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