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

Sensitive

the last two days i have been emotional/sensitive/dramatic/whatever. i am not sure what brought it on, exactly, but on saturday night i had a couple pretty bad dreams. when i have bad dreams, it always has something to do with someone leaving me. so when i woke up i was just a little off. peter and i went to the 9:30 service together at church and it was exactly what i needed! the worship music was exactly that, worship. the sermon was straight from God's word and there was a really great time of prayer during the service too. it was really encouraging and got me ready to volunteer with the middle schoolers in the 2nd service. i told peter about how i was feeling over lunch. i have realized things go much better if i express what i am feeling/thinking sooner rather than later. we had a good talk and he was super encouraging to me. the day started out a little rough, but ended up being great. time with peter, hanging out with middle schoolers, and a nap were all great! before falling asleep last night, i spent time thinking about Charlotte, looking at her stuff (which is by my bed right now), and thanking God for the time that i did have with her. God helped me find a way to choose half full rather than half empty! :) this thought (which i saw on pinterest) kept coming to mind too.

 

today, i didnt wake up emotional, but there was an "incident" that kinda hurt my feelings. i dont think that i want to go into it...however i did talk to peter about it. he understands why i feel the way that i do, but he was more than kind enough to tell me not to let it bother me. this type of thing has very rarely happened, so i took it hard...he told me not to take it personally because of the previous statement. i know this all sounds kind of strange and doesnt make sense...sorry! anyway. all of that was put into perspective tonight. i got a call from mom about a horrible tragedy in the lives of some dear family friends. all that i was thinking and feeling today was pretty much made null and void in comparison. again, i can not share all the details here, but please be praying for these friends. i was quickly reminded of how blessed i am, how loved i am, and how much i love my family and friends. 

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. 

here are two songs from worship this weekend that were encouraging to me..hope they are the same for you!!

One Thing Remains - Brain Johnson

Here in Your Presence - Jon Egan

blessings, ALo

Happy Birthday, Lulu

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LULU!!!!

i wish i was there to help your family celebrate your first birthday! i wish, more than anything, that you were here to celebrate too! i bet that you are having the most spectacular birthday cake in heaven today. i hope that you and Charlotte are playing games and enjoying this day together.

please pray with me today for my sweet friend, cami. i can not imagine all the emotions that she is feeling today! my prayer, which i texted to her this morning, is that her day is full of joy not sadness; hope not fear; thankfulness not regret. please pray for cami's hubby and four older children as they also grieve and celebrate at the same time. today, the snyder family is celebrating by going to the hospital and doctors' offices that helped care for Lulu...taking treats to celebrate and thank you notes (like the picture above). what an amazing gift in honor of their sweet little girl. please pray that this will be an encouraging time, rather than a time of anxiety!

i love you, cami! praying for you!!

blessings, ALo

More Than Coincidence

i have been offered a job! i was offered the job before i even moved down here! this is so much more than a coincidence and i just have to share it...it might get a little wordy, because i am so excited about it, so forgive me...or dont read it...whatever! :)

in january 2005, i had i just graduated from college (december) and started a job as an intern at far hills community church in dayton with the youth department. i worked specifically for the middle school pastor, jason, as well as helping out when needed for the high school events. jason and i always had so much fun together...he quickly taught me that middle schoolers arent all that bad if you just reach them where they are at. so, yes, lots of fun! but jason also knows how to communicate with the middle schoolers to get them to understand God's movement in their lives...he doesnt take the Bible and"water it down" but makes it applicable for their lives right now. i was in charge of games, announcements, the "bulletin", helping coordinate events, and everyday admin work. i was also a small group leader, which i loved!! i worked as an intern until the end of may and was then asked to join full time staff the first of june. i was so excited!! that summer jason, a few volunteer leaders, and myself lead a group of the middle schoolers on a missions trip to a christian camp in southern ohio to do a work project. i will never forget playing a night game (towards the end of the week) and completely wiping out on some wet grass. i came down hard on my tailbone, which i had previously injured a few times, and threw my back out! i had to be moved to a separate cabin without stairs...jason and one of the other male leaders had to carry me up the hill...i was more than embarrassed!! by the end of the summer, there was some shady stuff going on and not long after shady stuff caused the church to split. by october i was working at an eye doctors office and at the end of the year, jason and his family took a new position at a big church in tennessee.

fast forward to the middle of august (this year, like last month!). i saw on facebook that jason and jacqueline and their 2 kids were moving to houston. i asked him what was up...where in houston (mind you houston is the 4th largest city in the nation right now) etc. i never thought that he would say northwest houston (where we are wanting to be), but he did. the following monday jason called me and filled me in on what was going on (it had been not quite 5 years since we had talked besides the occasional facebook stalk) and all about the church that he was joining. we talked for almost an hour and at the end he was jokingly telling me that i needed to come work for him. i said "sure, sure, whatever!" well, i did some research on the church and wasnt able to fine anything i didnt like. i think that i was secretly hoping i would, because this was just a little crazy! jason called me back the night before we were leaving for jamaica to for real offer me a job. "aimee, come work for me. i got the green light and the money to pay you!" what??!!!??? nobody there has met me and i have not seen you in five years!! i didnt say that, but it was what i was thinking!! what i did say, after hearing the details, is that i would pray about it, talk with peter and see him (jason) when we got there the next week. jason and his family moved to houston on saturday (9/3) and i was there tuesday (9/4). on wednesday i met jason, jacqueline and the kids for lunch and then went to their house to chat. the more i heard about the job, the more excited i got! on thursday i met jason at the church to look around and meet a few other members of the staff. to say that everyone was welcoming and encouraging is an understatement. jason knew that me taking the job was going to be contingent on whether or not peter and i liked the church as a place for us to grow. saturday night we went to a service and really enjoyed it! even though community of faith is a very large church, we felt very welcomed! it reminded me a lot of my time as an intern at first baptist church naples in florida. the worship at CoF was contemporary without feeling like i was going to a concert or that the band was there just for entertainment. the pastor started a new series and this week was about forgiveness (kind of perfect for sept. 11). he did not stand up at the pulpit and pretend like he was above all of us. he actually sat and talked like we were sitting in his living room, talking about something he struggles with on a certain level. i left very encouraged! i went back sunday morning to watch jason in action and to get a feel for the middle schoolers. again, by the end of the morning, i could see jason was going to be the perfect fit for this middle school ministry.

so, long story short, i am taking the job! :) i am not going to officially accept the offer for a few weeks, but i will be doing everything that jason has asked of me in the job description on a volunteer basis. peter and i just want to make sure that it is not too much for me and that this is going to be a good fit for our family before we make it official. i have been burned twice while being on staff of a ministry and we are just being a little cautious! :) however, i am beyond excited to being going back into ministry! i have been praying for the last several months to be given an opportunity to get involved. thats how we know that this is more than just a coincidence! God is obviously working here! jason needs an assistant (that will not be my title, but we are still working on that) and i wanted to be involved with youth again. again, not that i needed any confirmation that we should be in texas, but this is just amazing...i keep saying it...more than a coincidence!

i am praying that God will use me where i am at to help some of these teen where they are at! i am praying that the details are just right for what peter and i need for our family! i am praising God for this amazing opportunity to be back in ministry and in ministry with friends who i trust!

i am so blessed!

OH LORD, MY GOD, HOW GREAT THOU ART!!!!

Verse 3:
When Christ shall come,
With shouts of acclamation,
And take me home,
What joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim,
"My God, how great Thou art!" 


blessings, ALo

ps. remember that embarrassing story about my back? well, i went to CoF today to help put together some new furniture. jason and i were working on putting together some IKEA stuff (by the way, that can be so annoying...their directions are ridiculous) and it was really warm. jason was literally dripping sweat onto me. i said "well, its a good thing we are friends and didnt just meet this week!" its still gross though...and if he were a normal person he might have been a little embarrassed...good thing he isnt! :)

So Different

a year ago today, peter and i found out we were pregnant! i had come home from work and taken the test while peter was out for a bike ride. the test immediately came back positive and i was so excited!! i wrapped up the positive test in tissue paper, put it inside of a hair color box, and wrapped the box with more tissue paper...quick planning! peter called me as i was finishing up the wrapping and asked if i would come get him from the bike path...he had gotten a flat tire on his bike that he could not repair. i wanted so badly to tell him on the ride home, but knew i should wait. i told him to hurry up and go change his clothes so that we could go to dinner. we had already planned a date night to our favorite local mexican place. after changing, i told him i had a gift for him...as he was unwrapping it he was totally clueless, he had no idea i had even taken a test! once he got to the second wrapping of tissue, he asked if i got him a new pen...i laughed and said "no, keep going!" as he unwrapped the test he looked at me, figured out what it meant and then got this HUGE grin on his face. i wish i would have had my camera ready...it was PRICELESS!!! at one point over dinner, while we were planning on how to tell our families and making big plans for a nursery and different names we liked, we joked about how excited we were over a pee stick and how much that urine test was going to change our lives. we had no idea!!!

i took another test this week. it was negative. i was so sad and super dissapointed. i still am...but today i am more pissed because i have stinkin' cramps. i have been thinking a lot about how many things are different than they were a year ago. some for the better, some for the worse, and some just different. i had to stop counting how many different people announced that they were pregnant in the last week. here is the deal...i am excited for them! i DO NOT want other people's lives to be put on hold! i just wish i was looking forward to having another baby not cramps! all in God's time...i know. i have just needed more help reminding myself of that this week. thanks, mom and lisa, for hearing me out and then giving me a kick in the butt!

here are a few pics from the beginning last time...i didnt blog about our pregnancy until we had gotten bad news, so i wanted to share them now...we were so excited. i still get so excited thinking about all of it. i will always love my baby girl and these pictures will always be precious to me!!

not even a question!

right after dinner, the day we found out!

this is how we told our extended family in october...
"guess who is adding a pumpkin to their patch"

"we are! babyLo is due in May!"

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39

blessings, ALo

10 years ago...

...changed our family, like every other american family, forever! i will never forget where i was when the "news" of 9/11/01 happened. cedarville was still on quarters, so unlike all my friends from high school, i had a few more days at home before leaving for college. that morning, i was still in bed when my mom woke me up to tell me that "something happened in new york, come watch the tv while i take your siblings to school. let me know what happens." i came down and sat in front of the tv totally stunned, then watched as the next plane plowed into the world trade center. i will never forget calling my mom totally freaked out re-capping what i had been watching! as a family, we were prayerful and concerned for those affected. it became a little more real, when 4 days later, mom and i were in the chapel at cedarville...we met a father of a fellow freshman who had a brother in new york that they had yet to hear from. i remember kneeling there with so many others, praying for God's peace for this family and so many others who were looking for loved ones in the chaos.

during that same week, our family was going through our own tradgedy. events that rocked us forever. being away from home while there was so much going on in and around our family was miserable. i wanted to "be there" for my family and cedarville felt so far away. that was the first time that i was not ok with going away to school. God became a very real and constant force in my life for the first time. both 9/11 and this family crisis pushed me to understand, truely, that evil is a very real thing and only God can help pull us together to get through it. without His constant guidance through the turmoil, we would all be in a world of hurt!!

in september 2001, my brother (jonathan) was in 11th grade. if he had been just a little older he would have immediately left school and joined the armed servcies. jonathan had always wanted to be a soldier (i can not even tell you how many of my barbies were shot down by his army men!) and the attack on our country 10 years ago sealed the deal for him. right after graduating from high school, he went on to boot camp and basic training and eventually on to serve 2 tours (one in iraq and one in afghanistan) with the 101st airborne division of the army...he was a screaming eagle!! i am so proud of my brother for his courage and bravery, especially during war time. he gladly signed up, with so many other fine men and women, to proudly serve and protect our country's freedom from terrorism. while our family prayed and worried constantly for his safety, we all knew he was right he should be and was trained to be...on the front lines fighting for us! by God's grace, he came home each time...a true hero!!!

the events that happened 10 years ago rocked my world in more ways than one, but i am so grateful to be living in a country that is proud to defend who we are! i am so grateful for the men and women, like jonathan, who have sacrificed so much for this country. may we never forget all that has brought us to where we are! God bless america!!

i pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the united states of america, and to the republic, for which it stands: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Amen.

at jonathan's "turning blue" ceremony. ft. benning grorgia

just before shipping out for tour #1. pictured with beal, his best friend! they did boot camp, basic training, both tours and blackwater together!!

2nd tour, on patrol.

2nd tour, the little dog they found on patrol.

this still brings tears to my eyes...welcome home, paco!!! jonathan with his family!

blessings, ALo