Camellia Sinensis, a.k.a. "tea"

I have loved hot tea for a long time, but this Christmas I made some new discoveries that have propelled me into a whole new place of LOVING tea. While shopping in Naples at the new Coconut Pointe mall (which is actually more like a small city) we discovered a new store, Teavana, and one of my favorite places now! They sell cups of hot tea (the the tea version of Starbuck's) various loose leaf teas (which are the best) and various tea accesories. Check out the website and read up on the history of tea and all of the amazing health benefits it has!

If you want to order some, might I recommend the Rooibos Amore and the Caribbean Breeze! I, myself am enjoying at this moment, a cup of Earl Grey Green slightly sweetened with honey. Happy Saturday!

Sampling of some pics...

I'll add more later.....our Christmas is only half way done! We're at the Orlando airport about to go back through security to get on our flight to Nashville. We left Naples at 7:00 this morning- it was an early one for sure! We had an incredible time in Florida and now we're excited to see the other side of the family and get to do it all over again :-) I LOVE this time of year!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone. I thought I'd do a quick update from good ol' WARM Naples, Florida....we've been having a wonderful time. Jordan and I are down in Naples with his side of the family and it has been great. Mom & Dad are waiting for us, patiently, to get back to Nashville to do their Christmas exchanges.

It's been an amazing and fun-filled week/weekend, whatever it is. We got down here on Thursday and met up with everyone (Erin, Dan, Auntie Anne, & cousins Will, Caitie, Elizabeth) to go see "Pursuit of Happyness." Jordan and I just liked it, we didn't love it- a little too stressful for me, it was hard to watch. We had great sushi afterwards at "Tsunami" and all danced to the great 80's music they had playing :-)

Friday I worked in the office and that evening we spent helping E.D. (Erin & Dan) move into their brand new home that FINALLY got finished. It was originally supposed to be done before me & Jordan's, so you can see they've been waiting a while. We worked until all the boxes were in and everyone was too tired to move anymore. I'm so excited for them- the house is beautiful!

Saturday was our Christmas Eve, since we moved stuff up a day because E.D. were flying out on Christmas Day to go to IN. I spent some time over at E.D.'s house helping with a little more organizing and we went to the beautiful candelight service at First Baptist Naples that evening. It was a WONDERFUL service and I really really enjoyed the worship and the teaching. All the family came over aftewards for some chili and hangin' out.

Sunday Jordan and Steve got up early and hit a little bit of tennis, and then went to a church to sing a few Christmas songs for them. Hope and I started breakfast (I made Grandma Bertie's homemade biscuits) and E.D. got over soon after. We all had a big breakfast and started off with stockings and then exchanged gifts! It was a wonderful day that we finished up with a lot of family and a huge meal with ham, green beans and pecan pie! We played a rousing game of Catch Phrase which was so hilarious as games with family usually are.

Monday, actual Christmas Day, we headed over to Harbour Chase with Pam Schuler's homemade pastries for a little Christmas Breakfast with Gma & Gpa Chalker. We had a great time with them, Jordan played a few carols for them, and I lost it when I tried- sometimes you just can't quite make it. We then went for a walk on the beach that began as a nice stroll and ended as a fight against the wind and a rush to get back in time to get E.D. to the airport. We did in fact make it and had a wonderful evening "Rocky Balboa" (AWESOME MOVIE!), food (WAY TOO MUCH OF IT) Family, and an awesome game of murder! Elizabeth brought the house down with her 7 rounds of killing and complete confusion! Good job Eli!

Today is our final day in Naples :-( and we are about to go play doubles tennis, and then go out to the new mall, Coconut Point to do some shopping. We'll see Grandpa and Grandma one more time and go out to dinner tonight! It has been an amazing trip and I can't believe I still have Christmas to celebrate with my side of the family tomorrow and Thursday- I'm so excited!!!

Most importantly, I am blown away by our Savior. I've just been reading this morning in Matthew & Luke about Jesus' birth and thinking about the gift of God- the true meaning of Christmas in giving and sacrifice! It is amazing! God, thank you for your Gift- thank you for life! Thank you for the Holy Spirit that gives guidance, joy, life and peace all day and throughout! You are the only thing that brings true meaning and joy to Christmas and I love you!

Have a blessed day!

Today is a CRAZY day! It's so funny how the day before a big trip, there is so much to get done! Last night J & I made a stop over to the Maat's house- they are a precious family in our church who are moving to Lansing, MI on Dec. 28th. They have two daughters- one is in 7th and the other in 8th and boy are we ever going to miss them! So we hung out for a while and then after a confusing bout with Frank & Wendy on the phone, went home and Robby brought some dinner and gifts for us- he's so sweet. We had dinner and Frank Borst stopped by to give us something, then R & J took off to hang out a bit and I went into frenzy cleaning mode. I think I was up until midnight cleaning- I was just on a roll!

Today is awesome, but so full! I have been trying to work with the travel agent for Jordan and Steve's flights- they get to go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Steve got the trip b/c Allstate is the main sponsor of the bowl and Jordan is SO excited- he's really been enjoying Notre Dame football this year! I'm so pumped they get to go! I'll just have to look for 'em on TV.

IGC Photography

Our dear friend & amazing photographer, Ian Collins now has presence on the World Wide Web! Check out www.igcphotography.com and www.igcweddings.com

He's SO GOOD!!

Dinners, Life Group, Chemo & Parties

What a weekend, really, what a week since it's been a week since my last "update." Let's see how fast she can go, folks!

Monday night last week, Jordan and I went to help Mom with her "Bunco" Christmas Party for the neighborhood ladies. I helped her set up and then Jordan played Christmas piano music as they entered. Needless to say, the ladies LOVED it and he was quite the hit. He sang "All is Well," which was incredible and I'm sure my mom will ask him to sing it time and time again from now on ;-) I won't complain!

Tuesday some friends, Ben & Michele Christy, came over for dinner and we had a fabulous time! They are just so fun to be around....do you have friends like that? That you just enjoy talking to and laughing with- that's the Christy's for ya!

Wednesday we had Life Group at the Cole's which was really really good! We are getting ready to multiply our group in January, so we talked about that a bit. God has really blessed us with a close-knit, incredible group and it will be bittersweet to multiply, but I am so excited about what God is doing!

Thursday, Dylan, Ferris & myself spent the day at St. Thomas Hospital with Mom for her 8th and FINAL Chemo treatment! YAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!! Mom did so well- actually slept part of the time, and the four of us enjoyed spending time together and marking the end of this season. Mom had me stop at Puffy Muffin for some yummy muffins and cookies to pass out to the other chemo patients, and they definitely got snatched up quickly. We had a great, but very lengthy, Launch Team meeting that night, I think Jordan and I got home about 12:30! That's not typical anymore, but there was a lot going on, and therefore a lot to cover.

Friday we had a Partnership Appreciation Dinner for those at NS Spring Hill who have served so faithfully over this past year and really helping to pioneer this congregation. I was in charge of it, so I had to oversee the location, menu, flow, etc. The night was wonderful, the food excellent and everyone had a great time!

Saturday we had a run through for NS Family Christmas in the morning, helped the Pearson's move in the afternoon (from our old apartment complex to the neighborhood across the street from us in Spring Hill- pretty cool, huh?) made icing for the U-turn party that night, and then ran over to the church to meet the youth to carpool up to Cool Springs for the Christmas Party in the newly renovated and re-done "u-turn" room at NS cool Springs. The night was so much fun and I think the kids really really enjoyed it as well.

Sunday's service was amazing! I had been stressed out in worship practice (I was leading worship) trying to get through the songs and then get the 5 "acts" of New Song family Christmas for sound check/staging. God's grace was SO there, though and worship was unbelievable and the Family Christmas AMAZING!! It felt so like home and so much like family. I am so thankful to the Lord- He is good. Robby, Dylan, Reese, Jordan, Josh & I all went back to our house for some lunch and then about 2:30 everyone parted ways. I headed up to Nashville for a "cookie" party at my friend Kelly's house, and enjoyed seeing some people I hadn't seen in a while! (Bethany Hawkins, Bayley, Jenn, etc.) It was so fun! I made a cute gingerbread house that collapsed as soon as I got in the car- oh well. We capped off the day and the week with our Launch Team Christmas Party at the Gee's home in Mt. Pleasant! It was SO much fun with authentic Mexican food (tamales, enchiladas, sangria) and a fun game of "Sneaky Santa" as Brian likes to call it.

This week is FUN, FULL & FURIOUS. We leave for Florida early Thursday morning, and I am SO excited about Christmas down there and then a 2nd amazing Christmas back up in Tennessee.

Blessings on your week!

Good morning! What a great weekend. I always seem to miss Mondays as blogging days, or maybe I still consider it part of my weekend. Who knows? Here you go, weekend recap:

Friday was fun and relaxing. After work, Ferris and Zach met me at the house and we went grocery shopping. They had to get stuff for Refuge that night and I needed stuff for U-turn the next night. We came home and cooked for Refuge and then they took off right before 7. Jordan and I ate dinner and relaxed for a while- reading and talking, then popped in "Pirates2:Dead Man's Chest." It was just okay....long movie so we got in bed way too late.
Saturday we woke up and read, and I chose my menu and made my grocery list for the Christmas party. I actually had my day's to-do list and headed up to Cool Springs. I had to pick up lavalier mics from a guy up there for us to use for our Kid's Production on Sunday. I ran various errands while Jordan did some reading and stuff around the house. I went grocery shopping and made it home ahead of schedule! I cooked and we did some things around the house and then headed out a little after 4 to meet all the kids to go up to see "Nativity Story" with the whole youth group. Afterwards they came back to our house for small groups. It was great!

Sunday was full of church (which rocked!) and getting ready for the party. Trish and Reese came over early and helped me, which was a good thing because I couldn't have gotten it done on my own. I made pb fudge, cookies, fondue, fruit pizza, stuffed mushrooms, spinach/artichoke dip, hummus, bbq chkn pizza, bacon-wrapped water chesnut bites, and a few other things. We had a little over 30 people and just had an amazing time hanging out, eating, playing "dirty santa," which did get pretty dirty b/c of me, ferris and ian's conniving ways, and Christmas charades, which the girls pretty much dominated.

It was such a fun time with friends and we are so thankful. Time to hit it hard though this week- there is a LOT going on.

blessings.

We Salute You!

I opened up my computer at 8:00 sharp this morning to begin what I was certain would be a great and very accomplished day of work. But alas, our internet was no where to be found! We battled, or I should say, Jordan battled with this all afternoon yesterday, when we finally left the go to It's a Grind for a couple of hours so we could both get some work done. The only, and I repeat only bad thing about working from home is that I'm SO dependent on our internet signal. When it goes, I go.

So needless to say, when I saw the lack of signal, I refused to do battle with Charter again and packed my stuff up and headed north to Brentwood to la casa de Warnock. I've been in Dylan's room set up with my printer and computer all day and it has been SO worth it. It's really quite and I've been getting a ton of work done, with the signal that hasn't dropped out once.

So, here's to parents who have strong wireless signals! We salute you!

Shout Unto God with a Voice of Triumph!

Good morning, good morning! No reason for the name of this post other than the fact that I am thrilled that our God is victorious and the enemy has been defeated! I am posting in a flurry because there is a bunch to do today- work is busy, busy even though the guys actually in the office have WAY more to deal with in the phones that ring off the hook- seriously!

The weekend was wonderful! It actually feels like winter here in good ol' Spring Hill now. We went last night to Columbia, TN (just south of Spring Hill) to watch the hometown Christmas Parade that a few of the girls in the youth group were dancing in. Our friends Aaron and Jenny and their 7 month old Ava and 2 1/2 year old Ethan came with us. Ethan was disinterested at first, but soon was mesmerized by the parade and sat on his knees watching each float go by in awe and wonder- he loved all the flashing lights! Ava just got cold :-)

Jordan and I had a very mellow weekend. Stayed home Friday night and Saturday during the day: read, chilled out, did some cleaning, Christmas decorating, baked cookies, worked on youth stuff, etc. It was wonderful. We had great youth group night on Saturday and an amazing service on Sunday.

The pictures above are from Thanksgiving weekend- my mother is ecstatic- we finally got a family shot after several years!

Alright- gotta get to work. Blessings on your day

Passion and Purity

The Lord led me to this book again a few days ago. My mom had encouraged me to and I had read it a couple of years ago prior to our wedding, but I was drawn to it again this week. I have read many books on purity of a woman, dating, not dating, christian living, pursuit of Christ, love, marriage, etc. but I quite honestly have never encountered a book that parallels to this one in honesty, truth and revelation.

The story of Jim & Elisabeth Elliot is remarkable, and one that many Christians are familiar with. It's a classic love story with it's own unique twists and turns, but more than anything, it's a lesson in patience, sacrifice, obedience, trust, humilty, seeking God and waiting. Waiting for something for which there is no guarantee. Waiting because you believe the possibility of attaining it, if it should be yours to attain, would be worth any price of time or energy or self-sacrifice you might pay in the process.

There are far too many truths and insights to write them all here, but I strongly encourage you, man or woman, married or single, old or young to get a copy of this book and read it when you get the chance. It is so helpful, especially for those entering a courtship or that time where you find your mate, but valuable to any walk of life.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"The problem starts when we make up our own minds what will give us happiness and then decide, if we don't get exactly that, that God doesn't love us." (in reference to self-deception and contentment)

"But the things that we feel most deeply we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God....never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut."

"Thy will be done. Acceptance of whatever that means is the great victory of faith that overcomes the world."

"Women expect too much of men...I beg women to wait. Wait on God. Keep your mouth shut. Don't expect anything until the declaration is clear and forthright."

"If virginity [not just sexual] is to be preserved , lines must be drawn. Why put yourself in any situation where the lines become smudged and obscure? Why take the risks? Why accept the pressure of tremendous temptation when you can easily avoid it by refusing to be anywhere where compromise is possible. "

I could go on and on.....but I won't. Have to leave some things unsaid so YOU can read them for yourself!

Blessings on your day :)

Updates on eyes

It's a fairly good day today- it's been a pretty normal and uneventful week. Jordan and I are just working, planning, finishing our decorating and overall relaxing so that I can recover from my injury. My eye is doing okay. I've been fairly pain free and the swelling has been almost non-existent over the past couple days. I did wake up this morning though with a lot of pain- probably just part of the healing process. I look like I'm turning into the Grinch though- there's this nice color of yellowish green all around my eye- it looks like I don't know how to apply my eye shadow :-)

Other than that- we're doing really well. More later....

Where do I begin?? (Beware: LONG post)

No idea how to sum up the past week, but I'll sure try!

Thursday was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mom brought turkey and dressing, Aunt Beth brought Ham and cranberry salad and I did rolls, pies, side dishes, etc. Everything was delicious and we had a great group of people. We spent the afternoon eating, watching football and finished the night out with Mission Impossible 3. Reagan played softball with my cousin Will in the backyard and Dylan was convinced we'd have a broken window by the end of it, but we made it with no breaks!

Friday we had a relaxing morning and went up to Brentwood for a little flag football action. It was Team Cool Springs vs. Team Spring Hill, but unfortunately us "country-folk" couldn't keep up with Tres, Reagan, Jesse Willits and the rest of the Cool Spring's crowd, so we lost :-) but had a great time doing it. I went to the mall solo while everyone watched the Arkansas/LSU saga, and got almost every bit of our shopping done. The mall was totally do-able, thought I almost lost my cell phone- oops! We saw "Deja Vu" that night, which is a great movie if you have the chance. Very rough though- not sure I'd have given it a PG-13, but hey- they're not asking me

Saturday began with a family picture that my mom has been trying to get us to take for a while. The weather was beautiful here this weekend, so we took full advantage of it and hopefully got a great shot. Jordan and I spent the rest of the day at home doing Christmas decorating and had an early dinner at the Rudd's house with the Cole's, and finished out the day with what else: football- USC vs. Notre Dame which was a very sad ending :-(

And then there was Sunday.... (duhn, duhn, duhn...drumroll, please.....)
The day began normal with an INCREDIBLE church service- Jordan led some strong worship and PR brought a great word. It was our first Sunday without serving lunch, so we went back home for a quick sandwich before frisbee. The boys (Jphen, Tres, JP, Robby) swung into Subway and came over to chill before all headng to the field.

The day was gorgeous- very uncharacteristic for typical November 26ths.....sunny, slight breeze and about 69 degrees. We had a great group and got split into 4 teams- my team trotted off to the second field for our first game. We went down 4-0, and then pulled it back together enough to score 2 goals.....but lost it on a long bomb from JP to Tres that we just couldn't catch. After a short water break, we went back for the second game- against Dylan & Ferris's team. As usual, Ferris and I were guarding each other and in the middle of the first drive, we had a quick turnover, so I took off to get open and get away from her as quickly as possible so Robby could throw me a quick one. In my attempt to "cut" behind Joey and his defender, I did in fact cut it, too close and mine & Joey's heads collided- a horrifying sound and sight followed.

Joey and I found ourselves both on our backs on the ground- Joey not being able to remember how he got there- me holding my head and feeling a lot of some sort of liquid coming out....I look at Ferris who says, "okkkkayy...time for stitches." I stand up and start walking with her towards the car, leaving a bunch of perplexed, wide-eyed youth, startled at the site of blood streaming from their youth leader's face and puddled on the field. Jordan sees me and all he can say is, "I have to go." Needless to say, we got me, Ferris, Jordan and Joey in the car- Joey slurring his words with a slight concussion, me holding a jacket to my head to slow the bleeding....we ended up at Williamson Medical and Joey got a CT scan, I got 16 stitches in 2 layers and we both lived to tell about it! My only regret is that I never got a good look at the wound. They say it was pretty big- and pretty ugly- a couple inches wide and the length of my brow...but, God certainly protected us from something worse.

In all the years of Ultimate Frisbee-these are the first, and hopefully only injuries to occur. What an end to a memorable Thanksgiving weekend!

Greetings from a lovely TN

What a wonderful world! This weekend, specifically yesterday was so much fun. It was wonderful and I cannot believe that I didn't get any pictures from our trip to Florida. I guess it's because Jordan and I both worked a lot. I did get to take off a little early to go to the best jewelry store ever, "Best of Everything!" I found some fun stuff so it was totally worthwhile!

We got back on Friday and caught up on work and church and house stuff. There was a lot to do to get ready for U-turn on Saturday, Worship Arts Gathering on Saturday and the Thanksgiving Praise service on Sunday. But, God's grace was there and the weekend was awesome!

Frisbee was especially fun yesterday!! Jordan put me on his team (of course) and our raggety little underdog team (Jordan always gives himself the disadvantage) took the whole thing, keeping Jordan's unbeaten streak at Ultimate:Spring Hill alive! Kudos to my husband for being really good and using his whole team- the boy knows how to lead a frisbee team! :-) The pictures above are courtesy of Erin Lawlor. It was definitely cold though- I had to bring out my hat and gloves for the occasion.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching some football, I went to the grocery store for a huge amount of groceries (Tgiving is at my house this year) and then did a bunch of cleaning. We lamented as our dear Colts ended their undefeated season to the Cowboys. Ugh! Didn't they see it coming- the media had been all over it all week about the 3-4 defense and the Chargers taking them out last year. The Colt's have GOT to do something about their run defense! It's time for a BOWL!

More updates to come....got a lot of work to do :-)

Good Morning World!

We're having a great time in Florida. The weather has been beautiful, but it does look like possible rain tonight. Jordan and I have both been working hard- I've been learning a lot in the office, but it seems like the more I learn, the more I realize there is for me to learn...oh well!! I have something to look forward to, right? :-) I have been enjoying my time in the office with Steve and my brother in law, Dan and the rest of the staff there. It's a great office and a great group of people. It's nice to actually see them as opposed to just talking to them on the phone or sending an email.

Steve & Jordan are at the tennis courts and Hope is walking- I'm about to do a little reading before we head into the office. Today is our last day here, but we'll be back December 21st for Christmas. We've had a great time. Last night, Erin & Hope and I went to a women's Christmas Dinner at their church, which was so much fun. Each table was decorated differently, with each hostess bringing china and decor, as well as little treats for each of the ladies. We had dinner and listened to comedian/singer Kay Dekalb Smith, who was delightful- she's actually from Nashville. It was great!

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I'll hopefully get one at lunch today with Nathan and Bethany and cute little Jaxon. Talk to you soon!

Full Weekends and Florida Fun

This weekend was amazing- our first full weekend in the new home and it did NOT disappoint! Friday, Jordan and I went to my cousin Will's 8th birthday party. Chris & Ian made it so much fun- dressed in camo and making those little boys laugh SO hard! It was amazing :-) Will had a wonderful time, although he did get an air soft rifle, which is frightening! After Refuge, Ferris, Janelle, Kyle & Robby came over so K&J could see the house. It was such a fun time. We love having people in our home.

Saturday I woke up at 6:30am to go garage sale shopping with Tracy, Maria & Jenny! So fun! I actually got some great deals: designer jeans for $12, a GREAT totally cute coat for 50 cents, and a Pampered Chef cookie press for $8. It was wonderful and we all found something worthwhile. Afterwards, I went up to Brentwood and met Mom to go to the Christmas Village for a couple of hours. It was so much fun- we tasted and looked and Mom got some really cute things!! Saturday night was U-turn Merge in Spring Hill and it was SO great!!! Jordan and I are so excited about what God is doing in Spring Hill with the youth there. There's lots to see and we have vision for a lot of great things, but God is definitely doing that.

Sunday was wonderful!! Service was awesome and worship was strong. I love what God's doing in Spring Hill- it's totally Newsong and it's just an amazing extension of family. After service, several people came over to pray over our house which was such a blessing! People had some amazing visions and words from the Lord that they spoke over the home and just believing for big things that God wants to do. We ended up having a great evening with a little NFL, frisbee, friends stopping by and relaxing. Jessica came by later and went with me to pick up a quick dinner.

I am now sitting in my wonderful in-laws' home in Naples, Florida. Jordan and I are here for the week so that I can do some more training and stuff with Steve in the office. It's going to be a wonderful week and I'm sure that there will be some wonderful stories to share!

So sorry so long!

Well, you have been patient and you have waited and you have been bearing with me in my delinquincy. I'm sure anyone who's moved into a house understands what Jordan and I have been doing the past week. It's been a crazy week and an incredible week, all at the same time. We had so much help on Friday painting and on Saturday moving in, it was amazing! (big thanks to Lindsey, Ian, JT, Dustin, Reese, Robby, Mom, Wendy, Tami, Chantel, Melissa, Aaron, everyone....) By the time Saturday night rolled around- I really felt pretty settled. Ferris, Martha & Merari had helped me organize my kitchen, Wendy Borst had totally clean our apartment for us- top to bottom, there were tons of guys who helped us move everything in and set it all up, Frank Borst, Robby & Pastor Rob helped us arrange the bonus room- I could go on forever about all the amazing people who helped!!

Saturday night Zach & Joy Griepenstroh & Ian spent the night and went to church with us in the morning. I made Thai Cashew chicken for everyone and we had a great time hanging out, eating, watchin' football and just chillin' in the new place! Sunday was a super fun and awesome day. We went to church early and ate afterwards, then actually got to come home for a bit before Ultimate Frisbee. The weather was gorgeous! I wasn't feeling the best so I didn't play, but I went and watched and took some pictures. (above are some of my favorites)

Then I went back to the house and Mom called b/c she wanted to come and plant some tulip bulbs- so I happily agreed! :-) Kelly Jiroch came over and helped me organize my china cabinet and do a couple of things. We ended up with a big group that night: Mom, Dad, Ian, Chris, Reese, Me & Jordan, Kelly, Robby, Chantel- we made personal pizzas- yummy, and watched some more amazing football! (Go Colts- Undefeated!) It was a wonderful weekend.

Monday, Kyle & Janelle Kellums graciously donated their whole day to help us prime the apartment- we had painted the whole thing before we moved in, so in order to avoid being charged, we had to repaint it all. We were so thankful for them!! The four of us went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast and then spent the day painting away. Thank you to K & J for your time and help- so wonderful!!

So, that's a quick and basic run down. I think things will be a little more "settled," as much as they can be anyway. Jordan and I are both back up and running with our work- which is good. It took us a while to get caught up. PLEASE come see us, if you haven't already. We love having visitors and we want all of you to come see us!

Now- for the house.....I've uploaded the pics to Shutterfly, so click HERE and come on a picture tour of our new house...it's the best I can do until you come and see it for yourself. :-)

BIG love and BIG thanks to all of you! We love you!

Busy, busy bee

Well the weekend was crazy & wonderful, all at the same time. I am slammed today, so I'll give you a brief update with more to follow later. Last Friday was official "painting day" as you can see in the pictures. Lots of people came out to help us and we're SO glad they did. We started early, taping and painting the kitchen, J's office and an accent wall in the Master Bedroom. You can sort of see the colors- the gold is in Jordan's office and then the kitchen is a dark orangeish-brown. It looks beautiful.

We finally finished paiting about 1:00am on Saturday morning- with the faithful few still working hard helping us. The end result was well worth it though- it turned out amazing...you will ALL have to come see it.

I'll post about moving day tomorrow and hopefully get some pics of the house up.
Come see us in Nashville!

WE OWN A HOME!

Amazing! We own a home and it is so exciting. I just keep feeling so incredibly blessed and so provided for. God is awesome! Our closing went so well yesterday- it was all of about 20-25 minutes with no issues at all. Of course we wouldnt- we had the best Mortgage Broker out there. We were so excited yesterday, too, when our closing costs came back way under what we had estimated. God is so incredible and good!

Today is painting day....I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures for you after today. Yes- I did finally pick out colors for the rooms. I found a nice green in my friend, Tracy's 1/2 bath, and match the color to that, I found a beautiful Ralph Lauren deep orange-rust color for the kitchen and the Porter Paint color, Lantern Glow, a soft & pretty gold for Jordan's office. The green will go on an accent wall in our bedroom. That's all we're doing right now. I may eventually paint the guest bath and guest room, but not right now. So we have several people coming over to help us today and then a bunch more coming tomorrow. I'm so thankful for those who are willing to help. It is very much appreciated.

Well, I have to go- lots and lots to do! I just have have to say again- Praise the Lord! He is so good :-)

It's gonna be a whirlwind day...

We are praying that the closing happens. It has been extremely wet and rainy here, so some of our outside grading & landscaping work has been delayed over the past week and half, keeping the builders from getting to everything they needed to. So we are in a race against time today to get the CO in time for a closing this afternoon. Please be praying that things happen in a perfect timing today! It wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't close this afternoon, but we are believing for perfect timing in all of this! God is faithful.

I didn't get to posting yesterday- this week is seriously funny- this is the first time I've been responsible for moving an entire house, setting up utilities, planning schedules, picking out paint, decorating, etc. etc....it's been fun and challenging and I am certainly learning a lot. Despite all there is to do, I haven't felt "stressed" so I am thankful beyond words to the grace and peace of Jesus throughout this whole process. He is so good and Jordan and I feel like we must be the most blessed couple in the world. Thanks to all of you SO MUCH for your support and help- we love you.

Here are some pics from Halloween night, which we spent with some friends in Spring Hill. The is Ethan Rudd, Cadence Cole and the little baby is Ethan's sister, Eva. They are my little babies until I have some of my own and I LOVE THEM! Cadence was a lady bug and Ethan was a pickle....that's what he told his mom he wanted to be- so that's what he was. I've never witnessed trick-or-treating like I did Tuesday night. Jordan and I pulled into their (the Cole's) neighborhood and the place was reeming with children- EVERYWHERE. There are SO MANY kids in Spring Hill and most are under the age of 8..I walked with Jenny & Tracy with the 2 year olds door to door- it's just hilarious! I wish I could have posted video but you'll just have to believe me when I tell you they are adorable and so precious! Well, it's not posting the rest of the pictures that I'm trying to, so I've got to get going. Click here to see the rest....

Have a blessed day and please pray for a smooth closing this afternoon and grace and joy over the weekend of painting, moving and unpacking!

Walk-through....sort of

Well, yesterday we did our preliminary walk-through. We're going back tomorrow early evening for the final, as there were still a lot of little things for them to do. We knew that, so it wasn't a surprise. Good news- we got our clear to close yesterday! My husband is the greatest mortgage man in the entire world and I love him! Praise God for someone who understands that stuff. :-)

Click here to view some shots I took during the walk through. I think you have to be signed up on Flickr so if you haven't done that and need help, let me know. I also have my pics all set to viewable only by friends and family, so if you need to be added let me know. Also let me know if you need reminding of your username, as some of you have two. (Mom :-) More on the house to come...

Anyone have any fun Halloween plans? Jordan and I are going to the Cole's- good friends of ours from church along with a few other people. We're really hoping it doesn't rain as it's forecasted to- we want to be able to meet some people in the neighborhood as they're coming around with their kids. I will post pics of the two 2-year olds that will be with us: Cadence and Ethan- only like the 2 most adorable children in the world. Maybe I can find out how to post a video, b/c Cadence is hilarious and will most likely say something I'll wish I had on video. Jenny (Ethan's mom) told me yesterday that he wanted to be a pickle- so I am excited to see how that turns out. Oh, the things we do....

Please be praying for my sister & brother-in-law, Dan & Erin. Dan's dear granfather passed away in Indiana last night. He had been diagnosed recently with cancer in his lungs and it's been a difficult process for them of saying goodbye to a dear and very loved family member. Dan is currently in Indiana and Erin is flying up tomorrow for the memorial. He knew the Lord, so we are rejoicing in that, but it is always difficult to let go.

Love you all....have a wonderful night tonight with friends and family or whatever you may be doing.