CELEBRATING:

Bill (Anna's Dad), Terry (Russ' Dad)

These are two amazing men.  Both Russ and I have fathers that provided and loved for us growing up....and still do!!!  These men would do anything for us.....and I know that they will do the same for LUCY.  She will be one SPOILED little girl with these two around.  

Russ, Happy Father's Day to you.  While Lucy is not with us yet....she is already a part of us.  You will be an amazing Dad.  You love me so well so it will only be natural for you to love her well.  I cannot wait to see the two of you together.  I have dreamed of that image a million times...and I am getting closer to actually seeing it :) Thank you for making life more fun.

REMEMBERING:

Tom Cornelius "Pop" (Anna's grandfather)

Tom Burchfield "Granddaddy" (Anna's Grandfather)

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother..." 

- Theodore Hesburgh

These two did that well.  They loved my grandmother's well.  I miss them both so much.  It still hurts to see my grandmother's missing them but am so thankful for their example. Both of their marriages taught me so much about what I wanted in a marriage.  They exhibited friendship, love, and servanthood...which Russ and I strive to keep in the forefront of our marriage.

Happy Father's Day.

Happy 5th Anniversary to Us

Russ and I celebrate 5 years of being married today. Our journey together has been an amazing one....full of ups, downs, friendship,  fun, and laughter. 

I thank God for the joy He has given me through this man.  I am cherished, adored, loved, supported, and cared for.  I thank God I married my very best friend.  This life would not be quite as fun without him in it :)

"Love is friendship set on fire." ---Jeremy Taylor

Song of Solomon 8:7

"Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away."

Run Forrest Run

Russ and I both ran the Gumtree 10 K race on Saturday.  Let's just say his goal was to finish faster than his previous race....mine was just to run the entire race and finish.....without throwing up :)  We both achieved our goals!!!!  And it was actually fun.....sort of.

Happy Anniversary!

Russ and I have known each other almost 9 years. And I must say...I have loved him from the beginning.

I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and there was a quote from Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth. When asked how long he had loved Elizabeth he said, " I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun." No words could better describe how my love for Russ started. I think he would feel the same way.

Yesterday we celebrated being married four years. While I cannot believe that it has been that long, I must say it has been a journey. An amazing journey. Seeing our relationship grow and change deepens my trust in our God that put it together. While I cannot wait for the many years to come...I will start with today. I will love him harder, hug him longer, and serve him more today all the while knowing that he is doing the exact same for me. What a true blessing.

I love you, Russ!!

waiting

I have known of Jesus for a long time now. I would even go as far to say...I know Him well, or so I thought. For the last 2 months now, I have been on a journey of knowing Him better. I have known for a while now that my perceptions of Him were not accurate. While, we can never fully know and comprehend who Jesus is...my perceptions of Him have been off. There are people in my life and things that I have heard that have pushed me to see God as someone that likes to push me around and tell me what to do. I have also had this intense feeling of not being good enough. Now, while I must say--we will never be good enough...forcing myself to try and be good enough takes away the need for God sending Jesus and for His redeeming grace.

"Be still and know that I am God" has been a verse God has shown me for the last year. This year I feel like He is calling me to "be still and know Him." That's right--learn to know WHO He is instead of who I perceive Him to be in all of my insecurities.

I have tried to put into words the way that I feel sometimes. As I watched a beautiful sunset this week, the vision came to me. I am a bride at the alter waiting for my husband to show up. In this vision--my husband is Jesus. I wait anxiously, nervously, wondering if He will show up. Am I good enough, did I do everything right, am I beautiful enough, did I wear the right dress, did I say the right things? What if I am not.

Then the most beautiful words were spoken to me. "Anna, I will always show up. You will never be good enough but that's okay. Enter into this love relationship with me. Let me be the lover of your soul. I've covered all the bases..I sent Jesus."

And then...I opened up my Bible and this verse was there on the pages...in all His glory.

Hosea 2: 14- 16

"But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her form her captivity in Egypt. When that day comes, "says the Lord," you will cal me 'MY HUSBAND' instead of 'MY MASTER.'

So, this year, I long to continue on this road of seeing Jesus as a husband instead of a master. How freeing to take the pressure off of me and how good I am and place it on Him--the only one that is perfect and loves perfectly.

anna

Surprise, Surprise

Russ and I always take a night before Christmas to spend with each other. The holiday's can get crazy and we love spending time with just each other! So, this year we went to Pickwick to our friend's cabin. We spent two nights and did nothing but rest, eat, and watch Christmas movies.

We took our Christmas gifts and opened them on the first night. Russ surprised me with a new camera!!! I was shocked...I had mentioned it but didn't expect to get it. He had told me that we were just going to get each other a little something. So, I followed that rule. I got him a t-shirt from his favorite tv show and a book. Then, I open the camera from him. He is so sweet and I am so thankful for the husband that he is. While we love gifts, we are mindful that this time is to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Say my name, Say my name

We have a name for the dog.... Molly. We have been calling her that but thought we might come up with something better. We didn't. So, the name is sticking. Please start praying now for the day we find out we are having kids. Apparently, Russ and I don't agree on names. I looked up the meaning of Molly here
Gangster's girlfriend..too funny!!

Twilight at Midnight

I have three things to say:

1. I have a wonderful husband that always tries to make me happy. I thought Twilight was sold out at midnight. He had me two tickets AND he used one of them to go with me.

2. Edward = fabulous. So much fun to have the characters played out on the screen exactly as I had imagined them.

3. The movie was average. The book was better, as usual. Don't see the movie until you read the book.

That is all.

New addition

Last Saturday Russ and I were at Crackel Barrel eating breakfast. I had the thought, "maybe we should get a dog." But I didn't say anything because I usually change my mind about this subject about 3 seconds after I have the thought. About that time, Russ said, "we should get a dog today." We discussed it and decided we needed to get our fence fixed before getting one.

Fast forward two days.

My friend Jessi texts me while I am at work and says that she found a homeless dog that really needs someone to live with. I told her to call Russ, confident that he would say no.

I come home to Russ snuggling with the dog in the garage. He has bought it everything it would ever need. Food, treats, leash, collar, bowls, etc. Next thing I know we have a doghouse and we are walking the dog around the neighborhood. As we walked, and Russ talked in baby voices to the dog, he did tell me that we could get rid of the dog if I wanted. Right. He also used the line that we had been praying for an orphan and this was God's answer. Right.

We cannot agree on a name. Any suggestions???

Night with the husband

Well, I leave at 6 in the AM for China!! I have had a wonderful day seeing and talking to people that I love. I have the most wonderful friends and family that are so supportive. I love you all!!!

Tonight, Russ and I are in Memphis spending the night so that he can take me to the airport at 4 am. We are at the hotel enjoying the two things below. How great is it that you can lay in the bed and order pizza on the computer!!

Please continue to pray for our team as we meet in Chicago. We leave Chicago around noon tomorrow and should land in Beijing around 2 am (cst).

I appreciate your prayers so much! I must get back to my husband and scrubs now. I am going to miss him sooooo much!!!

Anna

my so-called life

I am not a great writer nor do I know how to spell (just ask Emily who revised all of my papers) but I do know how to share honestly. While I don't keep up with this blog often...I do think that it is a great way for us to be linked to people we may or may not know. Here's a little bit about us. Russ and I live in Tupelo, MS. He is the Junior High Youth Pastor at this church. I am the education/activities director at a girl's home in town.

We have been married for 3 years and get the question "Isn't it about time for you to have kids." AND YES--we fully realize most people that are married for 3 years start to have kids by now. But, we are not about doing what is expected of us...even though it has taken me 26 years to have the guts to do what I want not what others expect. I am a former perfectionist that has realized in the past 3 years that the attempt at perfection is both exhausting and no fun. God can do so much more in your life when you let go and let Him work. So, I have jumped as far across the line the other way as I can.

Now, back to kids. We feel like God is calling us to adopt our first child. We have gotten every reaction to this. We have heard statements such as "you don't want to do that--you want to have one first and see how you like it and then maybe adopt later" to "oh, so you can't have kids." I was very judgmental at first towards people that made these comments but now, with a LOT of help from God, realized that adoption is not talked about enough.

Basically, last September we felt God revealing to us that we should adopt instead of me birthing our first child. I will fill in the details in other posts but for now He is calling us to wait. We are not sure at this time where our precious child will come from but we trust in God's goodness and faithfulness. He has shown us the outcome (a precious child) so we must trust that He will give us the steps to get there.

anna p.