new.

I have a ton of stuff to blog about!

First, I want to ask for help from some of my blog expert friends.  How do you guys get the cute header designs?  I finally figured out how to get a new background through a design website but I'm not finding any header templates to use instead of my picture that I have.  Since I know so many bloggers have all the info on the creative designers and whatnot, I figured I should just ask!

We have moved into our new place and while it does have its little quirks, it is finally starting to feel like home.  I have pictures of the house from before we moved in but the proof that it's actually lived in will come later after I get it all decorated!  

I'm not proud of the exterior.  I think it looks ugly.  But the inside...

This is the living room!  Yep..hardwood floors!

The green kitchen!  It was an ugly color at first but it has grown on me quite a bit!

The spare bedroom.  Must have been a little boy's room previously!

The master bedroom!  I'm not a big fan of brown but I still like it!!

I also got my Christmas tree!

This was a new experience for both Kyle and me this year.  It was our first Christmas as a married couple!  We got to celebrate with both of our families and it was perfect!  

Christmas Eve at his mom's.

Our little family at my parents' house (minus Caya Ann!)

Hope your holiday was just as special as ours was!  Happy New Year to everyone!

new residence!

My husband and I will be moving into our first house soon.  I say "our" but it's actually a rental.  But it's ours!  I'm not proud of the way the exterior looks.  I think my first words about the place were that it looked like "somewhere my grandma would live."  Kyle told me not to judge the place before we go inside and I doubted him.  He was right.  The inside is INCREDIBLE!  It's no dream house, but it's perfect for what we've been looking for!  It's in a good location, it's got great space for a married couple without kids, two bedrooms, a garage, and a huge yard for our puppies to romp and run in!  My biggest setback at the moment is the fact that we will be losing our U-VERSE.  We found out that it's not covered in the neighborhood.  I will have to find something else to do with my evenings I guess..


Maybe if we move quick enough, I can still get a Christmas tree?  Hmm...

tis the season to be happy!

I am joyful today.  I am happy and mostly content with my life.  This morning in Bible class we discussed the difference between contentment and thankfulness.  A Christian should never feel content with where they stand with God.  Chances are, if you are feeling like things are perfect, then you could be doing something that could stand to change.  I am nowhere near perfect in my relationship with God, and that's something that I am working very hard to change.  But, I am happy with my life here in this world.  I have been given a wonderful husband and a roof over my head.  My car gets me from point A to point B and USUALLY doesn't give me any grief in between!  Kyle and I have both been blessed with great jobs that provide a paycheck that is just enough for what we need.  We aren't starving.  We aren't freezing.  We have an awesome church that we have intentions of placing membership with.  I am joyful today because of those things.  It's the season that reminds us to be thankful for the things we have in life.  While it is wonderful to have this reminder every year, we should be thankful for things such as these all year...every year!  Please don't forget to be happy with what you have already.  Things could always be worse.  Take it upon yourself to think of others this Christmas season.  You'll feel better about life!!!

Now, I'm switching gears..  I forced Kyle to take a few pictures with me for our first Christmas card!  If you're on my Facebook, you've probably seen them already.  These aren't all of them but they're a few of my favorites.  Hope you like them!

my face is very pale in this one!

some mush...

my absolute favorite!

earthquake!!!

I just experienced my first earthquake EVER!!  I live in Wichita, Kansas and I felt an earthquake.  According to Facebook, there was another one last night too that was felt across Oklahoma and around the Wichita area, but I felt nothing during that one.  I definitely felt this one!  The news said it was a 5.6 magnitude.  My first instinct was to pray to God for safety.  I had no idea what was going on.  Kyle was in the bath so I grabbed my phone and jumped up to run to the bathroom while calling my dad to see if he and my mom felt it.  They did.

Because I grew up in Kansas, I have not been taught how to react to an earthquake.  I had no idea that you're supposed to hide under something sturdy.  I just sat here on the couch...  Hopefully we never experience one big enough to need something sturdy over my head.  I will die.

P.S. I am thankful for the whole day of relaxation.  I did nothing but clean my cabinets and cook.  Life is good...  God bless!!

thankfulness.

For the last few days, I have been posting reasons why I am thankful on Facebook.  I have decided to take it to the next level and explain those reasons a little more in depth.  Some of them are pretty self-explanatory but maybe it would be good for me to look back on these during days when I'm feeling sorry for myself...haha!

Today I am thankful for my husband's love for math.  Because he loves math, he takes care of the bills and the checkbook.  I always told myself I would never be the wife that lets her husband control how she spends money, but it's just so much easier!!!  Before I buy something (groceries, lunch, stuff for teaching) I always text him or call to find out how much money we have and what bills we still have to pay.

If this task were left up to me, our credit scores would be terrible and my student loans that are taking most of my paychecks would tell me I'm delinquent! I'm not a money person.  I am good at spending but not so good at saving.

Anyway, Kyle does so much for me.  This is just one thing that I'm thankful for today!  I am one lucky wife...

God bless!!!

the search for a church

Since moving to Wichita, my husband and I have been on a search for the perfect church for us to attend regularly.  It's hard to move from my small town churches to a city where there are several to choose from.  We belong to the Church of Christ.  I was raised in the church back home and even when I had the chance to go search for what fits me better, I found that I still belong there.  I believe the way they believe.  They believe in what the Bible teaches.  While I was in college, at Oklahoma Christian (a Church of Christ affiliated school), I realized how different some Churches of Christ were from others.  When you have a college like that, you have a very widespread group of people from different churches with different ideas and styles of beliefs.  I learned quickly that it was important to find one that was based on sound doctrine and strictly followed the Bible without adding or taking away from it.

Now that I'm away from my Church of Christ "community" where I was surrounded with a support system I knew I could always count on, it's very difficult to find the right place for us to worship.  We have been to several around the Wichita area and we have walked out of a couple of them saddened by another church we could never feel comfortable attending.  We have been looking for one that had a good group of young married couples because we have hopes of gaining some wonderful Christian friendships.  There has been only one that has that, but we didn't feel as if we "fit" with them....until today.  

Today we attended one that was a pretty lengthy drive from our apartment.  But it was fantastic!  We were greeted by many of the younger couples in the congregation (as well as the older members) and it felt like a good mix of newer songs with the old-school style that I'm used to.  We have already been invited to join in on some of their upcoming events and had a hard time pulling away from one couple we met after services were over.  We felt comfortable being there.  They showed us no reason that we shouldn't return.  I feel such relief to know that God may have answered a prayer that I've been asking to be answered for a long time!

Have a wonderful week!!  Let me know if I need to add anything to my prayers!!! 

boy meets world day!!!!

Since I am home alone all day while the husband goes to work, I have decided to watch the MANY recorded episodes of Boy Meets World. 

 

Our U-Verse started telling me that it was going to delete them because it was getting too full so it sounded like a good way to spend the day!  Of course, at some point, I'm going to have to be productive and do some work for school next week, but that's for later.  Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!