So much going on in my head...

I need somewhere to vent and I figure this is a good enough place. So I apologize in advance for the many ramblings about to take place.
First of all, I would like it to be known that a couple months ago I made a full fledged effort in my Christian life. I hate to say that I'm a born-again Christian because God has always been in my life, but in a way that is what I am. See, growing up I was essentially told that God existed and Jesus was His son and that was it. I was also told that I didn't have to go to church or read the Bible to go to Heaven. So my whole life I prayed every now and then but didn't ever strive for a relationship with Him. And I knew something was missing...
For a few weeks I tried very hard to please God. I believed if I didn't curse or swear and I was nicer, etc. that I could win God's love. I figured then I would be worthy of his attention and He would like me or love me more.
Then, a couple of months ago I asked Jesus into my heart. I knew that He had always been there but what I didn't know was that I was doing it all wrong. I decided to engross myself in the Bible and learn as much as I could about Christian life. I learned that no matter what I do in life I will NEVER be worthy of His love. Most importantly, I learned that there is nothing I can do to win His love. It's already there. All I needed to do was accept His wonderful gift.
I've learned so much in the last couple of months and am striving everyday to deepen my RELATIONSHIP with Him. I pray everyday, many times a day. I engage in Bible study mostly everyday. I am learning to trust in Him completely. I am learning to give complete control of my life to Him and only Him. Most of all, I feel so much happier and so much more at peace now than I ever have.
Now, the reason I am posting this is because the last few nights I have had such an incredible feeling within myself and no way to get it out. I can't even begin to find the words to describe this feeling. I am literally craving to know more about Him. I want Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior to be the complete center of my life. And I am getting there, bit by bit. I have some really bad habits that I am trying to overcome and I know this is a long process; a long journey. But to be honest, I am so incredibly happy. I love my Lord with all of my heart and am learning more and more what that means. And right now, it means everything.

Ugh...Politics

So now that the new healthcare reform has passed, I am nothing but confused. I don't pay enough attention to politics to really understand what is going on or to have a fact-based opinion. But, none-the-less, I do have an opinion.
See, I am completely aware of the fact that this country needs something new--what we have now is just not working. I'm not sure how I feel about paying for someone else's healthcare. But to hear people say that not everyone deserves healthcare is heartbreaking.
I think that they should have thought this through a little bit more and maybe come up with something really good. Obviously, not every one is going to be happy with it. Especially those who have always been anti-Obama.
It seems like the more and more I read about this, like people's opinions and such, the more I think maybe this is not such a good idea.
But...
I know what it's like to be really sick and be absolutely terrified to go to the doctor because you know you can't afford it. I think everyone deserves health care. Everyone* deserves to go to the doctor if they are sick. I don't like the idea of more illegal immigrants coming here and more illegal immigrants getting healthcare that I* am paying for.
I don't know, I realize now that this post is nothing but rambling. But I have absolutely no idea how I feel about this. I guess we will just have to wait it out and see. And for those people who are 100% anti this bill, well, I think no one will know what it's really like until we try it.
Okay, enough rambling.

Ready For That Next Chapter...

Well...let's just get caught up on what's been going on the last few months:

I have decided not to go back to school next semester, and this for a number of reasons. First of all, I am not so sure I want to be a teacher. I miss doing hair so much and so I finally sent in for my license. I'm just waiting to schedule my boards. Then I just have to take them, hopefully I'll pass, and then that's it-I'll be a licensed cosmetologist!! The plan is to find a full time job in a salon after this semester is over.
Second, we are planning to move next summer, after Chris graduates. And in order to make that possible, we are going to need to save. So next school year, I will *hopefully* be working full time in order to save up for the move. This will also give the opportunity to truly decided if I want to pursue a career in hair or teaching.
Third, if I decide to do teaching, there's a possibility that the education credits I take here, won't transfer to a school where we are moving. So they would have all been a waste.

So, now that you are probably confused here is our plan.

This summer, I will be working full time in a salon where I will remain for the next year. After Chris graduates in Spring 2011, we will be moving to Alexandria, Kentucky!! Then, Chris will either be going to grad school or law school--whichever he decides!!

I am so ready to be out of Storm Lake and out of Iowa. Growing up I always thought I'd never want to leave. And it breaks my heart to think I will be so far from my family. But I'm so ready for this next chapter, and can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

And who knows!? Maybe a baby Jones will be on the way soon?

Hehehe, I hope!

Valentine's Day--Happy Anniversary to Us!

Valentine's Day, 2010 marked the two year anniversary of our engagement!

We had an awesome weekend!! We went down to Omaha, and stayed in a hotel. First, we went to a hockey game, and it was so cool! It was the first that either of us had been to. Omaha lost, but it was still really cool. We were about four rows from the glass...No words-it was just awesome!




After the game, we checked into the hotel and then got ready for dinner. We went to Famous Dave's (soooo good!). Then we went to a movie and saw Dear John. After that, we went back to the hotel and the next day we ate at Red Lobster for lunch. Overall it was such a fantastic weekend. But I can't believe it's been TWO years since Chris proposed to me.

I love my husband!

"The Wife Thing"

So, if I had it my way, I'd be an awesome cook, and I'd always keep the house clean like my idol housewives of the 1950's. But in reality, I'm super lazy and a terrible cook. I hate doing all the laundry, cleaning and dishes by myself, but it's something I'm working on!

Last night I made puppy chow and it was absolutely delicious. I'm really in the mood to make all kinds of goodies such as sugar and chocolate chip cookies, rice crispie treats, puppy chow, brownies...so I may do that for Christmas! Also, I'd love to make white chocolate covered pretzels.

So cooking, is definitely something I'm going to need to continue to work on. I really like cooking, I'm just not that great at it. Often times, I don't have the necessary ingredients to make something awesome from the cookbooks. But, I will continue to work on it and maybe in a couple years, I will have the awesome housewife thing down!

A Little Catching Up

So, here's a little bit of an update on us from the wedding until now.

Obviously, we are married and living in a great little house half a block from the lake! A couple weeks after the wedding, we decided to get a dog. We went to the Sioux City humane society and brought home a beautiful Border Collie mix named Missy. She is four years old. She was really a great dog. Very intelligent. Unfortunately, our time with Missy was cut short. She was becoming too aggressive for us, so we made the difficult decision to give her up. We love and miss her very much, but she will go to a much better home.

On September 30, we celebrated 5 wonderful years together. We went to Omaha, did some Halloween shopping and spent the evening eating delicious food and playing fun games at Dave and Buster's. It was a lot of fun.

Since we were very sad about having to say goodbye to Missy, we made the decision to get a puppy! Our baby boy is 7 weeks old and we've named him COOPER! He is an Australian Shepard. He's definitely a handful because he's so young, but he's a lot of fun!

Our House!

In the months leading up to our wedding, we were thinking we'd have to reside in my tiny one bedroom apartment. It was kind of depressing because there was barely enough room for my stuff let alone his. And we both really wanted a place that was "ours" not "mine".

A couple weeks before the wedding we went to look at some houses for rent that the university owns. We fell in love with one and a few days later I found myself packing up the apartment!

We were very excited to be moving into our 2 bedroom house. The weekend before the wedding, we got the keys and moved everything in! All I wanted was to get things put away and make the house our home. But that would have to wait until after the wedding because I was going to be back home all week.

So now, everything is put away and unpacked finally! I'm still doing things here and there to make it feel more like home, but we love it here! The only problem is we don't have enough stuff! In the apartment we had more stuff then room and now we have way more room then stuff. But it's okay! It just means I need to go shopping!! ;)