Life in 2009

Hey guys!

So here on the LAST day of 2009 I find myself sitting in my living room writing to you. We have had an INCREDIBLY eventful year! Unfortunately I have no pictures to upload at this time unlike my wonderful wife.

Anyway, here we embark upon the roller coaster of '09. Get in, strap up, and hold on! We shall start at the beginning. It will be a little boring; however, it will give a good overview of the rest of what is to come. Imagine it as the initial climb of the roller coaster...kind of boring, yet good overview.

Late in '08 we moved into an apartment outside of town. It was not the greatest place we have ever lived. However, it did get us out of a horrible situation with the first house we moved into here in Kingsport. Our new and improved landlord was wonderful! I actually grew up with his children. His wife homeschooled all three of his children. So I had known them through that aspect of my life for quite some time. Marc has also been involved in my musical shaping. He is the conductor of a city wide 4th of July musical that he and my father and a few other influential people from our community had put together. Needless to say, the Strands have been family friends for quite a while.

That brings us into the first little tumble or drop on the roller coaster. At this point (we are now to the beginning of the year) Nikki began working at Cardiovascular Assc. and I began working at Bookshelf Central. We both really enjoy our jobs. We are also hoping to advance in each of our personal fields. As far as positions within the company go, Nikki has quite a bit of room to expand and for myself...well I have no higher to go. I manage the whole she-bang! Anyway, I digress.

As you have no doubt already read previously, Nikki is now pregnant. We are having a baby girl! We are going to name her Crissie Grace. She is already a huge joy in our lives! She is growing like a weed! As a matter of fact, last night we were laying in bed last night and I was able to lay my head on Nikki's tummy and I could her Crissie Grace's heartbeat! It's amazing how much I already love my little girl!

Also you have also probably read that we have bought our first house. We started moving in on October 1. We have now almost totally got everything set up. However, that by no means we are totally done with everything! We found some mold in the basement that I have now totally removed. Unfortunately, the more I worked in the basement the more problems I found. One fine example is this. There were some metal shelving units down there. They were quite rusted, so obviously I pulled them out of the basement. However, on the very first unit that I took out, as soon as I moved it away from the wall, the wall fell! Well, come to find out, behind the "wall" (which wasn't even a wall it was just stucco!) there was nothing but dirt! It was just stucco! No brick, nothing! Just dirt. So I had to then brick it all in because literally everything in the basement is load bearing! Fun stuff.

So that almost brings us up to speed. It just leaves Christmas! Nikki and I recently had a conversation that we both agreed that this Christmas has been the best for us so far! We think '10 will be slightly better just because we will have a beautiful baby girl to celebrate it with us! Anyway, why was it so great you ask? Well hold your horses and I'll tell you! Yes we got some AMAZING gifts, like I got a puppy from Nikki (Timberwolf Hybrid!), I got Nikki a Keurig coffee pot. (if you don't know what that is, look it up!) We got ourselves a new LCD 42" TV. Ed and Kathy got us a Blu-ray player and a GPS. Mom and Dad got us a new grill. Kelley and Saralynn gave us cash (always welcome!) and a pretty stinking sweet wine rack! But no, those are not what made Christmas great. Christmas was great because we got to see lots of family and emotions got the best of us very little! Grandparents, cousins, parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, friends - they all made it marvelous! Nikki's dad also got married a couple of weeks ago and it was a fantastic wedding! She now has a step-mother who, in my opinion, is absolutely hysterical. Getting to be a part of that just made Christmas even more memorable! However, beyond even all that, Jesus Christ is really the reason for the season and He is the one that made it so explicitly, splendidly great!

Two days ago Mom and Dad celebrated their 25th anniversary. Which is setting a great example to Nikki and I. We have only been married for a little over 2 years now, and have loved every minute of it. I can't and don't want to imagine my life without Nikki. She is more than I could have ever dreamed of in a wife! God definitely knew what He was doing when He made her specifically for me! I pray that we will have many, many more years to come!

As we enter the new year tomorrow, my prayer for all of you is that you seek God's will in everything you do. Always give Him the honor and glory He deserves! May He bless all your endeavors. So long 2009.