"Hello, God here..."

God has certain ways of grabbing our attention and testing our faith. With that being said...

I am pretty sure everyone recognizes the date April 27, 2011. For those of you who dont, you obviously so not live in the South. A historical tornado ourbreak ripped through Alabama that day. It was on that day that so many people lost family, friends, pets, possessions...everything. My family, thankfully, was not immediately effected in any way by the storms that passed through Alabama. I say not "immediately" effected, because I think everyone in Alabama was effected by these stroms in some way.

Like most everyone that day, I was glued to the tv watching The Weather Channel. Now that I know the death toll, I am chilled to the bone. I watched the EF4 tornado, live on tv, cut through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Alabama. I now realize that by watching those tornadoes live, that I was ultimately watching hundreds of people die, thousands of people being injured, and millions of people lose everything they owned.

I knew I had to do something to help the people who were effected by these storms. I think I would have felt guilty had I just sat back, watched the news, and prayed. I had to do more. My family and friends decided to help in Eclectic, Alabama three days after the tornado hit. I have never been so humbled and so greatful to be able to help. It was a blessing for me to be able to help! 

Please continue to pray for ALL of those effected by these storms and help anyway that you can!

Here are some pictures from the day we helped in Eclectic...

On a Day Like Today

 On a day like today...there is one place that Rusty and I would LOVE to be...

Parents...

Its funny...as a little kid, our parents can do no wrong. They are our heroes. Then as we get older, into our teenage years, we cant seem to get far enough away from them! Then, the tides change again, and as we get older, get married, and start having children, our parents are once again these incredible, intelligent, super heroes.

What got me thinking about this was the fun weekend Rusty and I shared with my parents at their lake home! I LOVE spending time with my parents now that I have gotten older. I also can't seem to absorb enough of their advice. I have realized thay they are more like friends than this authority figure that likes to constantly tell me how to live my life. I truly dont know what Rusty and I would do without them! From everything from financial, spiritual, and relationship advice to "do-it-yourself" home projects, they have always been there ready and willing to help in anyway possible.

I am one of the lucky girls our there- Most fathers and son-in-laws always have some kind of weird tension between them. After all, some random guy comes along and sweeps a Daddy's daughter off of her feet and before you know it she is grown woman with her own family. Fortunately for me, Rusty and my dad are best friends. They LOVE to do "manly" things together- anything from kayaking to fixing our rotting carport. They talk to each other just about every day whether it be over email, by phone, or by text message. I tell Rusty and all the time that he is my fathers clone. They are so much alike it scares me sometimes. Everything from over-analyzing EVERYTHING situation, to ALWAYS keeping an ink pin in their front pocket.  guess it is true...you do marry a man just like your father.

Another blessing is that fact that I get to work hand-in-hand with my mom. She is such an incredible and intelligent business woman, and an even better life teacher. We always fuss and fight with each other (we are two women/mother and daughter after all) but as soon as we get angry, we forget why we were even mad in the first place. I am told constantly that I have my mothers smile and that I look just like her. That is such a conmpliment because I believe my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world- both inside and out. We are so lucky and so blessed...

As Rusty and I start our life together and discuss starting a family, I realize that we are very fortunate people. We hope and pray that one day we can be amazing parents just like our own.