CHANGE

A lot of people ask my parent and I "Why did ya'll move?"
For 20 + years we lived on Syracuse Road and I honestly thought that was where my parents would grow old and retire.
I personally think that "change" scares everyone even if they don't want to admit it. My parents sold the house in 2005 (which still makes me cry) and they moved to Crosby Drive. It was a BIG "change" and the following year we thought would be better.........boy were we in for a treat!

As I mentioned before the year 2006 was the hardest year for both my parents and I. I broke off an engagement (2 months before wedding) with a guy I was with for 5 years, I lost my job at NSC, my grandmother died at age 87, my dad had a tramatic surgery done and my mother was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. I tell you it was painful and we were ALL giving up on life and God. That year I struggle with stress and depression and tried to remember the verse Matthew 6:34::::Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

So the following year wasn't bad at all::: I joined Newspring Church in October 2007 and my family started to come to Sunday church service. It was so amazing and they still to this day attend every Sunday. In matter of fact they went to their 1st homegroup class last night and get this its on Syracuse Road ;)

Finally we were back on our feet and realized how hard "change" was. I think this defines what "CHANGE" means to me::::'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

Life

So I'm still learning how to blog.....can you tell??? I'm trying to manage a facebook, mySpace, twitter and wedding page. Yes, sounds absolutely insane and is for the most part. So if you are reading.....don't be alarmed if you don't see me on MySpace or Twitter lol ;)

O my, I'm getting old....yessss, my 29th Birthday is next Monday!!!! This weekend Ryan and my family are taking me out to a nice bday dinner at P.F.Changs and then my NKOTB besties are taking me out the following Friday for a girls night out (which btw thank-you Lauren and Tara.) This will be a birthday party I will never forget!!!!
We all went to the NKOTB concert in October and I have to say I had a BLAST!!!!! Lauren, Tara, Ashley, Amy, Kim and Summer are the best friends and I'm so thankful for their friendships.

This past weekend I ran the 5K in downtown Greenville. Lets see the run was beautiful even though it was cloudy but I'm totally out of shape. Lauren had to run and check on me just to make sure I was alive (hahahaha)........ I was but barely. They say when you quit smoking you eat more - that is totally true. Ryan and I are wanting to run the Cooper River in April with the gang so I have to get in shape so I can run and not walk the whole time. If Ryan is gone to basic training, I will have to rely on myself~ POSITIVE attitude will have to kick in!!!!!

Since the last blog, Ryan and I have been extremely busy. He finished pre-test and decided to do National Guard. He leaves this coming Monday to get his physical and take one more test. I'm really excited to see Ryan succeed but at the same time I will miss him when he leaves for training. Ryan is my everything and I'm so grateful for his love.

We also had a praise this past week on my mom's health. If anyone doesn't know my mother....she has had a lot of health issues since I was little girl. My mother used to be handicapped believe it or not. We had a nanny named Debra Valentine who dressed me, took me to school, cooked supper for us, and took care of my mother as much as she could. She was amazing and without her we would have gone crazy!!!! My mom still has a lot of trouble but she can walk....( totally a God thing) In spite of everything else she had in 2006 (the worst year ever for my fam) she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and was rushed to Emory Hospital in Atlanta. Now if anyone doesn't know this.... usually people are dead before they find an aneurysms. THANK-YOU Jesus for saving her! We feel truly blessed everyday to have her still here with us. The test she had done two weeks ago is called a anagram and the doctors said the test results cam out great! Everything looks good and she has to go back next year for another check up. So we really were excited and its so amazing to see God's work.

The best way to end this blog I believe is that we are not promised tomorrow. We have to live life to the fullest even though we have bad days. The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. God doesn't give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED - To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be!

The Beginning

Here is goes my first time blogging. Let's see if I can get the hang of it! I'm sitting here with my parents watching "The Bachelor" and patiently waiting for SNOW!!! Ryan had to work till 8pm this evening so I haven't seen him at all today. We have so much to do with wedding planning that its not even funny. Ryan, of course is my fiance and we got engaged on November 9, 2008. I feel like God answered my prayer and sent me an AWESOME Christian man! How we met was very awkward but totally in the work of God. He is very talented and very smart. Ryan just recently took the pre-test for the Army National Guard and we are both praying for God's guidance. He is really excited about the opportunity and we thank Michael and Lauren Morris for all there help and direction. Luv ya'll so much!!!

So we have a lot going on but I have a wonderful family, awesome, loving friends, and a Heavenly Father who loves me and protects me. I feel truly blessed and free to blog just about anything now LOL.....(hopefully next time I will learn how to put pics up) ??!!!???HELP ;)