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!

Tristan Prettyman

Well, one of my favorite artists is coming to Birmingham tonight, and I am very excited...Tristan Prettyman! I am meeting Keith and Jonathan(my Big Bro) after work, and needless to say I cannot wait for this day to be over! Yes...I will be blessed with the two large black x's on my hands, as well as an extra $3.00 cover charge! But in...9 days I will reach another major milestone in my life! I will finally be 21! For those of you who know the slightest bit about me, you know that I really do not drink (and never will) but I cannot wait for this birthday. I guess after this blessed day...I will finally feel like an adult! I'll post about the show and hopefully some pictures (my computer is still preventing me from doing this)!

God Bless!

Wait...what is happening?

Yes...something is happening to my dancer body! Things are changing, and I am not at all happy about it! Every time I ask Keith what he thinks he says "if you think your gaining weight then do something about it." WHAT? That means I am, indeed, gaining weight!I can still wear all my clothes, but I just don't think that I LOOK the same anymore. So, I have sworn off bread and everything that is associated with it! It is so hard because I really just don't like meat, so I eat bread...but no more! I am making a change, and "I'm going to do something about it!"

Whoa! Dream Big!

Well, this weekend was a good one! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and my best friend came into town! For those of you who do not know Madelaine...you are missing out! Everytime I am around her she makes me laugh so hard that my nose get so stuffy I can't breath! We spent the first half of the evening at AL's, and then Madelaine introduced me to one of my new favorite movies (this means I will most likely watch it about 6 times before I get tired of it!) JUNO! It was absolutely hilarious...if you like dry, sarcastic humor! So, I will not ruin the story, but if your looking for a good movie...rent JUNO! Madelaine...come back soon!

After concluding my evening with Mads, I went home to a house full of boys (and poor Samantha) playing Rock Band! The idea of having Rock Band at our house seemed like a good idea at the time, but it has slowly become quite annoying! My husband refuses to be terrible at anything...so this means that he HAS to practice for the next big RB event! If you have never been in a room with Rock Band then you have missed out on the annoying tapping of those stupid drums! So my relaxing evening came to a halting stop after I walked into my house. I heard Cody screaming into the mike, Keith on the guitar, and Ryan (who is actually exceptionally good at all the instruments) was on the drums! This event lasted for about an hour and half. You cannot imagine hearing Cody sing/scream the song Maps at 1100 at night. Let's just say I am blessed!

On Saturday Keith and I drove to the big ol' town of Hayden! My mother and her best friend had a yard sale, and I was eager to spend a little time with my mom! This is most likely going to drive Keith crazy, but I miss my mom! Don't get me wrong I LOVE marriage, but there are days when I just need to see my mom! The yard sale went well, and we were able to eat lunch with my mom. It was a good day!

Completely off subject, but Keith and I (mostly Keith) have been working on our back patio. The idea was to buy new outdoor furniture, but then we realized that we are newly married and poor, so that idea was soon vetoed. We have been able to put a little money towards this area of our house, and it is beginning to look very nice. Keith is so proud, and it has become his new favorite part of the house. He has sat out there every aftenoon just relaxing. Props to you Husband...it's beautiful.

Beautiful Grace

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways...

For You formed in my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them...

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And Lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:1-3, 13-16, 23-24

My Blog

So...I got a text message last night asking for the login to my blog, and I must say that I reluctantly gave all this information to my wonderful husband. I thought he would just write a few things about our wonderful marriage...oh no...I got home last night from work and he had changed my whole blog template. I must say that I was a little upset! Keith and I have two completely different ideas about design...and needless to say, I hated what he put on MY BLOG! I have absolutely no problem with him writing on the blog, but you can't just go and change my template. It really got to me! So, for those of you who have noticed the changed background, don't worry...my template will return along with some long awaited pictures! Keith I love you but no more changes...please!

Just Thoughts...

So this is my first blog, my wife has been doing all the work and it is absolutely amazing. I am in love with her and she is with me most of the time :) No the past few months have been unbelievable. I couldn't ask for anything more. However I am having to learn that money is not something that we can just spend when I want to. Key word is on I. But it is amazingly fun as you can tell from the prior blogs. We are in our twenties yet we act like 70. hahah

So here is the thought... I am sitting in class listening to a professor (literally now) and we are talking about the doctrine of Christianity. Our discussions are deep and our thoughts are being probed to figure out these wanders of our faith. However, what happens when we focus on all the theologians and and theories and forget about the first love that we were called to? I mean don't get me wrong, it is important to understand what we believe, there is no question. But what I am learning about myself deals with getting so caught up in the business of the Christian life that I forget the purpose. I am called to make a difference.

So here is my declaration::.
I am called to be a world changer, one who is dedicated to the name of Christ being proclaimed to this world. I am a warrior. God is working in me to go to battle for the sake of Christianity. I am bold, not caring what people think, but passionately pursing a God who loves each and everyone of us. And Last but certainly not least, a Godly husband who is passionately in love with my wife, just as Christ loved His Church. To show her respect and to lead her in the way that only God can do.

So this where I am at... not sure if it makes sense to everyone reading (if anyone) But it makes sense in my heart and in my mind. I hope that it cascades out into my everyday life. I am tired of holding it in. I am called.



.::I am awakened::.

Rain, Whole Foods, NCIS, and a Roast

Before I write down every detail about our weekend, I have to ask if all who read this will say a special prayer for Keith's dad. He and 11 other men are currently doing strenuous mission work in Nicaruaga. There is actually some airport strikes and governmental issues stirring in this country right now, and we are PRAYING for safety and PRAYING AGAINST any sickness or international problems.

Well...I had big plans for this weekend (a picnic somewhere peaceful), but the weather had another idea. You see...I worked extra hard this week to have the house completely clean so we would have Saturday free to enjoy the warm weather, and instead we spent the day inside watching old chick flicks(which Keith actually enjoyed). By lunch time I had already watched "The Perfect Man", "The Wedding Planner", and half of "The Prince and Me". Although the day was pretty much a bust, we did enjoy a new resteraunt that night...Fire and Ice. The resteraunt or "improvisational grill" basically consited of a massive buffet of all kinds of vegetables, pastas, meats, and sauces. We were given a small bowl to fill with whatever we wanted, and then we took our bowls to this grill in the center of the resteraunt to watch the chef's cook our food. It was a great experience, but it required a lot of thinking (for me at least.) Keith had no trouble with the idea of creating his own meal. He went right to it, while I gazed at the wide array of food for about 15 minutes before I could decide what would taste good together. In fact he actually fixed enough meals to feed a small country. By the end of the meal, Keith was actually trying to find places to hide is uneaten food. All in all, it was a lot of fun!

After the meal, we were on a mission to find fresh flowers for our house. I was cooking dinner for Keith's mom on Sunday, and I NEEDED fresh flowers for my table. We ended up in Whole Foods (my most favorite store). I HATE grocery shopping...with a Passion, but Whole Foods is not your ordinary grocery store. I am by no means a "health freak", but I do like to buy things that I know are not treated with hormones and "extra things", so Whole Foods is definitely the place to shop. We entered the store and I was greeted by a huge display of fresh flowers. My mission was complete, but it was impossible to leave without looking around. We ended up buying some much needed items off of our grocery list The trip was a definite success, and a very nice break from the Walmart Super Center!

I know it seems like we had a very full Saturday evening, but sadly enough we were actually home by 8:30...it's pitiful that we are already an old married couple. One thing that Keith and I love to do together is watch seasons of television shows. Last month we watched all four season of "The Office". Saturday night we started the first season of NCIS. It is another CSI/Cold Case type show...which we love. Our goal will be to basically finish the season as fast as we can...we are already 6 in! I know...I know...our life seems incredibly boring, but I LOVE IT!

Lastly, I must tell everyone of my major accomplishment. When I was a little girl, we ALWAYS had a roast on Sunday. You know the kind with the potatoes and carrots! Well I did some major grocery shopping on Friday, and I had the idea that I was going to cook my first "Sunday Roast." Well, I must say that I was incredibly nervous because we also invited Keith's mom over for dinner (Please keep his dad in your prayers-he is on a mission trip to Nicaruaga right now.)So this was a very important Roast! Months and months of the sarcastic Varden jokes relied on this roast. I began cooking late Saturday night...after 3 episode of NCIS. I lost a good nights sleep because of this roast! Finally I woke up early Sunday morning and low and behold it actually tasted good! It was a success...I managed to cook a tender, descent tasting roast that Keith actually ate! I was so proud!

That pretty much sums up our wonderful weekend. My plans were ruined but it was perfect! Well I pray that all of you have a blessed week.

FaithHope