Enough

Last night I was venting to my Mom about how there is something in particular that I have been praying for. I've been praying about this for a long time and I just feel like God isn't saying much of anything. He's not saying yes or no or maybe. Just nothing at all. I know He is hearing me but I am just really feeling like my prayer is getting a bit repetitive and that nothing is coming out of it.

Then after choir rehearsal last night, our associate worship pastor was sharing with us some things that have been on his heart. He was saying how we have so much going on in the world right now. The economy, the dumb swine flu, the Houston flood, and all of these things just keep adding up and swirling around us, overwhelming us. He said that we are all praying and that some of us are starting to feel like WHAT IS THE ANSWER?! He mentioned how often we only go to God in prayer because of what He can do for us. We pray because we think we could get something out of it. We think we can get what we want and pray to Him enough so that we can get what WE have planned for our lives. (All those convicted by the last 3 sentences say aye.)

Aye.

But the thing is, HE IS THE GIFT. He is the answer. Even if He never answers that prayer I've been praying, even if He never says a word (which I firmly believe will not happen cause my God just ain't like that) we can feel content and at peace and full of hope because He is who He says He is. He is enough. He is more than enough. Don't pray because of what He can do for You. Pray because of what He did for you!

So even if His answer isn't the one you wanted, He still answered you. He still saved you. He still has chosen you to be His child and spend eternity with Him. That is so much more than any earthly thing you are asking of Him.

And ya know what? The more I think about Him not responding to my prayer... the more I think He's actually just saying "Wait, baby girl. Just wait."

Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit".

The Waters Have Receded

It rained all afternoon yesterday. In the early evening, it really started coming down hard. It was that rain that starts to look horizontal. I cancelled my appointment with Alonzo (which I will so pay for later) and decided to call it a night. You can read an amazing story here that cracks me up. Well... it never stopped raining. Ever. You can also read about Lindsee sitting on the floor of an electricity-less Wal-Mart eating Oreos here. It made my day!

We had thunder, lightning and torrential rain for 8 hours straight. It was LOUD. I probably woke up once an hour due to the thunder.

Well, sure enough, the alarm went off this morning, I got out of bed, went straight into the living room and turned on the television. Grant, still in bed, sleepily said "What's going on?".

"It's flooding"

"How do you know?"

"Cause it's Houston and I know".

Sure enough, I turned on the news where they were reading the lists of school closures and freeway shut-downs. Certain areas of Houston (especially the Katy and Cypress areas) got 6 inches of rain in 6 hours!

So, Grant and I got to go into work pretty late since we were waiting for the flood waters to subside. We could've swam to work!

So that's what's going on in our neck of the woods. How's the weather up there?

Leave a comment saying where you are and how the weather is today!

Things I've Done and Things I'll Do

Well, it is Friday. I've taken a bit of a bloggy break since Monday and let me tell you, it has been a very productive week! A few things I have gotten accomplished:

1. I made dinner every single night this week!

2. I brought my lunch every single day this week! (Mostly leftovers and Lean Cuisines, but still, SAVING THE MONEYS!)

3. I worked out twice, once with Alonzo and once by myself.

4. I worked 6.25 hours of overtime at work this week. Trial prep week is rough!

And here are a few things I am going to get accomplished this weekend:

1. SLEEP. IN.

2. Clean. All my cooking and working overtime has left me with quite the messy house.

3. SLEEP. IN.

4. Go to the bridal shop with my sweet college roommate of three years, Tiffany, to try on my bridesmaids dress for her wedding in October. Here's a pic of the dress, except our dress will be black with an ivory sash.

5. Watch a girl movie. I am SO in the mood!

Here's a couple random things to add: I'd like to give a shout-out to my friend Jess for her amazing post about bringing pale back. Holla!

Also, how FLIPPING CUTE are my twin nieces?! Scarlett and Juliet are going to be 3 on May 31. Can you believe it?! I love them so much....

Dear Alonzo,

Let me clarify a few things before our fitness relationship continues. The reason this whole situation has worked up untl this point is because the exercise atmosphere is to my liking. But let me tell you what doesn't work for me: working out outside. Okay first of all it is hot. And if I want to stand in the shade, you need to let me. I'm a little perturbed by all the cars driving by and all the honking. I was feeling an asthma attack coming on.

Homie don't like to be outside. That ain't me. I like to work out with the air conditioning and the clocks and the televisions and the Britney Spears music. Okay??

Also, if you want me to jump rope that fast please let me know ahead of time so I can put on atleast 3 sports bras.

Thank you,

Home is Here

The first place Grant and I ever lived in as a married couple was a 2 bedroom apartment in Gonzales, Louisiana. We lived there for one year and 4 months. Sometimes it felt like our home, but most days it felt like an apartment. I always knew in the back of my mind that our residence there would not be permanent. I always knew that eventually we would move into a house, and that would be our home.

In May of 2008, we moved to Texas. Grant got a new job and we didn't have alot of time to look around at housing situations. We agreed that the smartest option would be to find an apartment, sign a six month lease, and eventually start house-hunting once we got our bearings. Sure, a one bedroom apartment is small but it's only six months, we can totally do that!

Fast forward to almost-May 2009, and we are still in that one bedroom apartment. When our initial lease was up, we both felt that the timing just wasn't right to buy a house. Our new lease is up in a few months and Grant and I both feel that the Lord is beginning to guide us through the house-hunting journey.

I am a woman obsessed. I look at houses online all day everyday. I look at the pictures over and over and over again. Could this be our home? Could this be the house that we finally settle down in? My mind rapidly flashes through future milestones. Hosting Sunday School parties. Throwing a wedding shower someday for my Lindsee. Bringing our first child home. Which bedroom will be the nursery? What are the schools like nearby? Is the pantry big enough? What about the master bedroom closet, how big is it? Is there enough room in the driveway for other people to park? Is the floorplan open so people won't feel crowded when they are at our house watching the Superbowl? This could be our home.

I am so caught up in feeling settled. And when you think about it, I kinda have a reason to. When I went to college when I was 18, I lived in the dorms, and I knew that was temporary. Then my roommate and I moved into an apartment off campus, and I knew that was temporary. Then another apartment in College Station, and I knew that was temporary. Then before the wedding, I lived with my parents and I knew that was temporary. After the wedding we moved to Louisiana and I knew our first apartment there was temporary. And here we are now. Temporarily living here. I've been in temporary mode since I was 18.

I think I told someone the other day "Grant and I are ientering into our 3rd year of marriage and I feel like the whole dang thing has been in a state of transition!".

But, ya know what I realized? I'm wrong. My life is settled. Every morning I wake up next to the same wonderful, sweet, hard-working, godly man. And we wake up in the same bed that we've had since the wedding. And we get ready for work. And we text message throughout the workday. And we watch The Office and I cook dinner and he does the dishes. And Moxie sits inbetween us on the couch while we watch a golf show. Then Grant takes the dog out one last time while I start the getting-ready-for-bed process. Grant sets the alarms for the next morning and we kiss goodnight and fall asleep. It's the same. It's not temporary. My life with this wonderful, wonderful man is permanent.

Grant and I have been together for five years. How much more settled can things get? No matter where we are living, no matter how many bedrooms there are or how big the closet is...

This is Home.

Workin' it Out

So I've been working my booty off (quite literally, I might add) with Alonzo. For those of you that know me, you know that I am not the best when it comes to tolerating exercise.

Alonzo did inform me not to be late since he "got a Laker game to watch". Don't worry, he watched it through the entirety of my workout. He just stared at the big television on the wall while barking orders at me and saying "you feel it?!" randomly interspersed throughout his countdowns.

He likes to say "You feel it?!" ALOT. He also says what I believe to be "Come on with it" but it actually comes out a bit more like "cuh-mow-wit-it".

So my ab machine work out sounds a bit like this from my persepective:

10... cuh-mow-wit-it....

9.... cuh-mow-wit-it....

8....how's it feelin little mama?......

7...cuh-mow-wit-it.....

6.....finer than wine, finer than wine....

5...cuh-mow-wit-it....

4.....you feel it?......

3.....kickin' it like crisco.... (???)

2....... cuh-mow-wit-it..

1.....you smokin tonight! come on 2 more!

2....cuh-mow, one more!

1....dat's right, 2 more!

2... (At this point I typically yell YOU ARE SUCH A LIAR!)

1....aight aight mama walk it out. walk it out little mama.

And then I just lie on the floor and die.

A Very Scattered Ten

1. Everything is breaking all at one time! Grant's car broke down twice on us Easter Sunday on I-10 (PRAISE THE LORD FOR GETTING US HOME SAFELY!) and the earpiece on my cellphone broke and I could only communicate via speakerphone. I had to begin every conversation with "Hi, you're on speakerphone so don't say anything embarassing!"

2. Grant's car is in the shop and should be ready this afternoon. I had my phone transferred over to Grant's old cell phone. I'm not complaining or anything but I don't like his old phone. It's totally a boy phone.

3. This morning when I stepped on the scale, I was two pounds lighter. Hooray for baby steps!

4. I packed my husband's lunch this morning (leftovers from dinner last night) and also made him 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for snacks. He was so happy!

5. I totally felt really convicted yesterday. There is a man at my office that is one of those people that is just really difficult to like. Most of the girls here are not fans of him and he is irritating. Because of this, I am cordial to him and professional but I haven't been real friendly. Well yesterday we got an email from HR to all of us girls saying that she had a discussion with him and she is asking that we all please "treat him like a human". I felt really bad. I'm sure alot of people find my obnoxious personality less than tolerable and I don't ever want to be treated rudely. I guess I always justified it with the fact that I wasn't being ugly to him, I just didn't go out of my way for him. I would say hello but not engage. I'm sure he could read between the lines though and see that none of us are especially fond of him. But that does not excuse my behavior. It was not Christ-like of me and I am definitely going to change the way I treat him.

6. Please pray for my sister Jaclyn. Her baby boy Dean has had a rough go of it (you can read about it on her blog) and the little buddy could really use a break! (And so could his mommy!)

7. I am tickled pink because my parents are taking their three granddaughters to see Disney on Ice on Friday morning. I wish I could be there to watch their sweet faces! Those girls are so lucky to have such a fun Grammy and Pops!

8. Tonight on American Idol, the theme is "Songs from the Movies". I'm kinda hoping Adam Lambert does "Eye of the Tiger" from Karate Kid. Even if Simon does call it karaoke!

9. I am preparing myself for the month of May. It is our crazy month for gifts! May includes the birthdays of 3 nieces, 1 sister, 1 sister-in-law, 1 husband and 2 Mother's Days! I'm starting my shopping now!

10. It really is a beautiful day and I am praising God for waking me up with such a joyful heart this morning! Here is a beautiful picture of a Texas sunrise :)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

My Preschool Choir

Since September, I have been one of the teachers in our church preschool choir. I have absolutely loved watching these kiddos learn about music. They are so enthusiastic and funny. And they really are learning this stuff, which is perhaps what I have been most surprised about. They can identify and name a quarter note, a half note, a whole note, a quarter rest, and eighth note and can read the rhythms outloud. For quarter notes we say "ta" and for eighth notes we say "ti-ti" which always makes them erupt into a sea of giggles. It is hilarious.

Last night I had a few early birds arrive while I was still setting up the classroom. I had about 12 kids in there and they were starting to get a bit rowdy. I couldn't really entertain them since I was still trying to get the room set up. So I shouted "HEY! I want everyone to act like a monkey!". With no hesitation at all, I'm telling you that within 1 second I had 12 little monkeys running around that room. Next I said "Okay, now I want everyone to act like a snake!" and immediately all twelve of them hit the floor and started slithering around. I love how they all do it instantly and have such joy pretending to be all the animals. We played that game for a good 5 minutes and it didn't get old.

What's been even more amazing is watching how much they have changed since September. Some of them are 4 going on 5, and some of them are 5 going on 6. But not only have they gotten taller in the last 7 or 8 months, but they act so differently then when I first met them. Their social skills have improved especially. And they are a HOOT.

Typically every week I come home with atleast one great quote. Last night's line was:

"Hey-you-know-what-Mizjenny? My mom went to the doctor today for her moles".

I'm sure her mom would be just thrilled to know that I am now aware of her mole problems!

Tuesday Morning Thoughts...

So I worked out with Alonzo last night. My bootie and my quads are on fire. I had a really hard time walking down the stairs this morning to get to my car. I wished in that moment that there was a slide.

Alonzo brought me to a very sad realization last night. I told him when we started this whole journey that I know that I am a petite person and not overweight but that I really wanted to tone up. Last night, he did all the measuring. I was weighed, photographed and tape measured at every angle. But then he gave me this little machine that I had to hold on to that would calculate my fat percentage. Alonzo said "Just by lookin at you baby girl, I'd say you is about 11% body fat". Somehow I knew he'd be wrong. I'm a little girl but there are parts of me that could be much littler. Alonzo was SHOCKED (he said a curse word) when my body fat calculation came back at 24%! "We got some work to do sweet pea!".

I did alright last night, the hardest part for me was the ab workouts. My goodness. My tummy has no muscles and I was not able to work out that area like he wanted me to. He told me that we would just work that area super hard. Great! But I did well on arms and legs. We'll see how it goes...

I'm so glad that Easter is upon us. It is such a happy holiday, and I'm not just saying that because I get Friday off!

I love how springy and happy everything is, but most of all, I love what we are celebrating. I love the fact that we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Not bunnies. Not colored eggs. I read something online this week that says that there is a large percentage of Americans who really don't know what Easter is or why we celebrate it. They know it has something to do with religion but not much beyond that.

We celebrate the fact that we have grace and mercy every morning when we wake up because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is everything and I am nothing without Him. Praise the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, the Deliverer, Redeemer, Forgiver and Savior.

How lost I would be without Him... what a dark and hopeless world we would live in if it weren't for the sacrifice and atonement that we have been given through Jesus. I said some things over the weekend that I wish I could take back, but I know that I am forgiven and free because of Jesus. If God had never sent His one and only Son to pay for our sins, then that thing I said this weekend could never be taken back and would be just one more reason that I would forever be separated from the Lord.

May we never take for granted that we have been given a gift!

Fried Asparagus

I'm moving slowly today, y'all....

Don't get me wrong, it was SUCH a fun weekend, but I am beyond beat. I am not functioning very well this morning.

Friday night we met Katie & Mo at the new Studio Movie Grill and saw the Julia Roberts movie "Duplicity". I liked it alot. You had to pay attention but it was a fun Friday night film. We ate so much food like you would never believe but it was a blast!

Saturday morning, Grant and his friend Ben spent the whole day at the Shell Houston Open. It is a major PGA golf tournament that comes through town once a year. The boys were so excited and alot of big name players were going to be there. So, I headed over to see Lynn, Ben's wife, and helped her paint her master bedroom! Ben and Lynn just bought a house and it is so fun to see everything start coming together. Lynn chose the most beautiful green for their room, it's a Behr shade called "Asparagus" and it is such a warm, happy color. We finished the ENTIRE room, (our poor arms!) and we think it looks fabulous! What a successful day.

Sunday, I woke my sore little self up and we headed to church. I was already achey from the painting, and I had no idea what I was in for the rest of the day. You see, after church, Lynn & I went with Ben and Grant to see the finale of the Shell Houston Open. Lots of walking was involved. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, very sunny and breezy and not too hot. We saw so many players that I'm so used to seeing every weekend on television: Anthony Kim, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Hunter Mahon, JB Holmes, Vijay Singh and more! (Not that ya'll care). We were there for many many hours and I was really enjoying the nice day.

Until I got back in the car and realized how FRIED I am!!! I did put on sunscreen but I missed a few spots and ya'll.... OUCH! I am in some major pain today! I was already sore but now I wince everytime that I move! My face looks just lovely and my neck is all splotchy. I am definitely quite a sight! And the Aloe Vera is just not giving me much relief... I hope this goes away soon.

And to complicate things a bit more, tonight is my first date with the new man in my life. Tonight I get to spend some time with a large beefcake that wears gold earrings and muscle shirts. Alonzo is my new personal trainer and I just don't know how much I can do tonight. I already explained to him that he has his work cut out for him because I have asthma and the upper body strength of a four year old. He has no idea what he's in for.

Pray for me. :) And also pray for Alonzo!

Top 9 Idol Recap

I don't know if I'll do this every week, but I'm doing it this week! Time for Jen the Newlywed's idol recap. Let us begin:

Anoop

Anoop sang an Usher song that I don't really care for. Randy was totally right, Usher is more of a "dancer's singer" and that is more of a dance song. I feel like Anoop never really shows us just how good he is. Plus, his eyebrows are a bit concerning.

Megan Joy

Megan sang "Turn Your Lights Down Low". I really really think she should've sung an Adele song or something by Duffy. She has that raspy, blues-y tone that would shine in one of those songs. Something about her is just a bit odd, but she is cute as a button.

Danny Gokey

When they said that Danny was singing "What Hurts the Most", I knew it would be a good song for him. It is right in his range and it's just a great song anyway. He performed it well, but sometimes he tends to overshoot things and go a bit sharp. Plus, no offense to any major Danny lovers out there, but there is something about his voice that is a bit incorrect. He sounds like he isn't treating his voice right to me and I can't quite put my finger on it. However, he is a great guy and is one of the stronger performers in the competition. Hooray for Danny.

Allison

Okay, the beginning of that song was amazing. I gotta hand it to her. She sounded good. "Don't Speak" was a great song choice for her. But then some thing flips and I feel like she's a teenage girl in her bedroom rocking out to the CD while looking in the mirror. It was weird. My husband said that she looked like a character from the Flintstones. I concur.

Scott

Scott was sooooo much better this week. He made alot of smart decisions. I feel like he realized that people were thinking that he wasn't that great of a singer so he chose something that would showcase him vocally. He sounded great. Somebody FINALLY did something with his hair, although I thought he looked a bit like Kinickie from "Grease". I think that he was smart to choose Billy Joel and "Just the Way You Are" is a great song. He did a great job. I still think his weeks are numbered though because he is very one dimensional. And that's okay.

Matt

So my husband bought the new Fray CD a few months back and hasn't stopped playing it since. The song Matt sang last night "You Found Me" is one of our favorites and we listen to it often. SUCH a great song and I felt like he performed it well. I think the judges were a bit hard on him last night. They prefer the blues side of him more, apparently. That's okay. I think he is a great talent and an excellent pianist.

Lil Rounds

Oh, Lil and her ever-changing hair style. She's having fun with those wigs, isn't she?! Homegirl can SING but I'm getting bored with her. She chose a BIG song- "I Surrender" by Celine. She sang it well but I am just losing interest. A guy is totally going to win this year.

Adam Lambert

Adam. Adam is the boy I hate to love. He is such a spaz and wish I didn't like him. However, he is a spaz that CANNOT hit a bad note. CANNOT. There is NOTHING to high for him. His range is unbelievable and he wows me every week. He sang "Play that Funky Music White Boy" which was a bit strange but he sang the heck out of it. Man, he's good.

Kris Allen

My boy Kris sang "Ain't No Sunshine" and he played the piano! Who knew?! GREAT vocals. Super creative arrangement. I love him. You're my boy, blue!

Other notes: Simon seems like he always wants to laugh at Paula's critique. And honestly, if she would just cut herself off after a few sentences she would sound alot more intelligent. The longer she goes on, the worse it gets. And how cute was Randy being all cuddly with Lil's daughter? Adorable. He looked like he was a natural. And sometimes, I think Kara is the only judge who makes any sense!

Great show. I'm thinking that tonight's bottom 3 will be Megan, Allison and Scott. Any of those that I just listed could be switched out with Anoop. We'll see.

Your thoughts?