Let's Celebrate!!!

   
  So I've been wanting to blog and share the good news with everyone (like the good book aka the Holy Bible tells us to do), but Casey wanted to make sure everything was finalized before doing so, which was a wise move.  CASEY GOT A NEW JOB!!!!!!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!(Can you tell I'm excited?!) Now let me start off saying, that his current (but soon to be former job) was a job, which we know that alone is a blessing that so many do not have, and it gave us enough money to eat and help pay our monthly bills.  I will always be grateful to God for that, but his job and work environment are not what they were when he first started there 7ish year ago, and the direction it has gone has not been in the positive one.  When we first started dating in December 2010 some nights he would have to work till 7:00 at night (when he would get there at 7:00AM) and then go in on some Saturdays without being compensated for the extra hours since he was a salary employee.  Needless to say this was hard to only see each other for a couple hours on weeknights if we saw each other every day, which we did not.  Plus, when we did see each other, he was exhausted.  Casey really didn't complain (I took care of being irritated for the both of us).  It looked like the only way for things to get better and for him to progress his career any, he was going to have to leave this company.  
     Once we got the resume updated, conditions improved somewhat with such things like him getting off at 6 and the Saturday's he had to work decreased.  So he had hope that maybe he could stay with this job because of the positive changes we were starting to see, but after awhile it just got worse again and clearly Casey was not happy.  We got engaged and began the craziness of wedding planning, merging two lives into one, buying a house,etc.  Given all that chaotic-ness and stress, we decided it probably was best for Casey not to look for a new job because there was just too much other stuff going on.  He actually had an interview with another company during this time, but for reasons it did not work out and that was okay.   The wonderful man he is kept going to this job Monday through Friday (and yes Saturday's again) and it would break my heart when he would tell me on Friday night that he was sad he had to go back there again on Monday morning.  
     Meanwhile, very steadily some of Casey's coworkers were quitting for various reasons, such as going back to school, but there were many that were just moving on to other places.  Now that we were married and living in one house, it was time for the search to begin again.  We prayed very diligently that God would show us where Casey needed to be, and we knew he would answer us, but God's timing and our timing rarely coincide. so we were trying to do our best to prepare ourselves for the long road.  Casey tried looking online for jobs, but he couldn't do it while he at work, and with being there most of the day , he didn't have much time to look on his own. One of his former coworkers who was one of the first to leave this company gave Casey the name and number of a recruiter he had used to find him his next job. Casey contacted him, and after several phone calls back and forth, the recruiter found a job that seemed to match what Casey was looking for.  The recruiter submitted his resume and on July 31st Casey went in for the interview.  (Funny sidenote here:  Casey has to get his boss to sign a form whenever he wants to take vacation, well the morning of his interview that was later that day, this form to take the afternoon off still had not been signed.  Casey went in his boss's office and asked him to sign the form, and his boss jokingly replied back "I'll sign it unless you're going to an interview".  While his boss can not really stop him from interviewing, we also didn't want him to know Casey was looking to leave, so Casey recovered nicely and told him if he was, that he would bring him back something nice!)
    Casey said the interview went GREAT!  He even texted me when he was in the Human Resources area filling out paperwork by himself that there was putt putt outside.  He said everything there seemed really laid back and people seemed like they enjoyed working there, which was a very nice and welcomed change.  This company was very family oriented (YAY!), it's the kind of place where they work hard, but also play hard too.  They told him they had interviewed at least one other person, but were looking to fill the position sooner than later, so at least the waiting game wouldn't be forever, as I am definitely the less patient one of us.  We kept praying that this would work out, but knew if it didn't God had something better planned for Casey.  The following Tuesday his recruiter called and gave us the good news that he had gotten the job!  YAY!  While Casey would have loved to just given his 2 weeks notice then, we decided to wait till we had everything finalized with his new company (background check, drug test, offer letter and other paperwork signed) until he gave his 2 week notice, which he did today.  We are grateful for all that his soon-to-be former company taught him and for the friendships he was able to make over the years, but are looking forward to this wonderful new opportunity God has blessed us with!!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

100 Days of Marriage, 100 Things I Love About My Husband

Today marks Casey and I's entrance into triple-digit days of marriage!  To celebrate the occasion and also do something nice for my husband, I made him a list of 100 things I love about him.

1. I LOVE that he loves the Lord!  
2. He puts a :( on his calendar at work when it's that "time of the month" (Definitely a long week for both of us!)
3. Knows so much about cars, because we will say my knowledge is VERY limited and that is being VERY generous!
4. He makes me laugh!
5. His smile!
6. He cooks dinner pretty often, always a nice treat to see when I walk into our house!
7. He still asks me on dates!
8. He's a fantastic husband!
9. He's a wonderful son, brother, brother-in-law, son-in-law, friend, etc.  It warms my heart to see him care so much about others!
10. He kills bugs!
11. The look on his face when I am more sensitive than usual and start crying for no reason.  The look on his face when this happened the first time was absolutely priceless!!  
12. We read the Bible and pray together every night before we go to bed!  His prayers are very thoughtful and genuine, and how can you not LOVE hearing someone read you God's word?
13. He is very handy!  This boy knows how to build things, drill holes in walls and connects wires so your television can be mounted, and so on!  A huge plus when you have a home of your own!
14. That he knows I must be fed before we start any long road trips, because a hungry wife is a cranky wife!
15. He will take time off from work and then spend 20 hours in a car in one weekend to go to a friend's wedding.
16. He doesn't mind that I talk so long at church.   I have been educated on how to turn out the lights, and usually am the last if not close to the last person to leave.  He told me if I were an Olympian, I would be in the sport of "gab-nastics" and would win the gold easily!
17. He takes care of the lawn! I despise mowing the grass and my brief stint at doing to make some extra money as a child did not result in a very pretty yard by any means!  Even when he has worked hard all day, he will take care of our grass!
18. He remembers anniversaries and my monthly birthdays!
19. He gives excellent massages!
20. He gets me flowers for no reason sometimes other than to say I'm an awesome wife!
21. He is so involved at church from saying prayers or reading Scriptures in Bible class or worship to helping do the podcasts each Sunday at church!  Such a servant's heart! LOVE it!
22. His heart!
23. He tries his hardest to make me happy!
24. He loves ME so much even when I drive him crazy!
25. He works hard at a job that's not the best, but continues to go every weekday and some Saturday's (Ugh!) because he's trying to be a good provider.
26. He's my best friend!
27. He ALWAYS prays before his meals!
28. He LOVES giving!  Whether it's a donation to a charity or buying school supplies for a child at a children's home, he ALWAYS wants to help in some way.
29. He holds me accountable and isn't afraid to stand up to me when I'm wrong!  I don't usually like it, but I do need it!
30. He calls me at least once a day when I'm at work to see how my day is going!
31. He will watch some of my girly TV shows with me!  Not too much, but some is better than none!
32. His favorite day is Sunday because we get to go to church to worship the Lord together!
33. He's very genuine.  You can tell his actions and words are heartfelt and sincere, and that's he not pretending to be something he's not.
34. How much he cares and loves me.  Since our first date, I have never doubted or had to question how he feels about me, which is so wonderful!
35. He tells me I'm beautiful even when I have just had surgery and look like a semi-truck ran over me.
36. I always wish I could spend more time with him!
37. He takes care of me when I am sick.
38. He walks an insane number of steps in the warm Hawaiian sun just to get a sno-cone for his wife!
39. He gets in the freezing cold water late at night just because his wife wanting to go swimming and wear one of the three swimsuits she brought for their honeymoon.
40. He is super laid back, which is a great balance for me!
41. He is overall a very clean boy, which is much appreciated by his wife/roomie.
42. He is extremely patient.
43. He gets along with everyone!!!
44. He asked me to be his wife!
45. He likes to hold my hand.
46. He puts the worm on the hook when we go fishing and will take the fish off for me.
47. He texts me a bible verse every day.
48. He will wash dishes and do laundry without complaining.
49. He knows how to use our BBQ grill and knows how to use it well! Yum!
50. Even after working 10 hour days and being tired from that, he goes to church to work at VBS.
51. He makes me want to be a better person!
52. He is a dog person like me.
53. He cares enough to send the very best with a Hallmark card, and even reads more than one now to make sure he picks out the best card.
54. After God, I am his top priority.
55. He doesn't mind going to preschool graduations, company Christmas parties, college graduations, or choir concerts to support those friends/family members he loves.
56. He constantly tells me I'm the best thing that happened to him!
57. That I get to hopefully grow old with him and then spend eternity in heaven together!
58. He works hard to surprise me, which is something I love, but I know is hard to do!
59. He doesn't mind going to marriage retreats or relationship seminars at church to make our marriage even better.
60. He makes sure we stay in touch with our family and friends and don't go too long without seeing each other.
61. He has taught me to appreciate and enjoy quiet evenings at home.
62. Even though we had only been dating about 3 weeks and he didn't really know my family, friends, or even me that well, he came up to the hospital to visit me every single day but one (which I told him to stay home).  This was not a short trip from work to the hospital, but he was so sweet to visit and scored many points with my family and close friends!
63. He makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
64. He always can see the many blessings God has given him in his life.
65. He is thoughtful!
66. He doesn't complain when I come home late and tired from work that we have frozen pizza for dinner.(Definitely not a proud culinary moment here.)
67. He spends some of his Sears card reward points that he has accumulated over many years to buy his wife a deep freeze.
68. That he ALWAYS gives me a kiss and tells me he loves me before he leaves for work.
69. He opens doors for me and is always the gentlemen!
70. He is willing to apologize if he is wrong.
71. He is very intelligent!  I definitely married a smart one!
72. His skin tone!  He's not pasty pale like his wife, and if he spends some time in the sun, the result is a very nice tan!
73. He comes from such a wonderful family, who I have the blessing of calling my family now!  They seriously are the BEST!!!
74. He makes me smile!
75. He makes me breakfast pretty much every Saturday when he's not at work or we're not out of town.
76. He really does try to listen and understand his wife, which is not an easy task most of the time!
77. He is willing to learn new things.
78. That I get to have a home with him and we get to share our lives together.
79. He is really good about thanking me for all that I do and showing me in return how much he appreciates me!
80. He is really easy to please and appreciates the simple things in life!
81. He always offers to pump gas in my car at the gas station.
82. He gets over being angry very quickly.
83. He's my hero!
84. He's very wise and conscious in how he spends the money God has blessed him with,  He tries to be a saver and doesn't have to spend it just because it's in his wallet!
85. He wants to go to heaven!
86. He's very trustworthy. 
87. He's very good at explaining things.
88. He's very supportive of me and helps me to reach my goals and achieve my dreams. 
89. I always feel safe and secure with him. 
90. He's mine!
91. He offers to help his wife clean the house.
92. He is such a wonderful Spiritual Leader and always willing to serve!
93. When I get into bed, he lets me put my freezing cold feet on his legs to warm them up.
94. He spends 7 hours at Bed Bath and Beyond registering for wedding gifts without too much complaining.
95. He's super sweet!
96. His beautiful brown eyes!
97. He sends me random email, texts, or calls me just to tell me that he loves me.
98. He takes out the trash/recycling pretty much all the time!
99. His commitment to me and making our marriage something that is great and pleasing to God.
100. How much better my life is with just him being in it!

Happy 100 Days of Marriage Casey!

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" 
1 Corinthians 13:13

Squirrel Play-doh!

I thought it was time for a little humor during this early part of the week, so allow me to introduce to you 3 things you would think are not related, but combined gave birth to the idea of "Squirrel Play-doh"

On a roadtrip a couple months ago, Casey was chewing some gum and it had gotten to the point where the flavor was gone and he longer wanted to reside inside his mouth.  Since gum is not great for your digestive system, one would think he would have placed the chewed gum back inside the wrapper it came in or a trashbag of some sorts to dispose of it.  Casey does neither.  What he does do is roll down the window and spit it outside the window along the highway.  I was in a state of shock, because to me I believed that I had just witnessed my husband commit the crime of littering.  We've all seen the road signs Litter is UnlAWFUL!  I told Casey and my Dad who was also in the car, that I couldn't believe he had just littered!  Casey proceeds to tell me that disposing of one's gum while driving is not littering and that he wasn't littering, but giving the squirrels play-doh.  "Squirrel Play-doh?" WHAT?!  I tried to suggest that if squirrels or any other creature tried to eat gum, it would probably be much more difficult to digest and could be fatal.  I was merely told in response that squirrels know not to eat their play-doh.  So next time you see someone throw or spit their gum outside the car window while driving, maybe they are just giving the squirrels some play-doh:)

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

VBS and a Wedding Weekend

     So last week, the Hixon's were BUSY! We had something going on every single night.  We worked during the day as normal, but at night we had VBS at church Sunday through Wednesday.  VBS was fun, but I was definitely glad it was over after 4 nights because I was tired!  Casey helped do the recording in the auditorium, while I helped with the 2 year olds.  Let me clarify the 2 year old boys!  That's right, we didn't have a single girl any night of VBS.  Overall, they did pretty well and the times where there were tears were short lived.  I think we even had a few that remembered we learned about Daniel, which is exciting, because at 2 they are still learning so much and they have never been to VBS before. It went very well and everyone at church (especially our children's coordinator Amanda Archer) did a wonderful job putting it all together!
     Thursday night was busy too because it was spent doing laundry and packing to go out of town for a friend's wedding while Casey mowed the front yard.  Sad to say that night we had a frozen pizza for dinner because there was no time to go to the grocery store or point since we were gone pretty much the whole week.  Friday around lunch we headed out with our traditional stop at Chick-fil-a  (Casey learned very early on in our relationship that I must be fed before starting any long period of time in the car.  I warned him, but he learned the hard way one time that this lady gets very cranky if she's hungry.  He has never repeated that mistake!) and then on to West Memphis, Arkansas!!
     Where is West Memphis you ask?  It's just as the name implies west of Memphis, Tennessee by about 10 minutes.  For us in Houston, it's about a 10 hour drive with a couple food/bathroom stops!  Flying was way too expensive, and I love car rides with Casey because it gives us a chance to talk about all sorts of things.  We went to the wedding of a sister of one of my dear, close friends Melissa (who was a bridesmaid in my wedding) who I became friends with when she would come down to see her sister. You know how you love people's family even though you've never met them or spent much time with them, but just based on the one or two people in that family you do know, you just know that the others are that wonderful too and treat you as a family member too?  That's the Rankin's.  I have met all of Melissa's siblings and parents at various times when they would come to Houston, but this is the first opportunity we have gotten to spend more than just a few minutes with them and what an incredible blessing it was!!  Her parents are probably some of the sweetest people ever and made us feel like we were Rankin's.  Casey and I LOVE the Rankin family!!  The wedding was beautiful (Congrats Scott and Melanie Bryan) and since this was our first wedding since our own in April, Casey and I thoroughly enjoyed serving the role of wedding guest!!!  Have to give props to my husband who helped clean up after the wedding without complaining, which was very nice and meant the world to his wife!!
     When you head 10 hours to go somewhere, that means it is 10 hours back to home.  Boo!  At least we had each other to switch turns driving.  We pulled into our driveway  after driving over 1,000 miles in 2 days at about 7:30 safe and sound, but very tired.  The weekend was great and it was nice to get away, but we were definitely glad to be back at home.

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Bryan!!!

Melanie walking down the aisle with her Dad (aka Daddy Rankin)

Melissa, who made a BEAUTIFUL maid of honor!!!

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Matthew 6:19-21

THANKFUL to be done with Thank You Notes

     Casey and I are beyond blessed to have so many friends, family, and church members from both congregations where we grew up (myself at Memorial and Casey at Champions) to help us furnish our home with the necessities (and then some)!  Literally, our entire master bedroom was full with wedding presents!  A great problem to have!!  Below is a picture after we had 3 showers, but before the wedding.  It was so very generous of everyone to give all that they did, sure makes you feel very loved!

     With many gifts comes many thank you notes!  Actually, more thank you notes than gifts because even though it's a group gift, let's be honest, a group thank you note would be kinda tacky.  My take on it is that even though it may be more time consuming for me to write each individual, that's what has to be done because said person was thoughtful enough to give of their own money to buy us a gift and they also spent time thinking of what to get and going to the store to get it.  Not only do I want to write them a card, but I want it to be more than just "Thank you for the blender.  We really appreciate it!"  I also had like almost 350 of these bad boys to write, so I couldn't realistically write a novel either and get them written in an acceptable time frame.  I know if you ask around most people will tell you that you have a year to write them, but I don't want it to take me to long to write these suckers and the people who gave me the gift have already forgotten what they bought us to begin with.  Plus, I just wanted to get it done and not have it looming over my head anymore, so I could focus solely on getting our house unpacked/decorated.  It's a fine balance to make your thank you card sound like you put thought and effort into it, but not write too much so that you can get the cards in the mail sooner.
     I tried to get as many thank you notes written as possible before the I do's, but me planning my own wedding (I did have help, just didn't have a wedding coordinator is all) I did not have a ton of free time while I was juggling working full-time.  I actually did receive a thank note 2 weeks ago from a shower at church that was done about 6 weeks earlier and I still had not sent mine out when my shower was over 4 months ago.  Oh well!! I did my best and at least I can say now they are all written, just need to add addresses to a few more of them and then those last few stragglers will be out of the house! YAY!!!

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love."  1 Corinthians 16:13-14

HELLO World!

     So I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now, and figured once we were married and through with wedding planning, that my life would allow me some time to do this.  Me being me want this blog to be FANTASTIC!  I so don't want a boring blog!  That being said, there is some pressure then (that I am totally putting on myself) to make this thing entertaining, uplifting, and at the same time educational.  That is right people, I plan to broaden your horizons with my sometimes somewhat twisted thoughts in hopes that more people might jump on my bandwagon and make me seem less like a crazy person, but even if that doesn't happen at least we will both get a few laughs out of this deal!
     As I introduce myself and my blog to the world, let me also apologize for the day when I stop updating it too.  I'm a realist in this instance and know that since I was never good at keeping diaries/journals growing up, that there will come a day where I just stop posting, so in advance I apologize.  Maybe it'll never happen or perhaps I'll be that cool old lady in the nursing home who is still up to date with technology and blog about what they are putting in the prune juice.  Time will tell, but until then I will try to brighten your days with the events of our lives, provide lots of laughter, and give you an idea of what goes on in my head on a periodic basis. 
     My wonderful husband Casey and I have been married for 68 days so far!  Time seemed to go by slow when we were on our honeymoon in Hawaii, but ever since we came back after those incredible 6 days in paradise, time has just flown by!!!  We are so immensely blessed that God brought us together and gave each other the perfect "complement" to our lives.  I never really realized how true and important that was until I met Casey.  I'm high maintenance (unfortunately for Casey) whereas he is super laid back.  I'm proactive and usually get things done as quickly as possible whereas Casey will get it done on time, but definitely waits a little bit longer to start it.  He is SUPER patient, while I would like things to happen as soon as possible. (Sad random fact is that I actually thought I was pretty decent in the patience department, but then I met Casey and he put me to shame!)  The list goes on, but you get the point.  While there are many ways that we are different, the most important things in life we agree on, such as: God is our #1 priority, we need to be like Jesus in all that we do, and cooked carrots are nasty.
     Married life is great, but I'm not going to lie and say that it's a total breeze and no work at all.  It definitely takes a lot of work on both parts to make it work and to help it grow into something even better.  Casey came from all brothers and I just had a sister, so we for sure have had to adjust some living with someone of the opposite sex, which let's be honest is a BIG adjustment for both of us.  We both lived by ourselves for awhile before we got married too, so again another adjustment, but it's going well.  I think we are finally used to the other and their quirks (at least those that we have learned about thus far), thought I know we are far from knowing everything about the other.  
     Me being the very social bee that I am keep us pretty busy, though I try to keep in mind too that my husband likes his down time at home and doesn't enjoy this always-on-the-go philosophy.  With us buying a house in January and me moving in after the wedding at the end of April, our house is still a WORK IN PROGRESS.  I knew it would take awhile, but the more as time goes by and things are getting done, I'm realizing that it's going to awhile till everything has found its place, pictures are hung on the walls, and the major repairs are done.  We'll get there I know, but here is where the impatience comes into play again.
     I realize if I share everything now, that this post will be WAY TOO LONG and then I will have nothing to write next time, so until then I'll leave you with this scripture:

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11