Black Friday Maddness

Greetings all!!

As I am certain you are all aware today was the doomed Black Friday event that all overzealous shoppers plan for all year long. Shoppers armed with credit cards, carts, left overs stowed away in coolers, and fists come in droves at ungodly hours every year just for a small deal. I had the unfortunate pleasure of working in the mad house known to you all as Wal-Mart. I truly have a new found respect for my mother and father's dedication in getting the best deal on an item their kids really wanted!! Thanks Mom and Dad for all of the years of unexpressed gratitude you deserve!!

My morning started bright and early at 3:30am, crawling out of bed to brush my teeth, hair, and grab something quick to eat on the way out the door. Upon my arrival at Wal-Mart, I combed the parking lot for a parking space in the back 40 of the lot! I had the unlucky pleasure of being stationed at a "big ticket" item (Sony Bravia 42 inch TVS!). Most of you know just how much I HATE crowds, and this bunch was no exception! I faced everything from being flipped off, and being called the warden, to hearing a few F bombs! Granted, most people were pleasant, but with every bunch of apples, you have a few bad ones.

The observations I made were astounding and I have no words to even begin to describe the experience! I witnessed theft first hand as well as the need for security! People are sadly greedier than ever, and these types of events bring out the worst in human nature. It appears as though parents are desperate to get a "deal" and the biggest and the best for their children. I can only hope that we do not raise selfish children, as this (one day) mother will not fight for stuff! Its simply not worth it!!

After leaving Wal-Mart today, David and I made the choice to go continue our apartment search. Since our last update, David and I have been hitting the housing circuit big time so that we can move. We have decided that staying in this house is not worth it to us physically or financially. Our landlord attempted to fix the mold issues in our bathroom, but unfortunately we are starting to see it come back. We also have been looking to downgrade into something small to save ourselves some money.

We decided to take the best deal we could find, and Avalon West seems to be that deal! Its a two bedroom, one bath, and laundry room unit that fits perfectly to all of our needs! The rent is amazing (probably the best deal in town!) and the location is a God send!! We feel as though this is an answer to prayer and just the place God has been guiding us to all along! (Can I get an AMEN!!??) The only catch is we have to sign the lease by the 30th, so it is very likely we will be moving with in the next few days!

Another answered prayer this week has been my grandmother! She had surgery on Monday, and all went well! The pathology report came back negative for cancer on her thyroid, however we are not cancer free (as far as I know). She was kept an extra day in the hospital due to dehydration, but is home now and recovering quite nicely!! We are so proud of how tough she has been!! :-D

As with every post we still have prayer requests! We ask that you pray for safe travel for my parents as they will be heading back home this weekend. We also ask that you pray for this move and for everything to fall into place to make it as smooth as possible!

We love you all and are praying for blessings and Peace this Christmas season! Remember the reason we celebrate this holiday and the sacrifice and love our father has for us!!

Deck the Halls

Greetings family and friends!

I apologize ahead of time for the delay in posting a new blog! We have had a busy couple of weeks!! (Let the updating commence!)

Last week was insanely busy for David! Of course he had his group project due in the form of his presentation and also his poster was due. He spent much of his free time working with his group to put the finishing touches on their work. I am so proud of him for the hard work and hours he put into the project! He sacrificed a lot of time with me just so he could finished. There were times I was a little annoyed (I must admit this) but in the end knew it was what had to be done.

I have also started work in full swing! It has its ups and its downs, but for the most part I really enjoy my job and the people I work with on a daily basis. I am usually tired when I come home from work, but David has been extremely understanding about the time it takes to become adjusted to a new job. :-)

As is customary for this time of year, David and I put our Christmas tree up tonight. We had a wonderful time bonding and laughing like a couple of teenagers. :-) We bought a small container of Pumpkin Eggnog and "dusted" off the Christmas music and went to town decorating our tree. It was quite a lovely cheap date at home, and well worth fighting the strands of Christmas lights for that time together. :-) (See photos)

As always we have prayer requests for you guys to end out this update out. Please continue to keep my Grandma Warren in your prayers. She will be having surgery on Monday and of course this is a very frightening though for anyone, but its even more scary for us as we are unsure what the results of this surgery will be. Please pray that God will guide the surgeon's hands as well as positive results of the surgery. Please also be praying for the JBC students as next week will start the Thanksgiving Break week for them and most will be traveling. Also pray for safe travel for my parents and brothers. They will be heading home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday.

We Love you all and hope to be hearing from you soon!! :-D

I now pronounce you Wife and Wookey! (David's idea! Its Yoda as he Preacher, my Barbie Bride and Chewy)

Help me Obiewonkanobie you're my only hope! (again another one of David's ideas! :-P)

Hey Y'all Its Fall

Well, Fall has hit our home full force! Since the last post we have faced Halloween and the dreaded UT Homecoming! David and I made some observations about fall in East Tennessee and to mildly state it, this town is NUTS!

I worked Halloween and made a few observations about people in general, but particularly the crazy costumes I saw. What ever happened to the good clean days of Halloween when kids dressed up in Poodle Skirts and Pirate gear?! I was thoroughly appalled at the costumes that PARENTS put let their children wear! Now let me be quick to say that many of the people I saw were college students, but I saw a large portion of kids wearing skimpy outfits and gory clothes.

Let me just state right now how much I hate what Halloween has become in the last few years. I never have been in agreement with the intent and purpose of Halloween, but I always found it fun to dress up as a kid for sake of pretending. It was fun to become someone you would not normally be in real life! I traditionally favored the Princess costume, but my mom was pretty amazing at coming up with creative costumes for us kids! (Note the Old Man/Lady Costume and Butterfly Costume she came up with)

That leads me to the costumes that many of these college guys AND girls wore! Wow! Talk about leaving nothing to the imagination!! What ever happened to good old Fashioned Modesty?! Granted I have been known to wear a spaghetti strap tank or two in my time, but this goes far beyond showing a minimal amount of skin. The girls are the worst of them all. Its like they were trying to get a sexual reaction out of the men! What I don't understand is that these ladies wear these tight pants, even tighter shirts, and barely there skirts that are obviously going to get some kind of sexual response out of ANY man and then wonder why their boyfriends don't respect them.

Really, is it that difficult to keep yourself covered. I was told countless times as a kid by not only my parents, but many influential women in my life, that modesty is something that very few understand, practice, or appreciate these days! Let me issue this challenge to my single girlfriends, Cover it up ladies everyday for a month and lets see how things change with your relationship with men. I guarantee the your boyfriends will appreciate your personality a lot more AND in turn come to respect you as a person a lot more! I promise you that it will help your Christian brothers to keep from falling into sin.