A Long Season

It is going to be a LONG football season for our Hogs! We made the quick jaunt down to Austin on Saturday and I should have just gone shopping! The game was (just as we anticipated) miserable!!!!! We were dominated from the opening kick off! The only good thing was that our seats were in the shade...Thanks, Peter! The Lord knew this pregnant woman could not stand the sun, the heat, and a defeat! Just as Flint and I always do, we still had fun being together. I captured a few pics that I will share.

Here is a picture of Flint with the tower in the background. We have a little inside joke about the tower. I can't reveal from whom the joke derived, but I can let you in on a little fact... The tower will light up "when they win the national championship this year"!
This is Frank Broyles and Darrell Royal at the coin toss. Two legends!

I must give Texas some props. They were much better tailgaters this go-around and their new stadium was impressive. However, we are still not in the SEC and I miss that! Their stadium was not even full and they are #8 in the country!!! WHAT?!?! Okay, I have one more funny story. We were given tickets by Flint's best friend, Peter. So, of course, we are sitting in the Texas section, which as I mentioned before a) we did not have a lot to shout about and b) we were in the shade. So this was fine by me. We did have three Razorback fans sitting about four rows behind us and a drunk Longhorn fan one row in front of us. Flint and I sat quietly and took our butt whooping, but the Hog fans behind us were cheering their little hearts out! The Longhorn fan was consistently trying to get his fellow, surrounding fans to get more into the game. Without any luck he stands up and shouts how pathetic Texas fans are and that the three Razorback fans were louder than all of them put together! Of course Flint and I loved this and were internally thrilled by the Texas fan's outward declaration! We couldn't agree more! That was probably the highlight of the day!

Walking on Water

Please Pray! This is my first hurricane experience! I made Flint go to the store with me last night to make sure our pantry is stocked (not that it wasn't already) with food in case we needed a couple of days supply, batteries, bottled water...you know, staples!!! Flint thought I was loosing my mind, but everyone else in town had the same idea as me! Since we live over 200 miles inland, we really do not know what to expect. Either way we want to be prepared. As of right now we are expecting up to 70 mile per hour winds and lots of rain. I really do not know what that means, I just know I hate storms. We have so many friends and family members in Houston, Galveston, Lake Charles LA, and the surrounding areas. For some reason, no other hurricane has hit home like this one. Lord, please be with us!!!

I am reminded of the disciples out on the lake during a storm. Jesus told Peter to get out of his boat and walk toward him. He was testing Peter's faith. As long as Peter kept his eyes and focus on Jesus he was safe from sinking. When Peter looked away at the winds and the storm he began to sink. But Jesus, none-the-less, swept Peter into the safe embrace of HIS arms. This passage has become a lesson that I meditate on just about every day. We studied it last year in depth in my BSF class as we were studying the book of Matthew and ever since then I can't quit thinking about it. I LOVE this story and it can be applied to difficult times as well as daily life! We often see the distractions of this world and take our focus off of what is the most important thing we have to cling to- JESUS! All HE wants us to do is to have faith and HE will take care of the rest! How comforting!!! Suddenly, I can take these verses literally...we are about to experience a big storm. But, I know Jesus will hold our hands and keep as safe!

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Matthew 14:25-33

College Football Commencement

How Lucky are we?!?!

We hit up two college football games last weekend. Both the Baylor Bears and the Arkansas Razorbacks had their season openers and we made it to both!

It was my first Baylor football experience and all I can say is WOW!!! Not, "wow", like that was an amazing experience. Like "wow", "we are not in the SEC anymore, Toto!" You can look at the stands and tell that football is just not the same here and then you can look at the final score and be reminded yet again! Which by the way was:

Wake Forest 41 Baylor 13

To give the Bears some credit, they were playing a ranked team. We will give them a shot at victory again this Saturday night when they take on Northwestern State!

So, here are some pictures of my first Baylor football game! They have a neat tradition, I guess. They have what they call Baylor Line, which is made of the entire Freshman class, that is any freshman who wants to participate. They all get matching jerseys, they run out on the field right before the game starts, and then the football team runs through them. That is the pandemonium occurring on the field in the picture below.

The Baylor Line One of my cell group girls that I have been with over the last six years, just started school at Baylor! It is so wonderful to have an old, familiar face down here! Meet Jessica! She is, in Rush terms, "super cute"!!!
And finally, YAY for new friends! This is Katie. She works in Flint's office and we have become friends. I am so thankful God sent her my way! We have spent lots of time laying out by the pool together!
Baylor played Thursday night and then we loaded up the Tahoe and headed to Northwest Arkansas for a long Labor Day weekend. I did a horrible job at taking pictures. It truly was a crazy weekend...jammed packed. We got in late Friday night. Saturday, of course, Flint had to find a place to park his hiney to watch College Game Day and the LSU Tigers. We headed to Max and Kelly's, whom I do not have a picture of. They made us the most delicious home-cooked breakfast! Seriously, I LOVE biscuits and gravy like any southern girl! We hung out at their house until we met Todd, Heather, and Reese for a late pre-game meal at the one and only Slim Chickens! One of our favorites! The picture below is of Todd carrying Reese to the game! She is so precious and is such a happy baby, however the "over the shoulder baby holder" was not the greatest idea in her opinion! Look at that face, does it not make you laugh!?!? AWWWWWWWWW.....to be back in Fayetteville and to be "home". I have never appreciated Fayetteville so much in my life, and I don't think you truly can until you move away! I am not sure if being pregnant made me a little loco, or if it just felt so good to be home, but The Run-through made me start crying! How ridiculous is that?!?!? Welcome to the Bobby Petrino era.

This picture is just funny to Flint and I because, for those of you who do not know, Jeff Long is trying to get rid of EVERYTHING that says "Go Hogs". Yeah, good luck with that, buddy! Keep trying to get rid of years and years of tradition! Does he not know what happens when you make Razorback fans mad? They will fly banners over the stadium with bad messages about you! Notice that spectacular Razorback in the middle of the football field! It is about time?!?! Houston Nutt did not want it. Now we have joined the modern days of football and have our mascot painted at center field and it looks AWESOME!
Flint and I
Flint, Todd, and Bryce

(both were two of his closest friends in college and they are still great friends)
So the game was not so great! The Hogs looked less than impressive, just as we expected. They somehow managed to pull a victory out of their bag of tricks! But hopefully they will improve from week to week. Okay, okay. Flint made me do this!!! This is for you, Jordan! Jordan also works with Flint and was a Delta at Baylor!

It was another wonderful weekend in Fayetteville. Exhausting, but wonderful! We got to see lots of people, but not nearly everyone that we would have loved to have seen. Time just does not permit. My parents made the trip up to see us and to hang out with us. We were not expecting that. THANKS mom and dad!!! We love you guys!

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

I have thought about this post for a while. What would I say? When would it be? It really makes everything more of a reality for me. Let me start at the beginning of the story. Flint and I have been married for six years now! I really don't believe that when I say it!!! So, last summer we started to talk about and pray about starting a family. I never want to put time constraints on God's plans, so I wanted to be sensitive to what He wanted in our lives. I have always had a strong desire to have a child of my own, yet I still did not feel the sense of emptiness that many people talk about experiencing. I guess I was at a place of complete contentment with where God had me in my life. However, we both still felt that it was the right time to start a family. So, the journey began last fall. There have been many discouraging months and the harder you try, the journey can even become heartbreaking at times! At the beginning of March, many of you know that the Hubbie and I were separated a lot of the time due to a job change. He was in Texas and I was still in Arkansas. In May, we finally loaded up everything we own and moved down to Home Sweet Waco. The idea of a baby was definitely put on the back burner. We were completely consumed with a new job and getting settled into our new house. It is funny how God works.......He always seems to have a better plan for us than those we make for ourselves!

After a trip to Fayetteville for the 4th of July, I came home and took a test. To our surprise.....................

Yes, you read that right! We are expecting our first baby March 13th and we couldn't be more thrilled!!! I am twelve weeks and I am still shocked when I see that picture!

I prayed for this child and the Lord has given me what I asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:27

Thank you, Lord, for this precious baby! We feel so blessed that you have chosen us to be it's mommy and daddy!

One More Week!!!

ONLY One More Week!!! Seriously, ya'll. We look forward to football season starting back the day it ends! Literally, I think Flint goes into depression the day after the National Championship game! We just love college football. If you are from the south (especially the SEC) you know what I am talking about when I say there is nothing else like it!

Sadly, we are not in Fayetteville this year to cheer on our Razorbacks week after week, but don't you worry. We will still be cheering loud and clear from down here in Big 12/Bear country! We are hoping to make it to the season opener this weekend. I can't wait!

What's not to Love?!?!

There are SO many things to love about the Olympics. I love watching athletes live out their dreams. Most of them are not even in Beijing pursuing a metal, they are just there because they have worked so hard. You have to appreciate that! I love hearing the heart warming stories. You may have heard about the swimmer who was in a car accident and had to have her leg amputated. She is still in Beijing competing! Or maybe the 30 year old Romanian gymnast who went back to gymnastics to save her little boy's life! She is also in Beijing competing...against 15 year olds!!! Like I said...I love it! Here are just a very few of the highlights and what has been consuming us and keeping us up late over the last two weeks!!!

Michael Phelps...need I say more!

Veronica Campbell-Brown repeating her title in the 200 m

Shawn Johnson

Nastia Liukin

Women's Beach Volleyball

USA defeating the French in the relay

The Redeem Team

Watching President Bush interect with the athletes!

NLRHS Class of '98

Okay, okay. So I am a little...no actually a lot...behind on postings! I have had several special occations this summer that I need to post about. One big event was my class reunion!!! Ten whole years ago I graduated from North Little Rock High School! It was a little weird, but a lot of fun to go back and see people that it has literally been 10 years since I have heard from! We had three big events. The festivities kicked off on Friday night at a local pub. Saturday afternoon there was a family picnic, at which we got to see everyone's kiddos!! Saturday night was the Main Event at the River Market in downtown Little Rock! Besides all of these events, I got to spend some quality time, in smaller groups, with some of my besties from high school! Overall, it was a blast! I have a confession...I was SO horrible at taking pictures, most of these shots are not even from my camera...they are "borrowed"!!! So, these are fun and all, but soon I will try to scan some actual pics from our days at good ole NLRHS! That will be even more enjoyable!