes sure I'm okay. He is really paying close attention to my needs and finding every way he can to meet them. God is really using Tim to witness Christ's love to me. And that witness challenges me to try to do the same for Tim. I am amazed by how much God has shown me and is teaching me already with our marriage, and I love it!

Posted in: on Monday, August 21, 2006 at at 8:53 PM 1 comments    

God has started teaching me a few new things lately. I know He's got a lot of work to do in me right now. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I know it wont be the easiest times, but I can't wait to see God's work.

Tim and I got a new devotional to do together each night before bed since we finished our first one. I really love that time together, and this new devo is really challenging me, Tim too I think. It gives us discussion questions and an application after each devotion. So last night we were challenged to pray for each other every day specifically for 3 prayer requests that we gave each other. We are suppose to pray for those every single day for the next 30 days and see how God moves. I am really excited about this to not only see God move in our marriage, but to see our marriage grow stronger.

I have really enjoyed reading one of our youth's blogs. Lexi has such a sweet spirit. She is constantly looking for ways to challenge her faith and strengthen her relationship with Christ. She has really become an inspiration to me. I love commenting on her blog and getting comments back. It's started to be one of my highlights of my week.

Our church has been asking for children's ministry helpers for a while now, ever since I can remember. Everyone was asked to pray about it and see if God wants us to step up and help, so I did. I went to our youth leader meeting last week, and sat there looking at all the help the youth ministry has, which hasn't had to ask for volunteers. I didn't commit to doing small groups this year because I didn't know what I would be doing this semester, actually I still don't know. So now all I have been doing with the youth is talking to the girls at church and online, which is one of my favorite things to do. And I've been sitting in on the youth Sunday School to put another adult and a girl adult in there. Well, small groups is well covered and on Sunday mornings theres usually Tim, me, and one or two other guy leaders.

So with praying about the childrens ministry and looking at the ministry I've been active in for the last couple of years, I am switching ministries. I want to teach elementary school, but ever since I've been in college I've helped out with the youth. I'm bummed that I don't have my own classroom right now, but I know God has some amazing plans for me. So I stepped up and became a helper in the 3rd/ 4th/5th grade Sunday School classroom. I'll start next Sunday and am really looking forward to it. I will get to hang out with elem students at least once a week. I am going to watch the main teacher teach next Sunday to see how he usually does it, and then I'll lead the next lesson.

I think if I had my own classroom right now then I probably wouldn't be helping out the children's ministry. I'm bummed to not go to the youth Sunday school class, but I'll still be able to keep a relationship with the girls through aim, blogs and occasional phone calls, and seeing them at church. I'm also missing the fact of working side by side with Tim in his ministry, but this moves me into a different relationship to help Tim. Now I can help him behind the scenes in ways that I couldn't help before by being one of his volunteers. This is what I have wanted to eventually do, but it's still hard leaving a designated time with the youth. I'll still be around though...I am still the youth pastor's wife! :) So that's gotta give me some type of priveleges! ;)

Posted in: on Sunday, August 20, 2006 at at 9:26 PM 1 comments    

I had an interview at a Chinese Pre-School. I laughed yesterday when I found out that the person I emailed my resume to for a pre-k position was at a Chinese pre-school because it took me by surprise. The lady called and left a message. She sounded Asian, so I looked up the school and saw what it was. I called her back 'cause I thought it'd be pretty cool to get to know another culture…and I wouldn't have to travel out of the country to do it. So I agreed to have an interview the next morning.

What it comes down to I think is that they're just really desperate to get a third pre-k teacher in their school. They're not desperate enough though 'cause they're wanting someone full time and to only pay $20,000. That's nuts! In the morning the position is teaching 4 year olds who all know English which is good. And the afternoon is teaching 3 year olds which half speak English and half Chinese. Not so good. The man I actually ended up interviewing with said that they might be able to give me $21,000 or $22,000 for full time since I have my certification, but that's still a part-time salary for full-time hours and work.

It'd be fun and a good experience, but it'd be probably a 45 minute commute in traffic, and the pay doesn't make it worth it. They asked me if I could start Monday, and I didn't have the heart to tell them right then that it wont work, so I told them that I would talk to my husband and give them a call.

Posted in: on Saturday, August 19, 2006 at at 9:04 PM 0 comments    

I absolutely loved my flowers for mine and Tim's wedding. My favorite part though was working with the lady from Ruth's Flowers. She was so sweet and I could tell she really knew what she was talking about. I didn't have a picture to go by and know what the flowers would look like before hand, but I could tell she had a vision and was very excited about it. That gave me more confidence than anything. I probably would have worried if I had a florist who didn't have a passion for what they do, but had an exact picture of what I wanted.

She did such an awesome job I figured I could give her a little advertisement.

Ruth's Flowers
3501 Texas Blvd.
Texarkana, TX 75503
Phone (903) 793-6711
Or (800) 526-1106
www.ruthsflowers.net


Bridesmaids bouquet from above.
Side view of bridesmaids bouquet
My bouquet. How gorgeous is that! I don't think it could have been better.
The bouquet I tossed. Very cute!


www.ruthsflowers.net

Posted in: on Wednesday, August 16, 2006 at at 3:25 PM 0 comments