A new beginning...

Well, I am no longer an employee of my former employer. And since that's about as clear as mud, let me rephrase it... I lost my job last Tuesday.



It's not like it wasn't expected... my company announced in January there would be layoffs sometime this year, and it finally happened! That in itself was a blessing. Now, the only question I have is what to do next? And isn't that a good question?



I wish I knew the answer to it! There are a million different things that I want to try, so this news is both exciting and frightning. I'm definitely going to persue a teaching career, but I also want to explore the possibility of selling my artwork and designs. It's exciting because this is a new beginning. I had a very stressful job... or at least it was for me... but the money was great. Greater than great. But since it's gone, we have a large amount to make up for in our budget... and there in lies the frightning part of it.



Last night at church, we had a visiting preacher who's sermon was on faith. (Isn't it funny how God sends these things to you right when you need it?) More specifically, faith when you are put in an uncomfortable situation. His Biblical example was when Jesus told the disciples "Go to the other side" when they were perfectly happy to stay where they were. If this wasn't enough, the pastor even cited job loss as an example we might face. Believe me, I was perfectly happy to stay where I was, but now, God has nudged me and told me to "Go to the other side". The preacher explained... like he was reading my mind... that it's not so much the "other side" but what's on the other side that we have a problem with. What was on the other side for the disciples was a demonic possessed man, whom Christ healed. What's on the other side for me? Well, that remains to be seen.



Isn't it so much easier to say, "have faith, God will take care of you" when others face adversity versus when you are met with your own problems? It really is... Satan loves to take those opportunities to place seeds of doubt in your mind. But you have to stay strong... I have to stay strong in my faith. Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." That is so comforting to know... no matter how bad things may get, I'll never be separated from God's love. So, really, if that's the case, things can never be that bad, right?



1 Corinthians 1:9 says that "God is faithful". I've seen that in my own life. The last year and a half hasn't been good. My husband lost his job, we lost another pregnancy, there have been several family issues I won't go into, and chroninc sickness with another family member, and to top it off, I've now lost my job. But GOD IS FAITHFUL. Always has been, always will be.

Start spreadin' the news...

For our 5 year anniversary we took a trip to the Big Apple! We dined at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, Mario Batalli's Otto (not impressed), and had the BEST blueberry pancakes in the world at the Clinton Street Baking Company! We also went to the last home game for the Knicks where we saw Spike Lee and witnessed the first Yankee win in their awesome new stadium! Other highlights included seeing Alyssa Milano at the NBA store! We had a great time!

Peter Cottontail and Huntin' Eggs!

Over Easter Weekend, our church had an Easter egg hunt. Preston had a GREAT time!! He even found several eggs! Of course it was hard talking him into putting them into the basket! He wanted to hold all of the ones he found! On Easter we had wonderful worship time at church and a great lunch at my mom's. Afterwards we all had a great Easter nap! ha!

First trip to the zoo!

Over Easter weekend (yes, I know that was like 3 months ago... like I said, time flies!) we went to the Memphis zoo. Preston had a great time even though it was COLD (and speaking of, why, in Mississippi, is it hot at Halloween and cold at Easter??). He couldn't quite understand why he had to stay in his stroller the whole time though and he had a couple of tantrums to tell us he wasn't real happy with it! But overall, it was great! He LOVED the pandas, elephants, and polar bears!

More birthday celebrations

The actual day of Preston's birthday, his Mimi (my mom) and I took cupcakes to all of the kids at his daycare. Pam had everything decorated and too cute. All the kids loved the cupcakes! Justin was out of town, so when he came home later in the week, we took Preston to Chuck E Cheese. I think he's a little too young for the concept of Chuck E Cheese? But he had fun doing laps.. and I mean laps.. around the restaurant and we were worn out after chasing him!!

Monkey Business...

I am soooo late getting these up, but these are from the birthday party! We all had a great time and P made no secret of how old he was (can you say terrible 2's?)! He even got put in time out during opening presents b/c he threw a shoe at me! And since he is our monkey, what better theme than a monkey one!!

New blog...

Hey y'all... I decided to start another blog about nothing in particular really. Just a place where I can get on my soapbox! Since this is our "family" blog, I didn't think it was appropriate for me to vent about different things when most of y'all just want to see pictures of Preston... and I can't blame you... have you seen how cute he is? Anyway, if you're interested in my rants or just curious, hop on over to southernbellesoapbox.blogspot.com! See y'all there! Oh, and PS, proceed with caution! ha!