11/5/11

today i am thankful for my little brother, nathan. nate-dawg (as i affectionately call him) turned 14 today!! i am so sad that i missed out on his birthday dinner. nate always chooses to go to outback steakhouse...i wonder if in a few years it will be something more like, ruth chris' or flemings??? anyway, i will never forget when nate-dawg was born...i was a typical teenager and not real enthusiastic about anything having to do with family :) my friends all thought it was kind of cool to have a little one to coo over and play babysitter for...he eventually grew on me too! :) nate has always had a strong personality...mixed with my strong personality, you never know what is going to happen when we interact. sometimes we get along great and other times its like oil and water. remember, nate is also an 8th grader this year, that doesnt usually help my case! nate likes to rub in the fact that he is now taller than me...he also likes to tell me that he is smarter than i am, but that is not truth!! :) i wish that i had more "older" pics on my computer of nate and i over the years, but they are in photo albums...before the true digital age. here are a few of my favorites that are on my computer:

as the ring bearer in my wedding, 8/2006, age 8

family pic, he think he is so cool!! 9/2007 

very typical, still!!! easter in ohio 2008

first year (and first game) of gull lake football, 6th grade 9/2009

whole family for thanksgiving, nate had just turned 13. 11/2010

my last night in MI before moving to texas...look how grown up they both are! 8/2011

i love you, nate dawg, you will always be my little bro, no matter how big you get. i have missed a lot of your growing up, but i am so proud of who you are becoming! continue to keep going after your relationship with the Lord; He is the only One who will never let you down! you have some amazing talents and abilities, remember to use them to help others, not just yourself! we are blessed to have one of the most amazing mom's...take good care of her...you have to give respect to get it! know that i am always in your corner, praying for you, here to encourage you, and always love you!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE-DAWG!!!

blessings, ALo

11/4/11

Day 4: I am thankful for my amazing bed! After a day like today, I love getting in to bed, recapping the day with Peter, pray, then fall asleep knowing that tomorrow is a new day!! And thankfully, since today is Friday, I get to sleep in with Peter tomorrow!!! :)

I hope you sleep tight! Sweet dreams!!

Blessings, ALo

11/3/11

today i am thankful to live in a country where i am able to openly and publicly worship God. i know that there are people here in america who are trying to suppress that freedom, that makes me very sad for them. sad that they do have the kind of relationship with their Creator where it is impossible not to feel overcome by joy from Him, joy that they want others to see and feel and experience. i also know that there are many men and women who have fought to protect that very same right, and that right for other people in other countires. my brother is one of those people. i will always be grateful, thankful, appreciative of those who willingly serve to protect me and my beliefs.

today i am also thankful for the men and women who serve as missionaries both here in america and across the globe. some of these people are able to be open about their mission, but a great number of them have to "hide" and find other ways to show people God's love for them. i get so excited when i think about meeting some of these great warriors in Heaven!

tonight at COF, we had our monthly gathering for a night or praise and worship, we call it "first thursday" (because that is when we have it, the first thursday of each month). it is such an awesome time of prayer, and praise, and worship! i love going because i can walk in and not think about what is going on in the student building, or what i need to rush out to do right after for the next weekend service, etc. first thursdays is all for me...i purposely go to be fed and to grow and to enjoy. tonight was no exception and i walked away so refreshed and excited! tonight we focused on prayer for those serving the world...places that we are a part of missionally, people that we know who are serving, people/groups that are being ministered to through those people, etc. each prayer was followed up with songs of praise. in the end, pastor mark asked us to reach out to those around us who were grieving or going through a trial (by show of hands) and pray for them. then he asked us to join hands all across the room and pray for person on our right and our left. we were supposed to share a simple request with the person on each side. my friend, jacqueline, was on my left and peter was on my right. at this point i was already starting to tear up so i didnt say anything, they both knew what my request was (just like i am sure that if any of you were standing next to me you would know too!) then we prayed. mark told us to pray, and because there were two or more gathered, to claim that prayer as heard. to reach out and claim the promise that God had for each of us. now, isnt that exactly what i wrote yesterday? it was awesome!!!! so, today i am also thankful for COF and first thursdays and all the amazing things that are going to come from the service tonight because of the power of prayer!!

can i have three things (really more than that) in one day? well, i just did. :) 

here is one of the songs that we sang tonight (also a fav of mine!!)

blessings, ALo

11/2/11

day two: i am thankful for God's promises. 

in the midst of everything that has happened in the last year, i keep clinging to the promises that God has for me and for my family. i am thankful that i have a God that keeps His word!! i wish that i was a little more patient, but i know that He is truer than true to His word and i will not be disappointed. I will be blessed because of His love for me. This should be my praise everyday...there are certainly enough blessings to be thankful for. i have to be careful not to listen to the devil...his telling me that God's timing is not good enough, that God has forgotten about me, that only some of the promises are intended for me, etc. satan wants us focus on the things we are missing out on, on the things that will drive a wedge between God and us. choosing to be thankful has that same affect on satan...it drives a wedge between us and him. 

what promise from God are you clinging to right now?

blessings, ALo

11/1/11

that is a lot of ones!!! i kinda like stuff like that...all ones in the date, when the clock reads 10:23 (my birthday), etc. i am really excited for 10/11/12 and dates similar...i know, i am weird. so, since it is the first of november and since november is the month of thanksgiving, i am going to blog everyday about something that i am thankful for. some days the post could be lengthy and go into details, somedays you might get lucky and it be just a simple statement, and some days it could be something i am thankful for along with other things that are going on. wont you be on pins and needles now, trying to guess what the blog for the day will hold?? :)

day 1: today i am thankful for honest conversations. i had the privilege of having several of those today. i had my first official day on staff at COF today, which on tuesdays means a staff wide meeting followed by team planning. i was so encouraged by the staff meeting...to be circled up praying for each other, praising God for who He is and what He does and then praying against the devil for each other. this after watching 94 people get baptized over the weekend! but tonight was great! my new friend, justine, came over and we did nails and made (kinda healthy) quesadillas and just talked...for hours. she just left and i feel like i have now known her forever. we were open and real. we talked about our lives. we laughed and we cried and it was all totally normal and comfortable. i am thankful that God has allowed our paths to cross and that we feel able to just chill with each other.

i am not sure if i mentioned it in my last post, but i have been working hard in the gym for the last 3 weeks. i work out with some younger girls (well, younger than me is what i mean), justine included. i have been so sore the last two days...in a good way! i have not seen any huge number change on the scale, but i have felt a difference! i have so much more energy, i feel much stronger, less flabby, and i have felt less emotional too. the first week was really hard for me...to show up and be shown up, but i have come to realize it doesnt matter. the girls i work out with are perfect, because we all push each other in different ways and they are just glad that i try...great encouragers! :) hopefully, this will help my body be a better environment for when i get to be a mom/incubator again. until then i will just keep pedaling along and sweating it out!!! :)

so, what are you thankful for today? this week? this month? i encourage to think about it...make a list!

blessings, ALo

I'm Back!

i have actually missed blogging! i am not sure if you have missed reading these posts, but either way, i am back! we are all moved into the new house and we finally got internet late thursday afternoon. i havent been able to blog since thursday, because life has been CRAZY the last few days. eventually, i will post pictures of the house, but right now i dont have a single room "finished". once i do, i will start adding pics for you! until then, thanks for all the prayers! everything went great with the closing and moving, etc! we love the house! peter is still adjusting to the commute, but everything is good! i have been really good about bargain hunting for stuff...it has become somewhat of a game with myself...and one that peter is totally fine with!! :) i cant wait to have family come visit for thanksgiving!!

so, today is my birthday...yep, i am 29...i might be 29 for a while, just sayin! :) anyway, peter and i didnt have much planned in the way of birthday celebration this year, and its a good thing because this weekend has ended up being nothing like we thought it would!! originally, we knew that today would be busy because there was a HUGE "tailgate" party at church today. it was like a carnival...and it was so awesome! there was a BBQ cook-off, funnel cakes, kiddie rides, the texans football game on about a dozen big screens, and well over 3000 people! it was so fun, but after being a part of the regular 4 weekend services for middle school and the tailgate party, i am BEAT tonight...totally feeling every one of those 29 years!! :)

well, the big bummer of the weekend was that peter had to miss everything and ended up in bed all weekend unable to walk to do gout. :( we have no idea what brought it on, but it has been awful for me to watch him in so much pain! peter is not a complainer at all, so for him to almost pass out from pain, i knew there was a serious problem! saturday morning was spent in the urgent care...thankfully, he was given some anti-infammatories and medications to prevent any future flare ups. so crazy! he is feeling a little better now...able to walk some! please pray that we can find a good family practitioner and that we can figure out why he had this episode! 

i guess i was a little (maybe more than a little) emotional about my birthday this year. i really dont care about getting older...29 isnt bad anyway. its just that a year ago at this time, things were so different! this year has been so crazy! to say things have changed is a mild understatement! last year, i was 9 weeks pregnant, so we thought this birthday would be crazy because we would be lugging around a 5 month old! we are living 1100 miles away from our friends and family, who always make a big deal about my birthday with me (do you know that i LOVE birthdays??!!). and then for peter to be down for the count for the whole weekend was a major bummer! i was emotional thinking about all that i was excited about last year is now gone/different/harder. i let myself have a moment, but then sat up and counted all the things we were blessed with this year. peter has a new job (something we had been praying about for over 3 years), our transition to a new city and home was been pretty much flawless, i have made some amazing new friends over the course of the last year, and we are (mostly) healthy. the biggest blessing in my life over the last year is my growth in my relationship with God. it had gotten a little "surface-y" for a while, and this year i have been pulled right back by His side. i have open dialogue throughout the day with God, and its awesome! i am back into serving in youth ministry with a team that loves and cares about students! peter and i are growing together in our relationship with God. we each have a desire to know HIm and what He wants for us. yes, some seriously crappy things have happened over the last year, but some even better, more awesome blessing have happened too!

this year, i am greeting my birthday, not with any less cheer, but maybe a little more guarded or with a few more reservations/lower expectations. i know that God has good things for me, some major blessings...but i dont want to expect them on my schedule. i am praying this is an even bigger growing year for me than last year! i want to be better with age!!!

countdown: 364 days until the DIRTY 30!!! :) i am telling you now...even if i have to plan it myself...you are all invited to a big bash to celebrate! :)

thank you for all the birthday wishes, thoughts, and prayers! i am truly blessed!! love you guys!!

blessings, ALo

This and That

a whole week without blogging...weird! i cant even say that anyone was really missing out. nothing "big" happened...well, at least not anything i really felt like blogging about. we did have inspections done on "the house" and ended up doing some shopping this weekend. house decor/furniture shopping with my husband was fun/interesting. when we bought our home in ohio, we didnt have to buy very much furniture...everything had been given to us/handed down from family (thanks again, family!!) we still have most of those pieces, but since we are pretty much tripling the square footage of our home, we need more furniture. what has made all of this so interesting is that my husband actually has an opinion about all of it. most guys would tell their wives to just go pick something out so that they could stay home to watch football. well, peter could care less about football AND he does care about what goes into the house. its fun because that means that i have some with a vested interest shopping with me. its interesting because we disagree about pretty much everything in life, including house decor! :) we did find a few things to agree on...score! on saturday, after shopping for several hours and walking through 4 stores, we found a cool cajun restaurant for lunch. if you have plans to visit us here in texas, dont be surprised if we take you to "ragin' cajun" for a meal. it had good food, outdoor seating, and a fun atmosphere. so, back to the inspections, we have to get 2 new water heaters (the existing heaters are more than shot) and repair the air conditioners. the draw back of buying a foreclosure is that we can not ask the seller to replace/repair items...the house comes as is. but, those things were still out weighed by everything else that we liked about the house (not excluding the cost!!!). we are hoping to close the deal on wednesday, but friday at the latest, according to the bank.

things at the church are going great. this weekend i came home after the 5pm sunday service, exhausted. i love middle schoolers, but i get worn out mentally with them! right now, i am still on a volunteer status at the church, but i am doing everything that i will be doing when i do take the job. i am calling this a trial run. november 1st will be when i make the "official" decision. peter and i have been going to the 9:30 am service together and volunteering together for the 11:30 am service. i am also there for the saturday night and sunday night services. we really like the church. the worship was awesome this weekend...i didnt want it to end!! so...still excited about being a part of COF and really looking forward to being a part of the "team" with jason, blake, and rachel! again, if you are planning a visit, you will have to come on a weekend to experience all of it with us! :)

so, i am addicted to pinterest. its not a secret. it has been true for a while now, but it is just getting worse! i am like my friend, elizabeth (btw isnt she so cute with short hair??), in that pinterest is killing any type of weight loss i thought i had going. not completely, but mostly at least! :) i have found so many good recipes! the crock pot chicken-n-dumplins were awesome! tonight i made hawaiian chicken with pineapple...soooooo gooooood! peter had been craving some cinnamon buttercream, so tonight i made some sugar cookies and brown sugar cinnamon buttercream to top them off...uh, i dont think i need to say more! if you are not on pinterest yet, let me know...i will send you an invite! :)

today, while surfing the web, i came across this recipe for marshmallow bon-bons. dont they look good? well, i thought of my mom immediately and our good friends, the jones boys. growing up, zach and aaron jones lived down the street. i honestly cant remember how much older than me they each were...zach was probably 6 years older and aaron 4? either way, they would babysit and were a riot. they would hide the remote controls from my mom before she would come home. once she for real could not find them and she had to call and beg to have them back. well, the joke was that since my mom didnt have a job outside of the home, that she must sit around in her robe watching soap operas and eating bon bons all day. it would make my mom so mad when they would tease her, relentlessly! zach and aaron were like a part of our family! one summer night, while driving home from his job at american eagle, zach lost control of his car and died. we were all devastated!!! i will never forget where i was and what i was doing when my mom called me and told me. i missed the funeral because i was in michigan visiting my dad for the summer, but it was probably better for my 12 year old self that way. i still think about the jones family. aaron is married with at least one little one and as far as i know, mr. and mrs. jones still live in their house in rivercliff subdivison. and as long as i live, when ever i see or hear about bon-bons i will think of those boys and the crazy chaos they brought to our house!! :) so, in honor of them, i will be making the marshmallow bon bons this week some time...dont you wish you were visiting?? :)

i think there have been a total of three plugs for you to come visit now, but in case you need one more...today's high was a glorious sunny 84 degrees with very low humidity. thats right...the heat has broken (for now)!! so, book a trip! we will sit on my new flagstone patio and eat something sweet! :)

i hope you all have a great week! thanks for caring enough to read all the mundane happenings in our life! hopefully, the next time i blog, i will be the proud resident at 8407 gentlewood ct. houston, tx. 77095!! :)

blessings, ALo