Shake Shake Shake, Shake Shake Shake,

This weekend we enjoyed our friends Dave and Rebecca's wedding. Scott was an usher and candle lighter. He was adoreable with the white gloves on. Anyway, we had a wonderful time seeing old friends and dancing and shaking the night away. Now, what else is shaking happens to be one thing after another. Scott mentioned his car was shaking more then usual, our garbage disposal shook right on our of the sink and now our microwave shook to its death. Some of our wonderful conviences of America life has slowly gotten broken. So we will be on a mission in the next few weeks trying to stop the shaking of our heads and thank God for his provision.

I'm Back, Back in the NY NY Groove!

Well, you might be wondering how I am doing with my back lately. With PT every week and excercising with my stretches. I am feeling about 98%. I have been swimming everyday and enjoying time in the morning with my 2 hour workouts. I have lost about two pounds but am still feeling very overweight. My back is not 100% but I trying to push it for softball coed season coming up this summer. So keep praying and I appreciate everyone who has been concerned. Thanks to Dr. John Wheeler for working with me to get back into great shape. If you live in Wichita you should go to see John Wheeler, he does a great job with helping people get back pain relief.

On another note, Scott and I have been very excited about where our church has been headed towards missions. We are excited our missions pastor and head pastor are on the same page with reaching the lost. This year more then any year our pastors have been going overseas and reaching out to love those who have not heard about Jesus. We are pumped because our congregation can follow their lead in becoming more evanglistic. Please continue to pray for our church to be an active part not just getting out our wallets.

Thanks for your love an support for Scott and I as we enjoy this first six months of marriage coming up May 2nd. I can't believe it has gone this fast so far. We have enjoyed having the warm weather with bike rides, softball and just sitting on our swing in the back yard.

Coaching together

Because I am coaching JV at the High School level my husband has been a volunteer in helping me with coaching. He is really love it and it helps him get to know the girls and we can talk about what happened. It's been so much fun. The girls really look forward to watching us interact. I love having him there and participating in teaching our girls. One of our girls hadn't ever slid before and as she rounded third, I told her to watch the throw. She didn't watch and just kept going, as she approached home the ball got there and she slid. She was called out but the look on her faces was as if she had won a golden globe award. She got up and said, "I don't know where that came from. I have no idea how I did that." We all smiled and laughed, everyone seemed to be proud of her accomplishment as if she was safe. I got a kick out of some of our accomplishments. After the game we asked them what they had achieved this game. They all started throwing out things. Leading off, sliding, throwing people out, but none of them mentioned winning the game. I was very proud of them for looking to improve and not caring about the score. We are having a lot of fun and the girls make it so enjoyable. They are very sweet.

Sweet Tooth

Lately, I have found out what my husband is made of and it's not sticks and stones. It's sugar and ice, and everything nice. He loves ice cream. I am quiet aware everyone loves ice cream and flavors are important as well. But my adorable Scott really can't get enough of the wonderful snack. When he got back from Europe last year he talked about how much one of our friends spent on coffee. It was quiet a bit of money and I was a little shocked. But when him and I talked yesterday and it came out how much he spent on ice cream, I could only laugh. So as I find out more about how my husband got so kind and sweet, I am realizing ice cream in our house last about three days.

Play Ball

Well, we played our first games of the year and it was very exciting. I was so thankful for Scott coming and helping me. He even got to wear a cool Falcon T-shirt. We had fun getting the girls ready and it was so nice to be back on the field. Some umpires recognized me and were very sweet. I even ran into an old softball friend of mine from slow pitch days. It did feel a little strange being back out there working with kids, watching parents expressions as their kids did good or bad. I was nervous for the kids as many of them had never even played in a high school game before and were very nervous. Our first game we won 16-1. It was mostly done by walks and pass balls. The second game our Varsity coach wanted to switch in some players and I was hoping I would gain some big hitters. But we ended up struggling pretty good against the pitcher they threw in the next game. It was a 3-3 ball game and then we made a ton of errors and losing 13-3. Aghahgh. All I can say is I was proud of them for playing so hard and trying till the very end. Scott was so adoreable in helping coach 1st base. Even though he thinks it's probably no big deal, it is a huge help to have someone there just to keep me sain. The bases were loaded and one of our girls walked up to Coach Scott and asked if I was going to make her bunt. Scott was pretty sure I wasn't going to ask this girl to bunt. And seeing how most of them don't have a clue how to bunt, Scott was correct. We had some fun times winning but then came defeat. I knew we were in trouble when right before the game I said there are no dumb questions and one kid asked what a pop fly was anyways. So many terms for kids to learn when they have never played softball before. Wow! Pray for me as we laugh and learn the game of softball. Varsity won both of their games 5-4 and 8-0. We were very excited for them for playing so well. It feels good to know they can win and win big.

Huck! Missing you during Easter!

Well, this week I recieved a sweet sticker thank you card from my nephew. We are miles apart and so my brother sent two CD's for me to view. I miss him so much! We were hoping to go see them this week during Easter so it's going to be hard not getting to share an Easter with my brother. When we were kids,I remember going to our Aunt Connie's every Easter and getting to do an egg hunt. It was always a neat time to run around her yard and play games. Easter was a family event for me growing up and I guess I never really understood it much on why we had to get dressed up all pretty for church. I would always get a new Easter dress each year and that part I really enjoyed. Easter was the one time of year where I didn't mind looking like a sweet little girl instead of a tomboy, that I was back then. But now, I haven't gone to buy a new dress for Easter in years but I still enjoy coloring eggs. Scott and I spent our evening coloring eggs. We took lots of pictures and we hope you enjoy your Easter. Remember it's not about eggs, bunny's and family (but those are fun things about it). It's about Jesus rising from the dead and the celebration of life! A new life with HIM!

Yeah you know me... down with PT... yeah you know me

Physical Therapy and Chiro working together? I have a great friend whose Husband is a Chiropractic Doctor and he has been helping me get back to health. I have even tried acupuncture and it seems to be working. As we speak I have a needle in my ear and whenever I need relief, I hold it for thirty seconds and the pressure relieves my pain. Kinda crazy ah??? I was sent to a PT as well and he has me doing all kinds of fun little exercises. I really hope I can get back to shape for this summer. Please keep me in your prayers.

Scott is doing well and working harder then ever. He got a few new sales! I am so proud of my Honey!

We helped out at a Lock IN last night and we are both dead tired. It was a lot of fun and there were kids everywhere. They had a mechanical bull, jousting, video games (Scott and I both stink at Guitar Hero), karaoke, basketball and three hours of bowling, go carts, and pool. I was empressed with my bestest friend Amy's newly announced fiance, who is a youth pastor in Andover. He did a great job of keep the kids entertained and gave a sweet talk about Peter and Jesus's relationship.

Baby's Got BACK (problems)

Hey..... So I have been working out pretty much everyday, trying to maintain and lose a little weight. I got on the row machine for about three days. Each day pain grew a little stronger. My Back was hurting so I stopped rowing and wore my back brace. Realizing my back was still not getting better from a two year problem, we decided I should go to the Doctor. They took x-rays and nothing showed up. They took an MRI and again nothing but a minor bulging disc. I have had all of my Doctor friends looking at it and they are working hard to figure out what is wrong. I have been going to a friend Chiro and he is going to see what can be done. I am happy to hopefully get some relief. I can't lay down, sit, or even move right now without pain. Please be praying we can find out what is the cause and get my back to feeling better. I am coaching everyday and it's difficult to be hitting a ball. Please pray we can get this worked out soon.
Softball has been going well. The head coach is back now and our practice yesterday showed our weaknesses. We have a few kids who need to relearn how to throw and it's not fun for them in anyway. Please pray I will continue to make an impact for this team and help them achieve what they are hoping for.

Happy 3rd Birthday Huck!!!!

Well, I called my nephew this morning and he answered the phone. Hello Tina, come over! I told him I couldn't come over and he told me. "When people call then they come over, so come over." I about cried because I wanted to see him so badly. It was nice to have skype and see him with a puff football. He showed me how he kicks it. He looks so big and it's amazing how fast little ones grow up. My sweet boy is three and he knows so much. Only wish he knew how badly, I wanted to be there. Glad he could have a great birthday with his parents and Aunt Jenny. Can't wait to hear all the fun things they are going to do this weekend. Don't forget to change your clock back on Saturday Night.

1st Question

My first day of practice was very different. The upper classman were very excited and talking non-stop. I was a little rattled because of the fact, are we practicing in or are we out. But the best was they started throwing and cuss words were flying. Then one girl looked up at me and asked "Is it okay if we cuss?" WOW! So I kindly mentioned I would prefer they refrain from cussing. The second practice was much more in tuned with what we are trying to get across to them and that is.... they are a team and to help each other. We worked on hitting drills and it was very tiring but encouraging to watch them get past their fears and face new challenges. I was encouraged but very tired. Can I just say, welcome to America again. I was a little bit in culture shock after being in a christian enviroment for two years. Nothing like jumping back into reality of our youth.

New Mission Field the Softball field

Well, as I embark on a new chapter in my life, I can tell you I am nervous but excited. Tomorrow officially starts tryouts at a local high school for softball and I am running the C team, JV and Varsity practices for the first two weeks, while the head coach is still in basketball. I want them to do good but I am very anxious about coaching again. Please pray I will do a good job and plan things accordingly. We might be inside tomorrow with 30 girls and no gym. Good times. We might be in a parking lot or we could be on our field if the sun drys the fields in time. Please pray the C coach and I hit it off because we will be working together for the first two weeks and I have no clue what her expectations will be for us. Praise God for the opportunity and for allowing me to make a difference in some girls lives. Please also pray for my back as it has flared up with intense pain and I have not been able to move without pain. Once again I am thankful for the opportunities at the performance center with working with girls to prepare them for their High School careers. Good luck to all the girls I worked with over the last two months.

Valentine's Day

What a sweet day to celebrate with your loved one. Scott was super sweet and gave me flowers and candy. We had a great dinner together at home. It was such a joy to remember last year we celebrated over the internet on skype. We had candle's and candy bars. It was a sweet gesture of Dr. Pepper in a wine glass. This year, we were face to face enjoying a quiet evening in our home. What a perfect night to be thankful we have one another in this crazy world.

Missions Weekend

This past weekend our Church held it's annual missions weekend. Inviting our missionaries to come share what God is doing in their part of the world. I was priviledged to speak on Inn Ministiries behalf at thier booth because they were not able to send someone this way. I also spoke to a Sunday school class. The Sunday school class is in a series of defending your faith and recently have been studing Catholism. Since I was raise catholic our missions pastor thought it would be a great class for me to step in since another missionary wasn't able to be there. It was amazing how God spoke through me to explain the importance of 1 Peter 3:15 "Set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." It wasn't clear to me what I should share until after speaking with the Sunday School teacher before class. It was amazing how I learned as I was speaking how much God had changed my heart to become more gentle. After sharing my testimony with the class and all God has done in me; they asked "What are you doing now?" I simple replied. "I am being still and knowing He is God and taking care of my husband." God places us on adventures throughout our life and I am not through sharing my faith and living life to the fullest. Being married is quiet the adventure and I am learning a whole new world. I am still giving an answer to all who ask of me but I realized today the bottom line is to do it with gentleness and respect. Loving others where they are at and respecting the values they hold.

Sick City

Did you know Wichita Kansas is the highest percentage of people who are sick in the nation for the past three months. Oh it's true. I can tell you, I for one have caught two colds. One in Janurary and the other this month. Going on my third solid week of sickness, I can so relate to anyone who is feeling under the weather. It just so happens, I have a husband who never gets sick. Which, is wonderful for us and for me. He is a little timid and now understands what it's meant in sickness and in health. He sometimes has asked to sleep in the spare room when I am hacking and sneezing all over the bed. I don't blame him one bit. I am sure he has never seen anything like it. Poor guy one day he is married to his pretty bride and then next month and a half he has a sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, headache wife, who can't seem to stay warm. I had a 100.7 tempature and it finally broke. I was cold all the time. I can't tell you how many times I told him I was freezing. I finally am covered under his insurance and it was quiet the adventure. Now, we are at least under my same doctor I have had since I was little. Married life can teach you a lot about how two become one, even through the rough times. Thanks Scott for taking care of me these past three weeks.

Remembering what Mary left Behind "A Wonderful Family"

Hockey Night Entertainment

Tonight we managed to get free tickets to a Hockey game and listen to a great friend sing the national anthem. WE of course don't really like Hockey but it was an exciting night. I hadn't been to a Thunder game in forever. After getting there and sitting in the stands, I realize many people haven't been to a Thunder game in awhile. Steph, Julie, Scott and I kept ourselves very entertained. Scott caught a few mullets in the crowd and a t-shirt for me. I was so excited he got a t-shirt but then we opened it up and it said "I don't count". Oh well, I guess in the big picture you shouldn't want a t-shirt to an event you really could care less about. But we all had a great time taking photo's of mullets and watching T-Dog.

Mary's with Jesus and Baby girls are with us.

Scott's grandmother (Mary) was very sick after we returned from our wedding/honeymoon. The family opted to put her on Dialysis the day we visited her in the hospital. She made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas but she was sleeping almost 8 to 10 hours during the day. After several weeks of seeing her quality of life go down, the family made a decision to take her off. We knew it would be a short time before she would soon lose the functioning of her kidneys. Scott and I visited her on Friday and it was very sweet to see her surrounded by her kids. She was in a good mood and seemed to be eating well. The next day her breathing decreased and her eating had become less. By Sunday at 12:30 Scott's mother called and let us know it was going to be soon. It was early that morning Scott's cousin had her twin babies and reported to the family. They gave the great news to Mary and she seemed to understand. Scott's mom arrived at the retirement home just before Mary passed. Mary had her children by her side as she left this world with the knowledge of being a great grandmother. As we came to comfort the family, tears filled our eyes. It was bitter sweet to know we had to say goodbye to a wonderful grandma and hello to two additional memebers. Scott and I are reminded of how wonderful life is from beginging to end. How we are called to give Him Glory when we can't understand everything. How blessed our family is because he cares about our small and large request. Blessed are we by a Mighty and Wonderful God

Perspectitives Class/Finding my way

Tonight we went to our second session of our class at church called Perspectives. Also today our pastor talked about Prayer and praying in Jesus Name. I was overwhelmed by what God was telling me through these men today. I learned so much in one day and it felt amazing to know God cares about the next stage of life.
Today, I learned it's extremely important to not forget to pray for things from God with out medium, Jesus Christ. I mean what gives us the courage to go before the Father as if speaking to him like a friend and not all the other things He is as well(like Father, Judge, Creator, and King). I think we get so relaxed in knowing God is a personal God, we forget what sinners we are and how important it is to continuely be reminded of our daily graditude towards the Son. Without the Son, God sees us for who we are... imperfect, infectious, weak individuals but with his Son; He sees us as His Son; perfect, without sin, loveable, warriors for Him and His children. I hope I am explaining this correctly. I just realize everyday how important it is to keep Jesus our connection to the father, by praying "in Jesus Name". Without a growing relationship with the Father and without realizing the importance of our dependance of the Son, we have nothing. We can ask for nothing, we can hope for nothing. But here is the excitment.....with a growing relationship with the Father and the Son, we can ask and know God will answer! We can know God hears our prayers. He may not answer them the way we would hope but He is in our lives to Be Glorified... It's not about us, it's all about HIM. And I am okay with that! Why? Because He is life and life to the fullest! Isn't that just amazing.

Also today, I was met with the idea of many scriptures we have memorized and how we memorize sections but not the full statement at times. We seem to manage learning scripture that helps us understand how blessed we are and how God will be there for us continually by His promises. What I learned was there seems to be a top line statement and a bottom line statement. The top line is how God can bless us and the bottom line is how we are to bless others to glorify God. "The Great Commission". ex. Psalms 46:10 Be still and know I am God; (it's about "us" a top line statement, important but look at the bottom line) I (God) will be exalted amoung the nations, I (God) will be exalted in the earth. The bottom line is God is to be exalted and worshipped. It's are job to help others see God as a "missionary God", he wants to reach all nations in all the earth, to know Him.
Even though, I am on cloud 9 right now with just being married, my mission is not over. I realize how important life changes so quickly. My husband and I have such exciting plans for our future. I believe God is showing me in every blessing there is also a small reminder of "The Great Commission". Whether it's having kids (to love others), moving to a foreign country, or continuing to help our church love on our missionaries, we need to keep right in our relationship with God. It begins and ends with Jesus. What a finding!

Wii Night

So our great friends Amy and Brett came over with a new video game called the Wii. It's a physcial game of moving the remote and using your entire body. It was a lot of fun even though I wasn't very good. We had six other friends over and everyone got tired out about 10:00. It's amazing wow quickly you get competitive. Boxing was the best working out you literally are punching with the remotes. Quite interesting.
I have been struck with a bad cold for the past two days and it's not a fun thing at all. Luckily I got out of bed today around 2:00 p.m. and started feeling myself about 5:30. Hopefully I didn't get to exhausted with all the games we played.

PT Cruiser? Oh yeah!

This past week Scott and I have been busy working on buying a car. It's been a good go around but very interestesting as well. We first went to Parks Motors and looked at many different vehicles but mainly SUV's. We were trying to find something we could use for our future with softball and eventually kids. Our salesman suggested PT Cruisers. We never thought about them but when we looked at them we both seemed drawn in. Scott and I were very impressed with the gas mileage and space. He gave us a few days to drive it around and I have to say, I really feel in love with it. Since it was our first day out looking we decided to do a lot of research on PT's. We got on the web and found a lot of info. on these cute cars. We had some interesting times with one car dealer in town and it was humorous after the fact. After, hours and days of wheeling and dealing, we headed back to Parks. We found a great price and a even got some extras. It's great to know we found something we are going to enjoy. So if you see a PT cruiser driving by... it might be us!!!!

Great new year news!!!

I asked for prayer on a part time job with softball and to help out somewhere to use my spanish. I went Saturday to a place called "His Helping Hands" and it's a place where people who are down on their luck can get counceling and then recieve free service. Some of the services are free clothes, bread, furniture, ect. I was told they would love some help with inturpting in Spanish and so I took myself down there. As I got there they put me in a room with all the clothes and kids toys. I was able to help and speak to many who came through. I only got corrected a few times, not by what I was saying in spanish but allowing the kids to dig through the boxes. I guess sometimes volunteer staff can be pretty tough people. Everyone received a number of Dillons bags and they could stuff them full of whatever they might need. It's an incredible way to see how God helps those in need. I was thankful for the opportunity and realized I could help in many ways.
Also.... I am starting a new job at Geher's performance center as an instructor of softball four days a week. I will be helping with a hitting clinic and it's a great way to get my foot back in the door to softball. I am thankful for the opportunity. PTL for answered prayers.

Surprise Party Weekend

Well, we helped two friends pull off surprise party's for their husbands. One party was themed camo. So we all got into are hunting clothes and enjoyed some good fun. But we had a great time and I got to hold Vance (Wendy's baby) more! Scott was learning from Vance how to suck his hand. Scott gave up after only a few tries. Amy really got spirited and wore antlers. But Matt and Heather took home the prize.

The other party was a poker night and we had around thirty people at our house. Three tables were set up for 24 players but we had nineteen playing poker. Scott and I were the hostess but Scott ended up being more of the host then me because I was still playing poker until 11:30. Brooks beat me in the final hand of the night! It was a great time and everyone was very excited to see each other two nights in a row. Needless to say we were a little tired today.

Happy New Year!!!! 2008

We had a wonderful time with a dinner and dance. Scott surprised me with flowers and a sweet card. We are excited to see what the new year will bring. It's so exciting to know God is in total control. We entertained friends the next day with about 12 hours of college football. It was pretty fun to sit around and laugh with our friends. I am reminded how much really went on this year. We had one friend have a baby (named Vance), three friends who got pregnant this past year (Karen, Niki,and Beth) three friends moved away with different jobs (Erin, Amy Mo and Shara), we got engaged and married, five of our close friends got married in our singles group (Niki and Jay, John and Rebecca, Greg and Carrie, Lori and Ron, Eric and Shannon) and two friends found true love (Amy and Heather). It's been amazing how God is working in all of our lives. Can't wait to see what happens next year.
This past year I have bought, wrecked, and sold a moto. I ran a basketball league, visited Belize,Tikal,Florese, went to an amusement park in Guatemala, got engaged, dated over the skype, got married in Jamiaca, and am a wife.
Scott visited Eurpoe, Albania, Guatemala twice and Tikal, got engaged and married, redecorated our home,went to his first KC Chiefs game and is enjoying his wife.