Thankful Thursday

Good afternoon, everyone!

It's beautiful day here in Arkansas, and I am loving it.  I have many things to be thankful for, and here are just a few:

1. Grace

My God is a mighty God.  He is mighty in power.  He is the highest authority and the greatest judge.  We show our love for Him by keeping His commandments.  That is exactly why this concept of the abundant grace He gives to us is so amazing to me.  We are SAVED by GRACE through FAITH!!!  I mean...WOAH!!!!!  Thank you, Jesus!  It's nothing that I've ever done or can ever do to deserve to be saved or receive your love...it's only through the GRACE found in Christ Jesus, found by salvation.  

2. My Job

First off, I'm so grateful that I have a job.  I am thankful that I have not only the ability to work, but the opportunity as well. I am so glad that the work I do everyday is helping those who are less fortunate.  I love that I can make a difference.  I am thankful that I work with some awesome people, too.  I have an awesome boss, an awesome coach, and get to work with my best friend.  I'm telling you, I am blessed!  It's not exactly a walk in the park, but hey....it's called "work" for a reason, right?  ;)

3. My soon-to-be In-Laws

Meet my fiance's wonderful parents: Charles and Carol.  They are just great.  I mean it.  They are some of the most caring, generous, and loving people I've ever met.  If you told them that, they'd probably tell you to hush.  They really are that humble.  But regardless, I just love, love, love them!  I am so thankful and blessed to have them as a part of my life.  My girls just love them to pieces.  They've taken them in as their own and loved them just the same.  I could brag on these two all day long...so I'll end it here.  Haha!

4. This Kid's Computer Game w/ Dora @ the Public Library

No kidding.  It is awesome.  I had a lot of paperwork to do and print.  We all know kids love to be loud.  And we know libraries are quiet.  Kids and libraries don't usually mesh.  Well thank you, library of the 21st century, for capturing my child's attention!  It seriously saved my tail while running errands on a deadline.

5. Minnie Mouse Cookies

These are the "Ready to Bake/Ready For School" Minnie Mouse cookies by Pillsbury.  I found them at Wal-Mart yesterday.  Seeing as I got my mickey mail today for my honeymoon next month (Eeeeee!!!!!!), we decided to celebrate.  And well, my girls love Minnie Mouse.  :)

Adrian's Proposal

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

In the last post, I said I'd save the proposal story for its own post.  So, for the first time ever, my blogging self is fulfilling my blogging word.  Here it is, as promised....

*Warning*

This portion was taken from our wedding website, so it is written in third-person.  :)

When did it happen?

Friday, March 29, 2013

How it Happened!!!

Adrian had offered to watch Rainbow (Ava's oldest daughter) that evening while Chrissy (Ava's best friend) and Ava went out to get their hair done.  After getting all fixed up with her make-up on and her hair done, Ava went back to Adrian's parent's home to pick up him and Rainbow.  The plan was to go "hang out" at and casually look at rings.  Adrian says to Ava, "We need to talk."  Surely those words would strike fear in the heart of anyone.  They go out walking, leaving Rainbow with Adrian's father and Chrissy. 

Adrian started getting nervous and winded as they walked.  Ava asked him repeatedly if he was ok or if something was wrong, as he continued to reassure her everything was fine.  He noticed how far away the park was and decided they should just drive.  It' was nighttime when they arrived at Daniel Park in Beebe.  He lead her around the park until they reached the walkway to the gazebo.  Ava said, "Oh this is where I chickened out on Valentine's Day because I was freezing."  She was laughingly referring to the surprise date he had planned on Valentine's Day to watch a romantic movie at the gazebo, where they left the park half-way through the movie becauuse it was just too cold.  Adrian led her to the center of the gazebo and started telling Ava of his love for her and her daughters, how amazing she was, and how he adored her.  He went on to say, "What is the sun without the moon?  What is the sky without the stars?  What is the grass without the (long pause)..............ground!?"  Adrian then got down on one knee as he pulled something out of his pocket.  He said, "Will you marry me?"  A small pop could be heard as he removed the object from its container.  He lifted it up revealing it was a....Toy Ring!  Ava threw her head back in laughter.  Trying to quickly regain her composure, she replied, "Yes, of course I will marry you!" 

After quite a big of laughing, giggles, and excitement, the two returned to his parent's home. They made the initial announcement to those present and shared in their joy.  Adrian remarked on how he knew Ava was "The One" because she said yes to a toy ring.  This definitely appealed to the comedian side of him.  They soon departed to go shopping for that perfect ring...together.

Wow. Where did the time go?

I've pretty much proven myself to be an inconsistent blogger, at best.  Haha!  But here we go again!  I had a friend at work tell me about how she used to read my blog, and how encouraging it was to her.  It inspired me to write again!  So here we go.....

Where do I even begin?  Ok so here's the nutshell version:
July 2012 - I run into this guy that I had a HUGE crush on in Jr. High and High School at a local coffee shop he volunteered at.  He loves Jesus.  He starts talking about the Holy Spirit speaking to him when he's on stage doing his comedy routine...and suddenly he had my attention. 
August 2012 - I felt led to start going to this new church. Turns out this guy goes there, too.  I started my first semester back at ASU-Beebe, working towards a teaching degree.
September 2012 - Money was super tight.  I had no idea how I was even making it by most days.  God was faithful and provided our every last need, including money needed for school.  "That Guy", Adrian, asks me out on a date.  We started dating and our first official "date" is September 7th.
October 2012 - Everyday relying on God, busting my tail in my college classes, spending as much time as possible with my kids.  Adrian and I had our first kiss and officially decided to get together in a relationship on October 10th.
November 2012 - Lots of college, good times with the kids when I wasn't studying.  My birthday was Nov. 19th.  Adrian treated me to going out for ice cream and we watched "White Christmas" together.  It was the first time I'd seen it.  Adrian's extended family came down for Thanksgiving.  So they had what they called, "Thanksmas" (Thanksgiving/Christmas).  First time I met all the family....talk about nervous!
December 2012 - Finished up my first semester back at ASU with a 16 hour load and a 4.0 GPA!!!!!  Adrian spent our first Christmas together, and the girls and I had our first Christmas back in Arkansas.  It was absolutely amazing!
January 2013 - Started back at ASU for the spring semester.  Doing my college student thing again.  Adrian and I started getting a bit more serious.
February 2013 - Good month, busy with classes.  Had the best Valentine's Day ever, hands down!!!  Adrian busted his tail cooking me dinner, afterwards taking me to the park with blankets and a movie on the portable dvd player!  It was so romantic!  All except for the fact that my toes were freezing in the cold air and we had to leave before the movie was done since I was frozen!  Random note: the movie was Sweet Home Alabama!
March 2013 - Had a great month, a nice spring break.  Adrian and I got engaged on March 29th, 2013!!!!!!  The proposal story is great!  But I'll save that for its own post later.
April 2013 - This was a very exciting month, as we were helping friends of our who were getting married on the beach.  I was maid of honor and he was the best man.  The couple had a beautiful wedding on the beach and we were honored to be a part of their special day!  To add even more goodness, this was my first time, EVER, to see the ocean!!!  It was magical!  And I got to share it with Adrian.  The back-story here is that when I was 13 years old, I prayed that God would allow me to see the ocean for the first time with the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with.  Interestingly enough, I had never seen it with my ex-husband.  Opportunity has presented itself, but it never worked out.  I bet I know why!!!  ;)
May 2013 - I finished out the semester at ASU with another 4.0 GPA!!!!!  Rockin' it out!!!  I was so excited!  I never did that in high school or as a college freshman.  It was quite an accomplishment for me, as a single mother with 2 children, ages 1 and 4.  As school finished up, so began the throes of wedding planning for Adrian and I.  Also, we felt God leading us to start attending church at The River in Judsonia, AR. 
June 2013 - Time with my kids, wedding planning to the max, thanking Jesus for a change of pace! It was also great to start seeing old faces of people I cared about at The River.  I had no idea how much I missed this amazing part of the body of Christ!
July 2013 - Wedding planning continued and Adrian and I tried to spend as much time together as possible.  I continued to spend tons of time with my girls, it was such a blessing.  God used this time to draw me nearer to Him.  I started a new job working at The Heritage Company on July 29th!
August 2013 - Well, here we are.  It's August.  First off, it's just hit me the past few days that I'm getting married next month.  To the man of my dreams, nonetheless!  I can't believe I can say that...NEXT month!!!  Wedding crunch time is here and I'm feeling the pressure.  It's the time where it all comes down to what its gonna be.  Deadlines, final payments, dress fittings, attendant gifts, sending final invitations, finalizing the menu...and the list goes on.  Reminding myself that it will be a successful wedding day, as long as I'm ending it as Mrs. Adrian Rogers.  :))))))
Second off, I'm excited about my new job!  Excitement tempered with a good deal of nerves.  My perfectionist style is good for my employer in that I will do my absolute darndest to do job to the best of my ability, right down to the wire.  On the other hand, it can feel like I'm playing Russian roulette.  I've just got to remember that I'm NEW.  And on top of that, as long as I'm giving it my best, working as unto God and not unto man, I can sleep at night knowing I am doing a good job.  Reminding myself not to be so self-critical is key here.  Prayer for me here would be appreciated!  I'm very blessed to have this job and am extremely thankful for the opportunity.  My prayer is just that God would use me there as a light, and I will give God all for glory for everything that I am able to accomplish.

***Change of Subject***

You know, God has raised up a generation for such a time as this.  I keep hearing "such a time as this" everywhere.  And well, it doesn't have to be super special and all glamorous.  It can be as simple as a smile given to someone having a hard day at work, or a "way to go!".  It can be a helping hand to someone at Wal-Mart, struggling to reach groceries.  It can be that simple willingness to throw it all on the line to help a friend in need of emotional support.  It's not hard.  It's love.  If we are abiding in Jesus, we should be walking in Love.
" Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."  - 1 John 4:7

So that's where I'm at, ya'll.  Let's go and love some people today.  Let's walk like the God of the universe is living inside us...because He is!