Children of the World

This past Wednesday I started my accounting class. It went well and I think I will enjoy it. I remembered I don't miss all the reading from college though!

Tomorrow at church we are having World Hope's Children of the World Choir. Two of the girls from the choir are staying with Mom & Ashley tonight. We just got back from being over there to eat dinner and hang out with them. They have two little girls, ages 7 & 8. Lilly is from India and Rochel is from the Philippines. They were so cute! Lilly really took to Anthony. She sat across from Anthony at dinner and she would just grin at him. Then later, they were playing with some ice packs, and she kept "getting" Anthony with her ice pack. She absolutely loved him! When we went to leave, she ran straight to him to give him a hugh - I had to ask for mine! Haha. They call adults "auntie" and "uncle": it was sweet to hear her call him uncle. Mom says this group of kids has only been in the US for 3 weeks, so their English was broken at best, but they sure were sweet. I am so excited to see their concert tomorrow at church. Vicky, her brother Evan, and roommate Becky, will be visiting for the day so they can see the concert too. Vicky hasn't seen the house yet, so that will be fun to have them here! (I took a few pictures of the girls on Mom's camera, so hopefully I will get those pictures and post them soon - meanwhile, that is a picture of the kids on the Central US tour - I'm not sure if that is from this group, the picture is kind of small, but it gives you a good idea!)

Also, Anthony and I are going to be leading the 7th and 8th grade Sunday School class starting next week. Jeremy has a video series so we'll be using that and then having discussion about it. We are excited about starting that. We have really enjoyed spending time with the kids in that age group - they are a great bunch of kids!

That's all for tonight!

Well, it has been a long time since I posted, due to some technical difficulties with posting the photos, which I still seem to be having... but here we go.

Last weekend, we went to Baltimore to see a Red Sox game, which was Anthony's birthday present. We went to the game at Camden Yards on Friday evening. Here are a few pictures from that:

The last one is Manny Ramirez out in left field! The Red Sox didn't win, but we had a really great time and would love to go to another game sometime.

On Saturday, we went to the Baltimore Aquarium. My favorite part was the dolphin show we saw:

It was a really nice weekend getaway for us before Anthony gets busy with school again.

The shed is also coming along, although it has slowed down a lot since Anthony has been back at school for the past week. He has really done a good job with it and I am so proud of my handy husband!

Frog

I was out watering the plants tonight and something caught my eye. It was a tiny little baby frog. I didn't get a picture of it, though I should have. It hopped away from me and was sitting on one of the leaves of the plant; that's how small it was. It was really cute and made me happy, so I just wanted to share that. :)

I'm Behind!

I should have posted long before now, but here is a long overdue update on our lives.

Last weekend, we visited Laura in Knoxville, TN. Me, Anthony, and my mom went. We were there from Friday till Sunday and we had a wonderful time. It was really good because I think Laura and Anthony got to know each other better and just hang out and have fun together. Anthony came into my life after Laura and I had gone our separate ways for college, so obviously he knew she was one of my best friends, but they had never gotten to spend much time around each other, so it was nice since they got to do that on the trip! We went to Dixie Stampede on Saturday. Here are a few pictures from while we were waiting for the show:

Mom, Laura, & Anthony in the rockers


"Laverne & Shirley" hanging out with the horse - just like old times :)


Aren't we cute? (Except for me looking like a fat lard! Pictures sure are good motivation for exercise!)



Just before we went to Tennesse, Anthony finished up with summer school. So he has been on "break" this last week. He has been busy working on our shed for the back yard. Here is some of the progress he has made:



He actually has the entire foundation done now and is working on walls now. We just ordered the doors and windows this evening, so hopefully they will be here soon. It doesn't look like he'll be able to have it done before he goes back to school, just because of the special order business, but he certainly has a good start on it.

This weekend we had Matt & Amanda here to visit. They left this evening, but we had a really nice time visiting with them. It's so nice just to be able to hang out with them. I miss Amanda and my roommate days and all the fun we had together! I cannot wait till their baby girl is born in November!

Also, on an exciting note for me, I am going to be taking an accounting class this fall at Blue Ridge Community College. I really am enjoying the accounting aspects of my job and I plan to pursue my associates degree in accounting now. I'm going to take my time but hopefully one day I can reach that goal. It's going to be a Wednesday night class so unfortunately I'm going to have to miss church on Wednesday nights until December. I am very excited to be doing school again though. I have missed it since I graduated.

Well, that's about all that is new in our lives for now. This coming weekend, we are going to Baltimore on Friday for a Red Sox/Orioles game. We are staying overnight on Friday and will probably go to the aquarium and just hang out on Saturday before we come home. It will be a nice little getaway for us before Anthony gets back to school again!

Thankful

Well, it seems that our family has hit the bottom of a valley again. It seems there is going to be some resolution to the "strange situation" my family has been in for almost the last 2 year; not a good resolution, but resolution nonetheless. I think I am hoping that it is quick and not dragged out any longer than necessary, so my mom can have some closure and move on with her life.

Meanwhile, we are all hurting, confused, and angry just to name a few of the emotions. However, in the midst of this 2 year valley, I am trying to remain optimistic and be thankful, as God tells us to do.

Tonight when we came home and walked through the door, as I do many times these days, I just thanked God for this beautiful home he has given us.

I am thankful for my health, and the health of my family. Just a mere 2 years ago, my mom was finishing up her battle with cancer, which, thank you Lord, she fought hard and won! I am thankful that the chances of her cancer recurring are minimal because of advances in modern medicine.

I am thankful I have such a caring, loving sister. She is a rock and has so much more courage than I ever will.

I am thankful for my godly mother who tells me that God must have something good on the way for us. I know she is hurting and unsure of the future, but she is also looking at the big picture and trying to see things from God's point of view.

I am thankful for Seth, who might as well be my brother-in-law. He is the brother I never had and I know he would have my back, should I ever need anything.

I am thankful for bubbly, happy, innocent, brings-joy-to-our-lives-like-nothing-else-can Zoe. I know without a doubt that God brought her to us "for such a time as this" and that this journey would be so much harder if she weren't in it. It's really pretty amazing how a 2 year old has "carried" us through these hard times.

I am thankful for the friends I have who have seen me through the best and worst of times. Many times I have cried on their shoulders. Many times I have poured my heart out to them. But even more importantly, many times they have prayed for me. I cannot ask for more from a friend.

Certainly not least, I am thankful for my wonderful husband. He brings me joy and laughter. He is a wonderful provider. I was just thinking the other day, since I am not teaching anymore, why would God let me do 4 years of college to learn a profession I'm not even doing anymore? The thought crossed my mind, that maybe, just maybe, it was so I could meet Anthony. Had I not studied education in college, I never would have taken that impossible Math 200 class that Anthony and I shared together. Now, we were in brother/sister dorms, so maybe we still would have hooked up, but maybe not. Maybe it was being in that math class together that picqued our interest in each other. Who knows. Whatever the reason, I am thankful that God brought him to me.

Although I am not happy with or proud of the path my father has chosen to take, I am thankful that he was a good father to me when I was young, and that he and my mom raised me in a way that is honorable to God and in a way that allowed me to seek God.

Everyone will face hard times. It's inevitable. I am in one of those hard times right now. But I am thankful. There is a Caedmon's Call song that says "valleys fill first". When you are in a valley, that is the best time to feel God's blessings and be thankful. When God does send his healing rain on our family, our valley will fill quickly and bring us closer to him.

There was a family on Extreme Home Makeover that had the father pass away. One thing he said, that was very important to that family was something to this effect: there are so many things to think about, but there is nothing to worry about. That has just seemed to stick with me and come to my mind the past couple of days. For me to worry about the future is to doubt that God will take care of my family. I know he will. I am trying to choose not to worry. I am so thankful.

Where is the Summer Going??

Hello- I figured it was time for an update. Amanda told me I have been slacking since we moved in... I'll try harder. :) It's hard to believe we are more than half way through July already. We have been very busy. Anthony has less than a week left at summer school and then he will have a few weeks off before school starts back up again. I believe he is planning on building us a shed during his break. I've been at Staunton Foods for over a month now and am still enjoying it. The bulk of my work is divided between human resources and accounts payable. I'm hoping that work will pay for me to take an accounting class this fall and I kind of have it in my mind that I'm going to work toward a degree in accounting. I'm not really in a hurry but maybe in a few years I can add that to my resume.

This coming weekend is a down weekend for us. I think we'll need it because for almost the next month we are going to be very busy on the weekends. Next weekend, Mom, Anthony, and I are leaving on Friday morning and going to Knoxville to visit my wonderful friend Laura Williams. She just bought a house in January and we haven't seen it yet, so I'm excited about that. We are also going to go to Dixie Stampede while we are there. Anthony has never been and I absolutely love doing fun things with people who have never done them before! The weekend after that, the first weekend in August, Matt and Amanda (and baby) will be visiting us. We don't really have any special plans but I do know we'll be going to Chili's to satisfy Amanda's "there's no Chili's in Lynchburg" cravings. You don't hear me complaining. Then the weekend after that, Anthony and I will be going to Baltimore on Friday morning to see a Red Sox - Orioles baseball game. This was Anthony's birthday present. We'll stay overnight on Friday and I'm not sure what else we'll do while we are there. Probably go to the Inner Harbor maybe the aquarium. Any suggestions would be welcome!

This week we (well, me really) have been into The World Series of Pop Culture on VH1. Tonight is the final game. I guess it's fun for me because I know a decent amount of pop culture and Anthony doesn't really know much, so it's one thing I can beat him in! :)

I guess that's about all I have to say... here a few pictures to enjoy!


Our "wedding wall"



Up close



Us in front of the house..... Anthony sporting the sock feet



Zoe being silly wearing her daddy's hat - she would try to get him to chase her around the house because she stole his hat

Caverns Picture