Hello from GREECE!!!

Hey everybody!!!
Just wanted to post something real quick while we had a few minutes at the internet cafe!! We are having a blast!! The flight over was the most interesting, hottest, and longest flight with no sleep ever! The flight was 9 hours long! But, we made it safely and thats what counts! :) We spent a day in Athens, then boarded the AquaMarine cruise ship to Mykonos (absolutely amazing), today we visited Lindos and Rhodes, 2 islands in Greece! Tomorrow we head to visit the country of Turkey, which is on the continent of Asia!! Then we go back to Athens for 2 days! We are having a blast and I can't wait to share all my pictures!

I wish you all could be here with us!!!!

If I can find another internet cafe before we leave, I'll post another time, if not, then I'll see you when we get back!!!

Miss you all!!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane!!!

Hey everyone! I'm leaving today for New York City!!! Tomorrow we are leaving for Athens, Greece!!!! I am soo excited! I only got 2 hours of sleep last night so its going to be a long day but at least I can sleep on the plane! :) I'll see you guys in a week!!!

Marsha's Bridal Shower

Ok, so this was the FUNNIEST shower I have EVER been to!! I seriously don't know if I can laugh anymore this weekend!! There were some crazy games and we were laughing uncontrollably!!! As you will see in some of these pictures! LOL All I can say is, WOW!!!!

A Weekend of Fun and Laughter!!!

We had SO much fun this weekend! Shannon, Cherith, and Zach stopped in KC on their way back home from Colorado. They got in Thursday night and they just left this morning. Most of the pics we took were from Saturday, but we had a lot of fun. Thursday night, Sarah and I took them to experience some good ole KC BBQ!!! Then Friday afternoon we went to the Miniature Toy Museum, went and ate lunch at Fritz's (where they deliver your food by train!), then we went to the Federal Reserve Bank and got a free bag of shredded money worth $165! Then we went to Liberty Memorial and just hung out. Then for dinner we went to Margarita's Mexican Restuarant...and met up with the Ready clan and Ragen and Byron! After we ate we went bowling and had a blast!!! I'm thankful to be blessed with such awesome friends!

Back in the Day...

All I can say is, WOW!!! haha This was way back in the day. Back when we were in the youth group, "Youth United". Tim and Tricia Sanders (our youth leaders) took us on a Jr/Sr Trip to Gateway College of Evangelism in St. Louis (We were 17-18 years old). We had SO MUCH FUN on this trip. In fact, sometimes when we are all together, we still talk about some of the memories on that trip. We definitely made alot of them, thats for sure. LOL One day when we were at the mall, we decided to get a cariacture (sp?) done. It was hilarious!!! Definitely some Good Times!! :)

From Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
Ronnie, Me, Brian, Tim, Andrea, Rachel, Tricia, and Beth.

The Breakfast Song!

HAHAHA!!! This is hilarious! If you haven't seen this, please watch it. I was cracking up through the whole thing! haha Before you watch it, make sure you pause the music at the bottom of the page, so you can hear it good. ENJOY!!! :) *snicker*

Good News!!

So, as you know from previous posts. My company decided to downsize in my dept; and I had to reapply for my job, last Wednesday. Well, I got the news today and I GOT TO KEEP MY J-O-B!!!!!! I am very excited!! God definitely takes care of His children. I was SO excited that God answered my prayer-even though this was a little "problem" for Him. Although I am very excited about keeping my job, my heart broke when the 4 people that were dismissed came over and told me. My heart went out to them and it was SO hard to see them go through this. So please keep them in your prayer time.

You know, it's a wonderful feeling knowing exactly where you're supposed to be. On the day of the interview, I just prayed a short and simple prayer, and asked God to keep the doors open if I was supposed to be here or close them if I wasn't. So, I'm taking this as if I'm exactly where I need to be. It makes me happy. Sad to say, but I don't know that I've ever really KNOWN exactly where I was supposed to be, but it is a good feeling and I am so thankful that God has answered my prayers.

I just want to personally say THANK YOU to everyone that has kept me in their prayers and thoughts during this time. Your thoughts, concerns, emails, texts, and I can't leave out all of your hugs...has all meant soooooo much to me!!!

I love you all!

UPDATE - March 17, 2009
To top it all off....I got a raise today!!!!! God is SO good!!!!! He has been extra good to me this week!!! :)

Happy Birthday, Mom & Dad!!

Happy Birthday, Mom and Dad!!!!!



My Mom's birthday was Feb. 24th and Dad's birthday is today, March 13th! I took them out to dinner tonight to Cinzetti's Italian Restaurant. Oh goodness....it was SOOOO yummy!!!

This is Daddio and I


This is Mom and I

My Interview

Well, I had my interview today. It was very nerve-racking and I had worked myself up all day long. My interview wasn't until 3:00 so I had lots of time to "think". Thats dangerous you know. Anyway, I think it went okay, but we'll just have to see what God has in store. I prayed before I went in there and God put a calmness over me - which really helped. :) I prayed that if God wanted me to stay where I'm at, to keep the door open and help me get the job...but if He doesn't want me to stay there, to close that door and I will know that there is something greater in store for me. Yes, it's a simple prayer. But God hears those just as well as the big long ones. It helped me anyway. Even though the "unknown" is scary and you're not sure what's going to happen, I have comfort in the fact that God is with me every moment.

I just want to personally thank everyone for their prayers, support, concern, and encouragement throughout this whole situation. You have helped lift my spirits and I can not begin to tell you just how much it has meant to me. To know that I have wonderful friends and family that has spoken into me and helped lift me up through this hard time-means so much. Through my teary eyes, thank you so much...yall are wonderful! I love you all!

Sunday's Children's Service

This past Sunday we had a children's revival at church. It was so precious to see all those little kids up there loving Jesus! Here are a few pictures of the little toddlers singing their song. There are also a few pictures from our children's staff worship team! Notice the "live" puppet!!! We had two of them (a boy & girl) but for some reason I never got a picture of the girl.
Madison and Caedyn-front and center! :)

Alyssa stealing the "spotlight" lol

TLC's children's worship team! They did an awesome job!!

Isn't God Amazing?!

You know...I have been thinking a lot tonight, just how amazing God is. Today was kind of a blah day for me. Just thinking about my job situation. And although I have fully put my faith and trust in God, I'm still human, and little thoughts would pop up like "what if" this happens or that. The "unknown" scares me and I think that is the only part of all of this that is making me a little uneasy. You don't know what to expect, who to talk to, what kind of questions they are going to ask, so you're just kinda hanging out not really knowing whats going on. When we found out today that the interview formalities are coming up really soon, I just got a knot in my stomach. I started feeling really overwhelmed by it all and everything else that is going on right now. I was heading to church just really feeling like I didn't want to go, but I knew I needed to. When Life Group started, when C2 started singing, the presence of God swept in that place so strong. I began to weep because I felt God's presence just surrounding me and feeling His love just gave me a peace once again. God is amazing. He will never let go of us and He will always be our provider!

Update on my Job

So we found out today that our interviews will possibly begin Thursday (tomorrow) or Friday, and most definitely next week sometime. Then they are hoping to make a decision shortly after that. The 4 people that they don't pick for the job...their last day will be May 1st.

I am still trusting completely in God that He will give me favor in this situation. If it is not His will for me to stay here, then I know without a shadow of a doubt that there is something better out there for me.

I want to thank each and every one of you that has been keeping me and this situation in your prayers. I have definitely felt your prayers and God has really given me a peace about this whole situation. Yes, I'm not saying that I sometimes don't get uneasy about it because sometimes I do....I don't like the "unknown". But I have really been calm about this whole situation. People at work have commented about how "calm" I've been and my answer is, "It's only God that is helping me". Thank you again for your prayers. Yall are the best!

St. Louis

This past weekend, I went to St. Louis again. My sister Robyn had a banquet to go to with Jeff, so I went up to do my sisters hair! She looked so beautiful! She has also lost almost 40 pounds and I am SO proud of her!!!

MMM HMMM...I had to make sure I got this one too! :)

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!