Service

This is Thomas Checking in here. I would feel way to narcissistic to create my own blog, so I asked my lovely wife for the privilege of using hers when I wanted to write something. She said yes, so I decided my first post should be about her, at least in an indirect sort of way.

Today my precious pumpkin woke up with a terrible sore throat and a fever around 100. Being the very loving caring husband I am I immediately thought (quotation marks, because this was my exact thought) "Dang it, now I won't be able to go to UNCC earlier and play basketball before class." Precious, I know. I spent the morning helping her in whatever way I could, until I had to leave for class. After class I came back and spent much of the afternoon watching her sleep on the coach while I was feeling restless, and bored out of my mind. I tried doing homework, but neither of my classes are terrible stimulating and rather than provide a diversion it only made my restlessness grow worse.

Then the turn around. I don't know how it happened or what caused, but I'm very thankful it did happen. I was standing in the kitchen making dinner for my darling when it hit me. I was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of joy and happiness. I found myself thinking "man this has been one of the best days of marriage." My own thoughts surprised me. I went over the day and tried to see if there had been some sweet moments that had made it so, or if we had had some deep conversation that moved me. While there were plenty of nice moments there was nothing extraordinary or attention grabbing that had occurred.

The Answer. I continued to think about why the day had been so "good." Before long God in his grace opened my eyes. Marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church, his love for and stewardship of her in her walk through this world. Because of his love for his church Christ came and served and continues to serve, us, his church. By being forced to serve Kay in her sickness I was fulfilling one of the purposes of our marriage, and therefore purposes of my life. In servanthood (however reluctant it was at first) I had found joy, and had a heart transformation. Although I never exercised, didn't get a lot of school done, and did not find a job, I still accomplished something worth much more. I was able to fulfill the very purpose of our marriage, and in doing so continued down my path of sanctification from a self-centered husband to a joyful servant.

Tonight when she went to bed, Kay still wasn't feeling well and likely will wake up tomorrow still needing a lot of care. After today I know my response will be different. I'm excited about another day of making her food, keeping her cool, and giving her comfort. Servanthood is my purpose in life and I'm more than excited to fulfill it a little more tomorrow in loving a sick wife.

My God Is So Big, So Strong, and So Mighty...

There's nothing my God cannot do.

God is biggest.

God is strongest.

God is mightiest.

God is my all in all, and He is always with me through my joy, suffering, grieving, and celebrating. 

I am so glad that God has drawn me closer to Him and helped me to enjoy and cherish Him even more over the past few weeks. 

I am so blessed that God has brought an amazing man into my life to love me and lead me even more towards Christ.

I am so blown away by a Savior who loves me despite my hateful, sinful, atrocious nature. 

Blessings

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with what he has. My heart has been overflowing with joy because of it. Being married is so wonderful and I appreciate who I married so much. Someone told me the other day that you are even more thankful for who you married when you start having kids. Well, I know I married Thomas not only because he treats me so well, but because I know he'll treat our kids well too! Don't worry, I'm not pregnant! (Yet.) But I am really happy and excited to have kids when the time comes! Thomas will make a great dad, and Lord willing I'll be a good mom. 
For now Thomas and I obviously are getting a lot of practice with kids as you can tell by our jobs. Always working with kids! 

When we're not working with kids we are....
Singing off key and dancing around our house
Cooking stuff without recipes 
Adding oatmeal to our smoothies to be healthier 
Tricking, surprising, and scaring each other
Being sassy
Coming up with lame jokes that are clever
Making plans to farm sit for the summer
Going to Loretta Lynn concerts




We do a whole lot of stuff together, and let me tell you! My mother-in-law said she loved to see us while we were engaged because we were always laughing and having a good time together. It has DOUBLED! We probably laugh even longer and harder, and we have even more wonderful times together! 
We've even said to each other, "Sometimes I wonder... is this much fun even ALLOWED? And then I know that it is because we're married and we can do whatever we want without a curfew or having to go home at night!"
Sometimes I like to call it the sleepover that never ends! 
I told Joel today that if you want to marry young you need to start dating young so that you know each other well enough when you decide to get married! Haha, that may not be true for everyone but I feel like there is some truth to it for Thomas and myself. Not really, because I know that it was God's plan all along and he's the one who has kept us together and our hearts are joyful because of it. I'm not necessarily encouraging anyone to get married young because it certainly doesn't work for everyone. However, it is working out quite nicely for Thomas and myself, thanks to God and his grace and love for us both. Thomas is wonderful and it has been a privilege knowing him for almost 6 years and being his sweet heart for almost 5. 




YEAH MARRIAGE!! 
I love love. 

Stories of a Newly Wed

"Hey Kay.... so.... How's married life?"


Just so I can go ahead and get this out of the way; that's the question that inevitably will end up in every conversation I have with anyone for the next year of my life I'm sure. 

And with that I'll go on the whole spiel of my wellbeing, happiness, and some advice. 

Well since you've all been asking, it's wonderful! I love it. God's plan for marriage is awesome and I'm so glad that He has blessed me with being able to take part in this awesome covenant and picture of Christ and the church.
 I  definitely recommend it to people who are thinking about getting married to their honeys! Plus, if you want to get engaged, just do it. Man up! Do it! Don't do that whole pre-engagement deal, it's already hard enough to be engaged so you might as well get the real thing and the real ring. My second best piece of advice is to have as short as an engagement as you can. If you feel like there are certain things that you need to finish before getting married, pray about it. I ended up getting married six months before expected and it was definitely for the better!


Married Life:


So the other night Thomas and I were at Jackson's Java, and I have to confess.... I've been eavesdropping. Only on a conversation right beside of me though and this one was too loud NOT to hear so I guess it's not really eavesdropping!
This is what they had to say:
"Oh my god, are those COUPONS?!?!"
"Yeah, I have an entire binder full, and I'm going to use these to buy like 40 items for like 40 bucks."
"Oh my GOD that is AWESOMMMMEEEE."
"I'm gonna get some golden grahams, you know, golden grahams are like really crunchy and great, but they only taste great when you get to the third or fourth bite. I told Jason that he was like the third or fourth bite of golden grahams, and it was awesome!!"


I like golden grahams, they remind me of my childhood, but I don't think I'd compare them to Thomas. It was still funny, their strange conversation with no greeting. I am not sure but I don't think they knew each other. 


We don't always spend time doing homework at coffee shops, we have been pretty busy with our jobs and duties, and Thomas is always busy going to school and getting his homework done. It's been such a quick (almost) 2 months since we've been married. It's always quick during the first of the year though, so I'm not surprised. Summer always finds a way to hurry itself into season. We've had so many deliciously warm days that I have indulged in wearing rainbows, shorts, and a t-shirt. Ah! Heavenly! 
I can't wait for those hot summer months, they'll be so happily welcomed! Thomas and I are even calling bets on when we'll get to turn the heat off at our house for good. 
To make this summer even more exciting we might be farm sitters! Woohoo!! Somebody bring out the rubber boots, hammers, nails, shovels, hoes, baskets, gloves, and cowboy hats! (It's really not that serious, but I am extremely excited about it.) 
We might be farm sitters in china grove for two weeks with chickens, a garden, dogs, and all kinds of adventures! And in the lovely month of July! :) 


Other than the information I shared above there's not really any newly-wed-news except that we're going grocery shopping today and I am very excited. 

December 3rd, 2010

The past two weeks I haven't been able to fall asleep well. I have stayed up until 12, 1, and even 2:30. Sometimes I stay up and do homework, but last night I stayed up until 1:00 doing my devotion time. After that I was lying in bed still quite awake with my brain whirring around too many different thoughts and reminders to count. I finally started to pray that God would turn my brain off. 

It's a strange thing to feel like you need your brain to turn off. I know, being a girl, I think constantly, but never enough that it actually keeps me up. 

It's a busy time in my life, sure, that's obvious on the exterior. I have school work, chores, errands, wedding planning, and many other things to do. I feel like I'm constantly in the car these days either picking up the twins from school, or driving over to see Thomas for a little while. 

But it's more than exterior business, there's a lot going on in the inside too. I am trying to follow after God, at 19 years old looking at marriage and school and everything on the outside, I'm trying to make sure that all my actions are truly following God's will for my life. At this point I should probably just be content with the calling I have on my life now, which is getting married. I have to say, I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I know people say that all the time, with their heads and hearts filled with love and devotion, but I feel like I really know.

One night when Thomas and I were in the car driving home  he told me that I should start praying about whether it's right for us to get married or if we should break up and move on to what else God has in store for our lives. Obviously the initial thought was sadness, because there was that possibility that I might not end up marrying Thomas. 

That night I went home, a little bit sad, but trusting in God and His plan for me. I prayed a lot for God to show me what was the right thing to do. I asked Him to show me in His word what he wanted for my life. To my surprise He answered that night in the most direct way He's ever answered anything to me before. 

I flipped around in my bible and I started to read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against a man who is alone, two will withstand him - a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

I think my favorite part is the first sentence, and the last. 

Romans 8:31b

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Even though I have a lot of things going on in my life right now, inside and out, as long as I follow God He will bless me, make me stronger, and draw me closer to Him. I am so glad that I am able to do that with someone so special to me, and I pray that I am able to bless his life as much as he has blessed mine. 

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Well, it is the most wonderful time of the year again and every year decorations go up earlier and earlier, and this year everyone had their's up before thanksgiving day. I was tempted, I even listened to Christmas music before thanksgiving, but then again I do that every year. On thanksgiving day my mom told me that since it's my last month living here that it would be okay for me to decorate the house a little early for Christmas. Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite things to do, I like it a lot. I often end up doing it alone though, and then Mom moves around some of the stuff I put up so it's the way that she likes it. I have to admit, it hurts my feelings a little bit...I guess we just have different ways of doing things. Different creative tastes. And I am only hurt for a moment because I know actually being upset over Christmas decorations is a little bit silly, and I still get to enjoy the glow of the Christmas tree.

Our little Christmas tree this year is charming, and festive. Every day there are a few more decorations placed on it to give it more Christmas cheer. 

I really enjoy the colored lights too..

So today I was messing around with my camera, trying to test out different settings to see how they would look. I got some interesting shots and had a lot of fun. 

Part of me just wants to go travel the entire world with my Nikon d60 around my neck, taking pictures of people, places, and things. I want to get better, so that I can turn my passion into a business and show other people the awesome gift God has given me. 

Well, with 30 days left until my wedding I feel pretty confident that everything will get done. It's only a matter of time, effort, and hard work before I can finally sit down and say "Ah! I'm done, and now all I have to do is show up!" 

Although I know that I will still be checking off mental lists making sure I'm not forgetting anything. 

There is a silver lining to all of this wedding planning, Erin and Clara are (hopefully) coming down to NC to help with the rest of the planning and arrangements!! :) 

Every time I think about my wedding day being so much closer than the day before, I get BUTTERFLIES in my stomach. I can't remember the last time I got butterflies in my stomach! (At least not as seriously tummy rumbling as these!) I cannot wait to start my life with a beautiful, wonderful, gift from God that I am just beginning to truly know. God is good! All the time! He has taught me a lot and drawn me closer to Him through this season in my crazy life, and even after Thomas and I have been married a year or two, have changed a lot, and learned more about love, God will still be there teaching us, loving us, and providing for us. Amen.

Moments in November I Will Not Forget

First I'd like to say how happy I am that it's November. I can't believe 2010 is almost over. I can't believe I'm getting married on January 1st. I can't believe I worked my last summer at camp. I can't believe that Thomas is home forever. I can't believe I am where I am today. 
---- Wait a second, I'm here aren't I? So why not believe it! It's not really a matter of I don't believe it - that's just an expression, but it blows my mind completely that I have made it to 19, engaged, licensed to drive, working, in college, and all at the same time! Haha. But really, I used to dream about this when I was 7 and now it's finally here! 
To say the least, my life is good and God has blessed me beyond measure. What a great God I serve. He has blessed me with many things that I will never forget. 
And so I don't forget them, I will share them with you. 


Four years ago on November 5th is when Thomas and I were at his house baking lemon pies with his mom, telling each other that we liked each other, and then watching the movie Signs (His favorite movie at the time) drinking cherry lemon sundrop. Holding hands until the end of the movie to find that our hands were numb. 
November 5th, 2010, four years later, Thomas and I celebrated God taking care of us and strengthening our relationship through trials and tribulations, and blessings too. Little did we know on that cloudy and cold day that we would be getting married four years and about two months later. 
We celebrated with a lovely dinner, and Thomas brought me some beautiful red roses, chocolates from his mother, and a beautiful poem he wrote himself. He made four little napkin roses and taped them to the poem. He taped four on there because it was our fourth anniversary. What a sweet man!
I cooked dinner; there was steak and sauteed mushrooms, onions, and peppers. Crab cakes, a loaf of italian bread, and stuffed mushroom caps. It was very fancy! And very tasty too. We had a wonderful evening together sitting at a candlelit table with the beautiful flowers as our centerpiece reminiscing about our relationship history and what will happen in the future. 
 Our dessert was a cinnamon roll cheesecake and it was nothing but delectable. 
After eating plenty of the dessert, we went out for a walk, a very LONG walk actually. 
We ended up having a great night counting blessings and realizing how gracious God is to us again and again. 




Rewind even more:
The past two weeks I have been able to have some great times with the girls I babysit, Madison and Meredith. They were out of school and I was asked to babysit them all day. I picked them up from their early release at school at 11:45 and we drove back over to their house. I asked them if they wanted to do a "fashion shoot" because I had brought my camera with me, so we picked out some "fall themed outfits" from their closets and went outside! I ended up with some great photos and these are some of my favorites:

Even though Madison towards the end became grouchy and moody we still ended up with great pictures. They had fun too! 


A week after that I had to babysit them again except it was for an actual full day, 8:00-5:30. 
Meredith was right there to greet me, bright eyed and bushy tailed as my dad used to call us when we were awake early in the morning. We woke Madi up so that we could talk about what fun stuff to do that day. That was the day we went to Davids Bridal and picked out their flowergirl dresses for my wedding day. They had a lot of fun trying on all the different dresses they had. They ended up picking two different dresses, they look beautiful in them!




The night that their family drove down to David's Bridal to order the dresses was the same night as Thomas and I's anniversary. They called me while I was cooking, and their mom said that the computers at the store were down so they couldn't pull up the style of dresses the girls picked out so they went to the rack to find them instead. Apparently Madi couldn't remember what dress she had picked out to wear, and when she saw the one that she DID pick out she said she no longer liked it and wanted a different one. Typical girl. Typical Madi. I told their mom that I didn't mind if she picked another dress because I liked them all. 
I guess I will find out tomorrow whether or not she ended up with the same dress.






All in all November has been a good month so far, productive and fun too. Thomas and I went to the UNC Charlotte Movie Theater and saw Inception. It was great, and we had fun together. 


This week seems kind of busy, there's a lot of school work I want to get done - and there's a lot that I NEED to get done. Thankfully I have been able to keep up well in my classes this semester. 
In fact, reading is what I should be doing right now. So my blogging ends here so that I can finish my chapter in Psychology.