So in Love..

I love my husband. I am so blessed to be His wife. Our relationship has changed so much! We have been married for almost 7 months, and we've known that we're pregnant for almost three weeks. I cannot believe how much we have grown and matured in that short about of time. Our marriage is so awesome, and so strong. We have dealt with major issues that most couple don't ever address. We work hard on our marriage, because we refuse to settle for a mediocre marriage. And it works. I am so happy with Mark. And since finding out about the pregnancy, things have changed even more. I love him so much more. It is so hard to explain. I look at him, and I know that in mere months, we will be raising a baby together. And I can't imagine having a child with anyone else. I really think our love for each other has doubled in the last few weeks. It's like we're just dating again. I am so excited to see him and spend time with him and I get little butterflies when I hear his car pull up from work. He loves my ever changing body and tells me every day how beautiful I am. He pampers me, and comforts me perfectly when I throw up. He always runs and gets a damp washcloth (I get insanely hot when I get sick), a towel to wipe my mouth and a bottle of water. He always know when to pray for me, when to give me a hug or a kiss, when to leave me alone and when to get me a snack. He works so hard for our family, and never complains. Things have just changed so much. We had a hard time adjusting to marriage during the first few months, and sometimes it was really, really hard. But, God has healed our hearts, and we have been able to truly forgive each other for the things we have done. I am so looking forward to the encounter in a few weeks. My life changed at the last encounter. It was nine months ago, and I was still a very new Christian. God healed me from so many things that had happened to me during my life, and I know that I walked away truly knowing what Jesus did for ME when He died on the cross. I walked away a different person, and I knew God sees me so differently than the world sees me. I can't wait to see what's going to happen when I get the opportunity to set my normal life aside for 3 days and really seek God for all my heart and energy. All I know, is that it is always life-changing and absolutely amazing when you encounter God. I am just so happy and so peaceful right now. I am so passionately in love with Jesus! The Holy Spirit has been my constant companion through this horrible morning sickness and has helped me have joy and refuse to be fearful. And I am so passionately in love with the sweetest gifts I have ever received...My husband and the little baby in my tummy!

An Absent Husband...

Mark has been working so much lately! He always works nine hours a day, but lately he has had a truly crazy schedule. He's had to work every Monday night for a month, which is the night he has his cell group. But he only missed two cell groups, which is better than all four. Yesterday he went to work form 7:30am-5:30pm, went to cell group 7-8:30 pm, and had to do a job in Yuba City from 9:00 pm until 2:00 am. And then he had to be back at work at 9:30 am, and has to do it all over again today! Ugh. It's hard for me not to be annoyed with his work. He is so tired and he calls me every couple hours to say how much he misses me. I know that I should concentrate on the paycheck that this will mean...but, I miss my husband! I want Mark (or maybe me!) to start our own business. I believe God wants us to do this, but I'm just waiting for His perfect timing and...divinve inspiration on what kind of business to start. I just hate the idea of Mark not getting very much time to spend with the baby. But, hopefully God will have led us to a different place by then. A place where Mark doesn't have to work crazy hours!

Life is SOO good!

I have felt so much better in the last few days. I even put on make-up on Saturday. This weekend has been really good. On Friday night, Mark and I had a date night and went to Happy Garden for Chinese food. I have been craving Chinese food like crazy, which is pretty bizarre for me. Seriously, I could eat it for lunch and dinner every day. Oh, and Hula's! Hula's is kinda like Chinese food, I think officially it is Mongolian BBQ. You get to make a noodle stir fry thing with yummy fresh ingredients like different meats and lots of veggies. Then, you make your own sauce and a guy cooks it up on a big flat griddle thing and it takes like 3 minutes. Yum, I want Hula's so bad now!!! I have also suddenly developed an intense love for bananas, and can eat three at a time. This is particularly weird, because I hated bananas before and they made me gag. Now I could go through a bunch a day. Oh, and salads with watery ranch dressing. Non-watery is fine, but I'm really loving the salads from Sultan's Bistro, where the lettuce is mixed with red lots of red cabbage, sliced beets, beans, cucumbers and that watery ranch dressing. Gross sounding, I know. But, yumm! So, as you can see, my morning sickness has generally got a lot better. Yesterday was bad, and some days I feel sick all day, but they're getting fewer and farther between. But, I'm still throwing up every morning as soon as I wake up. But, it's okay. Most of the time, I've been feeling great. I'm having crazy dreams, including one where Mark's cousin died and left us four children to raise. I feel like it's becoming more real to me, and I find myself touching my stomach all the time. I'm not showing, but my pants are already uncomfortable and I have been living in the one pair of gauchos I have. I really want to know how far along I am! What if I'm actually like 15 weeks or something? I mean, I am big enough where it will probably take a while before I show, so that's not too accurate a method. My appointment is in 2 weeks, and I am so anxious to know when my sweet baby will be here! And I want to know when I can buy maternity clothes without being ridiculous..ha ha. So, Mark and I went on a a walk late Sunday afternoon. I was sick all morning and early afternoon. I finally could finally keep down some lunch around 2:00, and I felt great by 3:00. We went to Bidwell Park and it was CROWDED! It was an absolutely beautiful day and Gidget had such a blast. She loves the park and three people commented on what a cute dog she is. Mark and I kept saying how great it would be to have our baby with us next year on these walks. We took some pictures of the family out at the Park:

Saturday was also fun. Leslie had her baby shower and It was really fun. The games were great and it was very relaxed and fun. Leslie looks so gorgeous and you can just feel how excited her and her husband are. I bought the baby a shopping cart cover and it was so fun to look at the baby stuff and actually be able to buy something. I felt good during the whole shower until the very end, when I started to get really tired and hungry. On Saturday Night, Mark and I had a floor picnic with pizza and root beer, and a take five candy bar for me. The we played Uno and Life and had a great time. Last Saturday, we had a picnic in the field behind my parent's house and we had such a blast. We had cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, olives and strawberries and whipped cream. It was so fun and very romantic. We even ended up having a full on whipped cream fight, which was very unexpected and and I didn't stop laughing for 10 minutes. We even managed to get so pictures after:

I am SO over it!

Okay, I'm all better! Haha...it wasn't quite that quick. But, as soon as I wrote that last post, I felt so much better. I was like..I'm going to get all this bad stuff off my chest and just be done with it. And, I've spent some really good time in the Word this week, which has changed everything. God's Word is so Good!!!!!!! I feel like a dope when I stray from reading it everyday, because as soon as I come back, it changes my life!! I am just tired of being selfish and thinking about myself all the time. Either I'm healed by Jesus's stripes or I'm not. And I know I am! So, I might as well get out of the house and actually live the life God has created for me. Because I'm certainly not going to have too many opportunities to share the Gospel from my couch or fellowship with my church family from my bed. I gotta wake up every day, thank God for the miracle he created in me, get out of the house and LIVE. Even when I don't feel good, I want to have faith instead of fear (thank you, Morgan), and get over it and move on to something good. So, anyways, don't expect any more "woe is me" blogs, because this pregnancy is fantastic! It's going to go by so fast, and everyone says I will definitely miss it when it's over. I am so excited to have these last 7 months with my hubby and I plan to use as much time as possible enjoying our freedom and mobility. And we are so excited about the baby! We talk about "The Littlest Pup" all the time and yesterday we talked about what he or she might look like. We kept saying things like, "What if she looks exactly like your mom?" or "What if he looks just like your brother?", and then being amazed that we will have a child that will most likely bare resemblance to us and our family. I can't believe we're going to be a family of three within the year! I'm going to be a Mama!! I have always, always wanted to be a mom. And , now it's really happening. It seems so unbelievable and cool! I am going to love being a Mom and I know Mark is going to be one of the best Dads ever. He is so good around kids, and loves them so much. I know we are going to love being parents.

Blahhhhh

Why, blahhh? I don't know exactly. I'm just down in the dumps lately. I guess I'm just dealing with everything and apparently, not dealing with it too well. When we first got married, I wanted to get pregnant right away. It was all I could think about, and I knew that was so not healthy. After lots of prayer and some really good advice, I knew we should wait awhile for before really "trying". It was fine with me, because I knew I should not be thinking about it this much. On a side note, my period has never been regular. I got my first period when I was 15, and it just never seemed normal. But I was young, and doctors would tell me it was normal not to have a regular period for a while. And a couple of years passed, and I never thought about it. I wasn't having sex, and I certainly wasn't worried about babies. Then, when I got a little older and I started having sex, I went on the pill. This helped to regulate my cycle, but every time I went off, my period would continue being irregular. Like really irregular...sometimes only 3 periods a year. There were times I could go for six months and not have a period. So anyways, I stopped taking the pill about 2 years ago, and my cycle actually stayed pretty regular. Sometimes I wouldn't have a period every month, but it just seemed normal to me. Mark and I stopped having sex when we gave our lives to Christ, so I didn't even think too much about my cycle for six months. And then we got married. I got my period 3 days after the wedding (yeah, that put a little bit of a damper on things), and then got it again exactly 30 days later. For some crazy reason, I was 100% sure that we would get pregnant the first month. And then we didn't...yet my period never came. I became obsessed with PG tests..thinking I must be pregnant. But, of course, I wasn't. So anyways, I just decided not to think about getting pregnant. We weren't using Birth control, but we certainly weren't trying. I wasn't having my period, so I (mistakenly) thought I wasn't ovulating. I know, I know..I must sound crazy. You weren't using birth control, you didn't have your period and you didn't think you were pregnant?!! Well...no. I knew I wasn't pregnant. I just knew...and I took a pregnancy test every two weeks to make sure. So months passed..no period, but no pregnancy. And I was starting to get worried, even though this was normal for me. I started to get scared that there was something really wrong with me, and I really went through a lot of very scary and senseless thoughts. But I knew, no matter what, God could heal me. I knew, even if it took years, God would heal me and give us a child. I was settling in for a long fight, getting ready to hear doctors tell me that I couldn't have children or it would be really hard or something. And I kept putting off going to the Doctor because we didn't have insurance and I was afraid of what I was going to hear. I starting praying for healing, and I prayed the blood of Jesus over me all the time. I didn't pray for a baby, I prayed for a reproductive system that worked perfectly according to the Word of God. Well...now I know that if anything was broke, it's definitely fixed now :) So, some people might not be able to believe that I was truly shocked when I saw that positive pregnancy test, but I was blown away with surprise. Pregnant? I thought that I was...not going to be able to have children easily. I was really happy, of course, but I just couldn't believe it. I had gotten used to the idea that God wasn't ready for us to be parents yet. I walked around talking about how God is protecting me and we will have a child in his perfect timing. And I still 100% believe that, but I had gotten used to idea of just Mark and I for a while longer. So, yes, I was shocked. And I ashamed to admit this, but I was scared, too. Me? A mom? I still feel like a kid half the time. I have to be the responsible one? This past few weeks have been so hard. I have been so physically sick, and so tired. SO TIRED. And I have not felt like doing a single thing. I wake up, eat crackers, throw up the crackers, eat breakfast, take shower, read (or watch TV or go on the computer or take a walk or draw or...whatever), throw up again, eat lunch...and it goes on and on until I eat my last snack and go to bed. And when I get to bed, I feel so incredibly crowded and I get really annoyed. Both of the pets refuse to sleep anywhere but on the bed, and it is driving me nuts! And..is it possible to have pre-partum depression? I feel so sad all the time. And I worry about everything... I know I need to get out of the house and do something, but it is so hard when you feel like puking all the time. I just want to give up and sleep. Ugh. I know this will pass, and I don't want to worry anyone. I feel like I'm failing everyone and like I'm going to disappoint everyone. Who? I don't know...just everyone. I have been praying a lot, but I haven't been reading the Word like I should be. In the last few days I have, and my whole life has started to pick up. I know God loves me and sees me as the perfect Mom. I know the Holy Spirit will protect me and my baby. I know that God does not want me to live like this. I know he wants me to have a miracle pregnancy and delivery, I just have to walk in that. And it has been hard. But, right now, I am picking myself off the floor and committing to living my life the way God intended me to. And that is with so much joy, faith and hope that I can't help but feel great. I just want so much more than this. I don't want to be sick and tired and depressed anymore. I want to walk around, glowing with the joy that there is much loved baby inside of me. And I know I will.

Random Thoughts...

Wow. Everything is already different. My body is changing so fast, and my mind is struggling to catch up. Am I really pregnant? Will I really have a baby when this is all over? I feel like I have the worst flu I have ever had, instead having a tiny little baby inside me. Everyone tells me it would be totally real until I have that baby in my arms, which I understand. But, I can't wait to start to show, or get a sonogram, or feel the baby move. I want some sign that everything is going as it should, and I do in fact have a baby growing inside me. I know that people say morning sickness and lots of symptoms are a good thing, because...at least you know the baby is still alive and well and growing (and making its mommy very uncomfortable). So, onto another random thought..Mark and I have always called each other "Pup". Gidget is also called Pup, and even the cat is called Pup (confusing, but makes sense to us). So, we naturally have started calling the baby "The Littlest Pup", which we both love so much. We wanted to have a nickname to call the baby before we found out the sex, and this is perfect! Mark will call me from work and say "How's my Pup and the littlest Pup?" and it makes me want to melt. I am so in love with my handsome, amazing husband. Our love just continues to grow and grow. I look at his handsome face and I think "we made a baby together" and I just imagine my perfect baby looking like my perfect husband. It is so overwhelming!! Everything is a little overwhelming right now. I am kinda uncomfortable with all the attention I have been getting, and I feel a little...guilty. I just got married and it was a huge deal and I got so much attention. I wanted my life to return to normal, but God had other plans. I just want to go to sleep and never have to eat again. Food is so not fun. And I bought $150 worth of beautiful, hardback cookbooks two weeks ago...which I can't even think about. Oh, well..someday I'll feel like cooking again. On a final random note, I have SO MUCH respect for women who are pregnant and already have children. How can you do it? How do you get out of bed and take care of your kids when you are so sick? How do you have the energy and patience to build a baby and raise one at the same time? You guys are awesome! I know I'll be able to deal with it when the time comes for us to have another baby (wow, not going to think about that one for a LONG time), but I just admire all these Moms who are truly so selfless. God has shown me so much already through this pregnancy. He has shown me that Jesus is the only one that can help me. Mark can't do this for me. My friends and family can't do this for me. Jesus is the only one to have broken the curse of pain and illness. He is truly the only one I can rely on. Mark is gone all the time for work, and I spend a lot of time alone. It is such a comfort to know Jesus will never leave me. I just have realized how much I need Jesus. I can't do this on my own. I can't get through this sickness and pain without him. I could never be the kind of Mom I want to be without Jesus. I know that He will be there for me during every minute of this pregnancy, He will holding me hand and taking away my pain during childbirth, and The Holy Spirit will guide me as Mark and I raise our children. Jesus has been my rock, the one thing that has gotten me through throwing up 3 times a day and feeling nauseous all the time. Mark has been amazing, and the perfect husband for an expecting wife, but Jesus is my everything...and that has made all the difference.

Food, food, food

So...anyone else feeling like they got run over by a truck? I have never experienced anything like this before. The baby is running my body now, and it is crazy. First of all, I am tired all the time. We were in Target at 8:00 last night, and I was starting to fall asleep. I go to bed early, but I am so uncomfortable it is hard to sleep. I don't know if this is a pregnancy thing or a crazy Laura thing, but my clothes feel so uncomfortable all the time, especially when I'm sleeping. Not tight, just cumbersome and uncomfortable. So, I have taken to wearing as little as possible all the time, which Mark has enjoyed almost as much as my new (and expanded) chest. Now I'm a little embarrassed I shared that, but, oh well. The thing that has been hardest for me to adjust to is eating all the time! Now, I love food and eating, but I have always had really bad eating habits. I never ate breakfast, skipped lunch most days and would a huge dinner would be my first meal around 6:00 pm. Then I would eat probably one or two snacks before I went to bed. I know, I know...so not healthy and probably the reason I have never been able to shed these extra pounds. But, now, everything is different. I wake up, and immediately walk to the kitchen and grab either yogurt and graham crackers or sorbet and goldfish crackers. About an hour later, I eat more crackers or a banana (or 3 sometimes). For some reason, I have been eating microwave Marie Calendar's dinners for lunch for a week. I have found the worst thing is having to think about what I'm going to make when I'm hungry, so I like to have things I don't have to think about. Then, I usually have toast and more fruit as a snack, or Popsicles and crackers. Mark has brought dinner home every night because I absolutely cannot cook right now. Period. Opening the fridge sometimes makes me gag, and the idea of preparing meat literally causes me to vomit. Yuck. I am a little obsessed with food right now, because I know I have to eat, and I really want to eat right. I am always hungry or have nausea, and sometimes at the same time! Sometimes, it has been really fun to be endlessly hungry (like when I almost finished off a whole pizza and then had ice cream) but mostly it seems like a chore. But, I am feeling better and the sick moments are appearing less and less. Okay, now I gotta go eat lunch!

What A Week!!!!!

This week has been so life-changing!!!!! On Tuesday, my oldest sister, Michelle, gave birth to my first niece, Amelia!!!! She weighed seven pounds even and was 18"long. My mom and my twin brother are there, in Texas, helping out the new family. Amelia is beautiful and perfect, with lots of dark hair and big lips. So cute!!!! I am so proud of to be her aunt and I am so proud of my sister and I know she is going to be an amazing mom (well, she already is!). So, on to my news. So, all week, I have been feeling really yucky and not hungry. I really didn't think anything of it until I started crying at random commercials on TV. I felt out of control and really weepy, and it was weird. So...four positive pregnancy tests later (yes, four) I can safely tell everyone...I'M PREGNANT!!!! I found out on Thursday and I have been so sick since then. It seems to be getting worse and worse and I am struggling to eat anything. I'm already losing weight, which is not at all good. In the past two days, I have lived off of strawberry whole fruit Popsicles, peach and raspberry sorbet and goldfish crackers. And lots of ginger ale. I have thrown up twice every day and felt so horrible. I could not get out of bed this morning at all. Mark brought me toast and I nibbled it and gagged. This is not fun. But, I know it will be worth it. And right now, I actually feel pretty good. I'm even eating a Popsicle. And I am super tired, my boobs seem to have appeared out of nowhere (Mark is thrilled) and my lower back hurts all the time. Okay, I got it all out of my system. No more complaining. This is such a blessing and I am so thrilled that I get to become a Mom! I will definitely update you all frequently, and there will definitely be pictures of my growing tummy over the next 8 months (I think I am about 6-8 weeks).

Almost Six Months and Housesitting

So, right now it is 10:52 on the night of Sunday, January 7, 2007. Which means, tomorrow is my sixth month wedding anniversary! Wow, six months already! Six months ago, it was 100 degrees in Chico, and I was a nervous wreck. I was running around, trying to figure out last minute details. What a crazy time! Our honeymoon was so amazing and I would love to be back there right now. Except it would be really, really cold. It is Canada, after all. So, tomorrow we won't be going out to dinner or anything like that, we'll be with our cell group, glorifying God and having fellowship with some of our closest friends. And we are really happy about that...we'll save the big date (hopefully a mini-vacation!) for the one year anniversary! Also, my sister is scheduled to be induced for labor on Tuesday!!! I am going to be an aunt! Tomorrow, my brother and my Mom are flying out to San Antonio to be there for the birth and help out the new family. My Dad is flying out in a week to meet them, and Mark and I are staying at my parent's house to take care of the dogs (5 of them including Gidget) and all the other various animals. Also, we're staying with my Dad for a week so I can run the house and cook him dinner every night (something my mom usually does for him). I'll be flying out at the end of February to spend two weeks watching the baby when my sister has to return to work. So, I guess I am going to get a crash course in taking care of young babies. But, I know I'll do great, I love babies and toddlers so much! I worked in the Church Nursery again today and it was really fun. I love being there because you are free to be silly and you have to be willing to be a little dorky sometimes. There were lots of little ones today, and at one point, 4 kids under the age of three were asking for their moms and starting to get teary-eyed. Graham crackers, 3 songs and some puzzles later...crisis averted.

Another Winter Day...Another Walk Around the Neighborhood

Gidgey and I went for a walk around our neighborhood and spent about an hour exploring the dry channel and taking pictures. We had a great time and I especially loved watching her run free and explore. She doesn't usually run or play in the backward, but she loves to go to a new place and sniff and explore. She is just so cute to watch. I love her! Also, I cut my hair again (I don't know if I'll ever have long hair again!) Mark really likes my short hair, too. Today was just a great day to go out and enjoy the beautiful world God created for us. Even in the middle of the city, with the freeway literally right over my head, there was beauty everywhere. I tried to capture some of that with my camera, so here's some random pictures from our day...enjoy!

Cooking Up A Storm

I have been cooking a lot lately and it has been so much fun!!! Two nights ago, I made a beef roast and it was seriously so yummy! I also made my (almost) famous potato and fennel gratin and zucchini and mushrooms. Mark declared it one of the best meals he had ever eaten and insisted I make it at least twice a month for the rest of our lives. I guess it really was good! The potato fennel gratin is basically fancy scalloped potatoes and I got the recipe from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I have modified it a little to make it easier and now it has more accessible ingredients. Trust me, you must try this recipe!! It is easy and so delicious...it makes you look like an incredible chef and it is wonderful comfort food that uses seasonal ingredients (fennel and onions..yummy winter veggies!) Here is my version of this supper yummy dish:

1 large fennel bulb (In grocery stores they sometimes call this sweet anise...)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 pounds russet potatoes (4 large potatoes)
2 cups heavy cream (called whipping cream..but it's not sweet, don't worry!)
2 1/2 cups grated cheese (1/2 pound) (I usually use sharp cheddar or whatever I have or feel like using...different cheeses will definitely change the flavor!)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Half a sleeve of Saltine Crackers

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.
Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise. Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender. Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onion and mix well.
Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Crush saltines and combine with the 1/2 cup of Cheese and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

I have been cooking a lot and it has been so fun. Tonight I'm making Pad Thai with chicken and tempura vegetables...mmmm! I got a lot of money for Christmas, but we had to spend almost all of it on boring stuff that we needed to take care of...but, a couple days ago Mark told me I could spend up to $150.00 on books on amazon.com, which is what i really wanted! I bought a new bible..The NIV Study Bible for the Spirit Filled Life..yea, I am so excited to get this Bible. Also, I got a lot of cookbooks I am unbelievably excited about, from all my favorite chefs that I really look up to. I got In the Heat of the Kitchen by Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook,The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller and a couple other little books. I am anxiously awaiting all these great books!! I am amassing quite the collection of cookbooks and manuals. It feels awesome to really devote yourself to something and really improve and become skilled at something. And the great thing about cooking is that you will never stop learning. Things keep changing and food is different all over the world. I want to travel and really learn food. I wish I could go to culinary school, but it's ridiculously expensive and the closest really good school is in San Francisco. So for now, I'll have to keep teaching myself, keep cooking, keep challenging myself and have fun eating all the great food with my friends and family. Now do you understand why Mark married me?

Highlights of 2006!

Thanks, Morgan, for this great blog idea!

1. Of course, you guessed it...Giving my life to Christ. This is the highlight of my life, not only my year. Basically, my life changed completely that day. I was dead, and now I have been alive for a whole year. I was so blind to the truth, and I now God has given me vision to see the World as it truly is. My reality has been so rocked, and my whole world has changed. I feel like this was the true beginning of my life. God has seriously healed me in so many ways. I was so scared, so unfocused and so hurt that I could barely function. I am so free now! I know Jesus as my best friend, my husband, my partner, my EVERYTHING! Not a day goes by where I don't think of what Jesus did for me and what that means. Thank you, God, for your amazing grace! Thank you, God, for who you are. You amaze me and bring me to awe. Wow..what a gift!

2. Mark got saved, too! Aside from my salvation, Mark's salvation is the best gift I have ever received! When I became a Christian, Mark was an atheist and thought I was crazy. He was the first person I ever wanted to win for the Lord. I had complete, almost childlike faith that he, too would somehow give his life to Christ, too. We were engaged at the time, and I knew that God did not want me marry someone who didn't know Jesus. And I also knew that Mark and I were created to be together. Somehow, it would have to work out. And it did. I prayed and prayed and prayed (and so did a lot of other people!) and about a month after I was saved, God touched Mark and showed him the Truth. His whole view suddenly shifted and He has never been the same. He has an amazing, supernatural testimony and I am so proud of Him. He has become such a powerful man with God on his side.

3. I married my sweetie, Mark, on July 8, 2006. We got married at my parent's house and it was perfect. Our honeymoon in Canada was beyond beautiful and such a special time. The Holy Spirit was so strongly present at our wedding, and we even had an altar call. We used our wedding as a declaration of our love for each other, but just as importantly to show our love for Jesus. We not only married each other, we invited Jesus to be the third member of our marriage. It has made all the difference in our marriage! Mark is an amazing gift from God. He is such an incredible Husband and friend. Our marriage is so wonderful and I love the blessings you receive from marriage. We have learned so much from being married...SO MUCH!

3. Reconnecting with Morgan, and meeting her precious, blessed family. Seriously. I talk about Morgan all the time, and it's because I could never say enough about her. She...wow. She just has done so much for me! She led me to Christ! She is my pastor, one of my best friends, my sister in Christ, my cell group leader, my teacher...so many other things. She is just so giving and so obedient to God! She has a servant's heart and just has been there for me through so many changes and challenges. I love her and her perfect, amazing boys (yes, all three of them!)

4. Joining our amzing Church family at Zion Worship Center! Meeting our Pastors, Pastor Scott and Pastor Nikki was an incredible blessing. We love them so much and look up to them so much, too! Our whole family at Zion means so much to us! We have so many friends there that we love so much. Everyone has been incredible and has helped so much in our spiritual walk. As Pastor Scott always says "You can't do this alone!"

5. Moving out of the Basement House. I love having our own, cozy little home now. I love being domestic and taking care of the house. I can't wait for Spring when we can really work on the yard and make it a spectacular place to hang out. I love having our own tiny house! Just another great aspect of being married.

6. My oldest sister, Michelle, and her husband, Alan, got pregnant! Only two more weeks til her due date and then I'll be an aunt to a beautiful baby girl!

7. We got our kitty, Chiyo! We love her so much and she is an important part of our little family. I never liked cats before I met Chiyo.

8. Planning my wedding in 5 months! Trust me, girls, you do NOT need a year to plan a wedding. Just get it done! And our wedding was totally beautiful and everything was really great!

9. Going to an Encounter with Zion Worship Center. Okay, I really, really need to write an entire post on this one! Basically, an encounter is an three day opportunity to really encounter God and encounter the reality of the cross and what Jesus did for you there. So extremely powerful! Another one is coming up in about a month and I am so looking forward to it. More on the Encounter in a future post!

Well, I'm sure there's more....but I can't think of any right now! Happy New Year Everyone! I can't wait to start living all the future highlights of 2007! Who knows what's going to happen?!