Blogposts coming soon....

Sorry I'm lacking in the blog world. I have so much to post about but it's been so crazy busy that it's hard to find the time and energy! One of my lasts posts was about SerVegas day and it has been non stop since! Following SerVegas we took a family trip to California for some much needed family time. We returned to jump right into Verve University, which I will explain more of later. We then had one of my best friends come visit with her husband and stay with us for a week. They left and we had a week of birthdays for our 2 boys including their birthday bash at the park. Then we started our Vault Conference followed by Stadia bootcamp for church planters, which I will explain more. I've also had the opportunity to take cupcakes strippers in local strip clubs. So..I have lots to share with you and hope to get it all out here very soon. :).

Blog posts coming soon...

• California
• Verve University
• Courtney and DJ's visit
• Birthdays
• Grandma's visit
• Vault Conference
• Stadia Bootcamp Conference
• Strip Club Cupcakes

Check it out...

I haven't had time to update yet but check out Tommy's blog.... www.tommyaltman.blogspot.com

CWeeds Adopt

I'm so excited to share this news with you. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law have decided to adopt a little boy, from Africa. We will have a new nephew! You can follow their story and even help support them to bring him home....www.cweedsadopt.blogspot.com. So thankful they have said yes to bring this little boy into their home and family and surround him with God's love. Please join us in praying for them through this long but exciting process.

Guerilla Lovers

So one of the sayings for our church is "Love God, Love People, Turn the World Upside Down". Vince Antonucci, our lead pastor, wrote a book called "Guerilla Lovers". He gets this term from guerilla warfare and uses it as a way to love people. We want to ambush people with God's love, in practical ways. This week he challenged each of us to make cookies for our garbage man. I know, it may sound silly...but some of the stories have been amazing. Seriously. They're like "You did this for ME?? Why?? No-one does this!". Try it! You may be surprised at the impact it has on you, your garbage man, and those around you!

SerVegas

So...over the last several weeks you heard and saw us talking a lot about "SerVegas". This was a day that Tommy has been working on and planning since we moved to Vegas. The idea was to reach out and serve our community but rather than start a new project in only one area we decided to serve non profit organizations who are already serving here. We had a team of volunteers were in on the planning and organizing of the event. We lined up projects with non-religious, non-profit organizations for us to serve all on the same day. The organizations included Shade Tree (a shelter for abused women and children), Street Teens, NV Partnership for Homeless Youth, Family Promise, St. Vincent Thrift Store. We also had volunteers serve at "Neon Reverb" which was a music festival that same weekend and we had our youth do a "Free Car Wash" for the community. We had atleast 60 volunteers show up and it was an amazing day. The organizations were blown away and very grateful and the volunteers were grateful to be apart of something where they could "give back" and serve. We also had an after party that evening with catered h'orderves, a live band, and a comedian/magician, for the volunteers and the organizations we served. A great time was had by all and this is definitely something we all look forward to doing again in the future!

(I tried adding pictures to this post but it keeps giving me some sort of error...I will try to add them again later!)

I want to make these...

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

1 (12-ounce) box uncooked jumbo pasta shells (if all of yours survive the boil this is enough, to be safe you may want 1 1/2 boxes)

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cups fresh chopped spinach

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened (I think you could get away with one package)

1 (5oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 2/3 cups)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (26oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce

1. Cook shells according to package directions. Be careful not to overcook them or they will tear easily when trying to fill them. Drain and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease two 9x13 baking dishes.

3. In a large bowl, combine chicken and all the rest of the ingredients except mozzarella and spaghetti sauce. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella. Spoon into shells.

4. Spread half of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dishes. Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. If you are freezing one of the 9x13 prepared pans, freeze it after this step. Include a baggy of the remaining mozzarella for when you cook it.

5. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.

Makes 8-10 servings.

http://thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com/

10 things I love about you...

I am one blessed wife and mommy. There are so many things I see everyday that you don't get to see and I want to share them with you.

10 things I love about you...

1-I love Brodie's heart. It's like no other I've ever known. Just a few examples...

The other night, I was cooking dinner and Brodie comes up to me and says "Mom, we need to go check on John." My response "I know honey, we want to..we've just been so busy lately." Brodie "We can't just leave him out there." You probably don't know about John but he is a homeless man we've tried to help and stay in contact with. It's been weeks since we've gone by to see him or take him anything and Brodie said this out of nowhere. Tommy wrote about how we met John, on his blog at www.tommyaltman.blogspot.com. Another occasion recently, Brodie asked for ice cream. I told him there was only a little bit left but probably enough for him. He immediately turned to Daddy and said "you can have it Daddy." When Daddy told him that he didn't want it and it was ok for him to have it, he turned to me and said "You can have it mommy." I again told him no, he could have it. He responds with "yall can have it later!." Really? I ended up fixing it for him and he ate it, but sometimes I wish my heart and attitude was more like he showed here. I could give you more examples but I'll move on now.

2-I love Tristan's scrunched up grin. It's tough to catch on camera but it makes me smile every time. Actually, Tommy and I usually find ourselves cracking up together when he does it. He will scrunch up his nose and grin at the same time. It's even more adorable with his 2 little teeth on the bottom. I love it.

3-I love how Tommy loves me like no other. Seriously. This man of mine has shown me love like I've never known or seen. Here's a small example from just the other day. We were on a date and were walking down the strip and through a few casinos. Of course I had on high heels. Well, If you know me you know that I walk pretty fast, so Tommy knew something was wrong when I was hardly keeping up with him. He asked what was wrong and I showed him the blister that was from my shoes. Soon after, I went into the bathroom in one of the casinos...I came out and he has a box of bandaids. My response "Seriously...we're in a casino! How much did those things cost?!!" "$7.00." Oh my. Smart or not...it didn't matter to him. He didn't want me to be in pain and would do whatever it took. I took my shoes off in the parking garage (I know, gross...but it hurt that bad), and he picked me up and carried me all the way to the car. I remember a conversation I had with my mom when I knew that Tommy was the man I wanted to marry. I remember her telling me "You'll never find someone who loves you the way he does". How very very true mom. He loves me even when I'm unlovable.

4-I love Brodie's warrior spirit. I know you've all seen the sword...but have you seen him use it? He's becoming a warrior. He's in a stage where he loves to pretend. He will tell me "Mom, pretend the bad guys are coming and tell me to come save you." So he comes to my rescue.

5-I love that Tristan is learning to do new things and will turn around to see if you're watching. I love his rasberries. I love his laugh. I love his arms and legs wrapped around me grasp, like he'll never let go. I love his arms stretched up, "pick me up" look. I love when I bring him down stairs in the morning he looks at Sugie and says "dog-dog".

6-I love that I still think Tommy is the most handsome man I've ever layed eyes on and that I would chose him again in a heart beat. I love that I get to go to bed and wake up with him next to me every morning.

7-I love hearing Brodie walk around or in the car, singing songs he heard our band sing at church.

8-I love to watch my babies sleeping. I love to rock and cuddle and scratch their backs as they fall alseep. And I love to check on them and stare at them while they look so peaceful and innocent and adorable, sleeping.

9-I love that Tommy is so sincere and passionate about God and leads our family in learning how to love God and love people.

10-I love my family and I love feeling like the luckiest girl in the world with 3 amazing guys in my life, who bring me undescribable joy every day. Thanks God.

Sleep over!

So tonight is the first time Brodie has had a friend spend the night. Crazy to me, but I love it. I can't believe he's that big. What a fun night. :) Actually they've been together all day. We went to the free Regal movie for kids, "Tale Of Despereaux", this morning and had lunch and playtime at "DelTaco" with his family. After lunch, I brought the boys back to our house to play. The boys played and played...they played toy story, mr. potato head, scooter races, sword fights, transformers, you name it. Come time for dinner I wanted something kid friendly, so I made homemade mac n cheese and then did some bbq chicken and green beans. The boys cleared their plates so we had ice cream for dessert. :) We even got to go outside and play for a little bit. They came in, got baths and put their pjs on. I let them watch Nemo for a bit to wind down before bed. They were just too cute. I loved hearing their conversations. They are two sweet boys and are already best buds.:)

I'm also thankful for his momma, who has become a good friend of mine and is getting baptized on Monday! :) :)

Happy Anniversary!

What a great night! Tommy and I didn't do gifts or anything for our anniversary but we wanted to plan a nice night out for us to have together. Since getting to Vegas it's been pretty crazy around here and of course being away from family, we don't get a sitter very often. So...after we put the kids to bed we had a friend from church come over and stay with the boys while we got to go out for a little bit. The first exciting part of the night for me was that we got to ride the Harley. Seriously...it's been like 2 years since I've been able to ride, due to being pregnant and all. So this was a treat. The weather couldn't have been better either.

We wanted to go to a nice romantic restaurant so we went to the "Eiffel Tower Restaurant", in Paris. (Yes, when you live in Vegas you can go anywhere in the world and it's only 10 minutes away) lol. The restaurant is like 1/2 way up the tower and our view was of the strip and the Bellagio fountains, which was perfect. Tommy ordered duck and I ordered the veal and we shared the asparagus. Wow, everything was sooo good. We finished with a chocolate soufle which was also amazing. Let me tell you...this was THE BEST meal I've ever had in my life. I could go on, but I think you get the point. lol.

We were going to go on the "ride" up to the top of the eiffel tower but we decided to wait until we had our camera with us so we could take pictures of the view. We did take the time to walk around and just hang out a bit and we walked through one of the casinos we hadn't been in yet. We went to do one of the gondola rides but it was closed when we got there. I was thankful for the time we had together and it was a great night. I loved the closeness and the night sky we enjoyed riding home on the Harley.

It was cool to celebrate our 9th anniversary here in Vegas, it's one I'll never forget. ;)

Taco Soup

I'll be trying this recipe this week. It sounds like something we would like...and I love the idea of using my crockpot more! :)

Taco Soup

--2 cans of kindey beans

--2 cans of pinto beans

--2 cans of corn

--1 large can of diced tomatoes (I have no idea why the can wasn't in this picture. I know I put it in. This is a mystery.)

--1 can tomatoes and chiles

--1 packet taco seasoning

--1 packet ranch dressing mix

--1 lb browned ground turkey or hamburger (optional.)

--shredded cheese and sour cream for embelishment

The Directions:

--brown meat if you are going to use it

--drain fat and add to crockpot stoneware insert (the meat. not the fat.)

--sprinkle seasoning packets on top of meat

--drain and rinse the beans and add

--add the ENTIRE contents of the corn and tomato cans
--stir.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5. I think the longer you cook soup, the better, so if you have the time, opt for cooking on low. Stir well, and serve with a handful of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

(This recipe came from http://crockpot365.blogspot.com)

9 Years

Yesterday, August 5, Tommy and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. I have to say, it's been a wild ride, but I wouldn't change a thing. I was telling Tommy last night that it's funny when people say, "so where do you see yourself in 5/10 years?" If you know me, you know I'm indecisive anyway and that I am a realist so I'm focused on the here and now so I'm always like "I have no idea". Tommy, on the other hand, being the dreamer always has a huge vision of where he wants to be. So..that being said, I was thinking over the past 9 years and I'm blown away. I'm blown away at the experiences we've had together and the life changes that have happened in our lives and marriage.

So, 9 years ago we said "I do" and I moved from VA to TN, (Tommy was in the Air Force and stationed at Fort Cambell, KY) to be with the man of my dreams and start our life together. I just found a picture the other day of Tommy carrying me over the "threshold" to our new 1 bedroom apartment (after driving the 12 hours to get there). We started with nothing, but we had each other and we had God, so we felt like we had everything. I have to say, our years there were crucial and life changing for us and for our marriage. We were married in August 2001...and then September 11th happened...which changed everything. Tommy, being in the military, was soon deployed to Afghanistan that February. Whoa. Here I was, 19 years old, newly married, and now alone in a new place. I had a job and I was going to school, but that wasn't enough to keep me there. I decided to go home and be with my family while Tommy would be deployed for an unknown number of months. It ended up being 3, instead of the 6 they had anticipated. I remember those times of deployments and at times it was torturous and at the same time it also seemed to help create a foundation for our marriage that "if we can make it through this, we can make it through anything". In our time there, we found a great church, where our friends became like family and we bought our first home there, in KY, and we got our first dog, Sugar (which we still have today :) ). Tommy deployed again a year later to Iraq. This time, I stayed since we had established roots and relationships there and it had become "home". Tommy came home and bought his first Harley. (He took of advantage of the deployment situation...He came home and of course I was like "you can have anything you want!" lol). We joined a motorcycle club, which we miss to this day the experiences and relationships we had. So, we spent our first 4 1/2 years married there, at Fort Campbell (KY/TN). I had no idea how crucial this time would be for establishing the foundation for our marriage. It's amazing how close we became, having only each other, to depend on, run to, and experience life with. We made relationships there that we would have for a lifetime. What a time of learning for us!

When Tommy was discharged from the Air Force in December of 2004, we made the move back to Virginia (a U-haul, car-in tow, a truck, a motorcycle, and a dog) :). We moved back to Virginia to be apart of a church plant that our previous youth pastor was launching there. In our time there we were close to family and were able to establish relationships with old and new friends. We bought our second house, and started our family. In December 2005, I finished my bachelors degree in Business Management, from Austin Peay State University. We had our first son, Brodie, in October of 2006. In February 2007, I quit my job in banking to be a stay at home mom. Tommy changed jobs 3 times, but all in the area of training military in some area of combatives or shooting. In July, 2008, God told us to move to Las Vegas, to be apart of a church plant, to reach people far from Him. We experienced a loss like none other when we experienced the loss of our 2nd child mid pregnancy, at 17 weeks along, in November 2008. We then had our son, Tristan, in October of 2009. In May 2010 Tommy graduated from Regent University with his bachelors degree in Religious Studies and we moved our family across the country to Las Vegas to help start Verve and do a church planting "residency" for approximately 2 years.

As I look back I never could have tried to imagine all that we would have experienced and where we would be 9 years into our marriage. I'm so thankful that God blessed me with Tommy to go through this journey of life with. I can't imagine not having him by my side. He knows me like no other and loves me anyway. He loves me in ways that I feel I don't deserve. I respect and admire him more than any other man I've ever known. I'm a better me because of him. Our boys our so blessed to have a real man of God as an example to follow and to raise them to be warriors for Him. I love you Tommy and I'm thankful beyond words that for the years I've had with you and I'm excited about the years we have ahead of us, as we grow old together. :)

Man, I started this post to tell you about our night our for our anniversary, now I have to do another post to tell you about that! lol :)

My new hobby :)

Cooking! Yes...I'm currently obsessed with finding and trying new recipes. I've been scouring the internet...in the little bit of time I have here and there and you'll see I've found a few baking blogs to follow as well. I cooked dry beans for the first time the other day and they were a success. So..I got another kind to do again. I enjoy cooking and baking but it's soo hard to find the time and money to do it! Anyway, I did a few easy ones today. I made a homemade coffee cake this morning and that turned out yummy. I made a chicken quesadilla casserole for dinner (thanks Gina ;), which we liked. And then made sweet potato cookies for dessert...which didn't seem to turn out all that great. I hope to here and there post some new recipes to share with you. And don't worry, I'm a simple kind of gal with 2 little ones, so they will be easy, with not crazy ingredients, and I especially love the ones that I already have the stuff for! lol.

Here's the few I tried today!

Breakfast Cake

1/4 cup veg oil

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Combine wet, mix dry ingredients and then add to wet. Mix well. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan. Sprinkle with topping. Bake 350* 25 - 30 minutes.

Topping: combine 2 T melted butter, 2 tsp flour, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 cup brown sugar

This one came from www.naptimejournal.blogspot.com

Chicken Quesadilla Casserole

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 Medium onion, chopped
• 1 Package flour tortillas
• 1/2 tablespoon Crushed red peppershopping list
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 3 Cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Cook and shred chicken. Mix spices and pour over chicken and toss until evenly coated. Rub the bottom side of tortillas with a little oil and place in a baking dish. Layer 1/3 of cheese on top of the tortillas, then 1/2 of the onion, 1/2 of the tomato, 1/2 of the green pepper, and 1/2 of the shredded chicken. Place another layer of tortillas, cheese, onion, tomatoes, green peppers and chicken. Place third layer of tortillas on top and rub top side with some oil, then sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover and backe at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes until cheese is melted and warmed through. May remove cover last few minutes to brown cheese slightly.

(This came from www.grouprecipes.com, passed on from my friend Gina :) )

Hope you enjoy them and please share any of your favorite or new recipes with me! :)

VERVE Happs

Cool stuff happening at VERVE.

- Continuing our new series The Me I Want To Be where we're talking about HOW we grow spiritually. This week we talked about how making sacrifices plays into our spiritual growth.
- We have two Verve University courses: Verge and Verb running and people seem to be really getting a lot out of them.
- Lots of new volunteers are doing First Serves - a chance to kick the tires on a serving position in the church.
- Speaking of serving, we're getting ready for Serve Vegas, which is gonna be a cool day of serving those who serve.
- And we are getting excited for the return of our 11:35 service, August 22nd!

(From Vince's blog... www.vinceantonucci.com)

Behind the sword

Any of you who have seen Brodie recently, like in the last 6 months, know that when you think of Brodie you think of......yes, his sword. You know that if you see Brodie, he most likely has his sword stuck in the back of his shirt and sometimes in the side of his shorts. Seriously. I know some of you are laughing, but it's true. I tell people, "some kids have security blankets...our son has a security sword". :) lol. You will very rarely catch him without it. We can go in a store, and when we go back they remember him as "the kid with the sword". When we were in VA for a couple weeks, Daddy built Brodie a weapon rack by his bed. So..when he goes to bed, the sword goes in the rack and when he wakes up...you guess it...it goes back in his shirt. (this was because of the marks on the wall from sleeping with the sword). The attachment to the sword started when Brodie found Daddy's ninja turtles from when he was a little boy. Brodie immediately fell in love with these "turtles and their weapons". He began getting some of the cartoon movies and weapons. For a little while, if you were to ask him his name he would tell you "I'm Leonardo". Like seriously...this is what he told kids in his new class at church. (Of course you know Leonardo is his favorite because he's the BLUE one, which is his favorite color). So, he carries the sword in his back because that's how the ninja turtles carry their weapons. If it's not in his back it will be stuck in the side of his shorts. Or, if he is in his underwear, as he likes to be around the house, it will be stuck through his underwear. I've told him they're getting stretched out from this. He also has a bruise on his side, from carrying it this way. He doesn't even notice and says it doesn't hurt...but this is how attached he is.

I have to say, I think it's kinda cute. I'm sure some people may think I'm crazy that I allow my 3 year old to carry this around. But..I love that right now, this is who he is. He's all boy and at times he's wild and crazy but he's also caring, loving and tender-hearted, which melts my heart. I can't imagine life any other way, I love my boys. :-)

Going, Going, Gone!

Shortly after moving to Vegas Tristan began learning to crawl. Yes, we immediately began child proofing, having a baby on the move again. It didn't take long and he has now taken off...and quickly! He is soo on the move now! He crawls everywhere...he particularly loves to head for the dog dishes and the stairs! lol. He can go all the way up the entire stair case by himself! He also loves to follow Brodie around, and can get himself into the playroom on his own. He has recently began pulling or pushing himself up on things to stand. And just these last couple days he has been getting brave and letting go of those things to stand by himself. I think we will have a walker soon. I'm not sure Mommy and Daddy are ready for this!

We also have a teether! Tristan's first tooth broke thru last week (on the 20th, yes, at 9 months old). He may have had no teeth, but that didn't stop him from eating a thing. Tristan now boycotts baby food and wants our food, food that he can pick up and feed himself. Yes, every meal is very messy. ;) He is starting to know what he wants but can't express it to us (other than squealing), so we are teaching him a few words in sign language, as we did with Brodie.

Our little one is getting so big, right before our eyes. We are cherishing every moment...even the 5:45am wake up calls (Mommy's special snuggle time). ;) But, Mommy is thankful that he is now consistently sleeping fully through the night and can't really complain about 6am since the boys are in bed at 7:30pm. :) And...if you've been around Tristan lately you know he has become quite the Mommy's boy. He is very attached to Mommy...especially if she is in sight or reach. This sometimes makes things difficult but it also melts Mommy's heart.

It's late now, but I will post next on our other little warrior, Brodie and then some of what's been happening here in Vegas. Love yall! ;)

June 15th

Ok, so I've put off updating on here. On June 15th, one of my very best friends' dad passed away very unexpectedly. There are no words to express the pain this loss has brought their family and those around them. They are very near and dear to my heart and it pains deeply me to see them experience this. I immediately wanted to be there with them. I was able to go home, to Virginia, and spend a couple weeks and I'm thankful for the time I had with them. It was hard to leave them and come back to my new home so far away. Please continue to pray with me as they struggle daily with the realization of this loss of one they loved so dearly.

The UFC

One of Tommy's jobs as a church planting resident is to start a ministry from nothing in an area he is passionate about. After brainstorming, praying and discussing with other staff members, they decided the UFC would be a perfect fit for Tommy. Serving the UFC is something that it seems Tommy has been prepared for with his background of the military and training and teaching combatives for so many years. Once that was decided Tommy again was praying about ways to go about this. Well, it just so happened there was a UFC fan expo here in Vegas that coming weekend. He decided to go, not really sure what to expect. The whole family went the first day. It was a cool experience. Lots of people, lots of fighters, lots of everything. We got some cool pics and got to meet Tommy's favorite fighter, Randy Couture. Upon entering the expo, there was a sign, to "twitter" Dana White (the head of the UFC), that you want to win tickets in his VIP section and backstage passes for the fight that weekend. I stopped and told Tommy to do it, as he grumbled that he never wins anything, lol. What was cool about the expo was you got to meet the fighters...they're not these crazy violent animals...they're awesome guys who are thankful for their fans and worked hard to get where they are. Most of them are very gracious and don't mind stopping to take time with you. Tommy went back to the expo the next day. There were even more people and it was even more crazy. He got to meet up with a distant cousin of mine, UFC fighter Matt Brown. Shortly after, as he was ready to head home, he got a text from the UFC asking that he contact them. After being sent around the expo, he finally met up with the right people and was told that he had won the VIP tickets to sit with Dana White and backstage passes at the UCF114 fight that night. Seriously...there were over 125,000 people at the expo and thousandssss who entered to win these tickets. To say we were shocked is an understatement. We knew it was God. Seriously. Tommy was interviewed by Mike Munoz about winning the contest. We quickly set up sitters for the kids and headed to the event that night. It was insane. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience for us. We were very thankful for the opportunity to meet the fighters and people and had the opportunity to share a little bit about Verve and why we moved to Vegas. Wow, thanks God. Tommy and I were sitting with celebrities like Paris Hilton, Mike Tyson, Sam Worthington, Forrest Whitaker, Snoop Dogg, David Spade, and of course Dana White and the fighters, with Kenny Florian next to me. We were escorted back stage and shown all the behind the scenes details and got to meet with Rampage before his big fight. So...I am now a UFC fan...and look forward to opportunities to serve them in the future. :-)

A disclaimer on the pictures...we were not allowed to take our 'professional' camera in so the only pics we have are from our iphone.

This was the view of the cage from our seats! 3rd row :)

Our family with Randy Couture...Tommy's favorite fighter.

Brodie was upset we had to turn in our ticket to see him...he wanted his ticket back. :(

Tommy and I with Dana White at UFC114

Me in a quick pic with fighter Tito Ortiz

Tommy and I backstage with Rampage right before the big fight!

Tommy with fighter Kenny Florian

Tommy and I with "Tapout" owners, "Skyscrape and Punkass"

Me with Sam Worthington (from Avatar and Clash of the Titans)

3 weeks in Vegas...

So, it's been 3 weeks since our big move to Vegas. I would love to say that we're completely settled and unpacked and the house is perfect....but it's not. We're functional, but definitely not perfect. We're getting there, but the process is much slower with 2 little ones running around this place. Life here has been very busy so far and pretty crazy. I'm going to try to update here somewhat frequently because it's goes by so fast, I don't want to forget it!

Our first week here our friends Paul and Suzie Wirth came in town for their 20th anniversary. It was awesome getting to see them and hang out with them. They got to come check out Verve and loved it. We went to Hoover Dam with them and also got a deal on tickets to see the show "O" with backstage passes..thanks to our friend Jess, from Verve who is in the show.

Tommy's been working full time with Verve so we've been learning the balance of ministry and family life. I love seeing that he is doing what he was called to do and is so passionate about it. I know we're where God wants us...so I'm content. He's been so good and so evident in our lives even in the short time we've been here. Tommy's been stepping into some lead roles in different areas at Verve. One is a an organization created to serve the community, meeting the most unmet needs of the city. Having been overseas and seen some of the devastation of other countries, Tommy has a heart for those less fortunate than us, so that will be a part of this ministry. Another area of "ministry" Tommy is leading in is seeking to find ways to serve the UFC, here in Vegas. It all happened so fast, but I'll give you the short story in my next post :).

So, Sunday 13 people got baptized at Verve!! Awesome, huh? It's humbling that God has called us to be apart of this and it's awesome to see the lives that are being changed here, for Him! Tommy and I met a couple through friends, that came to Verve for the 1st time and loved it. They said it felt like "home" and it was totally God because it came at a time when they both needed it in their lives. Brodie and I also made some new friends. I took him to play at a local place here and it was just one other mom and her son there. We got to chatting and spent the day together. We exchanged information so we hope to get together with them again soon! We spent Memorial Day at some friends house for a cookout and pool time. :)

The weather here has been great. We actually just turned our AC on today...due to the expected temps of over 100 degrees this weekend. Oh, and I just got an outlet installed for my dryer (it was set up for gas and our dryer is electric)...so I'm catching up on 3 weeks worth of laundry. AND...We love skype!! It helps soo much with being so far away from family. Brodie now says..."I miss so-and-so, can we skype?". So...send us your skype name :).

Two handsome guys...I'm also loving the palm trees in the background. :)

The kids playing in the pool after the baptisms.

A view of the "O" Show

Boys doing boy things!

Tristan and I at the pool/cookout with friends!

Our growing boys :-)

Wow, I am amazed daily at how fast time flies as we watch our children grow. Tristan is 7 1/2 months already. He's our blonde hair, blue eyed wonder and is constantly melting my heart with his smile, sweet tender hearted character and contagious laugh. We're looking for teeth any day but none yet! He's been rolling over for quite a while and can scoot and pull himself anywhere. He's right on the verge of full out crawling, but for now he'll get up on hands and knees but not fully crawling that way. For now he's pulling and scooting...but don't let that fool you, he can get anywhere...and quick! He's been learning to wave and will either wave his arm wildly or open and close his hand, then look at it curiously as if wondering how it's doing that. He's been eating baby food for a couple months now, but just this week he has started to choose "our food" over the baby food. He will refuse his baby food and only want bits and pieces of real food. So..this morning he had pancakes and strawberries. I am amazed as I watch him and Brodie together. First thing in the morning, they're looking for each other, wanting to know if the other one is awake yet. Tristan reacts to Brodie like no one else...he loves him! And I can't put into words how proud I am of Brodie for being such an awesome big brother. Brodie has taken this role like a champ from the very beginning. He's always willing to help whether it's diapers or feeding or entertaining. And it makes my heart smile how he's willing to share his toys, he'll bring toys out...1 for him and 1 for Tristan. Tristan is definitely looking up to Brodie...he can't wait to jump into the action of wrestling and sword fighting as he watches for now. So Brodie...my little warrior. He loves swords and weapons. He's definitely all boy...taking after his daddy. His favorite thing is to sword fight...I'm not sure how I feel about this. He loves his "ninja turtle sword" and you won't catch him without it. It will most likely be tucked away in the back of his shirt...and most likely a dagger stored in the side of his pants. You think I'm joking...but I'm not. lol. I love the conversations we have with Brodie and his tender heart...he's constantly melting mine. I cherish the time I have with my boys and am thankful I can stay home with them. Although, financially I'm not sure how long we can swing it...we're still in need of financial support for Tommy to be full time at Verve, doing ministry here in Vegas. Please be in prayer with us about that and if you feel led please contact us for more information on how you can help. My next post will be an update on life here in Vegas.

Above: Notice the 2 swords....haha :)

Below, #1:Yes this was moving in time...yet Tristan's still so happy :)

Below, #2:Our little warrior...heading to check mail :) haha

Best Buddies! :)

A week in Vegas....

A week ago today our family flew to our new home in Vegas. It's weird to me that a week has passed already. I will blog more on it later...really I will, but for now I just want to share some quick thoughts on our first week here. We flew in really late last Tuesday night, May 11th. We flew in the evening mainly because of the heat risk with flying our dog, Sugar. Yes, we had 2 adults, a toddler, a baby, a dog, 5 suitcases, a stroller, and a carseat. Tommy got called by airport security for an "undisclosed weapon" in the suitcase, but other than that...the trip was pretty uneventful. The boys did great on the plane. Brodie was so excited and enjoyed the whole "adventure" and then both boys went to sleep. We were so thankful for our friend, Juli, who picked us up from the airport and brought us "home". Brodie woke up and was excited to tour the new house. We were all starving so we each had a bowl of "fruitloops", then crashed for the night. We got in at 1am Vegas time but 3am VA time...so we got about 3 hours of sleep. Wednesday we got up and went out for coffee and breakfast and Brodie went to play with friends while we did the big store run. Since then, we've been unpacking like crazy and just trying to get settled. The kitchen was first and is now functional and the playroom was the 2nd priority. I'm not liking this inbetween stage of not quite being settled but I know we'll get there. In the move, a bunch of our stuff got ruined by mold, so we still have some things we have to replace...like a couch. Our second night here Brodie got very sick. We had bathed the boys and went to get pjs out when we found a box of Brodie's clothes that had been ruined with mold. Brodie was in and out of the room as Tommy and I were trying to go through the clothes to see if there was anything to salvage...since it was all of Brodie's summer clothes. Anyway, we ended up spending most of the evening holding Brodie as he would get coughing and then have a difficult time trying to catch his breath. This was scary for us and we were debating whether to take him to the hospital. Fortunately it got better. The next day we cleared the house of any boxes (for any chance of mold) and sanitized and cleaned every single toy and we set up the playroom, which Brodie loves.

Some other news about Vegas....it's VERY DRY. Our second night here, I woke up during the night, with a nose bleed. The first time I used my curling iron here....it fried my hair...literally. I pulled it down and my hair was still in the curling iron...and the room smelled like burnt hair. Aweful.

All this said, life is good here. I was bathing Brodie last night and he says to me "I like it here, Mommy" I asked him "what do you mean?" He says, "I like our house and I like Vegas". This made me smile. I have to say I'm content, I'm happy, I know we're where God wants us. We went to Verve for the first time on Sunday and it was really good. Brodie ran into his class and came out at the end telling me about his new friends. If you've been to any church with us before you know it was usually a battle to get Brodie to go in or stay in his class. This blew my mind. I'm thankful. You always worry about your kids and how change will affect them...especially really big ones...but I also think God speaks through them. God says "Don't worry...I've got this". :-) God is good. I have to say, we do miss the awesome friends and family we left in VA, but I'm thankful we can still stay in touch...by phone, text, fb, email. I'm especially thankful for the long conversations I've had with Mom. Now that I've written a book, I better go. Next time I'll tell you about the time change. Night!

Little update..

Ok, I'm very bad at blogging...especially now that I have the iphone...I rarely get on the computer. I've had several blogs in my head over the last few weeks...but haven't had the time to get on and do them. I hope to, maybe even today. Here's a little update. The house is finally on the market. We had it ready the first week of February and we had a lady who wanted to buy it before we listed it. I will get into details later but we thought it was a God thing but it just didn't work out, and maybe that was a God thing too. We listed the house with a realtor February 15th and have had some action on it. Our realtor tells us 2 of them plan to make offers on the house but we don't have one in hand yet. Tommy's job ends March 30th so we're hoping everything falls into place at the same time so we can close on the house and move then too. I'm really at peace and just sitting back and trying to focus on God and know that His timing is perfect. So many times we want to do things ourselves and our way. I refuse to do that this time. My constant prayer is that this will be all God and not me.

The other night I was up feeding Tristan at about 1am. I was sitting in the rocker, staring out the window into the sky. The shades are normally closed but for some reason it was open. I was talking to God and just asked that he show me He was here and in all of this (like wanting him to talk to me but not really expecting him to). I then almost immediately saw the most amazing shooting star shoot across the sky. I knew it was meant just for me. I'm thankful. I will never forget it. (I told Tommy about this the next day and he told me it's rare to see a shooting star this time of year). I'm thankful God knows what I need and when I need it. I pray that I can follow Him wherever and however He leads, without doubt and without fear. Until next time....

Thanks God...

So God and I had a chat yesterday and I'll share it with you. I'm a firm believer in being real and honest and transparent. I also believe that God allows us to go through things so that we can use them to reach others when "only someone else who has been there" can understand. Some of you may know, most of you probably don't know, but since having Tristan I've had some struggles dealing with some postpartum depression type stuff. I won't share everything on here now but I'm up for talking about it if you need someone to talk to who's "been there"...know that you're not alone. Anyway, about my chat with God. I walked into church yesterday and as we began to worship, God spoke straight to my heart and I know it was Him. He told me "your husband is a gift to you, from Me and you need to cherish him and treat him that way." My first thought was "Yes, I've been grumpy lately and we have a lot going on, but God, he knows I love him." I was overwhelmed with love and admiration for Tommy as God reminded me of all that he blessed me with in a husband. I know this post could go on forever but I'll keep it short. In our conversation, God told me that I view my children as gifts from Him and I cherish them but I don't always view my husband like that. I take him for granted and I have so much to learn from him. I'm selfish at times and he always gives to me. I'm grumpy and unloving at times, but he continues to love me (not only with words but with actions) no matter what. Thank you God, for the reminder. And Thank you God for one of the greatest gifts of all. I'm so in love and grateful and will forever treasure Tommy as a gift from You, to me. Thanks God.

Big Boy News!!

Ok, so of course after having Tristan, Brodie has seemed like such a big boy. He amazes me every day with his big boy "conversations" and thoughts. He truly brings joy and laughter into every day for us. Brodie has recently taken 2 big steps as a big boy. January 2nd, he threw away his paci! Yes, he had a paci but only for naps and nighttime. Brodie threw his paci in the trash can in order to have his new "Cars" TV in his room. It's been gone ever since. Then...January 14th Brodie pooped on the potty! I know, kinda gross but if you're a parent you know what I mean. lol. Brodie has been peeing on the potty and been in big boy underwear since June but has refused to poop on the potty (he would ask for a diaper). I had found 2 presents in the garage that I had forgotten to give him for Christmas. I told Brodie that he could have them when he pooped on the potty. It worked. For 3 days in a row now he has pooped on the potty. We are so proud of him. I have to say, one thing about this boy is that he will not do something until he is ready (no matter how much pressure, bribery, etc)...but once he is ready he decides, does it and that's it. He has been this way with everything from peeing on the potty to the paci and now pooping on the potty. I think he gets this from his Daddy and I have to respect the fact the he never does things half way. When he makes the decision to do it, he sticks with it and never goes back. It seems like just yesterday he was our baby boy and it is such a blessing to watch him as he transitions to a big boy. Thank you God for allowing us to be a part of this and for the things you teach us through our kids!

Where did the time go?!?