Weekend Recap

This weekend we kept pretty busy. Friday we went to the homecoming game at the high school. We only stayed until half time but I was COLD! They did not win their homecoming but we had fun seeing students.

After the game we came home and we saw a shadow following us. We then saw the fluffliest black cat. He just followed us into the house and had a nice look around before Joe made me tell him it time to leave. 

Saturday we went to visit our friends at the International Mission Board Training Center. It was a really awesome facility that missionaries go to before they go across seas. We then went to lunch at California Pizza and Joe and I shared a pumpkin cheesecake for desert.

The restaurant was at a really nice upscale shopping center called Short Pump. We walked in the Mac Store. The church bought Joe one and then in my head I am starting the 'Mac for Al' fund! We felt more hip after we left.

That night we saw the Christian movie "What If" about a man who went against God's calling on his life and kind of like "It's A Wonderful Life" twist to it. It was a cute movie. It was nice to support more edifying movies. The only thing I didn't like was the actors. I was looking at their other films and they were definitely not Christian.

Afterwards we went to Fridays with some friends for some late night apps. 

 

All in all it was a fun weekend!

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Blog Challenge Day 2

Day's 2 Challenge is to describe the meaning behind your blog name.

 

Living Joyfully really is pretty simple. I know that God has created people to find their true joy in him. I know that I have a personal relationship with the King of the Universe who invites me to communicate with him at all times. How can we not be joyful? Living Joyfully, I think, is a choice we have to make to find joy in our lives.

 

Psalm 35:9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord.

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30 Day Blog Challenge

I found this 30 day blog challenge here and decided it was time to jump on board.

The first day you are supposed to introduce yourself.

Hi! I am Alison! I am 25 years old and married to Joe.  We have been married for over two years. I am a Registered Nurse and Joe recently became a Youth Pastor again. We just moved to Virginia and the first time we have ever lived outside of Indiana.

15 Interesting Facts

1. My hair is wavy and not a cute wave either. If I wear my hair down I straighten it. Interestingly, it doesn't hold a curl either. I am also a natural redhead.
2. I have been to Russia and Italy and want to see more of the world.
3. We have now lived in three houses since we have been married and since the house we are renting is for sale, we know we will be moving again.
4. I love popcorn, especially movie theater popcorn. I even worked in a movie theater for 2 years and would eat it on my breaks and could still not get enough.
5. I am 5'3 and Joe is about 6'2. But I really enjoy my height. I never wanted to be taller. The only frustrating thing is I am too tall for petite and too short for regular!
6. I really do not like preying mantises. I had a nightmare about them and ever since I get scared of them. Yuck.
7. Makeup does not stay on my face and I am way too lazy to reapply frequently.
8. I pride myself on being independent but getting married I realized that I NEED Joe a lot more than I thought I would. When the movers came to load our stuff Joe was speaking at a conference and things kept going wrong and I was freaking out and pretty much told Joe he needed to get his tail home!
9. Joe and I are Southern Baptist.
10. I am a fan of reality TV--The Biggest Loser, Survivor, Apprentice, Project Runway, Top Chef.
11. I like sleep a little too much.
12. I don't answer my phone if I don't know who it is.
13. My favorite colors are blues and greens
14. I use the same purse for months and then get a new purse. No changing purses daily for me.
15. I have never eaten sushi.

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I Should

...exercise more

...eat less junky food

...be more diligent in my housework

...complain less

What are some things you are thinking you should do?

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10 Things About Me

I haven't done an about me post in quite awhile so I thought I would post 10 random things

1. I am now a youth pastor's wife. For those of you tracking, I was a youth pastor's wife (for 3 months), a senior pastor's wife and now again a youth pastor's wife. And yet I haven't figured out either of these things.
   
   
2. I LOVE Target. When we were looking at churches, an important question was where is the nearest Target? Back in Indiana, the nearest Target was 30 minutes away but it was in the city I worked. So many lunch hours were spent in Target. Our church here in Virginia graciously had a 'pounding' for us and we received many giftcards to Target. Joe wondered if secretly put it out there my love for Target.
   
   
3. We have 2 or 3 dogs, depending on how you look at it. We have 2 Cocker Spaniels here and Daisy our lab is in Indiana at Joe's brother's house until we get more settled. We are renting a house that is currently for sale (it's confusing) so we decided to not bring the whole clan. That also means we found a new home for Levi our kitty. We miss them but know its best. I will go on record that I love animals. I am a pet owner who calls myself Mom and yes they sleep in my bed....every night.
   
   
4. I have a love/hate thing with cooking. I really enjoy finding/trying new recipes. Hate the cleanup. Hate a stuffed fridge. I sometimes picture myself as this 'foodie' and then I realize that I am nowhere near but we can dream
   
   
5. I really enjoy music. I started learning the piano when I was 7 and took lessons for 7 years. But I don't like to play in public. Since getting married and having my own piano, I have been playing more regularly and am becoming let's say decent. I also enjoy singing but get terrified to do it in public. Funny story. When we came for our trial weekend here, I was asked to sing for the service. For the first service, I was singing during the offertory which is the last part of the service which happened to be the very last thing before they voted on us. I totally felt like it was American Idol!
   
   
6. I have always enjoyed photography. I bought a Nikon D40 off of ebay a couple of years ago and have been messing around ever since. We'll say it's a hobby. I have a trial verson of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and have been finding really neat free actions on the web to spiffy some pictures.
   
   
7. I really want a colorful family. I decided probably back in high school that I really wanted to adopt children. I would tear up when I would families with Asian children. I was thrilled when it was something that Joe was passionate about also. If you have been following me here, Joe and I have had two early miscarriages in the past year. We don't know what God has in store for us in regards to children. Regardless, my heart is burdened with those who are motherless.
   
   
8. I really enjoy reading. There are 2 1/2 bookcases in our office here full of our books. Love looking at Amazon. I really enjoy reading fiction. One of my favorite authors for awhile is  Robin jones Gunn. I love that they are quick reads but still edifying.
   
   
9. I enjoy looking at crafty blogs...knitting, sewing, designing. You name it. And then I imagine that maybe one day I would accomplish this...one day
   
   
10. Oh....and I got a job! Starting 10/25 I will start orientation to be a Labor and Delivery Nurse. That's right. This is what I had planned for probably the last four years and finally getting into it. When I had my interview I was thinking about this probably the nurse that a mom will always remember. To be a part of someone's birth story is nothing short of amazing and so excited with what God has blessed us with.

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Time for Knitting

I have been knitting a lot more recently.

I have been going through phases of being crafty. There are times when I just cannot get enough knitting. And then there are times when not even in my brain waves. In those time, I will stumble upon a crafty blog or see a pattern and I am know that I will have to start again!

Lately, I have been thinking about Christmas. Or sometimes I find myself knitting and Joe will ask "Who is that for?" I will say it's a Christmas present! But then I never know who!

I ordered some beautiful yarn from knitpicks and have started my next project. I have already restarted three times! This pattern is pretty intricate so I am trying to figure out what I am doing.

Who knows? This might be your Christmas present!

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Camp Willow Run Video

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Weekend Recap

This past weekend, Joe and I went with our Middle School students to Camp Willow Run in North Carolina. YouthQuest from Liberty University came and led worship, and small groups with our students.


We had a blast! I must admit as we were leaving, I thought "What did I get myself into?" But I soon knew that this would be a fun and God-lifting weekend. We took over 70 students with us.  

  

We loved the trip. The camp had canoeing, rock wall climbing, and low ropes courses. We really started connecting with the students and developing relationships. We came home really tired though! Now I am trying to condense my 200+ pictures into a video for the students.



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Menu Plan Monday

Last week we tried new recipes and I think they were all really good! Joe really liked the chicken tenderloins!

Here is our menu for this week!

Monday: FFY (Fend For Yourselves)

Tuesday: Chili

Wednesday: Three Cheese Penne Pasta Bake with Garlic Bread

Thursday: Herbed Simmered Beef Stew with PW's MMac and Cheese

Friday: We are going to tailgate at the high school homecoming game!

What are you having for dinner?

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Finding Work Space in the Kitchen

We are renting a house here in Virginia. When we moved in I realized, there are three little blocks of workable counter space. One of those blocks is taken over by the microwave. I also have a stand mixer and my glass jars for my flour and sugar. That leaves no room for food prep.

 

We also wanted something in the kitchen to have some seating. So with our wonderful target giftcards....

 

 

Here is our cute little pub table. My laptop is out to look at my recipe. I was making the chicken and rice casserole. I love that it doesn't take much space and then it also is an eating space. But now we having three kitchen tables! One is in the dining room and the table was last used is drop leaf table that is currently acting as a display table in the living room. Is there some type of sickness needing dining tables?

 

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Finding Deals

I love to shop online. Many of times I will find something I like online and then go look at it the store if I can.

I like to shop for clothes, yarn, and even furniture. Sometimes it is scary to buy something really sight unseen but there are a lot of benefits. You can shop many stores quickly. And my favorite things, is quickly looking for discounts.

We decided since we have limited cabinet space we needed something for pantry overflow. I looked at stores, and online for days. I finally found this cabinet that will double as a buffet table in our dining room.   But what I really love I googled to find a discount code, after a couple of minutes I saved $25!

What I have learned that now, I looked for promotional codes for all my online shopping.  My favorite spot is retailmenot.com. Sometimes you won't find anything but most of the time you do. Where do you find deals?

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Menu Plan Monday

Now that we are more settled, I plan on cooking more this week. I am sure Joe will be relieved!

Monday: Herbed Chicken Tenders with Tomato Sauce with Roasted Potatoes

Tuesday: Southwestern Taco Pot Pie

Wednesday: Pan Roasted Pork Chops with Hashbrown Casserole

Thursday: Chicken and Rice Casserole

We leave on Friday for a middle school retreat...I think that is our initiation!

What are you having for dinner?

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Weekend Recap

We had a fun weekend! Friday night, we babysat for some friends here that included the girls painting Joe's toenails pink. The stipulation was that no photo were to be taken! He found the nail polish remover quickly after we got home much to my disappointment!

Saturday we were lazy getting up and then we took the dogs to Petsmart. It was packed! Annie I think enjoyed it but we didn't stay very long because there were too many dogs. That night we went to see some of the Juniors and Seniors and they had a college presentation. Brought back some high school memories.

Sunday after church we had our Mount Pleasant Family Picnic. It was predicted to rain the whole day but we only had some pop up showers and then rained after we left.  Great time connecting with our church family and meeting new people.  

I also brought Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. They were a huge success. But took some work to make the cookie dough, cupcake batter, and the frosting but definitely will keep this recipe!


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Looking for a New Job

I hate looking for jobs. So not fun (I even said that in a phone interview this week). I have found that I am pretty picky about the areas I want to work as a nurse.

 

Honestly, going through school I completed my most of my clinicals because I had to. But the only clinicals that I actually enjoyed were Peds and Labor and Delivery. The first time I got to help in a delivery brought tears to my eyes and I LOVED it. Those were the clinicals I didn't mind getting up in the morning. Other students in our class loved surgery or ICU. So not my thing.

 

So when we moved to Virginia, I first just started applying to L & D or peds jobs...didn't hear anything. I thought I guess I will have to expand my search and applied for some surgery positions...no luck. I finally broke down and applied for Med/Surg nights!

 

Then I decided I just wasn't going to work as a nurse anymore...this isn't fun. I went through this same thing after the job I was supposed to start right after we got married didn't work out because the hospital flooded. Then I found my job at Columbus Peds and really loved it. I loved my coworkers, the normal schedule, and seeing kids.

 

But today I set up an interview next week for Labor and Delivery. I am so excited! I told myself that after next week I would have a job and I really pray that God will provide! He has gotten us this far, He won't leave us yet!

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Moving: Dog Edition

We moved here with our two Cockers, Annie and Cooper. They are adjusting really well to the move. We drove the 10 hours wee in the morning to get here. We put them in back of the SUV and then I saw a little place where we could all lay down so that's how we spent most of the trip.

We arrived on a Sunday and our belongings didn't come until Monday so the dogs had free run of the house. I think they were happy Joe was back with us that they didn't care where they were. This house has lots of room to run and Annie loves the backyard! The only problem is they can escape if they really wanted to so we have to stand there are watch them and there is only so many times you can watch her smell the same stick!

We talked them 2 1/2 miles to church this week so they could scope our the neighborhood more and the city. They loved it! So in case you were wondering, our kids are doing great!

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Virginia is for Lovers!

So we are all moved here and getting settled. The only boxes that are left were the misc boxes and I am putting those off for awhile. I was just saying last night to Joe that this is starting to feel like home to us.

I must admit I had plenty of emotions about moving. When we first decided that we were going to look for another church, my immediate reaction was excitement. We knew we were going to look outside of Indiana so I was so ready for an adventure. Fast forward to when we made the decision, I felt a lot of other things too. We have a house in Indiana, I have a job I really liked and family was only a couple of hours away. We were going to place where we know no one!

But I am so thankful that God is steady when our emotions are not. He gave us peace in our unsteadiness. He promised to never leave me or forsake me! We had done this before and our home in North Vernon became home to us so I knew it would happen again. These last few days have helped settle my feelings and I know we are following God.

I am still looking for a job and trusting God in those circumstances. I told Joe that I was going to be a housewife and then he started looking for jobs for me!

We are starting to love our church! Joe is planning practically a year in advance and keeps himself really busy. We finally got internet this week so I hope to be able to blog more about our life here.

Here is our house we are renting!

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We are moving!

We can now really let the cat out of the bag. Joe and I are moving to Colonial Heights, VA!

Joe I felt the sense to follow God and to move away from Bethel and back into student ministry. He put his resume out and got a lot of responses from churches. We even interviewed at a large church in Oklahoma with a great pastoral team and wonderful facilities.

In this process Joe received an email from a pastor of a church in Virginia. We looked at the website and my immediate reaction was, "Joe, this is our church!" At this point I am not even sure how many candidates they were interested in. Joe did a questionnaire and a phone interview, and they invited us out there for a interview with the personnel committee. I think we felt very a peace with the church and we basically chose to continue with Viriginia.

We went back out for the church to meet us and vote us in. We met a bazillion people it felt like but everyone was very welcoming to us. Joe got voted in with a 99% vote so we are moving to Virigina!

Joe is going to leave in a week while I stay and work for a couple more weeks and he will return and then we will move. We found a great house to rent while our house is for sale here and we are so excited to get there and start serving. We look back at the last few months and can see God with his hand on us and leading us to where we are now.

Virigina, here we come!

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Menu Plan Monday

I typically plan my meals for the with week but thought I would post them here :)  I am linking up with orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

Monday: Typically Monday nights, I have the girls over for the bible study but they were going to New Orleans for a mission trip. Joe goes to a men's group so I will be snacking!

Tuesday: Sensational Sirloin Kabobs with steamed brocolli

Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Pizza with a homemade crust

Thursday Shrimp Montery over grilled chicken with sauteed mushrooms

Friday Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas




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June and July

The last time I blogged we were getting ready for our movie night. It was a success I think, until there was some type of power surge in the neighborhood and we had an unplanned intermission.  We watched Fireproof and we had a really great youth turnout.

Our 7 year old niece Mikah came up for a week to spend with us to go to our VBS. She came over 4th of July. She helped me decorate my Flag Cake. We had a few couples over to help us eat. I however was sick in bed but I heard it was great.

Joe came in the bedroom after lunch and we were talking. But, Annie was surprisingly quiet wherever she was. Joe went into the kitchen and found this:

 Finally, it was our VBS week. We had over 100 kids through our church doors. Although I think my favorite part was seeing Joe in the dunk tank during the Carnival Friday!

Soon we will have so more updates!

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