1st Anniversary

      Seth and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary over the weekend! We both took off work/school last Friday and this past Monday. Friday we packed up the car, dropped Rufus off with my mom, and headed to Montgomery. We checked in to the hotel, 
The Renaissance at Montgomery Hotel and Spa, and they upgraded us to a suite for our anniversary.. for FREE! We were on the sixth floor and we had an amazing view of the Alabama River! We settled our bags into our awesome room and headed out for lunch. 

     Our hotel was located in the heart of downtown and we were able to walk everywhere! They have a ton of beautiful architecture and local places to shop and eat. For lunch we ate at a family owned hamburger diner. The Cajun fries were my favorite. After lunch we walked around the town and took a few pictures. Then we headed to the pool for some sun and relaxation... Ahhhh :)

     After the pool we got ready for dinner. The front desk recommended a Thai restaurant, called Lek's, across the street in a train station (how cool!). It was great! We had sushi (our favorite) and shared a curry dish, yummy! They had the cutest glasses for our sweet tea and pink lemonade- see below. 

     After dinner we headed back to the hotel to open presents!!! Since it was our first anniversary the traditional gift is Paper. Our real present was going on the trip but we did get a little extra for each other. I got Seth a book he has been wanting, a nice journal, and a travel coffee mug- hopefully he will quit stealing mine ;). And he got me the most thoughtful perfect gift... A framed picture of our first dance with the song lyrics hand-written on the canvas around it!! It is gorgeous!

     Saturday we slept in till 8:30... I guess our internal alarms are getting used to being up early. We watched Food Network all morning- our favorite channel that we don't get at home!! We went to a local pizza place, Tomatino's for lunch. Seth got a white pizza andi got pepperoni/Canadian bacon on mine. Mmhmm! Then we went back to the pool for a while. And then the best, well close to it, part of the trip... I got a 50 minute massage at the spa!! It was so relaxing! Much needed since I'm a worry wart/ control freak/ crazy person most of the time (I'm working on it.. Well praying about it). 

     After the pool we got ready for dinner. We walked to a new local restaurant called The Railyard Brewing Company. It was a very cool restaurant.. They brew all their own beer and have really unique decor. We both got burgers on pretzel buns. They each had they own homemade spread, mine had jalapeño pimento cheese spread. Yummmmmy! This was by far my favorite meal! The hot sauce was out of this world! I bet they will be on Diner's, Drive In's, and Dives soon! After dinner we sat outside to watch a fireworks show on the river.. A perfect ending to a perfect trip! Sunday (our actual anniversary) we headed back home and spent the day relaxing just the two of us, plus Rufus. 

     It was a perfect weekend! We are so blessed. I am more in love with Seth today than I was when we got married. I am so thankful that God brought us together. 

Our suite

Our suite

Our suite

The Amazing view we had :)

Pretty downtown

Lunch day 1

Lunch day 1

Riverboat

Fun on the railroad

I Don't Understand

      Have you ever just had a 'throw-your-hands-up-and-scream' moment? I have been dealing with moments like this over the past couple of weeks.
      I was the first in my family to graduate from college last December. It wasn't easy but I stuck it out because I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Not only did I know I wanted to be one but, I felt like that's what God wanted for me too. Anyway, I knew graduating in December wasn't the most ideal time to find a teaching position but I applied for a few maternity leaves. None of them worked out for me. I knew that subbing would be the best way to get my foot in the door but, Seth was starting back to school full time so I needed a steady paycheck. I got a job as a temp at Protective Life in January with the intent of getting a teaching job in the fall. The Lord blessed us by making me a full time employee here at Protective in May, but I still knew I wanted to teach in the fall. I have diligently applied for every teaching position in a 20 mile radius (some even father) of our house, but here we are in August and I still don't have a teaching position. The closer we get to school starting the more anxious/disappointed/confused/down right frustrated I get. Don't get me wrong I am so very thankful for a full time job with benefits that allows Seth to be in school full time, but I want, no need, to be in my own classroom.
     All of that to get back to my original thought.. I am at the point of throwing my hands in the air and screaming because I don't understand God's plan. I know, I know, its in His timing. He knows what He's doing, but I still don't understand... Another reason why He's God and I'm not I guess. I just feel so discouraged and even inadequate.. What if I'm just not a good teacher? People know me best would describe me as a Recovering Control Freak so this is really hard for me. My plans aren't clear and that is terrifying. What if I never get a teaching position? What if I am stuck in a job that doesn't fulfill me forever? There are so many 'what ifs' my brain feels like it might explode sometimes. I have started to post the serenity prayer when it gets overwhelming:

"God grant me the serenity to accept he    things I can not change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"

I can't change my circumstances right now, but I can change, or at least try to change my outlook and attitude. I know that the Lord has plans to prosper me and I am holding on to that promise! I know that His plans are far better than anything I could plan for myself. I am praying for peace for the moments where I feel like I'm losing it.

The Old Has Gone and the New Has Come

Well it has been a few days since I have posted but, I just had to share this great news...

My husband got baptized today! God is so good!

Here is a photo of Seth and our pastor right before Seth got baptized.

One of the first things that I think of when I think about my husband is how far he has come since we first met almost 5 years ago. God's word tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" When we first met, Seth claimed to be a Christian meaning he believed in God. He has now realized that being a Christian is so much more than believing in God. It is about a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Today Seth was baptized in front of our friends and family to show that he is a new creation In Christ. I could not be a prouder wife. Seth went through a transformation in October that words can't really describe, he put his Faith and his Life in God's Hands for the first time and God showed up. Our Creator started changing Seth from the inside out and, each day Seth is becoming more and more of the man God intended him to be. I am so blessed to call Seth my husband and I am so thankful for what God is doing in and through our lives.

This is Seth and I after his baptism.

Praying for the Future

I've been thinking a lot lately about prayer.. I mean it's kind of a big deal. You know talking to the creator of the universe and all. Anyway I write in a prayer journal because it is easier for me to organize my thoughts on paper and I like to look back to see my where I was at spiritually. A conversation I had on Saturday got me thinking about what I pray for. I looked back through my prayer journal and noticed that I pray mostly about the here and now. Which, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with praying about things going on now (there's a ton of stuff and people needing prayer now), but personally I want to start praying more about the future. I don't have children yet but I have always felt like God put me here to be a mommy. I am going to pray that the Lord prepares me to be a Godly mom in a world that has forgotten what parenting is about. I am going to pray for my (future) children. That they would be healthy and that they would have a love and a passion for the Lord. I already pray for my marriage, but I am going to pray for the future of our marriage, that we would continue to grow together and in Christ. I am going to pray for the future of our country/society. This world is becoming a scary place, I am going to pray that people's eyes would be opened to the Gospel and that they would embrace it. These are just a few of the things that I am going to start paying for. I encourage you, if you aren't praying for the future... Start now!

To a New Adventure...

Wow, my first blog! Who would've thought? Writing has always been a passion of mine, but it has remained somewhat private. I really don't know where the idea came from to start a blog, I just woke up one day and decided I should. Now, I am finally getting around to doing it. I enjoy reading other blogs so much, and I truly feel that God has put an interest in my heart for other people- not just the crazy-big miracles that happen, but the everyday happenings of life for other people. I can't promise this will be the most exciting or life changing thing you ever read (if anyone ever reads it), but I can promise it will come from right where I am at.

This blog isn't going to focus on one part of me. It isn't a blog just for my spiritual encounters with my Heavenly Father, or focused only on my many craft projects, or just about my family. It is a blog for all of those things, and more.

Thanks for supporting this new adventure I am taking. I pray that you would stick around to see how it plays out.