Recap...

So it is the end of February and I haven't posted a blog since December! The time has just flew by!

Here is an update:

January:

Tax's, Tax's and more Tax's!! My main focus this month was to get the church's 2008 tax's, W-2's and 1099 forms filed and sent out along with all the tithing contribution statements. Needless to say I had no idea what I was doing but the Lord helped me through it all! They are all signed, sealed and delivered!

I got to go to the Celine Dion concert in Birmingham with my two sisters, step-mom and aunt! It was a lot of fun and Celine was beautiful! I had tons of flash backs to my dancing days and wish I would have done a solo to one of here songs"Because you loved me"...I would have dedicated it to my Nana.

Our women's retreat caped the month off "Connect 09" It was so fun and I got to learn some really interested things: my personality type, how to be ministry focused in everyday life and how important it is to take care of our bodies (thanks Jenny Hord)! Jennifer our pastors wife did an amazing job with planning every detail and I am so lucky to be able to work with her. Great job Jenn!

February:

I recommitted to my eating/weight loss program this month. So far I have lost 34 pounds but stopped trying when the holidays came so I am back on the program with 25 more to loose! I'll keep up posted.

Robby was, as always, Mr. Romantic for Valentine's! We had a nice relaxing night in and he made a great dinner that he found of the Olive Garden's website. See below:

Roast Pork Loin with Grapes and Wine

Ingredients

3 tsp garlic, chopped

3 Tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped

1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 lbs center-cut boneless pork loin

1 cup dry white wine

1 lb red & white seedless grapes

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 375º F.
COMBINE garlic, sage, salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp of oil in mixing bowl; evenly coat pork loin.
COAT large baking pan with 2 Tbsp of oil. Place pork loin in baking pan; cover pan with aluminum foil. Place in oven and roast for approximately 10-15 minutes per pound or until temperature reaches 155º F (medium well).
REMOVE foil; roast additional 15 minutes or until well-browned. Remove pork loin from pan and place on cutting board. Let stand for 10 minutes.
PLACE pan used to roast pork on stovetop over medium heat. Add wine. Using spatula, scrape bottom of pan to release drippings. Add grapes; cook until soft and wine is reduced by half.
SLICE pork loin into 1/2” slices and place on serving platter. Pour grapes and sauce over pork. Serve immediately.

It was great and we enjoyed hanging out together!

Of course the big event for February was getting ready to run the Sea Side Half Marathon that we committed to do back in the fall. My friend Claire and I have been training mostly together and along with our husbands. It's next Sunday and I am really excited about it. The training has been hard...I am not a runner...but I am working on it! Much prayer will be needed on March 1st at 7 a.m.!

Celebrating 5 years of marriage!

We celebrated five years of marriage last weekend in Gatlinburg with my brother and his wife. We had a great time with them and enjoyed relaxing by the fire in our cabin. We went skiing, shopping and did a little exploring! It was very cold and even snowed!
I still can't believe Robby and I have be married for five years! I am so thankful the Lord gave me an amazing husband who loves me even though I can be a pain! I love him with all my hear and look forward to the next five years! I wonder how our lives will look then?
Here are some picture of the trip!

Thanksgiving 2008

The Farmers spent their Thanksgiving mostly in a car as usual. Now, I am trying not to sound negative but just once in my married life I would like to spend Thanksgiving at my home with my husband and my little Sammy. Maybe one day!

The holiday was good though and I have a lot to be thankful for and as I prayed and prepared for all the travel I came up with a short list of things I was thankful for. Here are a few:

*Being a daughter of the King

*A loving, forgiving husband

* Family, even if they drive me crazy, at least I have them!

*Wonderful Friends

*Good health

*Wonderful church family

*Mine and Robby's jobs

*My little dog, Sammy

*Living in America

*Freedom

*Love

Hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

20 Something's Get Together

Our church, CrossPointe, has a group called the 20 Something's. Basicly if your in the age range of 20 - 30 you can be apart of this group! This past weekend our courageous leaders Danielle and Reynold planned a fun get together at Jamie and Claire Herndon's family farm. Let's just say we had a lot of fun! But the pictures can speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Being the aunt

I love being an Aunt! My niece Bryanna and my mom took a trip down to Columbus to see me two weeks ago. Here are some pictures...enjoy!

My effort to save money

I made an effort a couple weeks ago to save money. How, you might ask? Well I paid a visit to Wal-mart. They are the low price place...right?

Now I have to say in college I loved Wal-mart, it was really the only place in Troy to shop for groceries, toiletries and house hold items. But Since I have moved to Columbus Wal-mart is kind of out of my way. You see Publix is right down the street from my house so it's very convenient to go to.

My experience at the low price place was needless to say terrible a couple Friday's ago. I went on a Friday night around 8 p.m. I needed groceries and the basic toiletries for the house. After wondering around a big store for over an hour (never once could find someone to ask where anything was) I finally found most of the items I was looking for. Then I had to find a check out counter that was open. Lucky me, I found two and of course the lines at these counters were a mile long!! I really don't understand why they don't open more check out lines. So after waiting 17 minutes (yes I was looking at my watch with a very unhappy look on my face) I finally got to put my stuff that I had spent over an hour looking for on the belt to be swiped. The cashier was somewhat friendly. She had to bag all my groceries and then I had to put them all in the buggy. Then I had to push my own cart out in the rain to load them into my car. Once the buggy was empty do you think I could find any empty cart holder to put my buggy in? NO!
So although I might have saved a couple extra dollar going to the low price place, was it really worth it? At Publix the employees are actually around the store to help you find what you are looking for. At Publix there are always plenty of check out lines open and then they also bag your groceries, put them in the cart, take them to your car and take the buggy back with them! So I am here to say yes, I might have saved a few extra dollar but it was not worth what I had to go through to do it!

I will still remain a faith Publix shopper even though I might pay an extra $.30 for my milk! and like there logo says, its a pretty pleasurable experience!

Sisters

I love that God works in amazing ways and turns bad things into good things. My parents got divorced when my twin brother and I were 18 months old. Of course we don't remember this but there are a lot of other things in my childhood that remind me of it. It wasn't all bad but I did always have an empty place in my heart because of a missing father.

My dad remarried when we were 3 years old to a very sweet lady, Donna. And they had two beautiful daughters Katie and Lauren. I love them so much, and I am sure they have no idea how much...although I tell them all the time. Lauren is 21 and goes to University of Montevallo. She pledged Chi Omega a year ago and it made me so happy because I was a Chi O in college too. Kaite is 16 and just got her first car. I am so thankful that God put them in my life. I love being the big sister and being able to bless them with new clothes, fun adventures and going to get pedicures.

We got to spend a little time together this past weekend just hanging out and I cherished this time.

My heart is so pleased that the Father allowed me to be a sister and I am so humble to have this responsibility! For all those sisters out there make sure you always tell your bothers or sisters how much you love them and care for them!!