Various Weekend Adventures

This weekend we spent a lot of time unpacking our things and putting our own personal touch on the house.  We had some great help from Janet and Cole and actually got most of it done in just one day.  We're so glad to finally have our things.  It was quite the ordeal getting it out here due to our really bad movers, but we're just thankful it made it.  I was beginning to wonder if we'd EVER get our stuff back.  And Stephen has clothes again!  He was more or less on a 5 outfit rotation for the last month, so the first box he found was the one with his clothes in it.  The first one(s) I found had our dishes and pots and pans!  You better believe I had those opened and unpacked the same day they got here!

In other news, Stephen has a job!  He is the new CLC Director for FBC Sylacauga!!!  The CLC is the Christian Life Center, which is basically the recreation/gym/lobby area of the church.   This is such a huge answer to prayer for us.  He has been looking for a job for quite a while now, and God just placed this one in his lap out of the blue.  We literally had no prospect in sight and were praying that God would provide a job for him on Wednesday night, and then Thursday while Stephen was up at the church Pastor Tim asked him if he'd like to take the position.  When Stephen called and told me the good news, all I could think was, "God is amazing and He has totally answered our prayers."  Now we just need to find a new job for me!

We also got to go down to Tuscaloosa this morning to see our dear friends and celebrate the birthday and ministry of Keith Pugh.  This family is so special to Stephen and me.  Kameron was Stephen's best man in our wedding, KJ married us, and Keith & Teresa read scripture during the wedding.  It was great to see all of them and their respective families and to join in the celebration of leadership and a life devoted to God and ministry.  It was a great encouragement to hear testimonies of how God has used the Pugh family, and specifically Keith, to impact others for the Kingdom.  In many ways Stephen and I pray our marriage and ministry will mirror the Pughs.  They have been a godly example to us and we are forever thankful for them.

We Did What?!?

WE GOT A NEW CAR!?!?!!!!!

That's right!  On Saturday Stephen and I became the proud new owners of a Ford Edge.  After a few months of talking about getting a new car, we finally buckled in and drove out of the parking lot with one.  After signing lots of paper with lots of fine print, of course.

We bought it from this great man:

For those of you who don't know, the other man in the picture (besides Stephen) is my wonderful father-in-law Jeff.  He works for Long-Lewis Ford...which is how we were able to afford our nice new car.

Now let me explain a few things.  First of all, the last straw that contributed to us making the big decision to get a car was what I now refer to as one of the most miserable days of my life so far.  The windows in my old car have been giving me problems for over 2 years.  Two of them decided to stop working, and one of them would not go back up - it was stuck with the window down.  I took my car in and was told that it would cost about $500 PER WINDOW to fix them.  So of course I decided it didn't really matter THAT much that I couldn't use my windows, so I just had them bolt the one window that wouldn't go back up into place.  This was about 2 yrs ago.  

Last Thursday, my driver's side window decided to get stuck in the down position and not go back up.  This wouldn't have been the end of the world IF I hadn't been in Birmingham when it happened AND if it hadn't been POURING DOWN RAIN outside. 

Here's the story.

After work Thursday I had to go to the doctor's office.  My window had already decided to stop working earlier in the day.  As I was sitting in the waiting room, with a clear view of my car out in the parking lot and my window WIDE OPEN, the skies opened up and rain came pouring down.  There was nothing I could do.  There was no way to get my window back up.  So I sat there for about 30 minutes and just watched the rain pour into my car as I waited for the doctor to call me back.  All the while knowing I would soon have to drive home in the soggy seat in the rain.

Once I finished at the doctor's, it was STILL POURING DOWN RAIN.  Remember, I'm in Birmingham and have an HOUR drive home to Sylacauga.  It rained pretty much the whole way.  At one point I attempted to open an umbrella and hold it over the window while I was driving, but the wind kept blowing the umbrella around, and really it wasn't doing that much good.  Plus it was probably pretty dangerous to be holding the umbrella up to my window while I was trying to drive in the rain.

Then I decided to stop at WalMart and buy a garbage bag and some tape - maybe I can tape up my window and keep the rain out.  Good idea except for the fact that it's still raining and the entire inside of my car is wet, so there's no way for the tape to stick.  Plus the wind blew the trashbag off the window.  

I did however buy a towel.  To place between my wet clothes and my very soggy seat.  Not that it did much good at that point.

All that to say, when I finally got home soaking wet, the first thing Stephen said after "I'm sorry" was "We're going to buy a new car this weekend."  This was music to my ears, no matter how much it might cost in the long run.

So we went to see Jeff and came home with the Edge.  It's a crossover, so it gets better gas mileage than an SUV and it looks super cool.  Here's some pics of the inside.

I LOVE the moon-roof/sunroof!  It covers like the entire ceiling of the car.  It's almost like driving with the top down and I've ALWAYS wanted a sunroof.

So that was our big purchase for like the next 10 years.  It sure has made the drive to work each day a little more fun.  We're really enjoying it and will be taking it on a little roadtrip this weekend to Atlanta to see my aunt & uncle.  Should be fun!

Life In Sylacauga

Sorry it's been a while.  Stephen and I have been keeping pretty busy here in Sylacauga.  We had a GREAT time at the lake with my family for the 4th of July.  It was so good to see everyone, even if it was just for a few short days.  We had lots of fun hanging out on the lake and Stephen went fishing with the guys and caught some big 'ol fish!

A different group of our family went each night and my Aunt Mary actually caught the biggest fish of the weekend...beginner's luck, I guess!

Since then we've been entertaining lots of friends and family in our new house!  Our dear friend KJ Pugh (he married me and Stephen) came and stayed for a night last week after preaching at a youth retreat in the area.  It was great to have him over and catch up for a little bit.   Next time we hope he brings his sweet family along too!  We're excited they've moved to Tuscaloosa and hopefully will get to see them a little more often.

This past weekend we had a big group over for dinner.  I guess "big" is relative.  We had Janet, Jeff, Frank, and Chad (family friend and carpenter/house refinisher extraordinaire), plus Stephen and me.  Stephen grilled steaks on our new grill and they turned out soooo good!  And I had fun in the kitchen with Janet getting all the side dishes and desserts ready.  We had a great time of fellowship together and hopefully will be having many more meals just like that one.

We also made a large purchase over the weekend, which I will be posting about hopefully tomorrow after I take some pictures!  Get excited!!!

Beaver Lake

We're off to the lake for a 4th of July Johnson family get-together. I can't wait to see the family and to relax and have fun out on the lake. I am definitely ready for a few days of relaxation with my hubby!

Our New House

This post is going to be primarily pictures.  And I must say that ALL decorating and furniture, etc was already in the house when we got here.  Our stuff still hasn't even made it out here yet.  But for a brief explanation of where we are living now:  Sylacauga, Alabama is our new home.  Stephen grew up in this small town outside of Birmingham and it is full of Southern hospitality and small town friendships - the kind where everyone knows everyone else and their entire life's history.  His family is here and it's where he lived from the time he was born until he left for college.  We are living here while he finishes seminary at the New Orleans extension in Birmingham.  We are living in his grandparents' house, which has been unoccupied for the last 7 or so years.  Stephen's uncle and mom have worked hard renovating it over the last 3 years, and we are now getting to reap the benefits in this beautifully redone and redecorated, furnished, HUGE, southern house.  We are SOOOO thankful for this blessing in our lives and hope to spend our time here building relationships that edify and point people to the Lord.  Ok, now for some pictures!

We've gone from here:

To here:

Look, there's me!

And there's my car in the driveway!

This is one of our favorite rooms:

And there's a whole lot more...that was only 1 of the 4 bedrooms, but that's all the pics I have at the moment.  Didn't Stephen's mom do a great job decorating the house!?!

Life is Wonderful

He's here! He's here!  See:

He's sitting with me in the office RIGHT NOW!  It's actually been a few days since my wonderful husband and father-in-law got into town and we've been going, going, going.  We're actually about to run to WalMart and buy housey stuff like some sprinklers, and an AC filter and food to grill on our new grill!  Thanks Aunt Jamie!!!  I have some great pictures of our new house that I promise to put up really soon - maybe even tonight, but I gotta run for now!  Isn't he cute!

He's REALLY almost here!

TOMORROW!!!!!!! Please, oh please, Lord, let them make it back tomorrow! As long as they continue to make pretty good time and drive a whole lot, Stephen and Frank should be here tomorrow night!!! I get to see my wonderful husband in a day!