What He Does

He brings me joy
He brings laughter to my heart
Which he has stolen.

It sounds crazy but I don't think
Two people were more meant for each other

He knows my weakness
He knows my strength
With who He finds the same strength in.

The Lord knew what He was doing
When He brought us together.

He loves who I am
He loves who I want to be
More like Christ.

I will love him as much as I can
With the time God has given us on this earth.

I love you Lennon. Like we have said to each other before, I am glad we didn't end up with anyone else but each other. You are the love of my life and I am better with you than without.

Christal

Found

Yes He is back! Our little Ranger has been found. We put an add in the paper and it came out just yesterday. Then after church we got a call saying that they thought they have our dog that was in the paper. When we got there to pick him up he was so excited to see us and how much I wanted to be upset with him for getting out but I just loved on him. So now no more wondering...thank the Lord. We are a complete family once again. Here is an older pic of him at 6 months, he is now 10 months.

Lost Puppy

The Noland family is sad today because our beloved dog Ranger is lost. He got out of the dog pin somehow last night and have not been able to find him. Please pray that we will find him soon or that he will come back. We love this dog. :(

Sweet Moment

Last night, during out usual routine of settling into bed, I was reading out of one of my pregnancy books. For some reason, I skipped towards the end when it talks about labor and delivery (kinda scary to think about). One section was talking about the part where the baby arrives and is cleaned and all. The book suggested that the "coach", Lennon, tell the mom how great she did. So out of nowhere I looked at L and said, "OK, now after I have the baby the book says you need to congratulate me on how great I did giving birth" and he said with a huge grin on his face "Of course I will tell you that, you will do great". For a split second we were just grinning from ear to ear (I was getting a little teary eyed) and thought about that moment to come. Wow! How amazing it will be....

The Fog Has Cleared

It's been too long between blogs. I will shape up soon as a blogger...

These past few days have been tough (on my body and mind). I can breath better now. My prescription has helped clear the fogginess. Now all I have leftover is a cough but even that is feeling better. Being at the edge of my second trimester I feel the energy coming alive in my veins and I feel ready to do more. Praise God!

Working at The Salvation Army, you see a lot of people at their lowest point. It makes you realize how good you have it and so very thankful. I admit I have been upset that I have not been my good feeling self lately. Its' definitely worth it for this wonderful baby but I just wanna feel a little like myself. Now I can see that light at the end of the tunnel.

So I just want to share my joy of coming out of the haze of sickness and getting ready for the "most wonderful time of the year". At the same time I feel the Lord nudging me to wake up more often thinking about how can I help someone besides myself today.

Thanksgiving

First of all, I appoligise for taking so long to post again. We have been out of town and I have been sick with a sinus infection and actually made it to work today. I just wanted to post some pictures of our Thanksgiving with my family in Canton. We had such a great time goofing around. I miss them but we were glad to be back in San Angelo as well.

Heartbeat

Today was our second Dr.'s appointment for baby Noland. I was not as nervous this time going in (except for the blood work). It always seems like it takes forever to see the Dr. We were wondering what all would happen in this meeting.

As we waited I sat in on the patient table while Lennon sat next to me. We were so giddy and acting so silly that anyone who would have heard us would have thought we were loony people. The doctor came in and said "lets see if we can pick up a heartbeat. It may be a little early but we will try." He used his listening device, which also had a speaker on it, so we could here the noises as well. Then all of the sudden, a fast, strong heartbeat was heard. How exciting! I wanted to leap up with joy. As we were hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time Lennon squeezed my hand a little tighter and I could feel the joy he had as well. Its amazing that our little one is only 1 1/2 in long and already has fingernails developing. This is a great journey to be on...

Christmas is Coming!

So am I wierd because I am already excited about Christmas?! I'm seriously about get me some Christmas music to listen to....

My Friend

Well I am excited because my best friend Lauren, from Arlington is coming to town! Lauren, her husband, their little boy and my little brother will be traveling here today. I haven't seen her in over 3 months. One of our plans include making this awesome Japanese dish called "Gyozas". Oh so you think you've had 'em before,huh? Not like ours, you haven't. All from scratch and they taste glorious. It will take us about 3 hours to make them. Apart from that we will be catching up on life, marriage, ect. Theres nothing like an old friend to sit and be yourself with.

What a Day....

I woke up Saturday night very nauseous and with my head spinning. I knew I shouldn't have eaten all those crab ragoons. I was very determined not to throw up since it is still a scary thing to me. Finally at about 8:30am Sunday morning I did it. That's all I'm going to say about that. All day yesterday I was a mess, nauseous, dizzy, didn't want to even get up to go to the bathroom. As the night went on I was feeling better and this morning I woke up without nauseousness. Now I feel it creeping back. Does anyone have suggestions (besides eating crackers) to beat this nauseous feeling? *sigh.. I am so ready for this part of the pregnancy to be over!

Halloween Pets

Ok, get ready for a laugh! This video shows how pet owners dressed up their pets for Halloween. Take a look

Tagged!!

Thank you nanna and rw:

7 Things You didn't know about me:

1. I practice conversations I may never have in the bathroom. At times I practice my reactions to life situations in the mirror, like if someone knocked on my door and told me I won a million dollars.

2. I love reading books outside, in the cold air with a blanket wrapped around me in my chair. I am usually freezing but it makes the reading experience even better for me.

3. I could eat fried pickles from Western Sky all day long!

4. I dream almost every night and I have the strangest dreams on a consistent basis compared to anyone else I know. Lately I have had a lot of dreams about killing bad guys. I am a warrior in these dreams, carrying bazookas, throwing knives and all sorts of stuff. But the people I have to kill are evil people and I am protecting myself or someone. There is never any blood.

5. I have to get a little dose of the metroplex once in a while. Going to stores that we do not have in San Angelo and restaurants as well. It makes me feel fancy.

6. My feet are the gage for everything. For instance if I feel gross like I need to be cleaner, I wash my feet and I feel like a new woman. If I am cold, I cover my feet and I feel better. If I am hot at night, I stick a foot out of the covers and I cool off.

7. I love being pregnant and benefits that come with it.

Baby Appointment

Ok, Ok, I am sorry it has taken me so long to post this. I am still getting used to this blogging world :)

Our baby appointment went really well. I was definitely tired after all the poking and stuff but it was worth it. This was the longest Dr. appointment in my life! I filled out all the paper work, handed it into the nurse and waited...
It was good having L there to get my mind off all they were going to do. He was really silly singing songs and joking with me. Then after an hour of sitting on "the chair" with L by my side, the doctor came in. He was a very nice, professional Dr. L and I both liked him a lot. He was in and out in no time and said, "you are definitely pregnant" and then set us up with a sonogram time.

We ate lunch at Pizza Hut and as we were there it was just more and more real to me what was taking place. I think I teared up about 2 times at lunch and my husband just put his arm around me and told me he was so happy about our life we have.

Headed back to the hospital for the sonogram. Now this was the neat part. The nurse showed us this little baby inside of me. As we looked at the screen you could see a little flashing light like a lightning bug going on and off. THAT was the heartbeat. It's amazing. I was just mesmerized while I know L was looking for two babies. So I asked the nurse, "Can you only see one in there?" She said "Well, that's all I can see for now but it is very early and i am glad we have such a good picture of this". Either way we were happy. We were just in la la land for the day. What a wonderful day it was, despite the uncomfortable parts. God is so good. We have been blessed and there is so much that is to come!

Tomorrow

Well, tomorrow is the day we find out the due date, our first baby appointment! I'm not sure what all they are going to do but I do know that they have to stick me with a needle and draw some blood. Ugghhh..I'm not looking forward to that or some other routine things they do.

But I am looking forward to knowing when we will have the baby (or babies) and if there is more that one in there (which is Lennon's hope). Pray that all goes well and that I don't faint when I'm taking the blood test. I will be sure to post how it all goes :)

My family is coming

Yeah! My mom dad and little brother Jonathan are coming to see us this weekend! I am just so excited I had to write something. Look at how beautiful my family is:

Surprise Package

We just moved in our new house two weeks ago. (I will post pics of the progress later being that I don't know where I packed my camera) We have this little mail box attached to one of the posts on the front porch. I keep forgetting to check the mail there but yesterday I could see a white envelope sticking out and got excited to check it. I saw the word baby on it and immediately opened the package. There was the cutest creamy, yellow baby onesie! It had a little alligator and bird on it saying "See you later alligator" The gift was from seph. It hit me that I am going to be holding a baby that will fit into this soft little cloth. I got all teary eyed (which I am doing a lot lately) and showed L the little present. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face for nothing. Funny what baby clothes can do to you. Thanks seph! That gift meant so much to me! (It also inspired me to buy a soft blanket to go with it)

Cold, Wet Rag

Sunday night I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible nausea and stuff. It was not a pleasant event. But what got me (as I was right out of sleep and a little dazed) I asked my hubby to please go get me a cold wet rag! I think I was remembering when I was sick as a kid, my mom would always put a cold wet rag on our foreheads when we got sick. It was just what I needed. As he placed the washcloth on my forehead I was instantly comforted. Just the feeling of it made me feel much better. That's what moms are for.

Bun In The Oven???

You may ask yourself, what does this title imply?

Well.....

As some of you may have already heard through the grapevine, WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!

Yep... I think I have taken about 4 tests now (I couldn't hardly believe it the first 3 times I took the tests) and they have all turned up positive. So, to all of you who have been through pregnancy before, HELP!

We are excited and a little in awe. I feel pregnant at times and then just feel a little fat. Any advice you may have, I will take it.

Yesterday Lennon was so proud of a stepladder he bought me. He said it "this was the sturdiest one" and then demonstrated it for me. I guess he wanted to buy one because he freaked out when I stood in one of our dining chairs to fix the ceiling fan. He's a good husband.

Such big news to put on a blog but I am too excited to contain.

Happy Anniversary Baby!

October 5th, 2006 was one of the best days of my life. Everything was so perfect as I walked down the isle to meet my groom. Lennon is one of the most wonderful, Godly men I have ever known. I've never been with anyone who has treated me truly as Christ would. This past year has been the greatest year of my life. Full of new adventures: Moving to a new town, becoming a pastor's wife, new job, new friends, and now a new house! There have been a lot of changes, some harder that others but I wouldn't trade it for the world or would I want to go through it all with any other person. To me it seems that it took us a while to find each other but I would rather wait a lifetime to be with him that be with the wrong person for a lifetime. No we are not perfect and we haven't got it all right yet but God is continually working on us to be more like Him. I am looking forward to all the future adventures we will face together. Below is a little slideshow to remember the day!

Our Wedding

The Beginning

So here it goes.....I finally set up my blog and it is still in the beginning stages so please bear with me as I learn how to do this thing we call "blogging". I pledge to do my best to write blogs as often as I have a thought that is worth sharing. There may be times where I share something so random that I would not blame anyone for responding. Therefore, I will give it my best to share little things about myself that are worth knowing. I will open up to the world of blogging not just for my benefit of knowing you but maybe for yours as well. What I do find great about this whole thing is the way some of you already have connected to each other and to God.



I just like this picture.