One Year Anniversary

This year has FLOWN!!! Without a doubt... this has been the most amazing year of our lives! I had NO IDEA how great life could be with your best friend by your side. Since Tim had a 3-day weekend available... we decided to celebrate our "Almost One Year Anniversary!"

On Friday, May 28th, My little bubba graduated high school!! I can't believe it! Words cannot describe how proud I am of him.

On Saturday morning we woke up and headed to Fredericksburg! We walked around a shopped the stores and stopped for lunch at The Auslander Beirgarten and Restaurant. It was a German experience... but we don't think we'll ever eat it again!








After Fredericksburg, we headed out to San Antonio! We stayed at the Historic Menger Hotel. When we were checking in they told us that there was a slight problem with our room. We had reserved a king size bed and they said that all they had was "a bed slightly smaller than a queen." I said, "you mean a full?" Hahaha... slightly smaller than a queen would be a full, you fool! :) No pun intended! I through a small fit... and we ended up in the $700/night General William T. Sherman Suite... and no extra charge to us! :)



We ate dinner at the Tower of Americas and really enjoyed our really expensive dinner! It was beautiful up there... eating steak and lobster 800 feet above ground! The restaurant section of the tower rotates one full turn every hour, so we got to see the entire city of San Antonio during our meal!







The next day we slept late, enjoyed a traditional Mexican breakfast on the Riverwalk, did the Riverwalk boat tour, shopped the Rivercenter Mall, visited the Alamo, and then at dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.... on the Riverwalk, of course! :)









We headed home the next day and enjoyed every second of our ride home together! :) Happy Anniversary, Timothy!!! You are my life and my love!!!!

Adoption

Well... we have officially started the adoption process! Whoop! Thursday night, we met with our social worker and got the ball rolling! We are adopting from the state/Child Protective Services. The meeting went really great! I was shaking like a leaf the whole time... Tim just held my hand and kept me calm. However... the second we left the CPS building... we both lost it... I mean LOST IT! :) In a good way, of course!

We will be certified Foster Parents by September. We have a LOT of work ahead of us. There are sooooooooo many things that we have to do, but we are ready and willing to do them. Among those things are fire inspections, physical exams, Tuberculosis tests, parenting tests, CPR certifications, First Aide certifications, etc. We also have to take 25 hours of PRIDE training courses. I can't remember what PRIDE stands for... but we will learn about the children that come through CPS and how to help these precious children who have fallen victim to emotional, sexual, mental, physical abuse and neglect.

There is a 2-year marriage requirement for adoption... and we've only been married 1 year. There is another law that says that any family who is adopting from the state has to wait 6 months from the day of placement to be able to adopt. Basically, after we get a child or children, we have to wait 6 months before we can legally adopt them (If parental rights have already been terminated). What this means for us:

*We will be certified Foster Parents by September.
*Hopefully we will be able to foster children who we would consider adopting. Our social worker said that it could be October or November before we get a placement.
*By the time June 13th, 2011 rolls around... we will have been married for 2 years and we will have had them in our home for 6 months and we will be able to adopt him/her/them! :)

At first, the "2 year marriage" was devastating and we cried!! But... it's not as bad as we thought!

So..... stay tuned!!

Fluvanna

Okay... I promise that I will get better at this blogging thing now that summer is here!! My last post was about Tim being laid-off. After six weeks of being laid-off and job hunting, Tim got a call from his former boss' in Sweetwater. They got a new contract and wanted him to come work... in Fluvanna. If you don't know where that is... it's 2 1/2 hours from Tuscola! So... my poor honey woke up at 3:50 every morning to make it to work every day... 6 days a week. It is usually 9 or 10 before he gets home every night. This has been going on for nearly 3 months.

Lesson we learned: Be careful what you pray for!!!! We prayed for employement... and boy howdy did we get it!!!! The overtime money was great... but absolutely torture for us... the couple that is joined at the hip and heart!!

This past Friday, Tim was told that he doesn't have to go to Fluvanna anymore!! He will not be doing 4 10-hour shifts... which means he will have 3-day weekends! I am teaching summer school and I also have 3-day weekends! Talk about a blessing! God is good!

He Provides

So I was on quite a blogging role there for a little bit... and it looks like I got a little behind. I laughed when I re-read my last post about Tim's job security.... because things have changed a little bit!

The Monday after Valentine's, Tim came home from work early... like 6 hours early. It turns out that Tim's company held onto him as long as they could. They offered to pay him one extra week and keep his insurance until the end of the month. In light of everything, these were both great blessings.

On Tuesday morning, Tim started the job search. I am so blessed to be married to a man who likes to work. It was VERRRRY unlike me to not freak out. We were both very at peace with what the Lord was doing with us, and we still are.

It's been three weeks and Tim is still searching. And we are still full of peace. We are AMAZED at how the Lord has provided. I know we really shouldn't be "amazed," after all, He is the LORD! But... it has been "amazing" to see the ways He has provided and the people He has used in our lives. Our Church family has been the biggest blessing of them all.

Also, JORDAN'S MECHANIC SHOP/FIELD SERVICES has been open for business. Since Tim knows EVERYONE in Tuscola and Buffalo Gap... all of his old farmer friends have been putting him to work! He's working on trucks and tractors! HE LOVES IT!! Eventually... this is what he wants to do... have his own shop.




All in all... God is good all the time. All the time, God is good!!

Wind Turbines

Well... we had a great answer to prayer this week. Tim is a wind turbine technician in Sweetwater. He wakes up at 4am every morning to make it to Sweetwater by 6am. He is a working fool. He works for a small contractor company, which has it's ups and it's downs. THE UPS: he has 4 bosses whom he likes and gets along with very much. There are only about 40 employees. If he needs off a day all he does is ask. They are very flexible. THE DOWNS: The company relies on contracts for work. If they don't have contracts, Tim doesn't have work.

Unfortunately... there are too many turbines producing too much energy... and the grids are maxed out. When you are driving down I-20 and some turbines are turning and some are not, it's because they are curtailed. They shut them off when the grids max out. The new grids won't be completed until 2011 or 2012.


After 2 months of his company only having 1 contract... and only 2-3 crews (which means only 8-10 workers needed), Tim has finally has an official spot on a crew!! This means that he has a job security for a while longer!! We don't know how long it will last... but it's a GREAT blessing for now. His company has been gracious to keep the employees around even though there has been no work for them. They have been cleaning the shop, detailing trucks, building fences at the boss' house... random non-turbine stuff! But now he actually gets to work on turbines!! :)

I just wanted to share this PRAISE with you!!!

Mixed Emotions

Happy Monday, everyone! Today was a wonderful day!!!! I had a little breakthrough today.. thanks to an email from my friend, Sunny. Let me tell you about it.

The day before Thanksgiving my brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Holly, came to Tuscola to spend the night with us before heading to Levelland for the Copeland Thanksgiving weekend. With in a few moments of being in our home, they announced that they will be expecting a little one in July. As you can imagine, I began to shake and cry hysterically... I had the feeling you get right before you hyperventilate. I was either going to run out the door screaming or jump up and down and hug Matt and Holly. Of course, I did the right thing and jumped up and down and hugged them both. I have never felt such mixed emotions. Soooo happy for them... but soooo scared for us. I fought my way through smiles and baby talk. But what I really wanted to do was crawl into Tim's arms and cry.

My little bubba and his sweet, little wife...

Welp... I slapped myself on the face a couple of times... it was time for the pity party to end. The last thing I want is for anyone to feel like they are walking on eggshells around me... or for them to hold back their excitement because of my sadness. The Thanksgiving weekend that followed was equally as hard. Sharing in the family's excitement was difficult... but definitely good practice... for this wouldn't be the first experience of this kind.





Kristal and Daryl
Only one week later my best friend, Kristal, called me crying. She said, "I don't want to tell you." And I said, "You are pregnant aren't you?" We both started crying and I tried to comfort her. This time I was crying because I felt soooo guilty that my best friend would be sad/scared crying when she made the call! "What the heck?," I thought... "this is the day she has dreamed of her whole life... and she's scared to tell me.?



So I found myself being taught the same lesson -- being genuinely happy FOR and rejoicing WITH those who are are experiencing something great -- Instead of feeling sorry for myself. These are the other times in my life when the Lord has tried to teach me this lesson:

1. When everyone else got their Aggie Rings on time and I didn't it.
2. When everyone else graduated on time and I didn't.
3. When Matt and Holly got engaged and I didn't.
4. When Matt and Holly got married and I didn't.
5. When Matt and Holly got pregnant and we didn't.
6. When Kristal and Daryl got pregnant and we didn't.

Well... here's the lesson learned...
1. I got my Aggie Ring the next semester.
2. I graduated as a BILINGUAL teacher one year later.
3. I got engaged to Tim one year after Matt and Holly.
4. I married Tim one year after Matt and Holly.

5. & 6. Maybe we'll get pregnant one year after Matt and Holly and Kristal and Daryl! :) C'mon, Lord...

So back to the beginning of this post... when I said I got an email today that changed my outlook on things a little bit... here is a part of that email.

"Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, ' I know all about adoption, I was adopted.. '

'What does it mean to be adopted?', asked another child..
'It means' , said the girl, 'that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!'"

HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!! That's it!!!!!!!!!!!! Holly and Kristal have a baby growing inside their tummies and I have a baby growing inside my heart!!!!! :)

Wow!!! Thank you, LORD, for that amazing perspective. So... now my tummy won't grow, my heart will.

Baby Jordan

Well guys... here's the whole reason I started this blog. I feel like the Lord is going to do some pretty huge things in our lives in the very near future... and I desperately want you to be a part of it!

Tim and I are facing infertility. Plain and simple, it may be close to impossible for us to carry our own child. BUT... we serve a God who is the Miracle Business and if He wants us to get pregnant... we will. However, we cannot ignore the fact that if we wait 5 more years, I will be 31 and Tim will be 32. Not that we'll be old, but definitely older than we like to be having our first child. Therefore, we have recently been brought to our knees with the news that adoption may be our only option. So, why wait?

Up until the week before Christmas I was NOT okay with adoption. For me, accepting that fact looked like failure to me. I desperately want to carry our child. I want to hear the heartbeat. I want to feel a kick. I'd gladly take the morning sickness. Tim has been open to anything all along. "I just want to be a dad and I don't care how that happens" was his response. It wasn't until my mom came to visit me that I had a peace about it. You know... mom's gotta fix things... she's really good at that!

BABY TIMOTHY


The week before Christmas I was down with pneumonia and I needed my mommy. ;) (She's smiling really big right now!) As I was crying in her arms she reminded me of something I had long forgotten about. She said, "Remember when you called me from the parking lot of the movie theater--when you were at A&M? You call me crying after you had seen a movie." I immediately remembered that night. I had gone to see the cartoon movie "The Robinsons" It's a movie about this little guy from the future who lived in an orphanage and he wanted to find his parents. If you haven't seen it, you need to! During the middle of that movie, I felt the Holy Spirit. If you've ever heard the voice of the Lord, you know what I'm talking about. The Lord told me that I would adopt one day. I didn't understand it at the time, but I knew I'd adopt one day.

LIL TIMOTHY -- A MECHANIC EVEN THEN!


Who knows what that means now??? Was I reminded of that because the Lord is definitely telling us to adopt? Or was it because the Lord just wanted me to know that at one point I was okay with the thought of adopting and that maybe I should "get okay with it?"

Looking further into my past, I can see more evidence supporting adoption. I was heavily involved in the 40 Days for Life Campaign, where I prayed in front of Planned Parenthood for days at a time and donated time and money to the cause of LIFE! Was that coincidence that maybe by Tim and I adopting... we are possibly going to receive a child that would have been aborted otherwise? I've made a complete circle.

LITTLE KRISTIN


We have spent the last week or so doing research. Through other friends who have adopted and friends of friends who have adopted, we have learned a lot. Mostly a lot of scary stories... yet, full of hope. Even though we are considering adoption, we are not giving up on having our own. Even if we adopt and then get pregnant... we will be doubly blessed! As soon as school is out for the summer, we will hit the ground running with adoption applications/interviews/home studies/background checks/fund-raising/home preparation/etc. We want the next 5 or 6 months to focus on US and on the LORD and HIS PLAN for us.

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE LIL' MOMMY!!!


One thing we know for sure... and we were reminded of this in Church this morning:

"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon Lord."

We would greatly appreciate your prayers and your support.

Home Sweet Home

Well... one thing is for sure... when the Lord wants you to have something... he makes it happen!! Back in September, Tim and I decided to start the house hunting adventure. So... we went to the bank to get everything in order, ready to buy. The day we got the approval call... we called my mom (who is the best real estate agent in the world!) and she came to Tuscola to show us the house we fell in love with! :) We closed on the house within 4 weeks! Every single door just opened... so easily. It was so clear that we were on the right path! So now we are living in our perfect little house as the perfect little couple! :)

When the house is clean... I'll take some inside pictures...

Pirate City Baseball - Christmas 2009

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Our family was blessed to take a family trip to Bradenton, Flordia over the Christmas break. You see... our little bubba, Joe Tom, is extremely talented. He's going to be a professional baseball player one day! And no... I'm not just prejudice... he really IS amazing! He was selected to be on the National Under Armour Baseball Team. At these games, Joe is watched by college recruiters and receives coaching from college and major league coaches. Basically... we followed him to Florida an did fun, touristy things in between his baseball games. Tim and I shared a room with Matt and Holly... and we had a blast!! We went to the Florida Holocaust Museum for Mom, Gatorland for Holly, Airboat Tours of the Everglades for Tim, Anna Maria Island for Dad (just kidding about the "for Dad" part). You see... Dad got pooped on by a seagull and it was one of the funniest things ever!! He stunk to high heaven. It was an incredible vacation for all of us!

Joe Copeland, #8, The Catcher


Joe Copeland, #8, The Pitcher

In the beginning...

Well... it's official... I'm a blogger. So how do I re-cap on the first 210 days of our marriage? I have no idea. All you need to know is that GOD IS GOOD! But of course I'll tell you more!!

I spent 25 years of life praying for the man that God had set aside for me. Years of tears brought me to my knees wondering if "he" was really out there--a man who could really love me for me. After graduating from Texas A&M University in December 2007, I moved to the DFW area to teach. I chose DFW because I thought that I could surely meet someone in a large city full of people. Turns out that was not true. I was never happy in DFW. Luckily, I was only there 6 months before my next opportunity arose.

My little brother, Joe, called one day in February 2008 to tell me that UIL districts had been realigned and the Eastland Mavericks would no longer be playing in the DFW area which had been so convenient for me. They would now be playing the schools around the Abilene area. I immediately emailed one of the vice-superintendents of Abilene ISD to tell them that I was bilingual and needing a job. FIVE minutes later I received a call from AISD and we set up interviews for the following weekend. I visited 5 schools and interviewed with 5 principals. Within two days, I have job offers from several schools. I was drawn to Fannin Elementary and became a Fannin Cheetah in August 2008. I took the place of a teacher who had retired. It occurred to me that maybe the 6 months in DFW was just a holding tank. The Lord needed Mrs. Curtis to retire so that I could take her place as the Kindergarten Bilingual teacher. During our first Kinder team meeting, I discovered that my team was amazing! I knew that these ladies would become dear friends. Through a series of God-driven connections, I met the man I would later marry!!

Here is a more detailed story if you are interested...

In high school, I was a region officer for an organization called FCCLA. One of my fellow officers became a great friend of mine. She was from Blackwell, TX; the town where my grandfather was raised. After HS graduation, we lost touch.

Six years later (which was August 2008), I began teaching at Fannin Elementary in Abilene, TX. One of my fellow Kindergarten teachers told me she was from Blackwell. I asked her if she knew Kammie Lisso and she said, "Kammie's my sister!!" We both screamed and were so happy to find this connection. I got Kammie's number and we instantly became friends again!

Kammie Gunn and Kallie Collins -- The sisters from Blackwell, TX

After a few weeks, she wanted me to meet her boyfriend, Jeremy. So, a Saturday trip to the Lake Sweetwater sounded like a great idea. She said Jeremy was also going to have a friend there... and he was single! Kammie clarified beforehand that she was NOT setting me up on a blind date because she had never met this guy before. Well... we arrived to Nolan, TX on September 27, 2008. I gasped... he was a redhead! And I have a thing for redheads! He was funny and charming. I spent the afternoon watching him get tossed about the lake on an tube behind the boat.

After the lake, we cooked DiGornio Garlic Bread Pizzas (which are very sentimental to us, now!) and we played Wii Bowling and Wii Golf until 8 am the next morning!

DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN!!

Then, at 9am, Tim flew to Iowa. Yes, he left me and flew to IOWA! Therefore, the first 6 weeks of our relationship was spent getting to know each other over the phone, which was actually quite a blessing. I picked him up at the airport 6 weeks later and we had our first kiss. Yes... my leg popped! I knew you were going to ask that! :)

Basically, we have been inseparable ever since! Thanks Kammie and Jeremy!


WHEN WE GOT ENGAGED February 24, 2009

HOW IT HAPPENED Tim told me to head to Sweetwater after school and don't ask any questions. I was also told to wear comfortable clothes. He know that if he hadn't have given me this command, I would have worn a dress! :)

So after school, I changed clothes and headed to Sweetwater. Half way there, he texted me and asked what I wanted to drink from Sonic. I thought... oh, my heavens... he wanted me to wear comfortable clothes and he's getting me a drink from Sonic... HE'S TAKING ME UP A WIND TURBINE!!

So I continued driving and in a few minutes he calls back and says, "Take exit 249 to Farm Road 1856." So... I did and who was waiting for me on the Farm Road? My Tim! As I pulled up behind him... he sped away! I took that as a clue to follow him. So I followed him a few more miles until we pulled into the Picnic Park/Boat Ramp at Lake Sweetwater. The exact location where we first spent our first day together. He backed his truck up to the lake and then brought me my Sonic drink. He had ordered our favorite pizza from Pizza Hut and we had a little Pizza Picnic on the tailgate of his truck... complete with a dessert pizza, too! :) After we ate, we sat there watching three ducks dive and play out on the lake. We had a few good laughs and then just sat there in silence, with the warm sun and the strong breeze on our faces.

After about 30 minutes of letting our pizza settle, he took my hand and led me down the bank to a tree. He said, "Kristin, I love you and I love your family. This tree reminds me of us. It is two seperate branches that share the same foundation, they come together as one. And if you'll notice, this tree has several little branches, and I hope that one day soon we can make our own little branches to add to our tree. I can't think of two better people who make a perfect match, than you and me. I believe that the Lord made us for eachother and has great plans for us. There is no one that I would rather spend the rest of my life with, than you. So, I already know the answer to this question, but ..." (He got down on one knee) "Kristin, will you marry me?"

I was crying, as you can imagine, and I said "Yes! Yes! Yes, I will marry you!"

Oh... did I mention that he put a HUGE ROCK on my pretty, little finger! :)

Then we hugged and kissed... and re-experienced our garlic bread pizza! ;) Haha. What a perfect proposal for a perfect couple!! :)




I only had a few months to plan the wedding... but don't worry... I secretly had everything planned already! :) Our wedding was exactly what we wanted. We wanted our wedding to represent our separate personalities. Some would say that I am a bright, chipper person. So our colors were bright and chipper! Tangerine and Lime Green represented me well. Tim is a down home, good ol' Texas country boy. So we had our wedding at our church, Leon River Cowboy Church. There were sunflowers, mason jars, hay bales, boots and cowboy hats! It was one of the greatest days of our lives! As wonderful as it was... we couldn't leave soon enough! We wanted to get to Cozumel, Mexico! Our first week as a married could was spent on the beach and in the ocean... it was perfect!