New start!

Well J is now in Dallas heading to his hotel. His first day with On Board Communication is tomorrow! He is so excited and I am so proud of him! He gave his final notice at Paramount this past Friday and it could not have gone better. He was even able to sit down with the owner and discuss the reasons he was leaving and vent all of his frustrations. He was thrilled!! God truly worked a miracle.

Thursday night we went to see a play with our friends Ben and Anna Reid, then we babysat their kids Saturday during the Hutson funeral. My sister, her husband and their two kids came for the day and all four kids played outside. It was the most beautiful weather, we could not have asked for a better day to play outside. We played Rock Bank with Ben and Anna Reid for a while and then everyone left. J and I went to see Dan In Real Life (great movie!!), shopped a while and went to Carabba's. They have a gluten-free menu which makes it easy for me! It was a beautiful night so we walked around the Collierville outdoor mall for a while. We so often get caught up in the stress of work and business of life that we rarely stop to just enjoy walking and holding hands. I hated thinking of being away from J for the next 2 weeks, so I really enjoyed our alone time together away from tv. We slowly drove home and spent the rest of the night packing our stuff and cleaning out both cars.

This morning we packed all our stuff up and went to church. After church we ate lunch together and headed our seperate ways. I was so sad. I hate being away from him. He drove towards Texas and I drove to my parents house in Henderson. I'm taking off tomorrow and staying here until Tuesday morning.

Say a prayer for J as he begins this new job. He is so excited and thrilled for a new challenge. This company fought hard for him and it's great to see his hard work being rewarded. God is great!

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!

Today was a wonderful day! I got a call from my oldest brother, Brandon, and his wife Kristin from Italy (they are missionaries in Sicily). They called to let us know they are expecting their first baby!!!!!!! I am THRILLED. I've never heard B so happy! I can't wait to have another baby in our family!!! Congrats, B and Kristin!!:)

In other news, J has accepted a job with On Board Communications! He is so excited!! He starts Monday and will be in Dallas for 2 weeks training. The company is based out of Dallas but he'll work from home here in Cordova. In the spring we'll probably put our house on the market for sale by owner. We're not in a rush to sell so we'll see how God works this out. J's current job has been a great experience but rough on him too. His boss is brutal and really takes a toll on J. On Board has worked and reworked their offer numerous times to perfectly accomodate our needs. They have made J see how valuable he is and that people will fight to have him on their team. I am SO incredibly proud of him! It is a complete God-send and we cannot believe it worked out so perfectly!!! I was a bit nervous about a new job/the house, but after B and Kristin's news today, it truly puts things in perspective. Work is just work and a house is just a house, it's our family and precious things like new babies that make life matter!

God is good!!:)

Lazy weekend

It's been a while. After an up and down few weeks things have settled down again.

Work is going great, I'm working less hours and have my routine back. J's accounts are closing regularly and I am really proud of him. He has some great friends there who have given him a lot of guidance. His field can be tough and discourageing. I'm really proud of him though!

Church is good, although we are currently dealing with the loss of a precious 5 year-old. David Hutson has had numerous obstacles in his few years. He spent the past few months at a hospital in Cincinnati for the doctors to try to find what exactly is wrong with him. They finally brought him home to Memphis the first week of January. He seemed to be doing well but was admitted to LeBonheur Children's Hospital at the beginning of this week. He lost his battle Thursday afternoon. As my mom put it, "He is in the place we all are striving to be". While we are all devastated to lose such a precious child, we know he has no more pain and no more long hospital stays. Please pray for the Hutson family as they deal with the loss of Davis.

Thus far this weekend has been a much needed lazy weekend. We brought Chinese home and then went to our friends' Ben and Anna Reid's house. Their daughter Macie Mae (3)is so precious. She calls me her "best friend" and insists we play dollhouse everytime I walk in the door. Charlie(1)is the cutest blond-headed boy. We slept in this mornign until the Direct TV guy arrived. We've had Comcast for two years and have complained about our service for two years. FINALLY J got us Direct TV. We turn in the Comcast 'box' on Monday so we're trying to catch up on all the shows saved on it. :) Ridiculous, I know! I made a Gluten-Free Pasta Faigioli my sister gave me with Turkey for lunch and we've just bummed around the house since then. We've managed to get some of the house clean, maybe we'll finish tomorrow. :) I did finally finish the guest bathroom. We painted it a honey color and I have new shower curtains and wall decor from work. I love free product:).

Tonight we're making lemon pepper tilapia, zuchini and squash, and crescent rolls. (For J, not me). Then J is taking me on a date! We're going to see "27 Dresses" and to get ice cream. I love lazy weekends. I want it to never end. :)

Welcome 2008

Christmas is over, New Year's is over, and 2008 is finally here. We had a wonderful Christmas with my family and New Year's in Texas with J's family. Our parents blessed us so much more than we imagined! J and I spent New Year's Eve eating at Abuelo's with Kevin and Laura Staples, Chris and April Jackson, Tim and Stephanie Avance, Ryan (J's brother) and Brooke (fiance), Mike Allen and his girlfriend Cynthia. We had a lot of fun. Afterwards J, Ryan, Brooke and I went back to their parents house and did a mystery theatre. It was hysterical! We had so much fun reading our parts and trying to figure everything out. After that the four of us stayed up playing Rock Band, one of the gifts from J's parents. I am obsessed with that game. Apparently I'm a little gifted on the drums. :) Anyways, we had a great trip and enjoyed ourselves. It was time to get home and get back into our regular routine.

In other news, J has been offered a great job in Dallas that we are currently contemplating. We're waiting for the final offer ($$$) so this week is definitely a rollercoaster. To top it off BOTH of us have the flu (I'm coming out of it, J's heading into it), and my quarter-end auditing reports are due tomorrow. (Sarbanes Oxley audits). So we'll see where the end of this week takes us! :)

God bless!

Merry Christmas!

So it's been about a month since I've posted. I think I needed some time to adjust to everything. December's been great. I had more fun Christmas shopping with J and my family. My mom, dad, and 3 of my brothers flew back to the states in early December. Since then we've been at each other's houses every weekend. The two biggest lessons I have learned during this holiday season are that J loves me more than I ever imagined and that my family is incredible. I truly am blessed beyond my wildest dreams.

Christmas was wonderful. My parents gave me a bread maker (specializing in gluten free breads!). I absolutely love it and can't wait to try it out. I told J there will be hundreds of failed attempts before I actually get a good loaf out. J (and my wonderful in-laws!) gave me a sewing machine! It's very fancy and even has an "embroidery setting". I am so excited. He also gave me a silver chain for all my crosses, a Dirt Devil Kurv, a gift card to Archivers, and a pink hat. I was tremendously blessed. He loves his wool coat I got him at Banana Republic. I also gave him dress socks, a wireless headphone set for his Xbox 360, and boxers. This is the first year we actually set a budget and stayed with it! We paid cash for everything, which makes J have the best Christmas of all. :)

My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins just left and most everyone is napping. We're going out to dinner and then watching a movie at Katie's. J has to work tomorrow so we'll be driving home late tonight. We both work Thursday and Friday, then are off Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. We'll be spending our anniversary and New Year's in Dallas with friends and family there.

Merry Christmas to everyone! :)

(Chris and April - I promise to post pictures today!) :)

Needing prayers

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving went well. We drove to Texas to spend the holiday with J's family. That part of our trip was great. We were able to spend a full week with Ryan and Brooke and four days with the rest of the family. I have been extremely blessed to marry into a wonderful family. These past few days have been proof of that. I told Justin early last week that I was pregnant. We told his family on Thanksgiving day. We have been praying so hard for God to bless us with a child, and it had finally happened. Thursday night I lost the baby. I was about 6-8 weeks pregnant. We are asking for prayers for strength, patience, and guidance from God. This is not something we understand, or ever will understand, and we must accept that. We know God does not give us more than we can handle, but this is by far the biggest challenge we have encountered.

Quiet day at home

Tuesday I took the day off and stayed home. I caught up on my shows, cleaned the kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc. Aside from an 8:30 conference call I was able to stay away from work. As the holidays are approaching I am really trying to keep my focus on church, family, friends, and not on work. It seems like all the crazies are coming out at work....everyone gets crazy this time of year! When I am at work I am dealing with billing disputes, training new designers, constant financial reports, blah blah blah. While I love my job, nothing makes me happier than just being home with J. Absolutely nothing. When J got home from work we went to Olive Garden to celebrate him making his quota already for the entire quarter! I am so proud of him! He works so hard and is so dedicated, I really admire him for it.

Car update

J and I managed to get both of us to work on timr using only my car. Most mornings I drove him to work and then drove back to Cordova for my work. Luckily my work hours are very flexible (and my boss lives in Houston, also a convenience) so it wasn't bad at all. It was nice driving to work together, made me kind of wish we did it every morning. J thinks I'm crazy. :) $2300 later, we have his car back as good as new. We're thinking about trading it in sometime this year and just getting him a car with good gas mileage and a warranty. He does so much driving for work. We'll see. Atleast we both have good jobs and good incomes, so unexpected car expenses don't turn our life upside down. (It just turned on it's side for a week!) :) God is good and always takes care of us!

My birthday weekend!

Last weekend was my birthday, and J had planned an entire weekend trip for my birthday. We left the house Friday afternoon with J's car loaded up. He gave me three envelopes with clues as to where we were going (Birmingham and Atlanta), what we were doing (Georgia Aquarium, IKEA, shopping), and where we were staying (Victorian B&B in Birmingham). About 30 minutes down the road J's car started making weird noises, long story short - his entire clutch blew. Not exactly a very encouraging start to our weekend. Two hours later after a tow truck, friend to take us home, loaded up my car, we were back on the road to Birmingham. I questioned if we should still be going but J was adamant this wouldn't ruin our weekend. He's the best. We stayed at a Victorian B&B in downtown Birmingham. It was amazing! Our room looked like it was about 150 years old. It was beautiful! Saturday we woke up and J gave me me mom's package for my birthday. It was a finished cross stitch she started when we lived in San Donato, (about 14 years ago!), and this My Doll, an Italian doll. Of course the card made me cry because I wish they could be here, but they'll be back soon. We drove to Atlanta, met up with Charlie and Rachel Nix, and went to the Aquarium, IKEA, Anthropology, etc. J also gave me a Blackberry Pearl! I love it! That night we ate at Red Lobster ( my meal was free!) and stayed at Charlie and Rachel's house. They even made me a rice crispy treat birthday cake! :) We went to church Sunday morning and drove home. It was nice to come home early in the day and be able to bum around the house, something we don't have time to do very often. Car aside, it was a wonderful weekend and I am so grateful for J and his surprise ability. He really made it special.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Justin and I are amazing by the amount of kids running around our neighborhood. Spiderman, princesses, witches, fairies, ghosts, ninjas, every costume possible. This past weekend Tim, Katie and the kids stayed with us. We had a lot of fun but the best part was dressing Gabriel and Maria up for our church's Trunk or Treat. Sunday morning we went to worship, lunch potluck, and came home to get the kids dressed. Then we had evening services, chili and hotdogs, and Trunk or Treat. J and I dressed my car up. We bought a hay bale, pumpkins, gourds, cobb webs, big fake spiders, and an insane amount of candy. There were probably thirty cars in a circle in our parking lot with their trunks all decorated. It was so neat! We loved it. Gabriel was Buzz Lightyear and Maria was Lady from Lady and the Trump!! I've never seen cuter kids! I got some great pictures. Everyone at work today wore orange and black, very festive. J and I are debating putting up our Christmas tree Thursday, November 1.....I know it's a bit early. We love Christmas so much and why not celebrate it for 2 months!? Hmm....