Weekend Wrap-up

Another fantastic weekend has come and gone. I look forward to my weekends. Saturday night we had a small girls night out because the hubby went out of town for an auction. Cecilia and her 2 dogs came to stay the night with me and we had a fun evening. Our house was packed though. 10 dogs under one roof. At least 5 of those dogs are 2 week old puppies who couldn't go anywhere. All the dogs did so good though.

Sunday is probably my very favorite day of the week. I LOVE going to our church. God has been doing some amazing things in my life and I am so excited to see what is to come. I know that my heart has been changed and things are different, not perfect but changing for the good.

Sunday night we had some great friends over for dinner and a failed attempt at Smores. Windy days and fires don't mix.

Looks like Chloie and Zues are having a conversation. Our dog is so sophisticated that he has to sit in a chair.

While the rest of the world hates Mondays, I absolutly love them. We had a hair color class this morning so I had to be up early, but the day was pretty good. I had lunch with the girls from work at Orlandos. They set out free sacks of old bread to go feed the ducks, so feed the ducks is what I did. I took my camera and 2 bags full of bread and started snapping some pictures. The weather was perfect to be out at the park.

There's just something about a stark white duck that I just love.

Monday evening consisted of the amazingly powerful prayer gathering at ELife then some dinner with Joseph. I am going to attempt to begin teaching myself to play the guitar now. We will see how it goes.

Chloie meets the babies

Chloie has been telling her mom she wants to come see Gina's babies for a while now. After prayer group tonight they came over for dinner and to meet the 5 pug babies. It was pretty precious to see.

This sweet baby always sleeps on her back with her tongue out. She didn't even budge when I held her on her back for a while. I'm getting attached to the little boogers.

Happy Easter

Easter weekend was amazing. It was really great to remember the true meaning of Easter and that the only reason we are here on this earth is because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the tomb for our sins. The church service this weekend was so awesome and touched so many lives. God is doing some huge things in Lubbock and it's so cool to see all the people who are committing their lives to Christ. I feel so blessed to be a part of such an amazing, growing church. This weekend there were a total of 4450 people attending the 5 services and 125 people made first time commitments to Christ. WOW! Chris led an amazing service. It was such a unique service with a rapper, UFC style fighter, and a great message about how Jesus never "tapped out" and how he is an Ultimate Fighter.

We went to the Saturday night service and took a ton of friends and family with us. We were super excited to share this experience with our family. Easter Sunday I volunteered for 2 services to teach 2 and 3 year olds. They were super sweet and a lot of fun.

We went to my mom's house for Easter lunch and she still had us a little Easter egg hunt. We are probably too old for that by now, but you gotta love tradition. It was the most beautiful day so we spent a lot of time outdoors. We went out to the lake to spend the evening and have dinner with Joe's family. We rode around on the scooters and hung out on the porch. What a perfect Easter with my love. Couldn't ask for anything more.

Thank you Jesus for dying for our sins and raising from the tomb. Please help me to be an example of the christian woman you want me to be.

These are a few of my favorite things.....

I was looking on Etsy.com the other night and found a few things that I LOVE and that inspire me. I love feathers, birds, peacocks, giraffes, hearts, and trees!

Baby Update

The baby pugs are doing so great. They are growing, and staying healthy and happy. Gina continues to be a good mommy and feeds the babies a lot. I can't wait for them to open their eyes and to start being playful. Nuggett really wants to hang out with the puppies and be a fun daddy but Gina makes him keep their distance. The only bad part is the fact that with all the puppy excitement, the older dogs have been a little restless so once again I'm not getting much sleep.

Awesome Day

Today was an awesome day. From start to finish, it was just plain great. I started my day out with a volunteer project (one of many) that our church, Experience Life, was putting on. We went to Wheatley Elementary where we hosted a luncheon and gave gifts to all the staff. It was really great getting to do something nice for these amazing teachers and staff. It was really rewarding and fun to help out. I have also signed up to deliver Starbucks coffee and snacks to the staff at several ER's in Lubbock.

SERVOLUTION 2010 Check it out!!! www.experiencelifenow.com

Once I got home from the project, I came home to find my Pug in labor. We knew Gina would be expecting 5 babies sometime soon. Last night she was not feeling very good and I thought she was going to have them in the middle of the night. We got really lucky that she started having the puppies in her bed we had set up for her in the laundry room. There were 3 black pug babies in the dog bed when I got home, and 10 minutes after that she had another one. I watched the birth of the 4th and it was pretty crazy. She had number 4 around 3 PM and didn't have the last one until 8:30 at night. I was scared that she wasn't going to have the last one, but it all turred out good. We ended up with all black pugs, 3 females and 2 males. I am very glad that momma and all babies are doing great!

Here's little mamma the night before the babies came. She was exhausted and didn't feel very good.

To end the evening, I finally cooked my husband dinner again for the first time in what seems like forever. We had poppy seed chicken, green bean casserole and a blueberry jello salad. It was good, and it felt great to get back in the kitchen and not eat out every meal. Jessica and I went to prayer group at church tonight and it was a good, uplifting service. Joseph and I finally got back to the gym this evening and we actually feel accomplished today. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

March Recap

March has already flown by, and I have not blogged a single post in the whole month. Natalie's Blurb (blog) book can in the other day, and I was jealous. It looked so good, so it has now inspired me to keep up with my blog so I can have a wonderful book to enjoy and to remember each year as it goes by. Yesterday was a slow day at work so I took the time to put together my 2009 Blurb book. I worked on it for about 2 hours and it looks pretty awesome. I am excited to get it in the mail soon.

A lot has happened in March. Joseph and I celebrated our one year anniversary on March 7th. What a crazy year it was. I really enjoyed being married, even with the hard times. We got our wedding album in the other day and it looks great. I made Joseph take so many different pictures in our wedding attire because I LOVE pictures. We did a "Trash the Dress" session and a "Day after" session that really took place a few months after the wedding.

Life has been so busy lately. Lots of things going on. God is doing some amazing things in our life. We have been so blessed with how well Joseph's business has been doing and my work life has been so fun. I am lucky to get to work with such amazing girls every day.

We began going to Experience Life Church late last year and we are hooked. I have never felt like I fit in and belonged to a church so much, but I can't get enough. I voulenteer with the 3 year olds every other Sunday teaching their class and it is a blast. The kids are so funny and love to see you every week.

Our Pug Gina is pregnant, due any day now. It has been stressful having a pregnant dog and never knowing when she might go into labor. We will be having 5 baby pugs and already have severeal friends who want to have one of the babies. It is a really exciting time.

Now I feel a little more caught up on my blogging.

GOD is good!

I have been feeling so many different emotions lately. I have fear, doubt, wondering how things will be handled and work themselves out. Life has felt a little like a roller coaster lately with so many ups and downs. I absolutly am in LOVE with the new church we have found, Experience Life. It has changed my life, although I have a long way to go, everything is looking up. We had a service not to long ago about tithing. Tithing is not something I ever really took part in. Joseph has always been so good and faithful about putting money in the plate and he always talks about how he is blesses. Our pastor Chris Galanos did a sermon about how we are commanded by God to tithe at least 10% of our income monthly, and this is the only thing in the Bible that God tells us to test him on. The awesome thing about our church is how unique and welcoming they are. They have something called the 3 month tithe challenge where they challenge you to tithe 10% for 3 months and if at the end of that you don't feel like God has radically blessed your life, you get every penny back. I have decided to take this challenge, and continue on with it for ever. Since making this commitment, I rely on God to take charge and he knows my heart, my bank account, and my needs. When I have doubt or fear about where the money will come from to pay the bills or where the money will come from for my tithing, or anything else I need, he provides.

Our Pastor made the comment, "I would rather live on 90% of my income and 100% of God's blessing, than 100% of my income and 0% of God's blessing." He also says many people think they can't afford to give 10% back to the Lord, but how he sees it, How can you afford not to?

I was struggling yesterday about where the extra money would come from for my tithing and for some appointments I have Monday. My work week wasn't looking as busy as I would like it, and I was worrieed. Although I was worried, I did not doubt. I trusted in God and knew he would provide for me. Sure enough he blessed with with great tips yesterday at work, then this morning I had a pretty empty work schedule and he blessed me with 2 client haircolors that I did not expect to have.

All I can say is God is good and I am so glad I have made the decision to tithe like he has commanded and to trust all my financials in him. He will lead me where I need to be!

Thank you God for watching over me and blessing me so richly in everything, Amen.

Follow me on the HCG Blog!!!

I have started to blog my 23 day HCG diet journey on the HCG blog. I would love for all of you to follow me the next 23 days to see my progress. Many people have been asking a lot of questions about the HCG diet so I thought this would be a good way for everyone to see the process from the point of view of someone experiencing the diet in the flesh. This will also help to keep my accountable since I will have to post exactly what I eat, drink, think and feel. I will also be posting my measurements weekly, and my weight change daily. Wish me luck!!! If I can do it, I know you can too, so why wait??? Come by Kadiza Hair Studio today to pick up your Trim HCG drops!!!

Go to www.hcgmarket.blogspot.com