Not a House, But a Home

So Jeremy and I are going through the lengthy process of house searching. We've been sort of but not hardcore looking since about August. But here's the deal, our lease is up in March and we can go month to month, but we're both just ready to be out.

I never realized how emotional the process can be! Or maybe that's just a girl thing ha One day, my mom and I drove around for five hours and looked at 22 houses to try to narrow down the list of possibilities!
There's just so much effort and research and time that goes into looking!

After I had put together my most recent list (as of a few weeks ago) we emailed it to our realtor who said that EVERY SINGLE house was pending (meaning someone already put an offer down and we can't get inside to look at it since it's pretty much gone). He emailed us a new list and said to pick a few and we'd go look in a half hour. I turned to Jeremy and said, "Sweetheart this is just so disappointing! You put all of this time and effort into it and nothing seems to come through. I'm not even excited to go look right now."

(This is where God steps in. Just to remind me that He's still in charge.)

We picked a few houses and went to the first one. Low and behold. We LOVE it! It had so much of what we'd looked for and wanted! We were so excited!
Unfortunately, by the time we got pre-qualified by the bank that was foreclosing the house (one day later!), someone else had beaten us to the punch. But...this story has a happy ending. :)

Although we haven't found our house yet, we did find these in that house we had loved. Whoever had lived there before left them "on accident." (I think God put them there especially for us). These aren't the real things, but you get the idea:

(They were left in the kitchen)

The thing about my God, when He wants to make a point, He does! God speaks so clearly to me at times! Although this house didn't end up being our home, I cannot describe the encouragement I got from finding these in that house! I truly think that they were God's way of reminding me that He is in charge and that He has something wonderful in store! It's all on His timing and He's completely taking care of it. But above all, I feel that God was telling me, "Be encouraged!" I just love how much effort and time God puts into the things He prepares for us! I am so constantly overwhelmed by His love. 

So anyway, our search continues! And so does our encouragement and our faith! Through God all things are possible! And what a blessing to be on His timing, not our own! What an incredible God we love!

May you all find encouragement in the small things in life and the big ways God speaks to you!

LEE

Oh and on a side note, the Phil Whickham (Beautiful) song playing is just beautiful to me. I started to love Phil Whickham's songs after singing his song "Grace" during Intervarsity worship up at NAU. What an incredible and powerful song! He's got his own voice, but it definitely grows on you. I love what the songs says. Sometimes I just need that reminder of how great the God I'm worshipping truly is and that I can see him everywhere I look. 

Adjustments

Mmmk so obviously I've been changing things up on the blog here. 

I might actually be starting to get a grasp on how things work. Well, that, and I now technically have the time to spend playing around with it all. (My Handsome is out of town a lot for work so I get to find things other than school to keep myself busy.)

Anyway, above is a picture of my man and I on our wedding day. He's hunky, I know. And below are some of my favorite Praise Jesus songs.

I've discovered that when I really want to get chores done around the house, what makes me most productive is music, especially Praise Jesus music cuz then I get so caught up in singing that it doesn't seem like work anymore. (Plus I'm sure God gets a kick out of watching me sing into my broom and pretend I can dance.) Klove (105.5 fm) and Air1(89.9 fm) are also very lovely alternatives if I don't feel like making a playlist. I also love them cuz you can listen to both stations online just by going to their website. I just feel like listening to Christian music makes me a happier person. So it's nice to have great songs be so accessible. OH, and did I mention they have free weekly music?? Different songs on both sites normally, too. So that's at least TWO free songs a week of Praise Jesus music. LOVE it! Anyway, now that I've shared that fantastic secret, go check out the songs at the bottom, see if you like any. I'm going to try to highlight a song each time I write to explain a) what significance they have to me or b) why I like them so much.
The first song I'll feature isn't on the list, unfortunately. I'm pretty sure it's too new to find. However, it IS on Itunes :) (So you can at least preview it unless you fall in love with it like I did and then you can buy it. Except I got it free--Newreleasetuesday.com. It's a free website with, again, free Christian music. Yay!)

Okay...so this first song is called "I get to be the one" by JJ Heller. She's fantastic. She's done other great songs like "What love really means."
Ah, but before I get too into detail, I should let you know, I love lyrics. (Well, obviously, since my blog is titled after a song, which, is on the playlist at the bottom :) Anyway, I listen a lot to what is said in songs and especially in praise music because it's what you're singing to God. So, when you listen to the songs, maybe listen twice. They're always better the second time through.
Back to this song, it's all for young mommies/pregnant ladies. I feel like tons of my friends are in this stage of life right now and, although the hubby and I are not, I can still fully appreciate the cuteness of this song. Plus, I'll probably have it memorized by the time we have a little one so then I'll just sing it when I put our baby to sleep :) It's such a sweet, tender, catchy song. I love it and hope you'll search it. (Oh but it's not on Youtube yet...I've checked multiple times ha).

On a side note, one more week before my Handsome is home again :) Hooray!! And then maybe some house hunting in our future? We'll see what God has planned.

Please do enjoy the music! I'll try to feature a song that's actually on the playlist next time :)

 

D-backs game earlier this year.

God bless!
LEE

Road Trip

Driving total: 12 hours 10 minutes round trip

So this past weekend I went to visit the hubby in New Mexico. He's been traveling lots for work lately and I missed him too much to wait three weeks to see him.

Anyway, we thought it would be fun to visit the Hot Air Balloon Festival while I visited. We got there waaaay before the sun was even up and it was freezing! Thankfully I'm already married so I don't have to look cute, I can be functional, right? Ha I was wearing so many layers but at least I was warm! (My dear, sweet husband kept telling me how beautiful I was. Yup, ladies, I got a keeper!)

We walked around for a while before any of the balloons started to lift off and then we saw this giant group of people huddled about so we went to check it out. Turns out they were all standing around what we could only assume was a balloon, lifting it up and down and up and down--like those parachutes when you're a little kid and everybody grabs a side and then after you get it to go really high up into the air you all run under it! Did anybody else do that? Well if you didn't, it's SO fun. So anyway, Jeremy and I grab a side and start helping with the activity. We didn't start asking questions until about ten or fifteen minutes had gone by and there had been no progress. A sweet old lady came by and was like, "Can I ask what you're doing here?" I told her, no idea! We just saw it and joined right in! Ha

TURNS out, this was NOT an actual balloon like I had hoped and thought...it was the wet tarp that they were going to lay the balloon on top of and they wanted it dried out so they made good use of the passersby. Hahah SO lame! Ugh.

So we moved on to bigger and better balloons. Turns out though, the balloon for the tarp we'd helped dry was THE biggest balloon. A cow to be more precise.

We had so much fun and it was such a neat experience! Not to get too sappy (nope, just kidding this is EXTREMELY sappy) but I have to brag. My  husband is just the greatest and he is so tolerant and patient and puts up with me even when I'm cranky. He just loves me so much and I honestly think that every girl deserves her own "Jeremy" and that she shouldn't settle for any man who doesn't treat her as amazingly as my husband does me. It was such a huge blessing to spend time with him and to do more fun "us" stuff. I know this post has been more about our trip than God, but I have to add that spending time with my husband makes my love for God grow deeper. To see how much one human man can love me, despite all of my flaws and quirks, just puts me in awe to remember that God loves me even MORE than that. I feel like this past week I keep getting reminded about how much God loves us and pursues us and fights for us. I feel like he's been my husband while mine's away. God knows just what I need and every little unnecessary thing that would brighten my day. Wow. I mean, truly, how blessed are we to have a God who loves us more than we can fathom, pursues us when we feel unreachable, and fights for us when we've given up. Thank you God for loving me that much! For loving each of us that much. And for giving me a husband as a constant reminder of how exponential Your love really is.
Thank you God for a beautiful and long-needed weekend.
I hope that all of you ladies find your "Jeremy." But in the mean time I hope you never forget that you've got the best boyfriend ever. You're dating God.
Oh how I wish I'd realized this in high school.

More updates to come!
LEE

 Picture from the weekend:

 All bundled up!

Us thinking we're being helpful. And that we're helping with something super cool. 

Reality: under the balloon is the tarp we shook out. Ha!

The cow blown up from the previous picture.

My Handsome Husband :)

Some of the balloons.

Some of the more elaborate balloons.

The cool Wells Fargo one!

My Handsome and me :)

Praise Jesus!

Okay, I couldn't wait to get home and post about this!

This afternoon Jeremy and I drove by the site of our accident (north of Riggs Road on the I-10 South). We went for a few reasons:

     1. This trip is way overdue. It's been over a year since our accident but this was not a part of the healing process I was looking forward to.

     2. Jeremy will be in Tucson for work all of next week and I'm going down to visit him. Meaning, I'll have to make the drive by myself. 

     3. The speed limit is 75. And since driving 55 with your hazards on could still potentially get you a ticket, wifey here needs to learn how to be comfortable driving 75. 

Round 1 went like this:

Driver--Jeremy

Shotgun--Laura

Purse--Securely in lap

Ambiance--Air1

Speed--65ish (Thankfully we were behind a semi)

As we drove by I started to get a bigger grasp on truly what a huge miracle it was that he and I survived, let alone have practically nothing to show from it. There were giant metal stakes in the middle of the medians and a huge overpass only minutes away from our accident site. Had we hit either of those, I'm sure the outcome would have been significantly different. 

So these Praise Jesus emotions come over me and we pull off the Riggs Road exit and have a few minutes of THANK YOU GOD! Then we turn around and start heading north. 

Then my hubby takes the next exit, pulls into the gas station and says, "Now it's your turn. I need to know that you can drive this with me here." 

He's such a sweet, thoughtful husband. But these were not the words I wanted to hear. I was ready for food. Not ready to face my biggest fear. 

Round 2, here we go:

Driver--Laura

Shotgun--Jeremy

Purse--securely in back seat

Air conditioning--check

Music--still Air1

Wheel--tightly grasped by tiny hands and white knuckles

Ready, GO!

So this is where it gets so cool. By the end of it I was shaking my head saying, "He would do something like this!"

As we wait patiently in the turn lane to go back past ground zero, the light turns green and we follow yet another semi onto the freeway. Then He does it. On comes my song. And, yes, that's how I referred to it when I squealed with excitement and turned up the volume. My song. This is the song God used to talk to ME! 

Song--Beautiful Ending by Barlow Girl (please refer to very top of blog page if you're confused with the incredible "coincidence" of this song being played)

For starters, I haven't heard this song on the radio since I started this blog. This song was the whole inspiration for starting this blog and such a big part of what I felt God was putting on my heart when I started this whole thing. 

Please take a moment to actually listen to the words. 

http://youtu.be/ghgpz0IWV0E

I cried tears of joy for the entire song as I attempted to sing along. For me, this was God saying, 

   I love you. I will always take care of you. Trust me. I delivered you before. 

     You can get through this because you have MY strength in you, not your own. 

Together, we will make it through this. 

And of course, the song ended as soon as we passed the site. GOD IS SO GOOD. He is just so cool I honestly can't get over it. All I kept thinking was, "God, You so would do this! You so would pick just the right song at just the right moment to speak to my heart and let me know that you are always with me and that you can get me through anything! PRAISE JESUS!

Bah! God is seriously just the best. I know that sounds ridiculous and that it's such an understatement, but I don't know how else to put it into words. How can you possibly put the awesomeness of God into words?? He is so merciful and He loves us SO MUCH! 

I now know that I can make it. I can make that drive next week without my handsome there to hold my hand because I know that I will have my God riding shotgun. 

Thank you Jesus for all that you have done for us, especially over this past year. Thank you for reminding me that it is not by my strength that I should measure my obstacles, but by Yours because I am Your daughter and, because of that, I have you strength in me!

(On a side note, the purse is mentioned because it was at my feet right before the accident and it is the whole reason why I tried to bend forward and ended up unbuckling my seatbelt.)

Such a Praise Jesus day! Just as every day should be!

LEE

I'm a redhead

When you look at me, I'm a redhead.
When you get to know me, I'm a blonde.

My latest proof:

So tonight my hubby and I were supposed to go eat dinner at my parents but Jeremy's shift got switched around so I went by myself. We ate salad, amazing dinner rolls, fruit, pork tenderloins, and apple pie--basically my mom is amazing and an overachiever. Anyway, so for some reason during the middle of dinner I decided to ask why meat shrinks when you cook it. Valid question, right?

My mom's answer (with her infamous hand motions that she has so generously passed down to me) boiled down to muscle fibers shrinking.

Me: Wait....meat is muscle? (Throws hands over face in embarrassment.)

I mean seriously, I'm 20. I cannot believe I haven't figured that out before. But who honestly thinks about what they eat? Ugh, that sounds even more terrible as I read it out loud. Anyway, my parents laughed hysterically and my mother, bless her for putting up with me, either tried to make me feel better or just wanted to add some sarcasm to the whole awful "lightbulb" moment and said, "Well at least you figured it out before you're 21!"

Yup, biiiig accomplishment. Ha

How embarrassing! Haha Yikes. But anyway, that's my proof.
I mean I realize you normally take off the fat when you cook meat and I know it's not skin...but I have no idea what I thought I was eating all of these years! And, to make it worse, I just got done taking my muscles practical/quiz in anatomy and physiology this week. It's so weird to eat and especially cook things that are so cool. Muscles are seriously so awesome and complicated and God just thought so far ahead when he designed humans. The kicker, that He did it in one day because He is just that awesome.

Me, however, it took me twenty years to figure it out.
My poor children will be doomed. I hope they get my husband's genes.

Thank you God for designing us the way you did and that things don't go wrong more often. How brilliant You are.

Moral: Think about what you eat before you just chow down. You might be surprised what goes into your stomach.

God bless!
LEE

A Year Ago Today

I was in the hospital.

March 21st one year ago, Jeremy and I were in our roll over car accident.

Let me start off by saying how incredibly blessed he and I are to be alive today with no lasting injuries--minus a few scars. This less than ideal situation has turned into such a blessing in our lives and answered so many things that we were unsure of at the time.

So to start the records straight, here's what happened:

I was attending NAU up in Flagstaff and was down in the valley for Spring Break. That Sunday, the last day of Spring Break, Jeremy and I had planned to drive down to Tucson, attend the church of my childhood pastor who was going to marry us, meet with him for lunch and discuss some last-minute details (since the wedding was only two months and a day away), and then drive me back up to Flag and then Jeremy back home for work the next morning. Insane, I know. 

First blessing: that the accident happened where it did--just within the perimeters for us to be taken to Maricopy Medical Center instead of somewhere in Casa Grande--as opposed to on the road on the way to Flag or down in Tucson.

He and I had left my parents house around eight and were at Riggs Road and the I-10 South by about eight-thirty when it happened. Our back left tire blew. (SIDE NOTE: Please, please, please always check your tires before a big trip! The tread on ours had separated, which had caused it to blow. Ironically enough, he and I had done a thorough check of the vehicle the day before.) But God knew better.

Back track for a moment: about ten maybe fifteen seconds max before our tire had blown, I was bending down to grab my something out of my purse which had been at my feet. However, every time I would bend forward, my seatbelt would lock. Obnoxious. So, foolishly, I unbuckled it. However, when I sat back up and went to buckle myself in again, the seatbelt locked and wouldn't move past my shoulder. 

That's where things got a little crazy. 

I turned to Jeremy and was like, "Sweetheart, what in the world. I can't get my seatbelt back." But when I looked at him I realized that he was feeling his car door, then he leaned over to feel my door to try to see which side the shaking was coming from--I found out later that he could feel the car start to shake from (unknown at the time) the tire that was about to blow. I, on the other hand, was too preoccupied with my obnoxious seatbelt to notice. Then it all happened. 

Our back left tire blew causing the car to swerve--we were driving a 1994 Toyota 4Runner, complete with a sunroof. Thankfully, since it was early on a Sunday morning, very few cars were out so we didn't collide with anyone. So we headed for the median, me, still without my seatbelt, and Jeremy, doing everything in his power to control the car. (I had someone ask me months later if I ever blamed Jeremy for what happened. To be honest, the thought never even crossed my mind. I knew that God was in complete control of that car and all that happened before and after it.) We started down the median and, thank God, that's where I blacked out. 

What happened from there:

Our car rolled most likely two times--different accounts from the witnesses. I was ejected out of the sunroof, which had been closed thankfully, and landed in the middle of the two lanes of northbound traffic (Jeremy and I had originally been heading southbound). 

List of miracles/blessings:

-The car did not roll on top of me when I was ejected.

-Two of the first people on scene were a retired firefighter and a nurse. They knew just what to do.

-Jeremy still had his seatbelt on and, thank you God, his worst injuries were some pressure wounds to his right arm--he had tried to keep me in since he knew I wasn't buckled any longer. We think the car rolled on his arm.

-My husband, who is so gifted with his hands--something I find so admirable and attractive in him, still has full control of all of his fingers and appendages. 

-The sunroof had been closed so when I did bust through it, I hit the cloth part before the actual glass.

-We collided with no one.

-I wasn't hit or run over or the cause of any other accidents when I landed in the middle of oncoming traffic.

-I blacked out right away which has prevented me from remembering the worst of things, also preventing nightmares for me.

-We were just within boundaries to be taken to a Phoenix hospital instead of one closer to Tucson.

-My husband was alive. When he took me to see the car weeks after the accident, it looked like he should have been the one in the halo.

-The gas tank did not explode. It sounds dramatic, but it's one of those things that so easily could have happened.

-My mom, for most likely the first time ever, had left her phone on before church started (which was nine o'clock that day), allowing her to quickly receive Jeremy's call and come to the scene.

-I had no internal bleeding, brain damage, or paralysis. 

-My face was completely untouched. This was such a blessing for a bride-to-be.

-I got the halo off more than a month earlier than normal and was able to be halo-free for our wedding.

The list goes on and on but concerning the accident itself, those are some of the main ones. 

Here were our injuries:

I fractured my cervical 5 and 6; thoracic 4, 5, and 6; right coracoid process; dislocated my left hip; fractured my right metatarsals; and had some pretty nasty road rash. 

So basically I fractured the bottom of my neck bones, top of my back, right shoulder, right foot and dislocated my left hip. Thankfully I don't remember the hip or the shoulder. Yet another blessing. 

My husband had some road rash, pressure wounds to his arm, and scars. I thank God that that was all.

They put me in a halo--one of those things Regina wears at the end of Mean Girls when she gets hit by a bus, as well as a boot and a sling. 

Here are some pictures. I know this post is ridiculously long so I'll talk about the miraculous recovery in another post. 

He was there every second possible. What a wonderful man.

My attempt at a smile. He's wearing my engagement ring since I couldn't

 because of all of the scans and such that I had to do.

These are used to keep up the blood flow/circulation. They sort 

of pulse on their own. It's a really brilliant invention.

This is the bear he bought me for after visiting hours. This way he never left my side. 

This is the aftermath of the 4Runner.

Jeremy had gone with my mom and driven down

 to where the vehicle had been towed to retrieve some of our belongings.

To be honest it's hard to look at these and think back to a year ago. All I know is that God was in complete control of that day, as He is every day. 

The less sad pictures will be coming soon!

May God be Glorified!

LEE

 

Happy 3:16!

Heard this on KLOVE today and loved it! I figure it's only fitting since March 14th is dubbed "Pi(e) Day" that March 16th is dubbed "John 3:16" day! It's nothing official, but it's great nonetheless.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." --John 3:16 (NIV)

 

Today is a day to remember how loved we truly are! To rejoice in the fact that there is life after death! Something to look forward to! We are so loved to the extent that one man died on our behalf and took all of the pain and suffering that we should have felt because of our own bad choices. The depth of this love I don't think I will ever fully understand. I can't grasp the degree of pain He must have gone through, partially because I don't want to. It's a scary thought--feeling that much pain. 

But at the same time, it makes me feel so valuable, so important. The fact that someone cared enough for me to suffer the pain of the consequences of all of the ridiculous and stupid and just plain bad decisions I've made over the years, to have cared enough for me before I was even alive, it's a love so deep all I can do is make my best attempt at paying it forward to others.

Thank you God for loving me enough that you sent your Son to take my place and my punishment, that I may have the chance and the opportunity to be with you when I die. 

What a glorious thought to spend all of my time with Him!

Happy 3:16!! May you remember how blessed and loved you truly are!!

LEE