Facebook

I am really getting tired of Facebook, and really don't care to have it anymore.  First, because facebook changes their privacy settings and never says anything about it.  So you are vulnerable.  Second, I don't like having "friends" on there that don't ever write me at all.  It's pretty much giving them info about me without really having a relationship.  I have email that I can talk to my friends, and I hope that they will start blogging too so I can see pictures/updates about them.  The only reason I still have FB is to keep tabs on my friends.  The ones that actually write me and care about my life.  They don't just want gossip to pass on.  And I am really thankful for all my true friends, whether they have FB or not.  I love you all :)

Beach day

Wow, this week has been a whirlwind!!  I can't believe we have done so much in such a short time.  Yesterday, one of my BEST friends from when I was a teenager just happened to be in town.  So we went to the beach.  Melissa and her husband Josh, not to mention my sister and her husband, Melissa's dad and brother and nephew were also there.  So we had a party LOL!  I love the kind of friends that you can go months without talking, but as soon as you see each other nothing has changed.  You are still as close as ever, you talk like there was no time apart, and you laugh til your sides hurt.  These are the types of friends I love to have!!  We had a blast.  Josh took the kids into the ocean (brr!!) and we buried the boys (both 4 yrs old) in the sand.  We flew (and crashed) a kite, and Josh seriously paid my daughter to follow us around with a video camera and catch some "dirt" on us.  if you know Josh, that is a typical thing to do!!  The kids swam until they shivered, then went back in for more.  I got slightly burned, and was exhausted when we were done but it was worth it.  We all had a great time, and I can't wait to see them again!!  I can't believe I have known Melissa for 16 years.  I feel so young when I'm with her, it's like we're teens all over again :)  We have done everything together from geocatching, camping in the freezing cold, fighting with dead animal parts (don't ask) to comforting her when her mom passed, and being at each other's weddings.  So much history and so much love.  I can now add the fun we had at the beach to the list of fond memories we have together.  I just hope this sunburn clears up quickly (ouch!!)

My family

Even though it is so stressful for Nathan to only have a part-time job right now, we are so thankful that he is home every day.  I know God has a plan for us, and that He knows when our house will sell and when Nathan will be able to get on full-time.  I am trying so hard not to stress about it.  Just seeing the look on my kids faces when they see him come home every day is worth the financial strain.  Family should be the most important thing in this life, and unfortunately so many families take it for granted.  They throw away their marriage because they just "grow apart", they don't parent their kids and leave the school and/or church to do that, disciplining is practically unheard of.  Is this really making society better?!  I am so thankful to be married to a husband that wants me to stay home and raise our kids to be godly.  This world needs more Christians that are actually living what they believe.  Train your kids to love the Lord and to serve Him.  Don't just be a Sunday Christian and live how you want to the rest of the week.  That just sends mixed messages.  Really live your beliefs.  We are called to be different.  To be modest in what we wear, to shield our eyes, ears, and our minds from the world.  That includes the movies we watch and the music we listen to.  We really need to be different than everyone else.  Make them want what we have, which is more important than any material thing we could ever own.  A relationship with Christ WILL fill that void in your life.  I used to want to have "stuff".  I thought it would make me happy, but once you get that "stuff", it's already outdated.  There is new and improved "stuff" out there the minute you get home!!  Once I surrendered my whole life to Christ, and to His will, I no longer desired "stuff".  I now desire to have a happy, loving, Christ-centered family.  We don't have a lot of things, but we are happy and content with the Lord.  We know His will is perfect, and I never want to stop growing closer to Him.  I am not perfect, but I am changed.  How is your family doing?  Do you REALLY put God first, or just say you do?  Does what you wear, watch, read show that you are a Christian?  If not, are you truly saved?  Do you truly desire to please God and not man?  I pray for my friends and family and that they will truly be a light in this dark world.  You can find complete peace, not in things, but in Christ.

Cleaning day

We have been here a week now, and I thought we would be more unpacked than we are!!  Today I was cleaning out our room.  It's so nice to be able to walk without it feeling like I'm in a maze :)  I also found some more clothes which is always nice!!  The last room to tackle is the girl's room.  The puppy's kennel is in there, so I only want to go in when they are playing with him.  Right now the girls are on the Wii having fun, so I think I will wait a bit to have them take the dog for a walk.  We have been enjoying the beautiful weather and today we are meeting a good friend at a nature park.  The kids are excited to go there.  The last time we were there Dylan saw an armadillo and asked if it was a robot LOL I guess they do look sort of "fake".  :)  I feel like all I have done since being here is homeschooling, cleaning, going for walks, and sightseeing.  But I guess that isn't too bad.  I am glad to be getting some packing undone.  I finally found my hair straightener!!  Yeah!  It was in a suitcase I thought had already been unpacked.  I can't wait for my mom to get home in 2 days.  I hope the house is all back in order before then, so we can have fun!  They have a really good restaurant here (one of many) that we are planning on going to with my mom, my sister and Brooke.  I haven't been there since last May and they have the BEST food there!  So needless to say, I can't wait!!!  Well, break's over, back to work!  I hope you all have a fun and relaxing weekend!!

Fresh air and sunshine

I am so excited to be back in Florida.  I love the warm sunshine and there is so much to do here.  We have been going on multiple walks every day and it is so much fun!!  I am seeing some of my best friends this weekend as well, and I am really excited about that too.  As hard as it is to move, I am so thankful for keeping in touch with my friends. I love just picking up where we left off and continuing a great relationship.  I know I have that with my NC friends as well, and it really does mean a lot to me to stay in touch and make an effort to spend time together when we can!!  I love my friends so much.  They are like family to me!!  I hope you all come and visit me when we get settled in and enjoy this beautiful weather with me.  We haven't walked on the beach yet, I am trying to wait til my mom gets home in a few days, but I am really excited to do that too!!  It's a great workout that I don't even notice I am doing, and lets face it, workouts aren't fun for me, so any exercise I can do without noticing I'm exercising is a good thing!!!  We need to get Marissa a bike and then we will be able to walk even longer.  So that is on my list of things to get. . . hopefully soon!!!  Happy Friday everyone!!

Feeling better

Yesterday morning started out rough, but by the afternoon things were going much better!  We went to the Air Force base nearby which the kids loved.  My sister was so sweet and bought us all doughnuts!!  YUMMY!!  Then we went to a new church for Wed. night.  One of the things I HATE doing when we move is looking for a church.  Here, we have a wonderful church that I love more than anything, but it is really big now, and with big churches comes a lot of outside influence.  I never thought I would be strict with my kids, but I am.  I want them to have fun, but I also want them to be modest, have godly friends, and not date until they are ready to be married.  Last night we went to a smaller church which had a wonderful kids program, but the message was just ok.  It was good, but not really deep.  However, our main verse that we studied was Ps 56:3 "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee."  That really rings true to me now.  Here we are, in a different state, needing to sell our house, and Nathan only has a part time job!!  It is really stressful financially right now, but I know God moved us here, and that we are in his will.  I know He will take care of us, and I am trying as hard as I can to trust Him to sell our house, get Nathan on full time at his job, and to meet all of our needs (not our wants!!).  After hearing that message it really made me refocus on trusting God and not worrying.  So now the only problem to figure out is what church to go to.  The one I love that is big, or the smaller new one that has a good kids program but not as good messages.  Hmmm . . . .

Stressed

Well, our house is officially on the market.  I am hopeful that it will sell quickly, but the reality is that it could take a long time for it to sell.  I am thankful to be able to stay with family, but it is always stressful to stay at someone else's house.  You have to be so careful not to ruin anything of theirs.  I am glad we were raised to respect other people's belongings, and take better care of their things than my own.  Not everyone is like that, but it really is an important quality to have.  I am grateful my parents taught it to us, but it does make staying at other people's house more stressful :)  I am still trying to unpack everything.  I notice that I use a lot more things daily than I thought!!  Today, I have been trying to find my hair straightener.  Ashley just got an edgy, city haircut, and we need the straightener to style it.  Not to mention, my hair gets very frizzy if I don't straighten it.  Needless to say, I cannot find it anywhere.  I know it is packed here somewhere, but I cannot for the life of me, find it.  Oh well, on a good note, we are going to the airforce base that my brother-in-law works at.  He was just promoted to Major, so we are going to the base to congratulate him (and to look around!!)  That should be a fun afternoon.  Nathan is only working part time this week, which is nice to have him home, but stressful because it's 1/2 the paycheck.  Oh well, I know God will provide.  I am trying to just trust him and not be too stressed about everything, but sometimes, it's hard . . .

Hot, sunny days!

We are starting to get settled in.  About 1/2 the boxes are unpacked, so that is a good start!  Yesterday was gorgeous outside, and I couldn't resist taking the kids and the puppy on a few walks.  The sun was shining, there was a sidewalk (very exciting), and the road was FLAT!  I can't tell you how much I miss going on walks.  Where we lived in NC, it was so incredibly hilly, that the kids could not walk from the street behind us, to the street in front of us.  The incline was so steep it was very hard for them to walk, let alone ride a bike!  Dylan was out yesterday riding a tricycle my parents have here.  It was so cute to see how much he loved to ride it.  I really missed that about FL.  I am really excited to take walks every day.  I hope I keep up with it.  I am not much for walking normally.  I would rather be rollerblading, but the kids love it, and the dog needs it, so I am going to try my best to take at least 2 walks a day.  Yesterday we took 5 LOL!  My face got a little red too, I forgot I need sunblock even in Feb!  My incentive for the kids to do their schoolwork quickly is to take them for a walk.  It doesn't work on Ashley LOL, but it does on the little ones.  So, off to finish the schoolwork and to take walk #1.  I hope the weather gets warmer, it was 45 this morning, but it's supposed to warm up nicely soon.  I need to find my camera/adapter, so I can post pictures.  I miss my friends so much in NC, but it is really nice to be back here with my family.  Nathan has a good job and will be home EVERY night!  I can't get over that, it is sooooo nice, after never knowing when he would be home (if at all) for the past 5 years!!  I am going to enjoy our time together!! 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I don't think we are doing anything tonight.  Maybe see if my dad'll watch the kids and we can go to DQ or something cheap!!  We usually get candy the day after when it's 50% off!  That way we get twice as much LOL!  Today Nathan started his new job, and is getting sworn in as a federal employee.  He is very excited to work his way up and to have a job he really enjoys having.  I am so thankful that God brought me such a hardworking man.  He really doesn't waste any minutes in the day.  He does a great job of providing for our needs, and training our kids to be godly.  He truly is a wonderful man, and I thank God for my precious gift :) I love him very much.  I hope you all have a wonderful valentine's day with your loved ones. 

Moving

Well, our drive down to Florida was pretty uneventful yesterday.  Besides wanting to fall asleep the whole way here, that is!  We got about 2 hours of sleep, then we drove 12 slow hours pulling a U-Haul.  We didn't have any breakdowns or anything thanks to my sweetie who always keeps our cars running great!  We had some help unloading the trailer which was very nice.  I am so tired now, but have a ton of boxes to sift through.  Our house in NC is nice and clean and I really hope it sells quickly.  We are really happy to be here and for Nathan to start his new job tomorrow.  Well, I'm off to go shopping! 

Car

My husband, the best body man/mechanic ever, decided last year to buy an old car and fix it up.  One year later, the car is just about done.  We just picked it up today from getting it painted, and man, it looks GOOD!  Now to add the decals, and I will snap some photos and post soon, hopefully before we leave Saturday.  He did an amazing job, I can't believe it is the same car.  When I first saw it, it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen.  I never wanted to be seen in it.  LOL Now, it looks so awesome, I can't believe how good of a job he did!  Just wait . . . you'll see . . .

New arrival!!

My new nephew Gabriel Stephen was born Friday Feb. 4th at 6:32 AM

He is 20" long and weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz.

He was literally born 4 minutes after they arrived at the hospital!  Her whole labor was less than 2 hours.  What a whirlwind!!  I am so excited for Rachel and Phil and their kids!  I hope we can see this little cutie soon!!
Congratulations!!