Happy Birthday......Invitations!

Since Calleigh's birthday is so close (only 1 month away, can you believe it?) I have begun working on her party. I know that she has no idea about anything I am doing, but I want it to be special. Since she does not have a favorite character or anything like that, I have decided to go with polka dots for her party. I am making polka dot cupcakes for everyone, having a small meal,and making gift bags for the kids from Calleigh thanking them for coming to her party! I am really pumped about this if you can't tell. I think that my real calling was to be a party planner! I love it!

I could not find the invitations that I wanted, so I decided to make them. I went to my favorite scrapbook store, The Doodlebug, and picked out some paper. Then, I found the envelopes, printed and cut the invitations, and now I am punching hold and securing them together with ribbon. Here are two pics of what I am doing:
The one on the top is the unfinished invitations and the bottom is what they look like finished.





We had a great time in Indy with Andrew's sister Katie and her husband Jon. We played a LOT of RockBand...if you have never played, this find one and try it out; It was so much fun! Andrew had his dancing debut in "Thriller" at his school on Friday and it was pretty awesome! I video recorded it, but it did not record right :-( But, it was so good! He is doing another thing this week at their pep session for the sectional games which are on Tuesday! GO CARDINALS!

Hope your weekend was great, sorry I have not be updating as much, but I have been swamped! Take care and God bless!

In Honor of Andon......plus some others!

IN HONOR OF AN ANGEL IN HEAVEN, ANDON KNEPP

I can only imagine what fun he is having there! Playing with the other angels, running and jumping, listening to Jesus read him stories and tell him about the world, playing tag, eating cookies, and looking down on his family and watching over them!

In Honor of the Knepp family, I have been inspired by a friend of theirs to write a little about Andon. On Valentine's Day, we were asked to do something in his honor, something to remember little Andon on that day. What did I do with my family? The one thing I could think to do to honor him and the Knepp family was to cherish the family I have been blessed with and spend time with them. We did not need to do anything more important or special then to be with each other. And that is exactly what we did. Andrew and I exchanged our presents a little early (Friday night) so we stayed at home, made a new recipe that we wanted to try, baked a cake, watched some tv, and played with Calleigh. And it was the best Valentine's Day I could have asked for.

For those of you who are wondering what Andrew and I got each other here is your answer: Andrew got me 3 pink roses, one for each year we have been married, and a sign that say "Live by the sun, Love by the moon" I got him some chocolate and a movie. In most families, it is the woman who loves chocolate; but we are not that kind of a family. Andrew loves sweets and I could completely do with out them!



Andrew has decided that he is going to start his MAT and has chosen the principal option......and I am very excited for him! I have known all along that he would make a wonderful principal, and now he has decided to go for it! I am backing him 100%! Keep our family in your prayers while we go through this transition and give my husband the strength to not give up, I know he will do great!

Andrew is very active in his school and will be doing a part in a pep session as Michael Jackson in Thriller. He has been staying after school learning the dance with some other teachers....I am very excited to have tomorrow off so I can go and watch him! Here is a little peak of the real thing...we'll see if his looks like this!



Please pray for a girl I know who was 16 weeks along lost her baby. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers!

Also, please keep Andrew, Calleigh, and I in your prayers as we travel to see Andrew's sister in Indy this weekend!

Lyrics that touch my heart and some thoughts

"Love is not a fight"-Warren Barfield

Love is not a place
to come and go as we please
It's a house we enter in
then commit to never leave

So lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
Work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter
in a raging storm
Love is peace
in the middle of a war
If we try to leave;
May God send angels to guard the door
No, Love is not a fight
but its something worth fighting for

Some love is a word
that they can fall into.
But when they're falling out
keeping that word is hard to do

Love is a shelter
in a raging storm
Love is peace
in the middle of a war
If we try to leave;
May God send angels to guard the door
No, Love is not a fight
but its something worth fighting for

Love will come to save us
If we'll only call
He will ask nothing from us
but demand we give our all

Love is a shelter
in a raging storm
Love is peace
in the middle of a war
If we try to leave;
May God send angels to guard the door
No, Love is not a fight
but its something worth fighting for

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This song is about all kinds of love, at least it is to me. Since Valentine's Days is this weekend, I have been thinking about love a lot lately. Just like the song says, Love is not a fight, but its something worth fighting for. The love a family, the love between a husband and wife, the love between a a parent and their child, the love between us and God. This song can apply to all of these. I am blessed to have the love of all above. I have the love of a family, of parents, of a child, of a spouse, and of my heavenly father. I found something today called "The 30-day Husband Encouragement Challenge for Wives". Please understand, my marriage is not in trouble, not even close. We have a wonderful marriage with so much love and respect. It's one of the best relationships I have ever been in, others being with my family, my child, and my Savior. But, sometimes we just need a little reminder of how much we love our spouse and we need to show them. Sometimes we take for granted our relationships with our spouses. This is something we don't need to do. I want him to know how much I love him and need him and I don't ever want him to forget it! So, Andrew, if you are reading this, I hope the next 30 days remind you of how much I need you and how important you are in my life!

I know God has plans, but sometimes I wish I knew what they are!

Just a little update for those of you who have been asking about the Career Service job here at Oakland City University. Well, I did not get the job. I felt as thought my interview went well, but that is something that you never know about. It could be wonderful for you, and then others have one that is better. I do not have a legit reason why it did not work out, I was just told that they went with 2 other people. Sometimes I feel like I get the shaft here at Oakland City. My boss, who I have also become good friends with, wanted to be the one to tell me and I respect him for that. He is an awesome guy, who is a blessing to work with. He has actually helped me in getting jobs by giving me a reference, so I know he is sincere. And my friend, Lauren(aka Housing Director) is an amazing person to work with. It is not that I do not like my job, because I LOVE it, but it does not pay enough(which is something my boss is also working on!) So, maybe it will all work out here. I feel this is where I am supposed to be. I know that I am a hard worker, I am skilled in many ways, and I will get the job that God has ahead for me. I wish that I knew what it was and that it would get her soon, but it will, in God's time.

I know that someday I want to have another baby, but that can't happen until Andrew or I(or both) get different jobs. We want to be able to give a child everything they deserve and need, and financially right now we can only provide for ourselves and Calleigh. If God were to bless us with another child, we could make do, but we would rather wait until we are more financially stable. But, like I said, it's all in God's plan.

Chelsa has updated her blog with an update on her health. Praise the Lord that she is physically getting better. This is going to be a long process for her, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers! She also asks that we pray for her husband, Ryan, as he is fighting a cold/sinus issue.

Another praise that I have is that Harper, Kelly's little girl, finally is at home after 20 days! Kelly and Scott got to dress her up and take her home last night! Our God is amazing and awesome and he can do things we think are impossible!

Andrew and I are going to a dance tomorrow! I am excited that I get to get all dressed up, go out to eat, and have a good time with the love of my life! Calleigh will be staying with her Grandma Janet(Andrew's mom) the whole night, which will be a bonding experience for them. And a night off for Andrew and I ;-)

We are expecting some warm weather here over the weekend, and I am excited about that! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!
Here is a picture of my cutie! Or maybe 2! Take care!

Praises and Love

I had an email today about how to tell if your child loves you. There were 7 signs, but only the first 4 were for infants and toddlers(the rest were for pre-schoolers and grade-schoolers). It made me feels so good to read it because all 4 were things that I see in Calleigh:

1. Your newborn stares into your eyes — he's actually working hard to memorize your face. He doesn't understand anything else about the world, but he knows you're important. I love it when she stares straight at me and then laughs or smiles!

2. Your baby thinks about you even when you're not around. Between 8 and 12 months old, he'll start to scrunch his face and look around when you leave the room — and he'll smile when you return. She does this when I leave a room sometimes, let alone when I leave her at my mom's house!

3. Your toddler throws wicked tantrums. Nope, those screaming fits don't mean he's stopped loving you. He wouldn't be so hurt and angry if he didn't trust you so deeply. She has developed a little temper!

4. Your toddler runs(or in Calleigh's case, crawls as fast as the speed of lightning!) to you for comfort when he falls down or feels sad. Kids this age may not truly understand the meaning of "I love you," but their actions speak louder than words. I love that she can crawl to me, pull herself up on my leg and babble at me, how can I resist that? I don't!

She has been the biggest blessing in my life. I love her more than I ever thought possible! Now on to my praises.

Yesterday was a sad day. I got a phone call from a friend of mine letting me know about another friend of ours. Chelsa was 34 weeks pregnant and she lost her baby yesterday. Please pray for her as she along with her husband and son go though this tough time. This is something that I can't imagine, but in all of this I praise the Lord. I praise him that they are strong in the faith and God will be walking with them. I praise the Lord that he knows the plans for their life. I praise him for giving her this time with Andon, although it was short. I praise him for giving her the opportunity to be a wonderful mommy to the little boy she already has. I praise him that she is also a wonderful wife to Ryan. I praise him the she is a good friend to me. I praise him the she loves the Lord and we all see it in her. She is a inspiration to many and I know that she will be leaning on the arms of the Lord during this time as he has them wrapped around her. I will praise him in their time of need.

I thought about all of the wonderful things that he has allowed me to have in my life. There are too many to list, but I will give him praise for the just a small amount of them. I praise him for giving me a family who has blessed my life in such a huge way. My parents, who have loved me no matter what, unconditionally, and they are such a blessing in my life. I praise him for my mom, who is my best friend and who has raised me in church and showed me a life through the Lord. I praise him for my dad, who believes in the Lord, but someday will have the kind of relationship that I do with him. Keep him in your prayers. I praise him for my extended family, who sometimes falter, but most have an enormous faith. I praise him for my friends, who have all grown in the spiritual lives just as I have. I praise him for Andrew, the love of my life, who has shown me so much in just the short 6 years we have been together. We have grown in the Lord together, and I also praise him for that. I praise him for the angel he has given me to take care of here on this earth. He knows just what we need, when we need it, and I praise him for that. I am very thankful for the life he has given me here on this earth and hope that I have many more years ahead. But whenever he chooses my time to go to my heavenly home, I praise him for that. I thank that Lord for all of the great blessings in my life.

Sometimes, we think life gives us more than we can handle. With the economy right now, many people are having a tough time praising the Lord. He gives me air to breathe and a family who loves me, so no matter how bad it may get, I still have a reason to praise him. I hope you do too!

God bless each and every one of you, and please keep my friend and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

All snowed it......

So, today after a whole week off of work I am finally back! We had a whole lot of snow, no power for 2 hours, and a lot of time together as a family. Here are a few pics of the snow at our house!







We had a good time as a family time, but I have a lot of work to catch up on so I will write more and post tomorrow! Take care!