Snow fun

So the snow is still here.

When David and I walked outside, the snow came up to my knees!! I'm not joking either. We got a ton of snow for Tulsa.

I was banned from going anywhere on thursday, because the weather was so bad. So when David got off of work, he came home and took me out. We went to get our Christmas tree and managed to get back right before the weather started to get really bad.

Danny decided to come over since he didn't have anything to do, so we got to hang out with him for a little bit, which was fun. They boys braved the weather to go get us some Thai food from just down the road, since we didn't have anything outside.

When Danny left, he wasn't gone for 10 minutes before he called and said that he was stuck in the snow. He was stuck right down the road! He didn't even get half a mile before he got stuck. I guess he decided to pull over becuase he couldn't see, and he pulled over to far. So we went and helped to bail him out, then followed him home to make sure he was ok. Since there was virtually no one on the road, I asked David if this was a good time to teach me how to drive in the snow. (All the pics are from when we got to Danny's apartment)

Now, I've lived in tulsa for four years now, and it has snowed every year.

But it hasn't snowed like this.

So I got to drive back home, and that is when the adventure started!

David told me to turn onto a road, except for there wasn't a road there. So I turned, and we got stuck in the snow.

A good samaritan stopped and pushed us out, and we were good to go.

Then, going downhill, I started braking, and we spun clear to the other side of the road, and got stuck in the snow again. (Remember there were no cars out, so it was actually pretty safe, well, the snow was our only danger, and that turned out to be pretty soft) We had to wait a couple minutes for another car to drive by, but he stopped and happened to have rope to pull us out. Another good samaritan.

Then we drove by Applebees where David works, and we happened to see his managers cars there. So we stopped just to make sure they were ok, and they were, so we ventured on home. Well we hadn't been in the door for more than two minutes, when David gets a call on his cell phone from his boss, saying they were stuck in the snow!

The funny thing is, we were in David's little Toyota Corolla, and his boss had a big truck, and the other manager had a Jeep! But they needed the manpower, and since we had been helped so many times that night, we decided we had to go back and help them. It was actually kind of fun!

So today David and I started decorating our Christmas tree!

It was perfect out with the snow and everything, it really set the mood. So we sat in front of the tv, watched Polar Express, and started stringing popcorn and cranberries. They are turning out so good! :) We weren't able to finish, because David had to go to work, so we are going to try to finish it tomorrow.
This is me and David all bundled up in teh snow! I didn't realize how silly I looked! But I was in four layers of clothing so I was pretty warm. That picture of David alone up there, that is when he was begging me to go in. I think at that exact moment "PLEEEAAASSEEE!!!" Was the words coming out of his mouth.


And what you can't see in this picture is the big pile of snow I had in my hand ready to throw at him. I didn't do it of course, mostly becuase he was threatening me! :) What a great beginning to the winter season!

Baby it's cold outside!

Ok, so ONE day ago, I was outside, playing with a bouncy ball with Nathan. Today I'm inside, watching the snow fall.

Well I wouldn't call it snow just yet.

It's more like freezing rain, or sleet. Actually, I don't really know what it's supposed to be classified as, I was raised in Florida!

But the weather people have promised us that by morning, it should be snow.

A part of me is sad.

This fall has been beautiful! It's been between 70 and 80 degrees about all fall, and just gorgeous out!

But a part of me is happy!

Winter is here, my favorite time of the year! I dont mind the cold as much now that I've been living here for so long. It's really not that bad. It's the wind that really kills it. And we are supposed to get 10 inches of snow! We'll see if that happens. i never trust the weather men here.

***
We didn't get to go and get our Christmas Tree on tuesday because David ended up having to work from nine to five, and then we went out to eat at Olive Garden, and then the mall. Poor baby was so tired that we decided to go home and let him sleep. He fell asleep at 8pm! He was so tired. I was a little dissapointed, but I understood that he had to work.

So today, we went out to get some decorations, and I got the cutest ornaments!! We were going to get our tree, but it started pouring rain and then we didn't get a chance. So instead we went home and David got ready to go to work, and I got ready to go to Jess's. Me, Jess, Megs, Ashley, and Jess C were having a girls night out, but all the boys ended up being there anyways, so it just turned out to be a really fun get together.

I cooked chicken parmesan for everybody, and everyone seemed to like it. It was a lot of fun and just a good time of fellowship. We definately don't get together often enough like that with our busy schedules.

Well maybe tomorrow we will have a tree to decorate. I'll let you know!!! :)

It's Christmas Time!!!

Whew! I've been working now for eight days straight and I need a day off! I work on monday and then I get a nice four day break, so it was well worth it.

I have lots of plans for my four days off, so I'll be sure to write and take some pics as well. David and I are planning on doing our Christmas decorating on tuesday. I'm so excited! We are going to get a tree and decorate it as well. We have had to compromise on how our tree is going to be decorated, since we have come from two different backgrounds and ways of doing things. For instance his family always decorated in white lights, and we did whatever we felt in the mood to do each year. Sometimes multicolored, red, blue, or green, and often times we would string popcorn and cranberries to add to the decorations. So we compromised and are doing the popcorn and cranberries, as well as white lights. I still don't know what kind of ornaments we are going to get, but we'll figure that out when we go shopping. We have stockings that we made last year. I bought two stockings from the dollar store (where I bought all my christmas decorations, but they are so cute!) We decorated the stockings last year, with puffy paint and glitter and such. I decorated his and he decorated mine. They turned out so cute, so this year we decided we are going to continue the tradition. We are going to try to decorate something every year together. I think this year we are going to do ornaments, or maybe picture frames. It'll be fun.

It's fun to think that now we will be starting our own christmas traditions and ways of doing things as a family. What makes it so fun is that it's a blend of how we both were raised and grew up. I'm sure some things will stick with us forever, and some things we will drop. It'll sure be fun to find out!!

A thanksgiving to remember

So I know I'm a little late with wishing a happy thanksgiving, but for good reason!

David and I spent our first thanksgiving together working at Mimi's Cafe. Michelle let him work as a food runner, because we needed an extra person. It was so much fun! That did make me his boss for the day, but you wouldn't have even known it. We worked so well together and it really did make the day go by quicker.
***
Funny story - I do have to admit, when I was bending over to put some plates in the bustub, and I felt a hand go briskly across my tooshie, I was abit taken back!!! Only to blush to realize it was my husband! Then I went over and whispered, you better be careful, that's sexual harrassment! We both giggled and went our seperate ways.
***
We ended up doing 21,415 dollars!!!!! That is an insane amount of money! Just to give you a picture... on a monday, we do about 4,000 dollars. On a friday, we do about 11,000 dollars, and on a sunday, we do about 13,000 dollars. So a 21,000 dollar day was just insane! We went to work at 10am, and we left at 9:45pm. At the end of the shift, Michelle had the cooks put all the leftover food in the slide, so we could all get something to eat, and she gave everybody who worked a double a whole pie to take home that was leftover. So Dave and I scarfed some food down and then went home and took a nice, long, hot bubble bath. I think we went to bed earlier than we have ever gone to bed before, 11:30. We were exhausted and slept like little babies!

It was definately not a traditional thanksgiving, and probably not how we would have wanted to celebrate it, but in the end, we were thankful for being able to spend it together and not apart.

We have a lot to be thankful for this thanksgiving, and we hope you are counting your blessings to. :)

Praise the LORD!!!

HALELUJAH!!!

I don't know what else to say, every time I think of the Lord's faithfulness I am overwhelmed that I just want to cry!

It's funny how things work out in HIS timing, only when He knows it will be good for us.

I have been doing management shifts for... well I went into training in January, but before that had done management shifts to help out here and there. It was explained to me that there was not a salary spot open, but she definately wanted me on her team, and once a position became available, it would be given to me.

So I worked.

And I worked.

I put all my effort into becoming a good manager. Learning how to listen to people better (cause people like to vent a lot if something went wrong) learning how to multitask better, learning how to be a better leader. I even learned things I didn't want to know, like how much ketchup we actually put into our meatloaf (and boy is it a lot!) and how much hidden fat is in a lot of products. Let's just say i know what to eat and what not to eat!

Well if you've been doing your math, January to now would make 11 months of being a manager, but not on salary.

That's a long eleven months.

A lot of people told me that I should leave, or that my manager was pulling one over on me, or that if I hadn't gotten it by now, I probably was never going to get it.

Read that again. What does it make you think of?

Bitterness.

There was a lot of opportunities to get bitter. But I refused! I kept thinking "don't despise the day of small beginnings." "trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he would direct your paths"

It was hard at times. I didn't want to be bitter! I love my job, and I have one of the greatest managers in the world. The Lord really guided me during these past eleven months.

So, if you haven't been able to tell already, she offered me salary this week!!

YEE HAW!!!! (that's Oklahoman for "i'm excited")

So I haven't even gotten to the really cool part yet.

***
I have this wonderful, hardworking husband who was raised to believe that the man should be the provider and the breadwinner for the family. (isn't he great?) It's scriptural, and I believe it as well.

But that belief has put a little bit of strain on us. Maybe strain is the wrong word. It wasn't a bad thing, you could just tell how hurt he was that my paychecks were more than his, and that my job was the job that was bringing in the most income.

I didn't care, I mean, we have no children, we're both working and saving money, it's not like he had no job! But that little voice in the back of his head kept telling him otherwise.

So here's the cool thing: after working really hard, and in a very short amount of time, he was offered a salary management position on tuesday!!!

Why is this so cool to us?

No it's not the money. It's the fact that he got it before me. It's almost like the Lord knew it would be a blow if I was on salary making even more than I was before. So we rejoiced when he got salary, and I know the rejoicing when I got salary was genuine from him. (he picked me up and spun me around a couple times while I screamed and kicked my feet) And let me tell you something else. All the pressure I had before about going to work, getting enough hours, bringing home enough money... BYE BYE!!!

What a relief!!

Needless to say we had a lot to be thankful for this Sunday at church, and we both shed a couple of tears, and cheerfully and thankfully put our tithe in the offering bucket. The Lord really has "thrown open the floodgates of heaven and poured out so much blessing that we haven't room to contain it all"

Lately my prayer has been that he would show me how to be a good manager. I remind myself that he had 12 people under him, to lead, guide, delegate, manage, and encourage. He did the same job I have!!! :)

God is good, and so faithful. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

It's my Mom's birthday!!! If your reading this, it was probably her birthday yesterday, on Nov. 17th, and no, I didn't forget. I just didn't have time to blog!!! I was looking over some pictures I have of my mom and I, and I couldn't help but remember all the good memories we have had together over the years. Here is us with Renee, my SIL, and her little boy Benjamin. It was actually taken at a family reunion. The next one is my mom and I. This is kind of a funny story. She had come to visit me in Tulsa and we were in a store shopping, and I saw these great pink cowgirl hats. So I grabbed one, put it on, stuck one on my mom and said, quick, lets take a pic! And we did! Right there in the store, then we ran away and giggled like little girls!
My mom was a huge help in my wedding to. I don't think i could have done it without her. She was the one thing that kept me going. She let me talk out all the problems with her, and devoted a considerable amount of time to making sure things went off without a hitch. And they did! Our wedding was so beautiful, and I will always be thankful for the role she played in it, even though she had to be so far away for much of it.
It's been hard to live far away from her and the rest of my family, but I know she is only a phone call away if I need her! I love you mom! Happy birthday!!!

Freedom is not free

I consider myself to be pretty patriotic. My grandfather served in the United States Air Force for twenty years and retired as a lieutenant Colonel. My brother served in the United States Marine Corps and fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But having family members in the service don't necisarily make you patriotic, but it does help in instilling patriotism in you.
One of the big things that made me really thankful for America was when I went on a missions trip to Ghana, West Africa. They were thankful for clothes on their back, for the little food that they got to eat every day, for shoes that didn't have holes in them, and what joy they still had! No tv's, no cell phones, only radios, and not digital ones. Dirt roads, cars that looked like they were from the fifties. They had nothing and yet had everything. I mean, when they bought a coke at the store, they had to bring the bottle back! People don't realize the freedoms we have, and often times they get taken for granted. I mean, how many people in this election voted? Do they realize that just this year Iraq got to vote for the first time? Women's rights? We have SO MANY rights. Women in Iraq can't even show their face, or leave their house without a man. They only recently were able to start attending school. We can go to school or get a job. We are free to ride bikes in the street and to play sports. Americans have so much freedom. I mean, in mexico, they aren't even allowed to protest, yet they can come to America and do it, because that's their right.
How did we get these rights?

WE FOUGHT FOR IT.

We fought for our independence, we fought to keep it, and we fought to be able to practice our own religion. Everything we have now is a cumilation of years of men fighting for what they believed in.

We are free because they put their life on the line. Someone once said that their are only two men who were ever willing to die for you, Jesus, and the soldier.

My friend sent this to me, and I thought it would be appropriate for this veterans day. Pray for the peace and safety of our soldiers, as well as their families here in America.


Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.
He stays up for days on end.
You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water
You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward
You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt
You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags
You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.
Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.
You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.
You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet
You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.
You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.
You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.
You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does exactly what he is told.
You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.
You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be awakened by gunfire.
You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.
If only there were more men like him!