Christmas Blessing

That's right...God blessed us with our first house. Our first "real" home. We get to paint the walls, install new carpet and install hardware to the kitchen cabinets! In the Spring, we plan on planting a tree in the front yard, as well as a few in the back yard. Leslie's parents got us a really nice grill for Christmas, so we plan on having lots of friends over this Summer to grill, watch games and hang out. I absolutely can't wait to watch Simon frolic and run through the back yard harness-free! I can't wait to decorate seasonally, especially for Christmas! I can't wait to have our first child in this house and for all the numerous other memories we have to come in our new home. I am so thankful for this house, and my prayer is that God will bless it always, keep us safe there, and that we will serve Him and use our new home to bring honor and glory to Him.

White Christmas

How rare it is to have a white Christmas in Arkansas! And it looks like this might be the lucky year we get one! It's Christmas Eve, and there is a light dusting of snow on the cars and grass. It's supposed to keep falling for the next couple of hours, then stop some time over night. If I wake up tomorrow, Christmas morning, and see white...I'm going to revert back to the age of 5 and jump up and down with joy!!!!

We spent tonight with my family. We had a good dinner with lots of yummy pies for dessert, and then we opened gifts. It's so fun to watch the gift opener's face as they realized what's underneath all that tissue paper. Lots of smiles and laughter + family = blessed night.

Then we played Taboo, and this is such a fun game to play, especially when my dad is involved. He is just hilarious... We'll leave it at that. Oh, and did I mention the girls won? Because we did. :-)

I'm excited to go to sleep knowing it's snowing outside, then get up in the morning and open presents and stockings with my husband. The plan is to make the trip to Leslie's family's celebration tomorrow, so as long as the roads are clear, it's off to Nanny's! I feel especially blessed this Christmas season, not only because of the birth of my Savior, but because He died for me...a death that no one else probably would have ever endured, simply to save me from an eternity away from Him. Praise the Lord for all He has done for us!

And Merry Christmas!

Hot Yoga

Getting up at 5 am really makes the day seem long! I got up early this morning and met Kim at X-Train Fit to take a hot yoga class. Never done yoga in my life, much less "hot" yoga. Basically, you're doing regular yoga poses, the room is just really warm. I think it was about 97 degrees today. I never thought I would do as good as I did, even though, don't get me wrong -- I was definitely wobbly at times and wasn't half as flexible as most other people in class, but I did better than I expected of myself! And it was fun too! Although I've decided that if I ever take it again, I'm definitely taking a night class. It made me so relaxed and sleepy I could barely function afterwards! It took me a few hours to snap out of it and get a little energy in my bones. (The Starbucks drink also helped to do so.) :-) If I would have taken it at night, I would have gotten the best sleep of my life afterwards!!!

Oh, and in other news...I think we might have a house...?

FLURRIES!!!

The first flurries (I've actually seen) of the season are falling right now!! And it's cooooold. And I'm HAPPY!!

Another One Bites the Dust!

God's will was revealed today in the form of someone else getting the house. Even though it's hard to let go of something we wanted, it's easier knowing God has something else in the works for us. Now to put into practice this little thing called "patience" that we Christians are supposed to be so good at. ;-)

I am more than excited about my newest sewing project: a little girl's (age 3) sundress! I'm using all different patterned fabrics that all coordinate. I can't wait to see the finished product! My mom is helping me every chance we get, but we seem to run out of daylight awfully fast between all our trips to Hobby Lobby and Walmart. ;-)

You know, it's easy to be down about missing out on a great house, but when I take a second to think about how blessed Leslie and I are, it makes no difference that we didn't get this one house. We are way too blessed to be down. I have to remind myself that God's timing is not always our timing, but his timing is always PERFECT!

All I Want for Christmas is...God's Will

This year, Christmas could one of two things: Crazy (in a good way) or Normal (in a good way). Either way, it's good. But what would make it crazy is if we get the house that we put an offer on because we will spending the holiday packing and surrounded by boxes. Yes, we've done it again. We are very hopeful this time, but it's a foreclosure, and they are really making us wait on a final answer. They liked our offer, but won't commit to us. They are apparantly waiting to see what other kinds of offers they'll get before they settle on one. We were the first ones to make an offer on the house, and it just felt right to us, but if we end up not getting this one, it'll be another one chalked up to "It just wasn't God's will." It is getting easier and easier to leave these big things in God's hands and just trust that whatever happens is what is best for us. I can honestly say in my heart that it doesn't matter how perfect the house seems or how much I like it; if it's not the house God wants us to live in, then I don't want to live in it.

In other news, it's cold outside. It's like ice out there, yet there is no ice on the ground, nor have I seen any snow (although there were a few flurries yesterday, none of which I ever saw). What am I supposed to do when I have laundry to do??? And I mean, a lot of laundry. I have to bundle up and walk our laundry over to the community laundry room then come back, then go back to put the clothes in the dryer, then come back, then go back to get the clothes out of the dryer, then walk home. It's not fun people, let me tell you. It's not fun!