Operation: New Start

i remember the day my little brother, tyler, was born...

i remember the room where i sat with all the other new big brothers and sisters as they waited for their new sibling to arrive.

i remember sitting at the long white tables, crayon in hand, working diligently on the perfect picture for my new little brother.

i remember the pony that i drew eating grass, standing under a bright yellow sun.

i remember wadding that picture up in a ball while screaming "its not good enough for my little brother!" yes... i was a perfectionist at 4 years of age.

i'm told that i proceeded to tell the ladies at my daycare that we decided to name my new little brother brocolli and that we decided we didn't like him so we threw him out the window (we didn't really).

then, somewhere along the way, things went horribly wrong.

had i not been at the hospital with them, i would have sincerely believed that he was picked up on the side of the road on the way home from dinner one night.

i don't know many other siblings that are more different from one another. he was always the social butterfly. the outgoing, popular one that made friends easily. i was always very shy and self conscious. i always felt like i was searching for a friend and he was always surrounded by them. we've always liked a lot of the same things. music. art. but it seems sometimes that we are just programmed differently.

unfortunately, he's had a lot of things go wrong lately. some of those things were his own doing. some weren't.

what he needs now is a fresh start. he needs to be away from his friends. he needs to be free of these people that he feels the need to please and learn to stand on his own two feet.

so once all the christmas chaos was over and done with he left arkansas and everything he knows behind. he followed us home to georgia for what is sure to be a grand adventure. i don't know what this has in store for him...or us. but i'm hoping that it will be a positive change for him and an opportunity for him to learn a lot about himself.

i'll do my best to keep this updated on the goings-on here. i know that there are people that are praying a special prayer for tyler and for us....please keep it up! we are going to do our best to be a positive influence in his life and help him on his way to becoming the best person that he can be.

til next time...be blessed.

My Thankful List

its crunch time.

the turkey has been eaten. the christmas lights and trees are going up. but even with all the chaos that seems to ensue this time of year, everywhere i turn i'm reminded of all the things in my life that i have to be thankful for.

as i lay in bed last night, trying (to no avail) to take a nap to prepare myself for "midnight madness" shopping, i constructed a list of those things for which i am thankful. there are so many, ranging from significant to the seemingly mundane, that it would be impossible to list them all...but here are some of the ones that came to mind:

i am thankful for my husband. he makes me brave. this truth just came to me the other day while talking to my boss...but it couldn't be more true. never in my life plans did i ever think i'd live all over the country (so very far out of my safety net but thankfully only in the south, thus far) and be able to accomplish some of the things that we've accomplished together. we embark on journeys together that, were i alone, would never even be considered. he pushes me to be better than i think i can be and i know that no matter what comes, i have a partner and a friend that i can count on.

i am thankful for my family. for the christian family that i was born into as well as the one i married into. i know that these are the hands that shaped me into the person i am today. the continuous, unfailing love and support that they offer me, despite the miles, has gotten me through even the darkest of days.

i am thankful for the doors that god has opened (and closed) in the last few years. i know that he knows the plans that he has for me....because sometimes i don't know which way is up. but even when we are completely caught off guard by the things that are thrown on our plate, they prove to be a blessing. when the time came to leave alabama, georgia wasn't even on our radar. but living here has brought about so many blessings and friendships that i'm sure will last a lifetime. and then, when it looked like we would have to be leaving the place that we've called home for just a little over a year, god made available a way out.

i'm thankful for friends. those friends right next door and those scattered all over the world. i'm thankful for the people that come into my life and continue to love me no matter how well they get to know me.

some of those small things i'm thankful for?

i'm thankful for the voices at church that remind me of my family. they make my heart ache and smile all at the same time.

i'm thankful for a warm bed during the cold nights...and for the fact that my husband (the space heater) is back in it with me.

i'm thankful for blue skies and warm sunshine.

i'm thankful for the right words, right when i need them.

i'm thankful for the smell of food cooking (even when its mexican food and said smell stays around for days) and the time spent cooking it with the love of my life.

i'm thankful for my church. for the love that the people there have shown me from the start and for the love that they show kyle now that he's home.


god is good all the time....and all the time, god is good. til next time, be blessed.

he's hooooooome!!!

that's right. my honey has returned. granted, he's been home for going on 3 weeks...but better late than never. right? right.

its been a busy few weeks and i feel like i've been going non-stop. things seems to be slowing down now though. i was heading up a really huge event at work but last week that all came to a screeching halt when a few of the businesses involved decided that the cost out weighed the benefits (which is hard to believe since nothing like that has ever been attempted in the area). so that being cancelled has freed up a lot of my time (and energy). and although i'm disappointed, its a little bit of a relief.

by the way...this post may be scattered as i'm being interrupted by candy hungry trick-or-treaters. also, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

anywhoo...soon all the halloween decorations (and there are a lot of them) will come down to be replaced by the few fall ones that we own. i'm thinking we may need to amp up the fall collection...it looks pretty sad compared to halloween and christmas. oh well...we'll just wait til it all goes on sale at michael's. heh heh heh.

in other news, my parents FINALLY made it back out to visit us. it was only for a few days but it was a fantastical visit. it didn't seem like we did much but they said they had a great time. they are definitely going to have to make it out more than once every year and a half. i know, right?

anyway, i believe that's pretty much it for this update. i hope you all have/had a safe and happy halloween. and as we begin this holiday season, keep in mind the things that are important. don't get so caught up in the frenzy of the season that you forget what THANKSgiving and CHRISTmas are all about.

til next time...be blessed.

better late than never!

i can't believe its taken me this long to get this post up. as you may recall from my last post, my family reunion was about a month ago and it was FANTASTIC! the attendance was a bit low due to lots of people being sick and, of course, that blasted economy. despite the low turnout we still had a great time just hanging out and enjoying some good ol' family time. here are some pictures from the weekend....

some of the cousins singing during the "saturday night singing".

this would be my grandma starting off the watermelon seed spitting contest.

a view of the lake


my mom and the red-head getting ready to serve spaghetti.

those are just a few of the pictures that i snapped while i was there. i swear, i have the best family in the whole wide world. there's nothing like being surrounded by your family for a few days...its just good for the soul.

anyway, that's really all for this post. i've been shut up in my house all week trying to keep from spreading whatever has made me sick to the masses. hopefully it won't take me newarly as long to post again. especially since next week ought to be pretty exciting. i can't say much now...just take my word for it.

til next time...be blessed.

its that time again:

that's right folks! the family reunion time is upon us. only a week and a half til the family converges upon the 4-h center for 3 glorious days! i sooooo can't wait!

have a mentioned i have the greatest family in the WORLD?

if i haven't...they are. <3

its been/going to be an exciting week. i went last week to a consultation to see if i'm eligible for lasik....I AM! i go tomorrow for an uber extensive exam to make sure there are no problems and that we can go ahead with the procedure which will take place september 9th.

also, last week we had our floor guy come out and fix some squeaky places that we had in our wood floor (that we had installed a couple of months ago). he informed me that the area by the front door that i though was darkening simply because of the constant light exposure was, in fact, water damage.

to which i responded "say what?!"

there was a spot that i thought i had somehow damaged by not cleaning up on a rainy day but it was about the size of a quarter. he said that an entire six foot wide and two foot deep area was damaged and the bubbled spot i thought i had caused was just a soft spot where the water had made its way to the surface faster. fortunately we have a warranty on our home so they should have to cover it. but...you can never tell.

i also have some really exciting stuff coming up at work that i'm going to be very involved in. we're going to have an open house for our shopping center the week before thanksgiving and then we're also going to be working on a christmas model home at one of the subdivisions in the area. so exciting (to me anyway)! i'll let you know more about it as it gets closer. try not to hold your breath in anticipation. :)

i guess that's all for now. as always, be blessed.

back to life

i dropped kyle off at the airport on tuesday. it has been a painful return to the normalcy of the last nine months. so used, in the last two weeks, to constant companionship, to going and doing going back to cooking and eating dinner alone has been a tough one. much tougher, in fact, that i thought it was going to be. i was a little afraid that it might be this way. i even thought i might lose it at the airport as i watched him walk down the breeze way (that is so not me, by the way). i've taken to constantly reminding myself (especially in moments of weakness)...

"its not the same this time. this is completely different. he'll be back soon...not nine months from now. stop being such a baby."

i'm not a baby. but i do miss him terribly.

enough of the sadness. there was soooo much happiness in the two weeks that he was here. it was so nice to FEEL married again. that may sound terrible to some of you...but its not like i "forgot" i was married or anything like that. no, no, no. but just to have him around....it was so great. yeah...great.

i didn't capture a lot of it on camera because, well, there wasn't really a lot that was all that exciting. i did manage to get some photos taken while we endured/enjoyed, respectively, two yankees games. we found out after enduring the first game that the actual first game of the series that had taken place the day before was on a-rod's birthday. needless to say, a massive shin-dig followed their victory and the team didn't return to their hotel (it was rumored) until 7:30 the next morning. and, boy, did they play like it. it was painful to watch really. the second game (the third in the series) was much better and they came out of the series against the rays 2-1.

anyway...i can't seem to add any photo's right now for some reason...so that will have to wait til later. so for now, its back to the day to day.

back to life.

back to reality.

:)

i couldn't help myself.

until next time...be blessed.

hApPiNeSs

*a small note: i hate when people write things LiKe ThIs but it seemed appropriate for the title and my mood.

moving on. i'm not going to write long. this is the 4th of 15 short but wonderful days that i get to spend with my one and only, my best friend, and the love of my life. so far, just doing the normal things bring me more happiness than i can describe. we went grocery shopping together, cook dinner together and just finished cleaning the house. except the daily eating out, things have picked up right where they left off.

next week we will be heading down to st. petersburg after a brief visit from the in laws. we'll be attending two yankees/rays games and taking in all the sights and sounds that the area has to offer.

i plan on being absent til after he leaves...then i will update you on all the glorious adventures that we take part in. :)

til then...be blessed. <3

have you noticed?

its JULY!!!

can you believe it? only 18 days til i get to see my husband for 15 glorious days!! i almost can't stand it. i mean, can you imagine being away from this precious face for 9 months? its almost too painful to bear.

yeah...me neither. pray for patience for me...and for the days to pass swiftly. :)

thanks and happy independence day!

blogs, grandparents and being a model

its been awhile since i've written anything new on here. i've been working my way through a blog i discovered recently. her name is angie smith and her blog is http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com/. she is married to todd smith from the christian group selah. the blog catalogs her feelings as she journeys from finding out that she is carrying a baby girl that is not expected to live to her dealing with the loss of that child as well as general thoughts on parenting, marriage and being a christian in this world. she has such a sweet heart and is just so so funny. i started from the very beginning of her blog and have only made it as far as february of this year (it begins in january of 2008 i think). you should really check her out...i'm sure she'll touch your heart in the same way that she has mine.

in other news, my grandparents were down two weeks ago. we had a super fun visit and they pretty much walked me ragged. i think they had a pretty good time and i didn't get lost even once! yay me! here are some pictures of their visit.

they are just some super awesome people. :) my grandma really likes rabbits...or her granddaughter told her to kiss the rabbit. whichever you choose to believe.

we finally got some r&r dates for kyle. yay! only 20 something days til i get to see his sweet face again. i think we've pretty much decided to stay here while he's home so he'll get plenty of resting and relaxing done (that's what r&r stands for in case some of you were scratching your head. don't be embarrassed...it does happen).

anywhoo...i guess that's really all that's been going on lately. i'm really not that exciting as of late. i do believe i hear a bowl of ice cream is calling my name. pretty sure that's not going to help me look like a supermodel by the time kyle gets home. but, i have lowered my expectations by removing the super and just aiming for model. we'll see how that goes. the ice cream is light....does that help? i think so.

love to you all.

its about time

so i FINALLY got our new sofas in last friday. i actually had nightmares that the sofas clashed with the wood floors (i didn't actually get to look at them together so i was worried). fortunately, they look smashing in the room and are comfy to boot!!! here are some pictures of the recent additions. :) **please ignore the mess in my living room...it was a hectic week**

it was suggested that we paint our giant, black entertainment center either a antiqued red or moss green (letting the black still show through). it makes both kyle and i a little nervous but its definitely something i am considering. but, who knows...?

anyway...that's all for now! have a good weekend! <3

the latest and greatest...

okay...so maybe not the greatest but i figured an update was due.

things have been going well these last few weeks. my mother-in-law came to visit 2 weeks ago and we had a great visit despite the not so great weather. we made it out to tybee where our shins and ankles were sandblasted while we traipsed around looking for shells and sand dollars. we did get to witness some pretty killer kite surfing. here are some pictures. i'm no photographer but the picture of the log is showing the sand blowing over the beach.

lets see...what else? the job has been going well. i have ended up working by myself a lot but i love that i'm working at a job that i like. the ladies are wonderful although i rarely see them. i hope they are as happy that they hired me as i am. :)

also, the grandparentals are coming to visit in two weeks. i've very very excited. my grandpa loves savannah and my grandma has never been here. they'll be here for a whole week so i'm trying to come up with things that will be fun for them to do. hopefully the weather will be a little more cooperative during their visit than it was during my mother-in-law's.

anyway, i guess that's pretty much all that's going on with me right now. i am starting to go insane waiting for a date for kyle's r&r....so please keep my sanity in your prayers. anyway..i hope everyone had a safe and happy memorial day. more again soon!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

blessings...

if you recall from my last post (if you made it past the pictures), i was laid off from the gallery i was working at a little over two weeks ago. after some urging from the hubs...i bit the bullet and called a small interior design company in a nearby area. i really hate calling places and asking if they are hiring...it just seems...slackerish. i like to go by but i had only been to the area where the business was once and really wasn't sure where the place was located. anyway...i spoke to cindy, the office manager. she said that they weren't hiring currently and then corrected herself and said that they had just started talking about bringing in some part time help. she asked me to e-mail in my resume and a week later i was called in for an interview. after another excruciating week, i recieved a call telling me i had the job!

these two ladies are most definitely an answer to many prayers. not only are they very sweet and run an extremely family oriented business but they are also two christain women. if you've never worked in a christian environment, let me tell you what it is like. take away all the gossip, catty-ness, and backstabbing and replace it with caring, concern and a desire to help one another. in short...its wonderful. granted, i've spent a very limited amount of time around these two ladies, but there's just a good vibe throughout the whole place.

my first day at work was yesterday and it was mostly spent going over my duties and responsibilities. i am so so excited about the possibilities that this position holds...and so thankful for this chance. i know that there is a reason for everything that happens, and although being fired without any notice what-so-ever was frustrating...it was just one door closing so another could open. because HE knew the plans HE had for me...even when i didn't understand them.

"yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; HE rises to show you compassion. for the LORD is a GOD of justice. blessed are all who wait for HIM." isaiah 30:18

lately...

its been an interesting few weeks. there have been some ups and some pretty major downs. but i guess we should go about this chronologically...



firstly, our new wood floors were finally installed. i lived with all my living room furniture crammed into the kitchen for about 3 days...but in the end it was worth it. the floors look wonderful and make the room so warm. here are a few pictures of the process.

the finished product!! i love it. we also ordered new sofas (my anniversary present i later found out) that should be in around mid-may. they will greatly improve the look of the room. i can't wait!

the low unfortunately, is kind of a big deal. wednesday morning i recieved a call from one of my bosses informing me that i had been "laid off". i tend to just say "fired" but everyone just says that makes it sound worse. either way you say it, it sucks. anyway, i'm looking for a new job now and trusting that GOD will take care of the situation and direct me to the job that he wants me to have.

anyway, that's really what's been going on with me. all of the excess time at home has me itching to start a new project. fortunately i've been able to thwart those itches by going and laying by the pool. :) oh...time for church.

until next time! <3>

erin go braugh

so i know i'm a little behind on the st. patty's day pictures. although i did end up having to work a little that day and missed the parade...i did get to meander around downtown later with some friends. my camera did get to catch a few moments of the parade.

here's some pictures from one of my favorite days of the year. :)

i got to spend the morning with this cutie pie.

the steps of the custom's house

these guys cracked me up. their shirts said "size does matter" on the back. :)

me!

some of the guys being "attacked"

one of the green fountains.

then i got distracted by these awesome trees...

home again, home again...

so i've returned safe and sound to the grand state of georgia.

my trip home was fabulous despite the tumultuous weather. the first 3 days i was there the temperatures almost hit 75 (they tried really hard). the last 4 days, it decided to rain and then snow. it was just crazy. but did it put a damper on our good times? no sir/ma'am!

there was just too much fun had for words...so here's some pictures (cause they're worth a thousand words...each!).

my mother-in-law had the gall to tell the guys at the mexican restaurant that it was my birthday...chaos ensued shortly thereafter.

my fantabulous parents.

daddy-bowlin it up

me and the daner kyzer extraordinare

no...i'm not sneezing. i am in fact blowing out my candles.

anywhoo...those are the moments that i had time to capture on camera. i'll put up pictures from st. patty's day soon. they are equally as entertaining...i promise.

home fries

so i take flight early saturday morning bound for arkansas-land. i'm so excited i can't hardly stand it. luckily i've kept myself pretty busy so the week has gone by pretty quickly. i'm going to do my best to savor my every moment at home. i know i was just there 3 short months ago...but its always so good to be surrounded by my family.

not only am i going home...i'm going for my birthday (again). i'm so not ready for this birthday. i'm so freaked out about the fact that 30 is only 5 short years away. it just seems like yesterday i was graduating from high school and starting college. who would've known that i would end up here? we're doing a beth moore study at church on the book of esther and i'm reminded of a verse that we studied this week. mordecai says to esther "Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” who knows why i'm here? who know's where i'll be next year or why i'll be there? its a comfort to know that god does.

anyway...i will be in the stone age for a week as i will have no internet access nor will i have cable/satellite (i'm never sure how i'll survive). never-the-less i'm sure it will be a fantabulous week....and i can't wait! see you in a week!

some pics from the trip last year at blanchard springs caverns :)

hearts all over the world...

hello my lovelies. happy valentines day....i guess. i hope that yours was spent with those you love..and that love you. mine was a little less romantic but i did do exactly what i said i would- i laid in bed/on the couch all day. i did recieve a little gift in the mail from my honey though. he managed to track down my wishlist on amazon.com and bought me 5 of the books that were on there. yippee for new books!

anywhoo...i figured since kyle has now received his valentine's day gift, i can post pictures of my little craft project. keep in mind, i'm not a scrapbooking pro by any means....but i did my best.

soo...thats only a few of the pages. and sorry for the poor photo quality. kyle said that he liked it and even showed it to a few people. i was *so proud*.

that was pretty much all i wanted to show off today. i hope you all have a G-R-E-A-T weekend. much love. <3

lord- i hope this day is good.

first of all, let me preface this post with the fact that i do NOT plan on using it as a pity party. this is not somewhere for me to vent all my poor, pitifulness for all to see so that they can feel sorry for me. no. that is not what this is for.

i'm not sure if any one is familiar with a song that was on a lee ann womack cd that i found the other day called "lord i hope this day is good". it was orginally sang by a man named don williams...i must say i like mrs. womacks rendition better but that is very much beside the point. if you don't know the song, here it is:



Lord, I hope this day is good/ I'm feeling empty and misunderstood./ I should be thankful Lord I know I should,/ But, Lord, I hope this day is good./ Lord have you forgotten me/ I've been prayin' to you faithfully/ I should be thankful, Lord, you know I am/ But Lord I know you'll understand./ I don't need fortune and I don't need fame,/ Send down the thunder, Lord, send down the rain./ But when you're planning just how it will be,/ Plan a good day for me./ Lord, I hope this day is good,/ I'm feeling empty and misunderstood./ I should be thankful Lord I know I should,/ But, Lord, I hope this day is good./ You've been the King since the dawn of time,/ All that I'm asking is a little less cryin'./ It might be hard for the devil to do,/ But it would be easy for you.../ Lord, I hope this day is good,/ I'm feeling empty and misunderstood./ I should be thankful Lord I know I should,/ But, Lord, I hope this day is good.



i feel like this has been my mantra throughout this deployment. there are always days where sadness creeps up on you like a snake and wraps itself around you til you can't breathe. every night during my concerts in the shower, this is always on my set list. i feel like i wake up thinking through the words of this song. but unfortunately today was not one of those good days.


i wrote the entire story of my bad day...and then deleted it. i don't know that even explaining it makes me feel any better. kyle and i are currently experiencing some of the hardest things and are about to make some of the most difficult decisions that i feel we've had to make thus far in our marriage. i don't really feel the need to lay them out...but looking at them and the effect that they will have on our life is more than a little scary. it makes me want to shake my fist at god and say "its not fair! i don't understand why we can't just be happy and settled for a decent amount of time? why do you keep taking things away from me?" but then i take a step back and, in faith, put all my trust in him. i remind myself that he has a plan for kyle and i. even the hardships that we are going through now are for our good...though we may not see it.

with that in mind: maybe, just maybe these bad days are allowed so that i can better appreciate the good days.

let me introduce myself.

well hello there. welcome to my new method of procrastination. i don't know that i'm really interesting enough to hold your attention...but i thought i would give it a shot. why not?

anyway, i figure i can give you a little information about myself. i am currently enduring my husband's first deployment (its not fun, i don't recommend it). i live several states away from my family and friends, which is very difficult for me. lucky for me, they put up with phone calls from me at all hours of the day and night. i'm mom to a rotten little white dog and a beautiful grey cat (you can totally tell which one is mine, yeah?). here are some pictures of my babesses.

i'm currently working at a gallery in downtown savannah. its an awesome area to work in and i really enjoy my job. unfortunately the gallery is being renovated right now...so i'm not REALLY working. i'm trying to make my time off as productive as humanly possible. my progress was hindered today by the frigid temperatures outside. i did finish cleaning the house so that was a plus. i'm hoping the weather will be a little more cooperative and i'll be able to get the few things done outside that i need to get done....so keep your fingers crossed.

anywhoo...i guess that's about it for this first post. have a great weekend!