I was at church last night praying in the new year and I got to thinking about all the wonderful, scary, awesome, things that have happened this year. God has brought us so far. Just wanted to share...
January
We started off the year much like any other couple. He was working and I was home with two sick/injured dogs. Typical huh? January was very trying because of the end of the year/taxes. We were in a not so great financial place, but God was providing (but we didn't know it at the time). We had just started going to our church and were still unsure, but wanted to have a relationship with God. Thus begins our journey for 2008, a little scared, a little wary, a little bit of working on having faith.
February
So many things happen in February for us every year, but this year was special. The hubby turned 24, Valentines is always a nice time, and we have another reason to celebrate this year. My husband and I were saved on Feb. 3, 2008. What an overwhelming and beautiful night that was! I cannot fully express my love or my thankfulness for what God did in our hearts that night. "All I know is what I have seen and heard and only you can choose!" I do know that this year would have been a lot rougher if not for God. Thank you God for our brand new birthday!
March
Since we are brand new creatures in Christ Jesus, we are so much happier! We are still working on becoming Christ-like, and yes it is difficult (especially loving EVERYONE as Christ would love them, I'm struggling with that one!). My husband was baptized on March 30, 2008. What a glorious day. I had grown up in the church and was baptized when I was 13, but I never fully believed until now. My husband had not grown up in the church and was never baptized so this was such a special day (we even have a framed certificate on our living room wall).
April
April was so busy. We were in the process of planning our wedding (our big one, we were already married in a small ceremony on Sept. 14 2007, but had started the planning process on our big wedding so we had both, yeah its a little confusing). Also, my sister-in-law was getting married she had such a cute vineyard wedding. I was one of the bridesmaids and I only wish I would have stayed out of the sun a week before the wedding. I had a HORRIBLE sunburn. It was April so it wasn't hot and I sat outside Starbucks too long chatting with an old friend. I was burnt and red for about two weeks (which her wedding fell right in the middle of that).
My chest was horribly red! But what a beautiful wedding!The makeup artist had to work miracles with my makeup! They pratically had to spackle my face so that I didn't look like I had a skin disorder, lol... It turned out wonderfully and I was so happy for her and her now husband. They were so cute!
May
This month was filled with nothing but running. I felt like we were drowning at some points in this month, but God pulled us through. "The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not sustain you." Truer words have never been spoken! We were in the process of moving, downsizing from a 3 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom apartment, working non-stop, trying to fit in family time as much as possible, and just trying to spend some time with the Lord and each other. I feel we didn't meet any of those requirements with the patience we should have, but God is doing a mighty work in us and for that we are thankful!
June
Another hectic run arround month. My mom turned 50 and demanded a party, lol. Not really, she just wanted to celebrate her "over the hill"-ness with everyone. It was a great time and I think she enjoyed herself. She is so cute! I wish I had had a camera at the time, but I did not and can not provide pictures =(.
July
First off, Happy Birthday America! Woohoo, land of the free and home of the brave! Thank God for the inquisitive and exploritive minds that wanted to know more about our world. July is always fun, even though I'm a winter person over summer any day of the week. July just has something about it that makes you so happy to be apart of this great nation. Maybe it is the blowing up of things? Secondly, the end of July will now always have a bittersweet memory to it. My grandmother passed away a year ago on July 27th. I was so sad and broken hearted because she raised me and I had lost a mother instead of a grandmother. I was not saved on July 27, 2007 when she passed away suddenly and could not wrap my brain around what was happening. Everyone had tried to comfort me with "She is in a better place." But what if I didn't believe that? Now looking back a year later and being a child of God, I can safely say she is in a better place and I'm so thankful God placed her in my life for guidance and wisdom. I have a new outlook and the anniversary of her death was more of a comfort than I thought it would have been. Thank you God for a renewing of mind!
August
My lovely bridal shower! I love my cousin, Jennifer, she is by far my best friend and sister from another mother. I have often thought that we were cousins cause our mothers could not handle us as sisters, lol. We are quite the team! She threw me an awesome Alice and Wonderland themed bridal shower in Galveston and then that night we went out for dinner and drinks at Rainforest Cafe. We had such a great time that weekend. We were worried that Tropical Storm Edourd had other plans for us, but he went to the north, unlike a certain hurricane that will be mentioned in the September portion of this blog. Jennifer also turned 21 in August, it was a momentous occassion that I sadly could not make it down for, but I was there in spirit and was wishing her all the best birthday blessings!
September: AKA Ike take a Hike!
Dun, Dun, DUUUUUUN! Hurricane Ike of course happened in September. Our one year anniversary of marriage was two days after it hit. We had planned this whole awesome anniversary weekend and were stoked! Concert on Friday, hanging out and going to the movies on Saturday, and picnic in the park we got married in on Sunday the 14th. Well Ike came and moved our plans around, but my husband had off that weekend so we could flee to the College Station "compound" (as we like to call it), together! God worked it out so that we could be together and I would not have to worry about him being in The Woodlands working during the hurricane! What an awesome God is He! A large portion of my family lives in the country outside of College Sation. They own a good portion of acreage and have a few houses on it (hence the name compound, lol). My aunt and uncle, their 4 kids, and two sets of grandparents live out there. I was expecting it to be packed with all the family from League City and Webster, but they opted to stay home which worried us to no end! My aunt and I stayed up until 4 AM and the worst had past over their areas. We prayed and they all were safe. In College Station we barely got any wind or rain and the power blinked out for about 30 seconds. We called College Station the hub of power because EVERY town around us on all sides were without power. People flocked to the area for supplies. What did we do with our blessed electricity? Had a Heroes marathon and ate like crazy! I gained about 7 pounds in a week because of all the junky non-perishables. Not a good idea when you have a wedding at the end of November. Yeah Ike took up a good portion of our time and probably gave us all a few gray hairs.
I'm so thankful that we had gone when God told us to go and we were in a Goshen area. That radio station was down for about a week, and we were without power at our house about the same amount of time. We were so blessed and we do not wish to make light of a devastating situation for many. This was our experience with the storm and many of our family and friends were affected by it.
Our roommate Carrie who had been staying with us during the week while she went to school and went home to her parents house in La Porte, their house did not fair so well. 3 feet of water and pretty much everything was ruined. They did a great job renovating as quickly as possible though and they were back in their house by the beginning of December. Praise God!
May
This month was filled with nothing but running. I felt like we were drowning at some points in this month, but God pulled us through. "The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not sustain you." Truer words have never been spoken! We were in the process of moving, downsizing from a 3 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom apartment, working non-stop, trying to fit in family time as much as possible, and just trying to spend some time with the Lord and each other. I feel we didn't meet any of those requirements with the patience we should have, but God is doing a mighty work in us and for that we are thankful!
June
Another hectic run arround month. My mom turned 50 and demanded a party, lol. Not really, she just wanted to celebrate her "over the hill"-ness with everyone. It was a great time and I think she enjoyed herself. She is so cute! I wish I had had a camera at the time, but I did not and can not provide pictures =(.
July
First off, Happy Birthday America! Woohoo, land of the free and home of the brave! Thank God for the inquisitive and exploritive minds that wanted to know more about our world. July is always fun, even though I'm a winter person over summer any day of the week. July just has something about it that makes you so happy to be apart of this great nation. Maybe it is the blowing up of things? Secondly, the end of July will now always have a bittersweet memory to it. My grandmother passed away a year ago on July 27th. I was so sad and broken hearted because she raised me and I had lost a mother instead of a grandmother. I was not saved on July 27, 2007 when she passed away suddenly and could not wrap my brain around what was happening. Everyone had tried to comfort me with "She is in a better place." But what if I didn't believe that? Now looking back a year later and being a child of God, I can safely say she is in a better place and I'm so thankful God placed her in my life for guidance and wisdom. I have a new outlook and the anniversary of her death was more of a comfort than I thought it would have been. Thank you God for a renewing of mind!
August
My lovely bridal shower! I love my cousin, Jennifer, she is by far my best friend and sister from another mother. I have often thought that we were cousins cause our mothers could not handle us as sisters, lol. We are quite the team! She threw me an awesome Alice and Wonderland themed bridal shower in Galveston and then that night we went out for dinner and drinks at Rainforest Cafe. We had such a great time that weekend. We were worried that Tropical Storm Edourd had other plans for us, but he went to the north, unlike a certain hurricane that will be mentioned in the September portion of this blog. Jennifer also turned 21 in August, it was a momentous occassion that I sadly could not make it down for, but I was there in spirit and was wishing her all the best birthday blessings!
September: AKA Ike take a Hike!
Dun, Dun, DUUUUUUN! Hurricane Ike of course happened in September. Our one year anniversary of marriage was two days after it hit. We had planned this whole awesome anniversary weekend and were stoked! Concert on Friday, hanging out and going to the movies on Saturday, and picnic in the park we got married in on Sunday the 14th. Well Ike came and moved our plans around, but my husband had off that weekend so we could flee to the College Station "compound" (as we like to call it), together! God worked it out so that we could be together and I would not have to worry about him being in The Woodlands working during the hurricane! What an awesome God is He! A large portion of my family lives in the country outside of College Sation. They own a good portion of acreage and have a few houses on it (hence the name compound, lol). My aunt and uncle, their 4 kids, and two sets of grandparents live out there. I was expecting it to be packed with all the family from League City and Webster, but they opted to stay home which worried us to no end! My aunt and I stayed up until 4 AM and the worst had past over their areas. We prayed and they all were safe. In College Station we barely got any wind or rain and the power blinked out for about 30 seconds. We called College Station the hub of power because EVERY town around us on all sides were without power. People flocked to the area for supplies. What did we do with our blessed electricity? Had a Heroes marathon and ate like crazy! I gained about 7 pounds in a week because of all the junky non-perishables. Not a good idea when you have a wedding at the end of November. Yeah Ike took up a good portion of our time and probably gave us all a few gray hairs.
I'm so thankful that we had gone when God told us to go and we were in a Goshen area. That radio station was down for about a week, and we were without power at our house about the same amount of time. We were so blessed and we do not wish to make light of a devastating situation for many. This was our experience with the storm and many of our family and friends were affected by it.
Our roommate Carrie who had been staying with us during the week while she went to school and went home to her parents house in La Porte, their house did not fair so well. 3 feet of water and pretty much everything was ruined. They did a great job renovating as quickly as possible though and they were back in their house by the beginning of December. Praise God!
Just a small portion of the damage in Webster/Friendswood area...My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes, a loved one, anything to this hurricane. The devastation was unfathomable in a lot of areas. I will continue to pray for everyone affected by this storm, and those that will continue to feel the effects for a long time to come.
October
What amazing changes we have made in less than a year. This was our first year to not celebrate Halloween. We felt convicted and will not participate in pagan rituals again. I know this may sound weird to some, but it is where God is leading us and we will follow. Also this was our first year to celebrate Jesus' birthday close to his real birthday. Scholars have narrowed down his birthday to either the day before or the first day of Sukkot. We were so excited and can't wait to start that tradition of remembering his birthday closer to when it happened! So Jesus' birthday in 2008 was on Oct. 13 or 14! Yay Jesus! This coming year it will either be Oct 2 or 3. It is hard to pinpoint exactly but it fell around the Feast of Tabernacles...
November
Love November and Love Thanksgiving! I like Thanksgiving for many reasons: its not commercialized, its about focusing on how thankful you are to God for his blessings, and I have a history with the Puritan people...lol. I am a direct descendant of a couple that met on the Mayflower and they later fell in love after her parents died from that first harsh winter in Plymouth. He was their indentured servant and was released from his contract when the parents died, but he fell in love with their daughter and they married and had 15 children. Sounds like a cheesy romance novel huh? I think its sweet though. This was also a big month because we finally had the BIG wedding. We had a baseball wedding at Union Station at Minute Maid Park. I did forget to mention we are Astros fans... well we are Astros fans. The day was PERFECT! It was the best wedding I have ever attended...and it was mine! Our small ceremony with just us and a few other people was special because it joined us as one forever. This was fun and we could understand the vows more because we had been married for over a year. And what girl doesn't want to wear the wedding dress? We could vow to each other again and let everyone witness our vows to each other. It was just fun and little to no drama (which is rare for our families, lol).
Us leaving Union Station to go take a nap! We were so tired, but so happy!
October
What amazing changes we have made in less than a year. This was our first year to not celebrate Halloween. We felt convicted and will not participate in pagan rituals again. I know this may sound weird to some, but it is where God is leading us and we will follow. Also this was our first year to celebrate Jesus' birthday close to his real birthday. Scholars have narrowed down his birthday to either the day before or the first day of Sukkot. We were so excited and can't wait to start that tradition of remembering his birthday closer to when it happened! So Jesus' birthday in 2008 was on Oct. 13 or 14! Yay Jesus! This coming year it will either be Oct 2 or 3. It is hard to pinpoint exactly but it fell around the Feast of Tabernacles...
November
Love November and Love Thanksgiving! I like Thanksgiving for many reasons: its not commercialized, its about focusing on how thankful you are to God for his blessings, and I have a history with the Puritan people...lol. I am a direct descendant of a couple that met on the Mayflower and they later fell in love after her parents died from that first harsh winter in Plymouth. He was their indentured servant and was released from his contract when the parents died, but he fell in love with their daughter and they married and had 15 children. Sounds like a cheesy romance novel huh? I think its sweet though. This was also a big month because we finally had the BIG wedding. We had a baseball wedding at Union Station at Minute Maid Park. I did forget to mention we are Astros fans... well we are Astros fans. The day was PERFECT! It was the best wedding I have ever attended...and it was mine! Our small ceremony with just us and a few other people was special because it joined us as one forever. This was fun and we could understand the vows more because we had been married for over a year. And what girl doesn't want to wear the wedding dress? We could vow to each other again and let everyone witness our vows to each other. It was just fun and little to no drama (which is rare for our families, lol).
Us leaving Union Station to go take a nap! We were so tired, but so happy!Thank you to everyone who made that day special for us. You are so near and dear to our hearts. We are always and forever grateful!
December: Finally!
My birthday is December. I turned 27. Wow, 27. Yeah my husband is younger than me, but he has always been so mature that it doesn't seem like he is younger. We had a great time going to dinner with some friends. That next week it SNOWED in TEXAS! It was the first time I have ever seen snow! I was totally flipping out.
Isn't he so romantic! Best husband in the world!
December: Finally!
My birthday is December. I turned 27. Wow, 27. Yeah my husband is younger than me, but he has always been so mature that it doesn't seem like he is younger. We had a great time going to dinner with some friends. That next week it SNOWED in TEXAS! It was the first time I have ever seen snow! I was totally flipping out.
Isn't he so romantic! Best husband in the world!Also Julia and I went to the Nutcracker and I said I would post those pics so here they are...
Julia and I in front of the huge tree at the Wortham Center
Julia and I in front of the huge tree at the Wortham Center
Coolest Gingerbread house ever!
There were more pictures, but I am still new at the camera having business and lost two of my favorite ones. I got a pic of Julia with one of the rats and a picture of the set. Oh well, more reason to go back next year....
So that brings us to today, now that you have read my life story for the past year... I will post later today about my goals for 2009. I pray that God blesses us even more than he has this past year. I want to seek his presence in my life!
Thanks for reading!
So that brings us to today, now that you have read my life story for the past year... I will post later today about my goals for 2009. I pray that God blesses us even more than he has this past year. I want to seek his presence in my life!
Thanks for reading!
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