My new stage....

Ok so I have blogged about a lot of things over the past few years....medical issues, family fun, crazy military happenings, and more. That I know of I have ever blogged about my love life, but that's about to change.

I have been talking with Brian Kingston for about two months and we have been a couple for around three weeks. He lives in Conway, AR, which is about seven hours from St. Clair. Needless to say we don't get to see each other often, but have both found ourselves on the road a little more these days. We are discovering how amazing God is when you wait on his plan for your life and let him write your love story. I couldn't have imagined a sweeter story or a better timed plan. He has truly blessed us in this relationship and we are trusting him to lead us as this relationship grows.

We are enjoying getting to know each other over the phone (good thing we both have nation wide!), but have recently been able to spend some time together with his family one weekend and then this past weekend on a church float trip.

I think the thing I find most fun is comparing Brian to my dad...shhh...don't tell him I do that! No really, they are so similiar it is funny. My sister, Meagan, took this picture of us standing down watching some kids play in the river. What the picture doesn't capture is Brian using the kids to illustrate a Biblical point to me...a quality I adore! Even when we are just relaxing and chilling, he is teaching and guiding me, helping me grow in my Christian walk.

Now we are not always being spiritual...don't get it wrong. Pretty sure that Brian is making fun of my fire building skills here. (LOL, just kidding...but I had to dig and twist somewhere or yall wouldn't know it was me.) We had a great weekend, but it ended way too soon.

Brian is pastoring a home church that meets at his house in Conway, so he had to make it back for service on Sunday. Though the weekend was short, the memories are priceless and we are just getting started.

forever....

Ok so I know that it has been forever and to be honest it is going to be just a little while longer....

I wish I had some pics to throw up here to show you all that God has been doing lately, but I have been so busy with living His crazy, wonderful plan that I forget to take pictures.

I am raiding some of my famiy and friends picture collections today, so hopefully by tonight I will hae some to show ya.

Hang on....

Prayers

Over the last few day, I have started to learn a couple of lessons. Most of which, I have been taught many times before, but I seem to forget.

These lessons are on the power of prayer. To be honest, I would love to say that during my last bout with my medical craziness that I have felt all of the prayers that I know are being offered up on my behalf. The lesson I have learned is about my prayers.

I was sitting in the emergency room pleading with God to help me in my pain that seemed to be increasing by the second. I paused for nothing other than the intensity of a pain shooting through my head. When I did, I heard a slight gasp from the bed on the other side of the curtain. What I hadn't realized in all of my groaning and crying out to God was that another person had entered the ER and was in just as much pain as I. I was taken back and humbled at the fact that I had Jesus to get me through this horrible situation that I was by myself in, yet the person in the next bed might not.

Not at all of myself, I began praying for the people around me that I could hear in pain. As I did, I felt it. Not the prayers of others washing over me, but the peace in knowing that Jesus was there and working. I found in my most desperate situation that the less I concentrated on myself and my pain, the less I felt hopeless and paniced. The more I offered up prayers for others that were hurting, the more I felt comforted and held in the arms of my Lord.

This is a continual lesson for me and one that I am sure to have to learn time and time again. I wouldn't have chosen to go through the situation that I did, but without it I would never have learned the invaluable lesson of setting yourself aside and utilizing precious pray for others.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

16Rejoice evermore.

17Pray without ceasing.

18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

School time = Spanish Time

Hola, mis estudiantes! No puedo espera a empezar para esta tiempo de leciones de espanol. 

So it is just about time to get back to school and I am picking up a few students for spanish lessons this semester. If anyone is interested, please let me know.
I do hour long lessons that are all designed according to the children that I am teaching. I am willing to teach up to six chilren at a time. I do charge for my lessons. Below are my prices and list of supplies that your child might need in my class.

Class Times available on Monday and Wednesday mornings and afternoon.

Cost:
Eight week semester: $20 for up to three children, each additional child will be $3 extra.
For a weekly payment plan: each child will be $3 a lesson.

Each child will need the following supplies:
crayons
pencils
index cards


I think that is about it. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Nature of Australia

These are just a few of the incredible flowers that fill the country of Australia with their beauty. They appear in random places, along the side walks, in the parks, and around the country side.

There are way too many to post. So here are just a few more...some are just too interesting and beautiful to leave out!



I tried to grow these in "my" garden when I was a kid...just thought it was cool to see what they were supposed to look like! LOL mine did come up, but didn't look quite this good.



Blue Mountains, Australia

These mountains were beautiful. They had legends and stories attached to many of them. To be honest they reminded me a lot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The colors and the size of the mountains make them very close in comparison to the Rocky Mountains.

I liked all of the attractions that they had for tourist there. There was a skywalk that had a glass bottom. It took you across a gorge allowing you to see everything from a great vantage point. As it pulls across the gorge, there is a guide pointing out a lot of the sights that you can see.

 

After the skywalk, we took the world’s steepest tram down the mountain. To get into the cars of this tram, you have to squat down then step in and sit. You are caged in on all sides, but the one that you climbed into the car on. There is no seat beat only a bar to rest your feet on. About a minute after you start, you realize that they didn’t put that bar there to rest your feet on. You have to stand on that bar to hold yourself up. The tram flies at a parallel angle down the side of the mountain with you practically standing within the cage to stay up right.

 

Once you make it down the mountain, you are in the Australian rainforest. The air is crisp and clean. Beautiful doesn’t describe the amazement that is felt by what you see around you. The trees are all enormous and you can’t take a step without seeing something that you just have to look at. There are trails that weave around inside of this forest. They have signs up pointing out a lot of old mining equipment that is lying on the side of the mountain. With the signs, they have left up a miner’s cabin so that you can see what most of them lived like back then. The rainforest trail ends at the platform for the cable car that takes you back to the top of the mountain.

Termite Nest!



Part of the 900 steps we decided to walk down, only to realize that we had to go right back up!

It was great to be out of the city and back in nature, a different nature than here at home. Though it was a two hour train ride, it was well worth it.