June 29th...That's not good!

So I am finally back on my blog for the first time in forever, June 29th to be exact...that's not very good blogging huh? In my defense...the Mr. and I have been so busy we are just trying to keep our heads above water right now. All positive things but a lot of positive things at one time doesn't leave very much of that...time! Anyways I am going to start getting back on the blogging train today with a little family update cliff notes style!
Mr. and I both got new wonderful jobs, we have moved to a house in Cumming, we are part of an amazing small group, Mr. got a position coaching high school basketball which he loves (and from now on I will refer to him as coach-which he doesn't love this so much, but I do so the name stays!) oh and now it's back to Christmas time again, anyone know when that happened?

There is the cliff notes version of our life since my last post! Stay tuned for just a few of the 345,654,980 random thoughts that fill my mind daily... I know you will be waiting on pins and needles for the next post!

The Name Game

Ok so I know I am not the only one who has been out some where, heard a mom call her son or daughter and think really? You named your kid that? Well let me tell you about the name that I heard at the park today. A cute little girl was named....Oralee! Really? Really? Who does that! Now, don't get me wrong for those of you who know me well you know that a) I LOVE different and a bit unique names and b) I am a southern girl born and raised so naturally I am a huge fan of slapping a -lee -ann -kate or -beth on the end of almost anything, except Ora! I mean can you just imagine this with MY last name? Ha! Anyways, just thought I would share...and I would love to hear some of the "really?" names that you have heard lately!

Night of Worship

Mr. and I, along with our entire small group went to a night of worship and communion last night at our church, North Point. It was so amazing. The music was great, the fellowship was even better, and the overall experience was so neat. Just to see that many people with hands in the air worshipping our Lord will give anyone goosebumps. Not to mention there were two little girls (prob. around the age of 8 or 9) standing next to us in the aisle of the church singing their little (off key and out of tune) hearts out to Jesus....talk about a tear-jerker! I can't help but to imagine that the Lord was just smiling down on that place the entire night. It was a night that was very much needed and I can't wait for the next one!

Favorite song of the night:

He is jealous for me,

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,

And I realize just how beautiful you are,

And how great your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,

Oh how He loves us,

How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,

Oh! how He loves us,

Oh! how He loves us,

Oh! how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,

If grace is an ocean, we are all sinking.

And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,

I don't have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about, the way

He loves us,

Oh! How He loves us!

"He COULDN'T love us MORE, and He WON'T love us LESS." -Andy Stanley

What does it mean to seek the Lord?

Just read an article by John Piper about seeking the Lord and it really got me thinking about myself and if I am truly seeking the Lord so, thought I would share:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2009/4163_What_Does_It_Mean_to_Seek_the_Lord/

I am TRI-ing!

The Mr. & I thought that it would be a great idea on Sunday to ride our bikes from our house to my mom's house (8 miles away) and then swim when we got there and just get my brother to take us home later. Turned out not to be such a great idea, we got caught in a monsoon and had to pull over at a school and wait for my brother to come rescue us only to find out the bikes wouldn't fit in his car......maybe we will look at the forecast before hitting the open road next time!

I know, I know

I know everyone says this but really I have been a horrible blogger. January was my last post, I mean really? That is so bad! I am not going to say I promise I will get better because I don't really know that that is going to happen, however, I will really try! Just a quick update on the past 6 months:
-The Mister and I added another addition to the family....a dog (I said the past 6 months, not 9 months!) his name is Ryder and he is a black Goldendoodle and we love him! Charley on the other hand loves him very conditionally!
-We also celebrated our first year of marriage! AMAZING this year has been filled with so much love, excitment, and fun. I am so very thankful to the Lord for giving me such an amazing man!
-We found a church that we love and joined a small group and we are thrilled at what the Lord is showing us through this church and the wonderful people He has put in our life.
-Mister got a spark to do a triatholon, so we are planning to do a sprint tri at the end of July.....my goal: try not to drown

Well, that is all of the big updates that I can think of right now! I will really try not to neglect the blog anymore.
Love,
The twice-a-year blogger

Can dogs tell time? If you said no I beg to differ. Example #1. Charley gets fed once a day at night when I get home from work (5:30) and you better believe that at 5:30 at night he wants his food. We know this because he likes to move his bowl right in the middle of the kitchen, just to make sure we realize that it is in fact 5:30 and time for us to put something IN his bowl.

In the process of getting his bowl to the middle of the kitchen...it is supposed to be up against the wall.

Example #2. He doesn't care what day it is...he is going to wake us up at 8:00am to go outside. Really? Sat. morning Charley?

Example #3. Around 10-10:30 at night he is ready for bed and will either pass out on the couch or growl at us to go upstairs.

What a smart dog.

On a different note, as you all know I love the Mr. and here is just another example of why...he lets me do all my crazy weekend projects! I would consider myself a pretty crafty person, like there are so many things that I see in stores or online and think "I can do that" and I usually try them. Some succeed and some don't. Oh well, anyways this past weekend project was something that I saw at a craft fair the Mr. and I went to not too long ago:

The before, a recycled window that I got for $5 at the Woodstock Market The after...art for our kitchen. I love this because you can do whatever you want, put scrapbook paper as the background, pictures, or paint it like I did. It is just a totally custom, totally cheap, homemade piece of art. I think I spent maybe $8 on the whole project, $5 for the window and about $3 at Wal-Mart for the acrylic paint. Can't wait to put up picture of this weekends project!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" 2 Cor. 12:9