Orphans

I don't know why, but this morning a heavy burden has been placed on my heart.  I cannot stop thinking about the babies, children, teenagers and even adults who are without earthly parents to love on them and guide them through life.  When I say I have a heavy heart today, I mean I'm shedding tears. And I'm not totally sure why.   I've already mentioned that we are going to Ukraine in May, so this place is especially in the forefront of my mind today.  I want to be there now. Like, yesterday now. And it's so frustrating because there's nothing I can do about it. I cannot wait to love on the children there and hopefully show them a glimpse of God's love for them.  I pray that God is already preparing their hearts like he is mine.  Our purpose for the trip will be to paint the orphanage, but I know God has bigger plans than that.  And I pray that we continue to share God's love with spiritual orphans every day until then and every day after.  The children stuck in an orphanage may not have hope that they will physically be adopted here on earth one day, but EVERYONE has the opportunity and the hope that they can be adopted through Christ and have an eternal Father who will love them more than anyone ever could. They have a Father, they just may not know it yet. And it's our goal and purpose to tell them.

Provisions

I'm just going to start off this post by saying how blessed I am to have such an incredible husband! Saturday was the 6 month mark for us in our marriage, and I am daily blown away by this wonderful gift God has given us.  Sometimes, it just overwhelms me to think that I get the honor of spending the rest of my life with him!! It just makes my heart so happy!!!
Saturday was also a big day for us in another way...we had our first ever garage sale! It was not so fun to get ready for, but we had a great turnout.  The proceeds are going to help pay for my ticket to Ukraine and thanks to the sale, we have about 1/3 of the cost down! My grandmother and mom gave us a ton of stuff, which made up for most of the profit, so I'm extremely thankful for them.  My mom tends to keep things oh, for FOREVER, so it was a win-win situation for both us and my dad =) They have been cleaning out their house for a few months now and mom has been making a "garage sale pile." I'm pretty sure, in my dad's mind, it was a "throw away when she's not looking pile." Anyways, we are going to Ukraine at the end of May (the week after I get out of school/work) and I cannot wait! Tanner is going as "work" so all we have to pay for is my way. We will be spending the week in an orphanage, so I've already given fair warning to my parents and Tanner that my suitcase may or may not be moving on the way home due to a small child being smuggled home ;) Not really, but in all seriousness, I am already asking God to prepare my heart for the overwhelming sadness that I know is going to hit me when I have to leave there.
On another note, I have recently started my own business! I am a consultant for Arbonne International.  If you aren't familiar with it, it's a Health and Wellness company that sales  health products, such as energy tablets, protein shakes, immunity boosters, and all sorts of other stuff along with makeup, face products, etc. What I love about these products, though, is that they are all-natural, botanically-based and Vegan certified! If it doesn't grow from the ground, it's not put in the products.  And, all products are clinically tested, dermatologist tested, ophthamologist tested if it goes in or around your eyes, and pediatrician tested if it's for kids. So far, the business is going great! I have learned this month, that God not only provides for us, but he rewards us.  I started selling Arbonne at the end of February.  Well, over Spring Break, we went to visit his parents in Texas.  On the way home, in our 3-week old car...only brand new car I have ever owned, by the way....a car in front of us knocked over a construction barrel and it rolled in to the middle of the lane...OUR LANE...as we were going 65 mph on the interstate.  Needless to say, our new car is not so new anymore.  Thankfully, our premium on the insurance didn't go up, but we did have to pay our full deductible.  Not fun. However, through Arbonne, the cost of the deductible will be paid for through my check from them...so we won't have to dip into our savings, which is wonderful! PLUS...we were a little late paying our tithe, thanks to the car mishap, but the day after we paid it...we received a check in the mail as a late wedding gift! AND I just got a call from my pharmacy saying that back in February, they had owed me some pills (didn't have enough to fill my prescription) and they have never been able to get them from their provider..so they are just going to refund me my money! Turns out, like two days after I got them filled, my doctor called and told me not to take them anyways because I didn't need them after all.  So I was pretty upset over having to pay for them in the first place, but now, I get it all back!
I know this has been a bunch of rambling, but the main point of all of this is, God is awesome =)

New Creations

The past few weeks have been super busy for us! I have been working on a lot of projects (which I love) and Tanner has been having to work some conferences at church. We finished up our Upwards season a couple of Saturdays ago.  I cherished the time I got to spend with my cheerleading squad and I'm thankful for the experience and can't wait until next year - but at the same time, I'm glad to have our Saturdays back.    The most exciting thing that has happened since my last post is that we became an aunt and uncle!! Meet Larisa Ryan Lott

She has not even been here a week and already she has stolen the entire family's heart! How could she not with those chubby little cheeks! I cannot wait to spoil her rotten =) I am starting early by doing a painting for her nursery...

Jennifer, my sister-in-law, requested this pattern because it goes with her room.  I'm also in the process of making a dress for her.  Or should I say TRYING to make a dress for her.  At the same time, I am learning how to sew...soooo she may or may not receive the dress...ha.

I've also been working on a TV cabinet (a once white kitchen hutch turned TV cabinet because it was the only thing in our house that the TV would fit on). I'm extremely excited about how it turned out.  The inspiration for the finish was an end table that my mom gave us for Christmas.
Before:

After:

It was really simple to do, just time consuming.  I painted the entire piece black then did a layer of brown over it using the dry brush technique so it looks somewhat distressed.  Then, on the doors, I glued broken mirror and fogged it by using a mixture of baking soda/water.  Finally, I poked a hole in the back to fit the Wii cords through and sprayed it with a finishing gloss! I'd say it goes much better with our decor and best of all we didn't spend a penny! I already had all of the supplies on hand from other projects. It's a secret dream of mine to one day own a shop with redone and unique pieces of furniture and art. Not so secret anymore, I guess. Hopefully, this dream will be a reality someday =) But for now, I guess I will just have to stick to household projects.

In my spare time (3 1/2 minutes a day), I have been reading a book that my friend gave us called "Sacred Marriage."  I HIGHLY recommend it and want to share some things I have learned from it, but supper is calling at the moment, so it will have to wait for another day. Hope you have a marvelous day and thanks for reading!

Run Forrest Run!

Recently, I decided that I want to train for a half-marathon. Go ahead…laugh…I know you want to.  I’ve always thought it would be fun to participate in some sort of race – my body tends to disagree with me, however, when I actually get around to running in the afternoons.  I’m pretty positive I have the knees of a 92 year old due to participating in pretty much every sport available when I was growing up, but I decided I am going to suck it up and actually do it. A friend told me about this website www.marathonrookie.com where it tells you all about what you need to do to become a marathon runner. I’m starting off with the half-marathon training and if I can survive that I MIGHT do the full marathon training. I’m loving this website because it gives you a schedule to follow, which I’m all about. I was able to write in my planner how many miles to run on what days (I even put it red ink so it will stand out and hopefully motivate me!) I’m the type of person that if it’s in my planner, I’ve GOT to get it done so I can mark it off (I love checking things off of a list ;D – you can add that to my love of math that makes me a total dork). So I’m hoping that this method will prove to be more successful than the “I need to run today but ….” method that I’ve been following lately. I also like the schedule that it gives because you aren’t running every day…you run short distances 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) then a longer distance on Saturday.  This is what hooked me because I have to fit it in between getting home from work and cooking supper – which isn’t long enough for long distances. I am also a fan of the days off to recuperate! Tanner SAYS he’s not much of a runner (but he’s better than me) so I’m not sure if I can get him to join me in my endeavor but hopefully he’ll come around. =) I’m starting the schedule next Monday so if anyone wants to join in here’s the link to it… http://www.marathonrookie.com/half-marathon-training.html. I’ll keep you posted on progress…that is, if I’m still alive after the first week! 

Something Worth Celebrating

It’s a new year so I figured I should probably write a new blog. I failed miserably in 2010 at my goal of blogging - hopefully I can do better in 2011. A lot has been happening since my last (and first) post. We had our first Holiday season together – and I’d say we passed through it with flying colors! It was somewhat of a worry of how we would split the time up since we have family so spread apart. Thankfully, we were able to see both families for both holidays.

 For Thanksgiving, we had lunch with my family at my grandparents’ house and then left and went to Texas and had dinner with his parents and stayed for a couple of days. It makes it harder when grandparents start getting to the stage of “this may be their last” and I feel like all of my grandparents are at that point.  I don’t want to miss making memories with them while I still can. When I went back to work after Thanksgiving, I was already counting the days until Christmas! I love Christmas and everything that comes with it. Even the crowds…somehow they are included in my “what do you think of” about Christmastime. We worked hard on our house to make it feel like home before the holidays.  We painted the last major room (all that’s left is the foyer and bathrooms! Yay!) and refinished the molding in that room – it is our music/reading room. Now THAT was a project – and I am very proud of how it turned out. Below are some pictures of the process. We took down the molding, sanded it and refinished it with a darker stain then nailed it back on. We did the chair rail as well, but this shows the difference in looks just to give you an idea.

Speaking of projects, I have come to realize how wonderful of a handyman my husband is. He fixed our blinds that Maverick chewed up with some string and saved us the 40 dollars it would have taken to replace them, he fixed our garage door (the motor decided to go out and trap me inside on a day when I had a dentist appointment!) and saved us about $500 by installing it himself!, and other little things that come up all the time. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful and hard working husband!

Ok, back to the Holidays (sorry for the ramble – just so much to catch up on!) Christmas: what an incredible first Christmas we had! We went and picked out our tree after Thanksgiving and had so much fun getting it up! It was an absolutely gorgeous and massive tree and our few ornaments looked pretty puny hung on it, but it was ours =). 

My aunt gave us an entire set of St. Jude ornaments so we used my old artificial tree and put it in the dining room (so it could be seen from the street) and made a St. Jude tree. The week before Christmas, we took a trip to Boston and had such a wonderful time.  It was our first vacation together since the Honeymoon and we enjoyed making memories that will last us a lifetime.  I surprised Tanner with Celtics tickets as his Christmas present and I think I got some points for that one =). I loved watching him during the game and seeing how much fun he was having. 

We flew home on Christmas Eve and attended our first Christmas Eve service together.  Even though he was “working,” I got to sit up in the booth with him so we could enjoy it together.  After church we had Christmas with my family. Christmas day, we made a big breakfast, opened presents and headed to mom and dad’s for lunch. The next day we went to Jackson to meet up with his parents and aunts and uncles. It was wonderful getting to see them during the holidays! Tuesday, we drove to Texarkana and met back up with his parents at his grandmother’s house. This was the first time I had met her and I really enjoyed the time we got to spend there.  The next day we drove further north (I think) to Hot Springs to see his other grandparents. We did a little touring of the actual hot springs and bath houses and spent the evening playing a new game we gave his parents. The scenery was beautiful and the company was heartwarming. Family means everything to me and I’m so blessed to have extended mine over the past few months. 

Once we got home we had 2 days to relax before going back to work (loving the school system work schedule!) and spent that time putting up Christmas decorations and getting the house back in order. It was nice to just be at home all day with my husband and not have anywhere we had to be or anything we HAD to do. Now, it’s back to the real world and my countdown to Spring Break is already on =) For now I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride, though!

Two Shall Become One

The other day Tanner asked me if I was going to create a blog for us. (Thanks Sara Adams ;P) So here I am. We are two weeks and one day into marriage and looking back I must have been crazy for thinking life was going to slow down as soon as we walked away from the wedding. Speaking of which, here are just a couple pictures from the wedding. It will be a while before we get the real ones, but we are very thankful for the ones our friends took!

Our wedding day was absolutely the most wonderful day of my life. The weather was as gorgeous as it could be.  Thanks to my mom and our wonderful florist (University Florist), every little detail I had envisioned in my head came to life.  My incredible husband helped me build the cross that we stood in front of. We wanted to make sure everyone knew that God was the reason we were together and celebrating.  He is our stronghold and forever will be the center of our lives together and our household. Wrapped around my bouquet was the sleeve of my mother's wedding dress.  I attached pearl earrings that were my great aunt's - the one I was name after and incredibly close to before she passed away - to my shoes. The isle was marked with old white gloves that have been passed down in our family for years and they were filled with wildflowers (my favorite). My bridesmaid's bouquets were also made from beautiful wildflowers and had antique buttons attached to them. I was so honored to be able to use my grandmother's cake topper on top of my cake. We wanted every little detail of our day to exhibit what meant the most to us - first of all, Christ and behind Him, our family. We would be nowhere without either of these and we are so very thankful. 

We are now getting settled in our new home and getting used to sharing EVERYTHING with each other. We are having fun getting to know the little tidbits of information that come only with living with another person. Like the fact that he is a wonderful coffee-maker even though he doesn't drink it, but he's not so good with an iron. :) But at least he tried! Maverick is adjusting well, also. He loves his new big back yard. There is still a list a mile long of things that need to be done to the house, but we know they will come with time and aren't going to rush our lives away trying to get them done right now. We just want to enjoy the fact that we get to have date night every night! 

Since it is apparently the wifely thing to do, I will attempt at keeping everyone updated with our new lives as frequently as possible. 

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I still trying to please man? For if I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."  Galatians 1:10