Blessings in chaos

My Amazing friend Amy came down for the weekend last weekend to visit us and her hubby who is in bootcamp. Though our apartment was completely in boxes, we had a great time catching up. She even helped me pack a bit! A real friend doesn't mind the mess. :)

Four Eyes

When I was little, I wanted glasses so bad. I even had a pair of fake ones that I wore often. Lately though, I have been having nightmares about going blind. After months of wondering if I really couldn't see or if it was all in my head, I finally went to the eye doctor. Sure enough, I can't see. So now I own not one but two pairs of stylish glasses thus fulfilling both my dreams and my nightmares I suppose.

Most used phrase lately: I really can see better with these!

Mo Ranch Retreat

Ronnie and I went on our all church retreat up in Hill Country last weekend. It was BEAUTIFUL. We had fun in the sun with our friends and enjoyed relaxing for a change. The teaching for the weekend was on Road trips, which seems so appropriate to our lives. Often we come to a detour, stop, or yield sign that changes the plans we have for our life. But God is ever faithful and ever present if we allow him to be in control. And after all, it's not just about the destination, or else we would just go straight to heaven after we accept Christ; it's the journey here that matters.

Saying Goodbye to Texas

It's been over a year and a half since I moved to Texas and it has become my home away from home. I love our church, our friends, BAMC, and even our little apartment. It took a lot to say goodbye. Our Friends from First Pres took us out to one last Texas BBQ, and man was it delicious! But I think it was the company that made it so spectacular. Thank you all for being such an intricate part of our home in San Antonio!

Prayer Request

As some of you know, we are in the process of buying a house in Franklin Township, Indianapolis and we could use your prayers. Nothing is finalized until closing but until then, there are A LOT of details that need to fall into place. Moving from San Antonio to Indy is a big task and to make it harder, Ronnie will continue to live in Texas for a little while while I go back to school at IU. But God is faithful! Please pray with us as we enter this new chapter of our lives.

Happy Pancakes

We had a very happy dinner tonight. These smiley little gingerbread pancakes made us smile too. :D

It's Summer Time!

Our small group came over for a summer pool party this week, and it was a blast! We hung out by the pool, played racket-ball, and then stayed up late watching the game. It is so fun to entertain and spend time with fun friends like these. :D

My reading list

I have to preface this post by stating that I can not remember the last book I completed or even attempted to complete before moving to Texas. But it would appear that I have almost [but not quite] become and avid reader!

Here is my reading list:

• "For Women Only" and "For Men Only" by Jeff & Shaunti Feldhahn
• "The Shack" by William Young
• "Better Because of You" by Ginny Hutchinson & Cathy Haffner
• "From Pride to Humility"
• "Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller
• "The Hunger Games" Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
• "What did you expect? Redeeming the realities of marriage" by Paul David Tripp
• "He Loves Me!" by Wayne Jacobsen
• "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace
• "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo
• "Peacemaking for Families" by Ken Sande
• And I've reread most of the New Testament using my new HCSB Study Bible

This season of my life

The past year and a half has been quite unusual for me. I went from having a job and a full schedule of classes to having neither. And I got married! I'm not going to lie. It was all a shock to my system and I found the need to seemingly redefine who I am. Everything I knew about me was different. Don't get me wrong; it isn't a bad different, just a wild-and-crazy-adventure different.

And so that has been my year. An organized, fast paced, schedule oriented, and independent individual has been granted ungodly amounts of free time to get creative, read (did I mention I'm not creative and hate to read?-- true story.), and just enjoy God's presence in the everyday. I have caught up on some old hobbies and dabbled in some new ones. I have spent lazy days teaching our dog dumb tricks and baking goodies from my stash of Pinterest pins. I've learned to braid my own hair and coupon and don't even get me started on the Farmer's Market!

I have also had a lot of time to pursue friendships and ministry opportunities here in San Antonio. I'm not nearly as outgoing as some think I am, so it has been both a challenge and a blessing. We have gotten involved in an amazing large church in downtown that provides us many outlets to socialize and grow friendships as well as grow spiritually. We have also had the pleasure of being involved in a smaller church on the north side of San Antonio that allows us to serve the community and church members in a variety of ways. Both churches show God's love and the family of Christ in different ways and have taught us so much.

In this season of life, Ronnie and I get to spend the better part of each day together. Yes, it has its sour and strenuous moments, but it has been a huge blessing, especially in our first year of marriage. We know that "normal" or "real" life wont afford us this privilege so we cherish it and try to make the most of every second. We have grown to be close friends. We have time to talk and dream together as well as embark on fun little adventures in San Antonio and surrounding areas.

And it has been SO great.

I have grown so much in the past year and have found so much more of God. Though this was not the direction I foresaw or planned for, it has been the experience of a lifetime for which I will ever be grateful.

(My frustration) ÷ (my procrastination) = Yuck!

As many of you know, my life has been consumed with Trigonometry the last week or so. I have a big test coming up that a lot is riding on and that I should have taken... um, well... let's be honest... about a year ago. It's not that the material is overly complicated or that I cant master it, but that it is so abstract and uninteresting to me. That and I have procrastinated on it for so long that I am now starting from scratch. *sigh* I guess that is what I get. But this drawing basically sums up the way I feel about it.