"Don't Be Alarmed....

if Mason comes up to you with his ear in his hand."  

This is a statement that I heard at meet the teacher!  I bet this is a quote you have never heard before so I thought I'd share it!  A little boy in my room has a prosthetic ear.  When he gets hot and sweats sometimes the glue comes "unstuck" so his ear comes off.  I failed to inform the rest of my 1st grade team about this and the other day it happened at recess...when I was off recess duty!  I was doing some work in my classroom to look up and see little Mason putting something in his backpack.  I said, "hey bud, what are you doing?"  This is when he says, in a very matter of fact tone, "I'm only putting $9,000 in my backpack, my ear!"  Ok, so it's been a crazy week!  Starting school is hard work!  I was so used to the kids that left me at the end of last year who were almost 2nd graders...and now we have kids right out of kinder again!  It's an adjustment for sure!  I will say that yesterday I thought, "maybe teaching is not for me!"  Today was a much better day and I know that I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  There are a lot of things I have to just let go of...I can tend to get overwhelmed and I'm convinced that even if I stayed at school until midnight there would still be stuff to do.  Any teachers hearing me on that one?  

It's going to be a good year and I love getting to know the little (sometimes big) personalities of my 1st graders!  I love watching their growth as readers...it's amazing!  Hopefully I'll have more stories to blog about throughout the year!  

This is going to be a busy, but exciting month!  We are closing on a house on September 18th.  After having to walk away from the house we just loved....I didn't think we could ever find one we liked as much!  God totally blessed us with a house that we absolutely love and it's in a better location than the one before!  It's so humbling to me to know that He takes care of so many details....He is so faithful.  

The same day we close on the house, I will be going to my doctor's appointment.  I don't know if she will want to do tests yet.  I'm not sure what this appointment will involve.  I do know that I will talk to her about our desires to have a baby and explain the struggles we've had so far.  My current struggle is wondering if there's a "right" or "wrong" way to go about all of this as a believer.  I KNOW without a doubt that our Sovereign God has a plan and purpose for my life that He will bring to fruition...He has a plan and purpose for my child's life that is in His perfect timing.  So...how far do you go with doctors and science?  When do you take steps toward getting help or looking in to adoption.  These may seem like no brainers, but to me they are just things I've been thinking about lately.  I have felt alot of peace this month which I know is straight from Him!  I am thankful for it and I'm trying to give this up every day.  I would love words of wisdom from anyone who has experienced this or knows of someone who has.  In the meantime I am praying constantly that God gets the glory no matter what.  Michael and I pray for wisdom and leading and ask that you do the same for us!    I will definitely update after my doctors appointment.  

Ok, this post is super long!  I'm soooo glad this is a long weekend!!!!  Last weekend I heard Beth Moore at the Alamodome and it was incredible.  She taught about our inheritance!!!  I'll share more of that in another post!

3 Years Ago Today...

...I married the love of my life!  I cherish the memories from our wedding day!  The past 3 years have been an amazing time of growth!  I am so thankful to be on this life journey with Michael!  He is my best friend and I love him with all of my heart!

Plans...

change!  Michael and I are continuing to learn that the Lord has a plan for us and that He will bring that plan into fruition.  We have to live in faith, take some scary steps sometimes, and trust Him with our lives!  Sometimes this is easier said than done....right?

Last week we were supposed to close on our very first home!  We were so excited and I had already started to decorate the house in my mind!  :)  I'll spare you all of the crazy details, but we had to back out of this today.  The closing was moved to this week because they builders had not fixed anything from our inspection report.  It was like pulling teeth to try to get some of the things our inspector found fixed.  They would not provide a list of what they fixed.  They lied and told us the house was ready....without a functioning toilet downstairs, with no seals on the windows and doors, with no ladder to get into the attic, with a dishwasher that was loose in its place....and the list goes on and on.  Anyway, after being lied to and treated really poorly by the builders, Michael had to make the decision that he felt was best for us as a family.  I have to admit, I was not so supportive at first because of the emotional attachment part.....but I now realize that there must be something else for us.  So, we will continue to house hunt and pray for God's leading.

So, for my update...to those of you wondering if we are moving soon....we are not buying the house!  I'll keep you updated as God does His thing!

Warning....this will be mushy!!!!!

Sunday, July 20th was my husband's birthday!  He turned 25...I know...youngen!!!  I always remind him that I was already sitting up on my own maybe even crawling when he was born!  :)  Anyway, I wanted to use this post to talk about my hubby!  I am so thankful that 25 years ago the Lord brought him into this world!  As I listen to his mom talk about how big of a surprise he was being 8 and 10 years behind his sisters, I just grin inside because we all know it was no surprise to the Lord.  What's even more amazing to me is that before he was even born the Lord knew he would be my life partner.  It reminds me of the sovereignty and goodness of the Lord!  I am going to attempt to express my gratefulness for Michael in words, knowing that words will never do him justice!  

I am thankful for my husband because:

~He is a student of the Word!  He loves the Word of God and he is studying it all the time!  He challenges me in so many ways!

~He is an amazing teacher/preacher!  He has such a gift and the Lord has really used him in my life and so many others!

~He is a leader.  I love that I can trust him and his leadership of our family.  

~He still opens the car door for me every single time we go somewhere!  :)

~He works hard as a teacher and coach!

~He is a man who stands by his convictions.

~He has been an encourager, supporter, and best friend.

~He is sensitive to the Lord's leading and is so obedient, even when it's hard.

These are only a few reasons, and I could really go on and on!  I love him so much and am so blessed by him.  Having him as my husband is a huge reminder of the grace of the Lord on my life!  I am so thankful for his 25 years of life that the Lord has used to mold him into who he is now.  I look forward to the next 25 and can't wait to see what God has in store for us!  Happy Birthday baby!  I love you so much!

Coming up with blog titles....

is really hard!  As I was trying to think of a creative title for my blog today I was reminded of a story I want to share!  When I was a freshman in high school I took a journalism class.  I thought maybe one day I could be a journalist because I really enjoy writing.  I went to a UIL competition that involved different journalistic (i think I just made that word up) categories.  One of the categories we had to compete in was headline writing.  We would read an editorial piece and then write a creative title for the article using a certain number of spaces.  Well...after this competition was over I received my scores.  Written next to my titles was the statement, "Melanie, you're writing is really great but, if you become a journalist have someone else write your titles!"

Things here in the hill country are going well!  Michael and I are still really enjoying our summer off together.  It is a huge benefit of teaching!  We had a great time in St. Louis at the wedding.  We were able to see alot of people that have known Michael since he was born so it was fun to hear stories!  The wedding was beautiful and very classy!  Here we are before the reception.  

 St. Louis is really pretty and we were able to see the arch, which is huge!!!  The Mississippi River is really high because 

of the flooding so we didn't get to take our river boat cruise!  :)  It was nice to get away and have a little vacation!

For the 4th, I left Michael in San Antonio and headed to Round Rock, TX just North of Aust

in to stay with Tracy!  She was my roommate during college and is one of my 

best friends!  Her sister Jamie and our friend Stephanie came from Dallas and we had a really fun girl's weekend!  We ate out, shopped at the outlet mall in Round Rock, swam, talked alot, and ate some more!  It was a blast! These girls are friends that I truly cherish and we had so much fun!

To those of you wondering....I didn't go to my doctor's appointment on July 3rd.  I rescheduled for September.  I have many reasons for doing this, but mainly just to give us more time!  Currently I am doing an ovulation predictor kit to see what it will tell me.  I will definitely let you all know how the appt. goes in September.  I am doing a Bible study right now that has been discussing the glory of God.  This week, I am reminded that the work the Lord is doing in our lives is for His glory!  With this baby situation, He will work it out in a way that allows Him to receive the greatest glory.  I cling to this hope and the truth of knowing that He is in control.  We desire for Him to receive glory!  

Currently we are distracted from all of that because we found a house that we love!  It is in a neighborhood that is more of a middle ground between our schools.  I will keep you posted and when it is more of a sure thing, I will post pictures!  We are ready to be homeowners!  We are going through the process right now, so if everything goes well, we will close the beginning of August.  

I hope this blog finds all of you doing well!  We would love to hear from you!  Life is good because God is good!  If any of you have any tips for blog title writing let me know!  :)

Where have I been?

Hey!  I am officially terrible at updating this thing!  For all of you that wait and wait and check to see if I've blogged....I am very sorry!  ;)  Michael and I are really enjoying our summer.  It is really nice to have a break from the school setting!  Michael is golfing and studying to take some tests for his CDL.  (that's a bus driver's license that he has to have as a coach!...and yes they have to parallel park that huge yellow bus!)  I am working part time at my mother-in-law's office at Mass Mutual.  I feel like a teenager in the office filing and putting together folders!  I've already been told by one older man, "You're married!  You look like you're 13!"  To that I think...really?...13?  Ouch!  I was at least hoping for 16 or 17.  I know though, I'll appreciate it later when I'm 40 and still look 30...that's what people tell me anyway!  I am also tutoring two kids this summer.  

Michael's sister Julie moved to San Antonio a few weeks ago with her husband and two kids.  We have spend almost every day with them!  We are being so spoiled to get so much time with our niece and nephew!

Michael and I are house hunting and we go back and forth deciding if we're ready to buy a house or not!  Does anyone else have trouble making big decisions like that too?!  We've realized that buying a home that is just being built would be better financially for us because we would have incentives from the builders and not have to put as much down.  Anyway...all this to say...any house buying advice that you may have to offer would be great!!!

Last week we went to Wichita Falls for Michael's granddad's funeral.  He passed away on Father's Day and was able to spend Father's Day in Heaven!  He was a Godly man and passed down so much to his children and his children's children.  I pray that I can impact generations for Christ the way He did.  On our way to WF we were able to stop for lunch in Stephenville and spend some time with our dear friends Amy and Nick!  I got to meet sweet baby Daniel who is adorable!  Thanks for meeting up with us Coopers!  We love you!

This week we are heading to St. Louis to go to a wedding.  It will be nice to get away and get to know this family that Michael loves better.  They are a family that he has known his entire life.  Since he moved so much, there aren't many like that in his life...so this is really important to him.  I am really excited about the trip.  

I guess I can get this out in the open now.  I have been off of "the pill" for like 9 months now and am not pregnant.  I have a doctor's appt. on July 3rd to make sure everything is ok.  Please pray for us in this adventure.  We know that God's timing is perfect so we are holding on to that truth!  We are anxious so pray that He will be our peace and that we will not be anxious, but be prayerful!

In a nutshell...that's what's cracken with us right now!  We can't believe we have lived in San Antonio for 2 years!  We look back and are in awe of the things God has done and is continuing to do here!  We love it!  We definitely have our moments of missing Lubbock and our lives there...but we have really great memories!  It is fun living in a place that you feel you have been called to...and having a peace that this is right where we are supposed to be!  Until next time...I will update after the wedding and post some pics!

It is for Freedom!

Today I have thought a lot about freedom.  Today my little brother left his wife, his 2 year old little boy and his 2 month old baby girl to go to Iraq for 13 months.  That's right...13 months....it's a long time!  He is a specialist in the United States Army and I am so proud of him.  As I have thought about my brother going to do a job that most don't want to do...I have thought about how grateful I am that men and women are willing to sacrifice for my freedom that I have in the U.S.  My brother and many others are soldiers who are fighting on behalf of an entire country's protection and freedom.  He is sacrificing over a year with his wife and kids, they are sacrificing too....for me, for you, for this country.  Wow.  I am so proud that he is my brother.  I am so humbled by his sacrifice.  Freedom is costly.  Freedom comes at a high price.  There is a much greater battle going on.  We are not helpless!  We, as followers of Jesus, are called to go to battle for this world.  We are called to get on our knees on behalf of those we know are in bondage.  We are called to walk in the freedom that comes from our Hosanna!  It is time...no matter what the cost...whatever the sacrifice.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set you free!" Galatians 5:1  Thank you Jesus for freedom.  Thank you for paying the price so that we can experience true freedom in you.  Thank you that we don't have to be burdened by a yoke of slavery anymore.  Praise you that you gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in freedom from the chains of sin and the darkness of death.  Father, protect the men and women who sacrifice so much for our worldly freedom.  Father, give us the courage to go to battle for others and to share of this freedom we have been given in You!  I am so undeserving and unworthy.  Thank you for grace and mercy!  Thank you for Your Son.  

Today I have thought a lot about FREEDOM!    

Thanks little brother for what you are doing!  I'm so proud of you and I love you so much!  Thanks for helping me get back to the place where I am humbled and grateful for freedom!