Brown Eyed Bell(e)

Thankful Thursday V6.4

2012-02-23T00:44:00.000-05:00

Howdy Friends! <3

I wanted to say a quick thank you for those who left encouraging words, emails, and tweets to me yesterday after reading my post. You are so uplifting and I value each and every one of you. <3

And now, before I get into my favorite post of the week, I feel it necessary to go over a little blogging link up etiquette. I don't make it a requirement that you take my Thankful Thursday button and post it up for the link back, but, I do ask that you somehow link back, whether it be via my button, or a quick text link back such as "linking up with Heather from Brown Eyed Bell(e) today". This is part of the fun of a link up. To meet new bloggers! It is my hope that some of my followers may see your link and go say hello, as well as maybe a few of YOUR followers will see you linked up with me and want to swing on by my little blog to say hello. This can't be done if there is no link back, they'd never even know you were even participating IN a link up if you don't mention it. Make sense? Sorry if this comes across as rude, I really, really don't want it to. Regardless of a link back, I do appreciate each and every one of you that link up with me as I truly enjoy reading your thankful posts. They always brighten my day. A thankful heart is so beautiful. Anyways, let's get to this.

This week I am thankful for:

♥ My Dad's laser eye surgery went well yesterday. He should be completely healed within a few days, and his vision in that eye should be so much better! He had glaucoma in one eye and it was making his vision very blurry on that side. He is so excited to get rid of the "cloudiness" :)

♥ getting all moved into our new home. now we are just working on making it home. Friday night was our first night, and it was such a surreal feeling. I kind of feel like I am on vacation, sleeping somewhere new. Haha. And, my husband on his first day home from work since moving totally drove right past our new home and was heading to my Dad's house. Oops! The picture below was of our 2nd night in our new home. I totally forgot to take a picture of us our 1st day at home :( BUT, as I was about to fall asleep and Ryan was pretty much already asleep, I begged him to take a picture and this goofy pic is what we were left with. Mind you we were in bed at 1030pm on a Saturday night and it felt GREAT!

♥ my furbabies. We haven't moved them in with us yet, for a few reasons. We had hoped to get the back yard fenced in as they are used to being able to roam free throughout the day, in and out as they want, and I don't want to take that from them. And two, we need to make sure the home is 100% puppy proof with no miscellaneous nails, etc laying around. We received our first estimate on fencing the back yard, and let's just say, that will be waiting for a bit. Puppies will be coming before then. I can't leave them at my Dad's that long, I miss them terribly as is. The good thing is my Dad lives less than 5 minutes away from us. What a blessing.

♥ a car with a sunroof. I don't use it nearly as often as I thought I would when I first got this baby! BUT, I did use it over the past week, as the weather was just glorious outside!

♥ My room mate and one of my very best friends, Ashley. She got to experience my mini break down last night over how overwhelmed I have been feeling lately (see yesterday's post). She knows that Ryan and I haven't had time to hit the grocery store since we've moved in, hence our fridge being empty. Today when I got home from work she had bought some of my favorite groceries, as well as stuff to make spaghetti tomorrow (mmm). Our pantry + fridge now has items in it. Yay! She is such a blessing in my life and I hope she knows how much I love her!

♥ getting to meet my first blogger in person! I met Noelani from Our Beautiful Little Journey this week. What an amazing experience to be able to connect with someone you are already close to via the internet, in person! I blogged about the experience, with a few on Tuesday.

♥ finding even more nature at my house. I saw a gopher turtle jump/slide into his hole/home that is apparently under my driveway. Now I have a pet turtle, haha. The picture below, while not of Mr. Turtle, is another horse that came to greet me on a walk this week. He's SO soft and SO sweet. I feel bad because his pasture isn't that great, and there are LOTS of roots that make it really hard for him to walk around. I was worried he'd trip just coming to the fence to greet me :(

Side note: I have the ultrasound on my neck today around lunch time. I try not to be a worry wart, but, who am I kidding? I am a bit scared. I just keep reminding myself it's in God's hands and that he IS healer and no matter what the outcome, everything will be just fine.

Happy Thursday Ya'll!!

On Slowing Down

2012-02-22T00:29:00.001-05:00

I tend to take on more than I can handle at times. Part of this is because I love coordinating events, and am good at it, so people often come to me and ask me to handle organizing this or that.

Tonight (just about an hour ago actually) I had a mini break down session with my room mate. I came in already ready to cry, and of course when she asked those simple words "what's wrong?" the faucets came on.

I am just overwhelmed. And I need to slow down.

This time of the year is always a busy one, and when you add the fact that it's a presidential election year which means my job is MEGA busy, plus moving, it became 100x busier.

Right now I literally have so many things floating around in my head that I need to do in the next few days, that I can't even keep up with my own thoughts.

A quick view into my mind would show that the following thoughts are floating around:
* My Dads lasik eye surgery today
* Ryan and I need to go to a city about 30 minutes away to the elections office to report our new address and get our updated voters registration card with that info -- we have to do this in person because we waited until the last minute to file for homestead exmeption, and now we don't have time to wait for the elections office to mail us our new card.
* Ryan and I also have to go to our local courthouse to file for homestead exemption
* I have an ultrasound on my neck scheduled for Thursday to check out the lump I feel.
* Ryan has a dentist appointment
* I have a hair appointment for a trim
* We have our Florida Bapstist Children's home ministry Friday night
* A good friend of mine is flying in Friday night and we may be picking her up
* I need to find time to tidy the house up a bit (still boxes everywhere) as another good friend is driving in Saturday and will be staying with me Saturday night (yay, our 1st house guests) :)
* We are celebrating one of my best friends birthdays on Saturday night, hence the friends flying and driving in
* Work has been extra busy (this stems back to it being a presidential election year)
* I HAVE to make time to walk atleast 2 miles daily to help ward off issues from my Spondylolisthesis
* I have a few fundraising events I need to set up within the next few weekends to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life and an SPCA Walkathon. Both of these events take place in April so time is ticking. I want to set up at least one yard sale and one car wash. I already have a bake sale lined up at my work. Usually we do a couple of yard sales and car washes however this year everyone has been so busy we will be lucky to squeeze in one of each event. Since finding time to fundraise is looking to be so hard this year, I have asked for my birthday next month, that in leiu of gifts, if someone was planning to buy for me that they instead make a small donation to one of those two charities.
* I have to shop around for a new house insurance for my Dad's property since apparently Statefarm is phasing out that policy.
* Property taxes are coming up soon
* Figuring out a way to come up with $3000-$4000 to get a chain length fence installed along the perimeter of our new backyard so the doggies can roam free soon. Currently they are still at my Dad's house as they are used to roaming free in the fenced in yard. I don't want to bring them here and have the cooped up all day.

THAT is what is going on in my head right now, right before bed. TOO MUCH, EH? I agree.

Sometimes I think that I need more hours in the day, or more days in the week. BUT, then I remember, God created the earth in 6 days, and then had time to rest on the 7th. There is time to get everything I need to get done. And still rest. I just have to learn to better manage my time, and not over commit myself. A wise friend once told me "the first no is the hardest" and she was 100% right. She told me that about 2 years ago and it has stuck with me. I've said no multiple times since she 1st told me that, and it felt good to not overly commit. Sometimes I will even tell a friend "no, I don't want to make plans to do this or that because as of right now I have NO plans for that day, and I want to keep it that way" There is beauty in just slowing down and having days that are 100% for relaxation. Those days are few and far between for me as I am such a busy bee. I'm hoping to get better with that. I want to take more time to do the things I love, the things I am passionate about, and the things that bring complete joy to my life.

Those things are helping others. Making a difference. Shining my light.

I work to live, I do not live to work. The president of the company I work for once told that to me, and it has stuck. That statement came after a conversation in which he was trying to convince me to go back to a positiion that I'd had before that I did not like much as it was salary and had me working way past 40 hours a week. The money was good, yes, BUT, I NEVER had free time to do the stuff that brought me joy, which ultimately made me a not so happy person. The money was NOT worth my happiness and I resigned from that position within 6 months of taking it. A few years later they needed help in that department again, and they tried to lure me with that salaried position again, even asking me what it would take to get me back to which I replied "no amount of money" that is when the president looked me in the eye and told me he respected me for that answer as not many people my age would be turning down a higher paying salary in exchange for saving animals (he always makes fun of me *in a joking way* for my passion of saving animals) and that he really did respect my work ethic as it was obvious I worked to live and did not live to work. That conversation has always stuck with me. He still jokingly reminds me to this day that saving the world is not going to make me money. But, you know what? I don't want the money. I want the satisfaction of making a difference.

Sorry I am a rambling mess tonight, or early this morning I should say. I just wanted to share a bit of what is on my heart lately.

My mind and my heart are on two different pages lately. My husband tells me all the time (quite seriously in fact) to quit my job. He wants me to get out of a place I am content with, and do something I am 100% passionate about, IE, non profit work. BUT, my mind reminds me that we just took on a new mortgage and while yes, we did do our budget so that anything my husband makes would pay bills and anything I made would be extra, I don't want to take away that extra just yet. I want to help us become as financially secure as possible. My heart tells me that sooner or later I am just going to have to take that leap and just DO IT. As scary as it will be at first, cutting back hours at work would allow me so much more time to focus on all my dreams of making a difference in this world. As of right now, everything is on the back burner because I keep coming up with less and less free time to work on the things I want to. Because it's a busy year at my job, an extra day was just tacked on to my schedule, and I now work 5 days instead of 4. Losing this day has really effected my schedule and personal projects I have been working on outside of work. I'd like to ask each of you for prayer in this situation. I know God is in control and that he has great plans for me; however, I'd really appreciate it if you'd join with me in prayer. I just want my eyes to be opened as to what I need to be doing in this season of my life.

I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8

I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Again, if you've stuck it out this long, THANK YOU. I know this post is kind of all over the place. As I said, my mind is a jumbled hot mess tonight. And I am typing this up on the iPad which isn't allowing for much editing. I will leave you with a few inspirational pins from pinterest.

Source: blog.retrofitrepublic.com via Britny on Pinterest

Source: moneysavingmom.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: the-means-of-life.blogspot.com via Breonna on Pinterest

I just came to say hello....

2012-02-21T12:31:00.000-05:00

literally.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Noelani from Our Beautiful Little Journey and it was literally just for a few minutes, to say hello... and to take a few pics, of course.

It was super impromptu but just perfect nonetheless. I knew Noelani would be in town soon as her and her hubby were taking their sweet daughter to Disney World for her birthday. We had exchanged cell phone numbers just in case it might work out for them to swing by and say hello! I had told her that she would literally be passing by my house whenever she was in transit from where they were staying to Disney. And, yesterday it just worked out. I received a text around 1pm asking what time I got off work. I was set to work the 3-C shift yesterday so I mentioned I was actually just about to start getting ready FOR work. That's when she told me they were in transit to Disney, and were about 20 exits away from my stop. I told her that if they hadn't done lunch yet, we could do a quick lunch at Panera or something, OR, if they'd already ate, they should still just swing by to say hello. I was sure to assure her that if they couldn't stop by, I TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD. After all, this was their family vacation I totally would have understood. BUT, she wanted to stop by quickly.

I WAS SO EXCITED!!

But, this meant I had literally maybe 20 minutes to inform my husband that we were about to have guests. He had problems sleeping the night before and was actually still asleep at 1pm so I said "baby, I just wanted to give you a heads up, my blogger friend, Noelani and her family that I told you about, they are in transit here so you may want to wake up" HAHA. To which he said groggily "okay, how far out are they?" And I replied "um, yeahhhh, we have about 15 minutes before they are here" HAHAH. He woke right up. Now, we are still in the process of unpacking and getting settled, so I just warned her ahead of time that the house was a semi disaster of boxes everywhere.

The best part of this was, as I told her, I knew she'd be dressed comfy and cute (she always is!) and I had literally just got done working out, so I had to apologize if I was sweaty and stinky. Haha!

Either way, I was just excited to get to meet her (and her sweet family). She is the very first person I've met in person from blogging. It's funny because many don't understand the friendships you can form over blogging, even before you've met someone. I already considered Noelani a friend before we met, BUT, now we can officially say "we are friends in real life" :D

I will leave you with two not that great pictures from cell phones. I hope hers turned out better :)

As our husbands were jokingly talking about starting their own blogs "Husbands of Bloggers" Noelani had the genius idea to get them to pose for a picture! Great thinking! :)

Anyways, ending this post I just want to encourage you to reach out to the blogging community. Make friends. I for one enjoy meeting new people, and if you send me an email, I will take time to reply. I try my hardest to reply to most comments though as you know that's not always possible. I just hope that each and every one of you know that I truly do appreciate you following my blog and taking the time to check in on me and my life, and to care. That's such a blessing to me. You all provide me with great encouragement.

THANK YOU.

MOVING DAY!

2012-02-17T19:34:00.000-05:00

It's finally here!

MOVING DAY!

Yes friends, finally. We closed on December 29th and since then we have been slowly working on getting the house move in ready (weekends only). Yes, we are slow. We took our time as we were blessed to not have to be out of our current home (my Dad's) by any certain deadline. There have been a few weekends we lost due to other circumstances that arose, but it's finally time. We moved the last major items today (beds, perhaps?) and will sleep in our new home for the first time tonight. EEK! I can't even describe my excitement to you! The downer today was that it was rainy, so we had to move a couple of things in the rain, but thankfully we got our tempurpedic bed moved before the down pour. YAY! Anyways, with that being said, I am off to work on making our house a home. Busy weekend ahead of us. Ryan's granny from Ohio is in town and we are doing a family dinner at his parents tomorrow night. Yay for family time. I come from a small(er) family so to be able to get his side together as well as my Dad is always a blessing to me and brings me much joy! SO, even though tomorrow will be super busy, and then it's back to the working grind on Sunday, I am excited! Bring it on weekend. I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed one. Remember, kindness spreads, do something nice for a stranger this weekend :) I will leave you with a few pics from pinterest that caught my fancy.

Source: enthusiasmdaily.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: brightbazaar.blogspot.com via Mandi on Pinterest

Source: flyergoodness.blogspot.com via Daphne on Pinterest

Oh, and I have two link ups still open:

Thankful Thursday a post in which you can link up things you are thankful for! I host this every Thursday and it's open from Thursday around midnight through the following Wednesday.

Our Story a link up in honor of Valentines Day. Share your love story and meet some new bloggers! :) This is open through Sunday. The actual post written on this day was from my husbands point of view of our very own love story! Be sure to read and leave him some love. He even asked me the other day if he'd received any feedback to his post. Aw, so sweet! He makes me smile daily! <3

Thankful Thursday V6.3

2012-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

WOW. Can I just say last week flew by?! I know, I know, I wasn't around the blogosphere much as I had guest posters all week sharing their love stories; but, I had sincerely hoped I'd be able to catch up on some reading of my favorite blogs during my down time, however, I had no free time. Literally. As most of you know, my days off have consisted of working around our new home so we can finally move in, but last week I lost another day off. I got asked to work on Friday, and I knew I was desperately needed so I couldn't say no. SO, that left one day, Saturday, to have any free time at all, and I spent it moving stuff into the new home (eek). We will move the last bit of our stuff this Friday, and our first night at home will be Friday night. I can't even express how super excited and blessed I feel.

Anyways, here we are on Thursday, and before I start rambling (it's easy, I know) I am going to get straight to the point.

This week I am thankful for:

♥ a really good weekend for Kidney for Kristy. As I mentioned last Thursday, Kristy has met her financial goal to get put on the transplant list. YES! but, since Shand's is giving her until the end of the month, we will continue to fund raise as any extra money will go towards travel cost which will be outrageous with the price of gas continually rising. This weekend Kristy hosted a yard sale in Orlando and brought in $270ish on Friday and $240ish on Saturday. AMAZING! Please keep spreading the word about this cause, as you can see, the giveforward page doesn't reflect the $5000 yet since it doesn't show the funds from the Wells Fargo account. How awesome would it be to hit the total need on the giveforward page?!

♥ that my 1st attempt at a home made pot pie was a huge success thanks to the help of my sweet sister via texting.

♥ That my sweet husband guest posted on Valentines Day. He doesn't really understand this whole blogging thing, but he always supports me 100% in whatever I put my mind to, so he was happy to type up a post when I asked if he would :). You can read his version of our love story by clicking here. Also, that same post is where you can link up YOUR LOVE STORY if you haven't already. The link up is open through Sunday.

♥ technology. even though I have only met my sister face to face a handful of times (she was adopted as an infant and we didn't meet until about 23 years later) we are able to remain so close thanks to daily texting. This is something I am so thankful for on a daily basis.

♥ free stuff. On Valentines Day I ran to a local farmers market (that is walking distance from my new house) and ordered a strawberry milkshake (hey, I wanted something pink) I ended up walking away with my milkshake + one extra that they gave me for free. The lady making it was trying to use the last of her fresh strawberries for the day and it ended up making way too much. so sweet that she gave it to me. I was able to give my husband a sweet surprise to top that pot pie off.

♥ all of the animals near my new home. I know I say this a lot, but seriously. This week I saw the donkey that my friend saw a few weeks ago! This is a huge deal for me as I adore donkeys. Seriously. I will pull over to pet a donkey if I see one, haha. I also snapped a pic of the brown horse that normally hands out with the white beauty I posted a few weeks ago on a Thankful Thursday post. Also, Buddy the friendly cow has completely won my heart. He seriously gallops over to me tail wagging half the time when he sees me. The sweetest thing!

♥ These pretzels that a coworker brought in to work and got me addicted to. This is not a good thing!

♥ that the house has been coming right a long. This will be a blog post soon, plenty of house stuff to chat with from updated pics to bloopers of a new home owner. :D

If you have a moment, I encourage you to share what you are thankful for as of recent. I'd love to have you link up! If you've never done a link up before, they are simple. Just grab the button code below and past it into your blog, OR, it's as simple as a simple "I am linking up with Heather from Brown Eyed Bell(e) today".

Our Story - My husband's POV

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

If you've stopped by today to join the 'Our Story' Link Up, scroll to the bottom, the list is below! If you participate, just be sure to either grab my button, or do an text link back here! Spread the word. The more the merrier. Meeting new bloggers is always fun! And I for one love a good love story!

I am excited to have my husband here on the blog today!

I asked him to type up his version of our story, and here it is:

On February 26th, 2008, I met the love of my life. It was at a mutual friend's birthday party. I walked in, my normal, goofy self, when I spotted that beautiful smile and brown eyes. I had to do a quick self check. Shirt tucked in-check. Nothing in teeth-crap no mirror(hoping for the best). She was absolutely beautiful, I took a deep breath, and in my lowest(trying to sound sexy)tone, could only manage, "hello". I spent the rest of the night trying to act cool. My friends can see right through me apparently, so they made fun of me anyways.

I had just gotten out of a pretty rough relationship, and wasn't looking to date anyone for a long time. But I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. It turns out so did she, so we made great friends! We just happened to have similar schedules, so we would hang out all the time. We would go on walks, or watch movies, or go explore Florida parks, or sometimes we would just do nothing. It got to be that all I wanted to do was be with her. She continued to date other guys, and I would find myself getting more and more jealous. I would say to myself that I could do so much better than those other guys. And then one day, I finally made up my mind.

Lake Louisa State Park

charity car wash 2 weeks before we started dating

Easter 2009, a week before we started dating

It was a very difficult thing for me, because as much as I wanted to be with her, I was terrified of scaring her away, and losing my best friend. I spent every night wondering what to do, but I knew in the end I had to know. It was worth the risk to be with the most amazing person I've ever known.

We hung out one night as usual and watched a movie. I didn't say much that night, and she knew something was on my mind because she kept asking. I wouldn't tell her but I was a complete nervous wreck inside. After what seemed like the longest movie ever. I got up and she walked me to the door. "This is it." I told myself now or never, so I said, "goodnight beautiful", and she closed the door. I just stood there in silence, I shuffled my feet and turned around and headed for the car. "uggh maybe next time" I told myself. I reached in my pocket to grab my keys and suddenly dropped them, as if something took control of me I said , "NO NOW". I walked back up to the door my heart racing in my chest and proceeded to pour my heart out to her. I told her that US was worth the risk and that I needed her in my life. But she wasn't so sure, and I walked dejected to my car, and drove home in silence.

I felt like I had died, or maybe I just wanted to. And for the next week I was a complete mess. She called and asked if I wanted to hang out, and so we did. We watched a movie, and sometime during that movie, she sent me a text, which said "I want to be your girlfriend, if you'll still have me."

may be our 1st 'couple' photo. about a week after we started dating

And the rest is history, I popped the question on February 13, 2010 on top of the Sears tower in Chicago, Illinois and we were married on our two year anniversary, April 17th 2011.

I will never regret the risk we took together, to move from friends, to best friends, to lovers and everything else. It's been a tough road so far, and it has been far from perfect. I broke her heart and made horrible decisions I regret. But with her I have found redemption, and she has stuck it out when others could have, and should have left. She stayed and prayed and helped a man change his stripes. I am so thankful for her in every way. She has taught me patience, and the meaning of forgiveness. And what it's like to care for someone more than yourself. Love is not perfect, and it's hard, and, like all couples, we have our fights but that's okay. Because we fight for what we love. Because love is worth all this and more.

Love is the only thing we have left in this world that no one can take away.

AND LOVE IS ALWAYS WORTH THE RISK!

Happy Valentine's day baby. I love you. --Ryan

***

A big thanks to my hubby for sharing that! Of course, I can fill in a ton of blanks in between. Why is it us women always remember the most minuscule details? If you'd like to read even more details on our love story, click here to read the Wedding Bells section of my blog!

Our Story - Danielle + Hank

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have Danielle from Sometimes Sweet wrapping up the series of guest posters sharing their love stories with us as we get closer to Valentines Day! Hello, is that TOMORROW? Danielle was a true sweetheart in agreeing to participate in this series of guest bloggers as she is also sharing sweet love stories on her blog leading up to Valentines Day as well. Be sure to swing over and say hello to her and read some of the beautiful people she has sharing their stories.

On an unrelated note, two years ago today, my husband was going down one one knee at the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago. Read my version of our engagement story here and my sweet friend Jo's version here .

I can't believe it's been two years since we got engaged. Time truly does fly so quickly, especially when you are spending it with your best friend. Anyways, here I go rambling! Take it away Danielle :)

***

* How did you and Hank meet?

Hank was on tour with his band, and we met when he came through Phoenix, at a mutual friend's house. I walked outside and saw this tall, curly-headed boy with the most gorgeous brown eyes...and fell in love right then and there!

* Were you looking for 'love' or did it just happen?

At the time (it was the summer of 2004) I was not into finding love at all. I had just graduated college and was living with my girl friends in Scottsdale, enjoying the single life. It definitely just happened, and I couldn't have avoided it if I tried. It was like we had this magnetic pull towards each other; love at first sight for sure.

* Was there any specific moment when you just KNEW 'this is it! he IS the one'?

Even though we both say it was in fact love at first sight, I'd say it took me a month or so before I really, really felt true love, and from there it was a quick road to falling head over heels.

* How did he propose?

You can read our proposal story here!

* What do you think the most rewarding part of marriage has been?

The best part of all of it would have to be being married to my best friend. Every single day I feel thankful that I get to spend my days, nights, and all of life's fun adventures with Hank by my side and I couldn't feel luckier.

* Do you have a favorite stage of your relationship that you wish you could live over and over everyday?

All of it. I often think back to the beginning though- it was over 8 years ago- and I'd love to fall in love all over again. We wrote letters back and forth for months, and I can still remember the anticipation of getting to see each other after being apart for months while he was touring.

* Any relationship advice for other couples?

The main thing is to treat your partner just how you would want to be treated. Sometimes it's easy to take unconditional love for granted but it's so important to always appreciate (and do!) the small things. Be on the same team, support each other, and laugh as much as you can together.

***

I'd just like to thank all the wonderful ladies who've shared their beautiful and unique stories over this last week. If you've missed any of them, be sure to read and stop by their blog to say a quick hello! You can catch up on any you've missed by clicking below.

Heather + Joshua

Sara + Ryan
Mandy + Kyle
Elisa & Joshua
Jen + Micah

Check back in at midnight tonight to read my special Valentines Day post, which may or may not be a random posting from my sweet husband who occasionally likes to make an appearance of his own here. The 'Our Story' Link Up will also be live (and remain live for 5 days) and I am hoping to read some more stories!

Our Story - Jen + Micah

2012-02-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday Friends!

I pray that it's a beautifully blessed one :) I am thankful to have you here following along in the 'Our Story' series. Today I have Jen here from The Arizona Russums. I can't count on one hand the number of amazing bloggers I've met that live in Arizona. It must be the blogging capital :D Jen is no different, such a sweetie. Take a moment to stop by and thank her for guest posting!

***

Our story is a long one. It started in 11th grade... no 9th grade... maybe 8th grade...

Then and now...

Micah moved to our small town the summer before 8th grade. He went to the "other" middle school, but I had heard about him... the oldest Russum boy of those athletic and good looking Russum kids. I even saw him one day. Our middle school did a leadership event with the other middle school and we rode a bus over to Micah's school. There was THE Micah Russum leaning against a wall when we pulled up. I could now affirm that his cuteness was more than a rumor...

Micah turned sixteen before anyone else in our grade and was therefore the first in our class to get his license. I had never uttered a word to him before, but on the day he passed his driver's test I said "congratulations." A few months later he used that license to drive his buddies around and egg my house. Thanks, hon. {Disclaimer: Micah had nothing against me that caused this egging incident - this is simply what kids did for fun in our town... egging, TPing, interviewing people on film as they walked out of the local grocery store, driving a car into that grocery store. You name it; we did it.}

In eleventh grade, we actually became friends. We were both student leaders for Young Life and a YL retreat sparked our romance. During the second half of junior year, we began dating.

We happily dated for two years, but then college pulled us apart. Really, God pulled us apart by sending us to colleges in different states. Micah headed off to Minnesota and I moved down to Texas, and we quickly realized that God had called us to different places for a reason. We trusted the Lord and decided to break up to see what He had in store for each of us.

We talked on and off during college, less and less as the years went by. It wasn't until the summer after college graduation that Micah called me up and told me he wanted to pursue marriage in a godly and prayerful way. He was still in Minnesota. I was still in Texas. The next two years of dating were full of uncertainty as we tried to discern our future plans and navigate a relationship while living 1000 miles a part. Honestly, it was pretty ugly at times. I was selfish and wanted to go on living my happy little life in Texas for as long as possible. Then I wanted to get married and move somewhere new with Micah so I could attend grad school. It was all about my plan and my timing. It was not about Micah and it definitely wasn't about trusting the Lord. I had so much to learn...

Finally, Micah called me out. By this point, he had moved back to Washington and he asked me to move back too, so we could live around each other before we got engaged and married. I was reluctant at first, but as soon as he asked me to do it, I knew it was the right thing to do. I left all my best friends in Texas and moved back home to rainy Washington and embarked on one of the most refining years of my life. I lived in my parent's basement, substitute taught at my old high school, and worked through years of pent up pride and selfishness. But it was in my parent's basement, in the most humble and lonely of circumstances, that I clung to the Lord, read His Word with new eyes, and was broken for the first time. I understood the love of Jesus in a new way and He changed me.

Moving back to Washington also marked a re-start of my relationship with Micah. Although we had been dating for about two years at this point, we realized that talking on the phone a few times a week and seeing each other for a few days a year did not constitute a relationship. We basically had to start over from scratch. It was hard, but it was worth it. During those days, weeks, and months, God continued to break me, shape me, and prepare me to be a wife that loves Jesus first and her husband second.

Finally, on New Years Day 2010 Micah proposed and we were married six months later on July 11th. We had a fabulous wedding and an even more amazing honeymoon in Hawaii, and two days after we returned, we packed up a rental truck and headed down to Arizona to become The Arizona Russums. We love it in the desert and have been blessed beyond belief by our new church, new jobs, and new friends in our little palm tree paradise.

But you know what? That is not the most important part of the story. I think it's so easy to focus on a couple's dating, engagement and wedding as their love story... when really that's just a page in the story of a couple's marriage and just a sentence in God's story of salvation for the world. Our story is actually God's story. Long before July 11th, 2010, God was working in our hearts to convict us and transform us and save us and prepare us to be a husband and wife who follow Him. And our story isn't over just because we are almost out of the newlywed stage. Our story only becomes more important as we grow old and our skin wrinkles and our love stands the test of time and all the trials that are undoubtedly ahead. Our story is what happens when we stand before God someday and give account of our marriage and our family. Our story is the faith, the trust, the love, and the service that happens for as many years as God gives us on this earth, all enabled by the grace given to us through Jesus. And hopefully when that day comes and we stand before God, our story will recount decades of faithful love to God and to each other and He will look on us and say "Well done, good and faithful servants."

Stop by and visit; I'd love to meet you!
Blog // Facebook // Twitter

xoxo,
Jen

***

I absolutely love how she ended her guest post. You are right on Jen. Thanks for that reminder, it is not OUR story, but God's.

The Valentines Day Link Up will be up at 12am on Valentines Day.

Our Story - Elisa & Joshua

2012-02-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today I have Elisa from The Not So Pharaoh Farrows. Her love story is one of my favorites to read. It all happened so quickly! He proposed to her on the 2nd time they had ever met. YES! REALLY! Just another reminder that God truly is in charge, and has things planned out way before we could ever imagine them. Their story is another example of that and I am so thrilled that she is here today sharing it with you all.

***

Hi everyone! My name is Elisa from The Not So Pharaoh Farrows

I am so excited to share with you my love story for this Valentines day.

It is near and dear to my heart. Thank you Heather for the chance to share :)

--------------------------

For about a year I kept feeling like the Lord wanted me to go to this conference in Virginia called Awaken the Dawn. I knew some friends there from over the years, so I decided to buy a plane ticket. I even took off a whole week of school, and everything. At the conference there were roughly about 1,000 people. I remember seeing Joshua right away, but thinking..."I'm not here for boys, Just God." Later I would learn he had thought the exact thing about me, but vice versa ;) After the conference, I ended up delaying my flight to stay an extra day in which we both ended up hanging out at a mutual friends house. Joshua came up to me (which is very unlike him), and said "Hi, I'm Josh, I don't think we've met yet." BAM. I felt like the Lord told my heart without a doubt, "This is the one you have waited for." Joshua talked my ear off that night, and I quietly listened (which is very unlike me). The whole time thinking "Can this be real? How would it work?" We talked till everyone else left, and I had to go get rest for my early flight.

I came home and realized I had already gotten a facebook request from him. My heart fluttered. I also discovered a picture of us together, before we had met. It was right after I was baptized, and I am standing right behind him. The next few months were a world-wind. We quickly became best friends, thank you skype! Josh had a dream quickly after we met which he said was confirmation from the Lord that I was the one.

Two months after knowing each other Joshua bought me a plane ticket to visit him, and his family. It was then (yes the second time we had ever hang out) that he proposed to me! We had spent the day together in his home town, and after a night of worshipping at The Prayer Furnace(A Community of Christ Followers) he got down on one knee, and popped the question!

& Two months after that Joshua moved to Texas, and we were wed! Our ceremony was very small with close family and friends, and as we all sang worship songs together, I couldn't remember a better moment in my life.

In the end of the day,

I can honestly say he is the most kind, pure, and amazing spiritual man I know. He encourages me, and helps me become more like Christ daily. <3 I am so blessed to be called his wife.

-------------------------------

Thanks to Heather for featuring me & although I haven't blogged in awhile I hope to again soon....

So come say hi if you want at The Not So Pharaoh Farrows

Only two more days until the Valentines Day link up! :) I don't know about you all but I am hoping to read many more 'our story' posts!

Our Story - Mandy + Kyle

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today I have Mandy (and Kyle) from She Breathes Deeply. Mandy is one of the first blogs I started following. She was pregnant at the time, and now is the proud Momma of an almost one year old. Where DOES time go? She is an absolute sweetheart, and I am so thrilled she is back to blogging again. Swing on over and say hello! You won't be disappointed! BTW - isn't it adorable that Kyle joined in on this guest post? Thanks Kyle!

***

Hello, there! This is Mandy from "She Breathes Deeply." In honor of v-day, my husband Kyle and I would like to share with you how we met/fell in love/got married.

Mandy: Just about 4 years ago now, I was all dressed up to go out to... Starbucks. I had just started going to school for fashion design, and on that particular night I had some reading to do (on sewing of all things!). I came into Starbucks holding my weight in text books, all the while wearing 3 inch metallic heels. I looked like a hot mess. I somehow opened up the big wooden doors to Starbucks, and lo and behold, I made eye contact with the man who would forever change my life.

Kyle: At the ripe young age of 21, I had just returned from a tour in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. I returned to find myself scrubbing nasty old milk pitchers, and moping up frappuccino stained floors. Funny how God can humble you in less than 24 hours.

I had recently decided to ward off any notion of finding a wife. It was the perfect way to find a wife. I was working a boring Friday night, ready to close down my espresso machine, when the reason to quit my "wife hunting sabbatical" came walking through the door.

Mandy: He was standing there... Wearing his Starbucks barista attire, looking just as cute as could be. I was so flustered that he was looking at me, that I avoided eye contact.

Kyle: Frantically cleaning the espresso machine, I was trying not to appear "distracted" by the presence of this drop dead gorgeous sabbatical wrecker. After all, I was way too busy for a relationship. God and I had already worked this out... right?

Mandy: The other barista standing with him behind the counter said that they had been admiring my shoes... Kyle quickly added, "And your height!" This immediately earned him a gold star. I forever have been insecure about being tall for a girl... Not to mention the other gold star he earned for towering over me- EVEN with me in 3 inch heels!

Kyle: Now, I am not a "foot in mouth" kind of guy. Not often at least. But, the first words I said to my future wife where about how tall she was. Wow... I had some serious game. Of course women love compliments about how tall they are. I felt my stomach digesting my shoe at this point.

Mandy: I was too shy to say much to him, so I took my cup of tea and sat down to "study." Yeah, right... I watched him out of the corner of my eye the entire time.

Kyle: I think we got out of the store later than normal that night. It's hard to complete all of your closing duties when your awkwardly making eye contact with a pretty girl "reading" in the corner of the shop.

Mandy: The next day after school, I figured it wouldn't hurt if I just happened to drive by Starbucks to see if cute blue eyed barista boy was working. He was. I quickly drove back to my apartment, showered, got cute and (whoops!)- drove back to Starbucks.

Kyle: The following day I again had to work another riveting shift. Only this time, it was a little easier to walk those few blocks blocks to work. What was this? A bit of a bounce in my step? Just put the notion out of your mind Kyle. Out of your league.

As quick as my mind would turn to pulling shots (of coffee), and writing words to customers using caramel sauce in their drinks- it would return to this girl. I was working with the same person that I was the previous night. So, I made the passing comment, "I wish that Mandy girl would come back in." As I finished the words "back in" there she was. Coming back in! OK... OK... play it cool now...

Mandy: I wanted to talk to him so badly, but I was shy. I started to think he might want to talk to me, too... Because he kept coming a wiping the SAME table OVER and OVER right next to me. Finally, we struck up a conversation.

Kyle: It's not my fault that she haaaaad to sit next to the dirtiest table in the place... After a joke of an attempt to "play it cool", we exchanged e-mail addresses. (You can never be to careful these days.)

Mandy: Fast forward two days later and we were on our first date. Coffee, dinner, more coffee, and a movie. We talked and talked. I remember silently praying, "Dear Lord... PLEASE if I could just marry a man even HALFWAY as wonderful as Kyle someday, I would be so happy." I didn't think there was a chance he was interested in me.

Kyle: I remember thinking on our first date, that we could probably talk into next year. I told myself before I met her that:

1.) I wouldn't allow any red flags. No more compromising the moral things that are bound to my heart. And, 2.) Get serious... Stop wasting your heart away. Only give it to the one that the Lord has set aside for me.

The second I would have felt wrong about Mandy, I would have said goodbye. I needed Jesus to lead that decision. I needed him to put those signs in my heart.

Mandy: Over the next couple weeks that followed, I knew in my heart that Kyle was the man I would marry.

Kyle: Head over heels. Literally. (I have this sweet pair of boots I thrifted in Portland before I moved out here. Still have 'em.) I felt like I was tricking this knockout into thinking I was a catch. Was I going to voice this concern? Are you kidding me? I was so amazed at how she was never a compromise, but just the opposite. Mandy was the girl that I could never have imagined.

Before we met, I would sit and think, "What kind of girl is the perfect girl for me?" I could never imagine what that looked like. I never had to. That's what was so incredible about it. The Lord knew. He did. He formed her in the womb, and throughout her life to match who I was. Wow.

I knew this was true, but didn't realize how she was set aside for me until we retraced our close encounters in Portland. Same places at the same time. But we never met. We weren't ready to meet. All this time I was looking for the right one. She was there the whole time. When all I had to do was prepare my own heart to see her.

Mandy: Kyle went on tour for 3 months, and the distance between us only made us grow closer, and more in love. I wrote him letters in a journal. He sent me flowers and a teddy bear. We talked everyday for hours.

Kyle: Torture. It was really hard to be away from her. But It forced us to learn each other.

Mandy: Kyle invited me to come meet his family that lived in Washington over New Years. They threw a New Years Eve party. As the ball was dropping, Kyle also dropped to one knee and asked me to be his wife.

Kyle: I couldn't get the box out of my pocket at first. I felt as clumsy as Dick Van Dyke.

Mandy: Five months later, we stood in a tiny little church before God and promised to be best friends and lovers forever. I became Kyle's wife... The best decision I have ever made, next to knowing Christ.

Kyle: I tell everyone these 2 things about weddings...

1. Drama : There will be drama. If there is no drama, the devil will be wearing a sweater and Babe is Mavericks wing man. But it's OK. Smile and thing about the real reason for it all.
2. (For Guys) Your wife's face: I don't know about you, but we chose not to see each other that day. So I didn't see her until she was walking towards me down the isle. There will be lots of things about your wedding that you will experience. The food, dancing, decorations etc... But remember your brides face when she walks towards you down the isle. Burn it into your memory because it will be one of the most special moments of your life.

Mandy: Now, three years later, we are sitting here writing our love story while our almost one year old daughter sleeps soundly in the next room. Our love story has been more amazing than I could have ever imagined. I love Kyle with everything within me. I don't think I will ever get over the excitement that I get to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man by my side. I can't wait to grow old with Him.

Kyle: I married my best friend. My life began in a lot of ways May 22nd, 2009. If you are married now, you know exactly what I mean. If you are engaged or single, You have an incredible time ahead of you. It's not always easy. But nothing that really matters ever is.

Love,
Kyle & Mandy

***

Don't forget the 'Our Story' Valentines Link up will be up on Valentines Day. I'd love to hear your story!

Thankful Thursday V6.2

2012-02-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Okay, I had to take a break from my wonderful guest bloggers to do my weekly Thankful Thursday post!

Grab a button below and link up!

This week I am thankful for:

♥ Kirby Rentals of Orlando Florida and everyone who has made a donation thus far to the Kidney for Kristy fund. Thanks to Kirby's generous donation on Tuesday, Kristy made her goal of $5000 and can now be put on the kidney transplant list. PRAISE GOD! He is so good. Since Shand's gave her until February 29th to raise funds, we will keep all accounts open until then. Any extra money raised will go towards miscellaneous costs such as travel and medication. Kristy lives about 4 hours one way from Shand's and will be making multiple trips back and forth... in a truck.

♥ A wonderful weekend spent with my friend T who flew in on Thursday night. I was able to take off work on Thursday and surprise her at the airport (eek!) and then we spent Friday and Saturday together and that also brought other friends out. It was such a blessing because everyone has been so busy lately, I hadn't seen many of these girls since NYE!

♥ that I am learning more about pools. My husband and I both are inexperienced in the pool department, so we are learning together. I took a sample of our water to a pool store the other day and they were able to test it (for free) and point me in the direction of what I needed to purchase. And, I'd say our pool is just about swimmable! YES!

♥ The wonderful guest bloggers I've had this week sharing their love stories with us. So far Sara from the Traveling Phoblogwripher and Heather from Finding Beauty in the Ordinary have been featured. I will continue to have guest bloggers sharing stories through Valentines Day. On Valentines day I will have a link up posted right at midnight and you can link up and share YOUR love story! I'd love to hear it! Grab a button and spread the word!

♥ The wonderful friends I've met through blogging. Many of my local friends don't understand the relationship that I've developed with other bloggers. I have met so many amazing people through this community and I just feel so blessed. These are ladies that care... they take time to stop in on the blog, or my twitter and ask how I am doing, or how my pets are doing, to just check in. It goes so much more beyond just blogging. There are some ladies that I've shared phone numbers with so we text just like we've known each other forever. Like it's totally normal, and it is. That's what friendship is. So, to you ladies, thank you.

♥ My health. I try really really hard to always remain positive despite when my back is giving me issues, which happens quite frequently. This week has been one of those weeks where I have just been down and out and a bit depressed(prayers are appreciated). I hate when I let my health get to me. I always feel such guilt. I know I should never question "why me?" It's not fair, because I know there are other's that are going through worse, much worse. BUT, I am being real here, and this week has just not been a good week for me. On top of major back issues, I got the call on Monday that I have to go see an endocrinologist because my thyroid counts came back not quite right. I had some blood work done recently when I went to the ENT for a lump I felt in the left side of my neck/throat. Since my thyroid count came back hypo I am being sent to an endo. The thought of another specialist scares and stresses me. I already have so many. Neurologist and Orthopedic to name two of them. Sometimes when I look at my ailments I've been diagnosed with over the years (asthma, allergies, spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, arnold chiari malformation, bursitis, is all I can think of right now) I think REALLY?! I am too young to be dealing with this. I look at senior citizens who have went their entire life without any major sicknesses or hospital visits and I am just in awe. I guess my family doesn't have the best genes. BUT, you know what? I shock myself back into reality and remind myself to just be thankful. Thankful that I have insurance and Praise God that I am healthy as I am. Sure, I may have my days, but for the most part I am able to get up each day and live my life. And that my friends is an amazing blessing. That is something to be SO thankful for. Thankful beyond words. All I can do is say Thank You Jesus.

"I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope." Jeremiah 29:11

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. Psalm 94:19

I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. Isaiah 46:4

Our Story - Sara + Ryan

2012-02-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

Before we get to today's 'Our Story' I need to announce the winner of the Shabby Apple Giveaway.

Congratulations Cat! Please email me your shipping info to browneyedbellblog at yahoo dot com!

Today I have Sara from The Traveling PhoBlogWriPher sharing her love story with us. She and I are both married to men who share the exact same name, I had to have her! She is such a sweetheart, and her blog name is so unique. I mean look, she combined photographer, blogger, and writer all in one. Pretty awesome, eh? She also has a heart for causes and chooses one a month to focus on, this month she is focusing on Kidney for Kristy as my cousin is SOOOO close to getting on that transplant list! Be sure to swing by her blog to say hello, and let her know I sent ya!

I hope you will grab a button above and spread the word about the Valentines Day Link up!

***

Once upon a time, there was a girl. She fancied herself a woman, but really she was a girl. She was scrawny, had braces, and found it impossible to sit still at any given time. She danced into Algebra II class on the first day and took the first seat she could find.

In the far right corner, next to a blonde kid in a Baker t-shirt. He was chatting with a fellow classmate, and she could't help but notice he had a great laugh... and a great smile... and really awesome eyes. The girl was experiencing an insta-crush, one of proportions so epic she'd never felt anything like them before. She listened in on his conversation and watched him out of the corner of her eye for most of the day, but she didn't actually talk to him. She instead did what any wise 15-year-old would and told her mother about him, who finally relented and drove around town looking at all of the Bell houses from the phone book just so she would shut up already.

The next day, she grew bold. "Hi!" she shouted ridiculously. "I'm Sara! What's up man? How's it going? What's up?"

He smirked a bit, as did everyone in a three mile radius, but he remained polite. "Hey... Ryan."

So cool!

They sat in the back of class playing Tic-Tac-Toe and Dots. Each day, her crush grew a little deeper. She was certain, just two weeks into it, that she would marry him someday. Her friends laughed. Her family laughed. But somehow, she just knew.

Everyday she tried to convince him to go to lunch with her, but every day he went to his own house for lunch. She tried to convince him to take her to prom, but he wasn't going. The last day of school finally came and they signed yearbooks. "Be careful," he wrote of her clumsiness. "Love Ryan B." Love? LOVE? Sigh.

"Want me to put my number in?" she asked, too clever for her own good. "That's okay," he smiled. She was bummed out, but she bounced back. A few weeks later they saw Star Wars Episode II* in theaters together. It was proof (in her eyes) that they were meant to be. Nothing else came of it. She got a boyfriend. He got a girlfriend. Three years went by. One day, the single girl was squinting at the tiny TV in her tiny apartment and decided she'd had enough. She was going to splurge on a larger TV. She found one for a great size and contacted the seller--that same boy! They quickly became the best of friends, then fell in love.

He asked her to marry him two years later and she said yes.

Tonight they'll be watching a movie together on the same tiny TV she attempted to replace four years ago. *I would never have married him if he hadn't agreed to go see Star Wars with me, for the record. It's the greatest movie saga ever created.

Our Story - Heather + Joshua

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

I participated in Operation Beautiful and my feature is up today. Be sure to go check it out, and let Shane know that I sent ya!

Oh, today is the LAST day to enter the Shabby Apple Giveaway. Winner announced tomorrow. And...

Guess what friends?!

ONE WEEK UNTIL VALENTINES DAY!

I know, I know, not everyone loves Valentines Day, and for those who don't, you have been warned of the sappiness that will come over the next week! I happen to be a self proclaimed hopeless romantic and what better time to get all lovey dovey than the week of Valentines Day? 

In honor of Valentines Day, I will be having guest bloggers all week, leading up to an 'Our Story' link up next Tuesday, Valentines Day. I hope you enjoy reading some of my favorite bloggers very own love stories, and I hope you will share yours with us as well next week! 

Feel free to grab a button and let people know about the link up! The more the merrier. 

I'd like to introduce you to our first guest blogger this week, Heather from Finding Beauty in the Ordinary. Her and her husband, Josh are expecting their first child this year! Exciting, right?! What better time to start following her, than as she embarks on this journey to motherhood. Be sure to swing by her blog and say hello, and let her know I sent ya!
 
***

That's me. And that's him. And we are just two normal, fun loving twenty-somethings that love God, love one another, love our families and love our life of adventure together.

We both grew up only 10 minutes from one another, and although we had mutual friends, it wasn't until we were out of high school that our paths finally crossed. I met him for the first time on a cold December night in 2003. The memory is sharp and vivid to him, but clouded to me. I was in a relationship at the time; he was single.

One of my best friends worked at Starbucks (yummmm). He became a weekly customer. I thought he liked her. She kept telling me about this guy... the same that I had met on that cold December night. It was the end of February, February 24th to be exact, and she conveniently invited us to a showing of the movie "The Passion of the Christ" that had just hit theaters. And she just so happened to seat us next to one another. The cool thing is that both of our parents tagged along for the night too. Little did they know that they would be witnessing our first "real" introduction. The movie started and I don't remember the first 45 minutes of the movie. I was talking non-stop to this guy. He must have been someone special, because wow, it wasn't until Jesus stomped on the snake that I came to and realized I should probably shut up. We were in a movie after all. A really serious movie, too. I remember exactly what he was wearing that night. I remember I was wearing a really hideous jacket.

Weeks became months and we spent the spring and the summer of 2004 with what became our mutual group of friends. His birthday came in August and I baked him some really soupy, not-cooked-all-the-way, poop looking brownies for his birthday. I think that's the day he fell in love with me. He knew I was a really swell baker. Looking back on it, that was the summer I fell in love with him. I just didn't know it yet.

Somewhere along this story, I forgot to mention that I got dumped. From the guy I was in a relationship at the time, when I met him. I experienced a real life "Legally Blonde" breakup. The kind that says that I was not intellectual enough for his presence, for his future life. I was always more of a Marilyn than a Jackie anyway, just like Elle Woods. So thank you for the compliment; thank you, very much. Looking back on it, it was the best thing that ever happened to me because I knew what I wanted moving forward. And I certainly didn't want to be with someone who wouldn't love & accept me for who I am-- blonde moments aside. But in all fairness, I really do have some pretty funny one liners that slip out every once in a while.

On August 19th, 2004 he was hanging out over at my house. And we took a really long walk around the block and made this thing official. As official as dating someone will go. And we were happy. Really happy. We dated for 2 amazing years. We went on dozens of drips to Disneyland, on day trips all around our beautiful hometown, and we just explored. All the time. We never sat still. And it was beautiful. We never went on a vacation together and we didn't live together before hand. We saved those special moments for life as newlyweds. And it was the single most best decision we could have ever made.

The months leading up to engagement were hard. I wanted to be married. Really bad. We had thought it would be cool to get married on our 2 year anniversary, which was a Saturday, a perfect sunny, summer day for a wedding. August 19th arrived and we weren't married. And everywhere we went that day there seemed to be a bride dressed in white. We went to the beach, we went to a different beach, we went to the park. There were brides. Everywhere. And I was not one. Oh, patience!

He tried to relive our first date all over again that day. I wasn't having it. I was just in a really bad mood. I actually botched, literally destroyed, all of his plans for the day. Little did I know that he had a ring in his back pocket, and that he was going to give it to me. That night. We were taking a walk up on a mountain top overlooking the Pacific. We were below a large wooden cross. It's a popular lookout place in our hometown. Fortunately it was around dinner time, so it wasn't crowed. No one was watching when he got down on one knee and asked me to wake up next to him every morning and be his wife. I said "Yes!," of course.

We planned our beautiful wedding in 3 months. Exactly 3 months. We got engaged on August 19th, 2006 and got hitched on November 19th, 2006. We have a thing for the number 19 in case you have not yet noticed. It was an insanely crazy time of planning but it was the best decision ever. To not drag out an engagement was amazing.

Everyone says their wedding day is beautiful. Ours really was. It was a super sunny day in November and all of our dearest friends were in one spot together. The chances of that happening again are down right impossible. It was a beautiful ceremony and a crazy fun dance party than night. While we were saying our goodbyes, a dense fog crept in, saturating all of the downtown harbor and whisking us away into the darkness. The last song I remember the DJ playing was Imogen Heap's "Say Goodnight and Go." We spent a few nights downtown and then jetted away to a tiny island in Mexico, east of Cancun, in the Caribbean. We swam alone on white beaches and got our Jeep stuck in the sand. And got really sick. But we had a blast.

They say time goes by fast when you are having fun. I guess that's why I don't really know where the time has gone. We are going on 5 years of married life this November. It has been filled with lots of highs and lows, but the highs overwhelmingly shadow the lows. We did a few trips to Hawaii and Mexico and have created more memories together than can be slapped into a scrapbook. But most of all, the last couple of years have taught us to trust in God more and lead on one another in the bad times and the good. We had a lot of frustrating times and difficult times, but we got through them and we are strengthened because of them. We appreciate the good times a lot more now.

Our first 4 years of married life kept us in our beautiful hometown and we are so happy that was God's plan for us. We got to remain close to family and friends and share special times with them. However, in October of 2010, God literally put a big "arrow" in front of us with the words "GO" on them and showed us that we were to leave our home and start a new life in a new city. There is so much to be said about living near family, and there is so much to be said about venturing out on your own. We miss our loved ones so much, but we also feel empowered. Change is hard, but waiting on change is worse. And what's really worse is remaining comfortable. So we are happy. Really happy. And we are adjusting to our new life in our new city quite well.

God has written our love story from the beginning and He is continuing to write it. With each stroke and page turned, we are blessed.

Song of Solomon 8:6 -7
"Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned."

The Girl Behind the Blog Vlog

2012-02-06T15:27:00.001-05:00

Hey Friends!

I am super excited to be linking up with my good friend Erin from Captivated By Grace and Ashley over at 5OhWifey today. They are hosting The Girl Behind The Blog Video Link Up! Basically you just record a quick video of yourself explaining why you blog, stuff about your blog, etc.... This became a bit frustrating for me as I've never vlogged before and I knew how how to record the video, but did NOT know how to get it to my blog. My problem was I recorded the video on iPad. It then told me it was too large to email, and blogger didn't give me the option to upload it. SO, I ended up going through youtube (sigh) SO, any of my tech friends, if you have an iPad and know an easier way to upload videos to your blog, please share.

The photo above was my 1st attempt at recording today's video. Oops, it'd help if I had it set to VIDEO and NOT camera. Oh well, funny pic indeed. I originally went to record the video outside, as my house is a disaster area right now as we prepare to move. I ended up inside as you will see in the video below.

So, there you have it my first vlog. Eep! I can't believe I just did that :D

Click below to go link up for yourself! It's fun! Kinda :)

Exhausting Weekend Recap

2012-02-05T20:35:00.001-05:00

What a weekend!

As I mentioned last week, one of my best friends flew in for a visit on Thursday night, so I was excused from working around the new house as I was off gallivanting with her for the weekend. It was so much fun, yet entirely too exhausting. Let's just say we ate. a lot. Of course, since she lives out of state now, when she does come to visit we have to visit all of her local favorites! And this weekend we had a short amount of time to do so (Friday + Saturday) as she flew in late Thursday, and out around lunch today. I will give you a quick break down of our entire weekend.

Thursday night I was able to get excused from work and surprise her at the airport. She thought I had to work (hey, I was supposed to) so it was awesome seeing her face when she walked off that plane! On the way home we hit McDonald's, so not healthy at 11pm, or any time for that matter! But, still good.

Friday morning we met up with some other friends and did breakfast at a local hole in the wall type place. It's amazing! You can get a breakfast meal, 3 eggs, toast and hash browns for $2.59. WHAT?! I was pleasantly surprised to see they offered lox + a bagel and that is what I ordered. Then, we did a bit of shopping, including a local doggie boutique that she loves. We also hit up Sally's, Target, and JCP. After shopping it was time for lunch. We hit up Beef O Brady's as she was craving some good ol' chicken wings. I ordered chicken tacos (for the 1st time there) and let's just say they were amazing. I wasn't even hungry yet I downed both tacos. Tsk Tsk, I know. Then we hit up a local produce stand that serves amazing ice cream. That's right, time for ice cream. I told you we ate ridiculously this weekend. Then we went home for a bit to relax before dinner time. We had plans to meet up with most of our girlfriends for a 7pm dinner at Mimi's cafe. During what should have been relaxing time, my friend had to rush her doggie to the vet. She was coughing a lot and it ended up that she had a collapsed trachea. Pretty scary, right? So glad we made it home when we did.We made it to dinner around 8pm and met up with about 6 other girl friends. Mimi's had a couple of 3 course meal specials for $13.99 and I chose that, with butternut squash ravioli as my main dish. Can I just say delicious? I will be attempting that recipe for sure. During our Mimi's dinner when my friend from out of town went to pay, she realized her debit card was missing. We established that we were 90% sure we left it at Beef's, so afterwards we went on a mission to find it with no luck. She went ahead and canceled her card.

We planned to do a beach half day on Saturday, and that is exactly what we did. 4 of us headed out towards Anna Maria Island around 8am. On the way we stopped at my friends bank so she could get cash for the rest of the weekend since she was now without debit card. While she was at the bank she was informed that she had a $2400 pending transaction. SAY WHAT?! Um, no. That is not right. Yup, during the short time that she lost her card and canceled it, someone used it online. It will all work out and the bank will get to the bottom of it, but, in the mean time, pain in the butt. Scary and frustrating. And it saddens me so much that people just think it is okay to do this type of thing. We decided not to let that ruin our day, and we continued on to AMI. While in AMI, Beef's called to inform they had found her debit card. Interesting. SO, she now has that back in hand again. That will be an interesting investigation. While we were in AMI we strolled the beach, got some sun, ate lunch at a local hot spot, visited a favorite store out there and got more ice cream. I had the most amazing ice cream ever while there. Crazy Cake Icecream. It was basically birthday cake ice cream with actual chunks of vanilla birthday cake in it. Oh my gosssshhhh. It was SO good. After that, we headed home. We had more to do Saturday night. We got home and attempted to nap for a bit before heading to yet another friends house to catch up and visit with her precious baby girl! Then guess what we did? Yup, we ate again. We hit up Sonny's for our last dinner of the weekend. They have the most amazing sweet tea! I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with a salad bar on the side and fried okra as well. Oh, and corn nuggets as an appetizer, that's a must. We were ridiculously stuffed after Sonny's so we headed home to end the night just relaxing and chatting to a movie.

Baby B

Beachin' It

Fish Burger

Today was back to work day for me. I had a really short shift today, but it lasted just long enough that I couldn't join my friends on their ride to the airport. What can ya do? At least I got a few hours in. I will definitely be needing them to replenish my account after this exhausting and fattening weekend. I am so afraid to hit the scales any time soon.

All in all, the weekend was absolutely fabulous, and I can not wait until my friend flies in again. She hasn't been here since October 2010 but it looks like she will be back as early as 3 weekends from now. EEK! :)

Sorry for the lack of photo's, more were taken, however, they are on a friends camera, so hopefully I will get them in time for a Humpty Dumpty photo dump on Wednesday :)

REMINDER:

This week I will have some amazing guest posters sharing their love stories with us! And, on Valentines Day I will have an 'Our Story' link up. This is one of my favorite reads to a new blog. I love hearing how people met. Everyone has a unique story. I can't wait to read yours. Please consider linking up on Valentines day. Also, take a moment to spread the word. Grab the button below and share it on your page so your readers know what your Valentines Day plans are, and it also gives them time to type up their own story!

Also, you have through Tuesday night to enter the Shabby Apple Giveaway

Thankful Thursday V6.1

2012-02-02T00:05:00.001-05:00

Well, Hello FEBRUARY!

Man, sometimes I just look back and wonder 'where did time go?!' I am definitely wondering that about January. I am sure some of you are wondering the same thing.

But, alas, it IS February, which means it's the 6th month I've done Thankful Thursday's, hence V6.1

I hope you will join me this week, or whenever, and link up. I'd love to hear about some of the awesome big or small things you have going on in YOUR life that YOU are thankful for!

This week I am thankful for:

♥ the fact that no one (including our furbabies) were hurt when ours and our neighbors wooden privacy fence(s) caught fire on Tuesday. God was definitely right there in the situation, and ensured that the fire was caught before it reached either of our houses. Thankfully my room mate was home and caught it in time. She had been sitting at the computer using my laptop (as her power cord is broke and her laptop was head, had the cord not broke this week, she wouldn't have been in the dining room using mine and would not have caught the fire as soon) and saw smoke blowing by. At first she thought nothing of it, and just assumed the neighbors were burning something (not uncommon around here) and then she heard a loud sound, something falling. She stepped out back to see what it was and flames were shooting towards her. She panicked, ran back inside and was screaming for my Dad to get up, that the fence was on fire. While my Dad was out back trying to put it out with a hose, she called 911. The fire department came and ensured it was completely out. We still don't know what caused it. Could have been a cigarette butt (yuck!) that had been dropped and then wind blew it and the wood caught quick, or the fire department said they have even responded to calls where termites had caused the fire. I've never heard that. Either way, it was scary, and I am just SO thankful that there were no injuries. It could have been so much worse. A fence can be replaced, a life can not.

♥ My wonderful husband. I don't say this nearly enough, but I am so, so thankful for him. I know so many people that have to continually ask (nag) their husbands to help with household maintenance and daily chores. When I come home to find that my husband has cleaned our ceiling fans, made the bed, and put away all the laundry that I was planning to take care of when I got home, that makes me smile huge. He doesn't have to do that, he just does. He does because he knows it makes me happy, and that is his life goal.

♥ Healthy food. I have been on the go so much lately that I have not been able to cook as I would like to. I truly enjoy cooking so when I got a chance to cook some grilled chicken, asparagus and sweet potatoes the other night, it reminded me of how much I miss health(ier) food... and cooking period.

♥ FBCH Ministry. The Florida Baptist Children's Home. What a wonderful organization. The young adults at my church visit with a different cottage every month. We take pizza and drinks and visit with the kiddies. They are all school age, so they range age 5-17. It's very humbling to be near these sweet kids. Sometimes (often) we take our blessings for granted. It's nice to be reminded. These kids bless us during our visits just as much as we bless them. It's been hard recently as many of our group from church have become super busy in work and college among other things, and we have had to cancel a few visits due to lack of participation. There has even been some talk of letting this ministry fizzle out as it's become such a struggle to organize. BUT, let me tell you, one visit, and it reminds you... it reminds you how important this ministry is, and that we WILL find a way to continue on. These kids cherish their time with us. And, once we are there... we are feeling the same!

♥ Adele's voice. Love it! She is so soothing to me. I ended up with all three of her CD's over Christmas, and I listen to her constantly while driving.

♥ Donations that have came in for Kidney for Kristy. Yesterday, after pleading my case to newschannels in Orlando (where my cousin lives) and being told they couldn't air us or publish the story in newspapers, we did receive a $250 donation from a business I don't know in Orlando as well as a $50 anonymous donation. I don't know if this is a result of the newschannel in Orlando maybe spreading the word to local businesses or what, but either way, I am very thankful for the blessing. That puts Kristy $863 away from being put on the Shands Kidney Transplant Center waiting list. She has until February 29th to raise that remaining $863. Care to spread the word? Tweet it, FB it, blog it, every little bit adds up and you never know, even if YOU can't help, someone YOU know may be able to help! :) You can click the Kidney for Kristy link and it will take you to the giveforward page.

<3 that I have completed the first month of my Bible in a year study :) what an amazing feeling!!
♥ A visit from my dear friend Tina. She lives out of state and is flying in Thursday night - Sunday morning. I can't wait to spend some much needed time with her!

The only hiccup may be that I might have to work on my regular days off this week, as one of my friends and coworkers may be going out of town. I would need to cover for her. But, that's okay. We can work around it. SO, with that being said, if I don't blog much this weekend, you know why! But, be sure to check out my current giveaway as it goes on through the 7th. And, don't forget to spread the word about the upcoming Valentines Day link up! Next week I will have some awesome guest posters for you. Eek! I am excited!

Humpty Dumpty

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day! What?! Yes. I had to! (be sure to check out the giveaway I posted earlier today!) I had some photo's I needed to dump and Wednesday's are perfect as I can link up with Steff over at Iffy Inklings for her Humpty Dumpty, aka a photo dump on Wednesday, also known as Hump Day. Get it? She's a clever one, check her out and say hello!

Here's my photo dump from the last week.

And, from L to R they are as follows:

1. a vintage looking cookbook I picked up for $2 for my friend Brielle's Wedding. (side note: she was also the photographer at MY wedding last year, she is amazing!) The book was published in 1965.

2. Some cows I passed on one of my daily strolls.

3. A wooden privacy fence was there up until yesterday... when it burned down! more on that on Thursday's thankful post.

4. A healthy meal. Grilled chicken, sweet potato and asparagus.

5. My Dad's chihuahua, Paris. We got her the same year I went to Paris, and the year Paris Hilton was all over the news, so we named her Paris, and now I call her Hilton Momma.

6. Horsey's that I fed carrots while on a stroll this week

7. Peacocks I passed while walking the 'hood this week. Notice the theme of awesome animals?

8. A ghetto version of a smore that I made inside, PMS food my friends.

9. The type of paint we used for our trim. The pic has a funny story behind it. The whole reason I snapped the pic was because my husband was sending me on a Lowe's run to buy more of it. I often feel useless when working at the new house as my back doesn't allow me to do much, SO, he was sending me on a mission. Well, he knows I am gullible, so he likes to play tricks on me. As he is telling me about the paint he is like "oh! and remember to get the death mold kind" and I say "where does it say that?" as I will be looking for the exact pic I have, to which he replies "it's covered by the dripping paint, but be sure to get the DEATH MOLD kind, there are two kinds, we NEED this kind" he is very specific so I say "okay, I got this, Valspar Interior Finish Satin White Death Mold" I am making sure I have it down. His friend Wade is just sitting there trying to keep a straight face when Ryan finally falls over laughing and saying "Babe, DON'T ask for DEATH MOLD, WHY would you believe me? Death Mold? Come on!" HAHAHA. All I could say was I assumed it was a specific paint that protected us against mold... Hey, what can I say. One of the many reasons he loves me :D

Just a reminder that next week starts the Our Story guest post series, followed by the Link Up on Valentines Day. Spread the word!

Shabby Apple Giveaway

2012-02-01T00:05:00.002-05:00

I am excited to be hosting a giveaway for Shabby Apple!

What is Shabby Apple you may ask? It's a vintage inspired clothing boutique and they have some simply gorgeous things! This is taken directly from their website:

A return to what dresses were always meant to be — a one-piece outfit. No need to add anything...no tank tops, no cardigans, nothing (except accessories, of course!).

We started Shabby Apple because we saw a need in women’s fashion that was not being met. A need to make women feel feminine and beautiful for what they wear, not what they bare. We offer flirty, stylish dresses a woman can wear just as comfortably in the office, at a family dinner, or on a date. Shabby Apple is a fashion company for women, by women, and of women.

Because serving women and families is a core value at Shabby Apple, we devote a certain percentage of our net proceeds to charitable causes serving women and children.

Today, in honor of Valentines Day which is right around the corner, they are giving away a Queens Rose Necklace

The giveaway will run from today (February 1st) - Monday February 6th with the winner being announced on Tuesday February 7th.

OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY!

Mandatory entry: must 'like' Shabby Apple on facebook

Additional Entries?

Comment with your favorite Shabby Apple item from their website.

Be a follower of MY blog.

Blog or tweet about this giveaway. If you tweet use the following tweet: @HeatherLC02 is hosting a giveaway for @ShabbyApple. Check it out! http://browneyedbell.blogspot.com/2012/02/shabby-apple-giveaway.html

That's 4 ways to enter. Good luck friends! :)

Just keep walking.

2012-01-31T00:28:00.000-05:00

In the voice of Dory from Finding Nemo - Just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking.

In 2011, I walked 333 miles.

This may seem like a lot, but really, it isn't.

In 2009, I walked 518 miles.

BUT, it is improvement because in 2010 I only walked 291 miles.

When I look at the variances in miles walked, I know that in 2009 I had a walking partner for the majority of the year. A good friend of mine was unemployed at that time, and we used to walk a 3 mile lake near her apartments almost daily. That added up quick. Also, friends and I were hiking (not the hilly rugged type, just hours of exploring) a lot in 2009 and sometimes we'd walk local parks for hours at a time.

Different Hiking Trips

I pretty much slacked in 2010 with no excuse really. Granted, my friend got a job (yay) so I didn't have her to walk with as often, but still, I should have kept myself motivated. Also, I literally did not walk the entire month of July 2010 as no joke, I was sick from July 1st - the 31st. It was insane!

I am happy to see that 2011 brought improvement from 2010, however, I want to go even further. I want to get back to the distances I was walking in 2009.

It's hard to find time to hit the gym and work out, but this really isn't an option to me. I have to stay active due to my back condition. If I go just one day without doing a workout of some type (even simply walking) I stiffen up ridiculously. I admit, I need to find a trainer that could train me specifically with my back issue, however, for the most part, I stick to walking. But that's okay, at least I am walking.

Sometimes when I am walking, and I really don't want to be, and my upper thighs are going numb, or I am having other issues thanks to Spondylolisthesis, I just have to remind myself, 'just keep walking', and soon, once we got our pool all cleaned up and tested properly, I will be able to sing just like Dory 'just keep swimming'. And I think swimming will help my back as well. I can't wait. I am excited to try this theory out!

Walking is SO beneficial. It's not just a means of being active, it's a way to clear your mind, to be still. Walking is when I have some of my best talks with God. When you take time to walk, you pass beauty that you may otherwise have missed. It's amazing what a simple walk can do for you.

views from hiking

More Views

and some Donkey's we've met along the way

Today I encourage you, if you don't walk already, give it a try. You may be surprised. Start slow. Build up to a mile. It's so worth it. If you could take the time to walk a few times a week, I think you'd be surprised at the change you will start feeling, almost immediately.

On buying our first home.

2012-01-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I blog as a way to preserve memories. Today I want to share the story of how my husband and I came to own our first home.

Disclaimer: Post is quite lengthy today, but I hope you will stick it out to the end. We had quite an interesting story on how we came to own our first home.

Buying our first home was extremely exciting, yet, scary and stressful at the same time. I am going to assume that those feelings do not only apply to when you are purchasing your first home, but any time you have to sale and move as well.

Let me give you some quick background on what we were looking for in a home. We knew we would likely not find one home that happened to have every single one of our specifications, but a girl can dream right?

at least an acre of land
3+ bedrooms
2+ baths
larger kitchen as I love to cook
walk in shower
nice tub for bubble baths
a pool, this is not a luxury for us. We want it so I can do water therapy and possible help my back
a fireplace
fenced in yard for the furbabies
wood or laminate flooring as we are not big on carpet

As I said above, we knew we may not a find a place with everything we wanted, but hoped that we would find something really close. We had already decided if we loved a place that didn't have a pool and the price was right, we'd still go for it and add a pool later.

My husband and I started our house hunt in September 2011. We actually went and had our first viewings on Wednesday, September 14th.

On the 14th we viewed 4 homes. 1 of which we fell in love with, and 1 of which we really liked.

Randomly, after we viewed our last home of the day (the one we fell in love with) while we were driving home, we got a call from Jen, our realtor, and she explained to us that a newscaster from a local channel had just called and asked if he could interview her for a segment to air that evening! WHAT?! Yup. You read that right! A local newschannel wanted to air a segment on how Jen was using facebook and other social networks to her advantage in the real estate world. Jen called and asked if we would mind turning around and coming back to get filmed 'viewing' the same home we'd just left. I went to high school with Jen, so we totally didn't mind doing this for her.

And off we went. As a friend of mine said to me "Heather, only YOU would end up getting filmed for live TV while viewing homes to buy" HAHAHA. We returned to the home, where we were filmed, and viewed the house again. And fell more in love.

The problem? This house was definitely on the highest end of our budget. We had already met with a mortgage broker, and been pre-approved (for even higher than this amount) but it was still very scary when it came time to crunch numbers.

We left, went home and thought about it. Of course we also though about how cool it would be if we ended up in this house that we loved and also had a recording of the ~~first~~ second time we viewed it. Maybe it was just meant to be.

Then we made a rash decision. We decided to make an offer! Eep!

Yup, we made an offer that very same day; the same day we viewed houses for the very first time. I told you. It all happened really quick. I think we just got sucked into the hoopla of it all. Our agent was leaving to go out of state the next day, and we didn't want to take a chance on losing the home.

Now we know we truly should have waited a few days, slept on it, prayed about it, and given it time.

We both went to work that same day, and it weighed heavy on us. More so on myself as I am the one that does our budget so I was seeing the actual numbers. And yes, we could have made it work. But, at what cost? Our sanity? We would have had the gorgeous house we wanted, but we'd also be giving up a lot. There would be no more random date nights. The majority of our time would have had to be spent at home, as well as a lot of other costs cut. All we could imagine was growing to resent this home that we once loved because it'd be sucking away so much of our income.

As much as we loved the home, there were drawbacks beyond financial. First of all, let me just tell you, the home was gorgeous. It was way more home than we need in the first place. This home had even sold for $300K in 2006. Um, WOW. Here's the stats:

2400 square feet
3 bedrooms
2 baths (with granite tops, the master was ridiculously huge with dual vanities and a huge shower)
.32 acres. Yes, .32, not even half.
beautiful view of a pasture with horses from our back yard
on a cul-da-sac (which we love!)
BEAUTIFUL kitchen that I absolutely adored
move in ready, we liked the flooring and paint colors

Some major things? It did not have a pool, and the budget was so high, we wouldn't have been able to afford to put a pool in, also it was not fenced in.

Meanwhile, the offer was in, and the seller had already came back with a counter (that was actually a bit higher than original asking price, what the heck) and we had accepted, again, we were caught up in the hoopla.

All of this was happening in a matter of 48 hours. It all happens really quick when it comes to making an offer.

Ryan and I had prayed about it, and we just were not feeling at peace. At all. In fact, my mood changed completely, and for that 48 hours, I was just in a down and out mood. I knew we had got ahead of ourselves and made the wrong choice. Ryan even noticed my mood change and kept asking if I was okay and what was wrong.

We ended up pulling out of our offer. We are so thankful the inspection hadn't been done yet, so we were not out any money.

And we learned a very valuable lesson. Don't rush into any decision, in all things be patient and prayerful. As soon as we pulled out of the contract, our peace came back. We knew it was the right decision.

I started to look more into the other house that we had saw and really liked, it DID have a pool, and was about 20,000 less than the original one we loved. BUT, and this was a deal breaker, upon my searches, I found that the house had been a former 'grow house' for marijuana. WHAT?! Yes. that just happened. Something didn't seem right with it. I had saw that the house had just sold in June 2011 for about $70,000 and was now listed for $140,000. I asked my realtor if it had been flipped, or what. She was able to find out that the house had pretty much been rebuilt that when the investor bought it it was in shambles and they redid a lot. I did further investigation as it didn't make sense to me since the neighborhood was nice, and the other houses didn't appear to be in shambles. That's when I found the article about the big drug bust. And that was a quick negative. That would NOT be our future home.

SO, the house hunt continued. And was quite slow from then on out. We lowered our budget ourselves. We dropped our MAX down to what WE were willing to pay, not what we were told we could afford. Our broker was awesome. He told us up front "look, this is what your numbers say you can afford, however, I don't know all the variables, I don't know how much you guys like to go out, etc etc, so YOU will know best when it comes to making that decision, and do what is best for you and remember financial stress is one of the leading causes of divorce" We really lucked out with being recommended to an awesome broker. The 1st time we met with him, he had the same book out on his desk that the young adults at our church were currently studying through. It was nice to know we were working with a fellow Christian.

Anyways, while we continued to look, nothing else ever stood out, until an email came across my screen in November. It immediately stood out because it was a 3 bedroom house WITH a pool on almost 2 acres and it was within 5 minutes from BOTH of our parents houses. WOW!! It seemed too good to be true. The reason we hadn't seen it before is because it was 10,000 over our price range, and the price had JUST got lowered and was now at the top of our budget so it popped up in our criteria.

I replied to that email right away with a "when can we view this?!" That was on Monday, November 14th. We weren't able to actually schedule a viewing until that Saturday but on Saturday the 19th we went, and really, really liked it. Now, I won't say it was love at first sight, like it was at the home that was well over our budget, BUT, there was so much we could work with. And most of the drawbacks were truly cosmetic so no biggie. This time we actually gave ourselves a few days to truly think and pray about it, and on Monday the 21st the contract was drawn up. We threw them a low ball offer, $15,000 LESS than what they had it listed as, but I felt it was fair as it was the exact same purchase price that seller had paid just 2 years before in 2009. They countered with an offer that was still $7,000 below their original asking price. HEY! We were happy with that! Of course, that wasn't including closing and all that good stuff, but you know what? After everything was all said and done, we ended right back at their original asking price, and were only two hundred dollars over budget. We can deal with that! Our closing date was December 29th 2011.

We are SO thrilled with our decision.

We know it was the right one for us.

We ended up in a smaller home square footage wise(1500 sq feet), but it has SO much more to offer us. We now own a huge screened in underground pool and site on 1.93 acres of land, plenty of room to expand if we so chose. And, we are located on a quiet side street (with lots of nearby pastures with horses and cows!), not a cookie cutter neighborhood, and there is no homeowners association which is amazing! We didn't want anyone telling us what we could or couldn't do with our home/land.

There was some stuff we sacrificed, we don't have a fireplace, but we can still buy one. But really, how often do you think they are used in Florida? Not often enough. It was more of an ambiance thing for me. We also gave up some of the finer things that we were seeing in the immaculate short sale homes, such as granite tops, and newly remodeled bathrooms, but, you know what? We can add those. We can do renovations. We also need to finish fencing the property in as it's only partially complete. You want to know the best part about our new home?

We can make this home, our home, into exactly what we want.... because we still have money to do so.

My advice for anyone that is house hunting is never jump into something that is over your head. Sure, it all looks fine and dandy on paper and in your mind, but you really, really, need to crunch all numbers and think and pray stuff through. You need to make sure you have peace when it is all said and done.

And we do. We have an amazing peace of mind in knowing that we are exactly where God wants us right now. We are building our home together, and yeah, it's exhausting and we haven't had a free weekend since we closed, but, we can't wait until it is finished, and we can just sit back and relax in the house that we made home.

That date is coming soon, my friends. And I can't wait to share more updates with you.

Flashback Friday... my x-rays.

2012-01-27T20:36:00.000-05:00

Today I am participating (for the first time) in Flashback Friday over at the Chasing Joy blog.

It's pretty easy. Flashback Friday is basically where you flash back to an older blog post and link up. Easy peasy, eh? Today I am flashing back to one of my more popular (aka, most read) posts. It happens to be titled -- Your x-rays are really scary. And yes, it is about my x-rays of my back. It's a pretty scary place, according to my doctor. You see, I suffer from spondylolisthesis as well as severe scoliosis. No fun at all!

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Your x-rays are really scary. 9-9-11

I had an appointment with a back specialist yesterday. It was the 2nd time that I have seen him. My husband (who I had just started dating back when I first saw this doctor) & I were not very big fans of the doctor as he was very blunt. I remember that first visit he just kept saying "and what is really scary about your back is...." He's not a bad doctor by far, he just tells it how it is, and we just weren't ready for the harshness of it. I mean, I KNOW my back is very scary. It didn't bother me as much as it did my husband. With that being the first appointment he had attended with me, I don't think he realized how severe my condition was/is. Anyways, yesterday I went back to that same doctor. I still want to get some more opinions as I absolutely adored my pediatric ortho doctor and I'd love to find someone that I trusted as much as I did him. BUT, for now, we went back as it's been 2 years and I figure it's about time to check back in and make sure my slippage isn't worsening.

Well, what do you think the first thing he says is (after hand shaking and intro's of course)? Yup. You guessed it. "man, your x-rays are really scary, your spine is falling right off your pelvis"

Oh well, we expected it this time, and I know that as a fact, so we just went right a long with it.

Here's the deal though. My spondylolisthesis appears to have worsened a bit. From 1999ish-2005 it measured anywhere between 20 degrees and as high as 28 degrees at one point, but for the most part, the average was 20 degrees slip. My pediatric ortho had said I was stabilized at 20 degrees which would be so amazing if it wouldn't move and I didn't experience any annoying symptoms. In 2009 when I first saw this doctor (FOUR years after my last visit with my pediatric ortho) I measured a 20 degree slip again. YAY! It appeared no real change which was a true blessing. Yesterday I measured at 24 degrees. BOO. It looks as if it's progressing again. And I do feel more symptoms. I am stiff most of the time. Lower back, neck, the works. I think I may have aided in the progression on a water ride at atlantis on my honeymoon. I shouldn't have done any rides, but I rode one where all I did was sit on an inner tube, and you are supposed to hold your butt up, and I thought I was, but not high enough I guess, because at one point we hit a bump and OUCH!! I felt a quick jolt and then it was fine. BUT, with my severe lower back issues, that was enough to do damage and I have been worse since, so I believe that may have done something. I'll never know though.

As for yesterday's visit, the end result? We talked about surgery (which I don't want to have done) in the future because if I DO continue to progress and this starts effecting my nerves or my hamstrings lock up, surgery won't be an option anymore, it'll become a necessity. SO, I asked a lot of questions:

Q: What exactly do they do during surgery?
A: Okay, this answer was too long for me to verbally repeat. I remember something about a fusion, a rod, and adding stability to my spine. I should have wrote it down. Just like I should have taken pictures of my x-rays. Oops.

Q: How long does the surgery usually last?

A: 2.5 hours

Q: How long would I be in the hospital?

A: usually 3 nights, and 3 weeks of recovery

Q: Would I be in a body cast?

A: No. As long as you can ensure that you will not be bending, they won't send you home with anything. Sometimes people are sent home with braces to remind them NOT to do any bending motions.

He also said that in his 16 years he's only seen two people who had their spine slip completely off their pelvis. Of course, I asked what that meant because me, being the freak-o, hypochondriac that I am, can only assume I'd just be walking one day, and then BAM I slip completely and it's paralysis or I die. Thankfully he reassured me that wouldn't be how it'd go.

Though we aren't planning anytime soon, I also asked, what this would mean if I ever became pregnant. He told me it shouldn't effect it too much beyond more back pain and the fact that I'd most likely have to have a c-section. I worry about if I'd ever be able to bear children, and this gave me a bit of relief.

I am aiming to start some physical therapy that his assistant said should help a ton. The exercises will help strengthen my muscles that need it, as well as hopefully prevent more progression. AND, they said after I do a few sessions they might be able to order some of the traction stuff for me to have at home. In 2009 they gave me a referral for physical therapy 3x a week for 12 weeks I want to say. My insurance didn't help much and it was going to cost me $150 a week, $600 a month and I just couldn't do it. This time, she hooked me up with a place that works with people who have high co pays so I am really excited about it. I will call today to find out more info.

I really wish I'd taken a picture of the x-ray's he'd written on yesterday, so I could better explain what it means. If you are familiar with Spondy, which I know many aren't, you will know. Here's a few pics I've found online:

.photo credit.

But, you know what?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger

God You are higher than any other

Our God is Healer, awesome in power

Our God

I always say prayers are appreciated and I really do appreciate them. The fact of the matter is OUR GOD IS HEALER! And if it's his will, one day I will wake up with no more spondylolisthesis on this side of Heaven. <3

I am not sure how much time I will have to blog this weekend, so if I'm not back on here, I hope each and every one of you have a safe and blessed weekend. Please don't forget to take time and remember on September 11th. It's hard to believe it has been 10 years. Be sure to lift all of those involved up in prayer. Prayer works my friends.

Accepting February Sponsors

2012-01-27T10:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! :)

Just a quick reminder that I am still accepting sponsors for the month of February.

$10 for the month.

You help me, and I help you. It's win, win.

February is going to be a super fun month. I have an entire week of guest posters scheduled. I can't wait to share their stories, but, this will also benefit any sponsors I have, because as people make their way over from their other favorite blogs to see their guest posts, they will see YOUR button as well. Yay! I hope to have you a long for the ride!

All proceeds I make from sponsorships go towards my savings fund for getting my dream off the ground and running? Want more info? Click on the sponsor button above.

Email me @ browneyedbellblog at yahoo dot com for more info. You have until the end of the day on the 31st to get me your info. I need your button (of course), $10 deposited via paypal, a blurb about you and your blog, and a photo you'd like included.

Reminder of the link up that is coming up ON Valentines Day! After reading all the guest posts leading up to Valentines Day, I hope you will be inspired to link up YOUR love story. I can't wait to read everyone's. Feel free to go ahead and take the button now and share on your page, let people know you plan to participate ahead of time, so they will know about the link up before Valentines Day and have time to get their story read if they choose to link up! :)

Thankful Thursday V5.4

2012-01-26T00:05:00.000-05:00

As usual, the week has flown by and it's time for a Thankful Thursday post! Yay! They are my favorite!

This week I am thankful for:

♥ more hours at work. I work in market research so as you can assume with it being an election year, hours are definitely picking up. My schedule was actually changed effective last week, and an extra day was tacked on. I will say I was a little upset at first because Thursdays were my me day! There was a lot of stuff I could get done on a Thursday while everyone else was at work, and now I will be at work too. BUT, I can't complain. I am employed and that in itself is a blessing!

♥ Double Dates. Last Friday Ryan and I joined up with my friend Em & her BF for a double date at a local Tex Mex restaurant. It was delish!

♥ Finding new recipes online. I tried this one last week! Thanks Laura!

notice the beggers?

♥ Massages. This isn't so much of a luxury for me, as it is a necessity due to my back problems. Sometimes the massage will actually be more painful than it is enjoyable, but that's when my lower back is really jarred up, and it needs to be done to relieve the pressure. For the most part though, it's enjoyable and I try to go every other week. It really loosens me up, for that day. Sadly, it wears off pretty quickly and I stiffen right back up. Oh, the joys of Spondylolisthesis.

♥ My new hairstylist. I've been to her about 4x now and left happy each time. While I adore my former stylist, my new one is closer to home and that's always a bonus. Last week I had the red removed from my hair and replaced with a honey/caramel blonde.

not the best pics!

♥ I snapped a pic of Buddy the cow :D He comes to visit me when I walk! This was taken yesterday!

Those are a few of the things I am thankful for this week. How about you? Grab a button and link up!

Week of Valentines Day Blog Plans

2012-01-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to be hosting a week long event of amazing guest posters in February. The week leading up to Valentines Day I will have seven bloggers sharing their love stories here on Brown Eyed Bell. These guest posts will run from Tuesday February 7th through Monday February 13th. On Tuesday February 14th (Valentines Day) I will have a link up for anyone to join and share their love story with us.

You see, I am a self proclaimed hopeless romantic :D When I am checking out a new blog, if the blogger is in a relationship, one of the first parts I read is the "Our Story" section. Total sap right here. I've read some amazingly beautiful stories, and I can't wait to read (and share) more. I am attaching the button for the Valentines Day link up to today's post. Feel free to take it and start spreading the word so people can link up on Valentines Day!

On a side note, I'd really appreciate some extra prayers this week. My lower back has been bothering me thanks to the Spondylolisthesis and I also have a return visit to an ENT on Friday about a lump I keep feeling in the collar bone area.

Also, thank you to everyone for your sweet comments on yesterday's Kidney for Kristy post. The internet is a powerful resource, and thanks to yesterday, we are $10 closer to our goal. Keep spreading the word! There are people out there that can help, and would want to, we just have to reach them.

Kidney 4 Kristy Deadline

2012-01-24T10:29:00.002-05:00

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you are likely aware that I have been spearheading a campaign to raise money that my cousin needs to get on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Yup, that's right. Before she can even get put on the transplant list (that she may be on for years) she has to come up with a $5000 financial deposit. I personally find that a bit ridiculous, BUT, it is what it is, and it needs to be done.

Shands has officially given her a deadline of February 29th to have the funds raised. She is only about $1200 away BUT this is still very scary to us. Why? Because we have been raising since May 2011. And now we have an official deadline. And it's coming up quick. What I don't know yet is if on that date they need that money IN HAND. Or just proof that we have it, like looking at the Giveforward page. There's a big difference. If they need it in hand, I'd need to shut down the giveforward page so they'd have two weeks to cut the check and mail it.

My friends, you can help. How? The internet is a powerful, powerful resource. I am reaching out to each and every one of you to see if you might be able to help. There are a few ways that I can think of:

1) tweet the link to her Giveforward page. You could tweet something a long the lines of @HeatherLC02's cousin is in need of a kidney and YOU can help. http://www.giveforward.com/kidneyforkristy #K4K #kidneyforkristy

2) Donate a few dollars yourself if you are able. Do you normally get a coffee once a week or more? Maybe give up your coffee funds for the week?

3) Blog about it. Even if you personally can't give, you never know which of your followers may have a heart for this type of need. Maybe a relative, or even themselves have been through something similar.

4) Share the http://www.giveforward.com/kidneyforkristy link on your facebook or any other social network site you may use

5) Email the story to your friends and family

6) Host a fundraiser. There's a few weekends left until the deadline. Check into hosting a car wash, yardsale, bake sale, or raffle. Set up a Change 4 Change Jar at your place of employment. Everyone's spare change truly does add up. You'd be surprised.

Car Wash we hosted for K4K

Do you see all the simple ways you can help? Even if you can't give personally, which I totally understand, there ARE ways you can help for completely free. It'd just take a few minutes out of your day.

You'd be surprised how many people are willing to help, sometimes you just have to ask.

That's what I encourage you to do today. Ask someone to help you. Help you help a stranger.

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under any compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound with every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 NIV

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:2 NKJV

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. 2 Corinthians 8:13-14 NIV

On a side note, if anyone has a Wells Fargo bank near them, she also has an account set up there. You can deposit donations into account # 1010321164300

If you happen to share this story in anyways, please let me know so I can personally Thank You!! :)

Linking up with Call Me Blessed and A Pause on the Path today.

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It happened at a call center

2012-01-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

In my almost 10 years (yes, you read that right) of call center work, I've never witnessed anything happen like what happened today.

A little background.... While I work at a call center, I am not directly on the phone myself. I work behind the scenes, with sample and quota manipulation.

Anyways, a member from the QA staff came back to inform me that she had to take over a call that one of our employees was on. It was a very elderly woman, who claimed she had fallen down and could not get up.

Immediately my QA person knew to get as much information as possible. We wanted to be able to get her help, as soon as possible. As I mentioned, the respondent was very very old. She was able to tell our QA employee the name of the place she stayed (which we assumed to be a nursing home or apartment complex) and she provided an address.

Since the study we were working on was calling Michigan, we had that to go with as well, which proved to be very helpful as she was only able to recite back part of her address. The project we were working on was also a name on list study, so we had her name right there with her phone number.

The QA department assured her that we'd get some help to her. Once they relayed to me what had happened, the employee I happened to be training said she'd call the respondent back and keep her on the phone and alert until help arrived. She called her back while the QA staff and I googled any info we had to help us locate this precious elderly woman. We were able to trace the info she gave us back to a nursing home.

My coworkers explained what happened, and the nursing home immediately recognized the name "Oh! She's in room 9!" As my other employee kept the elderly lady on the line, she could hear the nursing room staff walk into the room. The elderly lady said "oh! there they are, I will let you go now" to which my employee said "No! I want to talk to them" she wanted to ensure all was well.... The staff member picked up the phone and explained the elderly lady suffers from dementia and had indeed fallen about two months ago and it caused her to have hip surgery but as for today? She was doing just fine, sitting upright on her cough, watching TV and chatting on the phone with us.

Yup, she was just living in a memory at that moment.... a memory that sure gave us a scare. Meanwhile, my QA employee was on another line with the local police department for that area. Hey, we wanted to ensure someone got help to this lady who we had thought had fallen, as soon as possible! We did our part :) Quite a interesting day at work indeed. I am home and ready to relax now! Have a great night friends! I just had to share this story with you!

Five Question Fri...er, Saturday.

2012-01-21T10:15:00.000-05:00

See that girl above? That's my high school best friend since about 10th grade, and she is on her way over to join me in making some biscuits and gravy, pancakes, bacon and eggs for breakfast. Mmm.... Then we are off to the new house to continue to working on it. I am so thankful for all my friends! <3

While breakfast is cooking I figured I'd stop in for a little Five Question Friday on a Saturday!

1. Where do you hide the reeeally good snacks? I don't really hide snacks anywhere. They are just hanging around the kitchen. If there is some Ghiradheli brownies that I don't want ate, I will stash them in my room. Those are my weakness.

2. Do u keep your vehicle clean or am I the only one who has things falling out of their van? Let's just say don't look in my car. I am embarrassed. There is random trash all over the passenger floor board. It's not nasty stuff, mostly paper stuff... If food or anything that would smell I make sure to trash it! Husbands vehicle? Much cleaner.

3. Have you ever been to Vegas? I have been to a lot of major cities, but no Vegas... yet. One day?

4. Warm room light blankets or cold room warm snuggly blanket? freeeeezin' room and snuggly blankets! I can not stand to be warm and I get hot very easy! The thermo is usually at least 70 degrees and I don't turn on the heat often, and when I do, it's usually for the doggies. They are like my kids. Gotta keep them warm and healthy.

5. What is the worst airplane/flying experience you've ever had? I could be wrong on the exact flight, but I believe it was to Kansas for my sisters wedding. I had never experienced sinus pressure before and I did on that flight. And it was so severe I thought I was dying. Seriously, I was praying in my head that there'd be a doctor on board in case my head blew up. I didn't know what was happening. And I'd flown many times before that, including a long flight to Europe. Now, I am always afraid getting on a plane. I make sure to take a decongestant. For the most part, I've flown maybe 2-3x since then and haven't had any more major issues.

Welp, that's all for today friends! I hope you all have a beautifully blessed weekend. I am off to grub on some breakfast and head to the new house to work.

XOXO

Thankful Thursday V5.3

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday Friends. I hope you will grab a button and link up! I absolutely love checking out your blogs and seeing what awesome things you have going on in your life that you are thankful for. Also, a reminder for those linking up, or if you have never participated in a link up before: when you are participating in a link up, don't forget to link BACK to the page of the link up. For instance, if you decide to link up today, on YOUR Thankful post be sure to either copy and paste my Thankful Thursday button code OR just do a HTML link up such as "Today I am linking up with Heather from Brown Eyed Bell(e)"

Let's get to it! This week I am so thankful for:

♥ My sister and the beautiful flowers she sent me on Monday. What a surprise and a wonderful way to start the week!

♥ The beautiful horse(s) that's right across the street from our new house. There's actually two horses in this particular pasture, but if you walk along our quite little street you will see other pastures with cows and or horses. It's beautiful. I was struck by the size of this white horse, it's one of the biggest, and most beautiful I've ever seen. I've also made friend with a younger cow down the street as well. Every time I walk he comes up to see me. Today he ran to see me. Totally made my day. I call him Buddy the cow... I call most random animals I find Buddy... I've had a Buddy the toad and Buddy the cow now. They are all my buddies :)

♥ Friendly drivers who warn of impending cops. As I was driving yesterday during daylight a truck flashed it's lights at me. I automatically thought "hmm, there must be a cop up ahead" and sure enough, I turned the corner, and there was one just sitting. I tend to have a lead foot, so this warning was nice, and I was able to call my husband who was about to leave for a meeting and warn him as well.

♥ Snail Mail. I receive so much junk mail, as I am sure you do too, that it totally makes my day when I receive a hand written letter and card. Recently I received two in ONE day. Talk about a big smile on my face. A cousin wrote me a letter as well as Erin wrote me a letter on beautiful stationary. PS, Erin's birthday was yesterday, you should swing by and show her some love. She's a sweetheart. Also, I know I am not the only one who loves snail mail, Danielle blogged about it this week and issued a challenge to get some more people writing letters. I'm in. Are you?!

♥ For the donors and donations that have came in for Kidney For Kristy this week. Shands hospital has given Kristy the official deadline of February 29th to have the $5000 raised. She still needs about $1200 more. My cousin has been able to meet the majority of the needs with the exception of the financial deposit. She completes her final stress test today and then her only hold up is money. Please spread her giveforward page that's linked about and help her get a Kidney. Also, if you'd like to read more about her situation, you can click the Kidney for Kristy tab at the top of my blog.

♥ My immune system. Usually it's pretty bad and I get sick fairly easy but it's been awesome as of late. My husband was super sick last week and missed two days of work. He was in bed from Sunday night through Wednesday noon. Totally not like him. Somehow, my body fought it off. I have not got sick yet (knocking on some wood right now). Praise God!

♥ Being able to attend Winter Jam this past Saturday with my husband and friends. I attended last year and this year and it was amazing both times. A Christian concert featuring 10 bands for $10. You can't beat that. Lives are changed. Every night of the tour. One person spoke about a young man that came to Winter Jam unsaved. He left a saved man. He went right home and woke his parents up. It was late, so when he told his parents "I HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT I'VE DONE!!" they were worried and thought "oh no, what on earth could he have done?!" instead, he proceeded to tell them how he went to this concert, and he accepted Christ as his Savior. He apologized for the years that he did not act like the son they deserved and promised that would all change now. And it did. For two weeks. They saw an amazing change in their son. In his spirit. And then, he was in a freak accident in which he suffered injuries he could not recover from, and just like that, their baby boy was gone. BUT, you know what? Winter Jam gave them an amazing gift. Their son became saved when he attended the concert, and now, they have peace knowing where he is at and that they will see him again. They said before the concert, they couldn't say that. Souls are being saved. You never know who will get touched. That story gave me goosebumps. I am so thankful that young boys parents now have the gift of peace and knowing that their son knows Christ. What a blessing. The song below was one of the groups that performed. I had never heard them before, but I really, really like this song. It's so catchy. "All I know is I'm not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong."

Those are a few of the things I am thankful for this week. What about you? Link up below!

A Humpty Dumpty Whatever Wednesday

2012-01-18T01:24:00.000-05:00

If you are wondering what on earth a Humpty Dumpty Whatever Wednesday is... well, I am participating in four link ups today. Fun!

Humpty Dumpty is basically a photo dump on Wednesday's aka Hump Day. Clever, eh?

Whatever Wednesday is kind of self explanatory, link up about whatever you want! Oh! And Savannah just announced her pregnancy yesterday so go congratulate her :)

I Heart Tattoos a link up featuring wonderful tattoos
What I Wednesday... Erin hosts a "What I Wednesday.." every week!

So, first things first. Photo dump time!

L: My horribly faded hair R: My friends new hair cut looking fresh!

1. laptop @ work 2. inspiration for our Chives room

3. a card that made me think of Kaelah 4. @ the car wash

1. STARBUCKS! 2. Roofdog! really! 3. Getting oil changed

1. intent look 2. laughing or crying?

3. comfy sweaters 4. copy cats... er, dogs.

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I also wanted to blog a bit about my tattoos today. I currently have two, and would love more. I love tattoos. My problem is I am ridiculously indecisive. SO, it takes a long time to make a decision on something so permanent. I got my first tattoo in December 2008. Oddly enough, I was broken hearted at that time, as I'd been freshly dumped, I think I went through a mini crisis and it finally gave me the guts to just do it. I'd wanted this particular tattoo for years, since high school, and never had the guts to get one, until then. I got my 1st tattoo on Christmas Eve 2008. It was a bigger star with 3 smaller stars around it. I absolutely love stars and originally I had wanted one big black star in the center with three colored ones around it, a yellow, blue, and green one to symbolize me, my mom and dad's favorite colors. However, drawn out, it was too rainbow-y and I did not like it as much, SO, I went with one big pink (my favorite color) star surrounded by three smaller black ones. This tattoo is located a bit lower than my belly button, on the right side.

Sorry for the bad picture quality!

I got my 2nd tattoo on September 3rd last year (2011). It was impromptu. I knew I wanted a Jesus fish on my foot, I'd googled many a pictures for ideas. My best friend since HS had wanted to get her 1st tattoo and I went with... and decided to get one as well! Every time I look down at my foot, I smile inside. I absolutely adore this tattoo. And if you are wondering, YES! foot tattoos hurt! So thankful this took less than ten minutes.

What are YOU up to this Wednesday?

House Update - Painting

2012-01-16T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here today with a quick update about the new house. Our first home! :)

It's coming along nicely. Our work schedules have only allowed us to really work on it Friday-Sunday, but we have had a TON of help from amazing friends and that's just truly been a blessing to us. God is so good. We even have friends that are coming and working when we aren't even there. Talk about amazing. To each and every one of you that have came by to help these last three weekends, thank you.

Here's a couple of before and after photo's of various rooms!

a simple fresh coat of white made a huge difference on all the ceilings!

Multiple colors were debated for the living room as it's an open floor plan. We ultimately went with Buckwheat.

Ashley painted two accent walls teal zeal.

picture quality is not good on the 'after' photo as it was taken today via cell, but we chose a cranberry red to accent out kitchen.

We chose a warm green (Chives) for our bedroom.

We kept neutral and used Buckwheat in the master bath as well. It goes perfect with the Chives. Very earthy.

The spare bedroom/office is a super calming Smokey Blue.

More to come soon, very soon :)

As Monday comes to an end, I hope you've had a wonderful day friends!

Thanks to DaisyJo for taking the majority of the photo's!

Shine Giveaway Winner

2012-01-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday Friends!

I hope you have a beautiful day!

I'm here quickly to announce the winner of the Shine shirt giveaway, though I hope to have time (later) to blog some of the stuff that has been on my mind lately.

Anyways, the winner of the shine shirt giveaway is comment #58, HisHandmaiden.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please contact Ashley from The Shine Project

at Ashley.TheShineProject@gmail.com

to give her your shirt choice and size.

2011 Recap Quarter 4 Oct - Dec

2012-01-13T16:26:00.000-05:00

It may be 2012, but I am finally finishing my 2011 recap :)

October

Annual Halloween Bonfire 10-22-11

Bucs VS Colts Monday Night Football 10-3-11

1) added red highlights 10-14-11 2) Charlotte came down for a visit 3) Walking Weather 10-5-11

Some of the things I blogged about in October were:
The SHE show tales from a road trip gone wrong
No Treat October I ate NO sweets for the entire month of Oct
Halfiversary & an engagement half a year of marriage life
It's all in the day about my cousin Kristy's open heart surgery
Blogiversary one year of blogging
Top 10 Tuesday 10 things you may or may not know about me
How much is enough American wealth and a world of poverty
Can your ex be part of the family? My situation is unique
Kidney for Kristy Yardsale benefit for my cousin
Top 10 Tuesday with my Husband top 10 reasons he loves me :)
Wedding video & Soundtrack
365 days ago my best friends wedding
DIY Angry Bird Costume
The Radical Experiment reading Radical

November

1)Candice b-day Lake H 2) Breaking Dawn Midnight 3) Baby Shower

Thanksgiving 2011 consisted of volunteering for VISTE on 11-23-11, a picnic in the park Thanksgiving Day with my husbands family, and spending the night with my family and my best friend since HS (haven't spent a Thanksgiving with her since 2002!)

Some of the stuff I blogged about in November were:

Campbells Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Imperfect Me a little more of my life story

Secret Church 11 I attended with my husband

A Charitable Community my dream <3

Get Involved Just Do It! :)

What I Wore Wednesday I do these, sometimes

Handmade Holidays Linkup

Thankful Thursday Thanksgiving edition

Catching Up after a week of guestbloggers

One of those days... we all have them

DECEMBER

1) & 2) Disney Resort 12-15 & 3) & 4) Womens Ministry Event

1) New Sweaters 2) NYE Bonfire

We're HOMEOWNERS!!!

Some of the things I blogged about in December were:
Thankful Thursday 30 days of thankfulness edition
Just Say No on learning to not tackle so much
A Childs Heart so young and innocent
A Very Bloggy Christmas a fun link up
Coupon to Troops use for your expired coupons
Coconut Bread Pudding amazingly delish!
Thankful Thursday Husband edition
Christmas Eve & a Birthday my sisters birthday
Christmas Recap
Bible in a year I'm doing it

2011 Recap
Jan-March
April-June
July-September

Happy Weekend Friends!

Thankful Thursday V5.2

2012-01-12T02:00:00.002-05:00

Hello, hello! I find it necessary to share with you that as I sit in bed typing this up on my HP Laptop (that I am not a fan of) I keep trying to touch the screen. I am spoiled by my iPad. Goodness! Anyways, it's Thursday, YAY! Time for a Thankful Thursday link up.

reminder: The 14th is the last day to enter to win a SHINE SHIRT. Come on, let's help support and promote The Shine Project

This week I am thankful for:

♥ My husband is feeling better. From the time he came home Sunday after working at the new house all weekend, through Wednesday at noon, he did not get out of bed. He was feverish and just not feeling well at all. Today he appears much better. Praise God! <3

♥ Perfect timing moments. We had one of these at the new home on Saturday. We had all gathered for a "cleaning + painting + pizza party" and had just been chatting about an oak tree that would be needing trimmed up soon as one of the branches is directly over our house. You know, living in Florida, hurricane season is a pretty big deal and we need it trimmed sooner rather than later. I had just mentioned how it'd be some time before we could get it done as tree work is pretty pricey. Then, someone said "Who is walking up the drive way?" I said "I am not sure, maybe another neighbor stopping to say hello..." NOPE. It was a lady soliciting none other than... yup, you guessed it. Tree Service. SO WEIRD. I was able to get a free price quote then and there. I don't know if we will go with them or not, as my former neighbor actually has his own tree service as well, BUT, it was so cool how that perfect timing worked out.

♥ Every single one of our amazing friends and family. We had SO many people swing by and help out with the cleaning and painting last weekend and this weekend. It truly is amazing and we feel so incredibly blessed and loved. If you have helped at the new house, THANK YOU! YOU are helping our house become a home.

The above photo(s) were taken this past weekend as we had some goof off time while painting and cleaning as well :)

♥ Random things that remind you of something you need to do. I experienced this on Sunday at work. I had a ridiculous migraine that had me actually sick at work. I tried to knock it out with dark chocolate and a soda (hey, it works! sometimes) and as I was leaving I had laid my soda bottle on a cubicle on the main call center floor. Another sup had reminded me to grab it, BUT, I forgot. I came back to work to check something and as I was closing up, an employee came speeding up asking to please use our vending machine for a cold soda as she really wanted one. Just that simple act of her coming back and buying a soda totally reminded me of the soda I had left on the floor. Funny how things work :)

♥ Bible in a year. I am excited to be on day 12 now. I have the NLT Bible in a year version that I bought for a few dollars at a yardsale recently as well as my church is also reading through the Bible in a year, so each week I grab the bulletin that tells what parts they are reading for that week. I have been comparing it with the Bible in a year book I have been reading, and they both are matching up and on the same schedule so that makes me happy!

♥ The blogging community. I don't know if I tell you guys enough, but I absolutely adore and appreciate each and every one of you that takes the time to swing by this lil place of mine in the big world wide web. I know their are millions of blogs out there (did you know 88,000 new blogs were created in the last 24 hours?! credit: the nielson company) and the very fact that you have taken the time to care about mine makes me smile. Thank you sweet friends. Also, if you follow me on twitter, please introduce yourselves. A user name is not always self explanatory. After all, my twitter user ID is HeatherLC02. Would you automatically associate that with the BrownEyedBell(e) blog if you didn't know?

Those are just a few of the things I am thankful for this past week. What about you? Please grab a button and link up! Also, a reminder for those linking up, or if you have never participated in a link up before: when you are participating in a link up, don't forget to link BACK to the page of the link up. For instance, if you decide to link up today, on YOUR Thankful post be sure to either copy and paste my Thankful Thursday button code OR just do a HTML link up such as "Today I am linking up with Heather from Brown Eyed Bell(e)"

Whatever Wednesday

2012-01-11T12:15:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have not been able to post all the wonderful things I want to share with you guys lately as I have been busy with work, the new house, and a sick husband. SO, my apologies. An update on the house coming soon, as well as I WILL finish quarter 4 of my 2011 year in review. It may be late, but better late then never, eh?

Anyways, for today, I am linking up with Savannah for Whatever Wednesday 

I find it pretty entertaining reading some of the ways people have found my blog via search engines. Oh, the things that lead people to my blog...

just from THIS week...

being a mother is the best pretty funny since I am not even a mother!

amazing that your simple smile can brighten someones day this is true!

people with spondylolisthesis this doesn't surprise me since I frequently blog about my back issues

Jesus fish tattoo on foot I love my Jesus fish tattoo! I hope it inspires someone!

Zoe Gibbs She is the sister of a friend of mine. I've blogged about her a few times as she was in a jet ski accident last Easter that left her without part of one of her legs. She was in the hospital for months battling an infection from the lake as well as multiple surgeries. She is an inspiration.

and, past searches that have led to my blog...

Brown Eyed Bell Blog this one doesn't surprise me :)

Beautiful Brown Eyed Woman well, I am honored! <3

Button Art I experimented with button art for a baby shower last year

Have you ever checked your stats to see where your audience is coming from? If not, do it! It will likely bring a smile to your face. Or leaving you saying "Huh?!"

I will leave you with a picture of Bullseye from yesterday. I was outside trying to enjoy some sunshine while doing my daily Bible study (yes, I am on day 11 of reading the Bible in a year) and Bullseye felt the need to chew his toy ON my lap since I wouldn't stop reading the play with him :D

Happy Wednesday Ya'll :) 

Say Hello to my January Sponsors!

2012-01-09T12:23:00.000-05:00

Oh my! Where does time go? I had wanted to post this on the 1st, and here we are on the 9th already! Eek! Before we know it, it will be February! My only excuse is the new house has had me consumed and yesterday I had planned to get this posted, but, a migraine took over. Today is a better day! And, I figured what better way to start the week off than by checking out some wonderful ladies that are near and dear to me, BUT, may be new (and potentially near and dear) to you?

SO, here we go. I'd like to introduce you to my January sponsors <3 We have:

Erin from Captivated By Grace

Hello beautiful ladies! My name is Erin and I blog over at Captivated By Grace. I'm a twenty-something Christ follower with a passion for life, love, and above all else, my faith in the Lord. I love to share the joys and beauty that can be found in this world, as well as the times that are not as beautiful and can be a bit more challenging. Let's face it...life is full of ups and downs. I began blogging to reflect on the things I am learning in my life, and hope to bring a touch of happiness, a dash of encouragement, and a pinch of love to whoever is in need of it. I have been captivated by God's grace. Come get captivated with me! 2012 is going to be a year of change and trust for me. I want to build a stronger faith, trust God with my life and my future, and share of His amazing grace with as many people as I can!

Noelani from Our Beautiful Little Journey

Hi there! My name is Noelani and I blog over at Our Beautiful Little Journey. A place where you will find things relating to - marriage, parenting, Faith, as well as the Military life. Something I plan to accomplish in 2012 is to simply embrace every moment - both big and little. Feel free to head on over and introduce yourself! I love "meeting" new people! :)

Casey Leigh from The Wiegands

I am Casey Wiegand. A stay at home mama, freelance artist. Married to an incredible man. I sell the majority of my work through local galleries and my website. I am a jury award winner and have participated in numerous art shows. I love doing commissions and love to share my life through my blog. If you stop by you can expect pieces of my perspective on life, faith, kids, marriage...with touches of art, creative inspiration, projects and things I love along the way. My gift to you, my art....and our story.

DaisyJo from Daisy Petals

I am a 20-something Christian girl living in central Florida. Photography, art, music, and creativity are my passions and I find inspiration everywhere. Currently I work part-time at a bookstore, part-time babysitting 4 children, and part-time as a freelance photographer-all while taking spanish classes. On my blog you'll find photos, stories, and style and other random goodies. In 2012 I hope to have more photography opportunities. I want to really pursue this passion of mine, learn more, book more shoots. It takes effort, but I want to make it happen. I would also LOVE to travel. I went to Nicaragua last summer, and I would love to go out of the country again. Or even just to see more of the US! We'll just have to see what's in store for me this year. I hope you'll come along for the ride with me!

***

I am so grateful to all of the above ladies. They are all wonderful! If you swing by to say hello, please be sure to let them know I sent you!

If you'd like to sponsor in February, please contact me at browneyedbellblog at yahoo dot com You can read more about why I've decided to take on sponsors by clicking here. <3 All proceeds go directly towards my savings for the A Charitable Community website.

Being my best self.

2012-01-06T00:03:00.000-05:00

I am linking up today with Ashley @ The Shine Project.

On Sunday, she prompted us to link up today about being our best self. Her prompt?

"If I could change one thing in the world, what would it be?"

Write down the first thing that comes to mind.

Then make a list of ways that YOU can help make that change.

Surprisingly, this was ridiculously hard for me. Why? Because there are SO many things I want to change.

Be the change you wish to see in the world - Gandhi

I am passionate about numerous causes, as you know if you've followed my blog for awhile. I participate annually in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. You can check out my fundraising page by clicking HERE. My team is the Cancer Knockouts and we are ready to KNOCK OUT cancer! The back of our shirts have orange boxing gloves and say FIGHT LIKE A GIRL! Win like Tina & Ashley. Tina and Ashley are two of my best friends who are in remission from Leukemia. God is SO good.

Overnight Relay for Life -- 2008

The boys figured their bodies would bring in more customers...

Relay for Life 2010 -- Putt Putt was our groups way of raising money

Animals are also a huge passion of mine, and I participate yearly in my local SPCA's Pet's on Parade. They don't have all the info available for the April event, but, you can bet as soon as they do, I will be signed up.

Pets on Parade 2010

Since May 2011 I have been spearheading the Kidney for Kristy campaign to help my cousin Kristy raise the $5000 she needs (among other qualifications) to get her on the Kidney transplant list. Between what we have raised online ($1947) and the donations she has received in the Wells Fargo account, she currently needs less than $1000 to meet her goal, SO, *insert shameless plug*, if you might have anything you could spare, please please consider donating securely online via link I posted for Kidney for Kristy. She is SO close.

Beyond those 3 main causes that I am active with, I keep myself busy with various other causes including but not limited to:

Church events

Sponsoring kids and/or families for the holidays

Various events such as Heather's Hope, Light the Night, & Great Strides

Coordinating a monthly visit between the young adults ministry at my church and the children at Florida Baptist Children's home. We visit those sweet kids once a month and they make sure a difference in our lives.

Leading efforts to help those in need (for instance, last year I found out a friend and former coworker of mine was struggling getting supplies and clothing needed for back to school for her 3 children. My friend and her husband had both been laid off and were really struggling at that time. I recruited some help and was able to get clothing, book bags, and the supplies that family needed).

As you can see, non profit and helping others is a big part of my life. It brings me such joy. Indescribable joy. Helping others is what makes my heart swell.

As for being my best self in 2012? It is my goal to get my project, A Charitable Community off and running. I've registered the domain name, I just need a designer to help me get the site up and running (know anyone?). This project is part of the reason I am now accepting sponsors for a small fee. All proceeds go to helping me get this site running. I want to help connect those who want to help with those in need of help. I want to help us all become more charitable.

Who is with me? We can make this world a better place. One person, one change at a time.

.photo credit.

Don't forget if you haven't entered yet to win a SHINE shirt

you still have time. CLICK HERE.

Thankful Thursday V5.1

2012-01-05T01:00:00.002-05:00

Can you believe I have been doing Thankful Thursday link up's for 5 months now?!

Yup! I have!

That's what the V5.1 stands for. We are in the fifth month and first Thursday.

Where does time go?!

If you've never linked up before, I hope you will take a button and link up. I love to read what everyone is thankful for. I keep the link up open for a week so you can link up any time between now and NEXT Wednesday.

Grab a button above and link up!

This week I am thankful for:

♥ Our New Home! My husband and I closed on our first home last Thursday. If you haven't read about it yet, I blogged some pictures and details on Thursday's post New year, New home.

♥ Amazing friends that are willing to give us their time and energy as they help us clean and paint our new home so we can move in sooner. Even with it being NYE weekend we had friends come over on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday to help. We are so Blessed.

♥ A free washer & dryer. Thanks Em!

♥ The 'before' photo's that were taken of our home by our great friend DaisyJo

♥ A healthy NYE baby. Congratulations to my friend K & her hubby J.

♥ fun times at my annual NYE bonfire, getting to spend NYE with my friend Mo who drove into town for the night. And an amazing brunch with her and Sara on New Years Day.

♥ Returning to work after 12 unpaid days off. The time off is good, the no pay is not. It happens around the holidays every year at my company. I work in political research and the call center is shut down during that time.

2011 Recap Quarter 3 July-September

2012-01-04T11:38:00.002-05:00

I know we are in 2012 now, but I must finish my 2011 recap. Today we have Quarter 3, July through September.

July

Mo wanted to experience Boots before moving

1) Spring Hill visit to see Cars 2 2) ET & JB return to work 3) Ms. Milly bday 4) Em's bday

In July I blogged about:

8 weeks to a better me recap

July 5th (Happy Birthday Mommy)

Wedding Pics - Reception

Spontaneous Praise from my BIL - sweet words from my Brother in Law

Saturday Funday (a high school friendship)

Kidney 4 Kristy & 4Paws4Love

Like my mother does.. (a post about my Mommy)

Accountability & PSA (about texting and driving)

Wedding Pics - photo booth

Scheuermann's Disease (week of inspiration)

Inspiration Day 2 (about a bride that was paralyzed by an accident at the Bach party)

Inspiration Day 3: Praying for Zoe (my friend's little sister)

My Very 1st Giveaway (a $20 target giftcard)

Inspiration Day 4: Remission from Leukemia (2 of my best friends)

It's not goodbye, It's see you later. (a friend moved)

A Friend's Baby Bump

Tire Vent Fest

30 Day Husband Appreciation Challenge

August

AMI Girls Weekend

Kidney 4 Kristy Car Wash raised about $300

this kitten found a furever home through the SPCA thanks to me :)

In August I blogged about:

Doppleganger (my twin?)

The Gift Of Life (help my cousin get a kidney)

Dress Hoarding

Top 10 Tuesday: Vacation Pics

A Parisian Baby Shower

10 years ago today... (I lost my Mommy)

The Story of a Yellow Butterfly (they remind me of my Mom)

Drop a day of school?

Working at the car wash! (K4K carwash)

AMI 2011 Recap (girls weekend)

Blacked out football games

Fender Bender (what happened to my car?!)

A Kitten Rescue (he later got adopted out)

Where are my medical records? (my back records were lost in transit)

September

In September I blogged about:

Thankful Thursday V1.1 (my 1st TT link-up)

Eating Organic

This is the stuff... (that drives me crazy! One of those days)

Your X-rays are really scary (Doc always reminds me how messed up my back is)

My exciting news (started the house hunt)

Ovarian Cancer is NOT a silent killer

A-Z of me

Domestic Violence, a silent killer

A Teacher Remembers (my 3rd grade teacher remembering me)

Heather's Hope (a 5K to raise awareness about Domestic Violence)

The Joy FM 25th anniversary concert (I got free tix via twitter!)

2011 Recap

Jan-March

April-June

New Year, New Home

2012-01-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Before I get into some of the awesomeness of our new home, I wanted to give you a quick recap of New Years Weekend. Thursday my husband and I closed on our very first home together. YAY! Friday we drove about 30 minutes to his uncles new home (they closed a few days before us) as they had an entertainment center and dresser as well as some pots and pans that they were giving us. You can't beat free! :) Then we spent the rest of the day doing some running around and cleaning at the house. Saturday was NYE and I had my annual NYE bonfire, at my Dad's house. I did not want to start my new life in a new home by throwing a party and being loud... I'd like to at least meet the neighbors first before I just bound into the neighborhood having parties. Haha! A good friend of mine drove up from Port Saint Lucie and me and our gang of girlfriends met up at a local owned restaurant for some good food and catching up. We had a party of 8! Afterwards we all drove by my new house as many of the girls had yet to see it. On Sunday I attended church and then met up with two friends for brunch at Cracker Barrel (mmm) before my friend had to drive back home. The rest of Sunday and Monday was spent at the new house, cleaning some more. On Monday I also got to meet my friends NYE baby as she gave birth on Saturday and got to come home Monday. It was a good weekend :)

A) bonfire B) Mo, myself and Sara C) My Hubby & I NYE D) Brunch on New Years Day

Now, as for the new home.... I have a ~~few~~ ton of pics to share with you. And keep in mind these are all before photo's. There is a lot of work that needs to be done.

Closing Date was 12/29/11

A) LONG Driveway B) Lots of Shady Trees C) Part of Backyard D) Our Home <3

A) open floor plan B) Living Room C) Kitchen D) Dining Room

Living Room/Front Door

Pool

L) remake of photo below R) fun with our security system

.photo credit.

I am can't wait to share everything with you all as I make this house a home.

GIVEAWAY - The Shine Project

2012-01-01T09:42:00.002-05:00

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

Happy New Year Friends!

I am excited to kick of the new year with an amazing giveaway. I am super excited by this one as I absolutely adore Ashley, and her mission. She has an amazing heart, and is changing the world, one small step at a time.

If you've never checked out her blog, The Shine Project, I highly recommend you take a minute today to swing by. You will be touched. She is raising money for inner city high school students to help pay for their first year of college. She is in the process of making The Shine Project an official non profit organization and I am excited to follow all of her next steps and successes that will be coming in 2012.

Today, I want to offer one lucky reader the opportunity to win a SHINE shirt of their choice.

My personal favorite is the yellow be the change one :)

GIVEAWAY ONLY OPEN TO US AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS!

As for the (many) ways to enter:

You can enter now (January 1st) through January 14th winner will be announced on Sunday the 15th

1. Become a follower of Brown Eyed Bell(e) with Google Friend Connect. To do so, you can click JOIN THIS SITE on the right hand side of the screen and follow it with your google/blogger, twitter, yahoo, or AIM login info) and then leave a comment below letting me know you are following me. NOTE: If you are already a follower, just leave a comment letting me know. That is your entry. You MUST do this entry first in order to be eligible for other entries.

You can also earn other entries by doing the following:
2. become a follower of Ashley's blog, The Shine Project
3. become a follower of my pet blog 4Paws4Love
4. update your status on facebook with the link sending people here to this contest
5. LIKE Brown Eyed Bell(e) on facebook
6. LIKE 4Paws4Love on facebook
7. LIKE Kidney for Kristy on facebook
8. blog about this contest, with a link sending people here
9. tweet about this contest, with a link sending people here. If you do so please use the following tweet: @heatherlc02 from Brown Eyed Bell(e) is giving away a Shine shirt from @TheShineProject
Check it out! http://browneyedbell.blogspot.com/2012/01/giveaway-shine-project.html
10. Follow me @HeatherLC02 OR Ashley @TheShineProject on Twitter

In order to qualify PLEASE remember to leave a separate comment for each entry that you do.

That's TEN (holy cow!) ways you can enter!!

GOOD LUCK FRIENDS :)

***

when you enter, please use a name because if I have 10 anonymous entries, and 1 wins, it will be hard to narrow the winner down if no email was provided.

***

GIVEAWAY ENDS SATURDAY JANUARY 14th @ MIDNIGHT!

Year in Review Quarter 2 April-June

2011-12-30T07:51:00.000-05:00

If you missed it yesterday, because I edited the Thankful Thursday post in the afternoon, RYAN AND I ARE OFFICIALLY HOMEOWNERS! We closed on our 1st home yesterday... I can't wait to share it with you, as well as the before and after photo's as we get to work on it!

If you missed the January - March 2011 review, click here. As for today, it's time to venture from April through June.

from left to right we have:

a) Relay for Life 4-8-11

b) my 1st renaissance festival 4-9-11

c) Walk for Cystic Fibrosis 4-30-11

d) Rehearsal Dinner 4-14-11

Some of the things I blogged about in April were:

A Day in The Life of Me

Bachelorette Recap

A Blessing in the Mail (a letter that my sisters adoptive mother wrote with memories of MY mom)

The Night Before... (my wedding day)

Wedding Bells Rang

The Irony of a first birthday (a post about the death of one infant as another celebrates a birthday)

Project 31 Finale

Couponing 101

Welcome to the family, Bullseye (yup! I kept the dog!)

Left: I got bangs!

Right: Beach Trip 5-21-11

Stuff I blogged about in May included:

Dear Mommy (a letter to my Mom)

A Childhood Dream Lost (a post about my dream of being a wrestling manager)

Wedding Pics - Rings, Flowers, Dress

A Special Christmas Present (about a gift I sent my sister)

Hair Help Thursday (need hair advice)

9 years ago... I graduated High School

Beach Bound & Shark Found

2 months ago.... a post about Bullseye

Something Old, New, Borrowed, & Blue

Girl Power on Biggest Loser Finale

Around the house

GUEST POST - Between the Lines

Our Wedding Video

from left to right we have:

a) Bullseye after playing 6-15-11

b) Chico after playing 6-15-11

c) MIL and myself at a funny hat party 6-11-11

d) Dad & Hubby at our yard sale 6-4-11

Some of the stuff I blogged about in June were:

Fabulous Friday (my 1st time after taking over from Laura at Between the Lines)

Yard sale and car wash fun

Over eating out

Mileage for thought (and now I am at 119,000)

Wedding Pics - Portraits & Bridal party

Pain, pain, go away (a post about my back and neck)

No Foot is too small to leave an imprint on the world... (a post about a fellow blogger who lost triplets)

Google let me down (a story of getting lost)

Double Rainbow

Wedding Pics - Ceremony

Cutest Couple Contest (we came in 3rd place!)

Humbled by my eye

MORE WEDDING PICS - group shots, parents, bridal party

Congenital Heart Defects

Thankful Thursday V4.5

2011-12-29T00:03:00.001-05:00

This past week I have been so thankful for the holiday season. Christmas is such an amazing holiday. We are celebrating the birth of our Savior! I'll keep with a seasonal theme for this weeks Thankful Thursday as we wrap up the year.

I am thankful for:

♥ Christmas Lights

.photo credit.

♥ Christmas Carols

My MIL Christmas Carol Sing A Long list

♥ Christmas Goodies such as Puppy Chow which is now actually on the market by Chex Mix!

I was delighted when I saw a friend eating these!

♥ Extra time with loved ones.

PR side of the family always dresses up for their Christmas Eve party. LOVE IT!

don't have many pictures from 2011, so shared 1 from Christmas Eve '10 and Girly Christmas Potluck '10

♥ My 1st married Christmas

And, it won't be official until about 11am today, but if all goes well, I will have one more amazing thing to be thankful for... and I will make an edit to this post after the fact!

EDIT: It's official. Ryan and I closed on our very 1st home! YAY!

Bible in a year...

2011-12-28T09:32:00.000-05:00

I know I've mentioned it before, but I figured as the year ends I'd mention it again, just in case anyone has decided to join up with me.

In 2012 I'd like to read through the entire Bible in one year.

I've never read the entire Bible, so I am excited of this challenge. And I am quite aware that as it will be fast paced. But, I still want to do this.

I had actually grabbed a copy of The One Year Bible, the entire New Living Translation arranged in 365 daily readings for $2 at my newest favorite book store, and was quite excited by that find....

and then, last Sunday (Christmas) as I was sitting at church, reading over our bulletin, this caught my eye:

2012 is almost here! We are excited for new opportunities for spiritual growth in the coming year. We're asking God to make 2012 a year of Mobilizing our Church for Growing and Going. So get Growing and take the Read through the Bible in a Year challenge. The schedule will be printed each week in our Worship Guide.

And just like that, not only was I planning to read through the entire Bible in a year, but many members of my church as as well. Which means I will have multiple accountability partners.

THIS IS GREAT!

Can we say God's perfect timing?

I am so excited to start this challenge on January 1st, and while I realize it will be a tough one, finding the time each day in our already busy lives, I hope that maybe one or two (or more) of my followers will join me in this challenge. I had thought about doing a weekly link up but wasn't sure how many would actually want to participate. Then I thought maybe instead of doing a Bible in a year link up, I'd just do a general link up of what God is teaching you this week, or what you've read in the Bible this week.... What do you all think? Opinions please. :)

Also, if you missed it yesterday, and need a dose of cuteness, check out my 4Paws4Love Pet Blog to see my furbabies newest sweaters!

Also linking up for the 1st time with Women living well Wednesday's

Also linking up with my friend Erin for What I Wednesday... as technically, this Wednesday, I am telling you what I am planning to do in 2012. :)

Year in Review Quarter 1 Jan-March

2011-12-27T21:50:00.000-05:00

I like to recap my year(s) as I think it will be something fun to look at down the line. I know I'll always cherish my blogging days as it's an easy way for me to pull up awesome memories, which is an amazing tool for someone like me with a horrible memory when it comes to certain things (other times I remember the most minuscule things).

If you'd like to check out my 2010 recap you can view Quarter 1, Quarter 2, Quarter 3 and Quarter 4.

Anyways, I figured I'd do my 2011 recap in quarters as well, so here we go with the first quarter, January through March.

Clockwise we have:

a) Ryan and I on 1/1/11 just after midnight.

b) Ryan's uncles from Illinois were in town, goofballs

c) My Dad and I at WinterJam 2011

d) Ashley & I at WinterJam 2011

All of the above photo's were part of two engagement photo shoots that took place in January

Some of the things I blogged about in January were:

Project 365

Remembering Ms. Glenda

Wedding Plan Checklist

Project 31: Celebrate your beauty

What makes ME uniquely me

Inspired Beauty AF & SH

Thank You, Jesus

The above photo's were taken when DaisyJo and I went to visit one of Ryan's friends baby goats.

The above photo's, though self explanatory are from a trip to the Zoo

Some of the things I blogged about in February were:

Jaded Beauty

Beauty runs in the family (a post about my cousin)

The inevitable, change

A way to move forward (about forgiveness)

DIY Poms

DIY Vintage pics in mason jar

Surprises. Tanner. & my sister

One year ago, I said yes

happiness is...

shoe love and thrifting

A Variety of Causes

A letter... (to my husband)

All of the above were taken at my Bridal Shower :)

Some of the things I blogged about in March were:

turn signals and wrist bands

community needs

Happy Birthday to me :)

& she said yes (bridal shower recap)

How I want to be remembered

My Day... (the day I found Bullseye)

From one inspiration to another (a blog about weight loss)

Insecurities as a woman

Introducing Bullseye

That's MY recap of January through March.... April through June coming soon.

Are you recapping YOUR year on your blog? If so, be sure to leave me a comment, I'd love to read!

Christmas Recap - Word Version

2011-12-26T23:09:00.000-05:00

HI FRIENDS! :)

This post is coming to you live from my comfy bed via my brand new IPAD2!!!

Yes... I typed that right. My husband and my Dad went in together to purchase me an iPad and I couldn't be more thrilled. As you may have read in previous posts, I was debating between an iPad and a Kindle Fire. My husband decided that an iPad would be best suited for what I wanted it for (blogging purposes included) AND on top of this already awesome gift, my husband and father in law went in together and bought me an amazing case that includes a keyboard ran off blue tooth. HELLO! Now, when I attach it to the keyboard, it truly is like a tiny laptop. PERFECT for blogging as I am doing at this very moment.

I am titling todays blog post the "word version" because honestly, I was a bad blogger over the weekend and didn't capture very many pictures. I caught a few on my cell but I am utterly exhausted and don't feel like uploading them just yet, so I will scour family facebooks for photo's I can borrow, as well as upload my pictures sometime this week and share them with you all.

As for the past few days?

Thursday was my husbands birthday, as most of you know from the Thankful Thursday post I did. We have been so blessed to both have off Thursday - today, together. On Thursday we went out to breakfast to Cracker Barrel with three of our friends to have a birthday breakfast. Mmm... Then he did some last minute shopping (an iPad maybe?) with his friends, while I did the same, we ended the night at another friends house. I didn't get him anything super big for his birthday this year, he wanted a new tap out shirt, so that's what I got him.

Friday we did more last minute shopping, together, and then went on a double date with some of our friends to Abuelo's. Before the double date, Ryan and I went to Picasso's cup and painted an ornament together. We decided to start collecting an ornament for each year starting with this Christmas since it was our 1st married Christmas. We chose a house to paint since we are in the process of buying our first home (again, more to come on that soon). We had a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see our finished ornament once it's all glazed and fired. Gotta love pottery. We also drove around and attempted to look at Christmas lights after dinner, however were disappointed in the lack of lights in neighborhoods we thought would be lit up!

Saturday (Christmas Eve) was filled with visiting family. I started the morning off by taking a mini Christmas tree out to the cemetery for my Momma :) My best friend from high school asked if she could go with me since she hasn't been in years... so we did that and then I ran with her to buy a gift for her new boyfriend :) Ah, young love! :) then my husband and I got ready to head out to our 1st stop. My Dad came with us and we headed to Ryan's granny's house in Riverview. There we enjoyed finger foods (my personal favorite was home made cuban sandwiches), singing Christmas caroles around the piano, and a White Elephant gift exchange. Afterwards, we headed over to one of my cousin's houses in Valrico (they conveniently only live about 10 miles away from Ryan's granny). There we enjoyed more food (my favorite was ethnic rice and beans), karaoke, and another White Elephant gift exchange.

Sunday (CHRISTmas day) was not what I was hoping for, but regardless, it was an incredibly blessed day. I suffered from a horrible migraine (to the point that it made me sick) for half of the day. I woke up around 5am and could already feel the pressure building in my neck. I took an excedrin migraine and went back to sleep with the icepack under my neck. When I woke up at 8am I felt better. My husband and I got ready for church, and I felt fine through church. After the service, when we stepped outside, I was immediately effected by the sunlight. Migraine was back a long with sensitivity to light. BOO! We ran by the cemetery again (I found a beautiful butterfly ornament that said Mother and 2011 on it and I wanted to hang it out on the tree I took to the cemetery the day before) and then ran home to change really quick and grab my Daddy. We then all headed over to Ryan's parents house. We are all so blessed to live within a 5 minute radius of each other, and also blessed that are families get a long so well and that my Dad feels comfortable attending all of their functions. It's an amazing blessing for us to all be so close. Once we were there, we enjoyed Spanish Beef Stew that his mom whipped up in the crock pot while she was at church. Spanish Beef Stew is one of our favs (enough to the point tha we requested it for our rehearsal dinner back in April) and as always it was delish, but, my migraine was still building up. It was getting to the point that I was nauseas. We were supposed to be heading to Orlando to finish our evening off with my cousin Kristy and her parents. That never happened. :( As we opened presents at my in-laws, and I held an icepack to my neck and face, I finally got to the point where I had to excuse myself to the bathroom and get sick :( HORRIBLE. From the bathroom floor I called my Aunt and told her what was going on, and that I wouldn't make it. SO SAD. I proceeded to join everyone in the living room as they unwrapped the last few gifts, and then I asked Ryan if he could run me home, like ASAP, and then come back to his parents to gather presents, etc. I just needed to get home right then. I hate being sick to my stomach in front of others. Again, so blessed that we are less than a 5 minute drive away so Ryan rushed me home where I proceeded to get even sicker. UGH! NOT HOW I WANNTED TO SPEND MY FIRST CHRISTMAS AS A MARRIED WOMAN!! I sent my husband back to his parents to gather our things, and hang for a bit. I told him I was literally going to get sick, and crawl into bed as sleep was the only thing that would help this migraine go away, and that I'd rather him spend a bit more time with his parents and granny than sitting and watching me sleep. SO, he ran back down the street, my Dad stayed at home with me, and I did exactly as I said, got sick AGAIN, grabbed the ice pack, took another excedrin migraine, and cuddled up with Chico and Bullseye and slept. I slept for about an hour or two and felt considerably better when I woke up. I didn't feel well enough to chance my stomach on the drive to my Aunt's in Orlando but we did venture over to our EA (Emotionally Adopted) (<-- read more about our EA family by clicking that link) family's house to exchance gifts. We did that and they also offered us some home made Chicken Pot Pie which was perfect for my tummy. Our EA Dad was real sick as well and missed ALL of Christmas with his family. He couldn't get out of bed, so they post poned everything until this morning. I could tell Momma H was down, she said this was the 1st time in their 30 years of marriage that they spent Christmas apart, even if it was just by a bedroom. I checked in today, and he was feeling 10x better today and they were all able to do presents and eat together as a family :)As for my hubby and I today? I was also feeling MUCH better! We left for the Brandon mall early so we could get a ZAGG protective cover installed on my iPad before I do any damage to it :D I am horribly clumbsy with stuff and I want to protect my iPad as best I can. Afterwards we enjoyed a brunch at Sweet Tomatoes, which if you don't know what that is, it's an amazing buffet place that specializes in salads no less! They also have a soup and pasta bar. It's fresh and yummy! We then came home and I ventured to Orlando with my Daddy as he went to his sisters to fix her car and I got to hang with Kristy after dialysis since we missed each other on Christmas. My hubby went and enjoyed some video game time with his best friend. I am waiting for him to come home now, so we can cuddle up to a little TV time... maybe a little Everybody Loves Raymond?

Wow... I feel like I just typed a ton... hope it wasn't too boring! Pictures to follow... soon :)

I hope you all had a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and that you took time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. I can't wait to read everyone's Christmas posts.

I can say that while a migraine knocked me for a loop, I still had an amazing Christmas with loved ones and I just feel so incredibly blessed. I am a lucky woman. I am loved unconditionally by so many, and best of all, that includes my Savior Jesus.