Just getting started...

Well, I decided that there is so much going on, especially with Brian and the tornado relief, that I would start a blog to keep people posted about what we are doing. I'm going to start with catching you up but I'm going to make it a long story short;-)

To start off, I will tell you a little about Brian and I incase you don't know us very well. Brian is originally from TN and moved to Cullman after high school. You name it, he has done it. He has been a volunteer fireman, put in irrigation systems, worked construction, shoed and trained horses, been an EMT...I will stop here since I said I was making this short! When I met him he was covered in horse manure and wore a cowboy hat. I met him when working at a local Italian place called Carlton's while getting my degree in Elementary Education. Shortly after meeting Brian he started working with the youth at the church we were both pretty new to. He, while covered in that horse manure, felt the calling to the ministry. In 2001 he became the youth pastor at our church. In 2006, as I finished up my degree, we got married. (We had only dated almost 6 years!) After 1 year we purchased our 1st home. We had decided that even though it was just the 3 of us, our new home required 3 bedrooms. Thank God because the very next year we found out we were pregnant with our precious daughter, Emily. Then a short 7 months later...our 2nd precious (but also our stinker!) daugher, Olivia. Yes, TWO little girls almost 17 months apart. If you knew Brian back when I met him you would think that was a little funny;-) When I was 8 or 9 months pregnant with Olivia is when Brian came home and said he felt like our time at the church was coming to an end and that God was calling our family to the mission field. Now I have to admit, being 9 months pregnant with a 16 month old and an 11 year old son, and being told God is calling you to the "mission field" was slightly scary at the 1st sound of it! So here is where we are with that: Brian held summer camps in our housing authority apartment area for kids the 1st summer and did some other small "projects" in our neighborhood helping people out. He also started going to Haiti one week of every month after the earthquake. And now our own disaster hit on April 27th, 2011. I'm not exaggerating to you when I say he was out with his chainsaw when he could still see the tornado and he hasn't stopped! I'll give you more details about that later. Now, where am I in all this? Somebody has to be here to take care of all these kids!! Ok, just 3 but it feels like more sometimes, ha ha! We found out we were pregnant just after starting my 1st job and she was born 2 weeks after school was out. I have been home ever since and good thing since we didn't see the 3rd coming;-) So, Gavin is 13 and about to start 8th grade, Emily just turned 3, and Olivia will be 2 next month. I keep our neighbors little girl whom I've had for a year now, and I've helped friends out here and there with their kids. I've joked about starting my own school.

So if you would like to keep up on what our family is doing, here is the place! I'll try to keep this updated in between diaper changes, meals, cleaning up spilled juice, reading a book, and playing with Barbies so keep watch! ;-)