Mallory Anne Kirkpatrick has made her arrival!!

On November 20th at 7:45 am Mallory Anne Kirkpatrick was born!! John and I feel so blessed that God put her in our life. I still can't believe that she is ours and came out of my stomach! Ha! She is very precious and such a joy to have. It's so cute seeing John smile at her!

Labor was not fun at all but worth every minute of the pain. I had to be induced due to my blood pressure being high, but it was nice to have her a week early!! My epidural quite working once I was 10 cm dilated and they couldn't give me anymore cause it had messed up and was in a blood vessel. So the last hour or so I was with out pain meds and waiting on the doctor to finish delivering another lady. It was crazy, but she made it here weighing a healthy 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.

John and my mom have been so helpful since she was born and I am not sure I could have made it without them. My mom has been in Florida since the 19th and has been helping with anything and everything I have needed. She actually kept Mallory in her room last night and took all the feedings so John and I could get a full night of sleep!! Wow that was awesome and not expected!! I have the very best mom around and I am so lucky and blessed to have her!!

Well its about time for Mallory to eat again so better wrap this entry up. I will try to write again soon!

Almost 31 weeks and counting.....

Well it's been over a month since I have posted an entry. So much has happened since my last post. The most exciting news is that my sister Katy had her baby boy on Sept. 9th. His name is Ethan and he weighed 7 lbs 12 ounces. He is adorable!!!

I have now surpassed the 30 week mark, which is awesome!! I am so ready for little Mallory to come out so we can meet her. I am also ready to have my regular body back. Now I know some people just adore being pregnant, but I on the other hand am not one of those. My hands and feet have recently started swelling. I can no longer wear my wedding rings and none of my close toed shoes fit anymore. I am just praying it doesn't get to cold before this baby come so I can continue to wear my flip flops!! She has been moving a lot more now and it's so awesome to sit on the couch and watch my stomach move.

We have finally finished the baby's room. When I get a chance I will try and post some pictures of it. I think it turned out cute. We painted it a neutral tan color so when we decided to sell this house we wouldn't have to paint again. I did however accent with lots of pink!!

I am starting to get a little nervous about how our dog Daisy is going to handle a new baby in the house. Hopefully she will still continue to be her sweet self! In October, I am having 3 baby showers one is in Hattiesburg, one in Valdosta, GA and one here in Tallahassee. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people who wanted to give baby showers!!

Well other than waiting on this baby to be born I plan on trying to take it easy over the next couple of weeks. I can't wait for the end of November to get here!! I will try to not wait so long to post next time.

Well it's been over a month now since I have blogged, but I have been really busy! I got to spend a few days helping my sister unpack boxes at their new house they rented in Lucedale, MS. It was kinda funny to have two pregnant women in the same house and not to mention going everywhere together for a few days. We did get quite a few stares! Ha! Once again we even got asked if we were twins! HA! It's beyond me that people think we look so much a like even being pregnant!

We recently got to find out if we are having a boy or a girl.... and it's going to be a........... GIRL! Yay! We are really excited. My parents will now have a grandson (Katy's) and a granddaughter! It's funny to me how everyone kept predicting that we were having a boy and they were all wrong!!

Recently, we also got to go back to Valdosta and visit some of our friends there. I still get so amazed at how people are so fascinated with my baby bump.... even the guys were! Sometimes I wonder if they are more crazy about it than I am... ha! While we were there I got our friends Pam and Jeff to show John how to change a diaper... since he has never had the privilege!! John's reaction was priceless to see especially with the really smelly one.... if you know what I mean!! I am not to sure if he could do it all by himself yet ,but at least he did pay attention and seem to want to learn! I told him he will soon get lots more practice once our baby gets here and before he realizes it he will be a pro at baby diaper changing!! He informed me that he was not interested in having that as his new career!

For the 4th of July this year we met my parents, sister and her husband Craig down at the bay house in Gulf Shores for the weekend. It was a lot of fun with swimming, kayaking, and eating lots of good seafood!! We had the shrimp boil tradition once again that dad cooks with shrimp, potatoes, and corn along with his special shrimp dipping sauce and boy was it good!! At the last minute my husband decided he did not want to board our dog at the vet and insisted on bringing her. Now, normally this would have been ok, but since my sisters dog polly and our dog don't really get along to well I would have preferred to board her. Needless to say, John brought her and Saturday night my sisters dog decided to bite our dog over some food issues during our blessing of dinner. I don't think it could have come at a better time ha! Our dog Daisy definitely didn't win the fight and got bite in the process but she did put up a pretty good fight considering polly is about 30 pounds heavier and a lot bigger! I hope this situation never happens again, but I have a feeling Daisy is going to always hold a grudge against polly from now own..... On the way home, I asked John if he could do it over again would he have still brought Daisy along... and not to my surprise he said yes he would have still brought her... I hope one day they will learn to get along.... wishful thinking though!

Well I have some things I need to get done around the house and a few thank you notes to write. Hopefully it will not take me as long to update the blog next time!!

Well it's been about a week since we returned from our great vacation to Disney world. We had a great time and I have finally gotten all caught up on the laundry. While we were there we went to three of the parks, attended a medieval dinner and show, ate really good and walked more than I have walked all year!! We tried some Moroccan food and also some Irish food, both of which were very tasty. Although I wasn't to sure about the belly dancer they had dancing in the Moroccan restaurant. We were lucky it didn't rain to much while we were there just in the afternoons mainly, which cooled the temperatures off. All in all it was a great trip and I look forward to taking our kids one day!

The weekend VBS starts. I am working with kindergarten. I had to go and get my t-shirt today at Lifeway bookstore and all they had left was adult size small and XXL. Now normally a size small would be perfect ,but now that I am pregnant it's a little tight in the stomach area. So I had to get the small in hopes that it doesn't look to tight. I guess these are the joys of being pregnant!!

I went back to the doctor this week and got to hear the heart beat once again!! It's the most amazing thing that there is a baby growing inside of me. I also found out that I get to find out if it's a girl or a boy at the end of this month! Yay!! John and I can't want to find out!! Well I am in need of a nap so gonna cut this entry short. Hope you enjoy the pictures I posted from our Disney trip.

Headed to the happiest place on earth.....

Well it's been an interesting few weeks since I last posted. I have started to feel better and I think the morning sickness has finally passed which is great! I just wish I could get more energy back.

I was in TJ MAXX the other day paying for something and the clerk proceeded to ask me: "There's a baby in there isn't there?" I was in so much shock that I almost didn't know how to reply. I replied to her that yes there was. She then proceeded to keep talking about how cute and round my belly was. I will go ahead and tell you it was the most awkward conversation I have ever had with a random retail clerk. I have a feeling it's just going to get worse the bigger I get! I guess these are the joys of being pregnant!

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago on May 28 I married the most wonderful man! God has truly blessed me with such a wonderful husband. This next week we are taking a anniversary trip to Disney World in Orlando. I am really excited, just hope it doesn't rain the whole time we are there! It's hard to believe that this time next year we will have a new addition to our family!

I can honestly say that God is truly blessing John and I here in Tallahassee. We have really gotten to know some great new friends and our church has been wonderful. Also, John's job is finally getting to where he is starting to enjoy it! Praise God!! It just took a while for him to get a handle on it and learn the new product. It's funny how impatient we get in wanting things to go our way, but it's God's time table that always seems to work out the best. I thank God for putting us here in Florida and look forward to all the things in store for our future!

Well I am in need of a nap and need to finish some laundry I started so better close this entry up. Until till next time.....

Mickey Mouse here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trips, Graduations and Birthdays have kept me busy...........

Well I know it's been a while since I have written an entry, so I thought I would finally sit down and do it. It has been really crazy lately, which is one reason I haven't written.

Last week, I got to spend several days in Mississippi with my parents, which was lots of fun. My sister Katy and her husband Craig graduated from Vet school. It's pretty cool that we now have two doctors in our family!! It sounds so crazy calling them Dr. Katy Harrell and Dr. Craig Harrell. We also received a surprise on their graduation day finding out that Katy is having a baby boy!! They are super excited. It was really funny due to the fact that Katy told us her appointment to find out the sex was the day after graduation. Boy, did she have us fooled!!

My pregnancy is going good. I actually went back to the doctor today and got to hear the baby's heart beat and see its arms and legs. It was the most amazing thing to see it moving around inside of me. I get to find out the baby's sex in 8 weeks, which I am excited about. The morning sickness has gotten better, still have some nausea every now and then. I just feel so blessed that God has given us this special gift that is growing inside of me!!

This weekend our church is hosting a woman's tea, in which I have volunteered to decorate a table. I am getting to use my Grandmothers china and my crystal glasses, which I am super excited about. I have not gotten the chance to use it much, so it will be fun to pull it out of the china cabinet.

This past weekend I had my 28 b'day. It's hard to believe I am 28. It seems like yesterday I was living at home with mom and dad in grade school at PCS. Boy, doesn't time fly!! My wonderful husband surprised me with a ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, which happens to be my favorite! He also took me to this really nice Italian restaurant, but my favorite gift of all was the sewing machine he got me!! Now I just have to figure out how to use it!!

Well over all things are going great. John's job has been a lot better lately, which is definitely an answered prayer!! I continue to be thankful for all God is doing in our life!!

Some new Kirkpatrick news!

Well it's been a while since I have updated the blog, so I figured it was time. We have had massive amounts of rain lately in Tallahassee, and many people in the surrounding counties homes have flooded, which is really sad.

We had a great Easter. We spent it here in Tallahassee and ate with a family at our church. I missed being with family in Mississippi and Alabama, but it was nice to not be on the rode driving.

I do have some news to mention and that is I am pregnant! I am expecting the first Kirkpatrick baby!! John and I are really excited! I am about 8 weeks so not very far along and am due at the end of November. It will be fun to have a baby so close to my sister so they can play together!! I never in my wildest dreams thought Katy and I would be pregnant at the same time!! Ha!! My dad was really funny on the phone when I told him. He said "We are sure going to have a busy fall, but it's a good busy. When ya'll have kids you sure do have them don't you" I laughed at him and told him yea I thought we would bombard him with grand kids all at once. Anyways they are excited.

Being pregnant has had it's downsides lately, especially with morning sickness. They really should call morning sickness "all day sickness". Feeling nauseous it not very fun. I will be happy when all this passes in a month or so, I hope!

Well hate to cut this entry short, but I am pretty tired and in need of a nap. I will try to write again soon!

Well it's been a while since I have written. It's been pretty crazy around here. It seems like it has been raining for weeks. Our garden is really starting to grow, which I am excited about. I posted some pictures of it. We even have a small cherry tomato on one of our tomato plants... it's way to early for tomatoes, so not sure why so we have one so soon... well I know this is a short entry, but I am tired today and in need of a nap. I will write a longer one next time. Looking forward to some sunny weather, until then I will stay in the house out of the rain!

Veggies and Fruit are on the way......

Spring time is already here in Tallahassee and pollen is in full force!! A lot has been going on since I last posted. Last week I drove to Mississippi and visited my parents for several days. I also got to eat and visit with my grandparents and Aunt Kathleen.
I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with family, but sadly I had to come back to reality!!!

This past weekend John and I stated working on our garden. We bought some tomato plants which we have planted in some pots. We also bought some cow manure! Yes, I do mean actual cow manure.... and to be honest I thought it was quite gross, but according to John's Nanny it really helps a garden if you mix it with your soil. So, I hope it will actually help our garden grow some yummy veggies!! We are planning on planting some squash, okra, bell peppers, and tomatoes. We have some other seeds that John's nanny gave us, but I don't want to over do it, since this is our first real try!! I will try to take some pictures soon for you to see.

We lucked out in our yard here in Tallahassee to have a peach tree already planted in our back yard. I honestly wasn't sure how well it was doing based on the looks, but to my surprise it already has small round peaches forming! I was so excited to see these and can't wait till they ripen and we can eat them!! Our neighbor says, is usually produces a lot of peaches every year, so that was good to hear!! Also, a while back I told you about the lemon tree John and I planted in a pot. It has struggled along, and spider mites got on it at one point, but I have slowly nursed it back to health and it looks like it might be getting some small lemon buds forming, which I was very excited about!! So hopefully we will get to have our own lemons and peaches this year!! I never knew growing your own veggies and fruit could be so much fun!!

Saturday, John and I ordered some new counter tops for our kitchen here. John is really tired of look at the old light green ones that have been here since the house was built. We also knew that if we try to sell this house they would need to be updated. We picked out some high definition laminate that will look tons better. It takes at least 3 weeks to come in, and funny enough it is being made in Gulfport Mississippi!! I will post some pictures after John installs them.

Well not much else is going on and I am behind on laundry. I continue to be in awe of all God is doing in our life! Until next time......

Lessons taught during tough economic times

Well it's been over a week since I have posted, so I figured it was about time to write a new entry. Since then we have had a cold front come through the south, which produced snow where John's parents live in north Alabama and my sister and Craig also got snow in starkville, MS. I thought come march things were suppose to warm up a little and I sure hope that happens soon. I have never been a fan of cold weather, which is why I prefer to live and have lived in the southern part of the US my entire life.

As most of you already know and probably have been following, our economy continues to tank and hasn't shown any signs of relief coming in the near future. Yesterday, the Dow Jones and the s&p 500 both fell to 11 year lows. What does this tell us?? It definitely looks like the more money Obama is throwing at these major companies the markets are telling us they don't like it. You would think he would get a clue at some point and quit spending all this money, but that doesn't look promising anytime soon. Also, the job loss rate is the highest its been in years. In fact, in the last two days I found out about 2 different families we knew in Valdosta that their husbands no longer have jobs due to the economy. When I heard this my heart hurt for them, because a little over a year ago John and I were in the same place they are in. When I think back to December 2007, when John found out he was losing his job, I still get amazed and am so thankful at how the Lord took care of us. In fact, if I had the choice to go back and change what happened I wouldn't. God used John's job situation to teach me many lessons. Some of these are, what it means to fully put your trust in the Lord, that worrying is not the answer cause He is always in control, and that His plan for our life is so much better than our own. Jeremiah 29:11 says: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This was one of my favorite verses during the time John lost his job. I know how hard the uncertainties can be for these families, but I also know that if they put their trust in the Lord, He will not only provide, but He will bless them more than they will ever expect. John and I are perfect examples of this. One of my favorite quotes by Richard Phillips says "The key to trials is to get out of them all that God intends for us." Having this attitude can change your whole perspective on any situation. In our world today, there is a huge distinction between good times and bad times and between sorrow and joy. However, in the eyes of God, they're never separated. Where there is pain, there is healing. Where there is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom. God never promised our skies to always be blue, but He did promise strength for the day,rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for the trails, help from above, unfailing sympathy and undying love. I am so very grateful that no matter what circumstance we are enduring, we can still have true joy from the Lord! I pray that God will give these families a peace that surpasses all understanding during this tough economic time of losing their jobs. I know God has great plans for them and I can't wait to see what they are!

I challenge everyone that is not being directly affected by our economy and still has their job to remember to thank God every day, because we never know who this is going to affect next!

A Valentines Day full of fun...........

Well it's been busy here in Tallahassee since I last posted. The week of valentines day I helped get ready for a valentine banquet we had at our church. When I say get ready, this entailed hot gluing ribbon to vases, cutting out hearts for the walls and tables, baking 3 cakes, creating signs, and decorating wedding pictures with cute paper and hearts. Boy, it was fun, but a lot of work. I have posted some pictures for you to see, so hope you enjoy! I was really excited about the cakes I baked. Baking has never been my favorite thing to do, I would rather put together regular meals than cakes, but I really enjoyed learning how to make this frozen berry angel food cake. I even figured out how to make in in the shape of a heart, which I thought was really cute!! This was actually my first attempt at separating egg whites from the yokes. I don't know what I would have done without the egg separator tool I had. This recipe called for 10 egg whites, yes I said 10!!! When I read that I almost thought it was a typo, but it wasn't. All in all, the cakes were great and I am excited to have a new tasty recipe to add to my list! The banquet went really well and everyone loved all the decorations we did, plus enjoyed watching the couples play the newlywed game. We had 80 people come, which was way more than we ever expected!! Even though it took a lot of work to put this event on, I can honestly say it was worth every minute! It was great to see all the different ages of people that came and enjoyed themselves. God has truly blessed us with such a great church and church family here in Florida!!

This week I have been busy attempting to create a website for my parents family business. Several weeks ago, I got a phone call from my mom saying they wanted me to create them a website for the business. Now this wouldn't have been so funny to me, but about a week before that John and I had just had a discussion about how they needed a website. John actually couldn't believe they didn't already have one. So, yes they were behind the times, as you can see!! When they asked me if I would do this, I thought sure it can't be to hard. Well, boy was I was wrong, this is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to figure out technology wise, but after some major research I have finally figured out what I am doing - at least I like to think I have! The website is still a work in progress, but it's getting better. If you want to look at what I have so far, the link is www.danddtireco.com . Now, not all the links are working yet, but some of them are. Even though I started out clueless at the beginning, this has taught me some great new skills and I am sure there will be many more to learn in the future. Who knew creating a website from scratch would be so challenging, but at the same time fun???


Well it's finally the weekend and for the first time in several weeks we don't have any set events except for Church and Bible Study at our house on Sunday night. Its going to be so nice relaxing and just hanging out with my wonderful and awesome husband!!!

It's so awesome for me to see God still working in our daily lives. I have been challenging myself to remember to thank God for everything , but especially the small things we to often take for granted. To many times we think God is not there, but the problem most often is we are not looking! Our world seems so depressing right now with all the economy and job problems and the only way I believe to get through this is to put our faith in God. I know there are many people that are going through a lot tougher times than John and I have ever faced and the thought of that just makes me humbled and grateful for all that we have and have been given. I challenge you to remember to thank God for not only the big things in your life, but also the little ones to!

Hope you enjoy the pictures of our fun valentine banquent we had last weekend!

Acting, Crafting and Facebooking can keep life exciting.....

Well it's been a great week so far. John spent the first part of it in Orlando at smoke school training. He is getting the opportunity to learn the environmental manager role in addition to his current technical manager job right now, so this training is part of that.

This past Sunday, John and I got to make our first acting appearance in Florida. At our church, we got to be apart of a short skit they had during the morning service. We had to pretend we were hurt and sitting in a doctors office waiting room. John was on crutches with his foot wrapped up and I had my arm in a sling. Neither one of us had a speaking part, but I did however get to scream loud and run out of the room, which was pretty funny. The funniest part was people actually thought we were hurt before the service since they didn't know about the skit! One lady said she was getting ready to start asking people to volunteer to bring us food until she realized it was just part of an act. It's been fun getting involved in our new church. God has really blessed us with some new amazing friends and another awesome church!

Lately, I have had fun attempting some various craft projects. I have made a new wreath for the door, a flower arrangement for the dining room, some baby signs that are for baby gifts, some coasters, and other various things. I will try and load some pictures for you to see. I never knew it could be so much fun being crafty! It also amazing at the ideas you can get on the Internet. Plus it's a lot cheaper to make a gift than buy one, plus you can personalize it!

This Saturday, we are going to take a trip to Valdosta and visit some friends. I am excited about getting to see everyone! Plus, we will get to visit our old church there, which will be nice. Our dog, Daisy, is also excited cause she will get to visit her "boyfriend" Rocky. Rocky is a jack russell terrier and was Daisy's best bud when we lived in Valdosta. I know she really misses having him to play with!!

Things have been a little better at plant for John lately. The price of the product they make rose $5 and they have finally shipped out all the extra inventory they had sitting in the warehouse. They are also getting new orders in to fill. This is definitely a answered prayer, since the economy is still drowning and the housing market is no better. I pray the price will continue to rise and demand will increase! Even though the price rose $5 it's still to low to make any money compared to the price it cost to produce it. However, John did say if it rose another $5 then they would hopefully see a little profit, which would be great!

Today, my sister called and asked: "Did you know that Grandmother was on Facebook?" Since I had not signed on in a while, I didn't know yet, and was presently surprised. My sister and I got a good laugh at this news! I think it's great that she is so computer savvy and can now keep up with all her grandkids via facebook! Ha!! Now my mom and dad are behind the times and mom says she will be fine with it staying that way! We will see how long that lasts!! At one of the Goodyear tire meetings in DC this week dad was at, the guy recommended they get facebook accounts. My dad got a kick out of that. I guess we will have to wait and see if he ever takes the advice.

Well, that's about all that has been going on lately. God is truly blessing us even in this horrible economy and for this I am very grateful! More importantly, I am thankful to have a God that never leaves me and who gives me a peace that surpasses all understanding so I no longer have to worry about circumstances I cannot control!

What I have learned since moving to Tallahassee...

Well, it's been a while since my last entry, so I thought it was time to update my blog again. Not to much has been going on, but I have been having fun cooking and crafting since, I am still not working. I have been looking for a job, but still no luck. I know one thing, this economy hasn't helped at all. I am however, still enjoying cooking and keeping the house clean and organized. I actually have never been so organized in my life, wow did I just admit that?? Well, if you were to ask my mom how my room was growing up, she would probably say it was worse than a pig pen. Actually, that's probably not even a bad enough description, but since that was back in my teenage years I will move on. I am just glad my cleaning habits changed dramatically- oh and I am pretty sure John would agree with that as well!!

Last night, for some reason I got to thinking about all the different things that I have learned in the short time we have lived here in Tallahassee. I thought it would be cool to share some of these with you, so here it goes.

1. Feeling safe and secure is something to never take for granted.
- After the neighborhood that the rental house we lived in for our first 2 months in Tallahassee had 8 burglaries over the span of a few weeks as well as getting to make my first call to 911, I quickly realized how important it was to feel safe and secure where you live!

2. It really doesn't matter if the pastor of your church wears a suit or not.
- The pastor of the church we ended up joining here doesn't wear suits or a tie, which at first bothered me, but God taught me that it's not about what he wears, but where his heart is.

3. It's not fair to compare the last place you lived to your new location.
- In order to give Tallahassee a fair chance, I had to quit comparing it to Valdosta. I will admit, there are some things I still miss from Valdosta and one of those is the wonderful people!

4. Mowing the yard can be really fun, however, this does require a riding lawn mower!!

5. It's so fun and exciting to see how much you can actually save on food by using coupons and watching the weekly sale ads!
- I never thought there would be a day where I would be looking forward to the coupons in the Sunday paper!! You would be amazed at how much you can save by using coupons and planning your meals around what's on sale that week!

6. Before you buy something in town, check the Internet.
- I have saved up to $25 and received free shipping by ordering things online!

7. It's so important to take time out of our busy lives and let others who are going through hard times know that you are praying and thinking about them.
- It doesn't take much time at all to send a note or email and you never know how that might impact their day!

8. I never leave the house without all the doors locked and without being on "guard" while in town running errands.
- It is a normal occurrence in Tallahassee for someone to get mugged. This has really woke me up and helped me realize to always be alert of my surroundings!

9. Florida is definitely not the South! Boy, are Floridians missing out on all the wonderful food and southern hospitality found in Mississippi and Alabama!!
- Until two months ago, we had some new friends here that were born and raised in Tallahassee and they had never tasted or herd of Shrimp Gumbo! It's also normal to get honked at here while driving in town, as everyone moves at faster pace than I am use to!

10. Hobby Lobby is the best craft store around and sadly Tallahassee only has Michael's and Joann's. I really do miss my Hobby Lobby, but I will survive and most likely save lots of money!!

11. Recycling is such a great option to have and it saves so much space in your regular trash!
- Tallahassee is the first place I have lived where we have the option to recycle and are provided a separate trash can for it. It really has saved lots of space in our normal kitchen trash can and it also helps the environment at the same time!

12. The worse thing you can do to the walls in your house is to texture them!
- In Florida, apparently it's a standard thing when building a house to texture the walls unless you are applying wall paper. Not only do texture walls suck up more paint, but I think they look very messy - plus you can't get rid of it unless you sand all of the walls down, which I am sure would take hours!

13. Having a separate shower and tub in your master bathroom isn't really that important.
- Our home in Valdosta had a separate shower and tub, but our home we bought here only has a large shower. To my surprise I have not even missed the tub, plus we have a tub in the guest bathroom if I need one!

14. Living one day at a time and thanking God for not only the big things but also the small things in life should be an every day occurrence!

15. I am learning how rewarding it can be to use everything God has blessed us with to help glorify Him and further His kingdom.
- To often we forget to remember everything we have is a gift from God and how important it is for us to be good stewards of His gifts!

Well, I will stop here as this post has gotten really long. It's amazing at the things God can teach us as long as we are willing to learn! Even though Tallahassee is not my favorite place I have lived, I am excited to see what God has in store for us while we are here!

Grateful God has been working in our life!

It's been a while since I have written and that's mainly because a lot has been going on.

For several weeks, we have had John's job on the prayer request list in our Sunday school class. We really have not known at all what to expect in the future and still can't predict months down the rode, however we have received some promising news in regards to the particular plant John works at. The corporate guy over the forest products industry for GP, stated that since John's plant operates on the lowest cost they would do everything to keep it running at all times over other plants that make the same product. Now I know this doesn't "guarantee" anything, but it sure did ease any worry we had of them shutting his plant down in the near future. John and I really feel that God sent us that small piece of news to remind us that he is in control and we are commanded to not be anxious. Also, on top of this great news, John is also getting the opportunity to train and learn the plants environmental manager job since they currently do not have one and have no plans of hiring one until the market turns around. He is super excited about this opportunity, as it could open up many different doors in the future. Once he is trained he will then be the manager of quality and environmental stuff for his plant. John joked and said: "I not only get to learn new things, but it will also give me better job stability since I will be managing over two of the most important aspects of the plant." Again, this is just more reassurance that God can answer prayers in more ways than we could ever expect! Boy, isn't God good!! It's so great to have the peace that passes all understanding even during this horrific economical situation our country is currently facing.

Our church here in Tallahassee, decided last year to have small group Bible studies on Sunday nights in 2009 in different members homes all over Tallahassee, instead of the normal Sunday night service. In November, when this was decided they started asking for volunteers to open up their homes to host a small group. All this required was providing a place to meet every Sunday night. I felt God kinda tugging my heart and telling me this might be a way John and I needed to serve our Church, but I was a little unsure and asked God to give me a sign. A month later on the way home from a trip to visit John's parents in Alabama, I called and check our messages at the house and to my surprise we had one from a lady at the church asking us is we might be interested in hosting a small group at our home. I don't think God could have answered me any clearer and last night was our first meeting. It went great and we had 14 people here! We are doing a study on Mark and it was great! I am so excited to see all that God has in store for our small group and look forward to getting to know some more members in our church!

Well I saved this news for last since it's probably the most surprising and exciting news for our family..... and the news is.... my sister, Katy, and her husband Craig are expecting their first child!!! This was not a planned situation, due to the fact that they still have 4 more months in veterinarian school and have not even started looking for jobs yet, but I know God will work all the details out and He will take care of their every need! This awesome blessing from God is just a reminder that God's timing may not be ours, but His is always the best! I never would have guessed that they would have beat John and I to the wonderful blessing of parenthood!! Ha!! Now, if my parents already thought they felt old, I wonder how the thought of being a GRANDPARENT makes them feel! HA! HA! No matter how it might make them feel I know they are very excited and I am super excited about being a AUNT!! So, congrats Katy and Craig!!!

Well this ended up longer than I meant, which seems to always happen! I hope every ones new year is off to a great start and that you will remember to thank God for all that he does in your life!

I will close with one of my favorite scriptures: Romans 8:28 " And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." I can honestly say that this scripture describes our life right now!