16th Anniversary & Julianne's 13th Birthday Celebration!

I love my man! Brian and I have been married 16 years today! I am more in love with him now than ever! What a joy to grow in the Lord's love together. May we be a tangible representation of Christ and the Church, one that reflects this relationship with purity and grace so as to draw men to Jesus Christ.

Our baby is now 13 (well, almost...on the 29th). We just returned from our trip to San Francisco with Julianne and had a wonderful weekend. Our trip in brief--Julianne picked out the first ring she laid eyes on (her purity ring), rode a cable car, got make up, stayed at the Westin, read all the amazing letters to Ju from beloved family and friends, ate a lot, shopped a bit, saw the Bush man, laughed together, relaxed, watched some TV, stayed on the 4th floor because Brian is a conscientious firefighter now (ladders can only go up to the 8th floor in case of a fire), and witnessed a riot with our friend, Beth, at the Westfield Mall.

Our Covenant God

I haven't checked in for awhile, and this will be a quick post, because Brian is taking part of his 12 month fire test right now and when he is done, we are going to meet up and celebrate at Chick-fil-A...because it is always, "a wonderful day at Chick-fil-A". (That is what we say at the drive through.) Another reason to eat there today--Brian is in his uniform and any "service person" gets their meal for half price.

I am in awe of the Covenant Keeping God to whom I belong. All morning long, actually for years now, I can't stop thinking about the Lord's faithfulness. He is completely trustworthy! What a gift He has given us in the New Covenant, the promise of Jesus, our Redeemer, Messiah, Savior, and the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work in our lives! I just have to shout Hallelujah! Hallelujah! No one can set aside or add to this covenant that the Lord chose to bind Himself to. He has done all the work. I am a recipient of His grace and am oh so thankful. May He enable us to believe Him each moment today because He has given us a clean heart and we are pure and holy because of Jesus' finished work on the cross. O, I am getting way to excited to be sitting in my seat. Let us, as followers of Christ, glory in Him.

October in an Acorn Hull (ie: a nutshell)

October came and went and it is now the eve of the Elections. Here is a glimpse of the last month.

Melody arrived in our home toward the end of September and cleaned the pantry and reorganized it! [What I'm pointing at in the picture is a U.P.P.- an Unidentifiable Pickle Product, Date of Orgin: unknown. -Melody] Praise the Lord for those gifted with organization and love doing it. I think this was taken in September, but I don't remember, so it is now in the October bunch. This was such a gift of love to me.

Ashlyn, Melody, and Julianne decided to wash the car and soak each other in an all out water war. I have no idea who won, but they were all happy and wet by the end.[And there was a clean car! -Melody]

Julianne and Will, my nephew, dipped Nutter Butter cookies in white chocolate and made ghosts, thanks to Grandma for supplying the ingredients. We assured Will they were the Holy Ghosts...so I know there isn't more than One, but we didn't want to scare him. :)
This is Clint Walbeck, and I had to include this picture because it is priceless, or should I say, the priciest bucket of ice cream ever. Clint and Erin are so sweet to bring dessert to Taco Tuesdays and Clint stopped by Ben and Jerry's on the way home from Men's Fraternity, so we could enjoy some sweets. There is a huge story behind it, but to sum it up, the bucket you are looking at cost Clint $30. It was memorable. Kylen is running in his first championship cross country race ever and got a personal record. This picture was shot around a mile into the run. We are so proud of Kylen's diligence and perseverance. [We are such a good looking family! -Melody]
Ashlyn and Melody are Greek Goddesses, of course. They got ready in about 10 minutes and their costumes turned out great. They all dressed up for a youth group activity last Wednesday and played a game throughout a neighborhood called, "Bigger or Better". The teams began with a business card from church and the goal is to go to houses and get people to give you something bigger or better than what you have. Melody and Julianne's group came back with a fully fuctioning air hockey table that they carried back to the church from two blocks away, all in their costumes.
Kylen, the mechanic

Julianne and Hannah...Hershey Kisses...picture them carrying the hockey table in those.
Fun pumpkins...Brian was working this year and he has always been the one to carve with the kids, so we missed him but had some help from Josh and Melody and it's hard to believe, but the kids are big enough to carve all by themselves.

By the way, Melody is the witty one...she came up with the whole Acorn Hull idea in the title...I thought it was cute.

...And now this is Melody signing out for Yvonne. She had to run (well, more drive) to pick up Julianne and Kylen from 4-H stuff (I'm not really sure what exactally they're doing, but I'm sure they had a good time!). Ashlyn is already asleep [I've heard that daylight savings can make your body tired, but really? 7.30 bedtime for a 15 year old? Come on Ash! --just kidding, I love you!]

Anyway, October has been a great month for me loving my new fam and getting set in some holiday traditions already with them- home-brewed spiced carmel apple cider with whip, anyone? I feel that I can say October was overall a pretty good month for all of us, busy though we were, and that we're all looking forward to the holidays to come [yeah, maybe we did already listen to some christmas music on our family outting to the library]! So there you have it:

Goodbye, October;

Welcome November!

Thankful for clean trays & first week reflection!

After finishing my first week as an employee of Chick-fil-A, I am overwhelmingly grateful for the trays that food comes on when I go to fast food places. I never knew that someone stood in the back sanitizing trays for hours on end. I have two bruises on my left arm that I got as a result of rotating the trays, spraying, scrubbing, wiping...and so on. The Lord has much to teach me and I love that He takes time to instruct me experientially.

I walked away with a greater appreciation and love for people. By golly, I thought that I loved people a lot, but the Lord sure did some increasing of it in me this week. The people I have the privilege of working with are truly treasures.

I am working during the busy busy time of the lunch hours and can't talk deep with anyone, so I pray for them and I wipe...I pray for myself as I learn how to push buttons on a computer register and..boy do I feel nervous. I know this wouldn't be efficient to do, but if only I could write every one's order on paper, I would feel ecstatic.

Those of you who know anything about me know how I long to know the hearts of people and to love them with the love of Jesus and for them to know and believe the love of Jesus as well...I long for this with everything in me.

Can I just tell you how impressed I am with the philosophy of this company? The chicken they sell is just the vessel to go deeper in relationship with people! Wow!

I have had quite the variety of responses from people when I tell them I am working at Chick-fil-A. Some have said, "I can totally see you doing that...serving people and such." Others have been quite surprised because they feel as though I have been alive awhile and would be better fitted doing something a little more "prestigious". Whatever the responses, I am confident the Lord has directed me to this place at this time to love others with His love by serving them and know the the LORD with greater intimacy.

Glorify Yourself, Lord, as I serve chicken sandwiches, wash tables, smile at guests and team members, pray for those who come in and out between 11-2 o'clock on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Newest Chick-fil-A Employee

I am so excited, I just had to tell you all that I get to work at Chick-fil-A, 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. The Lord has given me such a desire to be there...it seems strange, even to me, but I am ecstatic to be able to love on the guests as well as my fellow team members.