Inspector Gadget... da na na na na oooh oooh!

Inspections are tomorrow at 3:30. Please pray that nothing serious is wrong with our house as well as the buyer being flexible with the little things that the inspector will inevitably find. They are kind of putting us up against a wall with timing of all of this. Our option period is over as of Monday at midnight so that only gives us Sunday and Monday to deal with any issues whether (big or small) that pop up.

Life of Leisure

Oh.. what a hard days work! With Charles' new position come many new perks... This picture shows him sailing in off of the coast in California - during his trip he played golf, got to go to after hour socials etc etc.. he also spent the afternoon yesterday shooting skeet and may have another golf outing sometime this week.. Nothing like working hard and playing hard too! If anyone deserves it - it is Charles.. he works super hard for us and puts in many long extra hours and is constantly flying and travelling. He is an excellent provider for us and I really appreciate him allowing me to be at home with little Audrey.. It is definitely NOT as glamorous; but I love it and maybe once we are all in Greenville together we can take some quick trips of our own! :)

Moving right along...

here's to making a long story short:
1. We accepted an offer - same people; better deal

2. We are on day 3 of the 10 day option period - (where they can back out easily)

3. Fluor has assigned a moving company - New World Van Lines

4. Moving out dates:

April 9th & 10th they pack - April 11th they load up and leave - Arriving in Greenville on April 14th with our stuff.

5. Charles will come back to Houston for closing on April 18th

Trust in God's Plans

my daily devotionals have been spot on.. was this one written for me??? just substitute the word "dream house" for "dream church, dream friends, dream life..."
click on the picture if you want to sign up for a devotional to go to your email...

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”Jeremiah 29:11
A friend of mine moved from the Nashville area to Chicago. She left behind her dream house. Although she was excited about her husband’s promotion, she didn’t want to move. She had found at the end of her rainbow a house that she loved, and it was in Tennessee, not in Illinois.
As they drove away, all she could see in the rearview mirror was that wonderful and cozy home. It had become her security and her identity. It was the place where she belonged. But in the process of that move and relocation, she discovered some important truths. “My security does not come from a house. Real security comes from trusting God. I will never grow if I always stay in my comfort zones. Spiritual maturity comes in learning to depend on God to meet my needs. Things should not be held too tightly. They can keep me from embracing what God has planned for me.”
God’s plan is the expression of his love. Never in our lives will God ever express his plan except as an expression of his perfect love. God always has our best interests at heart. He’ll take any situation a person is going through, even if it is a terrible one, and will use it for a good, overall purpose in one’s life.
When God is at work, it always involves risks and changes and new ventures. Why? Because God wants his people to live by faith. We need to trust in God, not in a company; to find security in God, not in a home; to depend on God, not on friends and relatives.
God’s plan is prosperous and hope-filled, one that will work for people’s benefit. God desires that his people trust in his plan. He has not abandoned his people. He nourishes hope. He will satisfy life. He brings fulfillment.

GIGGLES

GOOD FRIDAY

I found this article early this morning.. had to share with you -

Good Friday is the solemn commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ. This day is the most sorrowful of any day in the history of the world for Christians. Jesus, innocent and without sin, freely offered His life for the redemption of the sins of the entire world.How is this possible? How can the sacrifice of one man be enough to redeem the gruesome sins of mankind? The sacrifice on the cross was the offering of God Himself. God, the almighty and infinite master of the universe made an infinite offering by His sacrifice on the cross. Our sins, though many and serious are finite. They are limited, though they are numerous. We cannot count them. They are too many, but God, knowing and seeing all knows all of our sins.His sacrifice is an eternal one, by which we receive an eternal reward. By our sins beginning in the Garden of Eden and continuing throughout the history of humanity, we sentenced ourselves to separation from God for eternity. God is perfect, and through our sins, we blemished ourselves such that we could not be united with God in Heaven.God, however, is compassionate and gave us a redemption from our sins. The death of Jesus on the Cross is the eternal sacrifice that removes the eternal consequences of our sinful nature. Christ in His mercy opened the Gates of Heaven for us.There are many who freely choose to reject this gift. There are also many who accept it. Regardless of our response to this offering of His life, the gift was generously offered for the redemption of all. This gift is the manifestation of perfect love. Jesus was innocent of all sin. He gave the most precious gift that anyone could give: His Life. For, as it says in the Gospel of John, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:13).This is the day when that famous verse, quoted in all corners of the world, written on signs at sporting events, and written on the hearts of all mankind came to fulfillment. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”Let us not forget this amazing gift. Let us not reject this gift whether outright or through our sinfulness. Our Lord spared no pain, retained no shred of human dignity. He was scourged, crowned with thorns, spat upon, made to carry a cross through the streets, filled with a hostile crowd, nailed to a cross and killed for our sins. There is no sacrifice we can make that can even compare to His. For though we suffer, we are sinful. Our Lord was perfect and was tortured and killed for us.For though He died to redeem our sins, we must still accept this gift in our lives. We must live for Christ.

Mama needs some Color!

I like this stuff.. I'm not super at self tanners - with the instant stuff I come out with the zebra effect - not knowing where i put the gel, cream, foam or whatever form it comes in.. and with the origional jergens gradual tan (takes a week) I didn't see results quickly enough so i quit using it.. Here is my answer :) It is gradual but quick - Jergens Natural Glow Express -I am a fan! Caution: still be careful around feet and ankles though.. tricky tricky..

"The fears of the wicked will all come true; so will the hopes of the godly. Proverbs 10:24"

"Sometimes it seems that the only people who prosper are the ones who use selfish means for selfish ends. But you can be assured they'll be judged someday for their actions--as the righteous will be judged for theirs. Which side would you rather be on?"

I don't know if I've ever noticed this verse before.. have you?! (It came to me through an online devotional that is emailed daily)

Happy Face

Audrey and I couldn't go home for dinner because there were people looking at our house.. we stopped at Subway... This is what you get when you ask for Audrey's "happy face."

Reject

Many of you are interested in an update on how our house is doing on the market: We have had lots of traffic through here in the last week - Our house has been on the market for 10 days and we've had 10 showings (2 of them were re-shows).. busy busy busy! We have had two different couples show a little extra intrest in the house and one of them put an offer in today. We rejected it - it was a really big low ball and we decided we weren't even going to entertain the thought of going that low. Our realtor supported that decision 100% since the offer was so ridiculous. I have been praying for wisom through all of this since the bible says in James 1:5 "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." We certainly lack wisdom in this department because we have never done this before! Fortunately we have been blessed with a Christian realtor that we trust completely. Please be praying for good, realistic offers that we can work with...

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Abby Cadabby

That's SO Magic!
My daughter is officially a crazy fan of Abby Cadabby.. Insanely obsessed with her is more accurate of a description. Kari (my sister) gave Audrey this abby cadabby doll for christmas and it came with a very short dvd clip of sesame street (when abby cadabby is introduced to the other characters.) Audrey wants to watch it over and over and over and over again... I pretty much have the entire thing memorized. She just calls out Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! until I cave. I guess every kid has their own thing to get hooked on.. and Audrey's is Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby! :o) ha..

Feliz Cumpleaños!!

Happy Birthday Charles! We celebrated Charles' 29th at Los Cucos with his sister, Angela and Grandpa... It was so funny when they came and put this sombrero on his head and covered him in whipped cream!! He is always so "fixed" it was great to see him a little messed up ;o)

Beginning of the End...

OK - it is official, we are selling our house and the "process" has begun. It is becoming more real to me that this is actually going to happen... sadness.

Favorite Products of the Week

EXCELLENT PRODUCT! In one of my dinner party disasters, I dropped a spinach dip in my oven and have had to look at all of that baked on goodness for about a year.. I tried the self cleaning thing on the oven and all it did was solidify all of the nastiness in my oven permanently - well not any more!! this stuff works miracles.. seriously, no smell and it works AWESOME - i wish i would have found this sooner~

Y'all know that I'm a fiber girl.. i just think it is so healthy for ya - anyways.. I found this Fiber One Yogurt on Monday doing my grocery shopping - delicious and it contains 20% of daily recommendation for your fiber.. click on the link below to see some health benefits of fiber:
http://www.fiberone.com/Benefits/Default.aspx

Here's how to incorporate more fiber into your diet:
http://www.fiberone.com/Benefits/TenTips.aspx

Have a good day!

Keepers of the Home

I have been frantically cleaning for days - You really don't think your house is messy or dirty until you have to "put it on the market." I'm not the housewife who just loves to clean... I'm thinking that they are a dying breed because I only know a couple of gals who actually enjoy it. Anyways, this has been exhausting looking at every nook and cranny and trying to see it through someone elses' eyes - Try it - You'll see a whole new world of clutter you never noticed before! It is nice, however, living in a house that has an organized pantry, closets and laundry room - they look great! When I was cleaning out my side of the closet I had 4 trash bags FULL of clothes, 1 bag of shoes, 1 bag of old purses and Charles came up with a bag of clothes too! We brought them to Katy Christian Ministries and it felt so good to dump all of that stuff out of my house.. I'm kinda on a roll now and I'm wanting to get rid of lots of stuff - things at one point I HAD to have - now I'm just giving away.. makes me rethink impulsive purchases!! Also during my cleaning I came across this little card - it was given to me by another Fluor wife and it was attached to many recipes..
It says:

We, the Keepers of the Home,

have accepted God's life long challenge

with the guidance of our Heavenly Father, our Christ, and the Holy Spirit

"to love (our) husbands

to love (our) children,

to be self-controlled and pure,

to take care of (our) homes

to be kind,

and to be obedient to (our) husbands,

so that the word of God not be dishonored"

Titus 2:4-5 (from several translations)

This is what God expects of us as housewives and "keepers of the home." We are commanded to love our hubbies (even when we don't feel like it), love our kiddos (even when they are whining all day), to have self control (not to spend all their money or give in to many indulgences), to be pure (to know the grass ain't any greener with another hubby), to take care of our homes (literally to cook, clean & do laundry), to be kind (not to complain, gripe or snap at the hubby or kids - but to lift them up and encourage them), to be obedient to hubbies (follow their lead - don't be controlling)... It was encouraging to me to read this today and I hope it encourages all of you as well~ It is a pretty big statement for us to follow; It holds true 2,000 years ago and still holds true today - isn't God good?! :o)
Luv,
Christa