Monday, April 20, 2009

The List-Revisited

****Garden planted-made me late back from lunch, but it's done! Only time will tell... :)

The weekend came and went in its usual blustery pace. The list from the previous post did not nearly get completed, but it was a good weekend nonetheless.

Cliff was gone most of the day with church stuff and I worked to remove the grass from the area where we planned to build the raised garden. (Thanks Aunt Lynne for the shovel tip...it worked out pretty good) I went to Wal-Mart, Home Depot and our local nursery and bought lots of dirt and stuff to plant in the garden. Cliff got home and he built the area for the garden. It looks great and is very sturdy! He did an awesome job! I also cleared out a section for another flower bed. I'll post pics later. I won't be doing my rose garden this spring. :( Cliff and I decided to wait, but I have another area that I'm trying to figure out what to do with. Hannah and Joe stopped by to visit for a while too.

I found out it takes a whole heck of alot of dirt and stuff to fill an 8X4 raised garden. I didn't have near enough so I didn't get the stuff planted.

I got the laundry folded but not put away. I found out my grandparents were in the area and were going to come visit on Sunday! After church I ran by Home Depot again to get more soil and an 8 foot board to complete the bed. Grandmama and Papa Don were going to come to lunch, but Papa Don was sick so they ended up coming around 2. I filled in the rest of the bed and then fixed lunch for us. Grandmama and Papa Don stayed until I had to go to church for Bible Buddies. We had a great time visiting. They have been on a week long trek around Texas. I am thankful that they stopped in to see where we live.

Needless to say the garden hasn't gotten planted. I have class tonight from 5-10, so I'm heading home for lunch to do as much as I can in about 45 minutes. Ahh!! I hope they don't die. This whole garden expiriment is alot of work...let's just hope it actually produces something. Ha!

I didn't get the fabric for the pillows. Had to put that on the backburner. I'm determined to get those done though!

This weekend we have a wedding in Dallas to go to. Cliff is in the wedding. It'll be a quick trip, but we should get to see some family I'm hoping!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

This Week

It's almost Friday...CAN'T WAIT! I have a list a mile long that I want to get done. Many things that I've been wanting to accomplish for weeks!
  • Prepare and plant a small garden
  • Plant some roses!
  • Buy fabric for new pillows for our living room furniture. I've got some picked out and I can't wait until they get done. Don't expect pictures anytime soon. Saturdays free of stuff only come around like once a month!
  • Fold a mountain of laundry that I've washed in phases all week.
  • Figure out a plan for my final group project for the semester
  • Work on my t-shirt blanket
  • Clean some of my house

So I'm not getting my hopes up, but most of this probably won't actually happen. The fabric is on sale, so I'm gonna stop by and pick that up. And I am absolutely determined to get a garden planted! I hope the rain holds off. I have been hoping to get it done for so long!

Cliff has three or four Sunday school parties to attend all day on Saturday so I won't have his help getting the garden started. Bummer...we'll see how far I get. Cliff wants to save the area of grass where the garden will be. I'm going to do my best to move it...I'm afraid that will take me the longest!

In other news...

Mom came to visit last weekend. I got to have her an extra night because her plane was cancelled on Saturday night. It was so much fun talking with her and shopping and hanging out. She helped me paint our bedroom. It looks awesome. When I get pictures hung I'll post a pic. I love being with family. It is so good being with people who 'get you.' I have been better this year about not crying everytime I think about all of the special family moments I am missing by living so far away. I still hate it just as much, but I'm learning to cope. It is hard missing a peice of yourself. Check out Patricia and Aaron's blog for all of the sweet baby moments of the past month with Dakota!

Cliff is in full swing VBS and summer schedule mode. He is getting really excited about all of the activities with the kids. He's going back to Kenya this year, but I'll be staying here. I do get to go to camp though! Just too much work, school and internship this year.

Wish me luck over the weekend! I guess I won't be sleeping in...too much to do!!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Ressurection Week

It is such a wonderful week to be a follower of Jesus. Our church here in Amarillo has given us so many opportunities to remember the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins and his ressurection. Tonight we can participate in a worship Labrynth. A Labrynth is a worship experience where one is free to move about to different stations. It incorporates all senses as you move through the stations.

Tomorrow night we are going to participate in a sader meal. It is like the last supper. Mom is coming in tomorrow afternoon, which I am soo excited about! She'll get to go to the meal at church with us. Then Friday night we will have a Good Friday service and have communion. I am so thankful for the change in my routine this week. I am thankful that I have Friday off of work but even more thankful for these opportunities to really remember why this week is so important.

My life would be so different without Jesus in my life. When I despair, He is my hope, when I am worried or scared, He is my strength! The fact that Jesus suffered and died such a cruel death and then rose again by His own power after three days gives me such hope for this world it is incredible! I have no choice but to be humbled before Him and give my life for His purposes. Yes, that means I will make many choices in this life that are painful or that look absolutely rediculous to the rest of the world. My life is not my own, I have been bought with a price. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. I fail so often at choosing His way, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that His way is good and perfect. I have hope because of Jesus that my friends will choose Him again after years of running away from Him and know His love once again or maybe for the first time. I have hope that in this world where so many millions are suffering from abuse, neglect, malnutrition and poverty that He can sooth their hurts and comfort them in their distress.

We all can have hope in a hopeless world because of Jesus!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

We survived!

Cliff and I survived the Mother/Daughter Sleepover. Praise the Lord! It was a great night. My favorite part was seeing all of the Moms with their babies (1st-6th graders) all snuggled together watching movies. It was so sweet!

The night was a great success. Cliff ended up staying until 1:30 and came back with donuts at 6. I was so thankful he was there to take care of the little details that I always miss and he is so conscious of. (God really knew what he was doing when he put us together) I stayed the whole night and didn't sleep a wink. Robbie, Lindsay and I stayed up all night with a couple of moms and about five girls who stuck with us. The first part of the evening went by really quick since we had so much to do. Cliff and Robbie did such a great job organizing and making everything so smooth.

I'll find the camera later and post some pictures. Cliff and I got home this morning at about 9AM. I took a shower and went right to bed. I slept straight through until 6! Cliff and I both are still feeling kinda groggy and gross. I am hoping I'll be able to sleep all night tonight! I'm gonna be so messed up. :) I am so thankful for our church and for the opportunity to get to know some of our church family a little better tonight. I took Mom/Daughter pictures so I had the chance to really get to know their names and talk to every pair for a few minutes.

What a night! I think we all had a blast, but I'm sure glad I have at least a year before we intentionally stay up all night again! The last time I even got close to missing a whole night of sleep was the night of Dakota's birth when we didn't get in to Arlington until 3:30AM. :)

Friday, April 3, 2009

Big Weekend!

I have 40 more minutes of work left here at the receptionist desk. Then begins the Mother/Daughter sleepover at our family life center. I am excited to get to know some of our kids and their moms better tonight. The event is from 8pm-8am. Long Night 'O Fun! We'll be having a mother/daughter game (think newlywed game), bingo with prizes, midnight buffet complete with a chocolate fountain, three movies throughout the night, and lots of other games and crafts. Should be a blast. We are hoping that it is a special night for moms and daughters to bond and to meet other church family.

This weekend is also very special for my Mimi and Bipaw. I hate that I have to miss their special day on Sunday! If I had a buddy to drive me to Ruidoso after 24 hours of sleep deprivation I'd be there. :( This weekend, the J Bar J Country Church is dedicating their new building to the Lord and his service. I am so thankful and blessed to be born in to the family that I am with such a strong Christian Heritage. God has used Bipaw to start three churches in Arlington, Rush Creek, Cornerstone and South Oak Baptist Churches. Mimi and Bipaw retired to New Mexico and God said that he was not done using them in the ministry! Bipaw started a Bible study several years ago on Tuesday nights for people who worked during the tourist season and others who were not interested in traditional church. That Bible study has grown and now the JBarJ has grown so much that they have built a new building. One thing I have learned watching Bipaw in ministry is that God is a creative God who is always working even when we may not perceive it. This is evident in the life of Mimi and Bipaw. They live a life that humbly hopes in God's ever faithful promises.

Mimi and Bipaw, thank you for your example to me of how to be obedient to Christ. Thank you for always being open to his leadership even when it is difficult, but more importantly showing me that it is an awesome ride! I love ya'll and will be thinking about you all weekend. :)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

April!

Whoa! Is it really April already? I feel like just yesterday I was worried to death about my internship and if I'd ever really get to a halfway point. Well, I'm not quite halway to my 500 hours, but 211 is getting there.

Cliff and Debbie blew in to Amarillo with the 24 hour blizzard last Friday. We were snowed in all day on Friday. The snow was pretty much melted by Saturday night so we got out of the house most of the day shopping and messing around town. It was soooo good to have them with us for a couple of days. It was so good to get to talk and catch up face to face after not seeing eachother in too long. Plus, I got a new car with their arrival and Cliff got our ice maker working!!

Things are really picking up around here! April is looking very very busy already. Every weekend is booked with stuff. Like this Friday night I'll be spending the night at our Family Life Center with 67 Moms and Daughters at our first Mother/Daughter Sleepover. I'll be hosting fun stuff along with Robbie and some other girls all night from 8pm to 8am. Cliff, Robbie and Martha have been working sooo hard to get it all pulled together. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post afterward. I've been out of college life for almost three years now and I'm not sure how I'll do being at work all day and then up ALL night that night. Ugh! I'm sure it'll be a blast though. A great opportunity for me to connect with some of our kids and their Moms.

Then the next weeked is Easter. Mom is coming to visit!! Yeah! She'll fly in Thursday afternoon and get to stay through Saturday. I am so thankful that she is coming. With Easter comes several nights of special church stuff, Thursday night and Friday night there are services and then the big day on Sunday. I'm hoping that we get to spend Sunday lunch with Kalie's family. The past two years we have spent Easter with them. They are so sweet to treat us like family.

Then the next week we have several kid's Sunday school parties to attend. I am hoping that I can get a garden planted then. It looks like that is the only semi-open time I'll have. Then the next weekend we'll be heading to Fort Worth because Cliff is in a wedding. Jay Miller is getting married. He's the guy that played the guitar and sang in our wedding.

Whew! I'm already exhuasted by it all. To add on to all of that school is picking up and I've got to write two big papers at some point.

I'm looking forward to all of the business. I'm ready for spring and some warmer weather. Tonight we're expecting snow again, maybe the last of the year. Crazy Amarillo!