Meet Lily.

This is Lily! (Yes, after Lily Potter - we love our Harry Potter). We adopted her yesterday afternoon from C.A.R.E. Adoption Center/Shelter here in Springfield! We like to go to them because they are a no kill shelter that works with animal control. It's where we also got Luna.

At first, we weren't planning on getting a cat because we didn't really have the money to drop on the adoption fee. However, we had some repeat wedding gifts that we had been meaning to return to Bed Bath & Beyond. So we dug them out of a closet and took them up there. At first they weren't going to give us cash back for them, but luckily Matt had talked to manager on the phone who said she would do that for us. So we got some extra cash. Then we went back to the shelter.

We originally thought that Lily was about a year old because that's what the sheet said. Well, come to find out, she's actually a kitten. Seven months old. She seemed really calm and laid back at the shelter, so we went ahead and got her. I mean, how crazy can a seven month old kitten be?

Correct answer: CRAZY.

We got home and she set off exploring! She definitely was NOT shy. She tried to get in every nook and cranny there is in our townhouse. In fact, in the picture up top, she was looking at the space between the fridge and the wall. We let Luna sniff Lily before we let her out of the carrier, and it seemed like it might be okay. WRONG. As soon as we opened the door and let Lily out, Luna started hissing at her. Even this morning Luna hisses at Lily. Luna even growls at her! I had no idea cats could even growl!

Matt and I were really nervous about it last night. But we're going to give this a shot. We made a commitment and we're going to stick to it. They both just need some time to get used to each other. I mean, I totally get it. Luna's territory is suddenly being invaded by some strange kitten. I get it. I think it will work out. I hope it will anyway.

Everyone keeps making jokes that I'm slowing becoming a cat lady - THIS IS A FALLACY! I am stopping at two, I promise. I don't think I could handle any more. My land lady has three, and I find it obnoxious. But either way, I do love my two kitties. But I PROMISE I'm stopping at two. :)

Slip N Slide & other shenanigans.

The last few days have been so busy and wonderful. I'm so glad that school has started back up and that everyone is back in Springfield!

Wednesday night was fun. Matthew and I went to Olive Garden after I got off work. He had never been! As always, it was sooo good. I'm most definitely a fan of endless salad and breadsticks. No complaints here!

Yesterday was pretty much awesome too! Class in the morning was nothing specially, really. And the early afternoon wasn't anything spectacular. Although, Matt & I went grocery shopping and saved over $30! Woohoo! It was a huge grocery trip though. But now we have all kinds of food! Last night was AWESOME though. Chi Alpha had a Slip N Slide on the intramural fields on campus! That's right - two huge tarps covered in soap and water. There was at least 50 people that showed up. It was SO much fun! Remember that spoken word I posted on here? (If you don't, here's that blog - Insecurely.) Here's a picture of him last night! I think it is a perfect snapshot of how fun it was.

As more pictures come out, I'll share them on here. It was such a fun night. There was so much fellowship and friendship, I'm pretty sure my heart could have burst. Now, I feel like my muscles could burst. Literally just about every muscle on my body hurts - my legs, my arms, my stomach. I can hardly move around today. That sure made it fun taking Luna to the vet this morning!

Speaking of the vet, that sure was an adventure this morning. First, I showed up late on accident. I thought the appointment was at 9:30, when it was really at 9:00. Then the lady told me that they had tried to call me but hadn't reached me. They needed to tell me that the lady I normally go to is actually scheduled off today. I told her that they should work me in because it wasn't my fault she was off and they had scheduled me. She was really nice about it and the vet worked me in. GOOD NEWS: My baby finally is healthy! She still has a bit of inflammation in her left ear, so I'll keep up medicine for another week, but we are bacteria free!! After dealing with this for a little over a month, it was so great to hear that. I'm so happy my Luna is no longer sick!

First day of classes.

Whew. It was an interesting day to say the least.

I found out a LOT of interesting things. For instance, I found out that the books that the bookstore sent me for three of my classes are wrong. That's right.... THREE. But no big deal. I mean, who needs books right?

The second thing I found out is that I'm basically taking two graduate level classes. SAY WHAT. I'm seriously nervous about it. I mean, I dropped a class this summer that was a combined undergrad/graduate class because it was hard and the structure sucked. Now I'm in a combo class again and in another class where the professor only teaches grad and doctorate levels so he's going to treat us like grad students. HELLO. I'm not ready for this. Especially because my psychology of addictions class is going to be really hard. He's basically making it a neurology class. And I suck with stuff like that. The worst part, is that these two classes are my psychology classes, which are for my MINOR. Goodness. I'm definitely going to be praying for guidance through these classes. Jeesh.

Some GOOD news though.. Matt found a second job to help tide us over until he leaves for basic. It was such a blessing to find this job! Speaking of basic, Matt is making a decision in the next couple of days which branch he's going into. He's talking to Army today to see if they have any sweet deals and we are both talking to the Navy tomorrow. If neither of them can give him a super sweet deal, he's going to commit to the Air Force. Matt talked to his dad yesterday about the DLAB. Both his parents have taken it and did super well on it. His dad thinks that Matt could pass it easily, which would be AWESOME! So the next couple of days will be super fun. I can't wait to see where Matthew ends up.

Some more good news is that small groups start next week! Yes, I know it's over a week away, but I'm still so stoked. Chi Alpha Monday, and small groups Thursday. My weeks are going to be so awesome!

Chi Alpha.

This post won't be long because I'm bone tired (where does that saying even come from?), but I really just wanted to share something amazing with you!

GOD IS AMAZING!

I went to Chi Alpha tonight, which is a campus ministry at MoState. There's so much fellowship and friendship, it's just insane. The message tonight was amazing, the people were amazing, it was just amazing. God was definitely moving tonight and it was wonderful.


Okay, I know I'm rambling, but I do have a point here. A year ago, I was just becoming a Christian. I was barely dabbling my toes into the faith and I wasn't sure what to think. Tonight, the worship brought me to tears. I realized that I've come such a long way. But I also know I have a long way to go. I'm so excited for what my future has in store, and I know that God has it all under control. It's going to be an amazing year.

It's that time again...

Classes officially started today. Luckily for me, I don't have seated classes Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Sadly for me, my first class starts at 8 tomorrow morning. But that's okay. It'll be all good. I have that class with one of my best friends. So it'll work out.

These last few days have been just crazy! Super awesome, but crazy.  Matthew & I talked a lot about the military and have pretty much narrowed it down to two branches: Air Force and Navy. I'm pretty sure that Matt's leaning towards Air Force, which I'm excited about. I think there are a LOT of opportunities for him in the Air Force. We are going to talk to both recruiters again this week.

Saturday was super fun! We went to a swap meet at the Ozark Empire Fair Grounds. It was so interesting! There were a lot of old cars that were all fixed up. It was so cool. I found some really cool scarves that were super cheap! It was such a great way to spend our afternoon. It was my first full weekend off where I didn't have anything to do in forever. Spending an afternoon outside with Matthew was wonderful. After we got home, he made a scrumptious dinner. It was bbq pork chops with mashed potatoes and green beans on the side. YUM. After dinner we didn't feel like sitting around so we went for a nice long walk through a really nice retirement neighborhood across the street from us. It was quite the adventure!

Then yesterday was just as great. We didn't even get up until about noon. Once we finally got up, we made french toast. Again, it was yummy! then we just hung around until about 4:30. We left to go get birthday presents for my cousin Jordan and one of my good friends Sarah. Once that was done, we went to campus to see Jordan's room! I'm seriously so excited that she's going to be down here for school. It will be such fun. I got to see her roommate again and meet some of her friends. Then we all went to Chi Alpha's root beer kegger! Oh my word. There were so many people there! It was just wonderful. I got to see so many of my friends that I haven't seen in a long time. I don't think I've given out so many hugs in a while! Well, except for the wedding, of course. One thing that was super awesome, was that I met Josh Buckner! He's the guy who did the spoken word that I blogged about a little while back. It was awesome. It's the first time that I've met someone who has read my blog and I hadn't met them yet. Talk about cool. It was really encouraging and definitely reminded me why I blog. I want my words to reach people they normally wouldn't. I want my words to create friendships. I want my words to make a difference.

After we left the root beer kegger we went to Five Guys for dinner. Yesterday was mine and Matthew's one year mark. Last year on the 18th, we became "official". It has been the fastest, most amazing year of my life. I still can't believe we are married. I always think I love Matthew as much as possible, and then I'm proven wrong. I truly love this man with everything I have and I can't wait to see what all the years ahead hold for us.

Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Oh My!

The next couple weeks are going to be huge for Matthew and I. Well, mainly Matthew. Since he scored so high on the ASVAB (A 96, when the highest you can get is a 99!), he is going to talk to all the different recruiters.


Yesterday we went and talked to the Air Force. The guy was really nice, and I really enjoyed talking with him because he encouraged Matt to talk to all the other branches to see what is the best fit for him. Most recruiters won't do that. There did seem to be a pretty sweet opportunity with the AF. One of the options Matt was looking at with the Army is a Cryptic Linguist. Well, they have an option for that in the Air Force too. It's pretty hard to get into though. He would have to take a DLAB to test his ability to learn a new language. He'd have to pass with a 105 or higher to even get the job. But if he could get the job.... OH MY. To start, there is a signing bonus of about....oh....$14,000!! No. Big. Deal. Of course, though, it's not about the money. This job would actually be super cool! I almost wish I could attempt to do it. And Matthew will get the best language training a person could get in the United States. The tech school itself is over a year long! Holy moly.

 

I'm pretty sure that Matthew is going to try to get ahold of the Coast Guard today, and I hope that conversation goes well. Unfortunately, there is only one Coast Guard recruiter in Missouri, and he's up in St. Louis. Maybe he'll be impressed with Matt's score and he'll come down to visit! After that, Matt is going to talk with the Navy. But he's hoping to decide on which branch by end of August. He wants to swear in by beginning of September. As to when he ships off for basic... well, that really could be any time. I'm nervous for that time to come, but I'm more excited for the opportunities that Matthew is facing.

Change of topic: Sprint. We went and talked to them yesterday, and found out why we didn't have service. I checked the coverage map yesterday and it said we were supposed to have "good" coverage. Uhh.. I don't think so. Try NO coverage. Well the guy at the store said that they are fixing the tower by us and that it could take up to a month to be back up. Not only did I not like that information, but the guy at the store was completely rude, so I kind of went off on him. But he gave us customer care's number and Matthew called them. They are sending us a device to hook up with our internet that will give us signal. And they aren't charging us at all. Thankfully the woman with customer care was super nice.

Another change of topic: School. It starts in a few days. I mean, in like three days. Well, four for me since I don't have class Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Of course, I have online classes that will probably run on that schedule. There are two great things about school starting on Monday: ONE - my beautiful cousin Jordan moves to Springtown TODAY! I'm so excited to have her down here. TWO - Chi Alpha starts! I haven't been to XA in a while, but I'm really excited to be going again. It starts again Monday night, and I'm definitely going to be there!

Gee whiz.

It has been a busy week! I can't believe it's already Thursday! I'm so glad though because it means we're that much closer to Monday! Sadly, class starts Monday... BUT, that's when we get internet in the new place! It's been such a pain not having internet. And I know that sounds spoiled, but there's so much that you have to do via internet. For instance, most applications for jobs have to be done online now.

This week has been full of unpacking all of our boxes, and we aren't even done! We have most of the upstairs done, and about 1/3 of the kitchen done. We've definitely been moving slow with it though. We aren't in any rush. I had plans to do a bunch today, but now I'm covering 8-1 at work. Which is fine.. I need to make up some of the hours I missed for the wedding.

This afternoon is full, too. I'm taking applications to at least two places to try to find something for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and maybe every other Saturday. Today I'm going to CPO (Christian Publishers Outlet) and to the Library. I'm hoping something will come of it!

Yesterday was pretty exciting for Matthew! He took the ASVAB yesterday and did AMAZING on it! He scored in the 96th percentile!!! He can do anything in the military he wants basically, as long as it is an enlisting position. HOLY COW. I told him I wouldn't allow him to enlist in a cook and that he needed to set his sights WAY high. So today he's calling the Coast Guard recruiter in St. Louis to talk to him and he's going to talk to the Air Force. We're hoping his awesome ASVAB score will get him a pretty sweet deal. I'm so incredibly proud of him and I'm so excited to have married such a smart man!

After we are both done doing our running around, we are going to the Sprint store to have a nice conversation with them. We are going to try to get out of our contract because we have literally no service where we are living now. I mean, it goes to a do-not-enter sign thing. Literally no service. I talked to my mom about it yesterday and she said that we should be able to get out of our contract no penalties because of the fact we don't get service. I mean, it's ridiculous to pay them a bunch of money to get no service. And it's not like we are going to base where we live off how much cell service we get. So we are doing that later today and it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Today is a busy day for the both of us, and we're both praying that some good news comes our way.

Proverbs 31:10-16

I've made it through to verse 16 of Proverbs 31, and I've already learned so much!

Here's what I've learned about the Proverbs 31 woman so far: She is an army of virtues. She is a visionary. She is a merchant ship. She is filled with love. She is practical. She is a warrior. She is eager. She is a homemaker. She is a lioness. She is creative. She is tender, but she's also tough. She is a rock, but also a spring. She is selfless. She is a hard worker. She is a fountain of joy. She is an artist. She is a businesswoman. She is a team player.

In 6 short verses, I got all of that and more! I'm not quite halfway through the book, and I've already learned so much about being a Godly woman and wife to Matthew. I truly believe that any woman who is married and looking for a spiritual journey should read this. I'm so thankful that I borrowed this book. It really will be a life changer. One of my favorite parts so far has been the ABCs of Goodness. I wrote them down so that I can refer to them daily:

 

When I started this book, I printed out verses 10-31 out so I could mark on it. I've been paraphrasing the chapters verse by verse on it and I've been writing all of the different characteristics around the edge. Here's what it looks like so far:

 

I'm so very thankful to have a job where I can read and do as I please. This has been such a great time for me to focus on this wonderful book. Not everyone is lucky enough to have several hours in their day to read and focus on their spiritual journey. I'm very blessed to work where I do.

I've been able to use this time to really learn about how to be such a beautiful woman to God. Yes, I'm also learning how to be a Godly wife to Matthew, but I'm really serving God. That's what I'm meant to do, ultimately. And I will do it willfully and joyfully.

I've had two women tell me today that I'm an inspiration. The second told me that I have inspired her to read her Bible more and that she is considering reading this book because she really has been struggling to be a Godly wife to her husband. She told me that I inspire people and that what I'm doing is great. I'm so thankful that my words have touched some so deeply. When I first started blogging all the time, I really focused on the number of views I received daily. But now, that number doesn't mean anything to me. It's definitely quality over quantity. I'd rather seriously reach only a couple people than have a bunch of people get absolutely nothing from what I'm writing.

But in all seriousness, as thankful as I am, I am not the one who is inspiring. God is the one who is inspiring. He's just working through me, and all the glory goes to Him!



Proverbs 31:10-31

Sorry it's been a few days, friends. We've been busy with the move. In fact, Matthew and I worked over 12 hours yesterday to get everything moved. Thankfully, we had plenty of help. Two of Matt's best friends helped us early afternoon and then early evening, Matthew's family came down to help us. It was his parents, three sisters, and one of his sister's boyfriend. They were so incredibly helpful. I really enjoyed it because I got to have some amazing conversations with my sister-in-laws. I seriously cannot thank God enough for bringing these wonderful people into my life. I can't even put into words what they mean to me.

Finally, by about 11:30, everything was in the new place. We even had our cat back! I'm so excited to have Luna back home. However, I'm not exactly looking forward to unpacking. Especially since so much of it was packed within the last few days. I mean, we JUST got it into a box... now we have to take it right back out? Oh well, it might be fun. I am excited to redecorate. We got some awesome decorations as wedding presents, and I can't wait to put them up!

I suppose I should be prepared to this all over again somewhat soon. Once Matt gets stationed somewhere, we will be moving all over again! But next time it will be to another state. Holy cow. Matt is taking his ASVAB on Wednesday. He still isn't sure what branch of the military he wants to go into, but I have faith that God will direct him towards the right one.

In the meantime, I will be spending some time studying Proverbs 31. I'm really excited about it, not only because it's all about being a beautiful woman in God's eyes and all about how to be an excellent and Godly wife, but its the first true Bible study that I've done. I've done a lot of studying about Christianity and about different aspects of it, but this is the first time I'm really studying such a specific section. I'm very excited to see how this goes. I'm pretty much going all out. I'm reading a book to help me; I borrowed it from some dear friends of mine - Sarah & Erica. So shout out to them for helping me move forward!

Beautiful in God's Eyes by Elizabeth George

 

I officially started this book this morning, and I'm about forty pages in. So far, I'm really enjoying it. The way that Ms. George has set up each chapter is awesome! Each chapter is a line of Proverbs 31, so she really breaks it down. In the first part of the chapter, Elizabeth George discusses what the line means. She goes into details and give examples. For example, when talking about how a woman should be worth more than jewels, she talked about how jewels are very rare and how they must be polished. Finding the woman described in Proverbs 31 is rare, and it takes time to create her. The second part of the chapter is called "The How-To's of Beauty" and she gives ways that you can work towards becoming whatever line she's talking about. She breaks it down into simple things you can work on every single day. The last part of the chapter is called "An Invitation to Beauty" and in this section she encourages the reader to work towards this. It's super encouraging and it's nice to read at the end of every chapter. It's like a little pick-me-up that says "You can do it!".

 

As you can see, I'm very much enjoying her book right now. I've printed off Proverbs 31:10-31 so that I can highlight, and underline, and circle different things. My Bible print is just a bit too small for that. I probably look just slightly weird at the front desk with that book, my Bible, a journal for notes, and the piece of paper. But who cares? This journey isn't about how I look to other people. It's about how I look in God's eyes.

 

Beyond the Soiled Curtain Part 2

Warning: Personal details ahead.

I just finished reading Beyond the Soiled Curtain, and oh. my. word. It was amazing. To read about individuals whose lives were saved  was amazing. It truly shows that Jesus can do such amazing things!

This book did a lot for me. It confirmed a piece of information that I've been looking for. A while ago, I blogged about looking into missions. I knew that I wanted to help people, but I wasn't exactly sure how or where. I still don't know that. But I do know I want to do something similar to what Project Rescue is doing. I may not work with sex trafficking, but I know that I want to do something liberating. I want to seriously change lives. Well, with the help of Jesus of course.

I want to do more research on sex trafficking and on organizations such as Project Rescue. What PR is doing is amazing and it really means something to me. (CAUTION - It's about to get real up in here.) I've been taken advantage of before. I had my virginity stolen from me my senior year of high school. I was at a party, and I had been drinking. But that doesn't matter. No means no, and it shouldn't have happened. I know the shame that comes with it. I'm just lucky enough to be who I am to make sure it never happens again. But there women and young girls out there who aren't as lucky as I am. If I have the resources to help those women and young girls, I want to do it.

No human should have to be subjected to exploitation. Ever. It's shameful and it's horrible. No human should ever have to experience it. I was lucky enough to only have to experience being violated once. I can't even imagine having to do it almost ten times every single night. It seriously breaks my heart. Like seriously, it literally makes my heart hurt.

I finally have another piece of the puzzle. It's another step forward, and I can't wait to see what else comes up. I want to explore this avenue, because I think something could come of it.

Thanks for sticking through the super personal part today.

Tattoo Thursday?

Yesterday turned out to be very eventful!

It started yesterday morning when I took Luna back to the vet. Poor thing still had a slight ear infection. The vet said that this is normal, sometimes it can take several treatments to get all of the bacteria gone because the ear canal is so long. She said that this round of antibiotic shots and ear drops should do the trick. I hope she's right because my wallet can't take any more! And I also feel bad for Luna. Luckily, we'll be bringing Luna home in TWO DAYS! In two days I'll get my snuggle buddy back. If you can't tell... I'm pretty stoked.

Then yesterday afternoon I packed up a TON of the apartment. And by a ton, I literally mean it. I packed probably over half our apartment. No. Big. Deal. It took me over four hours of non-stop packing. I finally called it quits because my back was starting to hurt. Today, my back is killing me. My best friend of the day is Icy Hot. But it was worth it to get so much done.

Last night started out as a drag. Then Matt mentioned we could look into doing his wedding present for me. So we called a couple tattoo places and one could get me in! So we rushed around and then headed out at like 8:30 to go get me a tattoo! I had one in mind; I had been thinking on it for a few months now, which is probably the longest I've ever considered a tattoo. We went to Eternal Tattoo, and I had Mike. (Which is funny, because the guy who did all my other tattoos is also named Mike.) He was awesome! Actually, all the guys in there were cool. I'm glad we finally found a tattoo place here in Springfield!

The tattoo that I got means a lot to me. Not only because Matthew bought it as my wedding gift, but because of what I got. I'm coming up on my one year mark since accepting the most wonderful Jesus into my heart (It's already been that long!?). I wanted to do something significant for that moment because it really was a life changing moment. I can recognize just how far I've come on my journey. I came up with this idea back in May/June and have been thinking on it since then. Finally, last night it came to life!

Behind the Soiled Curtain.

"Human life is the gift of our Creator - and it should never be for sale." -George W. Bush

Today, I asked Sarah if she had any Christianity books I could borrow. Here's what she gave me. She knew that I had been researching about the red-light district in India, and thought I would enjoy reading this book. I'm about 122 pages in, and I can hardly take it. I've almost started crying on just about every single page.

The book starts out with some of these statistics:

• 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade each year. 
• Profits from sex trafficking are estimated to be as high as $19 billion annually.
• A 2004 UNICEF report estimated that India supplied 50% of the children worldwide entering into the sex trade.
• 2.3 million women and girls are prostituted and/or working as madams in India.
• As many as 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation.

Those are only a few of the many statistics throughout the book. If that's not heartbreaking, I don't know what is. There are some books that really just hit you. They hit you head on like a bus. This is one of those books. At least half the things mentioned in this book.. I had no idea existed. I've stopped many times to read Matthew passages. It has blown my mind.

Prostitution is a real issue. I've discussed it before with Free Set. It's something that needs to be addressed. It has exploded on the global market and has become very popular with organized crime. Women are undervalued everywhere. God can save them. Many of these women's lives have been saved because they have accepted Jesus into their hearts.

My heart is heavy tonight thinking about all the women who are subjected to this treatment. I've been praying since I started reading this book. This is something that will weigh on my heart for a long time to come. In fact, I'm going to do research on women and God. I know of a book about Proverbs 31, and I plan to read it next. This is the beginning of a very big spiritual endeavor.

"Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears shed for others are a sign of strength." - Billy Graham.

Heaven is for Real.

I read this book today at work. Yes, that's right. The whole book. In less than 2 hours. No big deal. It's only about 150 pages though. I know I've blogged about this book before, but I want to revisit it.

For those of you who haven't read this book, it's about a four year old who takes a trip to heaven. He gets really sick and has several surgeries. Over the course of the next few years, the boy, Colton, reveals different details of what he experienced. For example, he can recall where his parents were and what they were doing while he was in surgery. He says that he sat on the lap of Jesus and he's able to describe Heaven. The details this young boy tells his parents are amazing. Impossible, really.

He also tries to describe what Jesus looked like. He wasn't able to. Over several years, Colton's parents showed him picture after picture trying to figure out what he had seen. Every single picture was wrong in some way. Until one day, Todd Burpo stumbled across a painting that had been done by a young girl who claimed to see visions of heaven. Here's the painting:

Some people are extremely skeptical of this boy's story. And who wouldn't be? It's a story that is very hard to believe. I mean, a boy who didn't technically die went up to Heaven and saw Jesus, God, Gabriel, John, angels, his great-grandfather, and even Satan? A little boy who claims to have seen his unborn sister while in Heaven? Talk about mind blowing!

Personally, I choose to believe this incredible tale. Yes, it's a miracle. But miracles are possible with such a loving God. One of the main points in this book is that Colton believes with a childlike faith. He doesn't know "logic" yet to be able to refute what he saw. I believe that's how all Christians should look at their faith - with childlike eyes.

Another reason I choose to believe this is because I have had a situation similar to that of Todd Burpo. At one point after telling Colton's story, Todd Burpo was approached by a woman. She asked him an incredibly hard question, that he somehow managed to answer. He had no idea where the answer had come from, and knew that it must have been the help of God. I've had one of those situations. The night I read the book of Matthew and realized that I believed what I had read, Matt asked me a question. He asked me, "Who is Jesus to you?" I didn't even hesitate to answer with, "He's my Savior and He died for my sins." After I had hit send, I just kind of sat there. Where in the world had that answer come from? That moment was probably one of the times I have felt closest to God. It was amazing.

One reason I really enjoy this book is because Colton wants to tell everyone the good news. He wants to tell every person he sees that Jesus loves them. He talks several times about how much Jesus loves us. It's so refreshing and humbling to read that over and over again. It also touches my heart. There are so many times that I want to just go out and scream to the mountain tops how much I love God. I want everyone and their mom to know that God loves us. It is for this reason that I have started to look into doing missionary work.

First day back in the real world.

Today is my first day back in the "real world". I clocked in at work today for the first time since last Monday! Let me tell you, getting ready was difficult this morning. I didn't even want to get out of bed!

But it was a good thing I got out of bed, because good news awaited! I sent Matt to check the mail while I showered, and he came back with two sets of good news. Who would have thunk!

The most important of the good news was that our apartment situation is figured out! We were so afraid that no one was going to take it and that we would have to pay two rents again for September. We just can't afford to do that. I remember telling y'all about the guy and his sister coming to look at the apartment. Well, we've been praying that she would want to take it. Crystal, our office lady, told Matt today that the woman has been approved and is moving into our apartment September 1st! We are officially off the hook with Columns IV. And to top it off, they aren't making us pay utilities for the last half of August! Our lease says that we are liable to pay utilities until the next tenant is in there, but Crystal said she isn't going to make us do that. She said she'd feel bad having us pay for the electricity when they're in there painting and cleaning the carpets and stuff. So yay for that!

The second piece of good news is that we got another gift in the mail this morning. We are so beyond blessed with the amount of gifts and love that we got. I seriously don't think we can ever say thank you enough. Strangely, I'm actually looking forward to writing the thank you cards! (I know, I know.. I'm weird). Those will have to wait until next week though. This week is crammed full of stuff to do.

Tomorrow, I take Luna back to the vet to have her ears checked out. She seems like she's just fine now, but we want to double check to make sure that nasty ear infection is gone for good! I'm so excited to see her tomorrow morning. It's been way too long since I've seen her, and I seriously miss her. The good news about Luna is that I get her back on Sunday!!! After Sarah keeping here for almost a month, I'm finally getting my baby back!

The rest of this week will be packing, packing, packing, and moving. I work all day Saturday, so I'm going to pack as much as I can tomorrow and Friday morning for Matt & whoever else to move during the day Saturday. We're moving all the big stuff Sunday! It's going to be an extremely busy rest of the week and weekend. I can't wait to be in our new home though! We get to rearrange and redecorate all over again. It's going to be awesome!

As you can see, we have a lot of good news in our lives right now. It's almost too much to handle! But I'm totally down with it. I can't even tell you how often I thank God. Literally all day, every day. That's the best good news of all! God loves us more than we could ever love ourselves. 

With this ring, I thee wed.

On Saturday, I became Janessa Gleaton. It was a wonderful day. The best so far in my life. It was also the busiest day.

The day started out early, around 7:45. After packing for the hotel that night, Taylor, Drew, and Sicily showed up. We soon left and went to the venue to meet Matt's mom and sisters. We then went to Hairy's to get our hair done! It was so fun! We basically took over the place. Here's some of the girls' hairstyles:

After we were all done (all 9 of us) we went to Culver's for lunch. I got their chicken salad sandwich. It was delicious! By that time it was a little after 2 so we went back to the venue to finish setting everything up. Once the boys showed up, I had to stay in this small office. Once I had my dress on.. it was SO hot. I mean, suuuper hot. I was sweating and it was gross.

Then.. I went down the aisle. I managed to not fall, thankfully. I can't even describe the emotions that went though me during those moments. It almost felt surreal. The ceremony was beautiful. Matt's father did an AMAZING job. It was short and simple, yet super deep. It was just wonderful. My mom said she was tearing up a bit during it. Somehow, I managed not to cry.

After the ceremony, we signed the license, and then went outside to take pictures. IT WAS SO HOT. By the time I got back inside, I was just dripping sweat. I ended up having to take off my slip. Blech. It was worth it though. I've never felt so beautiful in my life. AND I HAD A HUSBAND!

Here's some awesome pictures from the night:

This is one of my awesome sisters, Annika. 

Another one of my sisters, Leah.

Our second kiss on camera.

My mom and me in the photo booth! I love her so much.

You don't wanna see me angry!

My wedding ring!

Me & my childhood best friend.

Maid of Honor, Groom, Bride hug!

Right before the toasts. I was actually goofing off.

Taylor's friend, Drew & I. We were totally best friends on the spot.

This is me stalking Taylor. It's how our friendship actually began.

This is me and Sicily. She's been my best friend for I'm not even sure how many years.

As you can see, the day was absolutely amazing. After the reception, we stayed at an amazing hotel. It was awesome! I'm more than thankful to God for bringing Matthew and I together. And I'm even more thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with Matt. It's going to be such a wonderful ride. What a magical weekend! I'm such a lucky girl.