I'm Seven Feet Tall

Brian and I are extremely blessed to have the opportunity to know some families with awesome kids. Until we can have children of our own, we totally enjoy the opportunities to see our friends' kids and watch them grow up. We love getting updates of our friends in Louisville and Atlanta and their families. There is nothing cooler than watching kids grow up! We have been blessed to have so many friends with a desire to raise children and have a family in a Godly way.

On Sundays, I have been volunteering at our church in Waumba land. Waumba Land is an environment for infants to children five years old. The goal of Waumba is to teach the kids that God made them, God loves them and Jesus wants to be their friend forever. It is an amazing program and one of the reasons why we come to this church, so that when we do have kids, we know what kind of environment they will have at church.

This Sunday, I was in charge of my room of 5 year olds for the majority of the time. Kids are so amazing and funny! We learned about Joseph today and his 10 brothers. While they were listening to the story from our storyteller, I was pretty sure than they weren't paying attention to most of it. However, when we got back to our room and talked about it, I was amazed at how much they learned and told me. One of the little girls said she needs to be more like Joseph and learn to forgive her brothers. At the end of class today, we prayed. If you have never watched kids pray, you need to! They are the sweetest, most honest and innocent prayers ever.




So, this past Saturday, Brian and I got to "hang out" with our friends two kids. I say hang out because they are 12 and 9 (Austin and Emily), so they don't really need a baby-sitter, but are at that age where they can't stay alone at night for a long time. We also got to watch their 4 year old cousin, Liam. This was the first time we met Liam, and what a character! All of us had a great time swimming, barbecueing, baking cookies and watching a movie. The best part was engaging in conversations with Liam.

Liam is convinced he is 7 feet tall, is going to be a dolphin, and is the King Of Wipeouts in the pool. Not one person could change his mind on these things. Hanging out with him reminded me what is so great about children. They truly have amazing dreams and nothing can change that! He wants to be a dolphin so he can swim oversees to Germany to visit his Daddy who is in the military. He is the King Of Wipeouts because he can do the best underwater flips in the world. And, he is 7 feet tall and will grow to 40 feet tall because he just believes it. When I put him to bed, we prayed. He led the prayer, which was for his Daddy who is fighting for his freedom in Germany. Liam knew why his dad is gone and what he is doing. He also prayed that he could be a dolphin to swim over and see him.

As a teenager, I went on a retreat focused on having faith like a child. This weekend, with these kids, I saw first hand what it is like to have the faith of a child. To believe in a dream that you want to have come true and not be unwaivered in so amazing and inspiring to see. They have no outside influences that tell them otherwise. They simply know what they want and ask God for it.

The best part of my weekend was having Brian home Saturday, volunteering in Waumba and meeting a 7 feet tall 4 year old and getting to hear his sweet innocent prayers.

6:15 Wake Up Call

My Congratulations Flowers From Katie G!



Tuesday I started my new job with Lash Group as a patient case coordinator. I couldn't be more thankful for this job! Now that I look back on the past few months and think about the frustration that came with job hunting, interviewing, turning down other jobs and being rejected for others I really realize why that all happened. When I was searching, it was hard to understand why I wasn't getting calls back or better offers. There were many times when I asked God why it was things weren't working out yet. And now I know the answer. God was preparing this job for me, he had this perfectly picked out and was just waiting for the time to be right for me to start.

This isn't just any job, it is a job that I am proud to say that I have. A job that I want to tell people about and one where I am excited to go to work. From the first interview with them, I had a feeling that this would be a great fit for me. The people I work with are all so friendly and helpful. We have a workout facility on site, a cafe for breakfast and lunch, kitchens on each floor with soda fountains, great views of both lakes, walking trails to use during lunch time, it's just a great place. Even our dress code is great! We can wear tennis shoes, t-shirts and even jeans if we want. They really strive to make the office culture comfortable and welcoming for everyone involved.

For my first day of work, my awesome husband got up super early on his day off to make me a great breakfast and then I was even more surprised to get to my car and see a card he had written for me. Am I lucky or what?! This was just a great start to my first week at work. It only continued to go uphill from there.

It's been weird adjusting to a work schedule. I am used to going to bed around midnight or later, and then getting up about 7:30. Now, I try to be in bed by 10:30 so I can up at 6:15 so I can have breakfast and be out of the door by 7:45. I get home around 6pm, so even that is great.

While it was difficult at time to wait for this job to be ready for me, I know now that God had it hand picked for me and to benefit our family. It meets all of our needs, and not only that, but it is a happy and healthy work environment for me. It's all we prayed for and so much more. So worth the wait!!!

Celebration of Freedom!

With yesterday being the 4th of July, of course freedom was on my mind. Brian and I went to a new church since our regular one was taking a break for the holiday weekend. Boy, did we miss our church! The service we went to yesterday was about the end of the world. Totally not what we were thinking about on the 4th of July! So, after that service, my dad called and told us to listen to our Atlanta church, North Point Community Church and Buckhead Church, to hear our senior pastor there, Andy Stanley. His message was just wonderful and made me even prouder to be an American.


It was a weird holiday for me because it was just Brian and I. This is the first year I have been away from my parents, other than the time my Mom and I were in Mexico on a mission trip. I'm used to taking pictures on the back porch with my family, having a barbecue with them and then all goint to see fireworks. Instead this year, Brian and I enjoyed a holiday to ourselves. We went hiking, to the lake, made a great dinner and went to see fireworks. It was a great first holiday in our new city!


Now it's time for the real world to begin. That's right, my "vacation" from being a working woman is finally over! Tomorrow is my first day at my new job with Lash Group. I haven't gone to work in almost 7 weeks, let along picked out an outfit for work (At my old job, we had uniforms). So, I am a little nervous about picking it out. Oh how I wish we had some more friends here! I could so use the help of another female to pick out the perfect first day outfit.

So, I am exiting this period of freedom from having all the free time I could ever want, to having the responsibility of a job. With this though, comes other types of freedoms and new challenges. Meeting new people, learning a new position, bringing home an income, and making a difference in the lives of the people we work for. I'm pretty sure the drive to work tomorrow will be a little nerve wrecking for me. It's going to be awesome, and it's great to see everything falling into place.

Well, that's enough blogging for now. Time to get back to cooking for the week, today I'm making homemade smashed potato soup and chicken paella, so I can take lunch to work. And, I still need to find that perfect outfit! Say some prayers for a great first day, please!

A Knock On The Door

Here's my acceptance letter!

This morning, Brian and I were woken up by the UPS man knocking on our door. What was this special package that woke us up early on our day to sleep in? My offer letter and employment from my new job!!! That's right, on Thursday afternoon, I was offered a job with Lash Group as a Patient Case Coordinator!! When the hiring manager called me to offer the position, she asked if I would need time to think about it. I immediately said no and that I accepted the offer, she laughed because I was so quick with my answer.

While I was on the phone still with the hiring manager, I grabbed my keys and drove to see Brian at work. I didn't want to tell him over the phone, I wanted to see his face when I could tell him that I got the job we had been praying for and that he could start school on time. He was pretty speechless and thrilled! I called my mom at work and the lady that answered the phone screamed, she was so excited for us. My mom kept calling me all day long, yelling into the phone "You finally got a job!" I called a few of our closest friends, Brian's mom and my grandparents who were all simply thrilled for us.

God knew what He was doing all along. Not having to work as soon as we moved here allowed me to get our home in order, learn the area of town better, get involved in volunteering at our church, meet new people, cook dinners for my husband and lots of other things. It allowd me to spend more time with my mom when she came in town also.

So, with this being a holiday weekend, I am going to enjoy these next four days off with my husband and some friends. I'll enjoy this holiday weekend with a sense of peace that finally I have the job we have been praying for and patiently for, well trying to be as patient as possible. Have a great weekend everyone!!

The Waiting Game

Waiting patiently is something I am not good at! For Christmas, I'd always try to find where my gifts were hidden, for Easter, I'd peek where the eggs were, even now I try to bypass waiting patiently. However, over the last few years, I've learned more that what God has planned for me is totally worth for. Doesn't mean that I am more patient, just more accepting of the fact that God knows what he is doing and has everything figured out for my life.

One of the main things Brian and I have been waiting for here lately is for me to get the right job. Not just any job, but THE job. The job where people are friendly, work is challenging and enjoyable, benefits are available and where I can help to support our little family. I've been on countless interviews for jobs in Charlotte since we decided to move. I've even had a few job offers, but turned them down after praying about them and realizing that they weren't the right fit for a number of reasons. I've applied for literally hundreds of jobs, called HR departments and hiring managers, utilized any connections I could find, but still haven't been able to nail down the right one. I interviewed for one last week and after I left the interview, I had a gut feeling that I would get the job. I even delivered hand written thank you notes the next day! That was last Friday, I still haven't heard anything. Still waiting....

Another thing we are waiting for is to start a family. We really wanted to get pregnant on our honeymoon or be pregnant for our first anniversary. But, it is now July 1, 2010. Meaning, we have been married for almost 19 months and still have no baby. We've been to different doctors and tried a few infertility treatments. Nothing too serious, but stressful nontheless. But, after we moved here it became obvious to me why we hadn't had a baby yet. We would have never moved if we had a child to take care of now. I would have never moved away from my parents, my brother and our friends in Atlanta. God knew this, he had it planned all along, I just had to realize why it hadn't happened yet to appreciate his reasonings.

Atleast while we wait for these two major things, we are surrounded with wonderful people in our liwes. Brian is so supportive and encouraging and more than I could ask for in a husband. We have multiple friends who have dealt with infertility that are encouraging and great examples to look forward to. Our families are always lending support as often as they can. So, if I have to wait to land the perfect job, and wait to start our family, I can do it!

This feels like the calm before the storm, Brian and I both feel like something wonderful is going to happen soon. Something wonderful happened today, an answer to some prayers that we had no idea how they would get answered, got answered. Just another reason to wait patiently and to wait on God.

I opened my Bible up the other day and this was the first verse that caught my eye
"Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God
your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers." Philippians 4:6

Perfect for any day that has doubt in it

New City, New State, New Life

Well, we have been living in our new home for about six weeks. Mooresville is absolutely wonderful! We couldn't be happier with the area we chose to live in. We live right by beautiful Lake Norman, we are close to friends, and Brian's school. Our church is a little bit of a drive, but totally worth it. We love the feeling of living in a smaller city, but being so close to Charlotte. There are farmer's markets here every weekend, quaint little towns, drive in movie theatres and good home cooking at all the restaurants. Not only that, but everyone around here is just so nice! Chimi and I have enjoyed seeing new parts of the area as often as we can. Often our date nights include driving around a new part of town and just seeing what is out there. Driving anywhere in Mooresville means you get to drive over Lake Norman, driving over it daily makes us both think we are on vacation because it is so huge and has over 500 miles of shoreline




Don't get me wrong, I miss my family like crazy. My mom came to visit last weekend and we had a blast. It is wonderful to have a mom who fully supports you. We took her all around town, to the lake, outdoor shopping malls, to our new church and lots of cozy little restaurants. We are anxiously awaiting more visitors to come. In fact, a friend from Church is coming this week, Kristin. Her brother lives here and we've been on a few mission trips together. It will be great to have a sense of home for a little bit.




Moving away from all your family and friends really opens your eyes to so many things. It helps you to build a stronger marriage because you rely on each other so much more. Moving away makes you realize what you took for granted before, like clean grocery stores, being close to church and parents. It shows you who your true friends are because those are the friends who call, email and send notes to see how you are doing and make sure you are adjusting well. You learn more about yourself, what you want to change in your life and what you want to stay the same. And, you aren't as afraid to make more changes and to be the change you want to be in life.

Moving is scary, exhilarating, joyous, sad, exciting, challenging and a giant leap of faith. So far, it has been the best decision we have made as a married couple!


Here's a quick look in our apartment, the living room and our bedroom.