SNICE STORM....(what a snow and ice storm should be called)

I am not going to talk too much today because I think the pictures will tell it all. We have had a winter storm push through Louisville the last couple days and as a result we have had some beautiful, but dangerous weather. Once again, there are over 100,000 customers in the city of Louisville without power just like the "Wind Storm" a few months back.

We have power and are very thankful to be warm in our house watching the snowy scene out of the window!

I worked on Monday, and have been able to stay home since then due to JCPS closing school the remainder of the week.

Below are some pics of the house, us sledding, and of course little Champ in his winter coat!

****OH, and thanks for all the prayers, Jim started his new job Monday!!! Luckily he is working from home, so the snow and ice didn't slow down his new work!****

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Jim being such a wonderful husband and clearing our driveway!
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Getting ready to go snow tubing with Kayla and our good friends Jacob and Tiffani.
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Outside our house!

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Our Sweet Champpers!!!


Stay Warm!!! :o)

Praying

With the new year in full swing, and after some events that have been thrown at us, Jim's job loss in particular, I have been trying to connect with God and have a deeper, more meaningful prayer life. I don't mean to say that I didn't have a prayer life before, but I want to be specific about the things and people I am praying for, I want to pray faithfully, and most importantly, I want to pray with the right heart.

For all you "Love Darers" out there, look in the back of the book at Appendix I- page 202-205 for an awesome resource to effective prayer. This is a great resource to begin an intimate prayer life with our Lord. I encourage you to take a look at it! And if you are not doing the Love Dare, I encourage you to do so. The book is from the movie Fireproof (which I think comes out soon on DVD) and it is a great way to become aware of issues or potential issues in your marriage, and how biblically we should approach our spouse and their needs. I have truely learned a lot from the couple of weeks we have been "Taking the Dare" as Pastor Kevin calls it!

Now on to some Prayer Requests...

I have been reading Angie Smith's blog for a couple months now and it is amazing. If you ever have an hour or so, you should hop over to her blog and read her (and her family's) story from the beginning, it is amazing how God uses different struggles in peoples lives as encouragement for others. Anyway, through looking at her blog, I came across Kelly's blog. She too is amazing and has struggled with getting pregnant for some time. The Lord finally blessed her and her husband with a baby, and she was born this past Friday, but unfortunately with some complications. Haper is is critical condition. Take a look at Kelly's blog for the detailed updates, but for now, please say a prayer for baby Harper. Pray specifically for healing for Harper and for peace for the parents.

Also, please keep Jim and his job search in your prayers and a big thanks to all that are already doing so!

Have a great week!

The New Year

So with all the "Happy New Years" going around, we figured we should post and say it to all our readers as well... so.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

If you haven't heard by now, our new year didn't start off as "Happy" as we had hoped. Jim was laid off from his job this past Friday (January 2nd). His company was/is making several cuts due to financial issues (I guess the poor economy even effects the cheer world) and Jim was one of the employees that saw the impact.

We are taking this experience as an opportunity and trying not to look at it as a "bad" situation, although it is a challenging one. Jim is exploring many job options at this time, and we will keep you posted if/when something comes available!

On a lighter note, we had a wonderful Christmas break with our families and we miss our family in North Carolina very much. Even though the trip was a longer one, it never seems like it is long enough.

Well, I guess that it all for now! Please continue to pray for us as Jim continues his Job search. We know God is sovereign and has a plan, even when we seem to be wondering aimlessly. We pray that we will open our eyes to see His path for us as we embrace a new journey!