Life in the Ville

It's been almost 7 months since our move. It seems a little unreal to me. Over half a year is a long time. It's craziness. Anyways, we are doing great and I thought I would give everyone an update on what we have been up to!

What Ethan is up to: Ethan is getting settled back into the routine of classes. He is taking 15 credit hours this semester and has loads of reading, but he is doing a great job of staying on top of his assignments. He has some tough classes this semester, and his dedication is simply impressive if you ask me. I may be a little bias but I am really proud of him! I'm not sure if I ever mentioned that he started a new job back in december and he is loving it! It has been a huge blessing in many ways. Two if which are with his schedule and financially! He doesn't ever work in the evenings and I love it because he gets to be home when I am home! He is also beginning an internship with our church and we are both excited about it! He does a fantastic job of balancing school, work, and me :) 

What I have been up to: I registered to run a 5k in about 4 weeks with my running buddy Ashley! I am pretty excited about it! I love running, but sometimes lack the motivation I need to push myself. Registering for this race was just what I needed! I am still working as a receptionist at a local doctor's office and I enjoy my job there! I am thankful for a short commute! It makes a world of a difference. I am taking 2 Seminary Wives classes this semester. Each of them are 6 weeks long. One if called Baptist Beliefs and the other is Hospitality. I really enjoy SWI because it provides me an opportunity to meet other seminary wives and to learn some extremely helpful things.

 I still struggle with being homesick and I miss our family dearly. Some days I feel like I haven't seen them in years and like I am missing so much, but I am thankful for the opportunity to be at Southern and for Ethan to be able to study at such a great institute. The Lord is continually teaching me that my complete trust must always remain in Him. He is faithful and I have seen His faithfulness first hand over and over again these past 7 months. Not only has He provided for our financial needs, but also through friendships, and through our marriage. He has grown our marriage in more ways than I can explain and I am so thankful that He saw fit to give me Ethan. I am so proud of be Ethan's wife and am thankful for how the Lord is leading Ethan and in return how Ethan is leading our family!  

We were made for each other!

Absolutely the love of my life! I have no idea what I would do without him! He pushes me to be more like Christ in every aspect of life and he loves me continually. Even though I know I drive him nuts sometimes!

 

We are excited about the opportunities that the Lord is providing us with and are thankful for His sovereignty in our lives! We miss everyone so very much and look forward to our next visit home! Hopefully sooner rather than later :)

Winter weekend

I don't care who you are....it was cold this past weekend! We had snow and ice, but the wind is what made it feel so cold. I'm thankful for heat, boots, scarfs, gloves and jackets :) Snow was on the forecast for Thursday and the people in this city began to freak out. They were forecasting 1/2-1 inch of snow. Not much at all. People were going nuts. I found it entertaining and got some laughter out of it! Here are a few pictures from our weekend!

 Snow/ice on the back of my car!

 When we were home for Christmas we had pictures taken by the amazing Ginny Hobbs Photography and she posted them on her blog on Friday! Here a 2 of them!

I voted for the first time! Even though it is for a primary election and an absentee ballet, I was still excited! I was too young last time around :)

 Last night we went to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D with our friends Sarah and Jarrod! I was a little excited!

It was fantastic! Took me right back to my childhood! Such great memories! 

We had a great weekend and we hope you did too!

I do not deserve this....

After living in this city for 6 months I finally found a Christian radio station. Even though I don't know half the songs they play, I do enjoy having music in the back ground while I drive.

On my way home from work the song "Someone worth dying for" by Mikeschair came on. Ive heard this song before and never really thought much about it but this time that wasn't the case.

As I was humming along these words struck me: "Yeah I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I 
am someone worth dying for"

Here are some thoughts on this:  I am not nor will I ever be someone worth dying for. Thankfully, God sovereignly sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for His glory. There is nothing within me that will ever be "good" enough. God's word tells us in Romans 3:10 that "No one is righteous, not even one." Christ died on the cross to pay the price for my sins so that God would be glorified. Because I will never be able to provide salvation for myself. I did not and will never deserve that priceless gift. Praise the Lord that my salvation is through Christ and who He is, not who I am. That is the beauty of the gospel! It's called grace! Saying that "I am someone worth dying for" puts far to much value on oneself as opposed to praising Christ who deserves all of the glory! 

Now this is in no way meant to be a bashing of Mikeschair and I hope you won't take it as that. I hope that you will simply think about the gift that Christ has given and remember that this gift is offered to us not because we deserve it.




Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."

Meet Zoe!

Sometimes it's the simple things in life that bring us joy. Like a new hair straightener! Ethan surprised me with a much needed and long awaited hair straightener last weekend! He knew that the one I was using was practically dead so he surprised me with a trip to Target to pick this beauty out! My sister Abby has a Zoe straightener and she has always had great things to say about it!

This makes doing my hair so much easier!

I am so thankful for my sweet husband and for this sweet gift!

Crockpot Southwestern Turkey Chili

Crockpot Southwestern Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 1.5- 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup celery
• 1 Tbls cumin
• 1 Tbls chili powder
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (15 oz) Northern beans
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans
• 1 jar Pace chunky salsa

1. Heat 1 Tbls olive oil over medium heat and brown ground turkey.
2. Meanwhile, cut up veggies and transfer to crock pot.
3. Add browned turkey and rest of ingredients (be sure to rinse and drain beans)
4. Cook on low all day (around 6-8 hours)
5. Add some extra-sharp cheddar cheese and tortilla chips to top it off!

This recipe is super easy and really good! Ethan and I really enjoyed it the first time I made and I plan to make it again this week! Try it and let me know what you think!

Frosting...

We had our first real frosting of snow on Monday! It wasn't much and it didn't last too long, but I still enjoyed it! It is freezing here and I don't think I will ever get used to this weather!

Home Sweet Home

Ethan and I had a fabulous trip home for Christmas and I cannot even begin to tell you how much we loved spending a whole week with our families! It was just what we needed! Here are a few pictures from our trip!

Ethan and I!

Ethan's dad, Mom and I!

Ethan's sister Shannon, Ethan and I!

Ethan and I with our nephew James and niece Katie Joy!

My Mama!

 My Daddy!

James and Uncle Ethan!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and a Happy New year!