So......

I am a TERRIBLE blogger and haven't blogged in pretty much forever.

Not too much has been going on in our life, so really you all didn't miss out on much!

I completed my first 6 hours of another masters degree, and classes begin again tomorrow (Monday). It is great because the classes are split into 8-week bi-terms, so I can earn 6 hours in 8 weeks! It is a little more intense because of the shortened time period, but I figure if I can push through I will be finished sooner rather than later!

We have only a few weeks of school left before summer break and the kids...and teachers are READY. I love my job, but this has felt like the longest year. I am sure it had something to do with being overstaffed and transferred mid-year, but I am ready for June 5th!

I can't promise when I will blog again....but like I said, there isn't much that has been going on anyway!!!

I'll leave you with a picture of Jim and I on our honeymoon in Jamaica! I am wishing I was on a beach right now... and since I don't have any pictures of Jim and I recently...this will do!
Oh, how I love Jamaica!!!! Dream with me...just shut your eyes and listen to the Bob Marley music in the background :0)

Have a great week!

Spring Break

It has been a great and relaxing spring break this week. Jim has had to work, but it has been nice being at home with him! Jim's family got to come and visit this past weekend. We love being able to visit with them and are sad that we can't spend longer together. Jenny and Drew, (Jim's sister and her son) were able to stay until Wednesday morning, so we were able to spend a few extra days with them!

Wednesday afternoon my good friend Tiffani, my mom, sister, and I went to Indiana for some outlet shopping. We shopped all day on Wednesday and finished up a little on Thursday morning before coming back to Louisville. It was a great get-a-way during spring break!

I am terrible and did not take any pictures of our family while they were here, or our shopping trip. But, I will leave you with this one of Jim and his new gift. While I was at the outlets, I bought Jim a Snuggie (which I think are ridiculous, but he has been talking about them for months now). He was so excited, he made me take a picture RIGHT then.

Anyway, have a great rest of the week!

(oh, and in case you were wondering...that is the free reading light that comes with the Snuggie.)
(Oh, and also...Jim is NOT reading that Beth Moore book...it is mine, but he wanted to look like the commercial for the picture...weird, I know :o) )

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!!

Love,
Jim, Jess, and Champ

Long time, I know...

So, it's been a long time since I have updated....I know. I have REALLY enjoyed being able to come home from work and NOT do my own school stuff, although that is quickly coming to an end since classes begin Monday. I am starting another masters program. Hopefully I can finish in a year, we will see how realistic that timeline is after this semester :o)

But anyway, Jim and I have enjoyed being able to eat supper together and watching some of our favorite shows...ESPECIALLY 24 and The First 48 (weird that they are both shows with numbers and if you double 24, you get 48....anyway, we watch other shows without numbers, but these two are our favorite!)

Jim and I have been busy with "Life". We feel we haven't stopped "going", yet we really don't have much to write about, so I will leave you with this sweet picture of Champ. Jim was able to snap this shot today after he heard some wrestling around in the living room. He went to look to see what Champ was "into" and as you can see he wasn't into anything, but it seems he was trying to get into a comfortable position to take an afternoon nap!

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!