The House!!

Well, I have been a little MIA lately because we haven't had any internet or cable with moving into the new house!! We have loved the house and have loved decorating and working on it! The only problem is, there is just not enough furniture!!!!! Going from a one bedroom apartment to a four bedroom house, has been CRAZY!! I know it will all get done eventually, but I want stuff done NOW! Ha! :) Here are a couple of pictures!

House Update

Oh man!! I can hardly believe that I am typing this out!! WE HAVE A HOUSE!! God definitely provided a perfect one for us! The inspection was just completed and even though there were a couple of major things that had to be fixed, God has graciously provided a great seller who is going to fix all of it- no questions asked and even better than he is required to!! The house is about 2600 square feet-- way bigger than we thought we could afford-- in the Treasure Hill area! It is 4 bedrooms and 2 bath so we can definitely grow into it! It also has a HUGE yard, which was really important to both Damon and I! He has redone much of the house-- including the carpet, wood floors and tile! :) WOO-HOO!! Anyways, it looks like our closing date is on schedule for May 22- just 1 week from today!! I can't wait!! Pictures will be coming!

Update

Well, I guess that house wasn't so perfect-- right now anyways! We made an offer, but the guy wouldn't accept it! We offered him his asking price and just asked him to pay closing costs and he kept telling us he wanted us to pay for the closing costs... well, we just don't have that kind of money laying around! BLAH! So... the search continues! I know God has a place for us somewhere... :) We looked at about 9 houses yesterday... nothing that really caught our eye though... REALLY? After 9 houses?! I don't think I am really that picky... but maybe I am... Oh gosh, that is a totally different subject for a very different conversation!

On another note, when it rains, it pours! Usually that has a negative connotation, but in this case, it does not. I interviewed and was offered a job this week... and I just don't know what to do about it!! I mean, it sounds like a great fit, but I am just not feeling a "yes" or "no" from God... and I have been praying about it! I want 2 weeks paid vacation up front and they don't have that... so I think that is the hardest part. I also am in the process of another interview... and I have to say yes or no to the first one before I know about this other one... So if I say no to the first one, I am banking on being offered the second one, but if that doesn't happen... then I am... for lack of a better term... screwed! If I say yes to the first one, then I am saying no to the second one... and what if that is the better fit?! AHH!! And to make matters even more difficult, I really LOVE my job at Sephora! But when people call you out of the blue (both jobs I did not even call about), you have to think that maybe God is providing something!! Because the retail hours are really hard for me!!! Please pray with Damon and I as we strive to make the best decision for us and our future! I'll keep you posted!

Houses & History

Well, Damon and I have once again been house-shopping! :) I LOVE looking at houses to find the perfect one-- in the perfect neighborhood!! I know that it will never be PERFECT, but it will be perfect for us!! :) We found a super cute one that I could totally see us in!! I think about baby's rooms and little kiddos growing up, having friends over... EVERYTHING!! It is all just perfecto! :) Please pray for us as we move forward... that everything would come together if this is the house that God has for us!

It has been really hard lately for me, because I feel like all my friends are getting pregnant... and I have never wanted anything more than to be a mom. I am struggline with a little bit of jealousy! I suppose it is kind of how you feel when you are single and all your friends are getting married... though I never felt that one because I was the first pretty much... But that is another reason I think I struggle with it... because we have been married longer, so you think we would be in that place already!! Damon keeps telling me that I need to quit comparing myself to "everyone else", but that is hard to do!!!! With that said, I know that right now is not the time. Damon is not ready and even though I think I am, I know that there are some things that I would like to have done before we start this process of starting a family. I know it changes everything!! However, there is a part of me that wonders if I have enough faith in God's timing to just go off birth control and see what the Lord has planned... Is that just being careless though? I don't know... I always think about it...I mean, I would never do that without talking to Damon first and knowing that there would be a higher risk involved, but if God wants us to have a baby, who are we to stop that from happening!! Sometimes, I just wish that finances would be taken care of... that would make the decision a no-brainer!! But I know that finances are a reality and I definitely want to bring our children up in a home that we are able to provide everything they need... but not everything they want!!! :) Anyways, you can pray for that as well... So many decisions...

You know, I was thinking a lot about what we learned on Sunday in FSM. Dr. Joey Dodson (I think that was his name) talked about how parts of the Bible do not make sense if you don't know the actual history of what was going on during that time period! I thought about that a lot in college because in a class I took we actually had to look at it, but I really had not thought much about it since then... but it is soo true!! I mean, if you don't know what the Roman Empire was like, the fact that Barnabas was taken off the cross and Christ was put on... means so much less... But when you realize just how "just" the Romans were during that period... You realize just what it meant that Barnabas was released! I think I may invest in a new commentary... The Bible really is so much more interesting when you look at it from a historical standpoint! It explains so much!! Just a thought...

Well, I think I best run off to bed about now... It has been a long day! Good night!

Life

As much as some days I still get really frustrated with my past employer (this morning was one of those days), I have realized that I have a really high sense of justice. I want to portray to this man that it is not just a job he is messing with, it is people's lives! For example, he hired 2 people to replace me (well, technically, 3, but that is another story). Neither of them had been with the company even 4 months, when he decided to lay them off... I mean, they had moved one guy and his family here from Fayetteville to take the job. Don't they think about this?! I mean, they knew they didn't have the money. The other thing that irks me is that it is always my dad's team that has to let someone go. In the not even 2 years that my dad has been there, he has had to lay off 5 people-- the owners-- 2... And those 2 guys were fired because they were not good at their jobs! The 5 people my dad has had to let go, only 1 of them was fired... The other 4 were laid off because of finances (or in my case, the owner being stupid!). Anyways, I guess I just need to rest in the fact that they will have to answer to someone higher up some day-- Jesus and they will receive judgement for their decisions. I just have a really hard time with these decisions because they are not right... on any level, but even more so for them because they claim they are a company who hold Christian values... well, I hate to say it, but they are hypocritical... and I think that they actually turn more people away from the faith based on the decisions they make everyday!

Anyways, on to happier things!!! My new job has been a blast!! I have been training for the last 5 weeks or so. The first 2 weeks of training is called SOS (Science of Sephora) where we learn all about Sephora and take tests to become certified to work there! (I passed all 5!) We learn all about skincare and what ingredients help acne, or aging, or environmental damage, etc. If I may offer a suggestion, PLEASE WEAR SUNSCREEN EVERY DAY!! 94% of our aging comes from the sun... so if you wore sunscreen every day, you would look 94% younger! We also learn how to apply make-up and the different eyeshapes and how to make them appear differnt (like making wide eyes appear closer together). I am sure learning A LOT!!! I just had NO idea what all this would entail!

The last 3 weeks have been brand training. This is where all the brands that Sephora carries come in and tell us about their products! I was told that we would get gratis from all these brands, but I had NO idea HOW MUCH we would get!! Seriously, I have gotten thousands and thousands of dollars worth of skin care and make-up! I mean, I have mascara and eye cream out the wazoo!! The other day, I was given 2 moisturizers (valued at $125 a piece) and that was just one part of what the brand gave us! In a time where I definitely can't afford these luxuries, it has been such a blessing to receive this stuff!! I have also started to wash my face EVERY DAY, twice a day which is a totally new thing for me... I had NEVER washed my face a day in my life before this... it is amazing what it does though! :) Ha! Well, if any of you have any make-up questions or needs... just let me know... I am now a Beauty Expert!! Ha! Yeah right-- I still have so much more to learn!!

JOB!

Well, I FINALLY have a job!! I am really excited about it and feel like God just opened all the right doors to get to this place! Even the timing was perfect, we literally had enough money to make it through mid-February and I start February 17! It is at Sephora- which is about to open up in the mall here!! It will start out as part time, but they believe that I will move to Assistant Manager and full time within a short time as they think they projected their sales lower than what they will actually do! I mean, make-up, hair, and all that is RIGHT up my alley!! I think I will love it!! I start 6 weeks of training and store opening next week. Please pray that I fall into place their easily and that God continues to open up the right doors for me to move to full time and Assistant Manager!! Woohoo!!

I am excited about this for another reason as well, because we get to finally look at houses!! I can't wait to own our own place and decorate- oh what fun!! The next step- KIDS!! Haha!! Although I think that is probably still a little ways away! :) Our God is so good at providing for us-- just when we are getting so discouraged! Thanks for all the prayers you guys have said on our behalf!! It is much appreciated!

The Weekend

This weekend has been so much fun!! To start off, Damon got me a Blackberry Pink Pearl!! I LOVE IT!! We have had a blast setting everything up on it!! Last night, my sister came into town for the weekend with her friend, Ashleigh. We all had dinner together last night- STEAK! :) Woohoo!! Today was great fun as well! :) Damon and I got to sleep in a little (though he always gets up before me!) and then we went out to lunch with Lisa Benedict-- a friend from Friday Harbor (who now lives in Branson) and a friend that I had yet to meet! We had TONS of fun and it is always great to meet new friends! Damon then drove around down town Little Rock with her while I went to a movie with my family. We went to see New In Town... and oh boy did I LOVE it!! Haha! Talk about what it is like hanging out with my family when you are from the south!! I highly recommend seeing it! You will get some good laughs out of it- yeah, you betcha will there! Well, I know that this is short, but I have a hubby who is anxious for me to watch the Gonzaga Bulldogs defeat the Memphis Tigers right now!! Until later...

Lindsey