The Most Awesome Grandparents in the World!

I love my grandparents, Gary and Sally Moore aka "Grandmommy and Grandaddy!"  When I was born my parents named me Amanda Sue; my middle name being a namesake to my grandmother's middle name.  Grandmommy kept me during the day the first year or so of my life while my mom worked at the bank. She and I have always been "joined at the hip" since then! When I was 2, (until I was about 6) I started spending two weeks every summer with Grandmommy and Grandaddy after they moved to Goodlettsville, TN.  I have so many memories of staying with them and I can’t believe that I remember so much for being so young!  Grandaddy had a little red car and I remember riding with him to Home Depot one day when he told me that his little car wanted to be a pick-up truck when it grew up! Haha!  Grandmommy let me have pink bubble gum after breakfast so of course I thought she was the best ever! And anytime that I got a boo-boo, there were Minnie Mouse Band-Aids to “make it all better!” My favorite thing in the bathroom was Grandmommy's mirror, that had a magnifying side. I would look into it and constantly flip between the two sides saying, "Big Amanda!" "Little Amanda!" I also became fast friends with their neighbors, Johnny and Cathy Carneal (and their cat, Rusty!).  I would go over to their house and sit on the backyard swing with Cathy and sing songs!  I also loved to help Grandaddy fill the bird feeders and at the same time pour cups full of bird seed all along their retainer wall!  (He “joyfully” pulled the weeds from the sprouting bird seed because I was so darn cute ;))   Grandmommy also said she also used to wait a week or two to Windex the hand prints on the glass front door!!  One summer Grandmommy and Grandaddy put up the first swing set and that’s where I learned to swing all by myself with Grandmommy teaching me to swing my legs, back and forth.  There was a little creek behind their house that we used to go walk along. Grandaddy got a small sailboat and tied a string to it so I could watch it float in the water.   On the other side of the creek were the football fields at Moss Wright Park.  Every 4^th of July, we would have a huge cook out at Grandmommy’s house and sit in her backyard and watch the fireworks taking off from those football fields when it got dark!  I wasn’t a huge fan of them when I was younger and would watch them out her bedroom window. But as I got older, that was my favorite part!! At the same park, there was a yellow metal bridge that went over the little creek that I affectionately named "Grandmommy's bridge!"  And on the journey from Texas to Grandma's house, the blue water tower of Rivergate was always my sign that my wonderful grandparents were only 5 minutes away!! I absolutely loved those summers! And since then, it's only gotten better!  My family lived in their basement for 2 years when we moved to Tennessee until we were able to find a house.  Instead of a house we found 23 acres and decided to split the land between 5 families and build homes. My grandparents have lived 2 doors down from my family for 9 years (I'm pretty sure it's 9!)  They have taken my cousins, siblings and me on multiple trips to the annual Aldersgate conferences and also to Gatlinburg!  They have laughed with us, cried with us, supported us, and most importantly encouraged us spiritually and challenged us to grow closer to the Lord!  I even had the extreme privilege of having my Grandaddy marry Josh and I on August 7th, 2010!  It was definitely one of the most memorable days of my life to date!!  

I can't say enough about my grandparents. They are two of the most special people in my life and I absolutely love them with all my heart!!

I love you Grandmommy and Grandaddy!!!

January 23rd, 2011 - Today I'm thankful...

1. For photosynthesis! Was reminded in church this morning how important that little process is to human life and how we take it for granted!

2, For Long Hollow Baptist Church - we're sure going to miss it when we move!

3. that we got to see Pawpaw, Josh's grandfather, today!  It was a nice unexpected (we didn't know til a couple days ago) visit.

***Disclaimer***  

I had to think of something positive for this complaint of mine.

4. That I have legs that work, so I can go work out at 5am.......still trying to think happy thoughts! lol

5. That God is faithful, even when I'm not.  Amen!!

Today I'm thankful....

1. For almonds and dark chocolate chips.....I'm seriously addicted to these now!!

2.  For God's financial provision! He always comes through for us!

3. For the games Yahtzee and Farkle....because I love playing them with Clara, Emily, and Mark! They're such cute kids!!

4. For Rayna Wooley, Carmen Willey, and Brittany Cameron - my "Army wife" girlfriends! I have a feeling we're going to be friends for a very long time!!

5. For Cranberry Pomegranate Green Tea...love it!  <3

Getting ready

It's nearing the end of January and I'm realizing that we only have, probably 4-5 months left in Tennessee!  I have lots of emotions...I'm scared, nervous, sad, happy, ready for adventure all at the same time.  Josh will commission May 5th, and graduate May 6th.  Right now we know nothing after that, so some days it just really bugs me to not be able to plan for the future.  The next step after graduation is BOLC, or Basic Officer's Leadership Course (for friends and family who don't know military terms!) and we won't know what date he gets for that course until April!  Which makes it very hard to plan! The earliest date possible is sometime the first week of June, which would mean we will leave around May 20th.  (which I'm now realizing is less than 4 months now! Aaaahh)  We do know that we will be headed to Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK, just not sure of the exact moving date yet. Training at Ft. Sill will last about 5 months and then we are hoping to be headed to Ft. Hood, TX after that for our permanent station. We also won't know what our permanent station will be until March or April.  Josh has put in an ADSO  (Active Duty Service Option) for that station which hopefully gives us a better chance to get it.  Basically an ADSO just means that you give the Army a certain amount of years on top of your existing contract (4 years upon graduation) to try and secure a spot at the duty station of your choosing.  So if the Army decides to use Josh's ADSO we'll be up to 7 years committed to the Army! Which is really nothing, considering he's planning on staying in for 20+ years and then retiring!  

So now my "packing mind" is starting to kick in and I'm looking around our 483 sq. ft. apartment trying to mentally/physically group things together to make packing easier!  When I was single, I usually re-organized and went through everything probably every 3-4 months.  We've been married almost 6 months, so I guess I'm due for a little re-organizing!  With the snow day and my day off from work, that's what I plan to do; spring cleaning and re-organizing!  The thought of packing/unpacking and moving hundreds of miles TWICE in less than 7 months is a little daunting, but I think I'm up for the challenge.  Since we've been married, I just feel a new sense of strength and independence (getting used to trying to do and take care of things on my own without running to Josh for help) which I guess is just God's way of preparing me for the day when Josh is gone for a year at a time and I have to do things by myself!  

Even though May 20th seems very close, we are really hoping that we get the earliest date possible for BOLC.  Because after graduation, Josh won't start getting paid until we get to Ft. Sill.  So if we don't get a BOLC date until July or August...that's 3 months with no pay check....which reeeeeeeeally scares me when I think about it!  That will really be a test of my faith if it comes down to that.  Because even now I'm telling God, "Lord I trust you, but I sure do hope you provide for us!"  There's a little bit of that Israelite-itis I was talking about the other day! Haha!  For now we're just trying to stay on budget and save money in the case that we end up with no paycheck for several months. 

Well I guess I better get off the couch and go clean now!

It's on my mind right now....

If it's on my mind right now, I like to write it down so I don't forget it later!  A few things that I'm thankful for....

1. For paper goods.....instead of complaining about not having a dishwasher, I'll just go to Sam's and buy a stack of 200 plates and cups! lol  So very convenient and worth the few extra dollars!

2. For the moments when Josh and I get to have our daily devotions together! Not only does it draw us closer to the Lord, but helps us draw closer in our relationship as well!

3. For Josh helping me stay motivated to work out!  I'm hoping to reach my goal weight and be able to buy a new dress for the military ball in April!

4. For American idol auditions to laugh at!

5. For a job that I absolutely love! I love being a nanny!

Happiness vs. Joy

Romans 5:13 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

During this stage of our marriage. Josh and I are learning to trust God for things that we don't understand or for things that we can't plan for.  (of course this is most likely not a stage but something I need to get over and get used to!)   Some things have not gone the way that we had hoped they would and we have struggled with being happy in our present circumstances.  But over the past few weeks, God has been reminding me that we can't be happy all the time.  Happiness is a feeling based on circumstances.  If things are going your way then it's easy to be happy! But if Johnny Raincloud comes and rains on your parade, well then things just aren't so great anymore.  Joy on the other hand...joy is something that comes with trusting in the Lord.  A grounded faith produces joy and peace because we know that no matter what happens in our circumstances, God is in control and will always take care of us.  Our joy can never be destroyed.  Happiness is a fleeting feeling, while joy on the other hand is a daily choice we have to make!  When things don't go our way we can't just sit around and pout about it until our "warm fuzzies" come back! And when we trust God in the good and bad, not only are we filled with joy, but we also have hope!  He gives us strength for what we're going through today, but we also have hope for tomorrow and the days ahead!

Most people don't understand this concept, and some just never have a positive thing to say. (We all know someone like this!)  The "Debbie or Donnie Downer" who is always in the dumps, and has an attitude of "woe is me!"  Nothing is ever good, there is no silver lining; and they usually have a way of changing the mood of everyone around them.  Philippians 2:12 says, "Do everything, (that means, EVERYTHING) without grumbling or complaining, so that you may become blameless and pure 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." 

Wow!  If we strive to live like Christ, and decide to not complain about everything then we will shine among others like "stars in the sky!"  I hope that I can maintain an attitude of joy, so that others will ask why, even though I'm having an awful day, I can still smile or be joyful.  And I would know just Who to point them to as my source of joy and hope!!  I guess when we do everything as if working for the Lord (Col. 3:23) we're gonna stand out. Because we're not going to be normal!

I guess you could say that gratitude, or thankfulness, could play a role in this new attitude of joy as well.  Because when we truly stop and think about all the things that the Lord has done for us, where He brought us or what He has saved us from, we can't help but be happy about that!  Sometimes we get Israelite-itis.  The Lord did so many wonderful things and miracles for them, yet they were too soon to forget them.  They were on to the next thing they could complain about. I don't want to be like the, always forgetting what the Lord has done for me. I want to always remember and have overflowing thankfulness for all that He has done!  Countless times in the Psalms, David implores us to "give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love!"  Just remembering what He has saved us from should be enough to be thankful and fill us with joy! 

This next passage stops me in my tracks!

Colossians 1:9-14

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,  and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

All I can say is wow.  I don't know how many times I have read through the New Testament, and yet every time I always glean something new from His Word!   I pray that I may bear fruit in EVERY good work, growing and being strengthened so that I can have great endurance and patience, because only the Lord knows how much we're going to need that in the coming years!

And finally, Psalm 126:3 reminds us, "The Lord has done GREAT things for us and we are filled with JOY!!!

"Well what do you know?!"

I'll explain the title in a minute and also the title of my blog.  The reason for starting this is because I love writing, especially journaling.  I've kept a journal since I was about 10 years old, and the collection of journals I've acquire since are sitting in storage at the moment.  But what fun it is to pore back over what my 10 yr. old self thought was funny and moments that I have cherished in the past 11 years,  and how quickly I forget them sometimes too. For instance, my now 11yr. old sister Clara was my best buddy! I wrote lots of stuff when she was little, of funny things she used to do! One particular entry, I wrote that Clara had started referring to herself as "Morgan" and wanted everyone to call her that! It may have been a phase that only lasted several days, but I'm glad that I wrote it down, because I really don't remember that!!   In another entry I wrote of my enthusiasm for helping Daddy Frank (my great-grandfather) pick beans in his garden, and how I made $60 one summer! Not bad for an 11 yr. old kid!  That's why I love keeping a journal; especially as a reminder of where I've been and how I've grown through trials and joyful times. 

Keeping a blog/online journal will help me as I anticipate the coming years as a wife and mother, but I know that it will not be easy being a military wife.  There will be years when I have to be a "single mom."  But I won't trade it for anything, because I am so in love with the man I married! It will all be worth it!   Which brings me to the title of this post.  Whether or not I expressed this to anyone, I always told myself, "I will never marry someone in the military.  I'm not strong enough, or brave enough, to handle the pain and fear of having a loved one leave for lengths of time and not knowing if they're ok."   And then there was Josh.  It was instant attraction. He's a good looking guy (My 90 yr old great-grandmother, Mama Moore, said she thought he was a real hunk!!)  with a great personality but I was also hesitant because I knew he was in the Army.  My parents were cautious because they wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into if our relationship was going to go any further.   It didn't take very long for my feelings to change.  I wasn't instantly ok with the fact, shoving it aside just because I met a cute guy and don't want to give it up.  I honestly, truly, felt a sense of peace from the Lord and asked myself, "Why would I say, "No," to a man that the Lord has obviously intended for me, just because I might be scared?"  I certainly didn't want to regret that kind of decision.   So after years of telling myself, I would never marry into the military, God said, "Well what do you know?! Look who I have for you, Amanda!"  And I have been at peace with my decision since then.  I look at the story of Gideon in Judges chapter 6.  His family was the least among all the tribes of Israel and he was a fearful man. Yet God chose him to save Israel and told him, "Go in the strength you have...Am I not sending you?  I will be with you!"  Sometimes I feel fearful like Gideon.  But I feel like God is telling me to go in the strength I already have and He will equip me with what I need, when I need it.  Because He is with me! That is such a comforting thought!  The Creator of the Universe is always with me. He will never leave me or forsake me. 
                                                                     

                                                   Isaiah 41:10 says,                                              

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
   do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

 So with that, I feel a sense of peace going forward in this journey knowing that as long as I trust in God for everything I need, He will give me strength for today, and a bright hope for tomorrow.

Josh's cousin Autumn, who is also an Army wife, sent this to me and I just love it!

Recipe for an Army Wife

1 ¼ Cup Patience
1 Tsp Courage
1 lb Adaptability
1 ¼ Cup Tolerance
Dash of Adventure
Splash of Humor

Mix the ingredients with 2 tsp of elbow grease, leave alone for 12 months. Marinate with tears. Sprinkle every so often with money. Season with international spices. Bake for 20 years or until done. Serve with PRIDE!!!

 

New Year's Resolutions

Since it's the beginning of the new year, I figured it would only be appropriate to write about such things as resolutions.  We all make them; whether we all keep them is a different story.  I've always made the typical Christian resolution that I'm going to read the Bible in a year.  I get to the end of Genesis and by the time February comes around, my motivation is lacking.  This year, I wanted to do something a little different.  Instead of making this big promise to myself that I know might be broken in a few weeks time, I decided to do some smaller things that I can work on every day. 

1. Be more thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says to "give thanks in ALL circumstances."  I get so busy sometimes that I just forget to be thankful for the small things.  I have a friend who has started writing down several things every day that she is thankful for.  Not just the generic, "I'm thankful that I have a house," or "I'm thankful I have food," which are very legitimate things to be thankful for!!  But even more specific, she is thankful for things like, "winter - it makes me grateful for summertime!"  Or, "for warm socks!"  That's great!  So if I had to think of 3 things, right now, that I'm thankful for it would be:  1. I'm thankful for music.  It lifts my soul when I'm down, helps me feel closer to God through worship, and helps me clean the dishes faster when I have something to dance to!    2. I'm thankful that I have a Godly husband who loves me so much!!  He truly is a blessing!   3.  I'm thankful for 3M command hooks.  Sure helps in decorating a dorm room apartment when you can't nail anything into the wall!  ...And now I'm beginning to think of more things I'm thankful for, but I only said 3 for now, and will save the others for later!

2. Make an effort to look pretty for my husband.
I must admit that there are days when I just don't care.  It's cold, I don't have to work, and I'd really love to just stay in my sweatpants not caring what I look like.  And that is why I'm thankful for my loving husband who has to look at me like that!  Honestly, I've had this notion in my head for a very long time now, even before I was married.  Something that I just heard my mother and grandmother talk about.  Even though they may have had a long day, they would take a few minutes before dad gets home to make sure their hair wasn't a mess, and to do a quick touch up on their makeup!  I can remember beginning to cook dinner with my sisters and my mom would say, "I'm going to go freshen up real quick before Dad gets home."  I'm sure any guy would appreciate coming home to his wife and know that she took a few minutes just make sure she looks nice, just for him.  (Don't get me wrong, I know that there are "grace days" when kids come along, and the baby pukes on you, the house is a wreck, and you've just "had it up to here!")  But that's my resolution: to just take the few extra minutes to look nice for my husband and show him that I care!


I've never blogged before, and haven't ever considered myself a writer,  but I just thought it might be a fun thing to do, and I already have so many ideas on things to write about!!  So we shall see just how long this will last!