patience and obedience

A lot has changed since my last blog update on January 12, 2015.  A.LOT! 

The kids are doing well.  We are all counting down the days until school is out, we recently rescued a new puppy, Josie, Chris is still trucking along at Coca-Cola, and me, I’m in a phase of life that requires much patience and obedience to God.  

This past February, I took a new job.  A job that I was hopeful for.  A job that I thought would be the answer to many prayers for my family.  Today, I sit from home, typing this blog, and am now unemployed.  The job didn’t work out.

My anxiety and depression took over me the last few weeks and I’m just now beginning to feel somewhat “normal” again.  Our lives have changed.  I have changed.  The word “normal” has changed.

We’ve had to cut back on everything we do.  Our house is a few degrees warmer to save on electricity.  Food is only bought when needed and on sale.  Meal plans, budgets, a whole lotta’ coupons, and many prayers are making our lives function right now.  I’ve been able to get a few odd jobs to help, but losing a yearly salary and a nice paycheck every month was something I certainly took for granted.

Looking for a new job stinks.  I hate interviews.  I get sweaty palmed, anxious, and I am an all-around nervous wreck for the 30-60 minutes I’m having to talk about myself.  Walking into the unemployment office and taking a seat also really stinks.  I never thought I would be in that line, but I am. 

Coming home after dropping Avery off at school seems weird to me.  I’ve been getting up and going to school or work for 20 something years.  It’s been hard to feel accomplished each day.  Some days it’s been hard to function at all. 

Changes require patience and obedience to God.  I’ve never been great with patience.  I’m a go-getter’ and I like to have a plan.  These changes weren’t in my plan.  This was not how it was supposed to be, but it is what it is.  God has never not provided for me, but as a human being, it’s so hard to let go and let God sometimes.  I’m trying.  I keep praying, I keep praising, and I keep believing.  I keep telling myself that this is just a bump in the road on the way to something greater and better.  I’m not going to lie, waiting on the better is hard work.  But, in all this messiness, I’m learning that we have it way better than we deserve and never realized it.  I’m learning money doesn’t buy happiness and that family and friends are what makes me happy.  I’m learning that patience and obedience were lacking in my life and I’m now leaning on them more than ever.  I’m learning that God still hasn’t let me down, and that he has provided me with a great support system to get through this.

It’s still not easy, I’m still trying to cope with the changes, and I’m still waiting to see where this road will lead.  But, I have faith (boy, oh, boy have I had to show faith!) and I have the promises of God to get my family and me through this time—it just requires patience and obedience.

Please be in prayer as my family and I navigate through these changes.

Also, I’ve been doing many updates on my monogram Facebook page, check it out: https://facebook.com/thesilverneedleshop

long time, no blogging

Wow!  It's been quite a while since I've update the ole' blog.  I hope everyone in the blog-o-phere has been well!  Instead of posting several updates, I'll just combine the last few months into one post.  So, here is the rundown of our lives since August:

{August 2014}

-Avery started kindergarten and turned 6.

-Trevor started 5th grade.

-I received my diploma for my associates degree and was accepted into the business school at GSW.

 

{September 2014}

-Chris and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.

-Trevor began his first season of soccer.

 

 

 

 

{October 2014}

-I took Avery to his first college football game.

-We carved pumpkins {the kids got to design their own pumpkin faces-which they loved!}.

-Chris and I went to 3 weddings in 2 weekends.  We are blessed to have such amazing friends and were delighted to celebrate their special days with them.

-We took our little ninja and police office trick-or-treating.

 

hi-ho-o-h-i-o

We ventured North a few weeks ago to the great state of Ohio for a family reunion for Chris' Mom's side of the family.

It was Avery and my first time to Ohio and it was both Trevor and Avery's first time on a big jet. Trev was a bit nervous and Ave was beside himself with excitement, but both boys did amazingly and the plane rides to and from went super!

We flew up on Friday morning and spent the late afternoon at the farm (the family farm where the reunion was held).

On Saturday, over 100 folks gathered for great food and fellowship.  It was so neat to finally put faces with names that I've heard about since Chris and I started dating.  Everyone was so friendly and kind.  I loved meeting all of the extended families and hearing all of the family stories.  So many times we were in tears laughing from all of the shenanigans.  You could just feel the love on the farm.  It really is a magical place!

On Sunday, we had some time to burn before flying home so we headed out to the farm for a few hours and then headed to a local dairy/restaurant.  The kids had so much fun and loved being able to pet the animals and eat ice cream.  Afterward, we headed to the airport to make our way back home.

I know most people think family reunions are those dreaded events when you have to go and pretend you know who everyone is, but not this one.  This family reunion was amazing!  We met so many great cousins, aunts, and uncles and we all wished we had a few more days to stay.

 

{waiting for our plane to Ohio}

   

{preparing for take-off}

 

{successful flight}

 

{the 4 remaining 1st generation}

 

{2nd generation}

 

{3rd generation}

 

{4th generation}

{the outlaws aka. the spouses}

 

{the whole crew}

{reunion fun!}

 

 

 

 {Sunday fun at the dairy}

lately

I, for one, am glad school is out for the kiddos.  We are almost finished with our first week at summer camp, and the boys have had an absolute blast.  I mean, what kid wouldn't love playing with tons of kids, swimming, field trips, and loads of other fun every day?  Where can I sign up for grown-up summer camp? 

Our summer schedule is set, and we're nothing short of busy this summer.  We are tickled to get to have a lot more time with Trevor over the summer, and it has been so great living as a family of 4 this week.  We love having our family all together, and Avery and Trevor play together and bond amazingly.

In a few weeks, we head off to our first trip of the summer-- Ohio.  We are going to a huge family reunion for Chris' mom's side of the family.  This will be Trevor and Avery's first jet plane ride.  Trevor is quite nervous and Avery repeatedly asks is today the day that we go. 

{If any of you have any tips for flying with youngsters, please feel free to comment!!!}

In other news, we had a great end-of-the school year.  Avery finished out baseball, his first horse show, and graduated Pre-K.  Trevor finished his school year out with lots of awards and earning his next belt in Taekwondo!  We are so proud of our two boys and how hard they worked this year. I can't believe we'll have a 5th grader and a kindergartener!  How did this happen?

When we've had some free time, we've been taking family outings out into our community.  We've gone to two Georgia baseball games and we also attended the Georgia spring football game.  The boys love going on campus and have really taken an interest in sports and our community.  As sports fans ourselves, Chris and I have enjoyed showing the boys the stadiums and campus. 

I'll leave you with a few pictures to highlight what we've been up to:

 

{first baseball season}

 {first horse show-6th place}

 {GA baseball game}

 

{GA spring game}

 

 {pre-k graduate}

 

{awards in grades, attendance, conduct, and academic bowl}

 

{schools out dance party 2014}

 

{excited for summer camp}

snowflakes and earthquakes

We have had crazy weather as of late.  Never in my 20 something years of life have I experienced a winter like we've had so far this year.   A month or so ago, schools shut down because temperatures rang in into the negative numbers.  No snow, no ice, but bitterly cold!

A few weeks later, we enjoyed our first snow fall of the winter.  We didn't get a lot of snow (or what us southerners call "a lot"), but it was enough to shut schools down once more, and we did manage to get a day off from work.  In fact, it became so chaotic in parts of our state that there were major traffic jams and states of emergencies. 

A few weeks after our first snowfall we had what the weather folks were calling a "catastrophic" snow storm.  Schools shut down prior to the snow, businesses let employees go home early, and there wasn't a lick of bread or milk in any store around these parts.  At our house, we received about 5 inches of snow.  That's "a lot" to a southerner.  We were preparing for an ice storm, but luckily, we manage to stay in the clear, but parts of our state got hit pretty hard with ice.  We enjoyed a few days off work and school and had many hours of cuddle time, cooking and baking, and playing in the snow fun!

If all this crazy weather wasn't enough, last Friday we experienced a 4.2 earthquake.  It scared me to death.  My first thought was Jesus was coming back!  It was the most bizarre feeling.

I love snow and I certainly wouldn't mind a few more flurries before it gets too hot, but Mother Nature can keep her earthquakes.

And if all that wasn't enough, we were in t-shirts and flip flops this past weekend.

Go figure!