ICE ICE Baby...

Well it has definitely been an interesting past couple of days in NWA. We have experienced one of the worst ice storms in decades in Northwest Arkansas. NWA is so beautiful and the damage that has been done will be noticeable for years. People are still without electricity and could be without it for days. I am so thankful ours has been on for most of the time, but was out all night last night and this morning. We actually just got it back 30 minutes ago.

I won't lie, it has definitely been nice to have a couple of days at home. I have loved being iced in with Marc. He has done such a great job taking care of us by keeping the generator going and the fire lit! I'm so thankful to have my very own handy man!

Earlier today we drove around and could not believe the damage done. We could not even get down several streets. It looks and sounds like a war zone. You can hear the trees and ice crashing down. I'm very thankful no trees fell on the house or on our cars! Praise the Lord!

Anyways, here are some pics for those that don't live here:

Our tree in the beginning

2 hours later...

The Next Day- Hopefully it will live!

Killer Icesicles

Tree in our backyard- before

After:

After:

So sad

Deer in a field by our house!



I know one thing, I know that I am very thankful for a warm house and electricity. I didn't realize how spoiled we really are in America!

Marriage Enrichment

I feel like I have been learning a lot about this lately. I have loved hearing and attempting to learn more about Marriage Enrichment. So I felt compelled to share the wealth! Sorry for the lengthiness.

This past semester in our community group we did a book called "Dream Team, The Power of Two" by Tommy Nelson. It was a great "back to the basics" study about marriage. It is a workbook so it would also be a great tool to use as a couple and then discuss. Our group absolutely loved it. It was an easy read and brought up great little reminders for all of us. The greatest thing that I took away from it was the reminder that I need to be an encouraging wife instead of a nagging wife. I need to encourage all the time whether I am with him or not. I was also reminded that I need to never talk negative about my spouse in front of anyone! I now understand how disrespectful and devastating that can be to a spouse

Its only 7.99 so check it out at www.lifewaystores.com

Speaking of encouragement, this leads me to my next thing:

For Christmas, one of Marc's presents was a journal I gave to him. This journal consisted of 30 days of encouragement to him. A girl from my community group shared this amazing 30 day challenge with us. She told us that she did it for her husbands birthday and that he really, really appreciated it. I though to myself, what a great Christmas present this would make for Marc. So I started on Thanksgiving and ended on Christmas day. For 30 days I was not to not say anything negative about my husband, to my husband, or to anyone else about my husband. I WAS only to say something I admired or appreciated about my husband, to my husband, or to someone else about my husband. Each day gave me a topic to think about along with a verse.

One topic was about finances. This one was so easy for me, because Marc is amazing at keeping up with our finances. So that day I made an effort to tell him how much that it actually meant to me that he took care of it. After bringing that up with him, I quickly learned that he thought I didn't care. So again, I learned something about myself that I could start working on to better our marriage.

This challenge was not easy, but made me realize how important encouragement really is. It was a blessing to Marc as well as helped me in my own spiritual walk.

If you would like to view this challenge or print it off, you can go to:

http://www.reviveourhearts.com/challenge/

They have several others to choose from as well.

Lastly, my church, Fellowship Bible Church NWA has been doing a Marriage Enrichment series during the month of January. They have had 2 guest speakers, Gary Oliver and Greg Smalley. (which are 2 very amazing speakers and are also JBU professors). I have attended 2 of the sessions and let me tell you they are nothing short of incredible. It has just been a wealth a knowledge for me. Gary and Greg received a grant from the state to start this program called "NWA Healthy Marriages," it has grown tremendously over this past year. Click here for more details! They have an awesome Valentines banquet coming up that they speak at. Marc and I went last year and loved it!

Anyways, all that to say you and your spouse should definitely listen to the podcasts available on Fellowships website. It could be an amazing tool for your marriage or for someone you might know!

Hope all of this info is helpful, I know it has been for us! Happy Tuesday!

Journey over the Holidays

I'm still here! I feel like it has been forever since I have done a post. We were away all during the Holidays. We Loved being able to see all of our families and having almost 2 weeks off work. It was amazing. Our journey of the Holidays started the Sunday before Christmas and did not end until the day after New Years. It was exhausting, but always worth it. Marc and I did Christmas with his mom and step dad in Fayetteville on Sunday, we then did our Christmas Monday night together. Tuesday, December 23rd we drove to Little Rock. We had Christmas with my grandparents and extended family on Christmas eve, then with my parents on Christmas morning. Christmas afternoon we drove to Gideon, MO to visit Keith's (Marc's stepdad) family, then on to Piggott that night. We arrived about 11:30. The day after Christmas we celebrated with Marc's dad side of the family. Then the day after I went to little Rock and Marc stayed in Piggott to hunt. (we do this every year and both love it!)
For New Years we went to my parents lake house and some of our friends met us there. It was super fun and relaxing! We played lots of cards, went 4-wheeling, and shot skeet!

I will let the pics speak for themselves. These were all my faves!