Two Love Birds!

So as most of you know, we have two parakeets- George and Macchiato. I thought I would tell you a little bit about them. If you have never had the pleasure of meeting them, you are missing out on some hilarious stuff. George and Macchiato are crazy about each other... I mean madly in love! George is always next to Macchiato. Constantly rubbing his beak in her feathers, around her hair, kissing her...the whole nine. My family constantly tells them to get a room! Karnell and I get embarrassed sometimes, because people are so fascinated by their attraction. You would think that with all that love in the cage, that they would love to share. Oh, quite the opposite... George is a pig, that hates to share! He races Macchiato to the seeds dish so that he can get fed first. Well, Macchiato is no dummy; she has caught on to his little scheme. So now, maybe a half hour or so before I feed them, she is standing right next to the dish so she can get fed first! Macchiato waits patiently as I take their seed dish out of the cage, dump the old seeds and put four scoops of fresh seeds. In to the cage it goes. Macchiato, very calm, steps up to the dish, and starts to eat... George, panicking, hurries to get there only to find that Macchiato is there first. She spreads out her wings, so that George can't get anything until she's done! So my question is... Is that really love? Hey, maybe that's their culture!

Oh Happy Day...

Well today is Monday, and today must be the best day of my life. I know that it's only Monday, but if you had to go through the week that I went through, you would appreciate Monday as well. I feel so much better, alert and happy. It was like I had a cloud of sadness over me. I really couldn't explain it, but I knew it was there. I also might add that I'm glad that it's over. I am real excited for Karnell...we are going to Denver Wednesday morning, so that he can compete at Guitar Center, in the annual drum off! Please pray that all goes well! I will hopefully have pictures of all the exciting festivities, when I get back. Along with other wonderful pictures that I still need to post. Boy, when you don't keep up with this, it sure can take awhile for you to get all caught up! Ok, that's all for now. Yeah! Today is a great day!

Silent...

Hear lately, I've been kinda quiet. Have you ever reached a point where you just can't take any more new information. Whether it's good news or bad, I can't handle another thing. I have had this headache that has lasted all weekend. I really wish that I could just go away somewhere and be left alone. I'm so distracted at work, and my home life isn't very peaceful. I find myself not getting enough rest, and working myself too hard. I am trying to get back into the swing of things, but it's so hard. I know that it's just a phase, but man is it hard at the moment.

More than I can bear...

Since moving back to Springfield, it seems as though adversity has came my way from every corner. So to try and wrap my finger around all that has gone on in the past 3 and a half months, I will try and sort things out in my head via blogger.

Karnell and I started looking for houses here in Springfield, way back in April. I would say that from April to June, Karnell and I spent almost every weekend here in Springfield, trying to buy a house. Don't forget that Karnell was working 50-60 hours a week and I had been working extra hours as well, so that we would have enough money to move.

As you all know, moving in and of itself is stressful. Karnell and I moved to Springfield, June 29. We signed the papers, got our keys, got our check, and headed off to unload boxes. That was an all day event. Mind you, I had job interviews in between that, because I didn't have a job yet! My sister was suppose to come down, but didn't get the chance so I had to drive my family back to KC and then turn around and come right back to Springfield. Boy was I tired. A week and a half later, my whole family comes down to see the house.

A week and a half after that, I got a phone call saying that my brother Michael lost his newborn baby girl, a couple of weeks after that, I found out that my sister was in a fire, and had second degree burns on her hands, arms, and legs. She lives in California, but flew home, so I went to spend the weekend with her. A couple of weeks later. Karnell wins a drum competition, and has to fly to Denver to compete. Good news of course, but it's just one more emotion to try and handle. A week and a half after that, I got a call saying that my brother Brian was in a car accident. He had stitches in his head, and his car was totalled. A week and a half later we find out that Karnell's grandpa had past away and we needed to go to St. Louis. But we were broke and didn't know how we were gonna go. Next thing we knew, we had an extra 400 dollars, so not only could we go to his funeral, but I'm able to fly to Denver as well to see Karnell compete. Just a few days later from finding out that Karnell's grandpa had passed away, I found out that my grandpa had past away. And to that, just an hour later, I found out that my cousin, in KC, had been murdered. All of this is happening while we are in St. Louis for the funeral. I have been a nervous wreck all weekend. Karnell and I have tension, and I am so stressed out that I can't breathe. I can't take off any days of work, because we need the money.

It's times like this that I think about that verse that God won't give you more than you can bear. He must think that I'm really strong, or that I really need to see him and his mighty power. I really needed to get that of my chest. If you read this blog, please say a prayer for me.

Wow! What a week!

Last week was not one of my greater weeks, that's for sure. My in-laws came for a surprise visit. That actually went really well. Karnell and I didn't get to hang out with them as much as we wanted to, but when we did hang out, it was a lot of fun. They came late Wednesday and left on Sunday. I will post pictures later. Today, however is a very good day. Why? You may ask. Well, that's because today is Karnell and I's second anniversary! Yeah! I can hardly believe that two years have gone by. It seems like just yesterday we were getting married, and now we have two years under our belts! I can honestly say that I love him more today than I did when we first got married! I'm not gonna lie, it's been hard sometimes, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going! I am excited to see what this year will hold for us. When I look back over our two years, we have done great things, and that makes me really proud. I love you Karnell, always have, and always will!

Feeling blue...

Yesterday was not a good day for me, and to be honest the day before wasn't one of the best either. I have decided that I just don't handle stress very well. I also drew the conclusion that there are more stressors in my life than what I thought. So, I guess when the doctor's ask, "are you stressed", I can honestly say, "yes". I feel as though the weight of the world is riding on my shoulders, and I don't know how to release the tension and feel better. I thought that talking to a friend would help...but what friends... I feel all alone. I feel as though I'm in an empty room all by myself with nothing to do but think about my thoughts. I try praying, singing songs, getting more involved in activities to distract me, but they seem like "bandaids", temporary patches for what the real issues are. So, what are the real issues, you might ask? Good question. But if I really sit and think about it, I know what the issues are...I'm afraid to deal with them, for fear of the consequences. So I carry it from day to day, hoping it will just go away. That good ol' Bible verse that says we reap what we sow...yeah, it's coming back to haunt me. I made some decisions and choices that backfired on me, and instead of facing the problem head on, I choose to keep letting it build up. I want to face reality, and get it "over with", but I'm afraid of the end result. To make things better would involve being honest, something that I deeply struggle with. I'm scared. If I say nothing, it will get worse. If I say something, I could potentially have some damage that I need to repair. Or, God could have mercy on me... I don't like the "what if's". I want something concrete, this is the problem, this is the solution, and these are the consequences. If only it was that easy. If you're reading this, let me know what your thoughts are, because I need help.

I love my family!!!!!

So I have quite a bit to tell you in this post. First of all, I just want to say that I love my family. I grow closer to them each and everyday. I also realize that without family, on earth, we have nothing. I am nothing, without my family. For the last 2 1/2 months my family has been tried in different areas, and we are still strong, and love each other more today than ever before. It's amazing! OK, now that that's out of the way...Karnell was in this huge drum competition held at Guitar Center. For those not in the musical world, that is a very well know music store that sells predominately guitars, of course, keyboards and drums/percussion. Anyway, he entered the competition in Kansas City and didn't win, he didn't even place. He was a little sad, but I believe he knew what to do to make it better for the next time he would enter. This past Wednesday he entered the drum contest along with 7 other drummers. It was pretty intense. The talent varied greatly. I was a really neat experience if you ever get the chance to go. Well, needless to say, Karnell won!!!!!!!!! I just couldn't believe it, I was jumping up and down in excitement. So he gets to compete again on October 3, if he wins there, he will travel to Denver to compete! We are very excited. If he wins the whole competition, I believe he gets endorsements, a car, and some other cool stuff! Don't quote me on that though...I am so proud of him. He sets the bar high for himself, and he amazes me with his talent each and every time. I is a bad drummer! I stand in awe when he plays. When I listen to him, it's as though I can connect and feel what he's playing. I love the sense of closeness. I'm only that close to him when he plays. I mean when he's playing, he's telling a story and his whole being is in it. I connect with that, I understand every note, it's like reading a great, novel, a true page turner! OK, enough of that. If you haven't picked it up by now, I love my husband. I love you baby! OK, here are some pictures my family and some pictures that I took at the drum competition. Enjoy!