The Generation Band

I have written previously about The Generation Band (Keith plays guitar). Well, the boys and girls of the band have just finished their first (of many I am sure)CDS and it is now for sale. I must admit that it is...INCREDIBLE! They are selling the CD for $12 if anyone is interested, but I was really writing to inform all of you that tonight at 7:30 they will leading a whole night of worship straight off of the new CD. If you are not busy and need some place to go head over to the GFBC multi-purpose building and enjoy an evening of worshiping our God!

Love Wins!

Over Due

Things have continued to be incredibly busy around the Varden house. To see what has been occupying all of our time check out seetheneed.blogspot.com or click See the Need on the side bar.

Life Changing

I had every intention of updating last week about the wonderful weekend Keith and I had with all of our friends. I had a girls night, Keith had a guys night, and we finished the weekend up by spending an entire day at the Cooper's house watching football games. War Eagle! Like I said I had every intention, but did not succeed. My faith in the Lord was tested last week, and I must say that I am not sure I did very well. I had a very scary and not so promising conversation with doctor regarding some severe joint pain. She ended my visit by preparing me for the worst. Needless to say, I lost it! I cried the entire way home and poor Keith really had no idea what was going on. Being a nurse makes days like these very hard. The very moment my doctor mentioned the possibility of a chronic illness, I started reliving all the things I had learned in nursing school. I actually remembered a lot! I had prepared myself for the worst, forgetting that God was in control. It took 48 hours to process my lab results, and lots of prayer...they were all within normal limits! I did show signs of the beginning of an infection, but 7 days of antibiotics would knock that right out. The final verdict was a reaction to a medication that I was taking...much better than what was first placed at my feet.

What did I learn...I finally grasped something that I have been taught my entire life...it was life changing...God is in control. My life is in the hands of the Lord, yet my human nature thinks that I can take care of things on my own. While I was diagnosing myself with some disease, my God was taking care of me. I was "fearfully and wonderfully made," so why do I constantly feel the need to worry. We worry about money, jobs, stability, the clothes we where, the houses we live in, the cars we drive: this world revolves around worrying. As Christians, God has called us to hand our lives over to Him. I read in Mathew this morning about what Jesus said about worrying:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, or what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

I love this:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Mathew 6:25-33

Seek first his Kingdom. I am learning more and more about this verse. My life is not about this world...it is simply about a loving relationship with my God and bringing glory to Him through everything that I do. His love for me is so great, and His plan for me is perfect. Now I must let go and let Him take control.

Auburn Football

Keith, Me, and our dogs headed up to my brother's house on Saturday for a day of corn hole, hotdogs, and Auburn Football. Alabama was only on paperview, so Keith did not have a problem watching the game with me and about 12 other Auburn fans...he did stand strong and sported his BAMA shirt on gameday. The day itself was wonderful. Jonathan and Rachel set some tents up in their front yard, along with lots of Auburn gear. It was very warm, but there was a slight breeze to cool us off. Everyone played tons of corn hole and ate lots of awesome food. Auburn kicked off at 6 and so began one of the most stressful football games I have ever seen. Thanks to our defense Auburn beat Mississippi State 3-2 (yes Keith I know...it sounds more like a soccer score than a football score.) Next week Auburn plays LSU and Alabama plays Arkansas, so things should begin to get interesting. I have tons of pictures below that show how great the day was! Enjoy and God Bless!



War Eagle!



Rachel and Allison



JP's game face



Jonathan and Dad playing corn hole



My hubby and me



Jonathan and Carla working the grill



Keith and Price wrestling before the game



Kaitlyn in her cute Auburn shirt



Corn Hole!




War Eagle Dogs!

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend we were able to celebrate Keith's parent's birthdays. His mother's birthday was Friday and his dad's birthday was yesterday. We celebrated with a trip to Flemmings. Keith and I had heard from numerous individuals that this resteraunt and the steaks were phenomenal, but I must say that I really did not think that it was that great. I am the kind of girl who believes that the best steaks are cooked at home on a charcoal grill, but nevertheless the evening was great. The dessert was the best. We had a Chocolate Lava Cake with vanilla ice cream and two candles...so good! Keith and I got to dress up and go out...which we do not do that often. Keith actually wore dress pants, a button down shirt, and DRESS SHOES (he usually wears flops). We looked good, but I did not get a picture. We celebrated one more time on Sunday. I cooked a small lunch and we had an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Keith followed up the afternoon with a nice long nap, and I did homework! Overall, the birthday weekend was a success!



Happy Birthday!

House Divided

I have written before that Keith and I live in a house divided. Keith is an Alabama fan, and I am, wisely, an Auburn Fan. Keith has put forth a great effort this week to try and convert me to the other side, but I have not been shaken...WAR EAGLE! I am at home right now watching the Auburn-Southern Miss game and Keith is in Tuscaloosa with his dad preparing for the Alabama-Tulane game. Keith I hope you have a great time at the game, but you can forget about any conversion...I will forever bleed ORANGE and BLUE!

The Generation-Beach Style

We headed out last Tuesday night to our final beach trip of the Summer. Keith, Jess, Matt, April, Cooper, Autumn, and I left Birmingham around 7:30 Tuesday night and made it to Destin in a little over 4 hours...thanks to Tom Tom. Our annual Generation beach retreat was scheduled for Labor day weekend, but we all decided to head down a little early and enjoy some extra time on the beach. After checking in at Sand Destin, we arrived to our room around 12:00 a.m. As soon as we heard Matt laughing we knew that something was not right. The room was the size of some walk in closets. After some laughing and a little planning, Matt called the front desk and politely asked for a room that he could "at least turn a cart wheel in". The woman on the other line laughed a little a then gave us a great upgrade. We moved to a two bedroom condo with a sleeper sofa and extra floor space. We finally settled in around 1:30 and we were all exhausted and quite delirious. The next morning we woke up at a descent time, and Jess and I took a trip to Publix. After shopping and spilling spaghetti sauce all over the parking deck, we all headed down to the beach. It was gorgeous and there was hardly anyone else on the beach. It was glorious! We spent the entire day on the beach...which is amazing for Keith and me...we are not big fans of the beach or the ocean. We went to eat that night at the Crab Trap. The food was great and Keith some got great pictures of our college minister's family. We ended the night on the balcony playing a "friendly" game of spoons.

The next day started a little earlier. The guys woke up in great spirits because the first football game of the season was on television that evening. It was very difficult pulling them away from Sports Center, but we made it back to the beach. Keith and I spent a little more time at the pool on Thursday, and he and Matt headed out early to start setting up for the retreat. The girls headed back to the condo to begin preparing dinner. Stephen, David, and Garrett joined us for spaghetti and some of Autumn's incredible Strawberry Punch Cake. The guys enjoyed watching the game...most were shirtless. April and Brent left us to travel down the beach to meet up with some other friends, and Cody (Autumn's boyfriend) joined us at Sand Destin.

We packed up again Friday morning and moved into the houses we would be staying in over the weekend. Keith and I decided to stay in different houses for the retreat. Jessica and I stayed together in the cutest little beach house. We had turtles in the pond behind our house and plenty of room to move around. The rest of the weekend was wonderful. The retreat was amazing and the weather held up until Sunday. I was forced to endure a house full of Alabama fans for the Saturday night upset against Clemson. Alabama did win, but so did Auburn...WAR EAGLE. We had planned to stay until Labor day, but we all headed home Sunday evening to avoid the possible wrath of Gustav. Overall the entire week was great. The end of our Summer could not have been any better.



The group on the beach



My hubby and me



Spoons


Autumn dealing out the cards and Keith's handy camera work

The Fish Market, Bowling, and Jacksons

Here are some pictures from our last double date with Amy and Sean.




Amy and Me at the bowling alley



Amy and Sean



Keith bowling...he won both games!

The Horse Show

This post is little late, but I wanted to share this very historic day with all of you. About two weeks ago Keith got to experience something new...the country. Keith, Stephen, Matt, and I headed to Locust Fork to see our friend, Erin, in a horse show. Keith was able to experience his first horse up close and personal...he was scared to death. The guys also got to take part in their first cake walk. I was shocked...cake walks were a very common thing in the town where I grew up. I actually had to explain how this game worked to Keith. Erin did great in the show. She got 5th place in her first showing and 4th in her second. This was actual Rover's last competition as a show horse. He is now free of his "shoes" and running wild in a pasture. Matt also got to brush up on his horse showing skills when Erin let him warm up Rover before she showed the last time. After Erin finished her last competition the guys headed back home, and we all headed to Buffalo Wild Wings (one of our favorite resteraunts). The night ended as we all gathered around our television and watched Michael Phelps win his eighth gold medal. Here are some pictures from our day in Locust Fork.



Keith and Rover



Erin and Me in between her competitions




Matt warming up Erin's horse before her next competition




Matt giving Rover some love


Keith enjoying the cake walk

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Erin and Rover during his last competition...Erin won 4th!

Update Coming Soon!

It has been forever since I have updated, but life has been a little busy lately. The Generation Band did a D-Now weekend last weekend, and we headed to the beach last Tuesday. Not to mention school is in full force again, and you all know how much I love school! I will be updating soon...maybe tomorrow! But until then I pray that you are all having a great week! God Bless!

Good Times

Keith and I have had the most relaxing past few weeks. It helped a ton that neither of us had to focus any on school stuff. After my last final I did something drastic. I got a major hair cut. I had the appointment for weeks, but I really had no idea what I was going to do. Everyone who knows me knows that I like to be in control of the situation but this time I just let go. I told my hair stylist to do what she thought would look good. She ended up taking off about 3 inches and cutting some major layers. It took a little while to get used to because I look so much more like an adult, but I love it! After the new hair cut I headed to the lake to spend some time with parents. I have mentioned before how much I love the lake. It is just so relaxing and peaceful...not to mention I love being around my parents. My parents are the most giving and loving people, and I can only hope that I turn out to be a parent just like them. Keith and I were also able to spend a little time with my best friend Amy. She and her boyfriend, Sean, are away at college, so we do not to get to see each other as often as we would like. This particular weekend we ate at the Fish Market (they have amazing fried dill pickles), went bowling, and finished with dessert at Jackson's Bistro and Grill (Fried Cookie Dough Egg Rolls...AMAZING!). It was a great night. The next week was a little bit of work and then a Girl's Day Out. Some of the girls who are involved in the Generation (college and singles ministry) went to see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I was incredibly lucky to go see it with the girls because there was NO way I was getting Keith to that movie. The movie was actually better than I thought, and I had a great time with the girls. I made another trip to the lake last week. My mother and I did a little shopping, and my dad and I watched a lot of the Olympics (Phelps is ridiculous).

I have written about The Generation before (our college and singles ministry), but I have some exciting news...the Generation Band (Keith plays guitar) is headed to the studio at the end of September to record a CD. If you are interested we are taking pre orders right now ($20= an amazing CD and a t-shirt). Keith and the guys headed to the studio on Friday to take a look around and talk with the man who runs the place, and now that is all they are talking about. They are incredibly excited and cannot wait to start this project. Please keep this process in your prayers. They truly desire for this CD to glorify God and God alone.

Yesteday was Promotion Sunday at church, so we had about 75 5th (now 6th) boys and girls with the "deer in the headlights look" roaming around the MPB. I can actually remember maybe 5 of their names...which is quite impressive for me. I had to leave a little early, but Keith said the transition went very smooth. Last night we headed out to a local organization called "The Love Lady House" where hundreds of women and children are giving a place to live and worship our Lord and Savior. The band led worhsip and Andy spoke, and it ended up being an incredible night. God moved in a mighty way and you could feel is presence in that place. It truly was a beautiful sight and a great way to end the weekend.

Today I am back at work, and Keith is beginning a 10 page paper. School starts tomorrow, but I am determined to keep a positive attitude...the end is in sight and only getting closer!

Love Wins!

New Blog

I have to brag a little on my big brother. He has started a new blog called Rended Heart (it's at the top of my "Blogs We Read" list). His words are incredibly encourgaing and full of the word of God. Take a look at this blog...I pray that it will bless your heart!

Love Wins

Long Over Due

Someone asked me the other day why I haven't been blogging, my answer...I have no idea what to write. The past two weeks have been full of tears and questions. Keith and I have lost so much sleep and had so many little fights that we are exhausted. We experienced ministry in a whole new way last week. We watched as hundreds of teenagers gathered to mourn the death of a fellow student. We hugged and we prayed, but in the end we just watched as God moved. On Wednesday we attended the funeral of the teenage girl who lost her life in a car accident. Hundreds of people all gathered in a church sanctuary to honor and celebrate the life of this beautiful girl. The service was full of wonderful stories and remarks about this young girl's life but nothing compared to what we saw... we watched as seven other individuals (young and old) gave their lives to Christ. This alone brought tears to my eyes. She continued to influence this world even after she had left it. Her life and relationship with Jesus Christ continues to be an example for so many people. Please keep this family and the other individuals involved in the accident in your prayers.

As a new week began, Keith and I began to return back to our normal personalities, but we were, and continue to be very tired. On Friday we headed to the lake to visit with my parents and pick up our dogs. As we traveled North we decided that we would have a Rock Band party (in a previous post I had mentioned my extreme dislike for this game). We invited all of our friends and planned for a "bring your own meat" party. While we were at the lake I made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and two chocolate pies (which tasted almost exactly like Jim and Nick's chocolate pie). The lake was beautiful even though it stormed the entire time we were there. We headed home that afternoon and I went to the grocery store and Keith ACTUALLY CLEANED. No I'm just kidding...he is pretty good about cleaning if I ask him to. Although he did tell me that our guest bathroom was "spick and span" when it was definitely not! That evening we were joined by many of our friends from church. We all cooked out and played Rock Band and Wii bowling. We both had such a great time and enjoyed all the entertainment that all the guys brought with them. At one point that night, Painter and Allen actually took Matt's tailgate completely off of his truck...the best part was that he had no idea that it was his tailgate laying in my front yard. He kept asking me, "Why do you have a tailgate in your yard?" The night ended around 1130, and Keith and I headed off to bed to continue our 3rd season of NCIS.

Saturday was a great day. It rained all morning, and I finally made my first successful batch of pancakes. Keith's mother makes incredible pancakes, but until now I couldn't even keep them from burning. I know that my pancakes will never be as good as his mom's (mainly because my pancakes come out of a box), but it was very nice to not have to say "Forget it...we are going to Cracker Barrel." After breakfast, we began our relaxing day. We watch two movies (one being a Harry Potter film) and layed on the couch all day...we never left. Ohh, did I mention that this very special day was actually our 6 month anniversary. Not that big of a deal, but it was special to us. That evening we finally made it out of our house. We went to Keith's favorite Chinese resteraunt, and then we headed to the church. There was a Game Night going on in our youth department that night, and Keith was in charge. I left early and went home to watch P.S. I Love You with Samantha. Great movie!

Sunday morning was the last time my Sunday school girls would meet at 6th graders...they are so excited about not being at the bottom anymore. I cooked sausage balls and blueberry muffins for our "end of the year" party. I also got to see one my fellow Sunday school teacher's new baby. She is so beautiful, and I had so much fun holding a completely healthy child. It kind of made me want one of my own...not really...give us a few more years! For those of you who do not know, we have two dogs Bailey and Bella (Brittney Spaniel and Weimaraner). They are both incredibly active dogs, and they need exercise every day. Keith and I have had this idea for a really long time, but we were scared to try it...but yesterday seemed like the perfect day. Keith and I rode on our bikes while the dogs ran beside us. It was great! It took about 10 minutes before they were both so tired they could hardly stand up...I also think that the 90 degree, humid weather had something to do with it! After our bike ride, I did something that I never do...I actually took a nap. I have never been the kind of person who sleeps during the day, but my body obviously needed a break. After our nap we headed out to celebrate our anniversary. We had dinner at Sumo's Japanese resteraunt and went to the movies and saw Hellboy II...not that great of a movie, but we had a really great time just being together. So that pretty much sums up the past two weeks.



Happy 40th Birthday Jamin!




Jess and Me...our favorite picture of the night!



Keith, Matt, and Stephen at the Rock Band Party



Husband and Wife...and Matt's teeth!



Bella slept the whole night...Stephen decided to join her.




Me, Jess, and April

The Big Easy

After long nights of homework and studying, Keith has finally made it to New Orleans. He will be in the "Big Easy" for one week while he works on two classes for school. He arrived last night around 8:00, and called to express his loneliness through an almost crying voice. After the past weekend all I could do was cry. The stress of his father's heart attack, facing the fact that he could of died, my husband leaving for a whole week, and Keith basically crying over the phone was a whole lot to handle. I cried and prayed for quite a while and now I am doing much better, but I do ask that you keep Keith in your prayers while he is gone. He was not too excited about leaving his family during this time, but his dad did insisted that he go to school. Please pray for his safety and that God would comfort him during this time when he would rather be by his parents' side instead of sitting in a desk listening to a lecture.

Keith...I am a little jealous, but I have some requests...make sure you spend a little time sight seeing (St. Louis cathedral and Lafayette cemetery)...eat some good cajun food (my mom recommends the muffaletta, but I doubt you will like it), listen to some New Orleans jazz, and take a few pictures in the French Quarter...but most of all...bring me back a t-shirt! I love you very much...be safe and try to have a little fun!

The Healer

I must start this blog off by reporting how amazing my God is! Keith's father suffered a massive heart attack on Saturday, and God decided that He had a greater plan...He saved his life! The doctor himself stated that God must have more for him on this earth because the area of the heart that was affected usually results in death. I must say that it was amazing to see God reign over the rules of medicine. They were able to remove the clot and avoid surgery by placing a stent in his artery while he was in the Cath lab. It was no more than 4 hours later that he was cracking jokes about the fact that he "never saw the light". He was moved from the CICU last night into a regular room and has been told he will most likely be able to return home on Tuesday. I believe that this event made an impact on many people's lives including my own. Not only was I reminded again of how short life can be, but I also realized that Keith is going to work really hard to beat this gene factor. I wanted to say thank you to all of you who lifted this situation up in your prayers, and ask that you continue to pray for his health and a speedy recovery. I am continually amazed by God's grace, and this event is just another portrait of His love for His people.

Request

Please pray for our family

Beach Week

Yes...it is finally that time. We are headed to the beach this week, and I could not be anymore excited! Life around the Varden house has been quite busy the last few weeks, and we are both in need of a little of break. Keith actually left this morning to head down early and play at a youth camp with Stephen. Keith and Stephen are both part of "The Generation Band" and play each Wednesday and Thursday night for the youth and college ministries. God is moving in a huge way with these guys and He has actually opened so many new doors for all the guys involved in the band. Not only has God given them the opportunity to begin playing for church camps, but He has also presented them with the opportunity to begin the process of making a CD. Side Note: They are playing for the Union Hill Beach Camp, so please pray God moves in a mighty way in the lives of these youth!

Since I am incredibly scared to stay by myself my mother is actually going to spend the next few days with me! This means Chinese and Mexican food and chick flicks. Then...on Thursday we are headed to the beach! This will actually be my first vacation to take with my brother and sister-in-law, so I am really excited! Like most siblings, my brother and I did not get along very well as we are growing up. Jonathan and I are 6 years apart, so about the time I was at my annoying little sister age, Jonathan was beginning to hang out with all the cool baseball players, and he and his friends loved to see how hard they could make me cry. This lasted until I was about 12 and then he realized I was actually growing up. As the years have gone by our relationship has gotten so much closer, and I consider him one of my best friends. I also have the most incredible sister-in-law!

Samantha is also going with us to the beach. Ryan (her boyfriend) is playing baseball in Idaho right now, so we will just have to have fun without him! There are no major plans for the beach...just to read, tan, and eat great food! I am officially going to leave all of my school books at home and just relax! I cannot wait! I will post lots of pictures of our trip when we return! Until then I pray that everyone has a blessed week! Love Wins!

Lake Trip

We managed to make our first lake trip this past weekend. Keith and some of our friends headed up to my parent's house on Friday. The weather was suppossed to be absolutely horrible, but it was one of the prettiest weekends of this summer. I absolutely love the lake (Keith not so much) because it just feels like a mini vacation. I know that it is only 30 minutes away from home, but when you are there you feel disconnected from the world. We usually spend the mornings on the front porch rocking or sitting in the swing. Life seems much slower there...I just wish we could go more!

We woke up on Saturday and my wonderful mother fixed us all a Southern breakfast. We had eggs, sausage, biscuits, and some good gravy. It was so good! Then we all headed down to the water. Keith took us all innertubing...it was very painful. Keith has been known to be a little rough, but I think he reached a new point this weekend. Mallory and I were on the tubes and Keith was being really rough...long story short some how Mallory and I got thrown off and severly rope burned all at the same time. Mallory's arm looked horrible and I had it across my left cheek and under my nose. It hurt so bad, but no one was critically injured. Keith continues to say that it wasn't his fault, but I think otherwise.

The severe burns started after lunch. I promise it does not matter how much sunscreen you apply you always get burnt. Keith and I managed to do very well this time. I was a little tender on my shoulders and Keith had some serious pink cheeks.

Stephen and Pilgreen managed to ski with millions of boats and seadoos all around, and Keith proved that he stil had it! When Keith was younger (17/18 ish) he could wake board like no other. He could turn flips and get some serious air, but now he doesn't have that much time to practice...so he can't do all of that anymore. This weekend he tried, and he looked pretty good. He tried his flip at the end but did not quite make it...but he came really close!

After the conclusion of our wonderful lake trip, we celebrated Father's day with Keith's dad. Keith's parents left on Sunday for a 2 week vacation in Mexico...seriously! So please keep them in your prayers as they are away.

Sunday afternoon we headed out to City Stages. I can honestly say that I was not at all excited. I did not really like the idea of being out with tons of people in the heat of the day, but it turned out to be incredible. We actually just went to see The Basement and Daniel Bashta on the Coca-Cola stage. It was hot but it was incredible! There were hundreds maybe even thousands (I am not too good at estimating crowds)of people praising God. There has been a lot going on in my spirtitual life, and I feel that God is moving in a mighty way. He definitely has a plan for Keith and I, and I feel now, more than ever, that He is beginning to prepare me!

Overall, it was such a great weekend! I am looking forward to my next lake trip which will be...THIS weekend! Keith is headed out of town and I am going to spend a little time with my parents. I am also taking my 6th grade girls Sunday school class to the lake on Friday...it is going to be crazy, but I am very excited and so are they!

Until next week...

We pray that everyone has a blessed week!

A Relaxing Weekend

It's time for my Monday blog, and I must tell everyone about our relaxing weekend. We were able to spend Friday and Saturday at Keith's parents house. They have a beautiful back yard with a pool and the weather was beautiful. Keith got fried on Friday, so he did not enjoy the sun as much as I did but we still had a great time. We cooked out Saturday and spent the rest of the day swimming and sunning! Jack Johnson was the background music and life was wonderful.

We spent Saturday night celebrating one of our friend's big news! Ryan got drafted to the CUBS! We are all so excited for him. He is actually leaving today to begin his life as a baseball player. Samantha (Ryan's girlfriend and my old roommate)is going to become my tanning friend. We have already made plans to spend the end of this week at the pool. So good luck Ryan with your firt week! I promise to take care of Samantha. Don't forget us when you famous and GO CUBS!

Sunday was busy...as always! God has blessed us with a such a wonderful church. He has given us both such a great opportunity to spread his word to the youth. God is moving in a such a mighty way that we are left speechless...it is so wonderful. After church we headed to lunch and then back home where Keith was able to continue the relaxing weekend. He spent the rest of the afternoon alseep, and I did what I always do...I studied! We had an evening swim party for the Jr.High kids. Keith proved to me that he is still young! He was doing double front flips, back flips, and ganers! Thank God he did not get hurt!

Today...I am at work and Keith is golfing! I would be jealous but it is almost 100 degrees out there, so he can golf all he wants right now!

Life is Good!

Summer...so far!

Well it has been a crazy start to our summer...here is a little update!

School is so busy right now it is incredible. I am trying to finish as fast as I can, so my semesters are jam packed full of more nursing classes. My weeks are pretty much filled with reading and trying to complete assignments on time. I did manage to pull off some pretty descent grades on my first two tests, so I am rather pleased with the way things are going. I think that I am settling into my groove, so things are beginning to go a little smoother. The only problem is that by the time I have completely settled this semester will be over! I am very excited though because next semester I will take my first Graduate course! I will be one step closer to being finished, and I cannot wait! Keith is also getting ready to start again for the summer. He will be traveling to Louisiana twice this summer for classes. He has a few more days off before the hard work starts!

Enough about school here is a recap of the past two weeks!

Sumer, Keith's cousing, graduated from highschool. I know that I am only twenty one but I felt very old as we watched her walk across the stage. We are incredibly proud of her...so congratulations Sumer!

On May 26 the youth group that Keith works with left for camp. We took approximately 140 students and three charter buses to Tennessee. I stayed in a cabin full of 6th and 7th grade girls who were terrified of spiders, but needless to say they all survived! I cannot begin to explain how wonderful this week was. We had close to twenty students accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This camp could have not been any better! The students and leaders were able to experience God in a whole new way. The setup was simple, cell phone service was impossible, and the world seemed to vanish for a week. We were all able to experience God without any distractions...it was beautiful!

The twenty students who accepted Christ definitely made the week, but the students also got to experience many other things! One very adventurous thing they all experienced for the first time was no cell phone service! I love these kids, but it was so funny watching them stand in this big field with their cell phones raised to the sky. At times, there would be 25 kids out searching for service.

This camp had many outdoor activities that everyone enjoyed (including Keith and me). Each group spent a day either playing painball, running the adventure race, swimming at the water park, or riding down a 1000 foot zip line on the high ropes course. It was so much fun and luckily no one was injured! I did play paintball for the first time. Ohh my goodness...I don't see why this game is so popular...it hurt so bad! All and all the week was wonderful. The kids are already asking to go back next year!

By the way, Keith also got to raft down the Ocoee while we were in Tennessee...cheater!

This next week is quite peaceful compared to the last two. Their is a little school stuff to catch up on (the internet service at the camp was horrible!) Keith is also planning on taking up kayaking as his next hobby...it is definitely going to be interesting! The month of June is going to be rather slow. Keith leaves to play at a camp for another youth group at the end of this month, and my brother, sister-in-law, and I are going to meet him down at the beach towards the end of the week! I cannot wait!

Well...JP there is your blog update! I hope that everyone has a blessed week!

Love wins!

My Husband

I have to take a little time and brag on my wonderful husband. Keith knows that I have been a little stressed about going back to school, so he decided to do a little bit to help. Last night after I got home from work I walked into the kitchen and began trying to decide what we would eat for supper. It only took about 5 minutes of me rambling before Keith got a little upset! He "kindly" told me that he had worked all afternoon to dust and pick up the house. I then took a minute to walk around the house and notice all of his hard work. It was beautiful, and he even took a little time to make the bed (remember that rule about if you get up last you make the bed...Keith doesn't follow it, but today he did!) I just wanted to say thank you to Keith for being such a wonderful husband.

I pray that everyone has a wonderful week...the weather is beautiful, so take a little time to enjoy what God has blessed us with!

Beach Birthdays

Well, life is very busy right now, but I wanted to take a little time and share about the best beach trip ever.

Keith and I left home around 9:20 on Thursday night and headed down to the beach. I was absolutely determined to get there in a timely manner, and since my husband drives about 60 mph all the time, I drove all the way down. We finally arrived around 1:30. Amy and Sean had managed to stay awake and give us directions to the house. The house was so beautiful, and Amy and my birthday weekend had finally begun (Amy turns 21 on May 10), but all we could think about was sleep!

Friday morning I woke to the wonderful smell of fresh brewed coffee. I love coffee, but Keith does not, so I don't fix it for myself. Steven had gone out earlier that morning and brought back some incredible doughnuts for breakfast. Shortly after this, we all headed to the pool. It was so wonderful. We and maybe 10 other people had this huge pool all to ourselves. It was about 80 degrees the sun was shining...I hope you can get the picture. Although the weather was beautiful the pool was FREEZING...and I hate to be cold! Even though it was quite frigid we did all manage to get in...briefly. Keith was a little more hesitant than everyone else, but he resulted into making a water slide out of the stair rail...yes he is a child! After lunch we all headed to the beach...this is where my skin started to fry. I must admit I had told Keith before we left home, "make sure you pack sunscreen because you know how easy you burn"...needless to say you reap what you sow. We spent about 45 minutes playing a game of massive horse shoes. Guys against girls..guys won...of course! Then I spent the next hour under Keith's tshirt and hat. We were able to get a little time in the ocean. Amy and I share one major thing in common...we don't swim in the ocean. I can remember a time around our 8th grade year where we spent hours floating in the water, but not anymore...knee high is as deep as we go! The waves were huge and the undertow was at it's worst, but it was so nice!

Later that night we all headed to Red Bar. For those of you who have not experienced this place you need to! It is basically an old shack filled with colorful junk, but they have some of the best food! This year I took a chance and I actually tried the crab cakes that everyone raves about...they were delicious. Amy and I also had the shortest birthday song ever sang to us by one of the waiters (we think he could have been high...it's debateable.) Notice the picture at the bottom...it was a whole apple covered in cinnamon and then fried...glorious! After this we did a little shopping...Amy found the perfect dress for her brother's graduation, and then we headed back to the beach house. Steven and Mrs. Theresa had planned the best birthday celebration for us. We had the coolest cake and goody bags filled with toys that kept us occupied for the next two days. I am so blessed to have these people in my life...they made this very important birthday the best yet!

The next day was not as sunny as the first, but we did not let it stop us! We headed to the pool expecting to get some of that overcast sun...nope, did not happen! The house was calling our name, so we left the pool and found ourselves on the couch watching an E true story hollywood story about lottery winners...it was very educational! Keith had been dying to go to the Polo outlet, and since it was not very sunny we all consented and headed out to shop...Keith's favorite thing! After this we ate at Pandora's...this place had the smallest crab claws that we had ever seen...they were so tiny! The highlight of the evening...the "all girl band" with the accordion and the fiddle...heck yes! Keith (the music man in the group) said they were horrible! Amy just liked the fact that they had an accordion!

After dinner, we had big plans...we were going crabbin! So Amy, Sean, Keith, and I headed over to Rosemary beach to catch us some crab...we stopped by Starbuck's first and this guy made me a frappucino he created all by himself...it was really good! Then the crab hunt began...Amy sat on the boardwalk because she couldn't imagine the crabs crawling on her feet, and Keith would not touch a crab to save his life (he has a major phobia of spiders and I think that the crab looked too similiar). I think that we finally caught 5 or 6 crab. Most of them were very small, but we did catch one huge one! We wanted to show Steven and Mrs.Theresa all our crab, so we decided that we were going to take them all the way across the street to the house. For some odd reason I was the lead bicycler at this point...Amy was behind me and the boys were trying to keep the crab from crawling out of the bucket! Then it happened...I almost killed my best friend! She told me if the road looked clear then go ahead and cross the street, so I looked one way it looked clear, but looked the other way and realized it was not, so I slammed on the breaks and the next thing you know Amy is laying over her bike on the road! We were both laughing so hard we could not breath...cars were passing by and there's Amy laying in the road laughing. I felt so bad...and once we finished laughing Amy realized that her back was actually hurt! Nothing serious, but it is possible that she does have bruise from my stupidity! Sorry Amy!

We all made it safely back to the house and the crabs and the back injury were proudly displayed! This was our last night, and it could not have been better. Keith and I woke up the next morning and left the beach around 8:30. It truly was one of the best beach trip ever! We caught crabs, listened to an "all girl band", I learned what a "Rosemary" is, Amy broke her back, we ate good food (minus the claws), and Amy and I turned 21!

Here are some pictures from the weekend!



The first day at the pool!



Amy and Sean in the freezing water



The house



Amy and Me at the Red Bar



Us and our very interesting waiter



Our Birthday dessert





Keith and Me after the Red Bar



Amy and her mom (Mrs. Theresa) laughing...most likely at the Rosemary



Isabella (my cuddle buddy) and Me...I fell asleep before everyone!



Steven and Me at the beach...when we discovered I was fried!



The beautiful birthday cake...Steven got it from Publx!



The bicycle bruise! My bad Amy!

Birthday Week

Yes it is my BIRTHDAY WEEK! I will finally be turning 21 on Thursday, and I am very excited! We actually celebrated my birthday with all of the family on Saturday. My brother and I are exactly 6 years and 5 days apart, so we always celebrate our birthdays together. This year was no different. We all (by all I mean my incredibly small family of 9) met at the lake and grilled out! It was really cloudy, so there was no laying out or boat riding, but it was still a really good day! The only down side was Keith was not able to be there. He was actually working at a block party that the church was hosting, so I cannot really complain.

Later that night, we went to eat with my best friend Amy and her boyfriend Sean! We ate dinner at the Village Tavern (which we highly recommend...definitely get the crab dip). We finished the evening with another trip to Whole Foods, but the highlight of the evening was Amy inviting us to go to the beach this weekend!!! Keith and I had discussed the possibility of going down for my birthday, but we really never made any plans. Amy's family rented a house in our favorite location and they have an extra room! So, Keith and I are going to leave late Thursday night and meet them all at the beach. I really do not think Amy and her family know how excited I am about this trip. First of all, I absolutely love these people! Second of all, we are quickly approaching May 7 (the day that I start classes at UAB), so this trip is perfect! I will be with people that I love (including my wonderful husband) and I will not have to worry about school or work! It will be glorious! Needless to say...I cannot wait for Thursday!

Sunday was also a very good day! My parents and my brother and sister-in-law actually came to eat lunch with Keith and I. I officially have cooked my second successful roast. Keith said that this roast was much better than the first (I guess that is a compliment). The food was great, but the company was the best part. As a child, we always ate Sunday dinner together. Jonathan and I got older, and Sunday dinners ceased to exist, so yesterday was definitely a blessing!

I also have a few more plans for my birthday week. I am working for the next 3 days, but on Thursday I am going to drive back to the lake and spend a little time with my daddy on my birthday. That afternoon my mom is going to meet me after she gets off work, and we are going to pamper ourselves with a pedicure and manicure (my last pedicure was the week of my wedding, so my feet are in desperate need of some work). And then that evening we will leave for the beach!

21 is not looking so bad after all!



P.S. Happy Birthday to my kindergarten teacher (we share the same birthday)!

Pictures of Our Life

Well, I think that I finally got this picture thing figured out...and I thought that I would catch you guys up on some very important aspects in our lives!



God has blessed Keith and I with a passion to serve His children! This means we spend a lot of time apart, but God blesses us with moments like these where we are able to serve Him together! He is Good!



We are, unfortunately, a house divided...but that's okay! WAR EAGLE!






We wear flip flops everywhere...literally!





God has blessed me with these girls, and I love them!



Keith and I love to bowl, but everything is a competition. This is the one night...I think...that I bowled a better game!



On January 26, 2008 we became Man and Wife. I cried...Keith did not, but it was beautiful!