Christmas Time is Here!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Many have said that Christmas is too commercialized these days. I have to agree and have been fighting to remind myself of "the reason for the season."

One drastic and unexpected reminder came early last week. I was working when I received a phone call from my dad that my mom had been in a serious car accident. My mom was among three passengers in a Yukon being driven by her friend. They t-boned a car that pulled out in front of them. The driver of the other car could not see my mom's car because of the fog and was pronounced dead at the scene. My dad said he did not know if my mom was okay. Some of the ladies in my office were able to peal me off my desk and put me in a back office as I awaited the call. Those few seconds of not knowing if my mom was okay were torturous. I clutched my cell phone with my sweaty palms as I tried to gain control over my sobbing, waiting to hear from my dad. My dad called in what seemed like an eterenity to tell me she was speaking and had injured her foot.

I went home from work that afternoon to sit on my couch and wait for more news on my mom, her friends, and information about the driver who didn't make it. I thought about the finality of death. My mind drifted to a recent story in the news of a famiy that wandered off the path of their driving destination and were lost in the snow. The mom and child were rescued, but the dad was found dead. I thought about how when they found the body of the deceased man, there was absolutely nothing they could do to bring him back. They had the body, but it was useless without the soul and brougth little comfort to the rescued mother and child.

All week I have been praising God for my mother's life. She and her friends escaped death with minor injuries. I love my mom dearly and I cannot imagine my future with out her here. I have also been trying to focus on the real meaning of Christmas in light of this tragedy. The woman hit by the car my mother was in was a mother of five. She is no longer on this earth. Death is such a stinging and painful thing and without Christ is the most hopeless event you can experience. For those without Christ, death means isolation, pain, and darkness for eternity. With Christ, death is still very painful, but there is hope. For those of us who have trusted Christ to be our savior to forgive us our sins and truly want a right relationship with him, when we die we do not have to pay for our sins in an eternity of isolation and pain. Instead, through death we meet our creator and we are not punished for our sins because we accepted Christ's death on the cross as payment for them. I talked to my mom yesterday and she found out that the parents of the lady who was killed became Christians at her funeral. Even in death, with Christ there is hope.

This Christmas, I praise God for my mom's life, and I also praise him for sending his son Jesus who conquered death so that we might live eternally.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:16-21

There's Just Somethin' in the Water

It seems like seminary is a breeding ground! I can't count the number of baby showers I have been to since I have been here and each is special in its own way. It's always exciting to hear about someone who is expecting. This picture is of a shower for my friend Jaimie (she's the one holding the cake). We had fun enjoying snacks, playing games, and oohing and aahing over her new baby gifts. Jaimie is having a little girl and is due early February.

On a more somber note, several of my friends here have also had miscarriages. My husband and I were discussing last night how common they are and yet how tragic each one seems. After seeing a couple of my friends morn the loss of an unborn child, I am saddened for them and also made aware that while the baby was not born, the baby was a human life. How else can one explain such grief over a loss of what some scientists would say is only a "group of cells." The unborn child is still a child and has reason to be grieved when lost.

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Christmas Parties

Rocky and I have enjoyed being a part of several get togethers here in Louisville. To the left is a picture of us at a Christmas party for my office. We enjoyed a main course of steak and a yummy dessert of peppermint icecream with chocolate sauce. It was a nice time to chat with co-workers in a stress-free environment.

Here we are enjoying time with our co-workers.

Here I am with a few of my co-workers. Hilliary (second from the right) hosted a cookie swap for all the ladies at her house. It was a great time as we chowed down on appetizers and 2 delicious soups she had made. And of course we had tons of cookies!! We also played my favorite game, Cranium!!

This is me with my co-worker and good friend Jaimie, we were being silly at the cookie swap!

Our 1st Black Friday

Rocky and I had a great time with his family over the Thanksgiving holidays. We arrived at his mom's house Tuesday evening and of course she had so many goodies ready for us. She fixed us a feast on Thanksgiving and we enjoyed spending time with her and Truett. We even exchanged Christmas gifts.

Then came BLACK FRIDAY. Neither Rocky nor I had ever braved the crowds on black Friday morning. We decided we would give it a whirl this year so at the crack of 4:30 a.m. we were up and ready for the sales. As my husband will tell you, I'm not much of a morning person, but shopping is great movitation. I was up and at 'em a little quicker than him. We got in the car and drove into the freezing cold black morning. Traffic seemed light so I expected not too many shoppers were as dedicated as we were to get up so early . . . that is until we passed Wal-mart and saw that there wasn't a vacant parking spot on the lot. We headed our merry way to the department store, breathing a sigh of relief that Wal-mart wasn't our ending destination.

Once at the department store I decided wade into the shoe department. I say "wade" because there were so many people and shoe boxes everywhere you could not simply walk through. After waiting on a clerk to assist me for around 30 min., I decided it wasn't worth the wait for the $30 discount, I was earning my discount by the dollar just standing in line!!

I headed to the home department upstairs . . . JACKPOT. All the Christmas decor was %60 off. I smiled to myself at my good fortune as I thought about all the suckers who were still sleeping and missing such great deals. I walked out of the department store a champion with my tree skirt (originally $60) , gold angel, and bed sheets. What a score.

Afterwards, we went to sleep for a good few hours, and headed to Rocky's dad's. He has a beautiful home on the water. We enjoyed lounging in the semi-warm Mississippi temperatures just talking and playing with the dog. It was great to see Rocky's dad and just spend time with him.

Engagement

My friend Shelley got engaged this weekend. I am very excited for her as she has found a great Godly man to spend her life with.

Hearing of her engagement brought back wonderful memories of when I became engaged to Rocky. It was such a wonderful time. Congrats Shelley and we all look forward to meeting Andy!

Buddy the reindeer

My friend Jaimie gave us this outfit for our dog, all he needs is antlers and he reminds me of the dog on The Grinch.

Birthday Bowling

If you have ever been bowling, you know that luck plays a large part of your final score. Saturday night my husband and I went out for a game of bowling with 6 other couples (for a total of 14 people). I was in a battle against the birthday girl (pictured center in black) for last place. I was begrugingly in last place for the entire game until the very last set I bowled a strike, and then I bowled another strike, and then I knocked down all the pins except two. It was quite suprising, especially for me! Also, I did not end up in last, but I came in second to last with a score of 67.

Pictured are several of the girls from my church, bible study, or other friends from the seminary. From left to right is me, Jamie, Josie, Jaimie Z. (the birthday girl), Lori, Jenny, and Ashley. Jaimie Z. and Jenny are both pregant. There is definitely something in the water around here.

Before the game, Rocky and shot some hoops in the arcade with a few of the couples. While Rocky beat me in bowling (he was 2nd overall), I kicked his tale in basketball with a total score of 80.

A Woman's Choice

Thursday night my husband and I got all fancied up for a banquet to raise funds for the local crisis pregnancy center. We had a great time dining with some close friends of ours, Ashley and Chuck Flurry (pictured). The highlight of the night was supposed to be the guest speaker, Richard Dobson, son of Dr. James Dobson. Because the state of Colorado was having an October blizzard, he was unable to make it. So instead of Mr. Dobson, I would say the highlight was hearing from a young girl who was saved from making the only choice she thought she had, abortion. This young woman, we'll call Stacy, found herself in a crisis pregnancy and an abusive relation. Stacy left this abusive relationship and came to A Woman's Choice Resource Center where she received advice from loving counselors who showed her abortion was not the only choice she had, she could also choose not to abort and to keep her baby. I had a hard time holding back the tears as she described the hopelessness she felt. Before she came to the center, Stacy said she felt she had nowhere to go but down and was ultimately considering suicide. The center directed her to their sister facility, Necole's Place. Here, Stacy was able to receive her G.E.D. and pursue other classes in cooking, parenting, fitness, etc. When asked to describe her current hope, she had a hard time getting out the words. From going to feeling hopeless and without a purpose, Stacy now felt smart and as though she could really be someone, including a mother.

Another key speaker was Leigh Ann. Leigh Ann and I both volunteer at A Woman's Choice Resource Center located purposefully across from Kentucky's only aborton clinic. Leigh Ann volunteers at the center in hopes to keep women from making the same choice she made. When Leigh Ann was in college she found herself pregnant after only being with a guy one night. She and her mom went to her minister for advice, Leigh Ann was shocked to hear her minister say he thought she should abort. Leigh Ann described the painful experience of having her minister driving her and her mom to the abortion clinic. She said she felt so confused and the proceedure was so physically painful. In addition, the doctor and nurses were very cold towards her and the receptionist told her to stop crying. While the physical pain was terrible, the emotional pain she felt was almost unbearable. Leigh Ann said she still has to live with the consequences of her decision and the memory of what happened. Now Leigh Ann uses this experience to educate other women about the trauma of having an abortion.

So many women do not know the truth about abortion. It is not a one time decision that will be forgotten later. It is a decision that affects the life of the person who chooses to abort, thereby taking a life. Short-term it may seem the easy answer, but long-term it will be haunting. For more information on A Woman's Choice please visit their website: http://www.awomanschoice.org

Huber Farms

Rocky and I had a great time this weekend out at Huber Farms. For those of you not from Louisville, KY I would love to tell you about Huber Farms. This place is quite the production. We first went to the Winery where they have all sorts of wine (I sampled the Strawberry wine because I love that song!). The live music was a sort of jazzy/80's mix and we enjoyed listening to the sounds of the guitars and drums outside in the perfect 65 degree weather. It wasn't too cool and yet not to hot either (If you have ever seen Miss Congeniality then you will remember the question "Describe the perfect date," and she says, "April 25th, It's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.") Well, it was that kind of perfect date. After lounging outside for a while we decided it was time to pick out our pumpkin straight from the patch. The farms also boast of having apples, broccolli, and cauliflower to pick. We decided to stick to pumpkins. We boarded the hay ride and took the bumpy road to the patch. Rocky didn't want to stick around and look at all the pumpkins like I did. We found one we both liked pretty quickly, but I wanted to keep looking just in case we over looked the perfect one. So we boarded the hay ride and went back to the farms.

After we left the winery side of the large farm, we went to the restaurant side. For those of you in my sorority, the fried chicken we ate was just as good as the kind Bobbie Gene and Metta made! I sure do miss that fried chicken. We also had dumplings, green beans, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, and the best fried biscuits and apple butter you've ever had. Yummo! as Rachel Ray would say. If any of you would want to visit us here in Louisville we would love to take you to Huber Farms. We definitely had a great time!

This is Ridiclous!!

Okay, so I know this isn't the most exciting blog, but I had to post some cute pictures of our dog Buddy. He really is a very funny dog and I try not to love him too much. (Sometimes it scares me how attached I am to this animal.) I mean, it really is ridiculous how many pictures we have of Buddy. You would think he is our kid or something! I am sure once we do have kids he will be in a lot less pictures. Can anyone else relate? I don't want to be that girl that only ever talks about her pet. Anyways, here are the pics!

Welcome to Our New Blog

Hi! Thanks for visiting our blog. This is our first posting so enjoy. . . . We have both been very busy
the past year and a 1/2. Rocky is really enjoying his classes in seminary and is working towards his Masters of Divinity. Suzanne is working at a commercial real estate agency to help him get through school. ha! Rocky also works part time at a medical billing office.

We had so many changes to go through when we first got married. A new city, new jobs, and a new church. We have slowly adjusted and are trying to fit in here. Louisville really is a great city and we find many things we enjoy here. We love going for runs in the gorgeous parks. We also like to go to the different festivals here, such as the Balloon Glow, and the minor league baseball games (seen below). The team here is the Louisville Bats.

We have now joined Ninth and O. Baptist Church (named for the intersection of the church's previous location). We really like our church and Rocky is the small group leader for our Sunday school class. This weekend our small group is headed out to Huber Farms to pick our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch there.

In May we had a great time celebrating our 1 year anniversary. We were able to stay at Suzanne's parent's beach condo (pictured top left). We also had a wonderful time in May at the Kentucky Derby (shown to the right). Rocky's mom took us and it was really fun to get all dressed up. The derby is quite the experience and we both really enjoyed it. Rocky's mom went home the big winner as she picked the winning horse, Barbaro.

In June, we got a dog! We love our new dog buddy. We got him from an animal rescue league and he is only 2 years old. One of Suzanne's friends told her about the need for this dog to have a home. Buddy is a Jack Russell Terrior and is very calm despite the nature of the usual JRT. He is great company for Suzanne when Rocky is in class and Rocky loves to play catch with him.

Look for more posts from us soon!

Suzanne and Rocky