My Job Situation

Our company has been undergoing a lot of changes over the past couple of years. We have been fearing about our job for quite a while now, but thought we were safe. Well, we had a big meeting with our branch manager yesterday and they are getting rid of most of my department. They are also closing 6 more claims offices. So, the end result is, there are 11 people in my department (including my manager whose job is also going away) and there are only 7 of us that can keep our jobs. What this means is that we all have to reapply for our jobs and our branch manager will be the one to have an informal interview with us and select which ones he feels will be the best.

The meeting was very intense, people crying, everyone afraid, and not sure what is going to happen next.

I am fully trusting in God that He will give me favor with Ron (branch manager) and HR. God knows exactly what He is doing and I feel that this is only a test. I am trying my best to keep a positive attitude about everything and give it completely and solely to God.

A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Gleason had us pray over our finances and pray that we would have God's favor in our finances. I truely believe that God is going to take care of me. If I get the job, thats awesome. If I don't, that just means that there is something better out there for me. The world's economy has nothing to do with God's plan! He has a plan and I am trusting in Him that He will take care of me and provide for my needs.

I also want to thank everyone who has been praying for me in this situation. It has been a rough couple of days and I want to thank you for ALL of your encouraging words, thoughts, prayers, emails, texts, and e-cards. I sat at my desk yesterday and just cried because I was so overwhelmed by all the love and support I was receiving from all of my amazing friends and family. Yall are all wonderful and I don't know what I would do without you. I love you all!

Darla's News...

For those of you that haven't heard, my sister, Darla, is getting married on April 25th! They met at BOTT (Because of the Times) in Louisiana in January. Things have moved very fast for them. They were planning on getting married this fall, but had to move it up so Jonathon's parents could attend while they were in the states. (They are missionaries to Vanautu). So the big day is coming up very fast and things have certainly been a whirlwind around here. Congratulations Darla and Jonathon!


If you would like to see their wedding website, please visit: www.mywedding.com/jonathananddarla

It is still under construction, so not everything is on there yet.

National Pistachio Day!

So, this totally cracks me up! We were out to eat a couple months ago and saw something that said today is Natioanl Pistachio Day! LOL! This is just so random to me and I've never heard anything like this before! haha! So, today we are going to celebrate the pistachio! haha I am sitting here cracking up because it is so random! Here are a few facts that I found through google.

When: It is always on February 26th!

Nutty Pistachio Facts:

Pistachios grow on trees. They are native to the Middle East.
Its a long wait to get the first nut. A pistachio tree takes 7-10 years to mature.
California is the major producer in the U.S.
Pistachios are harvested in September by machines that shake the trees. It less than a minute.
The red dye is added to the nuts is only due to consumer demand for the color.
Its open hull is unique. The nut is ripe when the hull splits open.
People in the Middle East call it the "smiling nut" and in China its called the "happy nut".
Pistachios are nutritious, so eat them up!
Celebrate today by eating Pistachios. They are great plain as a snack, in ice cream, and in a wide range of desserts.

All, I can say is, you learn something new every day! haha

So here are a few pics we took tonight!
Bethany, Me, and Paulette!

This is Jared - being Jared lol

This is Jeff telling Jared a secret? Not sure whats going on here. lol

St. Louis Surprise

Last weekend my niece, Ashlyn, had an ice-skating performance on Sunday afternoon. I drove up to St. Louis on Saturday morning and surprised her! She had been begging me to come and I honestly didn't know I could go until the last minute, so I decided to surprise her. I wish we would have gotten a picture of the look on her face. She was in the other room when I walked in, and Robyn (my sister) was talking to her like normal and Ashlyn came out of the room and I was standing right there and yelled surprise! LOL It was hilarious because she screamed really loud! haha It was priceless! But we had a wonderful time and I'm glad I got to go up there. I also got to visit with my friend Kristy. She is one of the greatest friends anyone could ever have. We pretty much shut the restaurant down! haha Thanks Kris, for such a wonderful time! I also very much enjoyed being with my sister, Robyn. We always have a great time together. I practiced doing her hair for a banquet she has coming up and she looked so beautiful! She has lost 30 pounds, and she looks awesome!!!!

Dinner Yummyness!

A few weeks ago, Jonathon and I decided to make dinner one night. Oh man, was it GOOD! We made an Italian dish with grilled chicken, pasta, alfredo sauce, and lots of cheese! We also had salad and garlic bread, and sparkling grape juice! Yummy! Here are a few pics. lol
Me and Jonathon

The Spread...yes just for 2 people. LOL We had a TON of leftovers. haha

Yummy garlic bread that we grilled!

The Salad, with an overload of croutons. LOL There was a lot more lettuce in there than it looks like in the picture! haha

The famous Italian dish with an overload of cheese! LOL

Valentine's Weekend

Sorry that I am posting this a little late. Things have been a little crazy here.

So, as you can see in a previous post we tried to go to Minnesota but because of bad weather, we were unable to go. We were completely bummed out about this, but we ended up in Branson and had a great time.

As Sarah says, "With Friends + on Valentine's Day = PRICELESS"

We really did have a wonderful time. It was very relaxing and we had a lot of good laughs. We got down there Friday night (after we had been driving forever lol) and got dinner. On Saturday, we went to the Titantic Museum, which is really cool by the way. Then we went to eat lunch at Shorty Smalls. They have THE BEST brisket ever!!! It melted in my mouth! We shopped at The Landing for a bit, then went and grabbed some yummo Maggie Moos Ice Cream for our Valentine's Day treat; to celebrate our very much singleness! That night we went to "SIX". It's a show there in Branson, that was awesome!! It was 6 brothers that did everything acapella...even the music! They had drums, bass, guitar and everything with their mouths. We couldn't take pictures at the show, but I found a couple online. It was amazing!! Then we came back home on Sunday, after eating at the amazing Lamberts-Home of the Throwed Rolls!!!

Our Adventure...

Well this afternoon we were planning on leaving for Minnesota to go to the Singles Retreat and see our friends!!! But the weather had other plans. We left at 2:00 and drove for 2 hours and didn't even get to the Land of Opportunity....Iowa.--LOL. The roads were SO BAD and icy that we had to turn around and go home. It took us 2 hours to go 80 miles. So, we ended up turning around and going back. :( We have been SO disappointed that we couldn't go. We were SO looking forward to seeing Tim and Tricia Sanders, Raemi, Janelle, Debbie Saiz..and hearing her speak. She is absolutely wonderful. We were so looking forward to having such a relaxing weekend with our friends, and also meeting new friends at the retreat. But, we couldn't risk having a wreck. Believe me, we were having major flashbacks of last year. lol Anyways, By the time we got back to Kansas City, it had taken us over 4 hours. So, we decided that we didn't just want to go home, so we are now headed to Branson! LOL Thank God for a wireless internet card, because it has kept my boredom under control as we have been in this wonderful rented SUV for HOURS now. lol It's 9:00pm and we have been driving since 2:00 and we still have about 45 minutes to go! LOL Anyways, below you will see a couple of pictures of our adventures from today. I'll post more from the weekend later. Just remember, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!!! LOL (Or maybe its partly being anti-valentine too hahaha).

This is where we stopped to turn around.

The wind was blowing the snow around so bad!

Most of the time we were going 30-40 mph!

MoMass in Action...

On Jan 31st, we traveled to Joplin, Missouri for a day with MoMass. We ministered in Bro Rex Robertson's church in Joplin. It was an awesome service and MoMass rocked da house!!!

In honor of both of my wonderful grandmothers:

January 12th marked the one-year anniversary of Big Mom passing away, and February 3rd marked the one-year anniversary of Mammaw passing away. Both of my grandmas were wonderful, Christian, Godly women. I miss them SO much. They passed on a heritage to us that I don’t ever want to take for granted. It is so weird not having them with us, especially around the holidays. But I know that they are in a better place. The memories will last forever and that in itself brings a smile to my face, but yet, brings tears to my eyes because I wish they were still here. I thank God for the time that we did have with them.
This is Mammaw and myself a couple of years ago.

This is Big Mom and Big Dad a few years ago.