head

so, seven days later, three and a half days sick from work, almost half a bottle of excedrin migraine, two rounds of migraine medication, two trips to the doctor, one shot in the arse of demerol, 16 straight hours of sleep....and a vicodin prescription later, my head feels better. i feel better today than i have in the last week. we'll see how the weekend goes.

for just such a time as this

since mat has been working weekends at the downtown property, we haven't made it to church for a few weeks. i know, i'm fully capable of driving up to lafayette by myself and attending church alone, i have just been making excuses to myself about why i can't or don't want to. the last couple weeks it's been homework; this week it's my head. i got a killer migraine friday and just wanted to chill at home all weekend. however, since i've been sleeping so much, i woke up when mat did this morning, around 7. rather than laze on the couch, which has been my spot the last two days, i decided to get caught up in my journaling, transfering my sermon notes into my journal and reflecting on the messages and lessons from the past couple months (and i'm finally caught up, and i finished my journal! big day!) it's been a good morning spent with God, absorbing a lot from my notes over the past while. then, after i finished that, i decided to get caught up on the messages we missed and watch them online. last weeks was really good; it was all about esther and how she leveraged her circumstances and wrong decisions into something better for God.
Esther 4:14 "If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. What's more, who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for just such a time as this." esther may have made some wrong choices in her decision to join the kings harem, but she could have forfieted any significant plans or purposes for her life and believe that she was just "eye candy" for the king, that she was no longer qualified for God because of her moral compromises or failures. but mordecai gave her a higher definition for her crappy circumstances, he opened her eyes to see her purpose--for such a time as this.

the challenge extended is this: how can i leverage my current circumstances, resources, abilities, opportunities, even suffering and adversity for the things of God, to achieve God's purposes? and is it possible that, for just such a time as this, i am exactly where i am suppsoed to be? it was funny/ironic, during the message, scott was giving examples of being right where you are supposed to be and one of them was this "maybe you moved to colorado for a better quality of life, for better opportunities, but is it possible that maybe in moving to colorado, for such a time as this you are right where you are supposed to be?" that really spoke to my heart. it's been a hard time living here, leaving friends and family. it's hard for me to make new friends, new, good, encouraging, edifying friends like i have in montana. and over the past week, circumstances have arisen that have driven me and my closest friend out here further apart (an area that definitely requires prayer). however, what if, even in this hard, lonely situation, for such a time as this, i am exactly where God wants me to be, exactly where i am supposed to be? that is huge for me, that he has not forgotten about me and my loneliness, my longing for a good, true, deep, godly friendship. that he has put me exactly where he wants me to be, for just such a time as this.

and off of that, how can i leverage this current circumstance for his purpose? how can i use this time without the distraction that friendships can sometimes be to strengthen my marriage, my relationship with God, to encourage my friends at home who so desperately need encouragement and prayer. and how can i use this time of growing closer to those people as a time to be greatful for all the blessings i do have here in colorado, rather than simply seeing what i'm missing. this was an amazing message for me to listen to today. and even though i wasn't "in church", for just such a time as this, i was exactly where God wanted me to be.

for just such a time as this, i am called to shine. scott prayed for "hearts that can shine no matter what our circumstances are, for eyes to see from Your perspective, for a desire to pursue your heart no matter where we go and what happens to us." that is my prayer.

highlights

not a long post, still have more homework. just wanted to post a new picture. i rewarded myself (for finishing my paper early?) with some highlights this weekend. i went to the aveda school in denver, it was amazing. not counting having my aunt color my hair, this was my first professional hair coloring experience; it was awesome. so happy with the look!! i'm now ready for summer!!

taking a break

i'm taking a break from writing my paper. it's been a struggle to get this one written. not that i'm not interested in the topic, i'm just having a hard time finding conclusive evidence. i'm writing about the historical evidence for the ten plagues. it is for my history class, so i'm trying to make it scholarly and not just a Christian's perspective. i can't very well write my paper "i believe that the Bible is true, so i believe that they happened. The end" i probably wouldn't get a good grade. but i'm having a hard time finding sources that mention the plagues more than just a sentence here and there. but, i'll just keep trucking on. i have three pages written so far, and my first installment only has to be 4-5, so i'm almost there. (first installment, i have to write a review of my sources, second installment is the actual research paper. wahoo!)

i laugh at myself lately, when i'm checking my favorite people's blogs and there isn't anything new, and yet i hardly ever post anything on my blog. i feel like no one really finds me interesting, and nothing interesting really happens in our lives. we got our console table friday and mat built it yesterday; it look really great in our entry way. i worked almost a 50 hour week last week. we were busy with end of month stuff, so i offered to work longer hours. i don't mind the overtime one bit, there is just stuff around here i'd like to get done (and homework i should be doing) but my paycheck will be nice. i bought a couple new house plants yesterday, one is a palm tree to replace the one from our honeymoon i killed....that's right, i killed our love fern. but this one is much bigger, so hopefully it'll have a better chance. our house is amazing, we love it so much. and we have a washer and dryer in our basement which is, in my opinion, one of the bestest things about our new house. forget the investment (blah blah) and the equity (blah blah) and the garage and no more three flights of stairs..... we can do laundry in our own basement whenever we want. i can leave our towels in the dryer overnight, or for longer than ten minutes after the cycle is done, and no one steals them. it's truly amazing. (i'm easily amused, i just love them!!)

see, i just feel like a boring person. just the daily stuff that's not very interesting, but it's good for me to get some feelings out. to feel like my voice is being heard. to feel like someone is mildy amused at my mundane life. don't get me wrong, i love my life and the busy-ness it is, the choices i've made to make it what it is and what i'm working for it to be; i just feel like it is the same thing, different day kind of thing. but, i guess life is what you make it. i feel stagnant a little bit too; i feel like i'm busy with work and school and unpacking and settling in, but i haven't carved out the time for God in a l-o-n-g time. other than sundays, i'm not learning anything from God, i'm not being challenged by his word and his desire for me. that's something else i need to work on. make my life more God centered, rather than just busy. that'll be my challenge this week. let's see how i do.

new lookie

i need a new template, something more fun. anyone have any suggestions?

easter

you all know how much i love song lyrics to explain how i'm feeling and to set the tone for life lately. i finally remembered to bring my ipod to work on friday (yup, i can listen to my ipod at work.....awesome) this was one of the first cd's i decided to listen to, the robbie seay band, and this was one of the first songs i heard. i thought it fitting, being on good friday and all. i just love the lyrics and the images they bring to mind. and, most importantly, what they mean for us this easter weekend. enjoy.

Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore
Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified

Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul
In the fountain that flows
For you and for me and for all

At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night

On the hillside, you will be delivered
At the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that pours
From our blessed Savior's side

new house photographs

Photobucket Album

pictures...

to come soon, i promise. maybe even this afternoon. we'll see how ambitious i am.
oh, btw, i got a job. i start on monday. and, yes, it pays more than borders :)

T minus

23 hours......we pick up the moving truck at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
My family flies in this afternoon.
We will spend our last night in our stinky apartment tonite (it really is stinky, i think our building is having some sewer issues....yeah, that kind of stinky)
I can hardly contain my excitement.
Back to work (packing, taking my history exam, and more packing...wahoo!!!)

carly...

...can't wait to be in our new house..... ...but hates hates hates job hunting. help!!

house pictures

smiths lately

i think this'll work to share my photo album. if it doesn't let me know!

mapquest

just a thought...
is it sad that i just had to mapquest directions to our new house?
at least i don't have to look up the address too.....
inspection day. pictures to follow

fax machine

just killing some time, waiting for our mortgage application to be faxed, and this fax machine is incredibly incredibly slow. it stops in the middle of each page and waits........waits.......and then continues. and when your mortgage application is, like, 20+ pages, i figured i'd be here a while, so i thought i'd blog.
yeah, that's right, i did say mortgage application. we are buying a house!!! wahoo! i can't believe how fast it's all happening, but we needed it to happen fast. we knew we had to give 60 days notice, but wanted to stay in our apartment for another couple months so we could take our time and find a good house. but, going to a month-to-month rent, they were going to double our rent. therefore, we decided to put our money into a house rather than rent. so, we put in our notice, and the search began. we went and looked at houses last monday (the 14th) and let me tell you, we saw lots and lots of houses. some gave us the heebie-jeebies, if you know what i mean. they were so gross. but the last one we went to look at, the one our realtor said "i'm not really expecting much of this one, but we'll look anyway" was the house.....the house. it's amazing. three bedroom, two bathrooms, finished basement, big back yard, garage, everything. it was flipped by the previous owner, and everything in it is new and shiny and perfect. we are so excited. the house is in wheatridge, which is between golden (where mat works now) and denver. it's ten minutes from mat's work, and i'm already trying to find a new job (or two) closer to our house. i'm just so excited!!!
i'm glad to finally have a real reason to quit borders. i'm just silly like that, i feel too guilty just quitting. i like to have a reason better than "more money"....so moving is a great reason to quit. considering i'd spend my whole paycheck just on gas driving into boulder every day.... wouldn't make much sense. my manager is all excited to give me a transfer, but mat (and i) think it would be better for me to just cut my ties with borders here and now. he wants me to work at 24 hour fitness so we get a free gym membership....i applied yesterday. even something temporary while i do some more research and acclimate myself to the area, figure out what is close and all that jazz.
plus, school starts tomorrow, so i'll have my hands full the way it is. i'm taking three classes, nine credits. i'm taking an astronomy class (i need three more science credits and don't want to have to take a class with a lab.....) an american literature class (so i can read some of the books i never read in high school) and a western civilazation class (start at the beginning...) i'm hoping these classes will be less paper-heavy than my writing class was last semester so that i will have more time for the extra class.....we'll see how my logic goes.
so, we close on our house on the 13th of february (the house is totally on the brain!) and my family is coming out on the 16th..... how perfect is that? they had their trip planned anyway, bought plane tickets and everything. and now they get to help us move. (whether they want to or not!) oh my word, i'm just so excited. we get a basement. we get a back yard. we'll get mail delivered to the place we live. we have a kitchen that we both can be in comfortably. all my kitchen stuff will fit in the cupboards and not setting on the counters in corners. we have hardwood floor. ok, i'm done with house talk for now.
gotta do some moving/job research. we are having our inspection on thursday, i'll take some pictures and post them. and i'll try and post christmas pictures too. we had a good one. i'll write more on that later too.....

from the inside out

From The Inside Out
by Hillsong United

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

********************

this is an amazing song that we began singing a few weeks ago at church. i wrote down snippets of the song all over my program. i've been meaning to share it with y'all for a while now, just kept being busy with finals and christmas and all that. however, this song brought me to tears today as i was watching coverage of the memorial service held for the two YWAM staffers killed in arvada on sunday. since arvada is a mere fifteen minutes from our house, this story has been getting a lot of coverage this week. i first learned of the first shooting in church on sunday, when our pastor alluded to it in his sermon, something about life not being fair, i think. it initially went in one ear and out the other, as it was more a side comment and we didn't watch the news that night. however, when checking in on some blogs i read on monday morning, i learned that, not only did two shootings occur, both in arvada and colorado springs, but the one in arvada was at a YWAM dorm. since then, i have been keeping one eye on FoxNews, and my heart has been in constant prayers for everyone touched by this tragedy.
today, i clicked over to local news to find them doing a story on the memorial service for tiffany and philip. i wish i could find a link to share it with you, they did such a nice job (other than calling them y-yammers....) this song was the one playing in the background and it made me cry, sob even. it was so bittersweet to see their families and friends sobbing in grief, yet they all knew that tiffany and philip are now in heaven with their father. bittersweet is the best way to describe it. even the newscasters, with their unknown, seemingly indifferent manner of conveying this news story knew that these were great people who really did a great deal to make this world a better place. your light will shine when all else fades.

********************

Lord,
be with tiffany and philip's families in this difficult time. hold them within the shadow of your wings, comfort them as only you can. God, be with the rest of ywam denver during this difficult time of returning to the scene of this terrible tragedy, guide their healing process a long. give them strength as they leave for ourtreach in the next couple days, God. let them bring the mission and purpose of tiffany and phillip to the nations they are traveling to. God, just be close to them in this time of immense grief, yet rejoicing that they are home with you. be with them also as they deal with the forgiveness to be shown to matthew, arm them with your grace and forgiveness. be also with everyone at new life church in colorado springs, comfort them with your arms and hold them close to you. God, thank you for your comfort, for drying our tears and healing our hurts.
selah

frantic

two weeks of the semester left, i'm in crazy mode (aren't i always?!) however, my english prof made the rest of our assignments for the semester optional, with extra credit available, which takes some of the pressure off, but i could really use the extra credit, so the pressure is still on. but, if i bomb, at least my grade doesn't drop any more.....
montana was great. we saw so many people and had such a wonderful time. some highlights include:
my cousin, chloe sitting on my lap all during dinner out with the family.
my cousin, tommy, sitting on my lap period... he's at that age...
meeting my sister's boyfriend for the fleeting moment i did. he seems like a good guy.
watching the guy pee in front of our parking spot before going out with the girls.
seeing mysha.
spazmatic cryssy.
spending the night chasing shi-to-the-lo around bozeman. crazy girl.
first thanksgiving with mat's mom and sister, my parents, grandparents, sister, and the zegens.
watching tila tequila with the zegens?
seeing the zegens....!!!
all in all it was a good, busy long weekend. i'll post pictures after finals, i promise. i have to go make dinner now.... mat and i actually get to eat together tonite!! at a normal hour!! wahoo!

montana

heading out for montana tomorrow after work. i am so psyched.

a few of the planned highlights (in no particular order)
* seeing the zegens

* clintons concert

* wine with my girls

* seeing the whole family

* meeting my sisters boyfriend

* sushi with katie

* fake thanksgiving with mat's mom

* maybe going to journey church

i'll write more, and maybe even post pictures, when we get back

adios!

enough

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You're my sacrifice
Of greatest price
And still more awesome than I know
You're the coming King
You are everything
And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

some new pictures

thought i'd give you a peek into our lives as of late.... halloween and a couple other goofy ones.

fantastic punkin cake

at the msu game in greeley
me, sable and lauren, fellow ipt-ers at borders
lauren testing the "real-ness" of my hair
goofing around at the toy store.
--love the smiths

five weeks left

that's all i have to say about that
five weeks of the semester left

hot chocolate

I made hot chocolate tonight. Nothing exciting, it is cold out. However, one sip of this non-conventional, made with milk, hot cocoa made me remember Grandma Hannah. It tasted exactly the same as it used to when we visited her on Sundays. When my family still went to Bethel, we went to Grandma Hannah's apartment every Sunday after church and had hot cocoa and orange slices. Icebox cookies if we were lucky. I really miss those days. We would chat with Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Pete and Aunt Bonnie, and anyone else who would stop by. The more the merrier in her little place. It was great.
The hot cocoa tonight made me warm in more than one way.

lately

"there is nothing i am missing. i have everything i was supposed to have to experience the magnitude of this story, to dance wtih God." --don miller, through painted deserts

1 corinthians 7:29, the message
"i do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. there is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. keep it simple -- in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. even in ordinary things -- your daily routines of shopping, and so on. deal as sparingly as possible wtih the things the world thrusts on you. this world as you see it is on it's way out."

i need to simplify things. i need to slow down and enjoy the dance i am in with God. i need to simplify, get rid of, purge my life of things i don't need. not only in my "life", meaningless activities and time suckers. but also in my house, material things i thought i needed once and never really did. i have too much stuff, and i never seem to stop buying. and it's got to stop. my life and my heart and my house are becoming cluttered with so much "stuff" that i can't hardly see the light, the goodness, the simplicity that is sitting with God and soaking him in. reading and reflecting on that book really got me thinking of things i can do to ramp it down, step back and get rid of. i feel like i can't ever have enough stuff. i am beginning to think that my heart needs work too. do i have a greatful heart? am i truly thankful for the blessings we have: good jobs, a roof over our heads, groceries in the pantry, cars to drive, clothes to wear? or am i too caught up with the need to buy new things, have new clothes to take the tags off of, new shampoo, new card making things, a new book, new shoes? what is my heart: blessed, or greedy?

and what is my motivation for buying so much for other people? i know that one of my love languages is gifts, how i show i love people is by blessing them with things. but that's just it... they are just things. and is it really generosity that spurs me to buy things to send to my friends? is it truly a selfless, thoughtfull spirit? or is it a prideful, showing off, doing it for the thanks spirit? have i been hiding behind my "love language"; is it just another excuse to go shopping and buy more things?

what does simplicity look like? what does simplicity feel like? are my activities helping me love God more fully and bring more glory to him? what needs to change? "...i keep thinking about it, and how much i walk around with, about how life is a dance and God just meant for us to enjoy life...... it just seems like life would be better if we could just let go of the thought we need more and more stuff to be happy, more and more of the approval of others...." --don miller

thoughts

"Everybody has to change or they expire. Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons. I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes, so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it is time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, becuase a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently."
I just started reading another book by Don Miller, called "Through Painted Deserts" Lately I haven't been reading much nonfiction. I take that back.... I've been reading lots of nonfiction in the way of my psychology and english textbooks. Before school started, I was reading lots of fiction and lots about WW2. I haven't read a good, make me think, stir in my heart book for a while. I need to be reading something to help in those areas, to make me think about things other than works cited and neurons and stuff like that. My heart needs some major stirring, some introspection and some challenge. I have become lazy and apathetic about my faith lately. Too busy with school, too busy relaxing from school, too busy spending time with Mat. Not that any of those things are bad, I just need to work harder at growing, changing. I need to work on time management, so that I can more effectively be a wife, student, employee, and still spend time with God and my heart.
I have also started going to a Bible Study on Mondays. I was so excited that our church was starting a women's Bibles Study, and then when it was on my day off so I could attend, I got even more excited. We are studying a Beth Moore book called "When Godly People do Ungodly Things" I think it will be very challenging and stretching for me. And I'm also looking forward to becoming more involved in our church (which is huge....) and getting to know other Women of Faith. I am really looking forward to what God has for me in this study, with this group of women, in this church, in this time of my life.

Hebrews 10:24-25
"Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage and warn each other especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near."

nearly half way there

i finally got my letter from front range's transcript office. they finally got my official transcript from msu and transferred all my credits. i have 22 of 60 credits complete. and, knock on wood, if i pass my two classes this semester, i'll have 28, i'll be almost half way to my associate of arts degree. it's been slow going, but it's good to be able to check some classes off my required classes checklist and see where i'm at. i still have a lot in front of me, but i'm very encouraged with this letter.

tales from the synaptic gap

i never really know what to blog about once i start being more regular about it. it's easy when you only blog once every three months, then there is so much to update. but, now, everything up to date, i just want to stay in this routine of blogging. i'm sure i'll think of something.
i had my first psych test this weekend. i got an 80 on it. not too excited about that. mat keeps reminding me it's a B, but that isn't the good thing he says it is. it's good that we can drop our worst test grade this semester. it just means i'll have to work harder and study more. just what i have time for. one of my supervisors was asking me about school, psych especially. he knows how stressed out i am with school and all that, and i guess he was talking to his wife about it. she's going to be a neurologist, super smarty-pants, and she offered to tutor me for free in psych if i ever need the help. after taking my test, i think i might take her up on it! we'll see. i just don't feel like i understand any of it. we'll see if it gets easier or not. nice to know i have that option.
my parents came a couple weeks ago, over labor day, and i realized i probably didn't blog about their visit. it was a strange visit, it just seemed really strained. we rode back from the rockies game, and no one hardly said anything. if you know my family at all you know how unusual that is. the didn't ask about my school, they hardly asked about me being fired, it was just really strange and strained. like i had to keep thinking of things to ask them so there wouldn't be awkward silence. it really bothered me, i don't know what was wrong. i was a little disappointed too, after looking forward to their trip, it fell a little short of my expectations. bummer.
i decided to do the beth moore study. our church has a list on it, like craigslist, called flatironslist. i saw on there there was a beth moore bible study to be starting next week, and i have been thinking about going since then. i have decided to go. i think it'll be good for me to get out of the house on monday (my day off i usually spend studying) and meet some new women from our church. it'll be good for my heart too. really good. i'm really hoping there are some good young women in it that i can maybe make friends with. that is the hardest thing about moving. i wish it were easier for me to make new friends. the thing that's really hanging me up is that i know i don't want new friends, i want my old friends here. but, i just have to get over that and make the effort to make some new friends. it'll make me happier in the long run.

all i need

We have all we need in You
And all we need is You
All we need is You

Rich or poor God I want You more
Than anything that glitters in this world
Be my all, all consuming fire

You can have all my hands can hold
My heart, mind, strength and soul
Be my all, all consuming fire

All we need, all we need, all we need is You
All we need, all we need, all we need is You

conversation between me and one of my supervisors after work

shannon: "carly, i just want you to know i'm really glad you are back working here again."

me: "thanks. i still don't know how i feel about being back working here again, but that's just personal stuff."

shannon: "yeah, i know. that's why i wanted you to know i'm really glad you are back."

me: "thanks. it's nice to be somewhere i am appreciated."

shannon: "and you are. you are appreciated a lot here. at least by me!"

needless to say, that totally made my day. nice to hear nice things at work for a change, as opposed to getting in trouble for talking too much..... oh my word

on the bright side, here are the flowers my amazing rona sent me last weekend.....wait, last week. she couldn't have a drink with me, so she sent me the next best thing! i have the most amazing friend. she's awesome blossom, extra awesome......

luff you rona!

unemployed

so, i no longer have a job i hate. correction.... i no longer work at the doctors office. two fridays ago, i was fired. luckily, i had borders to fall back on. and to think, i was about to quit borders so that i only had one job. but, i guess the doctors office made that decision for me. i'm still really angry and frustrated, pissed off at the doctors office and their decision, frustrated because i don't want to be back at borders. i'm frustrated, but trying to be greatful that i at least have a job so that we can continue to pay the bills and, you know, live on our own. i'm trying to look for a new job, i just don't really want to. i want to wallow, to feel sorry for myself, to have a pity party, to just be angry and cry. and it's been two weeks. when will i get over this?

kids church

kids church was amazing tonight. usually, it's ok. the last few weeks, it's been hard because we've only had two adult leaders with thirty or so little kindergardeners and first graders running around. two of us trying to corrall thirty munchkins with endless energy. but tonight, we had six leaders with thirty new kindergarden and first graders, a much better ratio. it was much easier and less stressful. it was fun, i laughed so much tonight. tonight we promoted the kids, so there were new kindergardeners, new to our room. they were insane, totally hyper and off the wall. i set up don't break the ice no less than 50 times, only to have four crazy boys knock all the ice out in 2.2 seconds....... it was hysterical. and tonight in big group, it was so funny. we sang "your love is deep", which is, of course a slow and quiet song. but, over all the music and all the other little kidlets singing, you could hear one little guy yelling "your love is DEEP, your love is HIGH, your love is LONG, your love is WIDE" he was so excited to be singing that song.... so cute!! it was so much fun, such a good night. i'm sad that i probably won't be doing it for the next couple weeks..... if only they were all like tonight was! i am starting school on monday, and i'm still working at borders on saturdays, which leaves only a few hours to do homework, so i need to have a few weeks to guage how much free time i'll have. i hope i can spare a couple hours to keep doing kids church..... i love those little ones!!

i heart summer

ok mysha, you win. i will finally update my blog....... i wish i was better at this, i love journaling and talking to my friends...... which this fulfills both of those. however, i can't manage to keep up with this silly thing. oh well, better late than never. lots has changed since i last wrote here, so...... drum roll please. above is a picture of my wonderfully exciting birthday party.... yup, all three of the guests in attendance and myself.... wow, huh? it was fun tho, hanging out with my good friends. joy (the one with the funny look on her face...haha) took me out, andy and moe met us there. we had a lot of fun. a friend from my new job and her boyfriend came for a bit too, but mostly it was just the four of us. it was a fun night though.

oh yeah, my new job...... about that. i now work at a doctors office, it's ok. i really don't like it, but i'm trying to make the best of it. it's a strange office to work in, but there are a couple girls i really like, i get along with well, and get in trouble for talking too much to them almost every day. i feel like my boss is out to get me..... i can't do anything right. but, lets not dwell on my terrible job, because i'm going back to school!!

yay, school starts on monday. i am taking two classes online from front range community college, english and psychology classes. i am very excited to be going back to school and getting that much closer to my goal of being a counselor. i have a long long long long long way to go, but i'm at least working at getting closer every day i'm in school. that's a little mantra among me and a couple medical assistants at the drs office. they are also going to school, so for us, one day over is another day closer to our career goals, and one day closer to not having to work there......... wow, i sound terribly depressing about my job...... well....

here is a darling picture of mat and i on our wonderful vacation to tennessee. i know, it was forever ago but, hey, better late than never. it's my motto, esp with blogger..... we are at a place called rock city (google me!) at a scenic overlook where you can see seven states...... it was so beautiful. how do you like mat's western shirt..... nice, huh? this was at the rehearsal dinner, western themed..... perfect, huh?!? :) we had such a good week, hanging out with friends from high school, being there for joel and tay's wedding, and then being able to spend our anniversary in nashville. it was so relaxing and nice to spend the time together. especially considering how much time we won't be spending together coming up soon, with me working full time and taking two classes, and mat's promotion....

he's now the guest service manager at the townplace suites by mariott in broomfield co. it's amazing. he's finally in the position he's worked hard to be in, but he also knows where he want to be in one, five, ten years. and the company he's working for is a good company to have a career in, long term, lots of room for advancement. he really likes the company and he's working on beefing up his front desk staff so he won't have to work 17 hours days, seven days a week. yeah, i'm serious. but, it's ok. i know he has to put the time in sometime, and i'd rather he do it now than when we have kids and a family. plus, when he's working, i can actually update my blog..... :)

to close, here are some of the highlights of the summer:

• seeing jeremy camp in nashville
• "the soup" with joel mchale (i heart him)
• finding out rachel, a new friend from the afforementioned dr. office, hearts joel mchale as much as i do
• seeing tim mcgraw and faith hill with katie (they sang "chasing cars" as their first song, I got goosebumps!)
• any time spent with mat, preferrably in nashville
• sushi
  seeing bebo norman and jars of clay and joy williams and mercy me and third day in denver with my hubby
• appletinis with joy-toy







• mysha's up coming visit to see our place (wink wink)
• shilo and rachel having a sleepover with us, if only for a night, if only to listen to a cheesy cover band singing "sweet caroline"
• dinner with bjorn last night
• paying off my car!!!! (soon to happen!)
• my sisters visit, complete with spending all her money the first day, and scoring a great "broomfield singles" sign for her apartment
• getting another piercing with katie
• spending time with crazy jaidyn and carson





• baking 9 loaves of zucchini bread with rachel
• ipt..... enough said
• hanging out with these kids in tennessee

it's been a long time... long time

it's been so long since i've been able to sit down and update this mama-jama. not living with grandma has it's draw backs, the pertinant one being no more internet access in our house. now we have to go down to the clubhouse of our apartment complex to use the internet, and they are only open until six, and there are usually people waiting to use the computer. but, i realized the the time has come to at least give a teaser as to what's going on with me, with extremely high hopes of updating this again in the next few days.... we'll see. i should really type something up on our laptop and then open it on this computer, that'll cut out some time..... we'll see what happens with that.

life in colorado is good. busy, but good. i'm searching for a new job, not having much luck. i'm looking for something ministry oriented, having a hard time getting any leads. but, i just need to be more diligent and know that the right thing will come along at the right time. we just got back (wednesday night) from our vacation in tennessee, it was amazing. mat's best friend from high school, the best man in our wedding, got married in chattanooga. so we went down there for the big day, and extended our trip a few days to spend our anniversary in nashville. it was so much fun, nice and relaxing, warm and sunny. now it's just getting back into the routine of work and life here, but it's going well. mat's sister is going to be living with us this summer, so i've been trying to get our guest room in order, finish unpacking (yes, unpacking from two months ago when we moved in..... arg). we bought her a futon today to sleep on this summer, getting sheets tomorrow. it'll be fun to get to know her better and spend time with her. she goes to school in missoula, montana, and decided to move down here for the summer. it'll be a good time.

mat's coaching baseball, it's going well. they are tied for first place in their age group, qualified for state. and, he's thinking about coaching another team at the end of the summer. looks like there is no end in sight for the baseball and travelling and coaching. but, all is good. he loves it, i love watching (and the occasional night at home by myself!) so it's fun. he'll probably move to part time at the hotel to take on coaching these two teams, which means i really need to kick it into gear to find a new job!! (which is what i'm supposed to be doing right now...... focus carly!) i better start looking. we have a bbq at mat's aunt and uncles tonight, so i better do some hunting and then get ready to go hang out with the kidlets. i'll post more soon, i promise. i'll even ::shock:: try to put pictures of our trip up!! (if i can figure it out, we'll see)

have a great memorial day weekend. don't get too sunburnt! :)

moving on up

to the big time....sing with me! (actually, that's all of the words i know! haha!)
i wanted to wait until we have pictures of our own place to show off, but the camera battery is dead, and i dont' know where the charger is so, you'll have to wait for new pictures, personal pictures. but, i'll tell you the exciting news.......
we have our own apartment!! wahoo! no more living with grandma. not that it wasn't fun or good for us or appreciated... it was all of the above. but, let me tell you, it is so great to have our own place. to have our own bed back, our own wonderful mattress, our kitchen stuff (as little of it as we have in colorado!), our pictures, our towels, all the little things that make a house your own, we have them back!! and it's so great! i am just so pumped! i can't wait until we get some more furniture... it's very spacious right now, only our tv and two lawn chairs in the living room.... yeah, we are high class!! :) haha! it's so great!
pictures to come, but until then here's the link to where we live now! :)
http://www.grandviewatflatirons.com/
enjoy! yeah! we have our own place!!!! (can you tell i'm excited?!?)

it's official

bought our plane tickets this afternoon...
$375
seven days of vacation
i'm so excited i can hardly stand it!

the countdown is on

we are going to tennessee this summer. we are buying our plane tickets tomorrow. our very good friend, joel, is getting married. he was our best man, he is such a good friend to mat, has been all through high school. we are very excited to be a part of his and tay's special day. plus, they are getting married three days before our anniversary, so we get to take a trip for our anniversary. i am very excited. plus, we have never been to tennessee. it'll be lots of fun. we are extending our trip for a few days to have some "us" time, some chill out, relax, and spend time together. i'm very much looking forward to it.
however, it is also my deadline.. my point of reference.. my finish line. i'm trying to get back in shape, and travelling to a warm locale during to spring/summer, with the possibility of a beach has certain appeal/fright....motivation. tomorrow is my start..my first day. i don't want to lose weight, but it wouldn't hurt!, but i want to get in shape, more physically fit, less jiggly.
i need some motivation, encouragement, advice. anything. i'm excited, which i think will help my cause. that's all...

i'm a medical marvel

nothing with my health is ever easy. everything is complicated, or a mystery....... case in point.... two years ago, i went to the doctor for my stomach. first, i had heartburn. then, i had an ulcer. then, my gall bladder was removed. then, i still had an ulcer. now, i'm chalking everything up to lactose intolerance. frustrating that we couldn't have figured that out before i had surgery....
now, another medical mystery. my ears have been bothering me for about four or five days. they hurt so badly, feel so full of "stuff", and are so sensitive to loud sounds. ouch. painful. we got over the counter drops, and it hasn't helped. so i go to the doctor today. he looks in my ears, clean as can be. do i have allergies? no. are my lymph nodes swollen or sore? no. am i sick in any other way, sore throat, runny nose, fever? no. he looks at me, crosses his arms, and shakes his head. he doesn't know what is wrong with me.... wow, thanks doc. he gave me a decongestant, and if that doesn't help in a week, i have to go see the ear nose and throat doctor.... that'll be fun. next they'll take out my ears and find out later that we could've solved it with ear drops.... that's just the way things work. mat tells me i'm a medical marvel. that doesn't make me feel any better. hopefully the decongestant will work.....
we went and saw epic movie yesterday. wow, it was funny. funny along the lines of scary movie, not another teen movie, and the other ones.... a type of humor mat and i enjoy. my only criticism is that the movie itself was all of one hour.... that's right, one hour. i feel as though the price of a movie should be directly related to the length of time the movie is. needless to say, i felt a little jipped, but, it was our valentines day, so it was still fun. we ate our weight in brunch at the st. julien. mat had a certificate from when he worked there, so we got all you can eat bruch and all you can drink mimosas for twenty bucks. it was great. crab legs, prime rib, eggs benedict, biscuits and gravy, amazing french toast, it was all so delicious. and so much fun. we just ate and sat and talked and laughed at the people around us (the lady who got up nine times for more.... she had a huge bubble butt, and her and her "companion" kept eating oyster.... and aphrodesiac..... it's hard to get the picture without seeing it, but it was pretty funny) we had such a good day yesterday, just hanging out, relaxed and spending time together. i love my husband!

let the invasion begin.....

"jesus is being lost in a religion bearing His name. people are being lost because they cannot reconcile jesus' assocation with christianity. christianity has become docile, domesticated, civilized. we have forgotten that there is a kingdom of darkness stealing the hopes and dreams and souls of a humanity without God. it is time to hear the barbarian call, to form a barbarian tribe, and to unleash the barbarian revolt. let the invasion begin..."

i'm reading this amazing book by erwin mcmanus. someone with a name like erwin has to bring about greatness. and this book is great. it's really challenging my thinking on christianity and being a follower of christ, and the difference between the two. it is forcing me to change my thoughts on being called to a lifetime of service to God, that it's not comfortable and prettyness and supplying for need and answering prayer the way we want it to be answered... john the baptist prayed to not lose faith and for jesus to save his life, but that wasn't what he had planned....... that it's hard work, life-threatening work, dirty work, amazing work. there's another line in that book, haven't written it down yet, that says something to the effect of "some people make it through the darkest night, and some people wake up in glory." i only hope that we are up for the challenge. this book is really worth checking out.... it's hard to explain exactly what it is doing to my heart, but it is doing some great things. making me think and pray hard about some things. anyone who has read it, help me out here!

"if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. for whoever want to save his life will lost it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." luke 9:22-23

it makes me wonder what God is calling me to, and what i'm missing out on by the way i am currently leading my life. he talks about how crazy and insane john the baptist was, and how polite and controlled christians are now. it makes me want to embrace a barbarian way of life, but not knowing where to start. i like being polite, treating people with respect. but i am realizing that i need to care less about what people think of me and care more about my mission in life, telling others about jesus. leading the lost to him. but what does that look like? what does the typical missionary look like, and how exactly can i fit into that mold? what do i have to give up, what will i lose? but more importantly, what will i gain? how will my life be bettered, enriched, by heeding the barbarian call, by following jesus with reckless abandon and going wherever he wants us to go? what will my life be by living less safely, and more dependent on God?

holiday blizzard 2006

mat's truck after the blizzard. he drove home from work at about noon, and this was about eleven the next morning.....

this is my car..... see the glimpse of red? i drove home from work at about three that afternoon, again, this is about eleven the next morning. i made it all the way home, and got stuck in the culdesac..... my car was still all cock-eyed and snow covered when we got home from montana...

this is the picnic table on grandma's deck..... close to the house, so it's not a totally accurate measure, but makes for a good picture

this is my favorite picture. this is looking outside from our bedroom, our room is in the basement, the bottom of the window is about level with the ground. again, this is at about eleven the morning we left for montana. wow, huh?

sorry these are so belated. this is from holiday blizzard 2006 as the newscasters were calling it.... now it's simply blizzard number one..... with blizzard number four on the forecast for thursday. it's great for the farmers, firefighters and skiiers...... but seriously, enough is enough!!

insomniac

oh my flipping word...... november 23rd is the last time i've posted on here..... that's irresponsible and just sad. one of my resolutions, or goals maybe, is to be more dilligent with this, keeping people up to date with the goings-on in boulder, in the smith family (i can't say household, since technically there is more than just smiths in our household......) i'm also going to try and start working harder on my business, thats a huge resolution of mine. with as busy as work will be in the next few months, we'll see when that one happens. but, here's to wishful thinking!
the past few weeks have been so stressful, combining christmas, three (one more on the way) blizzards, a funeral, and still working more than full time........ it's been a crazy few weeks, with a few more to go before things return to normal, but, it'll be good to get some overtime and get a lot done. it was good tho, to see everyone, both at home (for the two days we were there) and here. altho with all the travelling, it was hard to think of it as christmas and all that, seeing as we drove home on christmas day. but, it was, and it was still good to see everyone, both in montana and here. lots of family time, lots of presents, lots of laughs, lots of cold germs given to us by the kidlets, but all in all, a fun couple weeks. stressful, with no end in sight, but lots of fun. i'll post pictures as soon as i get on the right computer. i'm watching mtv and i don't want to get off my butt!!

greys

i love greys anatomy.
i hate how stuck i am on this girly show, but it's so good. it's medical, soap opera, funny, with great music. i love it. you know what i love most about it? it guarantees me an hour with joy every week. she comes over every thursday (except today, she's with family) and we kick mat out and make him play video games (twist his arm, huh?) while we watch greys. it's so great, i love it. and on that note, i want to share some of the other things i am particularly thankful for on a day like today.

~ for cell phones. i was able to talk to my whole family (minus tommy and chloe.....apparently they didn't want to talk to me!) today, all whilst sitting on scott and geri's front step. it was so great, they just passed the phone around and i got to talk to everyone. and on that note, i'm thankful for my family. they have been so supportive of us as we stepped out in this new phase of life, and i love them. they are so great, great at keeping in touch. my mom sends me a little card every so often (sometimes with money in it!) and i just got a thank you card from tommy and chloe the other day..... chloe drew on the envelope and tommy cursive-d a note on the inside. it made me start crying. i just love them and miss them so much!

~ for my husband. while i was crying all night last night because i wanted to go home for thanksgiving but couldn't (it'd mean driving thru the night by myself two nights in a row) and missing my family and wanting to see my sister again, he held me, sat with me while i cried, rubbed my head and my back. he is such a wonderful man, he is my rock, my pillar, my strength in this new, strange place ( i mean strange as in foreign..... mostly...... it's kinda strange as in weird too, tho.......) i don't know what i would do without him. he's my best friend and i love him with my whole heart.

~ for my husbands family..... my family-in-law. we spent the whole day with them today. just scott, geri (uncle, aunt) and the kidlets, jaidyn and carson. it was great. i love spending time with them, getting to know them better, laughing with them, laughing at the kids and their "kid-isms". it was such a great day. i love those people. i love that they are becoming my family, my colorado family. they have welcomed me in with open arms, (they hug me every time they see me!) and my heart is so full because of them.

~ for white wine. and sunshine wheat beer. i have really taken a liking to both of them as of late.

~ for my joy. she really is my joy. she is the best friend i have down here, and i don't know what i would do without her. she makes me laugh every single time we spend time together. i am insanely blessed at how our lives and friendship have come full circle, and don't know what i would do without her.

~ for my mysh. i don't know what i would do without her. even tho we don't get to talk as much as we would like to, she is still so supportive of us as we start this new part of our life. she is my best friend, and will always be. she always holds my hand, and i hold hers. we are always there for eachother, even now that we are 800 miles apart. she blesses my life in ways no one else can, and i am forever greatful for everything she means to me.

~ for the insanely great weather we are having. it's a little blessing to be able to sit outside in just a cardigan and talk to your family on thanksgiving..... it's amazing! :)

~ for black friday? not so much looking forward to work tomorrow.....

~ for mat's grandma, for letting us live with her and not charging us rent and cooking us meals and the countless other things she does for us every day. she's an amazing woman.

~ for the internet as an amazing way to keep in touch with people so far away. it's a blessing (and a curse!) to be able to see my heather's twins, read about reuben and val's thanksgiving, read about karis in thailand....... it's amazing!

~ for all the laughter, love and amazing food we had today. my heart, and stomach, are very full. what a blessed life i have. thank you for being a part of it.

freeze hot

we are watching spanish television, also known as "Telemundo" and on right now is a infomercial for "freeze hot reduce" an icy hot weight loss gel, it works 24 horas per dia, it's pretty funny watching a spanish infomercial. mat really enjoys watching telemundo lately. whenever he takes lunch in the breakroom at work, he gets a spanish lesson from all the housekeepers who work at the hotel. so, now he can understand 10 words per show. it's pretty comical hearing him translate those 10 words for me.... increible means incredible......he's so good. he really enjoys watching spanish wrestling and spanish game shows, especially "vas or no vas" like deal or no deal, but the girls are uglier. that's mat's latest guilty pleasure. mine is "parental control" the MTV dating show where the parents get rid of the hoochie girlfriends and lazy boyfriends and choose someone new for their child to date, and then the current boy/girl friend watch the dates with the parents. it's a pretty good, awkward, swearing time. and there is a girl named constance on there right now!! :)

**********

life in colorado has been going good. mat's been getting busier and busier at the hotel. he's been given the "15 rooms or less" accounts to work with. he's been sending out contracts and booking rooms for rich peoples birthday parties, christmas parties, etc. he's hoping at the start of the new year to be dealing with the sports teams more, since they are usually 15 rooms or less anyway. i'm hoping he can do that too, it might hook us up with some tickets to basketball, volleyball, baseball, we'll just have to see. i'm hoping he can get tickets to the john legend concert. he and his posse are staying at the julien, i'd love to go see him in concert. it'd be sweet. i'm so greatful for him having a job he loves, even if he does work with all women. he really enjoys hearing about them having to find a new ob/gyn. :) it makes my heart happy to know that he's doing something he loves, and excelling at it. he's beating all the goals they have set for him so far, which is amazing for as limited experience as he has. all in all, life at the st. julien is going well.

**********

life in colorado for me is going well. i need a new job. mine is driving me crazy. but, we need insurance worse than in need my sanity, so i'll be at borders until january, when mat's insurance will kick in. i just need something that keeps me businer, something that lets me show my strengths, something that pays me better and has better hours, and maybe a place for advancement beyond manager of a bookstore. i love working in a bookstore, but i want something that'll challenge me a little bit more, something that'll be more of a career rather than just a job. and something that pays better so we can afford a house! we went and looked at houses in longmont today. it was ok, we found a couple that were "buyable" but we didn't get to look inside of any of them. but, now we know which ones are definate no's and which ones we want to keep looking at. i just am not sold on the idea of living in longmont. but, if that's where we can afford to live, then we need to go for it. we'll see. probably nothing will happen until the new year, but you never know. i just want our own space. i want our own stuff, our own kitchen, our own bed, silly little stuff like that. but, i really need to work on being more greatful for this chance to live with grandma, to get to know her better, to save up more money for our house, and to make the best decision for a house and our future. time will only tell what the future holds, where we are to find a house, where we will put down our roots, whether in longmont, westminster, northglenn, boulder, we shall see.

**********

in case you wanted to order "freeze hot reduce" here's the number: 1-800-990-7008

here i am again. sorry it's taken so long to update this silly thing. i always have such hope for my days off, and they go way too fast. today i had high hopes of getting my new drivers license (put off until tomorrow before work), doing a bit of shopping for card making fun-ness, finishing, or at least working on, our thanksgiving cards, finishing laundry, eating lunch..... and so far, all i've accomplished is shopping and getting a little more laundry done. after getting lost in westminister/arvada thanks to my husbands great directions (haha!) the afternoon was pretty close to over. now i'm just killing time waiting for him to get home from work....here he is... so we can venture out to aurora to see my friend crystal and her boy logan and boyfriend chris. i always call boyfriend/husbands "boy"s, so with crystal, i have to specify her boy as in her son and her boy as in her boyfriend. anyway, that's that. it'll be good to see her, as we haven't managed to hang out since she and i moved down here. it'll be good, she's making lasagne. yum.

******

so my darling friend joy moved out here from texas a couple weeks ago. it's been so good to see her again. joy and i did our dts together in seattle, and since 2002, we've met, spent 8 months living together, seeing eachother every day, then seeing eachother twice since sept 02 and last month. the last time we saw eachother was at our wedding, two and a half years ago. it is so good to see her and be able to hang out with eachother, knowing that our time is not limited, we don't have to cram all our hanging out and catching up into one night. it's been good to have a casual friendship, one that we can just hang out and relax and not have to be talking and busy. not that we don't talk when we hang out..... you know what i mean. either way, having her here, spending time with her, having a dear friend out here is just so nice, such a blessing. that and she brought me a longhorns shirt so we can cheer for them together....mat really appreciates that! :)
gotta go to aurora for lasagne.

xanadu and fandango

Ok, so get this. the hotel my husband works at has a lot of conference rooms, three names xanadu (xanadu I, II, and III......originality is astounding! haha!) and one named fandango. unfortunately, the paper bag puppets don't live in that particular conference room, i already asked. oh yeah, mat got the job.... did i forget to tell you? he officially got the job on monday, tuesday he went to orientation, wednesday we enjoyed a day off together (doing a whole lot of nothing!) and he started his 8-5:30 today. what a grown up, 8-5:30, monday thru friday.... i don't know how he's going to handle it! haha!

now i can focus on starting my business (yeah, mysh, my business!!) any advice from any fellow entrepreuers (however you spell that!) seriously, i don't know the best place to start.... i need help!!

crusty socks

Wow, moving is such an enjoyable experience, one I want to relive at least once a year......Ha! Having never moved before, this last week has been an interesting, stressful and unpredictable week. It's been interesting to say the least. We got to Boulder last Saturday, and have been staying in a temporary room at Grandma's since today. First, my mom and dad were in our current room, then Mat's uncle and aunt came into town for a couple days. So, we've been living out of suitcases and getting dressed in the garage until today. And what a wonderful and liberating experience it is, hanging up all your clothes and finding new jeans, new pajamas, and your beloved slippers. Mat was very excited to find his slippers and sweatpants, and it's been cold today, so he's wearing both! :) It was a tiring day, unpacking everything, hanging it up, cleaning, etc. So, we are celebrating by ordering Chinese. Actually, Grandma's getting it for us because none of us feel like going to the grocery store! Haha!! I feel like our stay here is more permanent now too, even tho it is only temporary for a few months, it feels like we are living here now instead of just being on a long strange vacation. So, that's good, I feel less nomadic and more "here to stay" Coloradian (however you spell that!) So, the garage at Grandma's is much more spacious now, after our big boxes of clothes are out of the way....... we may be able to get a car in there soon!! :)


We went and found Borders the other day....yesterday actually. I was able to introduce myself to my manager and some of my other future co-workers, so that was nice. To be able to know a few people, and where I even work, before my first day. I'm still a little apprehensive about my first day on Monday, as anyone is on their first day at a new job. I'm a little worried about not knowing anyone, making new friends..... It'll be like the first day at school, although it won't be everyone's first day. I just want to get to know some quality people.... I hope I can. And Sunday we'll go to church with Mat's aunt and uncle, not sure where they go to church. I'm glad tho, we can go with someone we know and not just go not knowing anyone. At least for our first Sunday. It'll be good. I'm just glad to go to church again. Grandma has characterized their church as a "hip-hop" church.... which'll be good for us. Hopefully we can find a church we love as much as Journey!! And then the next week, pending our reaction to Scott & Geri's church, we'll go to Mat's old church, the one he went to when he lived down here first, Northglenn Christian. We'll see how that goes, but at least we have something lined up for a couple weeks. I'm just excited for going to church again!! :) Yay!

So, Mat had an interview at the Westin on Wednesday. We'll see what they have to say. The job he interviewed for was initially an Assistant Supervisor, but in his interview he discovered that the job was now a Supervisor, which he is in no way opposed to!! Of course he'll be a Supervisor!! They said they had another person or two to interview and they'd let him know "in a week or so"...... Mat said he'll probably call them Monday, show some interest, and see what they have to say. That's the lastest on everything. If I think of anything else, I'll just blog later I suppose. Gotta go, Wontons are here!! :)

good news

So, here's something else I forgot to update here. My second to last post, about my terribly long weekend, I have an update. About my grandma. I don't know if God healed her (I like to believe that one!) or if the doctors read the first scan wrong, but there is no tumor!! PTL! There is just a shadowy spot on her pancreas, and she has pancreatitis, which can be controlled with medications. PTL!! Big time Praise the LORD!!! How awesome is our God! Wow! Prayers are answered every day, I know that. It's just amazing to see it happen so quickly (when God's timing matches up with ours.... ) and in such the way that you want to see it answered! God is good....All the Time!!
Other than that huge praise, not a lot new with us. Pricing things for our garage sale, which will be held this Saturday. Really looking forward to that, unloading all our junk on people who "need" it! haha!! Hope we get rid of a lot!! That's all I have to say, just wanted to keep everyone updated. Have a great week, all!!

something cool

Ok, so here's my x-ray from after my surgery. I thought I had lost it..... it's amazing what you find when you are packing and moving!! Haha! So, thought this was kinda cool cuz you can see the plates I have in my head. Titanium, four plates and 24 (or something like that) screws. It is hard to see on the scan, I wished it had scanned better. But, the plates are on the bottom jaws on the outside edges and the upper jaws towards the center (by my nose) and I had braces on when this was taken, thus the, well, braces in the x-ray. Thought it'd be cool to share this, sorry it took me so long! :)

what a weekend

Wow, this has been a hard weekend. Firstly, on Friday, Mat went to use his debit card to buy me lunch, and it was declined. I called the bank and they told me we were showing a balance of -$650.00 (yes, that's negative six hundred fifty some dollars) We later found out that somehow, some bad people in California got my debit card number and pin number and decided to empty out our checking account. How nice of them, huh? Everyone at the bank kept asking me when I lost my card.... it was still in my wallet. So, that's interesting. Maddening, really. Just another thing to worry about, on top of moving and all that. I'm really excited for when we start opening things up in Colorado and we find out that those bad people have more than just my debit card number, like my SSN or something like that..... Wahoo for that! It's still being resolved, slowly but surely. Hopefully soon we'll have all that money back and those bad people will get in trouble. I know the first scenario is more likely than the second, but we can hope, huh?!?
Next comes Saturday night. We went to dinner with Mat's mom and sister to their pastors house with some other friends. It was fun, but we had to say goodbye to Katie, Mat's sister, as she left for college. I know it's ok, because we aren't going to be here much longer anyway, but it was still hard. I wish I would have taken advantage of us living so close to get to know her better. But, we have e-mail and cell phones, so we'll keep in touch. And she's going to try and come down for our going away party, so it'd be nice to see her again before we go. It's going to be so good for her to get out of her comfort zone and meet new people, do new things, all the experiences that come along with college. I'm so very excited for her, it was just the beginning of saying goodbye that made it tough. But, she has the emotions of her father and brother...a couple hugs and a good bye and that was that. And an I love you, of course. It's just bizarre for me, the uber-emotional one, to see someone just say "good-bye, I love you" and that's it. Oh well, I know the thoughts are back there.. And we are very very excited for her to, like I said, get out of her shell a little bit. She's so very quiet, it'll be good for her to have to make new friends and get out of her warm comfort zone. I'll have to call her tonite and see how her first couple days have gone... :)
Then came Sunday. We went to church, it was good. I'm going to miss our church, and we just found it!!! We had dinner at Grandpa and Grandma's house, and we were a little bit early, so we decided to go say goodbye to my Great-Grandma Hannah. I had talked to Grandma Pat about it, if it was a good idea or not, and she thought it would be. It was so hard. My Great-Grandma is 94 years old. She's healthy, has a good heart and lungs and all that, but her body is very frail, her joints and bones are wearing down, and her mind is really going. She could hardly remember who we were, and she was so confused. It was so hard to see her like that, having to think of things to ask her, stuff like that. I tried to ask her if she liked living there (at the Retirement Home) and it was clearly the wrong question to ask. She wants to go home, that's all she says. She wants to be in Heaven. She knows what her life was, and what it is now, and it makes her so sad. She's longing to be Home with Jesus, and after yesterday, I long for that day for her too. She gets so confused. She couldn't remember where we lived, and then we told her we had to go to lunch, and she thought she was supposed to come, she didn't know why she couldn't come, didn't know where we were going..... It was so hard. I cried and cried and cried in the car. It was tough to see my grandma like that, she's always been so fun and talkative and everything. It was a tough day. But, on the flip side, I'm so glad I went to see her. Now, when she does go home to Jesus, it might not be as sad for me, seeing how her life is now. And, it would have been one of those things I would have always regretted, had I not gone and said goodbye one last time. It was just a tough emotional day.
Then we have Monday, today. Actually, just this afternoon. This morning was good, Love INC had a pizza party for me. It was fun. This afternoon, my mom called to give me an update on my Grandma Fran (my dad's mom) Her and my Grandpa were in Seattle visiting Grandma's sister when she got really bad stomach pains (my grandma that is) so she went to the hospital were they thought it was either her gall bladder (fun times there!) or her pancreas. Well, my mom called today and they found a tumor in (or near, I can't remember) her pancreas and it doesn't look good. Unfortunately, that's all the details I have. My aunt called my mom and that's all she said. So, as of right now, I have no idea what's going on, what the next step is, anything. Needless to say, I'm freaking out. But, I do know that everything is in God's hands. I know that, it's just hard to not be emotional, when it's already been a stressful and emotional weekend, with this on top of it all makes it hard. I don't even know how to pray......for divine healing, for steady hands of the doctors....for wisdom in the doctors, for calm nerves and peace for my family. It's just a tough situation. Please please please pray for my family, my dad and his siblings, everyone involved. It's bound to be a rough week, please keep us in your prayers. Pray that I start getting some sleep too.... with all this emotional roller coasters I've been on lately, I'm crying all the time. Please pray for peaceful and restful sleep........
What a weekend.... God, be in these situations. Heal Grandma, give our family peace and calm nerves. Give the doctors wisdom. Just use this situation as you will, be here. Amen.

This is the prayer of my heart this morning. And Always.

I'm giving You my heart
and all that is within
I lay it all down
for the sake of You my King

I'm giving You my dreams
I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride
for the promise of new life

I surrender
all to You
All to You
I surrender
all to You
All to You

I'm singing You this song
I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear
I count it all as loss

For the sake of knowing You
for the glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy
even sharing in Your pain

I surrender
all to You
All to You
I surrender
all to You
All to You

Jesus, help me surrender.....all to you.

screaming colorado

colorado just naturally screams fun in it's name. at my husbands prompting, i'm having to specify that i am indeed very excited to move to colorado. he said the title of my last blog "colo-freakin-rado" could be interpreted as being angry about moving there, as if said through gritted teeth. but, no, i am very very excited to move to colorado. i'm excited to start out our new chapter in our life, to get to know a new city, to get to know his family. so, all that said, i'm very excited. not so excited about the whole moving process (packing, throwing things away, having mat throw my things away behind my back.... ) but once we get there, oh baby, it'll be great!

i have a phone interview on tuesday at the borders in boulder (say that ten times fast....i know i'll mess up answering the phone!!) i went in and talked to my old manager, tiffany, the other day. she told me that she basically told alison (the boulder manager) to hire me, so i'm pretty sure i'll get the job. but, i'm also kinda counting my chicks before they get laid, i guess we'll see what happens on tuesday. mat on the other hand, has high hopes of feeding grandma's dog by hand every day. just kidding.... he has put in his resume at a couple hotels, and 7-11, so we'll see what comes of that. just kidding, no 7-11, but at a couple other high end hotels and resorts (www.stjulien.com pretty snazzy!) i'm not worried about him finding a job at all. he's very good at what he does and he's never been turned down for a job that he's interviewed for.... and that has gone to his head!!! :)

we are having some pictures taken this afternoon. one of our friends is a photography major, and i thought it'd be nice to get some portraits of us taken, even nicer now that we are moving. hopefully we can get some good ones with the mountains in the background to remind us of.....awwww.... montana. mat really wants to take them in the front yard so we don't have to go anywhere, so he doesn't miss the baseball game... you can see where his priorities are! :) i think it'll be fun, i love having pictures taken like that... makes me feel like a movie star.... cheesy! :)

ok, that's all for now. we gotta go get all prettied up for our photo shoot..haha! "ttfn" from mat!

p.s. bring it on three released straight to dvd this week. what a monumental week for those who love the movie trilogy. should be a good one, all those released straight to dvd are, aren't they?

colo-freakin-rado

Here we go, embarking on our next, or first, big adventure. I suppose being married is an adventure in and of itself, so this would be our next big adventure. For those of you who know, and those of you who don't know, Mat and I are moving to Colorado. We have thought and prayed long and hard about it, and we really feel this is the best step for us to take right now. We feel like there are more opportunities for us down there, both in jobs, school and housing (maybe?) We have both applied for a few jobs, but it's hard to apply for them this far out. Oh yeah, you'd probably like to know when we are moving. We are moving Labor Day weekend. Either we'll leave on Sunday, if my parents can come down and help us, or we'll stay and hang out with everyone and leave on Tuesday with just the two of us. It's coming up soon. I'm getting nervous, but only about the possiblity of me driving my own vehicle down there..... And packing everything. This is the first time I've ever had to pack everything and move all in one shot. When I moved to Seattle, it was just short term, so it was like an extended motel stay, I didn't need to have all my belongings. And when we got married and I moved out of mom and dad's house, it was a gradual move, we kept moving things for quite a while after we got married. But this one, we'll move everything all in one shot, all in one U-haul.... It'll be tough. But, hey, come to our garage sale!! It'll be a grand time!! :) We'll pawn our crap off on others..... what a great concept! :) haha!

We are moving to Boulder, we will be staying with Grandma Ev until next Spring probably. We need the time to get on our feet, and Grandma needs the help with the huge house. That will give us time to find good jobs, save some money for a down payment, and hopefully find a nice little house to buy. And we can find a church, some friends, and I can figure out where the heck I'm going when I go places on my own!!!! That's really our news, I can't think of any other details. Just think of us and pray for us in the next month. I'm going to be a basketcase trying to get everything done in this short amount of time. And still be able to see friends and family before we go. It'll be a busy month, but I'm so excited. We are both so excited. I'm excited to live around Mat's family, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandma. It'll be great to see the kids grow up, and for me to get to know his family more. I'm just so flipping excited!! :)

Colo-freakin-rado here we come!!