Twenty Four

So I turned 24 today!! I have felt completely loved today by my family and friends. It is crazy and at times hard for me to believe that the Lord loves and celebrates over me and you every single day and every moment of our lives even in our ugliness. He rejoices and celebrates over his children. Thank you God for calling me to you and for rescuing me.

Rich and I went to Birmingham this past weekend to spend Friday night with my grandmother. I got to see some of my favorite people!!:) Tonight, we celebrated with my family at Sommer's Place! It was delicious!

I requested a fruit pizza for my cake this year! Tripp helped me blow out the candles. If you have never had a fruit pizza, you HAVE to try it!! I will be more than happy to share the recipe!!!

Thank you all for making today special!! Love to all.

Surprise Surprise!!!

A normal Wednesday night for me looks like this:
5:00 - Ultimate frisbee with the youth at the park
5:45 - devotional time at the park
6:00-7:00 - Chick-fil-a with youth
7:30-9:30 - hanging out with Rich before bed.

Yesterday, my Wednesday was pretty normal UNTIL I walked into my house at 7:30 and found this......

Which was made by these amazing girls...

Kathryn, Chatty, and Erin came to Montgomery to surprise me for my birthday!!

I was super SURPRISED!!! Some people hate surprises - not me!! I absolutely love surprises!

When I first walked in the door everything looked normal until I saw this black bag on our TV stand. I seriously thought someone was in our house. I was freaked out until I heard sweet voices singing "Happy Birthday to you."

We ate cake, laughed a lot, and talked about life. I love spending time with my best friends at my house. God knew excatley what I needed - it was perfect!!

Thank you Erin, Kat, and Chatty!

My Baby Got Me a NEW........

DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I couldn't be more excited!! Who knew I would ever be excited about a dishwasher? Not me. So excited I am even writing a blog about it and to brag on Rich :) We did not have a dishwasher in our old house. It really was not a big deal to wash the dishes just caused a few disagreements every other night about who was going to do the dishes! No more of that!!!! We both agreed that a dishwasher was a high priority in our next house.

Richard spent all day yesterday installing the dishwasher. I sure am blessed to have such a handy husband!

He had to cut an opening in the cabinets.

And go under the house to do the electrical wiring.

There it is!!!

I am thankful for the new dishwasher and the ease it will bring, but as I write this post it is crazy how much I expect to have certain amentities to make my life easier when so many people are without daily needs.

Praying for a giving heart and heart that puts others before myself.

Lately...

I wish I could have updated the blog sooner but better late than never!

The BIGGEST happening in our lives... we moved! One reason for the lack of posting is we didn't have internet here. Rich and I love living in the new house.

Labor Day weekend recap - Jen's in town, Natalie Fisher's wedding, afternoon at the farm.

Jen and her new FINANCE, Faisal were here over Labor Day weekend. So excited for them!! Mrs. Susan's daughter got married over the weekend. I went to the wedding with Jen and Faisal because Rich was watching the Alabama game.

The wedding was beautiful and so was Susan! Look at the stunning Mother of the Bride!

We spent Saturday at the FARM. Most of you know my love for the farm. With fall weather around the corner, I am looking forward to spending time there. Luke loves the farm too.

While we were at the farm, I got to see Anne Wesley. She is growing and developing a cute little personality.

More to come later!!

We will miss you, Richard!

Tomorrow is Richard's last day at the Church. When we started last August, we knew that Richard's job would be an interim position for one year. It is hard to believe his year is over. He has done an amazing job leading the youth ministry. Tonight at fellowship, the senior pastor recognized, thanked and prayed for Rich. I was so thankful too. I am not going to say working with your husband is easy. It was hard for us at times, but overall we would not trade the year for anything. I loved doing ministry together - working towards a common goal of seeing the kids love Jesus with their mind, emotions and will. I am confident that not working together is going to be good for us, but I will definitely miss him. Things I will miss the most: going to school lunches together, waking up late together, lunch at Chappys, sitting next to him at staff meetings, and most of all having Fridays off together. The Lord was faithful the past year and He will continue to be faithful as we adjust to change. Pray for Rich as he starts his new job!

"You Are Fired!!"

Don't worry I still have a job! I have heard "You are fired" more times in the last 5 days than ever. If I tell Ann Frances(4) to do something that she does not like, she will FIRE ME!!! I think she got the saying from a TV show but I am not sure? I love her little personality! I wanted to share some observations/experiences of being a "parent" the past five days. Obviously, babysitting does not compare to being an actual parent.

- The two boys have the swine flu.

-Vegetables are yucky and "I don't eat green beans."

-Berenstain Bear books are a favorite.

-Rich and I are soo not use to waking up at 6:30am!

-Playing puppies is my new past time.

-Rich and I have a LOT to learn before we become parents.

5 more days to go!!! I hope Ann Frances and I can go to the zoo on Friday.
Pray she doesn't get the swine flu.

The next 10 days!!

Meet the Little's! Richard and I are staying with Tucker, Mason, and Ann Frances for ten days while their parents are in Italy on an anniversary trip! I sure hope Rich and I will be able to get away for 10 days when we have a family. We have had a great time! This afternoon we had a

water balloon fight!

Ann Frances - She is absolutely so much fun! Today, she went with me and Richard to look for a new mattress set.

Ann Frances giving her water balloons to Tucker.

I'll update more later!! Time for dinner!!