*Walls*

I finally have real walls in my house now!!! This is a view from my front door looking into the living room.

They came out and started hanging the drywall in the house on Saturday. The crew worked so hard all day long and got the majority of the whole house finished. They ran out of some certain drywall that they needed but they're back out there to finish hanging it today. Tomorrow the finishers will come out and start taping and mudding the drywall. By next week we should be ready to start priming and painting them!

We've already picked out the colors we want to use in every room and I am very excited about them. They may be bold and bright and a little different than some people's taste but they are all rich, warm and happy colors that all go well with each other from room to room. The walls in our other house were all the same color and just a pale tan color so I'm looking foward to having some real depth and warmth in this new house. And all that really matters is that Jordan and I like them.

I just think its amazing the transformation that takes place during a house building project. I can remember staring into the wooded land trying to imagine my house being nestled in the middle of the trees. I remember as each step progressed how I still kept trying to picture my house there and now its finally emerged from the bottom and sprung forth into this massive structure that even I am amazed by. It's even more than I could have pictured or imagined. As each day passes and the reality hits me more and more I am suddenly becoming so overwhelmed by what God has done and how He did it.

It will forever hold a special place in my heart b/c it was the labor of my dad, brothers, mom and husband...as well as other family members too. It has truly been a miracle and I am ever so grateful and thankful! As soon as I can load some more pictures up I will try to post some so that you can all see and appreciate all that has transpired over this last 6 months. I am as anxious to be finished as I am to watch the remaining steps go by!

Wow! =)

It's almost here

Fall weather, that is! There are several things to love about Alabama weather: when the seasons change, they change! A couple of weekends ago (I know I'm posting this late) I woke up to a chill in the air. I walked outside and actually thought that I may need a light jacket. We went from high 90's to low 80's overnight. Talk about a drastic change! But I absolutely LOVE it! Spring and Fall are my two most favorite seasons ever! I love how the weather is never too cold and never too hot but always just right. Spring has this feel of life and new beginning in the air. The colors of the grass and trees budding and all the new flowers that spring forth are so vibrant and lively. Fall has a totally different feel. The leaves start to change into brilliant reds, yellows and oranges. Absolutely beautiful! But the atmosphere seems to be unlike the other seasons. There's almost this cuddly, fall in love excited atmosphere. Maybe its just me but there is just something in the air in the Autumn months that just isn't there in the Winter, Spring or Summer. Does anybody out there know what I'm talking about?

I hope you are all looking forward to this new season as much as I am! I'm really hoping that I will be able to get back to running now that the temps have simmered down...oh how I miss it!

New toy!

This is our new toy! It's a Samsung mp3 player. We had a mail in rebate for 2 Free mp3 players with the purchase of our new refrigerator. I just got them in 2 days ago and got some songs uploaded on it yesterday. I just LOVE it! It's not a Ipod but its still a 4GB player and holds tons of songs, photos and even has FM radio. I ordered a cover and an armband for it. Now I can listen to music as I'm running (when I have time to get back into that!). We will take them with us to Uganda next month and any other trips we go on from here on out. I think I'm finally becoming a techie! If anyone already has one of these though I'd love to know how you create a playlist on it. I go to the playlist icon and it says No File. Any clue??? I'm new to this and could use some more detailed isntruction!

I just wanted to share it with you b/c I'm so ecstatic over it. I carry it everywhere now! Love! :O)

*A Getaway*

So lately (for like a year now) my life has been hectic, hectic, hectic. I'm not complaining at all b/c I am thankful that I have a life and that I am involved in activities. But when you're constantly on the go and you never have a second to take a break it can really start to wear on you mentally and physically. Last week I was mentally, physically and emotionally drained. It also didn't help to remind myself that all last week Jordan and I would have been in Orlando on a long overdue vacation...sitting by the pool, visiting some theme parks, visiting with my grandma whom I haven't seen in 4 years. So many things that I would have loved to be doing last week but instead I was getting up at 4:30 every morning to come work at CRC, going home in the afternoons to work in the house, getting in bed late just to get up at 4:30 and start it all over again. I didn't want to be anywhere...I would have loved to just get in my car and drive till I ran out of gas. I didn't want to see the house. I didn't want to see the camper. I definitely didn't want to see CRC. I wanted a change of scenery; a break from the monotany. Jordan told me earlier last week that he was going to take me on a date Friday night. That was a relief and a break to look forward to. However, our "dates" consist of going out to dinner and catching a movie if they have anything decent and worth seeing. So Jordan calls me Friday morning and asks me what I want to do that night. I said, "I don't care but I don't want dinner and a movie." He says, "Oooh, you had to make it tough on me didn't you." I just stressed to him that I wanted to do something different. With so much going on in both of our lives we really haven't had any "us" time so that was another area that we really needed some TLC in. He calls me back a little bit later and asks what the earliest I can leave from work is b/c what he wants to do we would need to be there no later than 6pm our time. We would have a 2 1/2 hour drive so it was important for me to leave as soon as I could and that I would need to pack us an overnight bag. What could this be?? I left work around 2:15, rushed in and packed a bag and then we were off. As we drove I realized we would be heading to Chattanooga but I still had no clue where he was taking me. In my mind I am praying that he's not taking me to the Chattanooga aquarium but trying not to think of things I'd like to do so as not to be disappointed if that was not what we did. I like aquariums but they are so much more fun with kids. I just can't enjoy all the fish as much as enjoying the excitement on a kid's face as they experience the vastness of ocean life up close and personal. Fortunately, we passed by the aquarium and headed down towards the Tennessee River. He took me on the Southern Belle Riverboat!!!!!! We had a buffet style dinner with prime rib, veggies, rolls, herbed potatoes, salad and some other soup type stuff that I didn't eat. While dinner was being prepared we were able to go outside and stand on the bow of the boat as we headed up the river. The weather was perfect...not too hot and not chilly enough to need a light jacket. That perfect in between temp that just makes you feel snuggly! After we ate dinner we were able to go back outside and enjoy the view on our way back down the river. It was a total of about 3 hours and quite possibly the best 3 hours I've had in a LONG time! Jordan and I were able to talk about a lot of different stuff...quality time that we had not had in a while-no discussion of house construction or house budget. It was a very romantic and special time for both of us! After the boat ride we headed back into downtown Chattanooga to find a hotel to stay at for the night. We chose the Hilton Garden Inn...it was not very expensive at all!! It was worth it for the king size bed and large flat screen TV in the room. They had a big fluffy down comforter on the bed. I felt like I was in heaven...especially if you could see what we live in every day right now! A full size bed tucked up in a cubby hole and when you roll over you hit the wall beside you. Ugh! This was lavish and luxurious in comparison! We brought our bag in and decided we would stroll down the streets of Chattanooga. We wandered back down to the River and sat by a big fountain display. That was relaxing! Then we moseyed (sp?!) our way back towards the hotel. We detoured through the grounds of the aquarium and past some restaurants. We saw horse drawn carriage rides...Jordan said he wishes he had known they did that b/c he definitely would have planned that for us! Sweet! Could we afford this one night getaway? No! But we couldn't afford not to either. As our lives continue to be as busy as they are it will be mandatory and beneficial for us to have moments and weekends like this in order to keep our sanity and keep our marriage as strong and healthy as ever. We will definitely go back to Chattanooga and visit some other places there to see. How soon? I do not know; but when life seems a little too much and it seems difficult to make it through each day, I know the time will be drawing closer for another getaway. I'm thankful for a husband who dropped his schedule, his budget and his time to plan a special weekend away. He is the BEST and I love him so much more every day! Next month, October 11th through October 21st we will be in Kampala, Uganda establing a ministry headquarters for the Bishop. We are excited about returning and anticipate the Lord to do many awesome things while we are there! Please be in prayer for us during that time and I will post details when we return! Stay tuned to this blog in the mean time b/c there's no telling what's going on!!! Love you all!! And if you're reading my blogs...just post a comment so I know who's actually here! Thanks!!!

Thankful

Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 4:15 am I am awakened to my cell phone ringing. Odd that I receive a call so early on a Saturday morning but I answer it. My mom informs me that my brother, Johnny, has been in an accident and is being taken to the emergency room via ambulance. She has no details at that time but is on her way to the ER and will call me once she gets there to let me know how he is and the extent of his injuries.

Naturally, I could not go back to sleep and immediately spent that time waiting, in prayer. I did know that he had been somewhere he didn't need to be and was doing something he didn't need to be doing but when God has a plan for your life, you can run all you want but it can't change the plans He has for you.

About and hour and a half later mom called me back. Johnny was coherent and appeared to be fine. His upper lip was cut open on the inside from where he hit the steering wheel and he had several cuts, bruises and scrapes on his arms. The doctors were going to do a CT scan and X-rays to make sure there were no broken bones nor internal injuries. Results of that would be a little later.

In the meantime, the details of the accident go a little something like this according to the eye witness who made a statement to the police:

Johnny was driving on the interstate and passed this man. As he was passing the man looked over at Johnny and saw him slump over. He had fallen asleep at the wheel and apparently when he did, his foot became lead on the gas pedal. He accelerated and went off the interstate headon into a tree. The truck caught on fire upon impact but Johnny was still asleep/unconscious. The man ran down to the truck and knocked on the driver window trying to wake Johnny up. Johnny woke up *miraculously* and got his legs out from under the dashboard to kick out the driver side window. The engine was shoved into the cab of the truck. The gas pedal was shoved up to where the steering wheel was...the steering wheel broke off completely. The gang box that was in the bed of the truck collided into the cab of the truck. The whole truck basically folded up like an accordion.

CT scan and X-Rays came back clear. No other injuries! The first picture above is a view of the front of the truck. The passenger side sustained much more damage than what is pictured. The 2nd picture is a picture of the driver seat where Johnny sat. The 3rd picture is the extent of his injuries! Just a busted up lip, scrapes, bruises and a knick on his right knee cap where the gas pedal came up at. He is a walking miracle and I give God the glory for the angels He commissioned to protect him that morning. I am thankful for the man God sent on the interstate at that time of the morning who ran down and risked even his own life to try to wake Johnny up. If he had not been there I believe Johnny would have burned up and never known what happened. See, when God has a plan for you there is NOTHING the devil can do to stop it!!!!!

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY & PRAISE!!!!!!!!!!!

Simple Thing

"I felt the earth beneath my feet; Sat by the river and it made me complete; Oh simple thing where have you gone?" This quote reminds me of my childhood days. Do you remember yours? Carefree days You played outside all day Ventured out into uncharted territory--always to discover something new and exciting Chasing butterflies in the Spring Playing in the creek in the heat of the summertime Pretending the leaves that fell in Autumn were dollar bills, so you tried to see how many you could catch before they hit the ground or it wouldn't count Counting down the days till Christmas with anticipation Vacations Visiting grandparents Playing on swingsets... Where did those simple things go? Now, its all about jobs, bills, vehicle maintenance, grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning, spending equal time b/w two families, running here, running there, busy, busy, busy. Is it possible to find the simple things in the midst of the chaos? If so, please tell me how! I've concluded that if our bodies did NOT require sleep, I could probably takcle the world! But, even in the chaos, I have peace and joy that no one can take away. I can face the chaos with joy b/c of Who is in control of my chaos. Occasionally, I'd just like to take an enjoyable vacation away from my chaos. Even still, I am thankful for my chaos...b/c I know that my bills get paid, I have food on the table, I have a home to clean, I have a vehicle to drive, I have a job...See, what could almost seem like a negative blog can turn into something beautiful...and my life...beautiful! Wow! God is so good!!!!!!!!