FAMILY TREE

There is not a single divorce on my mom's side of the family. Not one. And it's a large family. In a world where 50% of marriages will fail that is a pretty awesome feat. And because of this, we have a strong family...immediate and extended. What is it about this family that enabled it to beat the odds?

My grandfather is about to die. The doctors have just told us he has a few days. I'm shocked and heartbroken and trying to process it all. But, I'm not without hope. Why? For the same reason that there isn't a divorce in my family. In honor of my grandpa, I'm going to tell you the secret to the success (not monitary by any means) of my family. My family is whole and purposeful and has joy because of Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt that my grandpa has a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of that I know that his last days on earth are not his last days at all. Because I know that my grief is more for those of us still here who will miss him.

My grandpa isn't perfect at all. He knows that. He recognized his need for a Savior. When Grandpa accepted Christ in his life he made Him Lord and Leader. His relationship with Jesus wasn't without serious bumps in the road, heartache, and sin, but Grandpa made it his goal to become more Christ-like with his life. God came first, then Grandma, then his children. Because of his (and Grandma's) values and principles his children accepted Christ and follow Him whole-heartedly and have healthy marriages too. And his grandchildren, and so on.

Do you know Jesus Christ? No matter your situation, you need a Savior. I do. And my savior is Jesus Christ. Ask me about him, I'd love to tell you.

Life Lessons

Here is what I've been chewing on lately:

Proverbs 21:23 The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 12:18 There is one who speaks rashly, like a piercing sword; but the tongue of the wise [brings] healing.

James 3:3-11 Now when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide the whole animal. ⁴ And consider ships: though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So too, though the tongue is a small part [of the body], it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our [bodies]; it pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every creature—animal or bird, reptile or fish—is tamed and has been tamed by man, ⁸ but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in God's likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things should not be this way. ¹¹ Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?

James 1:26 ²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious, without controlling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, his religion is useless.

James 17:28 Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent, discerning, when he seals his lips.

Proverbs 15:1 ¹ A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath

A few things I've learned from this:

1. **major revelation alert** I've always said "This is just my personality, I can't change it" or "I'm just opinionated. Can I not share my opinion? People just don't like to hear the truth". It has been revealed to me that a) You CAN change your personality. In fact, God is calling me to change CONSTANTLY! Not to change into what the world wants but what HE wants. b) I'm not as smart as I think I am. My opinion isn't always gold and isn't always right. And if it is right, it can spoken in a way that is not condescending and builds others up.
   
2. Most of the time it is best to just be quiet. My motor mouth started out with good intentions (to be friendly) and has turned into a mess (attention getting, off-putting). Working on it!
3. My tongue/mouth/words can do 1 of 2 things: can encourage others to move towards a relationship with Jesus Christ or pull others away from Him. I'm trying to remember this before I say ANYTHING.
   
4. It less about the actual words I say but the tone of voice I speak them in.
   
5. This one got me. My words can actually render my beliefs useless if they don't reflect the truth that Scripture holds. James 1:26 ²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious, without controlling his tongue but deceiving his heart, his religion is useless.
   

I encourage you to chew on this with me (get it? chew...tongue :) Please pray for me as I work on this majorly flawed area of my life. All 14 followers of this blog :) ha! For those of you that know me personally, please keep me accountable in this. Its a habit that has taken years to develop but I'm hoping to un-develop it faster than that!

Should I?

Should I audition for American Idol with a friend on Saturday for giggles (cause I'm not very good) or work at J.S. Fields and Co for $$. I'm leaning toward $$.

Rethinking & An Update

I know, I know...I've been removed from most everyone's blogroll because I never update! But, I am rethinking what to do with this blog. I've been doing a little research on blogs & have noticed that a good blog serves 1 of 2 functions: 1) an update for out of town friends & family on happenings or 2) a channel to communicate information about a specific topic...not as much emotions or feelings. I want to make sure my blog falls into one of these 2 categories and have yet to decide which one I'm going for. I do not want my blog to be a journal of my thoughts and emotional blather for 2 reasons, first, I feel like those types of blogs only attract people who think or feel similarly and therefore serve to reinforce feelings instead of having accountability, and second, I have a tendency to be an open book (aka share too much) but I do think that some things in life (marriage, emotions, etc) should stay somewhat private. So my goal is to overhaul the blog and meet these goals with it.

In the meantime, here is what we've been up to.

Flood 2010



Visiting Trav, Reba, Zion, Norah, and Jordan in the burgh. It was awesome.





Laying Heated Tile in the Bathroom




Midnight showing of Eclipse & an Office Sleepover




Spontaneous Trip to Destin w/ Hale, Andi, Samuel, and Jamie

Good Gene's

Nothing new in my life other than the fact that I'm overwhelmed with finals and work and technically don't have the time to spare to be writing this post. Whatever.

Because my last post was about fake children, I thought I should follow it up with a post about REAL children. I think that my brothers' offspring are really really cute, so I have hope that my future children will be too. I think we must have pretty good genes. Unless of course ALL of the cuteness comes from my SILs...possible. :) I have the cutest nieces and nephews of all time. That's right, I said it. Please don't hate me but I do think my nieces and nephews are cuter than yours :)

Meet Zion, the oldest. She's 3 and she rocks. She has a very sweet heart. She's a goofball like her dad and looks like her mom. (Trav and Reba)




Meet Calvin. He just had his 2nd birthday. He's hilarious and has a very exuberant personality. He loves basketball. Check out his crazy eyebrow. Its awesome. (Shawn and Jill)



Meet Norah. She's the newest addition born on New Years Day. We think she's going to be contankerous because she decided to come on her own time and miss tax deduction by a day. :) I haven't gotten to meet her yet but I can't wait to...how can I not love her already with a face like this. (Trav and Reba)




Meet Clark. He is coming this summer and we can't wait. Even in black and white, he's precious!

A Big Ol' Surprise Announcement

I've been trying to figure out the best way to tell everyone about our big surprise and I decided that the blog is the best way to do it. You see I have a huge family that lives all the over the country. So, I often get stuck playing the "who do I tell first" game. Better known as "Who won't get too ticked if they're the last to find out" game. Add into the mix a group of best friends who think they prioritize right up there with my mom and dad (you know who you are Britt, Lindsey, Shari, & Jess...not to name any names) :).

So here goes...drumroll......


I had to go off the pill for a bit while E transitioned to new job. My doctor wouldn't write me any more prescriptions til I came in for my check up but I didn't want to go in until I was on the new insurance. So, I've been off the "little pink pill" for about 2 months. So, yeah...

E started his job today. He's excited about it for a couple of reasons. First because its a paycheck. (Yay!). Second, we get insurance and that insurance has a maternity policy. I think you get where I'm going with this. So scroll down for a picture of our big surprise!

April Fool's!!! I am NOT pregnant :)

If I sold my car, I could get....

If I sold my car I could get:

The couch of my dreams!
Its $4000. So come to think of it, I couldn't get this couch. My car is only worth $3000. Dangit.

Restoration Hardware - Lancaster Collection


But I could buy this couch! Which is almost as awesome. It is exactly $3000. Think E will go for it?



Z Gallerie

(Mom, if you're reading this. Take deep breaths. I'm not really going to sell my car for an overpriced sofa. :)

She's A....Half Bricked...House

***Multiple Posts (2)****

Remember when I said we'd signed a contract on a home to be built? (Bethany Happy) Well that was the plan, until the neighbor next door to it wanted to buy our lot. The builder, seeing an opportunity to sell 2 lots at once accepted the neighbors offer and called us and asked us to take a different lot. (Bethany Angry) The builder also offered $2000 or an upgrade because we had to choose a different lot (Bethany still angry but seeing opportunity).

While deciding if we wanted to keep our original lot or move and take the upgrades, we remembered a spec house we had been in that was more expensive but had a floor plan we really loved. Even though it was significantly higher priced, it had been on the market since September and was costing the builder money every month. We decided to counter offer the builder: give us the spec house for the same price as our original contract or we keep the original lot. (Bethany Anxious). Well guess what?? After a little negotiating and small changes to the agreement, the builder accepted our offer. (Bethany Happy Again!)

We have certainly been blessed during this process. We knew it would be difficult to live with people for so long but thankfully Rick, Kelly, and Owen have been so awesome and generous. We really appreciate them. Allowing us to live with them so affordably has allowed us to save a great deal of money to put towards this house. We were expecting and excited purchasing a very small, old, fixer-upper. But, God, knowing that we are both too busy and worn out to do all the work neccessary for a fixer upper, put this deal right in our lap. And its amazing, a house we could have never purchased within our financial guidelines for ourselves if the Lord hadn't been apart of it.

Pro's of this Deal compared to other house

• House is slightly bigger
• Way better - open - floor plan
• More kitchen cabinets
• Jack and Jill bathroom upstairs
• Seperated sinks in bathroom
• Bigger closets
• More storage space
• Beautiful gunstock hardwoods already installed
• Huge center island in kitchen
• Has a big laundry room
• Enough space for a baby grand or grand piano
• More expensive house for the same amount of money
• Its built! So we move in late April instead of early July!
  

Con's of this Deal

• Half brick and half siding (the other was 3 sides brick)
• Countertops aren't granite (not really a con though because we got some granite from a friend and will install it ourselves.)
• Carpeted areas have the cheap carpet that is your typical new home carpet (will have to be replaced fairly soon)
• Laundry room is upstairs

Here she is!! Of course, even though its a brand new house, Erin and I already have 3 projects we're doing prior to move in :)

Front Living Room: Love the windows!!

Kitchen and Living Room

Kitchen and Dining Area

Master

Master Bath

Master Bath with separate tub.

Wine, Cheese, and Grandparents

Like wine and cheese, grandparents just get better with age. We had the best time with my grandparents this past weekend. My sweet grandpa has just been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and so Erin and I trekked out to Oklahoma City for a quick weekend visit.

One of the things we enjoyed doing was looking at all the scrapbooks we had dating back to the 1800's!! I brought several books back with me to use some family photos for artwork in our new house. My scanner went kaput so I can only show you one picture.Can you tell which is my mom? From left, Mom(Diane), Grandma, Huck, Grandpa, Susan, Cathy, Great Grandma VanScyoc (I think). Wasn't Grandma pretty?!

Here are just a few things I love about my grandparents:

• Grandpa and Grandma are still in love. They still adore each other, kiss each other good morning and goodnight, and are attentive to each others needs. Its so sweet and gives me hope that we can beat the divorce statistics.
• There isn't a single divorce in that family...pretty cool statistic.
• Grandpa is the original Dave Ramsey, seriously. He and Erin talked about the right way to do real estate all weekend. :)
• Grandma, even with her Alzheimer's/dementia, still has such a great sense of humor and personality.
• They are faithful to the Lord and put their faith into practice.
  
• They both have a sweet tooth - that's where I got it from :)
• Their main concern in death is each other and their children, not themselves.
• They love music and dancing. (As evidenced by how much they LOVE the Lawrence Welk show)

Beautiful Blogger Award

Amber over at Dixon Dialogue was sweet enough to give me a beautiful blogger award. Check out her blog...she's got tons of pics of her adorable son, book reviews, interesting topics, and more. Thanks for the award!! Tomorrow I'll be posting about my wonderful trip to see my grandparents and also about the big news on our house. But for now.....

Here’s how it works:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the award and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Share 7 interesting things about yourself.

5. Nominate 7 bloggers.

7 Things About Me:

1. I like vegetables WAY BETTER than fruit.

2. Sharing a bed with a girl weirds me out. I would rather sleep on the floor (I think its cause I have 3 brothers and just never did that growing up.)

3. My ideal day starts at 5:30 and ends around 9:30 or 10:00.

4. I imagine myself as a mother to all boys.

5. I'm one of the only people I know that would actually prefer for my parents AND in-laws to live here in town.

6. I would give my left and right toe to be a heart surgeon.

7. I'm very passionate about political issues and small government but more importantly, I'm passionate about Jesus Christ.

Bloggers I Nominate:

1. Lindsay at Lindsay Loves It All

2. Reba at The Schenks

3. Jill at The Schenk Family

4. Michelle at Michelle Myers Writes

5. Stephanie at Truth In My Pocket

6. Carmen at Keepin Up Klapper

7. Brooke at Being A Mom Is

Hubs from Heaven

Erin and I like to play a little game called the "Who Married Up Game". Don't worry we've never played it about you :) Erin and I often disagree on who married up when playing this game because we value different characteristics in people but it is no secret and there is no discussion that I married up, WAY up!!

Can I just tell you how much I love my husband? No? Well its my blog so I'm gonna tell you anyway :) Just a few reasons I love my hubbs.....

1) He leads by example more than words. Erin knows the Bible and is a dedicated studier of it. He actively pursues a relationship with the Lord and I see it and follow his lead. He never asks me to sacrifice something with out equally sacrificing first.

2) He works hard for our family. E is a provider through and through. He wants to provide me with my needs and often gives me a bunch of my wants. He is also willing to work hard for our goals. He does what it takes.

3) He watches Cheaters with me late at night and we laugh. (side note: cheating is not funny, its wrong. But Cheaters the T.V. show, on the other hand, is a riot. Joey Greco uses more polysyllabic words than a dissertation)

4) He has a super long fuse.

5) He works hard to communicate with me in a way I'll understand. E isn't a big talker but he knows that I am. So, he works hard to communicate with me in that way. If he is upset about something, he calmly tells me. I love this because sometimes I don't realize I've done something wrong until he tells me...then we can take care of it.

6) He intelligent and thinks I'm smart too. and treats me like an equal. We like to have intellectual conversations and this is very validating to me.

7)See picture. Need I say more? :)

8)He is an amazing musician. My mom loves this about him too :)

9) He loves my family and makes an effort to know them.

10) He can make me laugh all day long. We have so much fun together which is what keeps our marriage fresh. I'm constantly laughing at his antics.

Tearfully Good Day

Today has been a good day. So good it made me WANT to cry (I didn't), more than once.

Reason #1: house stuff. Still can't tell you. But after I put my pen to paper on Sat, we should be able to speak it.

Reason #2: http://www.hunterdixon.com/collection.html
I LOVE these clothes. They are perfectly my style. The spring collection 2009 describes my style PERFECTLY! And the Fall 2008 collection is amazing. (sigh.)

I wonder if I could find these pieces from Spring 09 on Ebay or something?

P.S. I'm going to try and change up the look of my blog when I have some spare time. But in the 15 minute alotment of time I allowed myself to blog, I just didn't have the time to get it quite right :) Excuse the mess.....

Looking Forward...Way Forward

I'm creating this list to keep me motivated. I need a little encouragement to continue working full time, going to school full time, preparing to move into our new house, etc. These are the things that I will enjoy in mid-May once school and sleepless nights are over: YAY

1) spending QUALITY time with my husband... NOT both of us sitting in the office, not speaking, only working/studying

2) being skinny and tan... NOT holed up in a room eating popcorn constantly to stay awake

3) riding the motorcyle

4) having my own home!!

5) sleeping

6) getting a beefalo w/ Hale and Andi and finishing our conversion to organic, whole foods (once we're in our own place again)

7) going on a cruise

8) being able to say "Yes" to coffee with friends

9) going to the pool on the mornings/afternoons I don't work

10) planting a garden

11) crafting and sewing to my hearts desire

12) running sprints in the evenings

13) cycling

14) seeing family

15) hiking/camping

16) playing piano (cause we're getting one as soon as we move....double Yay!!)

17) eating my fave summer foods/desserts like fresh strawberry pie, fruit pizza, limeades, baja style tacos, meats on the grill, fresh fruit smoothies, Sweet CeCe's yogurt (yuck in the cold winter...awesome in the hot summer!).

18) getting a doggie

19) not driving to M'boro

20) Decorating the house

On another note, we may have some positive changes coming regarding our house. I can't say anything yet but I'll keep you posted. Back to studying!!

90 days and we're HOME!!

We signed a contract on a home-build yesterday! Woohoo!!!! We are very excited to have finally found something that both of us feel is a good fit for our lifestyle and financially conservative as well. Here is a drawing of what our cute little house will look like.

We really feel like we got a great deal on this house. It is in alignment with our financial goals in purchasing a house and it has basically all the things we wanted. It is about 2000 square feet which is plenty big for us and will allow us to grow a little bit into it. It is located in Brentwood, TN (official address is Brentwood but its close to Cane Ridge) and is 25 minutes from M'boro for school, 25 minutes from downtown for E's work, and 15 minutes from Cool Springs for church and my work. Perfect!! It will be ready to move 90-100 days after breaking ground which will hopefully happen this week or next, weather permitting.

We never thought that we would get such a great deal, especially on a new home build, but we found a builder who is doing this for less than $100/sq. foot! Crazy! Also, the selling agent is giving us and our realtor, Samuel, a "certificate for a cruise" once we close on the house, whatever a "certificate" will get you :) Yay...I hear the sound of the Caribbean waves already!

Rick and Kelly (and Owen) have been so gracious to let us live with them this long. We really appreciate their friendship and generosity. However, I think they and we will be ready to get back to life with everyone having their own house :) But, if I had to choose any couple in the world to live with, it would be them. They've been awesome.

Side Note: This is Max, Rick and Kelly's boxer. Max likes me.... a lot. He likes to pee on all my stuff to mark his territory. I don't like this. I'll miss him (he's sweet)... but I won't miss his pee...

My thoughts on nursing.

Some of you may have seen a recent twitter in which I observed that "most of my nursing professors are overweight". I was surprised to find that several people were offended by my statement. If this is true, please forgive me. I, in no way, was trying to demean people who have extra weight on them or implying that my teachers were lazy....etc. Following is my thought process (yes I'm writing in class :) Also, just let me say that the teachers to which I'm referring do not have just a few extra pounds on them. They are obese - the size of people they warn us about with severe, deadly health conditions.

1) I found it interesting and it piqued my curiousity. I initially wondered why they chose their profession. How could they teach us about health and nutrition? Why would they harp on not smoking but not as much on healthy eating habits - just as much of a killer. Did the information they shared with us on obesity not scare them to death?

2) Then I felt convicted. I struggled with an eating disorder for a long time. I was way too skinny. My problems were similar. I replaced God in my life with the obsession of food. I understand where they are right now. When I was warned about the bodily damages that would occur through lack of eating, I didn't care... all I cared about was that I was a supernatural person who could live on no food and get crazy skinny (sick I know!) Healthy doesn't mean super-skinny either.

3) So, my point in my initial observation is this: Think about your profession, what you do. Do you really believe what you're saying or is it just a regurgitation? If you can't have integrity in your work (where you spend the majority of your day) then where will you? Christ demands this...even when its hard. Do you trust pastor's who preach the Bible but then have affairs or lie or cheat or cuss? How about a financial adviser who is in debt/bankrupt? Of course not!

My new goal as a nursing student/future nurse: To radiate health and maintain wellness so that I can be an example of encouragement for people facing health problems.