We sang this song at church last night that that I had never heard before, but I loved the lyrics. This song speaks so much to our life and we are SO thankful to serve a God who is faithful!
Happy Monday!
"Never Once"
Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us
Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
1.30.2012
1.24.2012
Big News x 2!
1. Well, here we are at week 36 and we have decided on a name and want to share it with the world! Originally we had planned to wait until Baby E was born to reveal his name, but we can't hold it in any longer. Drumroll please.....
Turner Marion English
The funny thing is... all of my coworkers have been calling him Turner all along because that was their favorite of our name choices. Little have they known that they have really been calling him by his name the whole time.
Both "Turner" and "Marion" are family names on Jesse's side. We discovered "Turner" at a family reunion this summer in a family geneology book and really liked it. "Marion" was Jesse's grandfather's middle name, whom he was named after. Originally, I thought Marion was a girl name (bc I knew a girl named Marion) until Kyle Lynch corrected me by saying that Marion is actually John Wayne's real name. Ok. Kyle wins. Marion is a guys' name.
We are so excited for Turner to get here! I go to the doctor Thursday, my final nursing class is Thursday night, my friends are throwing a baby shower this Saturday (!), then our final childbirthing class is Monday night. So, anytime after Monday, we are ready for Baby Turner to get here! Or, so we think. I'm not sure if you are ever ready for a baby, but we are definitely excited to become parents!
2. We found out today that Jesse got Finalist for Presidential Management Fellows (PMF)! This is a program that takes graduate students and accelerates their experience in order for them to take on leadership/management roles more quickly in the federal government...sort of like injecting young blood into the higher ranks...which we all know would be good for everybody. There were originally 9,000 applicants, which were then cut down to 1,200, and then 600 of these were named as finalists. These cuts were made from a test and an interview process. I am SO PROUD of Jesse for being named Finalist! What does that mean for us? This will open up many doors for him in applying for jobs. He would love to go into public service (with the National Park Service, Forest Service, or another agency like that), so this opportunity (hopefully) allows him a much greater chance of getting a position with one of these agencies.
This has been a long road from the day he applied and got nominated back in early fall, but so rewarding. We are so thankful to the Lord for providing this opportunity to us. We have learned a lot about trusting God in a time where we want to be in control of our future. We are excited to see what doors this opens up to our new little family!
Turner Marion English
The funny thing is... all of my coworkers have been calling him Turner all along because that was their favorite of our name choices. Little have they known that they have really been calling him by his name the whole time.
Both "Turner" and "Marion" are family names on Jesse's side. We discovered "Turner" at a family reunion this summer in a family geneology book and really liked it. "Marion" was Jesse's grandfather's middle name, whom he was named after. Originally, I thought Marion was a girl name (bc I knew a girl named Marion) until Kyle Lynch corrected me by saying that Marion is actually John Wayne's real name. Ok. Kyle wins. Marion is a guys' name.
We are so excited for Turner to get here! I go to the doctor Thursday, my final nursing class is Thursday night, my friends are throwing a baby shower this Saturday (!), then our final childbirthing class is Monday night. So, anytime after Monday, we are ready for Baby Turner to get here! Or, so we think. I'm not sure if you are ever ready for a baby, but we are definitely excited to become parents!
2. We found out today that Jesse got Finalist for Presidential Management Fellows (PMF)! This is a program that takes graduate students and accelerates their experience in order for them to take on leadership/management roles more quickly in the federal government...sort of like injecting young blood into the higher ranks...which we all know would be good for everybody. There were originally 9,000 applicants, which were then cut down to 1,200, and then 600 of these were named as finalists. These cuts were made from a test and an interview process. I am SO PROUD of Jesse for being named Finalist! What does that mean for us? This will open up many doors for him in applying for jobs. He would love to go into public service (with the National Park Service, Forest Service, or another agency like that), so this opportunity (hopefully) allows him a much greater chance of getting a position with one of these agencies.
This has been a long road from the day he applied and got nominated back in early fall, but so rewarding. We are so thankful to the Lord for providing this opportunity to us. We have learned a lot about trusting God in a time where we want to be in control of our future. We are excited to see what doors this opens up to our new little family!
1.18.2012
Anniversary Trip + Babymoon
"A babymoon is a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby."
Sounds nice, huh? This past fall, Jesse and I really wanted to take a babymoon but due to the busyness of the semester, we weren't able to find the time to go on a vacation. Time was quickly ticking by and this upcoming weekend is the last one that my doctor will let me travel since we are one month away from Baby English! We also wanted to go somewhere to celebrate 3 years of our marriage. Our first anniversary was spent in Memphis and our second we were snowed in with no power in Starkville! We wanted to combine an anniversary trip and a babymoon this year and started thinking about nearby cities that we could visit, but we also don't have a lot of money to spend on a vacation...
We ended up receiving a HUGE blessing from the McDonnells, a very dear family from home. I have been close with this family since 9th grade and babysat their girls throughout high school. They are such a special family to me and I have so much to thank them for. They have a BEAUTIFUL cabin in Madison where they let us stay for our anniversary + babymoon trip. This is also the same place that we stayed on our wedding night, so it was so special to be able to go back for our trip.
Going back home doesn't really seem like the most fun for a trip like this, but we treated it as a getaway... and it really was! One of my favorite things about this cabin is when you are there, it doesn't feel like you are in Madison... although it is only about 10 minutes from the I-55 Madison exit. You would NEVER know it. It is tucked away on a private drive which turns into a dirt road through the woods. It is situated far back in the woods by a small lake/pond... beautifully surrounded by nature. Over the weekend we saw so many birds, deer, ducks, and even turkeys!
We were able to sleep in, relax, read, watch movies and Breaking Bad (the TV show that we are HOOKED on right now), and again RELAX. We did go into town for dinners and a little shopping, but most of the weekend was spent at the cabin. We really enjoyed having this time together, just the two of us, before life changes more than we know. I was sad when Monday came and it was time to leave, but I am so thankful that we were able to spend the long weekend here. We are so blessed to have been able to go here for free and get away for the weekend.
Now for the tour!
Sounds nice, huh? This past fall, Jesse and I really wanted to take a babymoon but due to the busyness of the semester, we weren't able to find the time to go on a vacation. Time was quickly ticking by and this upcoming weekend is the last one that my doctor will let me travel since we are one month away from Baby English! We also wanted to go somewhere to celebrate 3 years of our marriage. Our first anniversary was spent in Memphis and our second we were snowed in with no power in Starkville! We wanted to combine an anniversary trip and a babymoon this year and started thinking about nearby cities that we could visit, but we also don't have a lot of money to spend on a vacation...
We ended up receiving a HUGE blessing from the McDonnells, a very dear family from home. I have been close with this family since 9th grade and babysat their girls throughout high school. They are such a special family to me and I have so much to thank them for. They have a BEAUTIFUL cabin in Madison where they let us stay for our anniversary + babymoon trip. This is also the same place that we stayed on our wedding night, so it was so special to be able to go back for our trip.
Going back home doesn't really seem like the most fun for a trip like this, but we treated it as a getaway... and it really was! One of my favorite things about this cabin is when you are there, it doesn't feel like you are in Madison... although it is only about 10 minutes from the I-55 Madison exit. You would NEVER know it. It is tucked away on a private drive which turns into a dirt road through the woods. It is situated far back in the woods by a small lake/pond... beautifully surrounded by nature. Over the weekend we saw so many birds, deer, ducks, and even turkeys!
We were able to sleep in, relax, read, watch movies and Breaking Bad (the TV show that we are HOOKED on right now), and again RELAX. We did go into town for dinners and a little shopping, but most of the weekend was spent at the cabin. We really enjoyed having this time together, just the two of us, before life changes more than we know. I was sad when Monday came and it was time to leave, but I am so thankful that we were able to spend the long weekend here. We are so blessed to have been able to go here for free and get away for the weekend.
Now for the tour!
Thank you again, McDonnells, for sharing your beautiful cabin with us! For my last weekend of travel we are so excited to go to Memphis and celebrate with Alan Sweet and Jill Horton as they get hitched! Only 3 days away!
1.10.2012
Baby Room
Here we are at week 34 as well as mine and Jesse's 3rd wedding anniversary. I can't believe it. For those of you who aren't up on the weeks of pregnancy, 40 weeks is full term, but they say any time from 36 or 37 weeks on, it is ok to have the baby. Let's be honest, unless you have been pregnant or are currently pregnant, the weekly count can be annoying. I remember having to do the math in my head to figure out how many months that means. My doctor says that I am still right on track for my due date of February 22, so most likely we have 6 more weeks to go! So for those of you who prefer counting in months, I am 2 weeks away from being 8 months preggers. I need to take some pictures so everyone can see the baby bump, which is more like a basketball these days.
It's crazy while being pregnant, how easy it can be to give in to all of the marketing of baby products. It's like they make you think that if you don't buy ALL of these things for your baby, then you aren't being a good parent or you aren't providing for your child. We have had to take a step back and think about our wants and our needs. Do we really need all of these things? The question we try to ask ourselves is, "Did our grandmothers need this?" If the answer is no, then we usually feel that we don't either. Granted, there are definitely a few things, thanks to technology that we definitely want and will probably purchase, but overall we are trying to keep it simple. I have a feeling that this is something we will have to remind ourselves about for the rest of our children's lives... and our own for that matter!
We are getting very excited and anxious about the arrival of this baby bundle! "The Lodge" (which is what we sometimes call our guest room at the "English Bed and Breakfast") has now been turned from guest room/Jesse's
office to baby room/guest room! My parents came in town last weekend
to bring the goodies! Our main goal with the nursery was to reuse
things that we already had. The only thing that was bought was the glider and the
bedding (thanks Mom and Dad!). The crib was mine as a baby, the chest
of drawers were at my parents house and the changing table is my
grandfather's desk. The window above the crib was picked up 2 years ago
for free and the curtains and lamps were already in the room. There are a few more things to go on the walls, but the room is mostly done! (And yes, the guest bed is still in here in case anyone wants to come visit!)
Here is a little sneak peak of his room! Maggie wanted to be in some of the pictures.. really, I couldn't get her to move. :) She has been extra clingy to me recently... we think she knows. She will be a great big sister. These two will grow up together!
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
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