Mancillas Family

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T15:29:00.013-06:00

Our sweet baby girl is almost 8 months old. She is the apple of our eye. We love her so much! There is tons I need to catch up and post. Stay tuned.

Catching Up

2012-01-12T14:38:00.002-06:00

So yeah, it's been a while since I posted something on here. Funny how being a parent leaves you little time for stuff you used to do. However, the stuff we are doing now is so much more fulfilling! So there's been a lot going on since I last typed something up.

Let's go with the ol' bullet point list.

-Started a new job in late November and everything is going great. Really enjoying the challenge and the people and I've learned a lot about the field I am in.

-Olivia is now over 6 months old and I can't believe it! She continues to grow and mature into an amazing little princess!

-We are going to start a Fast this weekend to allow us to re-focus our lives in our faith, marriage and family.

-Small group has grown over the year and we are excited about getting started this new year with a new study that we feel will have a big impact for our group.

Overall, life has been great, always has it's challenges but we are extremely grateful and blessed each and every day! We love our daughter more than we could have ever imagined! We can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year and we can't wait to share it!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-19T11:12:00.005-06:00

I can't believe we haven't posted since late October, where in the world has the time gone? We are enjoying life so much right now. Olivia is 6 months old today, we can't believe it. This is by far the most fun we've had with her yet. She is amazing and makes us laugh all the time. We want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!

Olivia visited Santa this weekend and did wonderful. I sat her on his lap backwards so she didn't know what we were doing. She's out smarted us though as soon as she turned around and made eye to eye contact with Santa it was all over.

A Year Ago Today

2011-10-27T10:07:00.011-05:00

Today marks the anniversary of when we found out I was pregnant. Wow, has time flown by! I'm not going to lie we were so surprised. A week prior I had went on a business trip to San Antonio and was sick the entire time, I didn't really think anything of it. I started having symptoms when I got off the plane. I was so dizzy and just plain sick, I blew it off to bad allergies. While there we had to get on a bus and do an all day tour of restaurants, it was a pre-planning trip for our national sales meeting. The bus we were riding in had seats that sat backwards and I sat in one of those, I literally almost got sick multiple times. One of my co-workers had some Dramamine for motion sickness and asked me to take some but I denied. Looking back now not sure why I didn't take any. The rest of the trip I was just miserable. To make a long story short the following weekend I returned home and decided maybe I should take a pregnancy test. I didn't let Sebastian know. We woke up one morning and I went to the guest bathroom and took the test. I didn't really read the instructions thinking it was probably going to be negative, but to my surprise I looked down and saw this!

Then I grabbed the instructions I had just thrown away and was reading it a mile a minute making sure I did everything correct. I mean it's pretty hard to take one of these tests, right? Ha! I literally was shaking from head to toe and couldn't even speak. I remember going into the kitchen and wanted to call for Sebastian to come in but couldn't even get his name out. He walked in and I said "we're pregnant" all the while my hand was trembling as I showed him my pee stick. So romantic, I know. I was in such shock there was no way I could keep it from him long enough to come up with a great way to tell him. Looking back I feel so bad, I should have made it more special when I told him but in case he found me passed out on the floor I wanted him to know why.

Olivia is the most precious gift we've ever received. We thank God everyday for allowing this pregnancy test to be a positive!

Catch-Up

2011-10-24T12:46:00.031-05:00

Olivia’s 4-month birthday was last Tuesday. She received an A+ from her doctor. She has grown so much, 13 pounds 11 ounces and 25 1/4 inches long. She’s in the 90th percentile for her height, we can’t believe how tall she is.

Olivia, you have so many nicknames now but the ones we use most are Livy and Livy Lu Who. Not sure how we came up with the second one but sounds like it came out of a Dr. Suess book. You have really started growing out of the newborn stage this month and into more of a baby with a personality. You love everyone, even strangers. When we take you out everyone always loves to always stop and talk to you and you just smile away. You’re still not sure about your Grandpa, I think it’s his voice you’re not too sure of. Whenever we get you two together you normally cry until your back in my arms. We are working through it though. The pediatrician said you are doing great with tummy time but would like to start seeing you roll from your back to your stomach very soon.

Hanging out with Grandpa

You are still eating around 5-6 ounces 5 times a day. You still wear 3 month clothes. We finally took you off prevacid and you’re reflux is pretty much gone. You’ve started taking naps in your crib now which is a big accomplishment. Daddy and I love watching you on the monitor when you wake up from naps, it’s just precious to watch you on your own. You’ve found your feet and you love taking off your socks. I still get up quit often during the night to check on you and normally your feet are ice cold because you’ve pulled your socks off. We would love to be able to put you in the footy pajamas but you are so tall that they’re so uncomfortable for you and the big ones swallow you. You’re not a big fan of your bumbo seat, you actually dislike it very much. It’s a little seat that’s supposed to help you learn to sit up but for some reason you find it very uncomfortable. However for your 4-month birthday we bought you an exercauser which you adore. It’s still kind of big for you so with a little help from pillows and rolled up blankets it works great.

You are getting so big and we love every new little thing you do. Mommy and Daddy love it when you know when we walk into the room, you just light up for us. You have really started to chuckle now, its so cute. Daddy can really make you start lauging with all his funny faces and noises. We would love to record it on video but as soon as we bring out the camera you stop and look at us like we're crazy. We think you'll probably start teething soon, you have started drooling a lot and putting everything you find into your mouth. You absolutely love "Sophie" the giraffe, you love chewing and drooling on her all day. I thank God every night for blessing us with an amazing daughter, I couldn't imagine life without you.

This past weekend was your first trip to the pumpkin patch, I wish you would have liked it more than you did. You were very cranky and just wanted to leave. We tried to take a few pictures but weren’t able to get you to smile. It’s ok though, maybe next year you’ll have more fun when actually know what’s going on.

This picture makes me laugh, it shows exactly how the afternoon went. Haha!
Livy's cousins, Cortheye and Cylas
My friend Audra and her daughter Emerie
A few weekends ago we watched the TX/OU game at our friend’s home. Livy and her boyfriend Nate had a great time. Nate is only 2 weeks older than Livy, my good friend and I found out on the same day we were pregnant. I’m so blessed we were able to experience pregnancy together, I couldn’t have done it without her.

Wherever Livy is you'll normally find Buddy. He's still very jealous that Olivia is the new baby at home but I think she's growing on him.Since I forgot to post a pic of Livy with her 3 month sticker, I wanted to add it in. (pic was taken 12 days after her 3 month birthday, oops)

4 Months

2011-10-20T10:53:00.010-05:00

Our sweet little girl turned 4 months old yesterday! I will post more later but wanted to leave you with this precious face.

3 Months Old

2011-09-29T09:31:00.017-05:00

Olivia you are 3 months old! You make your mommy and daddy so proud and happy. You are really starting to get your own little personality now. I love it! You don’t have your next doctor’s appointment until next month so I’m guessing you’re around 11-12 pounds now.

You started sleeping in your own room and have been doing excellent. I still get up two or three times a night just to make sure you’re ok. It seems like you’re so far away from us but you love it. I think you really are sleeping much better in your own room. We normally lay you down around 8pm and you’ll get up around 7:30am. We are so blessed!

You’re finally wearing 3 months clothes, for awhile they were swallowing you. You wear a size 2 diaper and still eating around 5 ounces 5 times a day. We love that you are such a happy baby, the only time you are really fussy is when you’re tired or hungry. Your tummy problems have gotten so much better with the probiotic drops, we can really tell a difference when we don’t give them to you.

Grammy is watching you 3 days a week while mommy goes to work. You’ve been so good for her. I can’t get home fast enough after work to see your precious face.

Tummy time has gotten so much better. You don’t scream anymore when we lay you down. We’ve realized you like to have something underneath your chest instead of lying directly on the floor. When we prop you up you love watching Buddy and Moo walk by. You’re still not sure what these crazy creatures are but you love watching them. You have also gotten so much better about holding onto things, you’re not really grabbing out to reach for things but if we put a toy in your hand you will hold on to it forever. We can’t wait for you to start reaching out for toys and us.

You have really starting to communicate with us more and more. After a bottle you will just sit and talk and talk to us. You can get pretty loud and we just laugh and laugh. Moo gets really scared when you get started, he will run to the farthest room possible to get away.

Bath time is still your favorite time. We are in a pretty good ritual every night. We give you you’re prevacid, bath then bottle. We rock and sing in your room until you start getting tired and we lay you down to sleep.

We’ve started reading to you and you love looking at the pages. There is a new series of books out called “Olivia”. It’s about a little girl pig. We have received several of these books and they are so adorable.

Your second cousin Robert came and visited you in the hopsital when you were born and brought you an adorable pink penguin. We introduced the two of you this past weekend and it didn't go so well.

Olivia, you are the best thing that has ever happened to your daddy and I. We can’t even imagine how we lived life without you. Your smile is contagious and it makes my day complete. I love you more than you will ever imagine. We know God has big things in store for your life.

I'll also leave you with something comical. Olivia is good about letting us take pictures of her but will definitely let us know when she's had enough, this day she really let us know.

2011-09-20T07:57:00.003-05:00

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

I read this earlier this morning and it really hit home. Pastor John has been speaking about Grace for the past month and these verses summed it up for me. God's Grace is sufficient for me, and His power is glorified through my weaknesses and in my times of hardship and trials.

The difficult part about this is that we don't think this way in our day to day lives. We always feel that if we are weak or going through trials, that "we" will figure out a way out of them. It never works out that way. We must seek wisdom from God at our weakest moments and allow His Grace to work in us and bring forth the salvation that we need.

Father, forgive me of my sins and have mercy on me when I feel like I am able to do things on my own. Humble me by teaching me that your Grace is more than enough for me to get through each day. Allow me to be receptive to your truth each day and feed my soul so that I can continue to grow in my faith.

Tough Week

2011-09-17T15:45:00.021-05:00

Wow, what a week this has been. Monday was my first day back to work from maternity leave and it was a lot harder than I ever thought possible. For the past 12 weeks I have spent every waking minute with my precious girl and leaving her just about killed me. We are so blessed that her Grammy is watching her 3 days a week which made leaving a little easier. I literally cried the entire way to work which was a long 30 minute drive. I have no doubts at all with her Grammy watching her, it was really just me thinking that she didn’t need me anymore. Crazy I know! I had a great day at work and only called home a few times to check on her. It was so good to see everyone and get back to some sort of normalcy again. If there is such a thing. Ha! Being a mother is the most fulfilling thing I've ever experienced. I wouldn’t trade all the feedings, dirty diapers and lack of sleep for anything in the world. When I got in from work Olivia acted like I had never left which made me even more sad and then came on more tears. Grammy did great but looked a little tired. All in all Monday was a great day with a lot of kleenex.

Olivia is still growing like a weed. We had to take her in to the doctor last Friday, it sounded like she was getting a cold. She weighed in at 11 pounds 10 ounces, getting so big.

Hanging out with Mommy and Daddy before leaving for church.
Loving bath time.

Modeling in new outfits.

Loving her wubbanub pacifier. A wubbanub pacifier has a stuffed animal stuck to the end of it where it's weighted down just enough so it doesn’t fall out of her mouth at night when she moves. It's a must for a great night sleep for all 3 of us.

Getting ready for bedtime.

2 1/2 Months Old

2011-08-30T10:16:00.016-05:00

Olivia is officially 2 ½ months old and growing way too fast! She is now 10 pounds 12 ounces and 23 inches long. She is still eating around 4-5 ounces 5 times a day and sleeping so well through the night. We contribute this to not taking many naps throughout the day. She’s afraid she might miss something if she falls asleep. She has brought so much joy to her mommy and daddy. Olivia has had a busy month, we took her to church for the first time a few weeks ago and did so well. I wasn’t ready to put her in the nursery so she went into service with us, she did so well during the worship songs but as soon as Pastor John started talking it was all over from there. Our church is wonderful, they have a family room where you can take your baby and still watch the service on a big screen. Next week we might try out the nursery. Little Livy stills loves to laugh and is now starting to make noises trying to communicate. She loves watching TV, we have a baby channel that she will just stare at and laugh for as long as we let her. I know she can't stay a baby forever but I wish it would slow down a little.

Taking a long nap after first set of vaccines. Not a good day.

Her cousin Cortheye meeting her for the first time. I see a future babysitter in the works.

Growing So Fast

2011-08-08T16:58:00.019-05:00

Olivia was officially 7 weeks old yesterday and I can say without a doubt it has been the best 7 weeks of my entire life. She has brought so much joy to her daddy and I. She is growing way too fast. She now eats around 4-5 ounces 5 times a day and has been sleeping so well through the night, around 8 hours. Mommy and Daddy love that! Dr. Bookout her pediatrician was shocked that she's already sleeping so long, we are very blessed. We finally started getting Olivia's stomach issues resolved. She has very bad acid reflux and now takes prevacid twice a day; she started this regimen 3 weeks ago. She is such a happier baby now. We also changed the type of bottles we were using to the Playtex drop ins, we are in love with these. She loves them and they're so easy to clean-up. She is so alert these days, she follows both our voices and smiles all the time. We sometimes think she's laughing at us and not with us. Her smile is precious, we just melt. Olivia loves her bath time, she is going to be our little fish. She absolutely loves water, when pouring water over her she just sucks on her hands and smiles. Olivia still sleeps in our room in her bassinet, it's going to be so hard for me to start putting her in her own room. I've started to put her down for naps in there but she doesn't seem to like it. This is still a work in progress.

This past weekend Sebastian and I were able to go my work outing at the ballpark in Arlington for a Ranger game. It was so much fun! I hadn't seen any of my co-workers since mid June. It was a hot one but at least we were in an indoor suite with plenty of drinks and food. Olivia stayed with Sebastian's parents at our house. They had a great time and she did so well. It felt good for Sebastian and I to get out and realize there is an outside world again. We missed her the entire time we were gone and couldn't wait to get back home.

Our Sweet Girl

2011-07-30T15:26:00.010-05:00

We can't get enough of our precious little girl. We love her more than we ever imagined!!

Photo Time!!

2011-07-15T11:40:00.016-05:00

The past 3 weeks have flown by! I had no idea being a mother would be so rewarding, it's truly indescribable. We had the joy of getting Olivia's pictures taken in our home the week after she was born.

Touchdown!!

2011-07-12T10:58:00.005-05:00

I think Olivia is ready for football season and ready to celebrate a Longhorn Touchdown!!

Being a parent has been so awesome these past few weeks! It's been a lot of work but we know it's so worth it! Thank you God for such a blessing in our lives!!

Father's Day Blessing

2011-06-24T21:19:00.004-05:00

I don't know how other dads celebrated Father's Day this past year, but I had the most amazing Father's Day ever! The crazy thing was that I was not a Father when the day started but by the end of it, we were blessed with the most amazing gift from God!!

She is finally here!! Olivia Grace was born on June 19, 2011 and we were so happy to finally meet her!!!

She is the most beautiful baby girl ever! Kristen and I are so blessed to be her parents! Praise you Lord for this amazing gift! May you be with us each step of the way as we raise our daughter to be a mighty child of God and as we guide her throughout her life so that she can fulfill your purpose for her life!

6 More Days. . . . .

2011-06-15T08:50:00.004-05:00

I was looking at our blog this morning and I noticed on the pregnancy countdown that we have less than 1 week to go before Olivia is born. As this day is approaching I can't help but wonder how much our lives are going to change and how are daily day to day things are going to be different. Kristen and I wonder what Olivia will be like and who she'll take after. We are both ready to meet our little girl!! Thank you God for allowing us to share in this amazing journey together and for giving us the gift of a little girl!

Olivia's First Photo Shoot

2011-06-01T08:43:00.005-05:00

I can't believe June is finally here! Sebastian and I are beyond ready to meet our daughter, we went to our last and final sonogram appointment last week and was able to see a 4D shot of Olivia. It was truly amazing!! Our moms also had the opportunity to go, so you can imagine how loud the room was with excitement. Her nursery is all complete, I sometimes just go in there and sit on the floor and imagine what it's going to be like.

Here are some 4D photos of her sweet little face. It's a little hard to make out.

I promise I will upload more pictures tonight of my bump and nursery. Stay tuned!

Almost There!!

2011-05-31T11:14:00.002-05:00

Well, tomorrow is June 1st which means that Olivia will be here with us this month on the 21st. Both of us are really anxious and excited to finally meet our daughter! We'll post some more current pictures of both Kristen and Olivia (Sonogram) soon.

I am also tackling our guest bathroom this week. Pray that I do not hurt myself in the process and that our house continues to be in one piece when I'm finished! I've been watching the DIY Network for a while now and have a pretty good idea of what to do and what not to do. I'll keep you posted on that as well.

So stay tuned as we keep you posted on what's going on!

May 5th....

2011-05-05T13:16:00.005-05:00

It's May 5, 2011, so to most people it is Cinco de Mayo! They will throw parties, eat Mexican food and try to reach their inner Mexican roots. Today really means nothing in the big picture of it all though. Today is just a day to remember the Mexican army's victory over the French way back in 1862 in the Battle of Puebla.

Have you ever sat back and just though about how many "holidays" there are and how many of them are actually meaningful? I, for one think that there are too many fabricated "holidays" throughout the year. But I guess to some it's a good excuse to throw parties and spend money.

I feel that celebrations should mean something, and not just be a thing to do once each year. I think if more people felt that way then society would refocus to what is really important. So, if you're going to celebrate, make sure it means something and that you celebrate with the people you love. Just a thought that was on my mind today.

31 Weeks and First Shower

2011-04-19T09:16:00.036-05:00

I can't believe I'm already 31 weeks!! The time has flown by, it feels like it was just yesterday when I found out I was pregnant. I have been feeling really good lately minus the constant allergies and sinus. We had our check-up last week and little Olivia is right on track with a due date still around June 21st. She has started getting the hiccups a lot, but they say that's a good sign of strong lungs. So bring on the hiccups. I haven't had any off the wall cravings. I just really like all food in general but anything that has cake in it I'm there. We have been working on her nursery and it's almost done. Can't wait to share pictures when we're finished. I think she is going to love it!!

I had my first shower this weekend that my sister and mom threw me. It was so much fun!! We are so blessed to have recevied so many gifts for Olivia. Everything was just perfect.

My Sister, Mom and niece Cortheye
Cake Table

Beautiful Cake, it matched the invitations perfectly.

My best friend Lesley and her mom.

My good friends Casey and Ashley. I hadn't seen Casey in a year and half and she just recently moved back. I'm so happy she's back!

My cousins Stephanie, Terri, Karen, Brooklyn and Kaley.
My Aunt Ronda and cousin Shelley.

My Aunt Ginny made the cutest handmade bassinet, it was adorable.
Me and my mom.

Our good friend Donna and my mother-in-law Mary.
I received the cutest gifts.

After we got home Buddy and Moo couldn't wait to try out the bassinet. They thought it was made specially for them. I think they both know that change is coming but have no idea how big. Poor things.
Thank you to all our family and friends, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. Stay tuned, we'll have pictures of the nursery soon.

Wednesday

2011-04-13T08:21:00.002-05:00

It's the middle of the week which means that the weekend is fast approaching us! It's been quite a week already with the storms we had on Monday to the cleanup we did on Tuesday. However, I am thankful for the rain we had because that means I don't have to remember to water our yard this week!

I was watching our little girl move last night as we were sitting on the couch and that is just the most amazing thing to watch! My wife and I will just sit there and stare at her stomach just to watch Olivia move and kick and move and kick! We can't wait to meet her already! I sit and wonder what she will be like, how she will act and what she will sound like when she makes noises. This is such an amazing gift from God and for that I am really thankful! We are blessed to be experiencing this and we pray that God gives us the strength, patience and will to raise our daughter in a Godly way!

Tuesday

2011-04-12T07:59:00.003-05:00

On the morning of Monday April 11th at 12:30am a storm came through the area with winds up to 90 mph. As we left for work yesterday morning we surveyed the damage and we thank God that it was minimal compared to other areas in our neighborhood. Today I am thankful for that and for the fact that even though there was damage, nobody that we know of was injured through all of this.

I am also thankful this morning for the continued health and growth of our little girl Olivia! I pray that these next couple of months will continue to go as well as the past 7 months and that God will continue to keep both my wife and our little girl in great health! We can't wait to meet her!!

TGIF!!

2011-04-08T15:25:00.003-05:00

I have not posted since Wednesday due to a crazy past couple of days. However, today I am thankful for weekends!! I love when Friday comes around each week because I know that the following morning I am able to sleep in until 7am and have my coffee sitting down instead of on the go and maybe even eat some breakfast sitting at a table. I enjoy weekends because it gives Kristen and I time to catch up from going crazy during the week and really have time to spend together! If you really think about it, you spend more time at driving to and from work, and at work than you do at home with your family. So we like to make the most of the time we have together!

I am also thankful today that I did not get electrocuted as I dabbled in some more electrical work yesterday at the house. I pray that this weekend God gives me time to rest and recoup and the strength to take on another week come Monday morning! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Wednesday Change

2011-04-06T09:19:00.002-05:00

On this week one year ago after 27 years, I got braces put on. I won't lie, it was a struggle to get adjusted to them the first 11 months, but that 12 month was a piece of cake. Cake, that is one thing I had a hard time eating at first along with rice and pastas. I did not like having the braces and the expander! But, after only one year I have seen a tremendous change in my teeth and I am glad that we were able to make this happen.

It's crazy how it only took one year to see change due to wearing braces. I think back and wonder how long it took for real change to come to my life once I was on the right path. So today I am thankful for positive change and how that impacts you and those around you! Thank you God for allowing change in our lives as we seek to live a life of purpose!!

Thankful for God

2011-04-05T07:59:00.003-05:00

This morning when we woke up it was 31 degrees outside in April, in Texas! I can't believe how often the weather has changed in the past several weeks here in the area. One day it's sunny and warm and the next day is cool and breezy and this morning, below freezing temperatures.

Just as the weather changes so rapidly and without warning, our heart and soul changes the same way when we open our lives to God. I remember that transformation in me when I finally decided to allow God into my heart and into my life. It was an amazing breath of new life! Since that day my entire outlook on life, people, etc has changed dramatically!

So today, I am thankful for God's unchanging, overpowering and graceful love for us! We don't need to do anything to gain His love for us, we just need to open our hearts! I pray that many more people will experience that same overwhelming love that I felt that day and continue to witness each day in my life!

April Already?

2011-04-04T11:17:00.003-05:00

It's April already and this morning I came to the realization that our daughter will be here sooner than we think. I am going to be a father in three months! As each day goes by and I see my wife becoming a beautiful mother, I stop and thank God for this amazing gift! My wife is beautiful as ever with Olivia growing and developing inside her. Each time I feel Olivia kick or move, it gives me goosebumps. I truly am experiencing God's majestic wonder and creative power as each day goes by!!

This weekend I had a bit of time so I took on some electrical work at the house. I've been shocked by small amounts of electricity before so I know how much it stinks when it happens. That's why I take great precautions when dealing with anything that can kill me. Anyways, I escaped without any harm and put up some new light fixtures in the spare bedrooms.

The Rangers swept the Red Sox this weekend to start the year off 3-0, so that's a good way to start the season. We watched the Celebrity Apprentice last night and I think Gary Busey has to be one of the funniest people I've seen. Some of the things he says just puzzle you, but they are hilarious!

I am going to start blogging each day about something that I am thankful for. Today I am thankful for an amazing wife that God has blessed me with. She has been supportive and loving for the 12+ years that we have been together and for that I love her dearly!

A little behind....

2011-03-11T14:00:00.008-06:00

Things have been so busy lately and I'm a little behind on baby bump pictures. Here I am at 24 weeks! My belly has really grown over the past 2 weeks. I had my doctor's appointment yesterday and was tested for gestational diabetes. I had to drink this orange drink that resembled Sunkist but in no way tasted like Sunkist. I had to have the entire bottle finished within 10 minutes, this was bit of a task for me but I got through it. I pray that I receive great results. Olivia's heart rate was perfect and even had the hiccups. She didn't care much for the drink either. Sebastian and I are going to register this weekend for all things baby. We're so excited!

Everytime I take baby bump pictures Buddy always wonders what the heck we're doing. So this time we put him in the shot.

More updates to come soon!

Thoughts

2011-03-08T07:51:00.002-06:00

Pastor John's message this past weekend was powerful. God is really using John to convey His truth! The current series "You Are The Church" has been a gut check, spirit check, and heart check, at least for myself. We usually think of Pastors as great speakers, motivators or public figures. I, at least, up until this past weekend didn't have my eyes open to the fact that words that Kingdom focused Pastors speak are coming directly from God.

God will speak to all of us in our own individual way, so that we will hear His truth. In John's message his thoughts this week were: Church is where we hear the word. Church is where we minister to people and receive ministry from others. Church is where we meet with God.

Think about this, Matthew 18:20 says,"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." Church is not your worship building, church is wherever you go each and every moment of your day. Your daily routine is your church! That thought alone is kind of mind blowing. You have an impact on those around you by just being in the likeness of God! Think about that as you go about your day today. Think about how you can be more God focused and how that alone will make waves of positive changes to those around you.

Speak truth in love each day, stand back and watch as God uses you to minister to those around you! Don't be self-centered, be God-centered and you will see your life transformed!

Re-Blog

2011-02-28T09:48:00.002-06:00

Read this earlier today and I thought I would Re-Blog it:

Love is a word often overused and misunderstood. People claim to love their family, their food, their job and their pets. However, the bible reveals God as the only source of genuine love, made known to the world in the gospel. Jesus commands us to love others as He has loved us. But in the Corinthian church there was a severe lack of love evidenced by envy, disunity, immorality, arguments and selfishness. This is why Paul writes about the practical, convicting definition of God’s love revealed in Christ: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (I Cor.13:4-7). Demanding your own way will inevitably produce strife, conflicts and relational breakdown. But the gospel of Christ allows you to die to your selfishness. Jesus Christ, the Author of love, becomes the Solution to every conflict. Gaze upon the cross of Christ and recognize the depth of His love for you. Trust His Spirit to saturate you with His love. Allow His love flow through you into the lives of others. How is God challenging you now to be the channel of his love in your circle of relationships?

(Courtesy of Pastor Kevin from Cultivate Leadership)

1 Thing Down....100 More To Go

2011-02-24T13:49:00.018-06:00

This past weekend Sebastian and I started our hunt for baby cribs. I had no idea since there were so many styles and colors to choose from. There were some with changing tables connected to them and some that were just plain weird looking. We love the one we picked out for Olivia, and it's going to be perfect for her! Sunday morning we woke up, had some coffee (decaf for me) and started putting it all together. I say we, but I really mean Sebastian. I helped a little by holding rails up while he bolted things together. I'm only 5 months along but it's getting harder to get up and down off the floor. I can't even imagine how I will feel at 8 months. Lord help me!

Here's my Babe after we got everything out of the box

And here's the finished project. We love it!

I forgot to blog a few weeks ago about a dinner date we took to downtown Dallas for our good friend Jon's birthday. We went to Morton's Steakhouse, and it was delicious!! Can you see the size of the steaks? They were as big as my face!

The food was great, but dessert was the best!! Sebastian and I shared one of their signature desserts called Upside-Down Apple Pie. It was AMAZING!! I would suggest not sharing, Sebastian and I literally looked like we were in a race to see who could finish it first.

We also started a new bible study this past Saturday morning at our house called "Improving Communication in Your Marriage". I can already feel God's presence working through all of us. We have a great group of amazing friends that's going to make this study so fun and enjoyable. I know that we will all continue growing as married couples and walk through the journey together.

I promise I'll have more updates as we keep decorating Olivia's room. I'll also post a new baby bump picture soon.

It's a.......

2011-02-16T08:24:00.016-06:00

It's a GIRL!!!!!!

Olivia Grace

We are so excited!! We went to our doctor's appointment last Thursday and everything looks great. My appointment was at 11:30am so I picked Sebastian up from work and we were on our way. My office was very behind because all of the bad weather so we were in the waiting room for a long time. I would like to include that we hadn't eaten lunch and we were planning to go celebrate after the appointment once we knew if it was a boy or girl. Then finally, an hour later they called me back to the sonogram room, and by this time we were a ball of nerves. Our sonogram tech started the sonogram and a little while into it I started to feel like I was going to pass out. I started sweating and the room started spinning a bit. I think the whole not eating lunch yet and laying on my back, combined with nerves got to me. Our sonogram tech is such a blessing, she is so patient and gave me a granola bar. After drinking some water I felt back to my old self again so I laid back down and we finished the sonogram. We are beyond happy and so blessed it's a little girl, she is definitely going to be our little princess.

Pregnancy Highlights
How Far Along: 22Weeks
Size of baby: Baby is the size of a Papaya

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5 pounds
Maternity Clothes: Oh yes

Gender: It's a GIRL!!

Movement: She moves so much, she's going to be an active one

Sleep: Getting more uncomfortable

What I miss: Still Tuna Fish Sandwiches and Caffeine
Cravings: Ice Cream this week, especially with cookie dough

Symptoms: Nothing really besides really dry hands

Best Moment this week: Feeling our little girl move all the time, it's truly amazing

My parent's couldn't be more excited. They wanted a little girl so bad. We went and bought this little pink onesie before heading over to their house to surprise them. I wrapped in a bag with lots of tissue paper. My mom had to fight back the tears as she was opening it, she was so anxious.

Father

2011-02-08T12:44:00.003-06:00

As the title says, I am going to be a father. A lot of people like to tell you how scary it is or how much responsibility it's going to require or how a child will drive you crazy! And as true as those statements may be, I am still over the top excited about becoming a father myself. My dad always used to say, and I quote, "Just wait until you have your own kids and you'll see what I'm talking about." Now, I don't know exactly what that means or what he was trying to warn me about, but I will soon find out. One of the great things I believe about being a parent is to try and make your child's life better than yours was and better than your parent's life was. It's always nice to see some progress as the new generations come.

Right now, Kristen and I are still in a state of shock per say because we never really anticipated the moment we would become parents. Sure, we talked about it and discussed it a lot, but now it's real and we are both excited and nervous. One good thing that we can lean on is the fact that we as children of God made, make and will make mistakes and somehow God still chooses to love us unconditionally. Our prayer is that we will portray and show that kind of unconditional love to our children while teaching them Godly values along the way.

We will soon know if we will be parents to a baby boy or a baby girl. Either way, our lives are about to change and our titles are about to change from Sebastian & Kristen to Mom & Dad. Keep posted as we start our new journey and experience this God given gift!

17 weeks!!

2011-01-12T15:57:00.018-06:00

I'm 17 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an onion

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 4 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I finally bought some maternity jeans, so comfy! Not sure I'll ever go back to normal jeans.

Gender: We'll know in 3 weeks, can't wait!

Movement: Not yet but hopefully soon

Sleep: Love to sleep but it's getting harder to get comfortable, toss and turn a lot

What I miss: Tuna Fish Sandwiches

Cravings: Mexican Food, especially Taco Bell

Symptoms: Heartburn and more heartburn (I wonder why, ha!)

Best Moment this week: Listening to the baby's heartbeat today

I also wanted to share a picture of me and my Babe before we went off to my work Christmas party. We had a great time at the W Hotel downtown Dallas.

Self Check

2011-01-04T13:55:00.004-06:00

I read this the other day and it took me back and made me reevaluate the path I'm on more often than not. Ponder this for a bit and do a self assessment of your current walk with God. You may be surprised at the things you can redirect to straighten that path.

Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's gods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world--wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important--has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all it's wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out--but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

1 John 2:17

13 Weeks

2010-12-13T08:30:00.012-06:00

I'm 13 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 13 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby is the size of a lemon

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 2 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Note yet but pants are getting tighter

Gender: Hopefully we'll know very soon!

Movement: Not yet but some occasional cramping

Sleep: Sleeping very well, I'm a pro!

What I miss: Hot baths and Summer Sausage

Cravings: Pizza and Chicken Biscuits

Symptoms: Mostly tiredness, nausea and some heartburn

Best Moment this week: Seeing our baby move on the sonogram

We had our second doctor's appointment today with a sonogram. Our little one has already grown so much, it's so amazing! He/she kept moving around so much and waving it's arms around. Sebastian and I were speechless, which never happens for me, ha! The baby's heart rate was perfect which was music to our ears. We are truly blessed to be expecting a new addition to our family. We should know in 5-6 weeks if it's a boy or a girl. Can't wait!!

Introducing Baby Mancillas!

2010-11-28T17:21:00.011-06:00

Sebastian and I are excited to announce a new addition to our family! Meet Baby Mancillas!!

We are extremely grateful for this blessing and look forward to meeting our new baby soon! I'm almost 14 weeks. I can't believe how fast it has already gone by. We are both nervous, excited and anticipate this new chapter in our lives. So keep posted as we will keep updating our blog with new and exciting finds in our new roles as parents to be. Soon we'll be Mom and Dad!! (Baby bump pics coming soon)

First Time Homebuyers!!

2010-10-27T11:37:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been a busy couple of months for us but they have been great. For starters, Kristen and I dove into something that we did not anticipate to happen for a while. We bought our first home!!! We are both really excited about it and can't wait to start making it our home! God really blessed us with this house and how everything worked out. We are really thankful for that!!

Here is what our new home looked like the first time we saw it:

We are excited to see what God has in store for us in this new chapter of our lives. On our previous post we talked about the new Third Day cd Move. It is awesome!! I keep playing it over and over any chance I get! If you don't have it, you need to get it because the music is uplifting and powerful!

We'll keep you posted on what's going on more often, we promise. Things as you can imagine have been pretty busy for a while. In other news, the Texas Rangers are in the World Series!! I never thought I would see the day. But it's here now, and we will be cheering on the Rangers as they start the series tonight in San Fran. We'll be throwing our claws up with every big hit!! That's it for now, the next post will come soon and hopefully with the Rangers up 2-0 in the series!! Later for now!!

Move

2010-10-12T08:17:00.004-05:00

We've been anticipating the release of Third Day's new cd Move. It will be on the shelves by this time next week. However, I have been listening to it online for a while now and it is awesome! The songs are very uplifting and they have a great southern rock feel to them. I can't wait to blast this over the car speakers as we drive everywhere!!

Catching Up, Somewhat. . . .

2010-09-28T12:36:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been about 20 days since our last post. Yeah that's a pretty long time between updates. Sorry about that. Kristen and I have been pretty busy these past several weeks and we'll tell you all why starting next week.

For now, we just wanted to update on some things that have been going on. Our small group has started again and we fell that God is really working in all of us and building relationships within the group. We feel really encouraged to be witnessing God's work in our lives!

Kristen and I have joined a small group of our own and we both feel that we can gain a lot of Godly insight into our marriage from the couples in this group. We are the youngest couple in the group which works to our advantage in the sense that we get to pick everyone's brains about different stages in life. And each group get together has food!!

There was a shooting today on the campus of UT Austin. Not a lot of details out yet aside from one gunman being eliminated and no reports of others hurt. They are searching for one other suspect at the moment.

Weather in our area is slowly transitioning to Fall-type temperatures. For that we are all thankful! August could not be over soon enough in our area!

The Longhorns lost to UCLA over the weekend and a bunch of people were sad. Then they started yelling at the offensive coordinator and felt better.

In international news today, Kim Jong Il appointed his son Kim Jong Un to be a General in the nation's army. Speculating that this will eventually be the one that takes over for Kim Jong Il. Man, when will they learn that communism is so 1957? Jong Il and Fidel should change their Facebook status to "I no communist no mas!!"

Texas faces ou this weekend and I'm not going to get my hopes up. I would rather expect a loss and have the outcome be a win, than the other way around.

That's all for now. Hook Em'!!

Thoughts

2010-09-08T11:38:00.003-05:00

How do you deal with transition in your life? Are you the type of person that will seek counsel or advice from people you trust? Or do you close off and attempt to deal with things on your own? Many of us are able to "deal" with stuff in private and we find that most of the time we don't get anywhere. What if you had to deal with change in the public eye? What if everyone around you knew that you were going through something? Would that add more pressure to the "stuff" you're dealing with?

We all go through transitions in our life. Some great and some not so great. How we act and deal with each transition says a lot about who we are. Either way, we should all embrace any transition that comes our way because it is God's will for us to be in that place at that time. Going through changes in life is what allows us to learn and grow in our spiritual and personal relationships. So surround yourself with people you can talk to, people that can give you wise counsel and with people that you are able to counsel. We all as believers support one another through our trials in life. Let that be a way in which you can show an unbelieving world what true compassion and grace is. God had grace for us, why shouldn't we do the same for others?

Dave Ramseyisms. . .

2010-08-27T10:15:00.002-05:00

I like to listen to the Dave Ramsey show each day to just hear people's stories about defeating debt and to listen to encouraging stories of those on their way. From time to time Dave will throw out phrases that both make sense and are funny. Here's a few of my favorites:

You can't buy it if you don't have the freakin' money!
Tell your money where to go, or it will leave you
If you shoot for nothing, you will hit it every time
Broke people giving financial advice is like a shop teacher with missing fingers
You will NEVER out earn stupidity and a lack of discipline
If you buy the things you don't need, one day you will need the things you can't buy
If you want something you've never had, you'll have to do something you've never done
What can you do when you have no payments? Anything you want!!!

So there are a few Dave Ramseyisms for your morning. Hope some of these can inspire you to get on a plan to beat debt and to quit being "normal Americans"!

Farewell Old Friend

2010-08-16T14:08:00.003-05:00

We wanted to take this time to bid farewell to a dear friend of ours. Their name was Kalbee House Korean BBQ. Yes, we know, it is weird to bid farewell to a place, but we will miss it dearly. Kristen and I have had plenty of great meals from this place and we found out yesterday after our craving for some Korean food that this place is no longer in business. So Kalbee House, this one is for you!

We will miss the way you used to answer the phone and not understand us, but yet, get our order correctly. We will miss that mysterious liquid in styrofoam cups, that we later found out was really Ginger Tea. The large portions of food for such a great price will be truly missed. But most of all, we will miss the fact that you delivered to the middle of nowhere, where we now live. So farewell ye olde Kalbee House as we welcome the new tenant, Shanghai Grill!

Restaurant Week 2010

2010-08-13T09:39:00.003-05:00

Starting this weekend here in the DFW area, KRLD Restaurant Week begins! It's a great time of year aside from it being 105 degrees in Texas around that time. Anyways, the cool thing is that part of the proceeds from Restaurant Week go to the NTX Food Bank which is always a great cause. This year Kristen and I wanted to try Jaspers in Plano, but so did everyone else and we weren't able to get reservations. But, that's ok, we are going to try Truluck's next week and we are very excited. We will post a review blog about our experience and let you know how it goes. It would be cool if every week was Restaurant Week because for a set price, each person gets a 3 course meal! It's a genius idea! So if your area has a Restaurant Week, take advantage of it and try new things!!

Out With Friends

2010-08-02T14:33:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago we had the chance to go out to dinner with some friends and we had a great time. We went to Abuelo's in Lewisville and being indoors was way better than being outside that day because it was hot! Our friends the Sexton's and the Matheny's joined us that evening as we enjoyed some Mexican food and some air conditioning! Here we are the 3 Amigos! Ok so we're not really Steve Martin, Chevy Chase or Martin Short, but we were having Mexican food that night so why not??

Here are our wives enjoying the cool temperature inside of Abuelo's! I think they were more comfortable than we were because they were sitting down and we weren't.

Here is Brett & Audra's little girl Emerie wondering what I am doing with a camera in her face. I don't know about you, but I stepped back after this picture and didn't mess with her again. I mean, I didn't want to lose my eye or anything. She meant business!!

Random Stuff

2010-08-02T14:07:00.005-05:00

Here are some pictures of random stuff that we saw. This one is of a guy riding a moped through DFW Airport. Just thought it was random to see a guy riding a red moped.

But that's not all. While driving through Irving a while ago, this car caught my eye for all the wrong reasons. You would think Gamestop would be a sponsor of this car. I know you can't tell from this angle, but this car is loaded with stickers advertising different game consoles.

Here is another view so you can see what I mean. I think "Wii" should all trick out our rides like that. . . . ok, so maybe not, but you have to wonder what this dude was thinking.

Avocado, Fried Style

2010-08-02T13:55:00.004-05:00

Let's face it, we like to eat avocados! It doesn't matter if it's made into guacamole, if we add slices to our burgers or sandwiches or if we choose to add it to our tacos. We will eat avocado because it's simply good. Well, we found an avocado appetizer that will give BJ's Brewery a run for their money. We found this at California Pizza Kitchen. I know, an avocado at a pizza place? We were stunned too! But boy, were we thrilled at first bite.

These were avocado eggrolls. They were filled with grilled chicken, avocado, cheese, and yes the best ingridient ever, bacon. The dipping sauces that came with them were an herb ranch and what they call a ranchito dressing (I think it was ranch with some lime in it). Either way, they were really good and we would get them again. And being at a pizza place we of course had to get a pizza so it wouldn't get it's feelings hurt you know.

Good Eats

2010-08-02T13:39:00.007-05:00

I'll just go ahead and say it, pressed sandwiches are good. Some call them paninis, and others call them pressed sandwiches. So to be fair, for the sake of this blog we will call them pressinis. We found a Cubano sandwich that was delicious. Driving around in Frisco, we rarely notice some of the places we drive by unless we are not paying attention to the road. Well, after making a wrong turn the other day, we came face to face with a place called Mojitos right off of Preston. We have been looking for a place to eat some Cuban sandwiches in the area that resemble one of our Austin spots called Texas Cuban. We ordered two different sandwiches, the Original Cubano and the Pulled Pork. Here is what they looked like:

They were really good! The bread was crunchy at the first bite and then it was on to flavor town. Both sandwiches were really spot on. The Cubano had a good balance of flavor from the pork and the tangy from the pickle. The pulled pork was tender and juicy and melted in your mouth! We are definitely going back to try other stuff on their menu!

Cupcake Wars, Mancillas Style

2010-08-02T13:27:00.005-05:00

Here lately, Kristen and I have been on the hunt for cool new places to eat cupcakes around where we live and have found several places that look promising. Here is a cupcake place we found off the Dallas Tollway a while ago and we tried 3 of their cupcakes. This place is called the Cupcakery and we tried their lemon, red velvet and citrus cupcakes. We both liked the way the cupcake looked but were not real impressed with the taste. We like our cupcakes at a shade cooler than room temperature and these were kept in a cooler, so that may have affected the taste a bit.

We've also tried Sprinkels Cupcakes in Dallas, Dimples Cupcakes in Frisco and 8th wonder cupcakes in Flower Mound. So far Sprinkles has the others beat on taste but when it comes to price, Dimples was the most expensive and Cupcakery was the cheapest. Overall trying out cupcakes is a great way to spend an afternoon, so I'm not one to complain!! I know there's more bakeries out there for us to find, so watch out!!

All You Can Eat, Yes I Will!

2010-07-29T10:33:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday night, Kristen and I headed over to the Ballpark in Arlington to watch the Rangers take on the Angels. Her work hosted their entire office and their families in the All You Can Eat section! I can't tell you exactly what went on during the game because we spent most of our time enjoying the buffet they had set up in the air conditioned room above our section. Aside from being in a suite, that has to be the 2nd best way to watch a game on a hot July evening in Texas. We enjoyed the usual ballpark grub like hot dogs, nachos, and popcorn. But we also went ahead and had the grilled chicken sandwiches and some pretzels. Only downside is that they don't serve the garlic fries on the buffet. . .I know, I was sad too!

But overall, we had a great time and as we left the ballpark, I realized that the Rangers lost that night. Oh well, can't win them all and can't keep focused on the game when there's food to be eaten!! Here we are "enjoying" the heat that evening! Let's just say we were really glad that they had air conditioning where we ate.

So, comparing this All You Can Eat section to the Frisco Rough Riders All You Can Eat section, right now I have to call it a draw. We will have to head over to another Rough Rider game to give them another shot to pull ahead of the Rangers in this category. We'll keep you posted of the results. . . . Later for now!

Bullet Point Thoughts

2010-07-16T07:43:00.005-05:00

I thought I would try this format and see how it worked out. I figured I would be able to get more thoughts in without trying to fill in more info around them. So here goes, the inaugural bullet point thoughts blog.

People don't know how to really spell Faith, it is spelled "RISK"
Believing in yourself is the first step to having others believe in you
If you are genuine and nice to people, they really appreciate it
Smiling goes a long way to making someone's day brighter
Being in love is not everything, knowing how to love is
God forgives you even when you don't deserve it
Witnessing history is better than reading about it
Watching the Discovery channel makes you nerdy (I'm in that club)
It's funny how it's the simplest things in life that mean the most, not where you live, what you drive or the price tag on your clothes. (Thanks to Zac Brown Band for that one)
Country music is awesome, REAL country music, not the fake stuff they play today
I like macaroni & cheese. . . a lot!
Appearing to be smart is different than being smart
Remember when you used to know your neighbors, let's bring that back
Transition in life is going to happen, it's how you deal with it that makes it good or bad
Even if people annoy you, pray for them. Don't you think you annoyed God at some point too?
Does Home-Cooking have to be made in your home or can you go out and get it?
If something on the menu says "Chicken Fried", order it, it's good
Working out makes me tired, who would have thought??
When my wife makes an apple pie, I eat more than half of it myself, is that ok?
Friendships take time to make but seconds to lose
Remember, we can't choose who our family is, embrace it, they made you who you are today
Act your wage, it's both physically and financially healthy
Live by the motto, "Safety 3rd"
Those Dos Equis commercials are funny
There are more riches in life than money
What you are remembered for is your legacy. What will yours look like?
When they say "With every year love grows" they are right
Marrying my wife has been one of two great decisions in my life. The other was to follow God.

Well, there was the first bullet point thoughts blog. I hope you enjoy it because I like this format of writing. Hope everyone has a great weekend ahead of them!

Kristen's Birthday!

2010-07-07T09:56:00.011-05:00

We celebrated Kristen's birthday a couple of weekends ago and we had a great time. On the Friday before her birthday Kristen was able to enjoy a spa afternoon as my gift to her! She really enjoyed relaxing and getting pampered after working really hard the past few months. That evening we enjoyed a night out to dinner with our friends Jon & Carrie, Gabe & Erin and Marc & Kacie at Olive Garden! We had a great time, great food and enjoyed a home made cake that Carrie baked for Kristen's birthday.

After dinner we headed over to the Allen's house for some game night fun! We attempted to play Wii, but frustration with the difficulty in controling the Wii remotes made us change our minds and we brought out Scattegories! It's fun to see how other people think when this game is played and laugh at some of the answers!

On Sunday we celebrated Kristen's birthday with our families at the Ft. Worth Stockyards! We headed out for BBQ @ Riskys and we even got to see the Cattle Drive they do down Main St.

Here is Kristen and her mom and Major on her birthday

I love my wife's smile!!

Here is the Steer we had for lunch, no I'm just kidding, or am I??

Here we are before chowing down on some BBQ

We had a great time spending time with our families and enjoying a great meal. It's funny how celebrations always center around something or somewhere to eat. I'm not complaining though, I enjoy trying new places and new stuff all the time! We'll keep this more updated moving forward, I hope. . . .

Celebrate Freedom 2010

2010-07-07T08:50:00.009-05:00

Two weekends ago Kristen and I joined our friends Kacie & Marc at Celebrate Freedom 2010. We had planned to head out there about 5pm but thank goodness we didn't because it was hot that afternoon! I think if we would have headed out at that time we would all have been dehydrated in like 20 minutes.

Thankfully we all agreed to just head out there right before Third Day took the stage, which was great because that was the only band we really wanted to go see and the sun had gone down by then too!

Here is Third Day getting their set started

We were really happy that they played a bunch of their great songs and a couple of new ones from their new album. Even though the sun went down it was still a hot and humid evening but with great music playing, it didn't matter what the weather was like.

Here is my beautiful wife with Kacie

Here is Marc & Kacie enjoying Third Day along with us!

All in all, Third Day rocked that evening and we had a great time! The madness that followed was trying to get out of a parking lot along with 10,000 other people. That was interesting but it did not take us as long as we thought. Either way, we were glad we got to experience Celebrate Freedom 2010!

Memorial Day Stuff

2010-07-07T08:14:00.007-05:00

Yeah so this is a bit late. But the past few weeks have been pretty busy so let's just say that's why. So Memorial Day 2010 was great! We had a cookout at Kristen's mom's house and had our friends Gabe & Erin over to join us.

Here's Gabe & Erin as Gabe is jamming to the Eagles

Our niece and nephew were also there and I thought I would mess with Cylas just a bit by jumping on the trampoline with him. I take jumping on the trampoline very seriously as you can tell by my expression.

We really enjoyed just hanging out and enjoying the weather and our friends and great food. Here is my beautiful wife enjoying the weather that day. I truly am blessed to have her as my wife!

We had a great Memorial Day and hope to continue making this a tradition with our friends and family.

Some Thoughts

2010-06-21T13:28:00.004-05:00

While listening to my playlist today, the song From The Inside Out really caught my attention. The lyrics are powerful and remind you of God's gracious love for us. We studied Mark 2 this past weekend in our small group and the point of those verses kept going through my mind today as I heard the song. God will do miracles where Faith is shown regardless of how we got to the place we are at. It doesn't matter if you've failed a thousand times, God's mercy on you will remain.

In Mark 2, four men carry their paralytic friend to a house where Jesus is, so that he can heal him. They go through great lengths to get into the house where Jesus is teaching and once they get his friend inside through the roof, the miracle/healing happens. Jesus starts by telling the paralytic that his sins are forgiven, (the actual healing and miracle) and then orders him to stand up, pick up his mat and walk out the door (the healing and miracle people see).

Forgiveness of our sins is what heals our soul and strengthens our faith. It allows God to consume us from the inside out and in turn allows us to love Him from the inside out. God uses broken and imperfect people for His perfect purpose. So even if you stumble again, you will be caught in God's grace. God is everlasting and never ending and his light will shine through us when all else fades. Pray for forgiveness of your sins and allow God to heal you and use you. Let your Faith be strengthened. Lay your burdens and fears at the cross and witness a miracle in your own life so that you can stop being that paralytic and you can walk with the Lord.

School's In For Summer. . .

2010-06-08T12:44:00.006-05:00

As the blog title says, it's not Alice Cooper's School's Out. I know, random but I was singing the song before writing this. Anyways, has anyone seen my #2 pencils and my notebook? Yeah, I need to find them because I started school yesterday for my new venture into IT Network Security. I am really excited to dive into all that is networking and computer security, although I know it will take some time for me to learn it. So back to school I go and hope to get good grades and master the art of networking. Here's a little Dilbert humor for your afternoon. Time to hit the books and get some coffee!

New Spicy Chicken, Thumbs Up!

2010-06-02T11:55:00.004-05:00

So I just finished trying the new Spicy Chicken Sandwich at Chick Fil A. It was good! I mean, I enjoy Chick Fil A anytime of day any day of the week. But now they have upped their game for my taste buds. I was expecting a buffalo style chicken sandwich drenched in sauce but it was quite the opposite. The spices they used were sweet at first taste, then the spicy comes in and makes an entrance. I decided to forgo any dipping sauce to give this new venture an unbiased taste and I'm glad that I did. I give the new Spicy Chicken Sandwich an A+! And like the commercials say, I will Eat Mor Chikin!

I didn't take a picture of my sandwich before I ate it because I was hungry and secondly, I was hungry. So here is a picture of what it looks like. I found this online. Enjoy and be jealous of my taste buds right now.

Weekend Recap

2010-05-25T09:14:00.006-05:00

This past weekend was anything but typical for Kristen and I. We started off our Friday evening by hunting down a place to have dinner. We were hungry for fish but didn't know where to go. So we googled our area and we found what turned out to be a very good fish place on Warren and the Tollway called Fish Express. They had a little bit of everything from PoBoys to Fish Tacos to Fried fish baskets. We both ordered the baskets to try them out since it was our first time there.

Here is what they looked like:

I got the fish and chips and Kristen ordered the catfish basket. They served them with a mango slaw. Yeah it was good!! We can't wait to go back and try something else on the menu.

Saturday morning was our first small group get together and we were really excited about what God had in store. We had a great turn out and we wanted to thank everyone that came over for what we pray can be a strong foundation of friendships in our lives. We had breakfast and coffee and dove into God's word of Mark 1:40-45 and had bible study about compassion. Everyone had great insight and it was a great first gathering! We pray that God will pour blessings onto everyone in the group and that it is His will to allow us to continue strengthening our friendships through His word.

That evening Kristen and I met up with Brett & Audra for dinner at the Pre-Grand Opening of Mi Cocina in Highland Village. If you don't know, Mi Cocina is one of our favorite restaurants. We had our wedding rehearsal dinner there last year and we take advantage of every opportunity we can to eat their brisket tacos! With that being said, we didn't get the brisket tacos this time. With our dinner being complimentary courtesy of Mi Cocina, we decided to explore the menu a little more. Obvious choice would be the most expesive thing on the menu. . . . well almost, I ordered the Chicken Mole and Kristen had the Roberto's combo of enchiladas and tacos. The Sexton's went with the ribeye two ways, Carne Asada and Fajitas. We had a great time at dinner!

We ate on the patio and from our table we could see a gourmet popcorn shop that we hadn't noticed before. So after dinner we made our way over to Lonestar Gourmet Popcorn. We are really glad that we did. They have like a gazillion different flavors of popcorn and the best part is they let you try it before you buy it! We ended up getting the sopapilla popcorn because after all we had just finished eating Mexican food!

All in all it was a great weekend of firsts (group, fish express and popcorn) and lost counts (Mi Cocina). We'll keep posting as stuff comes up but for now, later!

Top Layer of Cake, Frozen...

2010-05-25T08:17:00.005-05:00

Here are some pictures of us trying to cut into our wedding cake topper from 1 year ago last weekend.

Me trying to "carve" the cake

Yummmmm. . .marble cake. . . .

If it had not been frozen, it would have tasted good

1 Year

2010-05-18T10:36:00.004-05:00

This past Sunday Kristen and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! It does not even seem like it's been a year since our wedding last May. It has been a great year for us as we reached this milestone in our lives.

Although we had been dating 10 years before we got married and have shared a lot of great experiences throughout the years, this one was more special because we experienced it as a married couple. We thank God that he has been in our marriage and that he has poured blessings into what we have come across. I'm especially thankful for having such an amazing wife to share my life with!

We finally got to make room in our freezer by taking out our wedding cake topper and attempting to eat it. Let's just say we needed an ice pick to break through the frozen cake. But, we had an amazing back up plan because we both knew that we would not be eating our wedding cake. We enjoyed some bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes and they were amazing!! I'm just glad we don't live too close to this place or we'd be there all the time.

We'll post some pictures soon of us cutting into our cake with an ice pick. Later for now!

Austin, Extra Innings Edition

2010-05-07T10:25:00.014-05:00

So last weekend we headed down to Austin to celebrate Kristen's mom's birthday and to catch a Longhorn baseball game. We headed down to Gruene,Tx on Friday afternoon to check out their downtown and to have lunch. Lunch was good and Gruene was fun. They have a lot of different old town type of stores which was cool to check out. We had dinner in Austin at Taco Express on Lamar and although the palce was busy and funky, the food was nothing to write home about. We were not impressed by their tacos. On Saturday we had breakfast at Austin Java because I can't go to Austin and not have their French Toast and coffee! It's a must!

Saturday afternoon we realized that the Baylor baseball team was staying at our hotel. And although it was tempting to try and sabotage them so they could not make it across the street to the stadium, we overcame that urge and let them be. We headed out to the baseball field about an hour before game time and it's a good thing we did not leave sooner and you'll see why. First pitch was at 8:05 with Cole Green on the mound for Texas. He hadn't lost a game all year and we quickly figured out why. This guy can change speeds to throw off the batters. After 3 innings it was Texas 1- Baylor 0. It stayed this way all the way until the top of the 9th inning and that's when things got interesting.Unfortunately for Cole Green, he could not hold the 1-0 lead and Baylor tied the game at 1 in the 9th.

Texas before the game,we could smell the astroturf from our seats

So you would think Texas would come to bat in the bottom of the inning and end the game. In a perfect world, yes, but not this night. Let's just say we got some free baseball. 5 innings later in the bottom of the 14th, a freshman could not put a bunt down to move the runners over,(which is why I don't like freshman!) but he redeemed himself by hitting the game winning double! So after 14 innings, and 4 1/2 hours, the Longhorns took home the victory!

My beautiful wife and me at the game

Us at lunch in Gruene overlooking the Guadalupe River

Gary with the Longhorn clown!

General Store in Gruene

Still trying to post videos from the concert last week, but for some reason I can't get it to load correctly. I will keep trying. Can't wait to head back down to Austin for football season!

Peanuts & Cracker Jacks

2010-04-28T12:55:00.009-05:00

We had a great time at the Rangers game this past Saturday. Third Day was playing at the pre-game concert and as always it was fantastic!! Even though the Rangers lost we had a great time.

Me and My Babe

Lesley & Ryan

Kacie & Marc

Third Day Concert

Picture Blog of our Trip

2010-04-22T09:07:00.007-05:00

This is what it looked like in San Juan day 1
after we got our rental car.

Driving through mountains to get to Ponce

Arriving in Ponce, Puerto Rico!

Banana farm on the way to Guanica Beach

Beach on the resort

We went to a local bakery and this is what we found. They were good!!

Us on the beach one morning enjoying the sun!

My wife saw this on the way to Guanica Beach.
It was awesome!

Here are some pictures of downtown Ponce:
The architecture was amazing!

View from our room towards the beach!

My beatiful wife!

This is a medium coffee? Really??

Driving back to San Juan through the mountains

5000ft up the mountain on the way to San Juan!

Truth

2010-04-21T10:36:00.003-05:00

Read the following on Lecrae's Twitter and thought I would share. If you enjoy great beats and amazing faith driven lyrics, you have to check him out!

-No one is mad at the blind man for bumping into them, they show him the right way. Don't be mad at the lost, give directions.

-Next time you look down at people who don't know Christ, remember you used to be them until someone loved you with the truth.

Back In Town. . .

2010-04-21T07:36:00.004-05:00

We are now back from our trip to Puerto Rico and even though we are glad to be home, it's always tough to come back from a vacation. This was a much needed vacation and we are so thankful that we were able to experience this beautiful country. The tropical atmosphere on the island was amazing and we did not realize how many mountains there were until we had to drive through them. Note to self: next time, don't try and drive in Puerto Rico. . . .

The food was really good and we were so happy that it did not rain the entire time we were there like it did on our honeymoon last year. All in all, it was a great experience that my wife and I will never forget! Thank you Puerto Rico for your Mofongo, Tostones and Pinchos! We will give the way people drive there a big Fail!! The architecture in Ponce was amazing. The city was founded in 1692 so the buildings there resemble that time period and the colors are vibrant. We had the opportunity to be there when an artisan festival was taking place at Plaza Las Delicias. They had music, food and a bunch of booths with hand made local crafts and art.

We didn't have the time to check out San Juan when we were there but overall we had a great time!

7, Seven, Siete, Sete, Zeven

2010-04-07T07:53:00.005-05:00

Today is April 7th and I'm cool with it because 7 is my favorite number. It's the number I wore from t-ball all the way through college. It has a great ring to it, "seven", and if you take the "s" out it's pretty even. Here are some interesting facts about the number 7 that you may or may not know about:

The number of stars in the constellations of the Big Dipper and Orion
The number of spots on a seven-spot ladybird
In Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, there are seven Chaos Emeralds
Retired jersey number of Hall of Fame baseball player Mickey Mantle
There are seven days of the week even though the Beatles said it was 8
7-11 and 7up
Seven days of Creation (Genesis 1)
Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41)
The fall of the walls of Jericho on the seventh day after marching around the city seven times (Joshua 6)
And after the seven days the flood waters came on the earth. (Genesis 7)
Seven things that are detestable to the LORD (Proverbs 6:16-19)
Seven loaves multiplied into seven baskets of surplus (Matthew 15:32-37)

There are more facts about the number 7 but these are just a few. So enjoy April 7th for it is awesome!

And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:3)

Countdown.....

2010-03-26T14:14:00.013-05:00

Well, March is almost over and that means that it's almost time for our vacation! We can't wait! Both Kristen and I are ready to take some time off and relax and go exploring for adventure. A little under 3 weeks to go!!

We are ready for this:

And some Arepas

And Empanadas

Of course there will be more food but for now we will leave you hungry with these. We were also thinking of going zip lining in the rain forest but not sure if we need a group to do that, so we will find out when we get there.

On another note, Lost this week was awesome! One of the best episodes of the entire series I thought! Can't wait to see what the last 7 episodes have in store. If you are a fan of Lost, I have a link that takes you to a Lost Blog that is pretty awesome. That's all for now, but we'll update more often if we get the chance. Later!

Living Like No One Else Now!!

2010-03-17T10:16:00.004-05:00

So this past weekend Kristen and I accomplished something that we thought was unobtainable. You know, unobtainable like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or finding a four leaf clover(it is St.Patrick's Day after all), or even getting answers like who in the heck is "Jacob" on Lost.

Anyways, sorry I got off track there. As of this past weekend of March 2010,"We're Debt Free!!!!" We could not believe that we actually got to the finish line of what we started last summer. It is such a relief and a huge weight off of our shoulders to have accomplished this together!! Although it was not easy to get started, or to keep it going, we persevered and strengthened our marriage in the process!

We want to thank our friend's the Hillier's for teaching us the tools we needed to not be "normal" and be on the path to financial freedom. Without them reaching out to us last year, we would still be leading the life of debt that we had. Another thanks goes out to Dave Ramsey for preaching every day to "Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else!" This is so true!! Dave we will be calling you in the near future to scream on your show. For those who watch it, you know what we mean.

It was funny though once we paid off our last debt because it was surreal. We were speechless and just kind of standing in our living room not wanting to move thinking it was a dream. Thank God that he gave us the strength, maturity and patience to get us through this. Now we are going to be able to pay it forward and have the means to help others.

So now we start our new life and we are so hapy to have learned the tools to never get back to being "normal" again!!

Also, I just noticed that we are getting visitors from all over the world. That's awesome! After the United States, our next biggest fans are the British, followed by Canadians, Brazilians, Australians and Russians. We are even popular in Malaysia. Who would have thought? So keep visiting us and I'll update the stats periodically.

Who Am I?

2010-03-03T10:02:00.004-06:00

Where do you get your identity from? What do you let define you? A lot of us allow experiences in our lives identify who we are and who we will be. I am at fault when it comes to this because I allowed things in my life to define who I was. I was guilty of both wanting to gain acceptance and wanting to feel significant in relationships. In dealing through all of that, I always asked myself,"Am I enough, am I worth it?" Being human, I'm sure we all at some point in our lives ask ourselves this and wait for an answer.

Until recently I did not fully grasp the answer to this. I am fully known and fully loved by God! That's powerful stuff right there!! I do not want to be a man that seeks acceptance or that seeks to feel significant by life's experiences. I want to embrace my God given identity to strengthen my relationships and brake down any barriers that get in the way of that. I can only do this by turning my life to God on a daily basis and ask to be humbled and to be given the confidence through Him to be assured of who I am. I keep replaying this thought in my mind and it just amazes me how simple, yet how powerful it is!

I want to be the type of man that understands this truth and has God given confidence in the identity I was given through Him. I want to be the type of man that can give love and grace to relationships, rather than try to get something out of them like acceptance or a feeling of being significant. Father, humble me and give me the strength and wisdom needed to be this type of man to my wife, my family and my friends. Allow me to overcome the barriers that come between being lost and fully knowing my identity through you. Help me show love and grace to relationships in my life and use me to make you known to the world.

Memorable Times!

2010-02-25T14:24:00.017-06:00

This past weekend we had so much fun! It was Lesley's moms birthday and we celebrated by going downtown Grapevine to a place called "Painting With A Twist". It's kind of similiar to a painting class where there's a teacher and everyone paints the same picture. We brought wine and Lesley made a cake. We had so much fun! I was so proud of my painting we put it on the wall as soon as I got home!

Here's our group!

Me and Mom

Mom, Sheree and Lesley

This was the entire class! It was one of the biggest classes they've ever had.

Then on Sunday we celebrated with Lesley's new birthday! She was baptized and is now a sister in Christ. We are so proud and happy for her. The baptism brought tears to my eyes, it was so moving to see my best friend go through this life changing experience. Love ya sis!

Thinking This Today

2010-02-23T13:09:00.004-06:00

Been thinking about this today:

We all need people in our lives who will always have our back, but won't always take our side.

We all need to be challenged, broken down, and humbled by people who love us, in order to be better people for God's purpose in our life. I am blessed to have a wife that will be this person for me when I am at my hardest to be loved. I wish everyone could be so blessed!

Our Nephew

2010-02-20T16:05:00.002-06:00

So we are sitting at Kristen's mom's house right now and our nephew Cylas is eating some Mrs. Bairds chocolate cupcakes and they look good!! He said that he got them at school for a "cewabation" for something but didn't remember what the "cewabation" was for. We thought that was just funny! Then he doesn't drink milk, but he drinks strawberry milk. I wonder if I ever had any weird eating or drinking habits like that when I was his age. Oh to be a kid again, haha!! It's funny to hear him try to explain things to us! We have a great laugh when he tries!

Almost There...

2010-02-17T08:58:00.005-06:00

This is Dave Ramsey. He is a Radio/TV show host who lost it all and worked to get it all back and started a movement called the Total Money Makeover. He has made it his ministry to give people a plan and a forum to help them get out of debt. Thanks to the Hillier's we were introduced to Dave's plan last summer, and we are happy to say that it has been life changing. Even though at first it seemed nearly impossible to be debt free, thanks to great fortune and blessings, we are months away from our goal to being debt free before our 1 year anniversary!! Kristen and I are both really excited about this task that we took on together as a married couple and will be even more excited when we reach the finish line!! We highly recommend going through Financial Peace University to anyone who feels that they are sick and tired of being sick and tired!! So thanks Hillier's and Dave! We will soon be able to scream, "We're Debt Free!!!"

Snowmageddon!!

2010-02-11T09:36:00.010-06:00

So here in Texas we usually have pretty warm to hot weather year round. Winters are usually pretty mild, but man did it snow last night!! We woke up this morning to a white blanket of snow and it was awesome!! What? You don't believe that it snows in Texas? Check this out:

My beautiful wife in the snow this morning!

Here is what the pool area looked like this morning

This was taken by where our car was parked

Here is what it looked like driving out of our apartment

Here is the road heading into work today

Probably not smart to drive and take pictures

Here is the view from outside our office

We are supposed to get more snow throughout the day and into tomorrow. Maybe it will be a snow day for all of us and we won't have to go to work!! Unless of course you have a snowmobile, then you have no excuse to stay home. So enjoy the weather if you live in North Texas and don't drive like idiots on the freeways! You know who you people are.....

Priceless!

2010-02-09T09:29:00.011-06:00

Hi Everyone! I haven't posted in so long. My husband has been so amazing at keeping everyone updated. I have so many new things to share and hope to very soon. But until then I thought I would leave you with this picture.

This is a picture of our Worship Leader's daughter showing her daddy that her booboo is all better. Priceless!! Her adorable expression makes this picture even more cute and innocent.

Really??

2010-02-03T07:40:00.002-06:00

Driving on North Texas freeways is always an experience. Not only is there traffic all hours of the day on all freeways, but you usually see things that just make you look twice and say, "Really??" This morning was one of these times for me. Driving on 121 South this morning I saw the Honda in front of me driving awkwardly and thought maybe they were just sleepy. Boy was I wrong! As I approached the Honda I could not believe what I saw. This guy was giving himself a haircut while driving on the freeway. Again, this guy was giving himself a HAIRCUT!!

Come on man, really??? What was ironic about it was the fact that the guy was already bald, yet he had his hair clippers at hand trimming his bald scalp! This is not something you expect to see every day so I thought I would share. So if you see any silver Hondas being driven by a bald guy make sure you ask him what he was thinking. I thought about trying to take a picture of him because I know this sounds like I'm making it up, but I figured it would probably not be a great idea to steer my car and try to operate my cell phone camera at the same time.

It's A Pizza Pie!!

2010-02-02T14:33:00.003-06:00

I'm craving some Home Slice Meatball Pizza Pie! Yeah, it's that good! I know I spoke of it being Taco Tuesday, but this tops it!! So if anyone in Austin wants to ship me a pie, I would gladly accept it!! Just don't take a slice like this guy did:

Tuesday

2010-02-02T10:43:00.004-06:00

Today is Tuesday February 2nd. Which can only mean one thing. . . no, not Groundhog Day, Taco Tuesday at Rosa's!!! If you don't know what that is, shame on you!! Look it up and go check it out! It is Groundhog Day today and for those who follow that, the groundhog saw his shadow so more winter coming our way. Not that it matters because Texas weather is crazy anyways!

Sitting here listening to Darius Rucker or as most of you may know him, "that guy from Hootie & The Blowfish." One of his lyrics jumped out at me, " you gotta live and learn so you can learn to live." That is so true. We all have to stumble, trip, take chances, take a stance and fall flat on our faces so we can learn to live our lives. If we didn't experience any of that, we would all continue to make the same mistakes over and over and would never learn anything. We all should gladly take all that God presents us with, good or bad, and have something positive come out of it. That is how we get shaped to fulfill our purpose in life and how we make him known to the world. I thank him for allowing me to make many many mistakes in my life because that was the only way I came to know Him!

On another completely different tangent, the final season of Lost starts tonight. Needless to say, I am excited to see how the show unfolds and have all questions answered!! It better be good!! So check it out!

Man vs. Wild

2010-01-28T12:10:00.004-06:00

Ok so I'm throwing this out there. I am a nerd. I say that for a couple of reasons. The first being that I was the type of person that really enjoyed school. The learning part of it, which is weird because I'm not a person that likes to read all that much, but that's another story. The second reason is that my favorite channels on tv are Discovery and History. Now these channels were cool back in the day, but now that they are in HD, man are they awesome!!

I started watching Man vs Wild on Discovery channel a while back and it really intrigued me. I mean, here's a guy that gets dropped off in some crazy environment and he has to survive and find a way out, under his own will!

Men, now we all know we secretly want to be "that" guy. The one that can get out of any sticky situation, fight off wild animals with your Swiss Army knife and survive in harsh environments by eating termites and ants and stuff, you know, the John Rambo way! Now, I know a lot of the things Bear Grylls goes through are for the purpose of the show and not entirely fact, but it's still cool. That's one of the reasons I watch the show. The other reason I watch the show is to get some tips. Because like all men, this thought always crosses my mind: "You never know, we could be in that situation sometime, somewhere, in some place." DFW is a crazy place, you never know when you may need to know how to build a raft and float the Trinity to safety.

Surely we all know that we may never find ourselves stuck in the Amazon fighting off killer tarantulas and having to survive off frog legs and Amazonian termites, but you never know. . . .

Thankfully, I have never been in a situation where I had to use my MacGyver skills, or my Chuck Norris roundhouse kicks, but it's good to know that they are in the arsenal. No, really, I was a ninja once. . . . .

Jumbled Thoughts

2010-01-26T11:13:00.004-06:00

Sitting here just thinking about what seems like a bunch things today. The first month of the new year is almost gone and I can't even remember what all happened the past three weeks. That probably means I need to slow down and appreciate every day which is something I am not very good at. My beautiful wife tells me that all the time and I should listen to her.

A co-worker and his wife recently had a baby boy and it just amazes me how much life changes when God breathes life into our every day. To see the transformation from an "about me" attitude, to a "new baby" attitude got me thinking about when I became a Christian. My attitude change was similar to the above mentioned. I went from a selfish, self-centered, egotistical attitude and way of life, to someone that has learned that putting others before him is more important to God's plan. That other people are to come before me at all times to represent the grace God showed me.

It truly is amazing how accepting Christ and a new attitude changed my life. I can honestly say that if I hadn't made that choice, I would not be married today to an amazing, wonderful, caring and loving wife! I don't know where I'd be without God in my life. I think that's why I like the song Born Again by Third Day. I think it's a great representation of how a lot of us feel, a lot of the time. We all feel lost without knowing what direction to follow. But then God breathes life into your journey and you find your way. You are Born Again. You find that there are more important things than yourself. It truly is a humbling experience, but one that I would not take back.

I often ask myself how breathing life would look like. I's always pictured it as being this glorious, amazing act coming down from the heavens, but in reality it looks nothing like that. If you truly pay attention and look, you will see a representation of this every day. You can find it in people giving each other words of encouragement, in people lending a hand without anyone asking or seeing someone showing compassion even though it's undeserved. Those are true images of breathing life into every day.

We started reading a book called Crazy Love by Fracis Chan. It is a book that will make Christians truly examine themselves with a challenge to not change merely the actions and products of their life, but the perspective and intentions that drive it. I think it will be a great tool to evaluate my own life and see what the true driving force behind it is. I'm curious to see how the book will unfold.

Well I'll try to get my other thoughts down on paper if I can ever get them to not be jumbled. Later for now!

Word Of The Day

2010-01-18T14:29:00.003-06:00

Communicate;

1. To convey information about; make known; impart
2. To reveal clearly; manifest
3. To have an interchange, as of ideas
4. To express oneself in such a way that one is readily and clearly understood
5. To be connected, one with another

I like #5 the best, it is the most vital

This is a verb that can convey your thoughts to other people by several means. It can be by actions, body language and words. I need to get better at this. There is a difference between talking and communicating. Talking uses your vocabulary while communicating is a gateway to your heart and your mind.

Even though I am a guy(insert every excuse here), I need to be better at the latter. I need to be better at opening those gates. (He who guards his lips guards his life...Proverbs 13:3) I can't keep my thoughts, hopes and dreams guarded behind the gate. I know sometimes my wife feels like she needs a secret handshake to let her past the guards, who will then give her the word of the day so she can knock on the door and say the secret code to come inside, to then be teleported to the secret location of the day.

I need to be a better husband and let my wife in more than I do. (Husbands, go all out in love for your wives...Colossians 3:19 The Message) I need to go all our in love for her and give her full access. Only then can I truly be a Godly husband to her. I need to act more in the image of Christ than in the image of me. Philipians 2 says that our attitudes should be like that of Christ Jesus in every aspect of our life and how we should look at the interests of others before our own. This falls right into communication. I need to realize that it is an important interest for my wife to have me truly communicate with her on a consistant basis. Father humble me in a way that I can be the husband I need to be and allow me to open the gates for my wife to have an all access pass to that part of my life so that no obstacle can hold me back to walk with you in my path and for our marriage to be glorifying to you.

Being Lost Is Not That Bad Because....

2010-01-15T09:43:00.004-06:00

So I'm putting this out there: My name is Sebastian and I am a Lostoholic....

Lost has been one of my favorite tv shows of all time. This February will be the beginning of the final season. As sad as I am to see it go, I know that it will be remembered as one of the greatest shows in tv history. I mean, just the title itself portrays what the main focus of the series is. No, not the fact that people get lost on an island and they have to push a button every 108 minutes to save the world, or that they have to worry about Ben and the others and the smoke monster.

The fact that they, as individuals are Lost. They don't know what their purpose is or what they are living for. However, each individual finds meaning in their life as they live on the island and see what it has to offer them. They find their answers by turning to faith.

This sounds a lot like what we all go through from time to time. We get "Lost" in the shuffle of life and feel like we don't know what we are doing or where we are headed. Without trials in our life we would never be able to "Find" what we are seeking. We all must go through trials in life and seasons in which we feel lost to be more dependent on God. We can't go through life alone. We all need answers and a purpose and God is the only one who can, and will give you both in life.

I find my life more defined since I started following God. I find that I have better direction of where I am going even if I'm standing still. I find that God will humble me in situations so that I can better serve His purpose and not my own. Proverbs says it best:

(...in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight(Proverbs 3:6))

So what path do you choose to follow? Will you journey through the "island" without direction and hope that you come across what you are looking for or will you seek for answers and purpose from God?

I don't know how the show will end or how my own life will end, but I do know that I want every moment to be meaningful and every experience to have a purpose.

Fresh Start

2010-01-14T17:38:00.006-06:00

New Year, New Layout! So we have found a new layout for our blog. It's taken us a bit to get used to it and try to figure out all the codes for it. We think it brings a fresh look to our blog. We hope you enjoy it! Thought we would include a couple of pictures from Christmas. We have more, but we can't post them all. So here are these:

Here is My Beautiful Wife and I celebrating Christmas at my mom's

So we will try to update as much as possible this new year. Both of us are excited about what 2010 has to bring and can't wait to take it on! So for now, 14 days into the new year we bid you farewell until we post again. Hook Em'!

Catching Up

2010-01-05T14:28:00.009-06:00

It's been since right after Thanksgiving since we've posted anything. I blame it on the turkey. I know it's supposed to make you sleepy, but it also makes you procrastinate blogging. Bet you didn't know that one. So we are playing catch up now. In December, we celebrated our neice's birthday. We all went out to dinner and then went to ICE at the Gaylord Texan. It was already cold outside that evening and going into somewhere that is several notches below zero didn't make it any better! But we all had a great time! Here are some pictures of our evening.

Here is Cortheye opening some of her birhday gifts

My Beautiful Wife and I at dinner

Cylas and Me being crazy

Jennifer, Cortheye, Kristen, Cylas and Me

Lesley and her daughter Kayla

The kids waiting to go into ICE

How did he steal Christmas?

Cortheye and Kristen

My Beautiful Wife and Me in front of the Grinch

It was a very cold evening but we all enjoyed it. It took a while for my hands to thaw themselves out but they are ok. I did not lose any fingers going through ICE. We'll catch up with Christmas pictures and events soon. Don't miss the Longhorns on Thursday evening in the BCS National Championship game! Hook Em' Horns!!

Recap With Pictures

2009-12-16T11:02:00.021-06:00

We haven't posted pictures in a while so here we go. Thanksgiving, Birthday Party and Christmas Train in pictures.

Here I am being crazy with the Turkey on Thanksgiving. We went over to Kristen's mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner, and like every Thanksgiving we ate too much! It was a great time to just hang out with our families and enjoy great food.

My Beautiful Wife and I showing off the baked Mac & Cheese. I don't care if it's baked, fried or just cooked. I will eat mac & cheese no matter what!

Here is Kristen with our Moms

We went a little different this year with our Christmas Tree. We went with a white tree and Kristen had the awesome idea of decorating it in silver, red and blue ornaments! We think it looks great. Here is a picture of our tree in the process of getting decorated, before the cats got to it and almost brought it down. For some reason they like to climb on trees. Who would have thought that about cats. . . but we were able to save it from their paws.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Kristen's cousin's kid's 3 year old birthday party. Try saying that 10 times fast! The party was at Exite gym in Flower Mound. We had no idea that place existed. But once we got there I could not help myself and I had to jump in the foam pit and go through the bounce house! As you can see from the picture, I did not fare so well on that slide. That is me falling face first.

Here are Kristen's second cousins Mason & Dylan eating cupcakes! No, you are not seeing double, they are twins and they like to pretend that they are the other one, so you can imagine how that can get confusing!

Here is Mason coming down the slide. Notice the difference between this picture and the way I came down. Hmmmm. . . . Did I forget how slides work?

Now we move on to the Christmas train! Yes, you heard correctly, the Christmas train. It's not the Polar Express, it's the Joel Express. Last weekend we headed over to Kristen's step father's parent's house. He sets up a train for kids to come over and ride and goes all out with the Christmas decorations and the lights. It really is a sight to see! He has been on the news the past couple of years because of it so you know it's big time! We went over there with Brett & Audra and their kids Kohan & Emerie along with Kohan's friend Vincent. Lesley brought her daughter Kayla over and Jennifer brought Cortheye & Cylas. We all had a great time even though it was cold!

Here they are on the train. No, they are not wild animals, they got their faces painted at a Christmas party that afternoon.

Here is Kristen holding Emerie in her Christmas dress and laughing at something. It was probably me she was laughing at!

Well, that's all the pictures we have for now. Hope you enjoyed them. With Christmas and New Year's coming up we'll be sure to take more and post them up. Have a good one!

Thoughts

2009-12-15T10:45:00.006-06:00

Been listening to to Glory Revealed today and it's refreshing. It really just makes me take a step back from the day's ongoings and reflect on life and what's important. There are some great songs on that cd! Thank God for inspirational music like that! It's crazy to think that music like this is out there, yet all of the other music gets air play. Tried burning some cd's the other day and they didn't play in the car. I hate it when that happens!

Kristen and I started watching Julie & Julia last night and it made us hungry! Isn't funny how watching something about food does that? Especially when it looks really good. My pants would like to blame the following shows for not letting me fit into them:

-Man vs. Food (Katz Deli)

-Throwdown (Arepas)

-Diners, Drive In's & Dives (Twisted Root Burger)

-Tyler Florence's Ultimate (Fish Tacos)

There are more places but it's making me hungry thinking about them. Going to make stuffed jalapenos this weekend. I have not made them in almost a year and it's about that time to make them again! Even those that don't like jalapenos enjoy these! Being that it is the Christmas season, we should all make something that tastes good and enjoy it! Why get out and try to get around in all the hussle and bussle when you can have people over and enjoy great food and have a great time! Well, back to thinking about pizza pies and brownie sundaes!!

December Already?!

2009-12-08T09:52:00.004-06:00

Last month of the year is here! I can not believe that it is already December. It seems like this past year has just flown by. 2009 has been an eventful year for Kristen and I. We got married in May, we moved to a new place after that, started new jobs in the summer, got on track to be debt free by the start of the new year and have build stronger relationships within our family and with friends, just to name a few things.

The end of year brings about many things. For businesses it's all about profit or loss on their bottom line. For students and teachers, it's all about surviving until Christmas break. And for many it's all about the New Year's Resolutions that seem to dwindle away with time as people realize how unatainable some of them are.

For us, the end of the year is just another brick on the road of our lives together. Having spent 11 years with Kristen has truly been a blessing for me. You learn a lot about a person after 11 years. But I think more importantly, you learn how to truly love someone at an intimate level. I am very blessed to have been able to love someone for 11 years and counting, and my prayer to all is that everyone can at some point in their lives experience that for themselves.

So don't make crazy resolutions, just lend a helping hand to someone in need without expecting recognition. Say please and thank you to people. Smile more often, it brightens people's day. Be genuine in everything you do. Be loyal to those you love. Show compasion and grace to people just as God has shown us. Bust most importantly, be thankful for what you are blessed with.

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.(John 1:16)

Austin Trip

2009-11-24T07:59:00.031-06:00

Well this past weekend was Kristen's Dad's birthday, so we celebrated the only way we know how, Road Trip to Austin to watch the Longhorns!! Texas was playing Kansas this past weekend and they stormed past them 51-20 and clinched the Big 12 South title. Next up is a game against the aggies and then Nebraska in the conference championship game. Here is a recap in pictures of our weekend! Enjoy!

Here is the stadium as we started our tour of the facilities

Here is Gary under the Horns. Do as it says, Don't Mess With Texas!!

Some of the great running backs that have played at Texas

Is that Mack Brown? No, it's Gary at Mack's Desk

Last one was in 2005, next one is this year!!

Kristen and her Dad with the biggest Longhorn on the planet

We ate at Salt Lick BBQ

Here we all are outside the stadium

My beautiful wife and I waiting for the team to arrive

Mack Brown getting his Horns up!!

Jordan Shipley in the background

Greatest QB in Texas History? We'll see after this season.

Stadium before the game

My beautiful wife and I at waiting for the game to get going

The Eyes of Texas

Kristen and Gary

Us watching Texas pound Kansas

The Tower goes Orange!!

After all was done, Colt McCoy set the all time wins record by a QB, Texas improved to 11-0 and the road to Pasadena continues! We all had a blast hanging out in Austin, eating Homeslice Pizza, SaltLick, Magnolia Cafe & Texadelphia and watching the Horns win! My wife did an amazing job planning this trip for all of us! Hook Em'Horns!

Road Trip & Longhorn Football

2009-11-18T08:26:00.010-06:00

Heading down to Austin this week to celebrate Kristen's Dad's birthday! It's going to be a great time! BBQ, Austin and Longhorn Football. It does not get any better than that. Texas goes up against Kansas on Saturday night as Colt McCoy will break the all time wins record by a QB. So our trip will consist of this:

Some of this:

Hey, even Obama knows what's up!!

And some of this:

Keep posted for pictures and for a recap of things. We just hope that the weather will be good and that the forecasted rain does not show up! But we'll have a great time regardless! Out for now, but be back later! Hook Em' Horns!!

Halloween Night

2009-11-04T09:57:00.006-06:00

Halloween was last weekend, it was a lot fun and we wanted to share a few pictures from our evening.

Here is my wife with our nephew in matching Halloween shirts!

Cortheye & Cylas as Dorothy & The Tin Man

Cortheye dressing up Major in his Costume

My beautiful wife with Major, he doesn't like his picture taken

It's funny to think that on this one night, our doorbell gets more use than the entire year combined. We passed out a bunch of candy to a bunch of strangers in costumes and masks and what not. Only 1 kid tripped this year on our blow up decorations in the front yard and avoided getting hurt. The Longhorns beat little Okie 41-14 to avoid any misteps on their way to a Conference Title. Overall it was a great evening. Next up, I don't know yet. . .keep checking in and find out. Hook Em' Horns!!

Pictures

2009-11-03T13:29:00.010-06:00

So last week Kristen and I got our wedding album and pictures! We were so excited to see the what our wedding album would look like and it was awesome! It's funny how it doesn't even seem like our wedding was 6 months ago. Well, since we got our picture proofs, we started picking out our favorite ones and sending them to get printed! Here are a few to enjoy:

We'll try to pick out our favorite ones and make them into a slideshow or something. There are just so many of them that we love that it will take us a while to go through and pick some out! So, when we do we'll get started on that!

More Concert Pictures

2009-10-23T14:32:00.004-05:00

Here are some more concert pictures to a great song by Third Day. Hope you enjoy it!

Third Day

2009-10-23T10:25:00.016-05:00

So, on Wednesday I was listening to KLTY while they were doing a Third Day contest. If you were the 9th caller after hearing a Third Day song you would win tickets to their concert. So, on my way to the dentist of all places, I heard one of their songs and called in lightning fast! To my surprise, I was the 9th caller and won the tickets!! So this post is dedicated to the awesome time my beautiful wife and I had at their concert yesterday! Here are a few pictures of our time and more pictures and videos will follow. Enjoy!!

Here we are before the concert started

Mac Powell Rockin' Out

Singing Come on Back to Me

The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Yeah, they played it

Singing Tunnel

God of Wonders

God of Wonders w/ Glory Revealed

Revelation as the closing song

Awesome performance

Everyone was rocking out

Us being silly during the concert

As you can see we had a great time singing along with Third Day and praising God at the show! It was amazing to see that many people rockin' out to great music. One pretty cool moment was when the entire audience was dancing to Devil Went Down to Georgia and then the band went to the middle of the audience to take requests and played some acoustic versions of their songs. Our favorite was Blessed Assurance. Such a powerful song!! Keep posted for the videos as soon as I can figure out how to post them.

Great Birthday Weekend!!

2009-10-19T10:04:00.014-05:00

What a great weekend we had! Not only did we celebrate the win of the Longhorns over the Sooners we also celebrated Sebastian’s 27th birthday with all of our family. Wow 27, it seems like it was just yesterday when we were celebrating his 20th. I love you so much Babe and look forward to many, many more together. The day was so much fun! We had barbeque brisket with all the fixins' and a fun filled afternoon of games.

Sebastian and his Mom

Me, Seb's Mom and Miranda

Cortheye helped with the fruit tray

Audra and Brett brought Sebastian this awesome cookie cake, it was yummy!!

Here we all are playing charades

Here's Major and as you can see he still dislikes getting his picture taken and is still so attached to my mom. He never leaves her side.

Here's Dad still glowing from Texas' win!

Mac & Cheese, Yes. Pizza, Absolutely!!

2009-10-14T07:51:00.005-05:00

One of our favorite things to eat is macaroni & cheese. We could eat it with 4 cheeses, fried or baked. Another one of our favorite things to eat is pizza. There's thin crust, hand tossed, deep dish, etc. Now, just think how awesome it would be if you put those two together. . .WAIT. . . it's already happened and it's at a neighborhood CiCi's near you! For some time now, CiCi's has mastered the art of putting mac & cheese on a pizza, and it is awesome! We had that for dinner last night and we were not disappointed. Just check out how great this looks:

If the thought of Mac & Cheese Pizza seems weird to you, get over it and go get this! You will not be disappointed. And if you want to create your own combination, CiCi's is awesome at letting people get creative with toppings. If they hadn't, we would have never been introduced to the wonders of this pizza! What are some other out of the ordinary food combinations that you like. Share your thoughts and ideas with us and if we have enough responses, we'll blog about it. Buon apetito!!

Catching Up

2009-10-13T08:08:00.005-05:00

Well, it's Tuesday so you know what that means. . . .YES! It is raining here in Texas once again!! For the past three weeks, it has rained on a Tuesday. I, for one welcome it because on Tuesday evenings I play softball, and the past three weeks we were scheduled to play the late games! I know we will probably have to make them up sometime, but right now I get to enjoy staying home with my wife to enjoy the rain!

It's been about a week since we posted last so I'll fill you in on what's been going on. Last Thursday I got another year older. While I am still not 30, I am getting pretty close! Kristen and I celebrated that night by going out to one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants, Mi Cocina! If you have not been there, you need to go, if you've already been, you need to go again! They have the best brisket tacos we have ever tasted and we were not disappointed.

Then, for dessert, Kristen got me a Lemon Bundt Cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes! It was AWESOME! I'm a fan of citrus, so this was right up my alley!! Then, to my surprise my wife totally shocked me and got me an awesome gift!! Oakley Radars!! (see below) I was so excited because I had broken my last pair several years ago and had not been able to replace them, but now consider them replaced!! Thanks babe!!

On Friday Kristen and I led discussion at our small group. We spoke about what our purpose is, and why we as Christians benefit from having a clear purpose for our lives, and how God uses broken people for His greatest purposes in life. We talked about waking up each morning saying, "Good morning, Lord!" and not "Good Lord; it's morning. . . " So consider each moment, conversation or situation as your purpose! Don't worry about tomorrow because God already took care of that! Do not be afraid to try something new. Remember; Amateurs build the Ark & Professionals build the Titanic!

That is all for now. As for this evening I get to enjoy another Tuesday at home with my wife because God gave us rain!!!

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3)

Thoughts For Change

2009-10-01T10:11:00.003-05:00

So we were watching Dave Ramsey last night and he had Jeff Bolton on his show to talk about a non profit website dedicated to an unusual movement. He wanted to get rid of all 535 members of Congress at the next election cycles and start fresh. His website is www.blowoutcongress.com and it was pretty interesting.

What would our country look like if everyone worked together to make our voices heard? His idea, is for all voters to unify and vote in the incumbents or challengers to a Congress seat at the next election cycle. He wants people to put aside political affiliation and vote in new people to office that are not corrupt or bought by lobbyist. It's an intersting idea to have out there. For as long as I can remember, politics has always been about who pays the big bucks to get things done for their benefit. It is extremely rare to have members of Congress approve bills or laws that benefit the people that voted them to that seat.

Think about this? What if people had united together to vote out corrupt business leaders like CEO's and CFO's? Could the financial situation we face, have been avoided if people worked together to rid companies and firms of overpaid and underperforming leadership? Could other situations like healthcare be impacted by such a movement? I wonder what our country would look like if this movement gained momentum and worked. Would America truly be different than it is now, or would we be disappointed if the newly elected just followed suit and didn't change anything?

Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances. (Proverbs 11:14 The Message)

May God allow me to have good direction in my life to be a Godly husband, son, brother and friend. May he allow me to be a light to shine where there is darkness, and make him known through my actions. Thank you God for humbling me and showing me my faults and for giving me direction to overcome them.

Randomness

2009-09-30T10:07:00.003-05:00

What would you do if you caught a glimpse of what God had in store for your future? Would you do anything to try and alter those visions or would you come to terms with anything you saw and embrace it?

This is a plot for a show we saw last week called Flash Forward, but it really got me thinking about how I would react. What if I saw that I would be suffering or struggling? What if I saw events that would alter history and would affect people I knew? Would I try to prevent or change anything, or would I be firm in my beliefs and let it play itself out? What if God allowed me to see those things to use me to be a voice for what would happen, sort of like a Prophet.

I've yet to come up with an answer to these questions regarding myself, but what would you do?

On another note, it is the last day of September, which only means that October starts tomorrow and 8 days in to the month will be an awesome day! No it's not free Chick Fil A Day! It will be my birthday! Or should I say, a day in which I will become Older. Getting older is weird and not that fun when you notice your hair turning gray. Also, today we have a meeting at work where they will announce the Employee of the Year. I am up for this award and it would be great if I were to win! My wife and I hope I do because one of the prizes is a pair of airline tickets! We would soooo take a nice long vacation if I were to win! I'll keep you posted to what happens.

Looking forward to this weekend as we have this time share presentation on Saturday that we signed up for. No, not for the time share, but for all the stuff they give you to just sit there and listen to their presentation. Once we endure that, we will get a 4 day Cruise to Cozumel, an AMEX Gift Card and a Salt Grass Gift Card and something else that I can't think of right now. So it should be boring but great once we leave!

And like the great Porky Pig would say.. . . . .That's All Folks!

Hello, Hola, Kia Ora, Hej, Namoshkar,and G'Day!

2009-09-25T14:07:00.008-05:00

Just wanted to shout out to the people over seas who read our blog from the UK, Spain, New Zealand, Sweden, India and the land down unda', Australia!

It's Friday and the weather here in DFW is awesome compared to what it's been like the past few weeks! So we'll enjoy it while we can because being in Texas means it will more than likely be 90 degrees by tomorrow!

Quick update on the Longhorns, they are off to a 3-0 start although they have been unimpressive in their wins. They do have a conference win under their belt which is always good. This Saturday they play little brother UTEP and it should be a nice tune up for the remainder of Conference play and will give the Austinites plenty of this:

Wish I had a slice of pizza from HomeSlice right now cuz I am hungry! Or I could eat some Brisket Tacos from Taco Diner! Either one will do! So if you're in the neighborhood and you feel like dropping something off, feel free!

Can't wait to spend the weekend with my beautiful wife! And if the weather stays like this, it will only make it better! Later for now!

Cheesesteaks in TX? That's Right!!

2009-09-15T19:47:00.006-05:00

So, it's been a while since I've posted anything so I thought I would fill you in on what could be the best cheesesteak not from Philly. It's at a place located in Las Colinas called Texadelphia. This establishment has several locations throughout the state, as it originated in Austin. Shout out to ATX!! Now, they have them around college campuses in Texas and even in Norman, OK. I know, how could those guys eat anything with the name Texas on it??

Here is my beautiful wife showing off her Turkey on a white hoagie, with provolone, mustard blend and extra pickles. Since they know us so well at this place they put the turkey on the grill for a second to melt the cheese! It's awesome!

We went back to the old stompin' grounds a couple of weekends ago and remembered what we loved about this place! Yes, the sandwiches are awesome, but what makes them better than the rest is the ALL FAMOUS MUSTARD BLEND!!!

Even though I worked there several years ago, they did not fill me in on the secret recipe for this amazing sauce. I even tried to be covert several times but never had any success. I think they make it at a secret location unknown to us all and it is guarded by man eating crocodiles and they have snipers on the roof. I don't know if that's true, but that's how I would protect it if it was me.

So, if you are ever around, nearby, next to, or in front of a Texadelphia location, go in, order up a cheesesteak and let the good times roll.

Here's my favorite, beef steak on a white hoagie with melted cheese and pepperoni, then I add the Mustard Blend!!

Emerie is HERE!!!!

2009-09-06T21:22:00.013-05:00

Sweet baby girl Emerie is here!! She surprised all of us and came 10 days early. We just had Brett and Audra's baby shower last weekend, and had no idea she would be here exactly one week later. Audra called me around noon on Saturday and said she thought it was time. I screamed and then Sebastian and I got in the car and headed to the hospital as fast as we could. As soon as we got there they were pulling up! It was now around 1pm and they got Audra all hooked up and said Emerie was definitely going to be born that day. We all screamed and got so excited!!! We all then started joking around about how the Longhorns were kicking off at 6pm for their first game of the season and we were rooting for Emerie to come before then. And she did not dissappoint, she arrived at 5:02pm. She weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce, and was 19 1/4 inches long. She is the prettiest and sweeetest baby I have ever seen. She is just perfect! While Brett and Audra were going through everything, Sebastian and I kept their son Kohan busy out in the waiting room. I think we actually tried one of everything in the vending machine. I was so nervous and found comfort in cheddar cheese chips and rice krispie treats. Kohan was great and was so excited when he got to see his new baby sister.

Getting her first bath, only 2 hours old.

Kohan looking through the glass at his little sister.

Here we are in the waiting room anxiously waiting for Emerie's arrival

What an amazing feeling, truly holding a gift from God. I didn't want to let her go.