Happy New Year!

Well, it's hard to believe that 2008 is almost over! Boy, has it been a crazy year. It started off with Kevin and I having just gotten engaged, to me looking for a new teaching job, planning a wedding, moving to a new house, new town, new area of South Carolina, getting married, starting a new job, at a new school, in a new grade, getting a dog....But God has been good, not just good, but wonderful and has showered us with many blessings! God has always been the center of our relationship and our lives and we have leaned on Him to direct us and we have no doubt that He will continue to bless us and give us guidance as we grow in Him and as we grow as husband and wife. We both are very excited about what will come in 2009. Kevin is hoping for a major growth in his business. I hope to finish out the second half of the school year just as well at the first half was. We will also get to celebrate other special events together that will be a first as a married couple. As the new year rolls in, take time to reflect on how God has blessed you this year and focus on what you plan to do for God in the year 2009 and how He will use you.

We wish everyone a Happy New Year and a blessed 2009!

Day Trip: Edisto Beach

Today, I went with my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my neiece to Edisto Beach. For Christmas, my in-laws gave all of us a trip to the beach. So we went today to check out some houses and find the one that we wanted to stay in this summer. Which we found a great house! But it's still so strange for me to get to the beach in just about 2 hours and the fact that it was 74 degrees the 2nd to last day in December! But we had fun!

Lily Kate is having fun digging in the sand!

First Deer

Our nephew, Houston, came by tonight to show us his first deer that he killed. It's a doe and she was a good size. He was grinning from ear to ear. We were very happy for him!

Abby chooses.....

Well, the verdict is in, Abby is a Clemson fan! How do I know this? Well, for Christmas Abby got 2 Gamecock tennis balls from my parents. We gave them to Abby when we got home and immediately she started tearing them apart. Then the other day I was throwing the ball with Abby and she continued to tear it apart. Now, she does like to tear up a tennis ball, but she hasn't done this in a long time. So I decided that she doesn't like the Gamecocks and she was showing us how she felt about them.

Christmas Unwrapped

Well, its hard to believe that Christmas is over! All that shopping and planning and now it's gone and another year is about to come to an end. Here's what our Christmas was like: Last Sunday night it all began with a Sunday School party. We had good food, lots of laughs, and Kevin did Karaoke and sang "Grandma got run over by a reindeer". He thinks that his musical debut will led to MCA records calling. But honestly, he didn't do that bad. Tuesday night, we celebrated with Kevin's dad's side of the family at Grandma Kitty's cook house. Again, there was more food and lots of laughs. Grandma Kitty got our nephews this air gun that can shoot out ping pong balls and that got a little out of hand. As you can imagine. She did say that for Easter she was going to buy enough for everyone so we can all shoot one another. Kevin and I headed to Greenville on Christmas Eve. We got together with my dad's side of the family in Anderson that night for again, more food and laughs. Christmas day we exchanged gifts with my parents in the morning. At lunch, my mom's side of the family came over and we opened gifts. Then that night we went up to my cousin's house for again, more food and laughs. After dinner, we spent the next few hours watching and playing the Wii. Friday morning, Kevin and I headed back to Blackville to exchange with each other and our precious pooch Abby. Then we headed over to have Christmas with Kevin's brothers and sisters, and nieces and nephews. That was a crazy time, but it always is when you have 8 kids and 10 big kids. Which included the big boys shooting a fake deer with a bow and arrow, while the women cooked breakfast for dinner. While the little ones wondered about the gifts under the tree. But Kevin and I were so blessed to be able to be surrounded with family for Christmas.

This is our stockings for Christmas at

Kevin's parents house.

Our nephew, Geoffery, watching t.v.


Our nieces: Autumn, Taylor, Layla

Our nieces: Kayla and Lily Kate

got horses for Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the McCormicks!

It's Christmas Time! Last year was so special because Kevin and I were engaged and it was my last Christmas at home living in my parents house. This year, is exciting because it's Kevin and my first Christmas together as a married couple. School ended at 11:30 Friday morning for Christmas break. I am so excited about the break and not having to worry about lesson plans and grading papers for awhile. My Christmas break will be busy. My parents came down this weekend. Today is my dad's 60th birthday! Tonight we have a Sunday School Christmas party to go to in just a few hours. Then Tuesday we have Christmas with Kevin's dad's side of the family. Christmas Eve we are headed to Greenville. That night we are getting together with my dad's side of the family in Anderson for presents. Then Christmas Day we will get up to find out what Santa has brought. Then at lunch time we will get together with my mom's side of the family for presents. Christmas Day night we are headed over to my cousin's house to eat. Then we will head back to Blackville Friday around lunch time. Friday night we will get together with all of Kevin's sisters and their children. Sometime in between all of the family things, Kevin and I will get to celebrate Christmas together and of course Abby is included! So, I don't know if I will have a chance to blog much this up coming week.



Kevin and I wanted to wish everyone a joyous Christmas and enjoy being with your family, friends, and remember the reason why we celebrate. God gave us the greatest gift of all...our Savior, Jesus Christ!


The perfect Christmas tree! And yes, it is real.






This is our fireplace, as you can tell.

Want to Exchange Gifts with Jesus?

This morning our pastor talked about exchanging gifts with Jesus. The verse was Matthew 2:1-11. He read us the Christmas story. In the Bible it tells us that the 3 wise men brought Jesus gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh.

1. Bring God your GOLD at Christmas. Your gold is something that you treasure and is something that is the best of life. God wants you to give it to Him. He wants you to serve those that He served, to love those that He loved, and to get out of your comfort zone.

2. Give God your CIRCUMSTANCES at Christmas. Give Him all your dreams and aspirations. Give Him everything that is going on in your life whether its good or bad.

3. Give God your MUD at Christmas. Give Him all your sins and mistakes and repent from them.

With this gift exchange, He will gladly, willingly take it all and in return He'll give you the gift of salvation and everlasting life. Can't ask for anything any better for Christmas, now can you?

Our Anniversary

Today, is our 6Th month anniversary of being husband and wife. It's hard to believe that it has already been 6 months since our wedding. What is even harder to realize is that yesterday was a year that Kevin proposed. Here's our proposal story....

Once upon a time...............

It was December 20, 2007, Thursday. Kevin was coming up that next day to spend the weekend with me and family and we were going to have Christmas. Then I would come down that week to spend Christmas with him and his family. Anyways, I knew that a ring was on it's way, but I thought that it would come that Friday. Well, I was babysitting my cousin Emily for the day. We were hanging out and doing Christmas things, like making a gingerbread tree, which wasn't the prettiest thing in the world when we got done with it, but it was very colorful. Well, earlier in the week my mom had said that on Thursday, we would do something special for my dad's birthday. See, my dad's birthday is on the 21st of December. We always go to eat at Red Lobster for his birthday, that's his favorite place to go. So, my mom said that instead, let's do something different and go down town Greenville to eat. She told me that I had to be dressed and ready to go by 4:30. So I get home, get dressed and we leave. We get down town and were riding around looking for a place to park and a place to eat. I kept on suggesting places, but my parents kept on turning them down. Well, we pulled up the Westen Poinsett Hotel and we stopped. There were some people crossing. All of a sudden my car door opens, and my dad says "hop out", I looked and it was Kevin. I was in total shock! Well, silly me, I thought for some reason that he was going to get in the car with us and go eat somewhere. Nope, I got out and my parents drove off. I asked Kevin where were they going, and he said to eat a Red Lobster. Well, then it hit me as to what was going on. We stopped in front of this hotel, because during Christmas and New Years, they have carriage rides. They will take you down town and it's so pretty because everything is all light up and glowing. The carriage wasn't there yet and it was so cold. Then it started to rain, so we stood inside this flower shop to wait. I had figured out why were were standing there and noticed that it was raining. I new what Kevin was up to, so I started to pray that we would still be able to go on the carriage, because I knew that he had put a lot of thought and work into this and I didn't want it to be ruined for his sake. And of course I was excited too, but also a little nervous. Finally, the carriage shown up. The man made us wait, and he put up the top, which made it look like Cinderella's carriage. Even though it was raining it was still perfect, because now the carriage was more cozy. We went along down main street and when we got to the bridge that goes over the park, Kevin got down on one knee (in the moving carriage) and proposed. And of course I said "yes". We finished out our carriage ride. I found out that Kevin had already arranged this with the man, and that he knew it was a proposal, and even though it was raining he let Kevin use it. It was so sweet and so romantic! I couldn't have of thought of anything any better. We had been on that carriage ride the first Christmas that we were together, so I guess that's where he got the idea. The other twist to the story was that the ring came in the day before Kevin proposed. He got to Greenville 3 hours before he was going to propose to pick up the ring. Thankfully everything was okay with it, because it was a special order. I am so excited about our first Christmas together as a married couple!

Wild Backyard 2

As I have mentioned before, we have all kinds of creatures that live in our backyard. Yesterday, Kevin was clearing off some land to burn it. While he was doing this, he had all kinds of animals that he was running out of their home, like rabbits, and wolf rats. The most exciting one, was an armadillo. Kevin has been seeing this armadillo for awhile now and has tried to get a picture of it. Well, I was at the house and Kevin called me to hurry down there and I could get a picture of it. So here is my dad, Kevin, and myself running down this armadillo to try to get a good picture of it. The whole since I am sure looking pretty funny. But here's a picture.

And believe it or not, they are very fast little runners!

We also ran out a opossum. Well, actually Mr. Tim ran over it with the tractor and I think it was still dazed because it didn't move very fast

.

Christmas Light for Dark Days

Today at church, our pastor spoke about "Christmas Light for Dark Days". (Isaiah 9:2-7). He said somethings today that I haven't ever thought about before that I wanted to share with you. December 21st has always been a special day to me, because it's my dads birthday. (which is coming up next weekend). But December 21st is also the first day of winter or it is sometimes called the "winter solace". Last year, Kevin proposed on Dec.20th and we got married June 21st so we almost got engaged on the first day of winter and married on the first day of summer, which we thought was kind of cool. Anyway, Dec.21st is the darkest and longest night of the year. Which our pastor pointed out how Christmas comes just a few days after the darkest night or day of the year. Christ was born to be the light of the world, he gives us our hope. Even as Christians, we have many dark days. But Christ is our light that we are to look too. Here are just a few verses that you can look up where the word light is mentioned:

*Genesis 1:3

*2 Samuel 22:29

*Psalms 27:1

*Psalms 119:105

*Isaiah 9:2

*Matthew 5:16

*John 8:12

*2 Corinthians 4:6

*1 John 1:5

Here is a quote that I saw once in college and I liked it so much that I use to keep it written down on an index card and I had it posted in my room. Now I have it written in my Bible.

"I believe in Christ as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything."
-C.S. Lewis

Fire Proof:Week 6

Focus this week: A Better Way of Loving

This week the focus was on how to love your spouse unconditionally. You should think of your spouse and their needs before your own. You should learn what makes your spouse happy and try to please them and make them happy, even if you are not. You shouldn't just go through the motions of loving your spouse, you need to do it with all your heart, soul, and mind. No matter if they say "thank you" or not.

The main verse for this lesson was: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

"...Love never fails...." (vs. 8)

" And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (vs.13)

This chapter is so powerful. Kevin and I have 1 Cor. 13 engraved on our wedding bands. I think this verse is so powerful, because it tells about the love that God has for us. How He loves us and tells us how we are to love not just our spouse, but everyone. God is love and He created it. We wouldn't be here without His love. We wouldn't have a hope of heaven, for those that are saved by His grace and through His son Jesus Christ, we wouldn't have a reason to live, without love. We all need love in many different ways and there are many different sides to love.

Something to think about: Do you know how to love your spouse unconditionally?

Fire Proof Recap: To end this bible study, today we gathered with another Sunday school class that was also going through this study and had the opportunity to renew our vows. Kevin and I did not, only because we had just married 5 months ago. I think the thing that most of learned was that by this study, we are not fireproof and have not fireproofed our marriage, but hopefully we know where the fire hose is when we see a small spark and take care of it before that spark sets a blaze.

Fire Proof: Week 5

Focus this week: Forgiveness "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

This week talked about forgiveness and the ability to forgive your spouse when they do something to you. Some things are easier to forgive than others. Sometimes just a sincere apology will do, other times it may be a daily act of forgiveness. Why forgive? Because we were forgiven the day that Christ got on that cross and took all of our sins upon himself. When we sincerely ask for forgiveness from God, he does. He doesn't say, " Okay I will let it go this time, but not next time." or "Do you remember when you did this? How can I forgive you now?" When God forgives, He remembers the sin no more. I know that something Kevin and I learned in a marriage conference that we went too last year, was that when you are arguing or at a disagreement, or apologizing, never, never bring up the past. You need to just focus on the problem at hand, and your goal should be to get to a solution.

Something to think about: Is there something that you need to forgive your spouse for doing? Is there something you need to ask for forgiveness for?

Fire Proof: Week 4

Okay, I know that it has been a long time since I have posted anything about Fireproof. The truth is that we finished that study today. But I wanted to still fill in you in with each week.

Focus this week: Breaking Free "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

This week was talking about temptations and addictions, no matter how big or small they may be. For this week's lesson, we broke up into groups with girls in one group and the guys went next door to another room. The biggest temptation that was discuss in the book that is talked about in the movie was pornography and adultery. Those seem the most obvious to us, but those two sins cause so many break ups of marriages and families. Our flesh is so weak, but we must find the strengthen that God can give us and flee from this type of immorality. It talked about how "parasites" can get into your marriage and parasites will slowing eat away at you, until there is nothing left, but you and that sin. Some other parasites that were common in marriage were: eating disorders (whether it's too much or too little), Internet-based addictions, gambling, alcoholism, and drug addiction. Of course you and I know that there are many, many more, but these were the ones that the book mentioned. It discussed how to flee from sin. You can either take yourself out of the situation, or destroy the sin it's self. Something we discussed in the girl's group were that there were all kinds of sins and everyone has something that can take the place of putting that sin above our spouse. We have to been on our toes at all times. The Devil makes sin look so good and it will seem satisfying. I compare it to a candy bar. (Chocolate is a food group as far as I am concerned, which is something I struggle with). But that candy bar looks so good, it smells heavenly, and the taste, there's nothing like it, but in under 5 minutes that candy bar is gone. What are you left with? Sticky hands, dry mouth, trash, and a few days later, you are needing a bigger size in your pants. The Devil will go after your weakness. He's like an opposing team, they will watch your tapes for days, weeks, months, and can pinpoint your weakness and will strike just at the right time. You have got to be aware of the enemy.

Something to think about: Are there any parasites in your marriage that you need to confess to God? To your spouse? Admit to your self?

You know you are a teacher if.

One of my fellow teachers at my school sent this email to us and I just had to share it. If you are a teacher you will find it very true and somewhat funny that we (teachers) can all relate.

You know you are a teacher if..... (From Jeff Foxworthy)

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words "It's Ms/Mr. _________" and know you have been spotted.
4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you mom/dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.
6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and conference period.
7. You start saving other people's trash, because you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says "Must be nice to work 7:15 to 3:15 and have summers off".
10. You believe chocolate is a food group.
11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least one thing!
18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a "good choice or a bad choice."
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
And...
21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents.

Our Honeymoon

Here is a video of pictures from our honeymoon. We went to Negril, Jamacia and stayed at a Sandals resort. We highly recommend it! It was so beatuiful and very relaxing. Even if you don't make it to Jamaica, and you are wanting to travel somewhere with your "honey" look into a Sandals resort. It's awesome! Here's the Sandals website: http://www.sandals.com/

Our Wedding Day

This video is pictures of Kevin and I from our wedding day. To view more professional pictures go to www.bozwellphotography.com and click on wedding photos, name: pickelsimer-mccormick, event date: June 2008 password: 062108.

Our Wedding Weekend

Well, I finally did it! I finally figured out how to get a video of my pictures to upload to my blog. So here's a video of the bridal lucheon, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and our wedding day. Professional pictures and honeymoon pictures will be coming soon! I am so very proud of myself!

Clemson vs. Carolina

Clemson 31 Carolina 14

I know, I know, I know, if you are a Carolina fan you are saying, "just wait til next year!". You know we hear that every year, maybe one year it will happen for you. But in all fairness to the Carolina fans, including my husband who is a huge Carolina fan, I do agree that Spuirer should have of taken Smelley out of the game. Smelley helped us win that game. (Thank you!).

Yaba Dabo Doo!
GOOOOOOOOO Tigers!!!!!! C-L-E-M-S-OOO-N!
check out the new Dabo Song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WshOJXEWqQ

Lake Hartwell-Drought

My parents have a place at Lake Hartwell. It has been in our family since 1964 when my granfather bought it. Since I was a baby I have gone to the lake. I have grown up there and I hope that one day my children will come to love the lake as I do. I have such great memories there with my family and now Kevin. This summer the lake, however, has been going through a drought. Every year after the 4th of July, they start to pull the lake and the water level drops. But this year, they starting pulling and the rain hasn't come since then. Friday, my parents and Kevin and I went down to the lake to see what it looked like. We couldn't belive our eyes! There were some parts where we were able to walk on the bottom of the lake, you know, it's normally covered in water. We could walk out to some islands even. The lake is 23 feet down so far. We are praying that God will send rain to that area. Not just for us to have water to float a boat and play, but for the animals sake and just in general. It looks so bad. Here are a few pictures from our trip yesterday:

I am standing in a camp ground swimming area. This pole is normally underwater and the water level is at least up to 11 feet deep. So I would normally be underwater.

This buoy is normally in the middle of the lake that Kevin and I are standing by.

These tree stumps are on a little island. They are normally underwater and you can't even see the tops of them.

This is how far down the water is.

My dad took this picture at the water's edge looking back at our dock. My mom, Kevin, and I are sitting on the dock. The dock is away from the edge of the bank. About 275 feet from the water's edge.

Katelyn and Ryan's Wedding

Saturday, November 22nd, Kevin's youngest sister, Katelyn got married. It was a beatuiful day, but a little on the chilly side. The wedding was very nice. There were some minor behind the scene issues, but the end result was going to be the same no matter what, they would be Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Delk. After the cermony they celebrate by dancing and fellowshiping with their family and friends. They ran through a shower of bird seed to get on a fire truck and rode off into the night. I will have to say that so far, they have first place with the loudest and brightest exit a bride and groom has made at a wedding I have attened. I am sure they are having a great time on their honeymoon in Piegon Forge, TN.

You can view the professional pictues at this address: http://www.alldressedupphotography.com/

Click on view blog, go to the end of the page, to client galleries, password: mccormick

Here are a few snapshots from the wedding:

Katelyn waiting for the cermony to start.
Mr. Tim and Kayla before the wedding.

Lily Kate & Kayla: Flower Girls


Kevin & I after the wedding.



This is the fire truck that Kateyln & Ryan left on.

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Delk

SUV Pics

Okay, I promised some suv pictures and here they are.

I love my new car! In the morning, since it's so cold, I get in and push this magic little button and soon my backside is all nice an toasty! I have enjoyed it so much!

I got a new car!

This Friday, I got a new car! It's a '09 Mercury Mariner. It's red, has leather seats, and all the bells and whistles you could think of. Kevin and I have been looking for me a new car, and Tuesday since I had the day off from school, after we voted, we took off to Columbia to look for a car. Kevin made me go and look at everything I had looked at before. We really didn't expect to find anything, but our last stop (which I was ready to head home by then) we found it. We got just such a great deal and everything worked out so great, that we figured this was the one that God wanted me to have, because it worked out fast. So, we got it Friday. My dad had the title to my other car, so we had to wait until we all could meet up. I am so excited and I am enjoying it. I will post some pictures of it soon! Vrooooommm, Vroooommmm!!!!

Family Weekend

This weekend my parents, Papa, Keith, Felicia, and Emily came down to spend some time with Kevin and I. They came down Friday night and left late Saturday afternoon. We had a good time. We had every room in our house filled, plus people on the couch, and blowup matteress in the kitchen. I love to have our house full like that. It's just Kevin, Abby, and myself most of the time, and it's fun to have other people come and stay. Its hard to visit with someone when they can just come for the day. Keith and Emily had a great time riding the 4-wheeler. Kevin and I took everyone to see the baby sheep. Which we had two more baby boy sheep on Thursday night. We have one more mama sheep that looks like she might burst any minute now. Kevin hopes that she will have girls. We will just have to wait and see. Here's a few pictures.

Emily and one of the baby sheep. It took Kevin, Emily, and myself to run him down and Emily was the one that caught him.

Keith, Felicia, and Emily with the lamb.

The babies are here!

Finally, we have some baby sheep! Sometime during the night on Monday or wee early hours on Tuesday morning, two mama sheep had a baby boy sheep each, so we think. It could be that this one mama had twins. They have had twins before. This is the only mama that will let the babies feed from, so that's why we think they both belong to her. So we have 2 of the cutest little baby boy sheep ever! They are so precious!

Kevin had to chase the baby down, but he caught one for me to hold. This little one is different from all the other sheep. The tips of his ears are tan, around his eyes are tan, and around his nose and mouth are tan. I think he's very cute.

Here's a closer look at him.

Here is the other baby sheep. He is white all over.

VOTE! 2008 Presidental Election

VOTE! Yes, if you are of the legal age to vote, you should! Why? Because this nation needs your support and help. I remember the first time I was able to vote. I was able to vote in the last election. How important I felt, but at the same time, what a responsibility too. I believe that this is one of the biggest and most important elections that our country has seen in a while. Why? Our country is going through an extremely difficult time. The person that wins, will change the direction and future of this nation. The candidates running.....that's a very difficult decision. Kevin and I have talked about it a lot. We have also prayed about it a lot. I believe that many people are going to vote based on the color of the candidates skin and their skin. Either they will vote for that person because they are a certain color, or not vote for that person because they are a certain color. But that's a very petty issue. At the state that the country and economy is currently in, we need someone in office with a relationship with Christ and a faith in God. Someone who will look to God for answers on how to run this country. Someone who won't be afraid to fall on their knees and ask God for guidance. At this current moment, neither Kevin nor myself know who we are going to vote for. But Tuesday morning, we will be at the polls ready to vote. Why vote? Why not have a say in who will run our country? Even if your pick doesn't win, you still need to vote. If you vote and your person doesn't win, then you can complain about it, but if you don't vote, then you don't have the right to complain about who wins and the poor job they are doing. Please go out and vote and please PRAY about who to vote for and pray through out the day about whoever is elected into office, that they will turn to God. However, no matter what the outcome will be, God is still on His throne, and will always be in charge and He knows the outcome already and He will be there no matter what to guide us and protect us in the next coming days and future. He will never be overturned or His time as the one in charge will never run out. What a comfort that is during something like this, to know that God is the one in charge over us.

You can check out this website and get all the information you need on both candidates.
http://www.presidentialelection.com/index.html

FireProof Week 3

Focus this week: Love for a Lifetime (Matthew 19:5-6)

The study had us focus on whether or not you truly understood your marriage vows and the covenant that you made with your spouse and God on that special day. I remember that Dr. Carswell said that those that were a witness to our wedding were at the birth of a new family, family that until that moment had not existed before. That's hard to wrap your head around to think about. We have a chance to start a new family that taken what we have been given and have learned from our own individual families and combined with our own ideas and direction from God create a family, just the two of us. After only being married for four months, the wedding day is still very real. I still remember my vows and the focus that I had. I really took those vows serious and wanted to make sure that Kevin knew that. However, I know that as time will go on that certain vows may be more of a challenge to uphold. The study focused on a few and explained them.

1. To have and to hold (how well you bonded and "held" to your spouse)
2. For better or worse (how stable is your treatment of your spouse, regardless of circumstances?)
3. For richer or poorer (how well does your marriage stand up to financial pressures?)
4. In sickness and in health (is your marriage affected by health struggles?)
5. To love and to cherish (refer to your accomplishment of the principles in Ephesians 5)
6. I pledge my faithfulness (are you faithful to your spouse, not just meaning looking at someone else or flirting, but being honest and loyal in all situations.)

I know that for us, during the first four months, I guess we feel like we have accomplished number 1. Having been apart for the whole 4 years that we dated, we have spent more time together than ever. Also, having just been married, which I am sure most can relate, number 2 for richer or poorer, mainly means for poor or poorer. Even when you come into an extra surprise of money, there's never enough. I had always had money living at home after college, but now with Kevin and the few bills we do have, we are going from pay check to pay check. But God is good and He does supply our needs. Number 4 is the one that I feel Kevin and have had a real hold onto. I have personally had many illnesses and times when I have been sick and between our two families we have dealt with that too. Just two weeks after we married, Kevin's grandfather passed away. Three weeks ago, I got bite by a spider, which got infected. So I went on an antibiotic and then 10 days after that had an allergic reaction and broke out in hives. Oh and in between my spider bite and hives, Kevin sets a hay field on fire. So the past 3 weeks have been busy for us, and to add school on top of that with the end of the first nine weeks here. It's never a boring moment down here in the country. So, I guess we have dealt with some stuff, but you just laugh at it and move on. But the vows we made on June 21, 2008 were something that you don't just say once, but it's a daily things that you have made a commitment to do. Loving your spouse, in all aspects of that word. It's not just the loving feelings, true love, like we talked about in week 1 comes from really understanding your spouse and seeing them through God's eyes. I guess the one vow that will be a daily struggle for me, is to keep my treatment of Kevin the same in all situations. It's really easy for me to get stressed out and to snap at him for no reason at all. I always feel horrible after the fact and am quick to apologize, but I have tried and need to try harder to treat him with the same love and kindness and tenderness that I would want from him in all situations. But that's a daily thing that I try to work on.

Something to think about: What is one vow that you made on your wedding day that maybe you have been struggling with to keep lately? What could you do to improve it and show it to your spouse?

A Day at the Doggie Spa

Well, Abby may not be a Bevery Hills Chihuahua, but she's no dog either! Abby went to the groomers today and she looks so pretty!

Humble Acres Farm

Humble Acres Farm the Beginning: March 19, 2001 at 5:30 a.m. Kevin's life changed. He had 20,000 new chicks in his life. Kevin and his dad worked hard that first flock to learn all the could about chicken farming. Soon after the first two chicken houses were up and running, they added the cows. The cows are actually located in Williston, down the road from where I teach. In Janurary of 2003, Kevin added two more chicken houses. This brought the total up to 40,000 birds. It has stayed at 40,000.

Humble Acres Farm Now: Currently, Humble Acres has grown not only with chickens and cows, but they have added sheep and organic compost. The sheep are the type of sheep that you grow to eat, just like the cows. We are hoping to have some baby sheep really soon. The mama sheep look like they could bust at any minute! Kevin and his dad are working hard to sell the organic compost. It does a super job! I have used it on my plants and I have passed it along to my family and they have been very pleased with it. Their goal and prayer is that the orangic compost will take off and sell like crazy. But in everything that Kevin and his dad do, they have always put it into God's hands. This business what built on the belief and foundation that everything they do belongs to God. We are all excited about what the future will bring. God has truly blessed the farm and all that are connected with it.

Humble Acres Farm Pictures

Chicken Houses

10,000 chickens per house 5, 040 eggs


Cows

Sheep

Organic Compost in the making

Kevin's Favorite Farm Helper