A few things...

Last night at church I had a little present in my box. It was wrapped and all it said was To Kortney Happy New Year! I had no idea that there was a such thing as New Year's gifts but I was happy, curious, and surprised! I resisted the urge to just rip it open right then because one I didnt know where it was from or more importantly who. I did not want the anonymous person to feel awkward since they clearly wanted their identity hidden. So, when Tinzley found me after class she immediately took the present as her own and put it in her Hello Kitty bag and the present was out of my mind for the ride home. When we got home the present was delivered to me by Tinzley as she was emptying out her bag. I still had no clue as to what it was or who it was from. I opened up the present and immediately was intrigued. It was a journal... but more importantly this journal had been written in and it was all written to me. So it turns out it was an encouragement journal from people at church. My wonderful, dear friend Rachel set this up and did the work of writing everyone's sentiments in the journal. To say the least I was OVERWHELMED! I could not stop crying! Tinzley asked me why I was crying and I told her not to worry that it was happy crying. She then very graciously offered me one of her Hello Kitty books. :) Jonas came in the room to see what all the fuss was about and he instantly was concerned. He ran to me and gave me a huge hug! Again, the overwhelming feeling just kept coming.

As I skimmed through the book I felt very undeserving. I felt very appreciated and loved. I felt humbled and embarassed! I felt encouraged, honored, have I said overwhelmed yet? I just could not get over the people who had taken the time to write such thoughtful, interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes serious things. I have many encouraging words from individuals but I also got so many encouraging Bible verses. God is just amazing and His people are amazing. I dont know what I have done to deserve any of the love, praise, and encouragement I have recieved but I do know how thankful I am for it.

I had felt so lost for so long and now I finally feel as though where I am headed and what I am doing is right. Will I continue to make mistakes? of course but I know I have such a great support system around me. I also know that without the people in my life i would not be here right now listening to my children enjoy each other, disagree and fight, hug and encourage one another, and love one another one second and dislike each other the next! I would not have the loving and supportive husband that Tom continues to be everyday. I would not have had this Christmas and New Year with my little amazing family.

I want everyone to know that if you are struggling or if you are doubting yourself first off find someone you can talk to and share with openly and honestly. Never be afraid to ask for help from anyone and everyone who is willing. Also, never forget that wherever you are and whatever you have done God has seen worse and that you are forgiven as soon as you ask Him for it. Satan is always there too waiting for you to fall down again. God will pick you up! Just trust HIM... sounds simple right?

I meet with our minister at our church every few weeks and i laugh because I will ramble on and on for 20 min or so then he will say one or two things and I always look at him and say "its simple right?' If you read your bible, pray everyday, and are open and honest with yourself, with God and with the people around you, you will find your answer and you will find your way out. Trust me... I have been in the darkest of places with no way out. God always finds a way!

Right now I am so grateful for my friend Rachel! Those of you who read this and dont know who she is well I just cant say enough good about her and she would be the first to deny it which shows how humble she is. She has been an amazing friend to me and I cant thank her enough. All I can do is show her the same love and appreciation she has shown me!

I ask for a special prayer for Tom. He is the hero in all of this, not me. He is the strength, not me. He is the person that never waivered from God, not me. He is also the person with the toughest job, forgiveness, everyday.

How many times must we forgive? 70x7 :)

On a much lighter note... Tinzley just had to have her picture taken today so I will share that pic but we also got the kids a new portable dvd player and they were still enough to let me get a pic of the two of them so you get two pictures today

Also, in the potty training world Tinzley is doing GREAT! Let's pray this continues! :)

Christmas Break

So Christmas break has finally or sadly come to an end! The kids and I (and Tom at some points) enjoyed our time off tremendously! We made gingerbread houses with friends, sugar cookies with more friends, went to the zoo, the mcwane center, the galleria, and the library. We ate Chick Fil A for breakfast, because who doesnt love a Chicken Biscuit?? We played games and spent time relaxing, eating, reading, watching movies, etc.

The kids were introduced to Christmas classics such as Home Alone :) Jonas absolutley loved it, a little too much actually! They wrote some sweet notes to Santa and made him cookies. We unsuccessfully built a fire to make smores... something we still have to figure out.

We did Christmas with my parents the Friday night before they left for Arizona.

I made so many desserts in two weeks I have forgotten what some of them were! Tom and I got to stay up late, and I got to sleep in ;) Thanks Tom for working so hard!!

The kids got to play with each other and their friends from church they never get to play with anymore because of school.

With all of that said we had a very low key very relaxing christmas break! It was a much needed break from daily routine but I have to say I think all of us are happy to be back to school and in a regular schedule again!

Some news that happened over Christmas break was Tinzley pretty much potty trained herself! The poor thing had a little stomach bug and just hated going in her diaper. She would just tell us when she needed to go werever we were, whether at home or out. This impressed all of us! She has now gone to school two days in a row in underwear with one tiny accident! I did not want to say anything just yet because I didnt want to jinx it but she seems to be doing very well and just LOVES her Hello Kitty underwear... are you shocked at her choice?? :)

So here is my picture for today January 4th

January 3rd

Seeing as today was the first day of the WORK month it was PAYDAY! We went to the bank after I picked up the kids

January 3rd

The kids LOVE the bank because they get suckers!

January 2nd

Okay Second Picture of the year. We went to McWane Center because Tom had the day off and we were not back to school yet!

January 2nd

I love this picture because Jonas is standing in front of the touch tank where he LOVES touching the sharks. Me on the other hand wont get near them! haha

January 1st

I am going to try and do the picture a day thing. I am not a photographer but I do enjoy taking pictures. So I will try and remember to update this everyday with my picture of the day. :)



January 1st
This is a lovely picture of Tinzley... haha
She wanted to watch "Cware Bwares"
I do love this expression! We see it very often and it is used only in a playful way! :)
I also LOVE her dress she was wearing!

New Year's Goals

So I do not like making New Year's Resolution but I will make goals!
New Year's Goals
Exercise 3-4 times a week
Read bible everyday
Pray without ceasing
Blog daily
Run another half marathon and marathon
Start subbing
Pay off some debt
Sell/Give away stuff we dont use
Clean out closets and drawers
Cook a new meal every month
Read parenting books
Learn my new camera
That is all I can think of right now but I am sure there are more!
Happy goal making

It has been TOO long!

With our Christmas card this year we sent out a newsletter. There was so much I felt needed to be shared with friends and family. For those of you closest to us we say thank you for all the love and support. It has been a rough year for our family to say the least and God works in very powerful and wonderful ways. He is also very patient, forgiving, and loving. Satan also works in sneaky and conniving ways that can change who you are and what you think and believe.
Here is a copy of our Christmas card and our Christmas newsletter! I hope to continue to update this more regularly and to redesign the blog again. It has been looking this way for far too long! :)

We hope this letter finds you having a very happy holiday season! It has been a crazy year full of ups, downs, joy, sadness, and lots of love and forgiveness! We are so happy to be sending this letter to all of you to include you in our past year!
Tom is still working at Bryan Parker CPA as a payroll clerk. He stays very busy with new clients! We are very thankful for his job and this opportunity for him.
Kortney is working part time at the Homewood Day School as a 4k teacher. She works Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She decided to put graduate school on the back burner. She also decided to quit JCPenney to simplify all of our lives! J
Jonas turned 5 in October! He will be starting Kindergarten next fall and we are all a little nervous and excited! He is doing really well in his 4k class. He can read some words like, the, and, off, on, all. He is very creative and interested in numbers, words, and letters. It is so much fun to watch him learn and he asks all kinds of questions! He is still crazy about trains and took a trip to Chattanooga, TN for his birthday this year. He is still very loud and LOVES playing outside.
Tinzley turned 2 in May! She had a flip flop themed party. It was a great time! She is in love with Hello Kitty right now! It all started with a Hello Kitty backpack! She is also going to school and is in “Miss Jennifurs” 2k class. She can identify the letter ‘T’ and can count to 13 and spell her name…sometimes J She LOVES to sing and is a definite girly girl. She is an absolute delight to be around and makes us laugh daily!
We look forward to all that God has planned for us in the next year! We hope all the best for each and every one of you!
What we have learned!
• God comes first and everything else falls into place.
• Live life deliberately
• We are “All In”
• Satan is real, so beware!
• Being a parent can be SO much fun!
• Don’t just do, BE!
• Sometimes you have to lose everything to realize EVERYTHING you have to lose!
• Trust, its what friends do!
• God loves us, no matter what so we need to love each other in the same way!
• Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is an action