One of THOSE days...

Today has been one of those days when you want to quit, give up, cry and say no. But tonight I watched this video and I realized I have so much more to be thankful for. So here is something to think about this Christmas...Enjoy!

Love This Passage!

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (The Message)
17-19Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.

Catching up on messages and heard this verse today.What a message!

Chicken Salad and God's Guidance

That may be the most random title ever, but it has meaning. I promise.

To start, Ryan and I are at a point in our lives that we feel like we need nothing but to pray for God's will. So many new opportunities continue to arise and moments that make you stop and think about what God's purpose really is for us on this earth. We have really just been putting our faith in Christ that He will show us the way in all areas of our life. Through education, money, friendships, and opportunities we pray that we always choose the road paved for us. It is not always clear and evident at times when you feel like you need direction. Sometimes God's timing isn't always ours, but God doesn't work around our busy schedules. He knows what we need when we need it and it is then that He provides. I cannot be thankful enough that I have a God who is bigger than money, bigger than everyday trials and temptations, and bigger than life itself. My hope is that you always seek His will.

On another note....

I have been on a chicken salad kick the last few months because my mom and I LOVE Camille's Chicken Salad. Unfortunately there isn't one in Owasso anymore so any opportunity we have to eat there we take it. There is nothing better than a chicken salad sandwich and a strawberry mango smoothie. Delish. Ok, so anyway I made chicken salad for Fifth grade lunch this week and I was pretty impressed. It was a mixture of two recipes, which turned out pretty well! So I thought I would share:

Ingredients

1/3 c. mayo

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. crushed black pepper

1/4 tsp. parsley

1/4 tsp. dill

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. sour cream

3 c. diced, cooked chicken breast mean

1 c. grapes (I cut each grape in half)

1 c. diced Swiss cheese

To prepare:

In a medium sized bowl mix mayonnaise, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, parsley, dill, lemon juice, and sour cream. Once the ingredients are mixed add the chicken, Swiss cheese and grapes. Chill until serving.

Side note: This is delicious served on croissants.

Wishes of a blessed evening,

Amber

Where Do I Begin?

It has been a crazy fall season! With football games, school, trainings, family, and a husband and two dogs I feel like it may never stop. But I couldn't ask for more right now. Each day is a new challenge, a new opportunity, a new start! I am in constant amazement of the way God continues to bless and work in our lives. Each day I grow more in His grace and He continues to create more opportunities. Since it is almost Thanksgiving I decided to create the ABC's of things I am thankful for. So here goes...

A-Amigos aka friends! They make life fun and entertaining!

B-Beautiful creation

C-Calm, relaxing chill time

D-Dates with my husband

E-Eternity that I get to live for instead of the mortal things of this world.

F-FAMILY! I just can't fathom life without the five people I call my immediately family, my married family and my extended family.

G-God's Great Grace

H-Hot Caramel Apple Cider on chili days!

I-Ice Cold Water

J-Jesus Christ, The giver of life!

K-Kids! They keep my life entertaining and challenging!

L-LOVE! We wouldn't be here without the greatest love of all and I can't imagine a life without love.

M-Marley & Rylee Ann My two "babies" aka mutts!

N-Never ending relationships

O-Oklahoma State University and the amazing opportunities it has given my husband and I!

P-Powerful Leaders-Those who stand up for what is right in our world. We need more of them!

Q-Quiet times with God.

R-Running and friends who encourage me to run relays!

S-Sunny days!

T-Teaching! I can't imagine doing anything else!

U-Uniqueness We each our own,what would the world be like if we were all the same?

V-Vacations for a much needed break!

W-Work! God blessed me with an amazing job, working with amazing people!

X-Xercising!

Y-YOU! I love each and every one of God's creation and I know He has a perfect plan for each of you!

Z-Zero homework assignments, only ones to grade!

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving. Remember to give thanks for all that you have.

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Shout-Out!

Life is crazy busy and sometimes I feel like my head is spinning. Yet I couldn't ask for more great things to be going on in life. However in the mix of it all I can't forget the reason why I live and my source of joy and grace, my Jesus. I just wanted to take time to say a great thanks because no matter how hard life gets or how great life can be God is always my inspiration and guide. I try to follow His will each and everyday. My goal is to please Him and no one else.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

He deserves all the credit.

Love,

a thankful servant

Fall Break Extravaganza

Fall Break was wonderful, crazy, busy, and amazing all wrapped in one weekend! Here are some pictures of our fun...

Friday night was the real beginning of the craziness! We attended Walk-Around to view all of the great house decs. The picture below is part of the winning one. I think that Pistol Pete painting a picture of himself was cute!

Of course we couldn't leave out the Homecoming parade!

And a wonderful game with some of our greatest friends. We love them even if they are Baylor fans! Just teasing Steve & Katie...

Ryan being silly because he knew I was taking his picture!

Then the most amazing thing happened...My sister's volleyball team made it to the championship game of the 6A state championship!
We raced to Moore after the game to catch her playing and made it just in time!
They won in three straight games and we couldn't be more proud!

My sweet family after the game!

The team waiting to get their medals!

My sister and her best friend!

Of course it wouldn't be a trip to Oklahoma for Steven & Katie if they didn't get to eat at TED'S!! So in celebration of the game and of great friends in town we enjoyed our favorite mexican food!

Anyway, it was a great break from school and a wonderful time with friends and family!

Striking

On Sunday our pastor preached a message titled,
"You Can't Handle It All."

The message was about having so much to do and so many priorities that we don't take time for God. We think we can handle life on our own and take too many things on our plate. That is not the way God intended us to live. God actually calls us to live a life filled with rest.

Our pastor gave us an analogy that has stuck with me and I wanted to share.

There was a guy walking down the side of the road with a sack of potatoes over his shoulder. A man driving a truck stopped to offer him a ride. The man thanked him and climbed in the back of the truck with his sack of potatoes. A few moments later the driver of the truck noticed that the man riding in the back was still holding the potatoes over his shoulder. The driver told him that he could set the potatoes down so he did not have to bear the weight of the potatoes. The man said no thanks and continued to hold on to his potatoes.

So you think what is the point? The point is that we often treat God the same way. We often tell God that we want to take a ride with him yet we don't let him carry everything. We continue to bare the weight of our burdens. We take a ride, but hold onto everything we don't want God to have control over-whatever it may be in your own life.

I know that the story is silly, but it really struck me and made me think. It has been on my mind since and I have really been praying that God has my all. I think that it is perfect and to the point. We only give God what we want to instead of having faith and trusting Him with EVERYTHING! Change me.

I hope you take time to think about it. Have you really given Him everything?

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

My Obsession

Pictures...

They are my life. They tell my story. They explain who I am. They show life and love. They are my constant reminders of my rich blessings. That is why I share them so frequently: not to show off or brag, but to remind myself of where I have been and where I am going, who I am and who I love, and why I do what I do.

So here are a few you probably haven't seen before.

These are a few from my wedding dress fitting, bachelorette party, rehearsal diner, etc.

Enjoy!

My wedding dress

Dressed up at my party :)
My mother-in-law and two of my sister-in-laws!

All of the girls in our wedding party!

Sorry all of these pictures of just girls but they are fun so I thought I would share!

Have a blessed evening!

In My Prayers

I'm writing today to ask you to pray for a friend. A young girl (a friend of my sister) became pregnant at a young age. She went in for a ultra sound a few weeks before the baby was due and the doctor said he saw something he had never seen before. It was a tumor. Not long before her lymph nodes has become swollen on her chest. They believed that it was just fluid from the pregnancy causing this to occur. The mother was induced and the baby was taken early for the safety of the baby. Now as a young single mother she will be leaving her baby of only four days to enter the hospital for treatment of Lymphoma. She will be there approximately ten days as he grandparents take care of her newborn and her parents are at her side. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. It is hard being a young single mother, but imagine raising a baby and dealing with cancer. WOW. I can only count my blessings when I hear stories like this and remember not to take anything for granted.

Food For My Soul

"We love Him because He first loved us."

1 John 4:9-10

"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing."

If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two mouths and one ear.

-Mark Twain

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless

- Mother Teresa

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

-Thomas Jefferson

Kindness is a language herd by deaf men and felt by blind men.

-Mark Twain

Just some good reminders for myself!

God Bless!

Volleyball Star #11

My baby sister is an amazing volleyball player! I just wanted to take a minute to brag on her because she desrves it! Here are a few pictures from a game I got to watch! Hopefully I will make it to another one soon! I love watching her play.

This game was against Stillwater, but they ended up losing it in the last match :( They played so incredibly hard though!

I'm so proud of her!!

Wanted to share some pictures

The love of my life!

My loving brother! He is a great friend!
The greatest sisters!

If you know me then you know I love pictures! They are such a great reminder of wonderful times in my life. Here are a few that I love! Enjoy!

Thankful

Today I decided I wanted to begin to count my blessings-they are abundant and never ending. But here are just a few of the things I praise God for everyday!

-I have a God who is in control. He never lets me down or disappoints. He is my all and everything and the reason I'm alive.

-I have a precious family who wants nothing for the best for me and will never do anything but support and love me.

-I have an amazing husband who is my biggest fan. He is my encourager and my one true love. He is patience, giving, and understanding.

-I have the most wonderful job in the world. I get to spend my days with 23 smart and creative fifth graders. They bring me great joy. I get the opportunity every single day to help children and that warms my heart.

-I am able to work while my husband completes school. I can support our family and we can be independent. We own our own house, pay our own bills, and provide for ourselves! God is always faithful!

-I can help others. Whether it is with a smile, a hug, donating old clothes, or giving a few dollars to help someone out. I am thankful that every day God gives me opportunities to make a difference for others. That is what my life is all about. I don't judge on money, political views, or materialism; it's all about loving the world like Jesus does.

-I'm thankful that I have a God who keeps promises.

One of my favorite passages of the Bible is Psalm 37. Read it. It reminds me daily not to worry about the world, but trust in God because He is the real reason for life!

Have a blessed day.

Quick update!

Just a quick update with some photos! Last week we went to the Foo Fighters concert. It was Ryan's birthday present that had to come extremely late due to a postponed concert. We met up with some friends and had dinner before the concert which was fun! There are no pictures from the concert since you weren't supposed to take them in and I didn't want to risk it getting confiscated!

They are also newly married!

Silly boys!
I got a ride back to the car cause my toe hurt!
Fishing with some friends and no luck!
Chilling on the bench cause we were getting hungry!
Enjoying my new fishing pole even though it didn't catch anything!! Ha
We also painted the house!!
Here is the almost finished product! We still have touchups and the porch before its complete!
Anyway I have another busy week ahead! Today I helped Stacia with her classroom! It was great fun seeing great teachers and encouragers from my student teaching experience and i walked away with some free stuff for my own classroom!
Anyway, I'm definitely missing my love. He is in Denver for the week at the International Horn Symposium! Miss you!
Hope everyone has a great & productive week! God bless!

Busy Summer

First I must start by telling you about Ryan's poor finger! He got bit by who knows what! And its infected and its just awful. He is in a lot of pain and its swollen like I have never seen before! It is starting to show some improvement but please pray for the poor guy that his finger will soon be healed!

In other news there has been tons of work going on around here. We planted flower beds out front. I'm not sure why the picture below is turned but you get the idea. We have also retiled our half bath, fixed a few clogged drains, cut down lots of branches (picture below) and the list goes on. This weekend hopefully we will get the outside painted. We have started on the trim and its a huge improvement already!


I have also found time to make a cute little door decoration!


Also my mom celebrated her birthday so we took her to The Elephant Bar! It was very delightful!

Abby & I enjoyed the animals!

And I think my mom enjoyed her birthday card & present! A newly ordered iPhone is on its way! This is the drawing my sister put in the card!
I guess thats all for now! I'm hoping I will be getting some calls for interviews soon! But I'm just praying for God's will and I know he will work it all out!

To everything there is a season,a time for every purpose under the sun.A time to be born and a time to die;a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;a time to kill and a time to heal ...a time to weep and a time to laugh;a time to mourn and a time to dance ...a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;a time to lose and a time to seek;a time to rend and a time to sew;a time to keep silent and a time to speak;a time to love and a time to hate;a time for war and a time for peace.
ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Fun in July!

July has been a busy month so far! Its been filled with job hunting, trying to spend time with a busy husband, working on the house, and some of the below. Here are a few pictures to recap the beginning of July!

Of course we celebrated the fourth of July with fireworks,

golf and other fun games,
shooting the potato gun,
friends,
and of course swimming!!
Then the family got to see our favorite pitcher play in OKC!
Here he is! And we got to sit directly behind home plate! Great seats to see him pitch! I also got interviewed for the Daily Oklahoman! Read the article here:
http://newsok.com/article/keyword/3267804/
Abby grabbed life by the horns...
and we got to chat with the star for a while!
We celebrated my birthday! With shopping, eating out, family, and THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY! YUM!
There were Hatchs, Loderhoses, and Robinsons there to celebrate!

And of course my wonderful husband made the day perfect!
Not to mention I'm totally excited about all the cool gifts! Gift cards, clothes, jewelry, money, a fishing pole, and a phone on its way!

Thanks to my friends and family for a GREAT birthday!

Here is to a great 22nd year of life!

Tomorrow the family is coming up to work on the house! We have a long list of to do's:

Plumbing, tile, painting, carpet cleaning, garbage disposal repair,countertop shopping, and of course cooking out on Ryan's new grill will be in there somewhere!