Three Years and One Day

Seems like just yesterday I was walking down the isle to marry my best friend. Well, it was yesterday, just three years ago yesterday. I remember the smell of my perfume that I put on especially for Pat, the look on my daddys' face and watching my mom cry when she helped me put my dress on, I remember every detail of the day. I really do. I remember waking up and being so scared and so excited at the same time. I had all of my family and friends there to share this special day with me and then we would be off to Jamaica!!

So yeah this year it wasn't quite Jamaica, but every detail of our anniversary was so special to me this year. Pat came home (with flowers and a card) and we shared a bottle of wine with each other on the back porch and talked about God's plan for us, the weather was perfect. Then we made dinner together (anniversary chicken) and sat on the couch snuggled up to one another. It was the best night ever. I told Pat I am so grateful for all the awesome things he does for me and how I know we could be on some Caribbean island enjoying this night, but it meant so much more to me, that we weren't! We were just content with the company of each other and didn't need beaches and sand to remind each other how in love we truly are.

This has been a tough year for both of us, but we have pushed forward and have found an unbelievable amount of support from our family and friends. Our faith in Jesus Christ is indescribable. We are growing so much in our walk of faith, while once we used to sit on the couch and stare at the TV until bedtime, now we sit and read the bible to each other at night. Melts my heart that my God has sent me this godly husband that I have forever prayed for. Pat is my rock and I am so thankful for his support for me in my hard times this year and his faith in our lord that we will have a family one day. This faith that he has been so blessed with is spreading like wildfire. My momma always told me to marry a Godly man, and I sure did.

I am so anxious to see what doors will be opened for us this next year.

Waiting Game

Seems like forever since I last wrote, I guess I have my moments like most people, when everything is going great, I want to share, then life throws you a curve ball and keeping everything bottled up inside just seems so much easier.

Today at work I came in, sat at my desk with my free McDonald's coffee that I got this morning and started working. It wasn't 10 minutes and I could hear the hospital come alive, the hustle and bustle of the nurses getting their patients ready for the day and the glorious (lol) sound of IV pumps going off began to ring aloud.

I sat at my desk and began working, when I heard a lady outside of my office crying, not sure what about but it broke my heart. Made me think about how much of my good times I take for granted and how much I focus on all the crappy things going on in my world. I closed my door and I began talking to God, praying that he would send healing to this woman and that he would watch after her and get her through this day, that I was taking for granted. As I was praying I began to realize, life can be so much better if we just give it to God. He knows the desires of our hearts. "May He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose

(Psalm 20:4)."

So that is exactly what I am doing! I truly believe that God knows the desires of my heart and he knows the desires of my husband and I to have a family, a child of our very own. Heck, we have already named them and pray for them every night. Sometimes I giggle wondering what they are doing in Heaven while we are waiting on them to come to us. Are the up there laughing and singing praise with our Lord. Are they running through fields of glory with him playing and talking to God about how they can't wait to meet us too! I know this may seem so silly, but it is getting me through each day and helping me learn patience with my Lord because I know God knows the desires of my heart.

Waiting is the hardest part of life, I think. I mean we wait everyday on something and how selfish of us not to enjoy that very moment that God has given us. I have a good friend at church who I look up to so much because of her patience. She is never the first person at church but still gets a good seat, never the first person in line for Wednesday night supper but always eats, and never the first person to speak her mind about anyone or anything but still her voice is heard and when it is, the sound is so joyful!

I think we should all slow down a little, if it is Gods will, it will be done!

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

Round 1

First month of clomed is going well. The hot flashes are driving me nuts but I guess it could be a whole lot worse, right? My friends keep telling me, just wait until you are actually pregnant.

Things are going so good for Pat and I right now, we are enjoying the time we have with just each other and trying to get our house ready for the big changes that ARE coming in the future. I recently accepted a job at the hospital working the 2nd shift and I am super excited. More money for more house projects!!! YAY!

Pat and I have continued to hold our heads high and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that this is all part of his plan. Some days are better than others but we truly are learning to grow together spiritually and as a team. We have also been spending a good amount of time down at the lake with the pups (our first babies), they enjoy every minute of it and we do too. Now if we can just convince Pat to buy us a pontoon boat, we will all be really happy! lol

Not much new around here, just want to ask that you all continue to keep us in your prayers, hope that our first round of clomed will be a success. Some of our friends have named us "Lindsay and Pat plus 8" - Lord I hope not.

Woah stop the train....

Sorry it has been so long since I have been able to update everyone on what's going on. I feel like we have been going 90mph and have just slowed down.

I was really not sure if I wanted to share with everyone what we are going through, but I feel that each of you are a part of this walk of faith and we can always use your prayers and support.

So here is where we stand, Pat and I have taken 3 of the 4 fertility test that are needed to determine why we are not getting preggers. All of our test thus far have came back with GREAT results and we are well on our way to making this happen. We went Wednesday to have my HSG performed, I was so nervous and scared, Pat held my hand the whole time and watched the monitor. It truly felt like we were looking at our baby for the first time, but we were looking to see if we could actually have a baby. So for those of you who have children I am sure you can understand how emotional this was for us. After my HSG was performed and the results came back good, I decided this whole baby thing is not up to me, it is up to God! I knew that all along it just took awhile for me to understand it.

Now we go back on day 21 for final blood work and then we will see where we go from there! We are super excited about this whole experience and truly beleive that God knew we could handle this so he chose us for this journey.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers. We have truly been blessed with a great family and incredible friends.

Just so baby Hogan knows what his/her momma went through and how much she hates needles.

Drinking From My Saucer

I woke up Saturday to find that my cell phone had decided it never wanted to turn on again. I freaked out and immediately got online and ordered another one. Little did I realize that by doing this, I would not have a phone until TUESDAY!!!! I never realized how attached I was until Pat pointed it out. He said, "Jeez, Lindsay, you are seriously going through withdrawals without your crackberry!" And I was. And I still am!!!

On another note, we had an amazing weekend together, just us with no distractions. We finally got out and did some long overdue hiking. It was a perfect day, with awesome weather and great company. We came home and grilled out and sat out by the fire all night, just talking like we used to. It was so good to have Pat's undivided attention, and I know he felt the same. We spent Sunday at church, literally all day and Pat finally got to start his softball team for the spring. He was very excited and ready to get back on the field. This is one of his hobbies, and I can see in his face how much he enjoys it.

Today I had an interview, so I am keeping my fingers crossed and leaving it up to God (don't worry, be happy). Also hoping that this week we get to meet Tim and Sara's sweet baby Hudson. He is due any day now, and I know that they can hardly wait. I will leave you with an email that I got today that touched me as it always does.

Drinking From My Saucer

I've never made a fortune, and it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much, I'm happy anyhow
And as I go along life's way,
I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Haven't got a lot of riches,
And sometimes the going's tough
But I've got loving ones all around me,
And that makes me rich enough.
I thank GOD for his Blessings,
And the Mercies HE's bestowed..
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong,
My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke,
And the sun peeped through again.

So LORD, help me not to gripe,
About the tough rows I have hoed
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

If GOD gives me strength and courage,
When the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings,
I'm already Blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy,
To help others bear their loads.
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.


When I think of how many people in this world have it worse
than I do, I realize just how blessed I really am.

Max's Big Adventure

Yesterday, I got up to meet a friend at the park to do some much needed exercising. I was only gone for about 2 hours, when I returned to our home and Trig (our yellow lab) was standing in the driveway. Backdoor was WIDE open! I panicked, went inside immediately only to find, my Max GONE! I threw Trig's collar on and we hit the streets, stopping anyone who would listen, to ask them if they had seen my sweet Max. I walked the streets for 3 hours before a lady stopped to tell me that she saw a chocolate lab laying in someones driveway across the main street. Yep, it was him!! Praise be to God!

However, on a not so good note, we found out that someone had tried to break in our house and the pups scared them off. I am so proud of my babies. For those of you that don't know, Max is 100% BLIND, he was hit by a car when he was eight months old and lost his vision, before we adopted him. So you can imagine why I was so scared. Pat and I prayed so hard for God to lead him to us and to just wrap his arms around our sweet Max, and that is exactly what happen.

When we got settled in for the night, Pat looked and me and said, "Lindz, what do you think God's message was to us in all of this?" Pat said he thought that God's message to us was to never give up, keep your faith in God and you will be blessed! I couldn't agree more.

Icing on the cake

Many of you know that Pat and I have been trying to conceive for sometime now and have had no luck. We have went from being very excited one week to being afraid to even say we are gonna try again. We try so hard to keep our faith and leave this decision up to God, but it has been so hard for both of us. I can't say that I am the only one dealing with this, because I can see the excitement turn to disappointment in my husbands eyes and it hurts so bad.

I have went from looking at baby rooms, to wondering what in this world I am doing wrong. I have decided to get back in shape and start to eating healthier (minus banana pancakes)lol. So what do we do now? Many of our friends and family have told us to go to the doctor and see about fertility, why is that decision so hard to make? Yes, I want a child more than anything in this world, but it scares me to death that I may never be able to have one. So is it better to know or not? ugh!!

I know I am not the only one who has ever felt this way and I can say I honestly understand how hard trying to have a baby is now. I know that God is hearing not only our prayers but the prayers of a lot of our friends and family, so what is the problem? I have decided no more prayers for babies, but prayers for faith and peace with where we are now and whatever else is given to us, is just icing on the cake!



So for now, I will just enjoy spending time with this little one. Happy 2nd Birthday Lola Ann!

Trying to be Martha

I love looking at other people's blogs when they show all these pictures of the fabulous foods that they have prepared. I wish I could cook like that, I really do! I honestly try very hard and have learned more about cooking from Pat than anyone. He is a great cook, so when I get the chance, I try to return the favor. This morning I made him banana pancakes, hence the Jack Johnson song I added to my blog today. I thought they tasted fantastic and he was very thankful!! Cooking school in is on my To-Do List for the future.

Braggin on Jesus!

Just got good news today, I got a job interview tomorrow at 9:00. Finally!!!! I have been applying for all kinds of jobs, here and there, just trying to get my foot in the door. Thank you all for your prayers, hopefully tomorrow goes well. Gotta feeling this ain't the only thing, I will be braggin on Jesus for this week either! Praise GOD!

"The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Psalm 1 18-23)

Greater things are yet to come...

Pat made it back in town just to find his wife curled up in the bed sick as a dog this weekend. I felt so bad that he was finally coming home for a little while and here I was, sick! Like the awesome man that he is, he took care of me hand and foot. He just kept asking me, what can I do for you? I wanted to say, well you could start puking all day and let me stop but I knew that wasn't going to happen. lol

I have been so blessed to have an amazing husband who supports this family with everything he has. He works his butt off for us and for that I am forever thankful. I know he doesn't like to go out of town every other week, but he does it because he knows how it helps this family. While some think that being a deer hunter for a living may be a dream job, to Pat he just thanks God everyday for it and knows how truly blessed he is to have it.

Sunday we got up and I still wasn't feeling great, but then I remembered it was Youth Sunday at church and I didn't want to miss it. I sat through Sunday school gripping Pat's hand the whole time as I could feel my water wanting to come back up. We made it through Sunday School and it was off to church we went to listen to our Youth Group do the sermon.

I sat in church amazed by what a wonderful group this was and how I can't wait to share their experiences through Christ with them. A young girl gave her testimony and I felt like she touched my life more than any pastor I have ever listened to. She made my problems feel so small in comparison to her own. She made me see that my faith could be stronger if I would just let God take the lead. I sat in church and cried the whole time, again gripping Pat's hand because I couldn't stop crying. Poor guy!

After church Pat hugged me and didn't even bother to ask why I was crying, he just said he loved me and that he knew great things were about to come. I am so thankful to have this man in my life! Can't wait to see what this year brings.

Something that this young girl at church left us with on Sunday.

Ask God "Why have you done this for me" not "Why are you doing this to me"

Oh he is listening, alright!

What an amazing week this has been, other than missing my hubby like crazy!

I have never felt so blessed as I do right now in my life. God is moving in such a powerful way in my life right now, I have to share it with all of you.

I have been sponsored by an AMAZING woman at my church to go on our women's retreat in February and I feel so blessed. To her and her generosity I give so many praises!

Tonight at church I was introduced to another mission trip that our church takes to Honduras. If any of you really know me, than you know this is right up my alley. It has always been a dream of mine to go to other countries and help children. I have always wanted to go to Africa and fulfill this dream, but maybe God is pulling me in another direction first. And guess what? This mission trip will be traveling to Honduras to help at a children's orphanage!

Pat and I had just talked about this not long ago, how we would love to go some place and help out and share our testimony. We cried one night together as we prayed for God to lead us where we are needed. Well I am guessing the big guy upstairs was definitely listening and he was saying "you guys have no idea what I have in store for you"! lol

So please continue to pray for us as we figure out what it is that God is leading us to. Pray that he will open our hearts for this wild adventure that we are about to embark on.

PRAY AND PRAY HARD

Our weekend has been filled with the good, the bad and the ugly. I attended a funeral service this weekend to pay my respects to my step-mom who recently lost her father. The service was like no other that I had ever attended. It was uplifting and very personal at the same time. My step-brother and sister were grieving with the loss of the only grandfather they had ever met and for me this really hit home. My own grandfather is so special to me and I can't imagine what it will be like when he goes home to heaven to be with our Lord. And today was Women's Sunday at church and the emotional testimonies from the women of our church really got to me. The service made me think about my own testimony and legacy that I want to leave behind. Like these women, I am not perfect and I have my flaws. But with the help of Jesus, I persevere, and I am becoming a strong and more faithful woman to God. I am proud to say that I am a Christian, I am proud to hold my head up high when I walk out of church and I am proud to be married to a man who devotes the same amount of time and energy to our Lord that I do.

As many of you know, I lost my job back in July and I am still searching for a new one. By the grace of God, we have been able to maintain our personal finances and for this I am forever thankful. We have made a commitment to each other this year not to spend money on unnecessary items (material things that we really don't need). Pat and I are planning a mission trip with our Youth Group at church (no cost for chaperones, yay!). We have prayed very hard for God to open a door for us to share our own testimonies and our own struggles. I feel he is moving in our lives more now than he ever has, partly because we are letting him. We have given all of our faith and trust to him. I came across a women's retreat sign up today at church and I really want to go. Bad news is it's $50! I know this doesn't seem like much, but it is an unnecessary expense. I could wait and go on the next one, but I really feel like God is pulling on my heart to go. What's one to do, PRAY AND PRAY HARD!!!

So that is what I am going to do, I am going to PRAY AND PRAY HARD for God to bless me in some way financially so I can go on this trip, I hope that all of you will keep me in your prayers too!!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

Another Year Has Gone By...

I am sitting here updating my blog, while I listen to Celine Dion's "Another Year Has Gone By". I always get to hear this song when we go home to Kentucky for the holidays and it always makes me so sad. But this year, I am sitting here with a smile on my face as I listen and thank God for all of his blessings that he has given me this past year. Pat and I are growing so strong together and I thank God everyday for his amazing presence in our marriage and our lives. Together we are working on some goals for the new year and I can't wait to see what God puts in front of us this year. We celebrated the New Year in Kentucky and we both said, it was the best New Years Eve we have ever had. It was so nice to celebrate with family and friends. I recently read on a blog that I have started to follow a resolution for the new year is to be her husbands girlfriend again, I loved it and think it is a great idea. So here is my list...

1. Keep God in the center of my life and my marriage
2. Live a healthier lifestyle, workout and eat healthier
3. Be my husbands girlfriend again (thanks to my sweet and simple life)
4. Organize the house
5. Follow financial goals
6. Cook more dinners at home
7. Continue to pray and have faith that God will bless us with a healthy baby
8. Be a better friend to those who need me the most
9. GO CAMPING!!!!

I could go on and on, as I am sure many people could. But let's just start there for now. Below are some pics of our recent visit to Kentucky. Enjoy - Happy New Year!


Finally I got to meet Mary Quinn


Finley and Hogan putting on a show with Uncle P-Pat



Just a little fun with the Hogans!


Happy New Year, Love The Hogans