She's gone, yes, she's gone

My baby is off to the world of (most likely) testosterone-filled high school boy racing. I made the decision to sell the Mustang. Yes, that's right, it is gone.

It was a very difficult parting. This car was my pride and joy for almost nine years and we have been through a lot together. (Graduating college, Masters degree, student teaching, my first teaching job, 9/11, two presidential elections, the deaths of dad and grandma, numerous girls that I liked a lot, marriage, a move to Texas and North Carolina, and so much more!) It is amazing to think about what has happened in the last nine years of my life and how that car was there through it all.

But, I'm not really that sad because I believe it was the right thing to do. So now I'm looking for a cheap, old truck to get me around for a few months. I trust that God will provide something!

Givin' credit where credit is due.

I have always loved Wal-Mart but not until recently have my affections grown. Perhaps it is the season in which Chris and I have found ourselves. Like all newlyweds we do what what we can to save money and what we have to spend, we want to spend wisely. Wal-Mart has been the answer to our life. Everything you could ever dream of needing can be found at this great store. Don't be fooled either by sceptics. The products purchased at Wal-Mart are good quality. I have found clothes, home goods and decor, products to keep you clean and looking and smelling good and food prices that can't be beat, and TV's and video game stuff that blows competitors out of the water. True story, Chris and I save anywhere from $50 to $100 per trip when we load up on stuff there.

I even like going to Wal-Mart just to walk around. One afternoon I was upset about something and Chris came up to me and wrapped his arms around me and said, "Do you want to go to Wal-Mart?" I said yes and off we went. I felt better afterwards. So this is my shout-out to Mr. Walton...Well done sir, well done!

A little of the white stuff!

After days and days and cold weather and days and days of rain I was really starting to wonder when the rain and cold would get together and give me some snow? The weather people started mentioning possible snow and I was beside myself. I am from Texas and other than a brief stint in New Jersey after getting married I have never known any place cold enough to snow. I remember in 5th grade the principal came over the intercom and said it was snowing outside and the kids could be dismissed to go play in the snow. Well, as you can imagine this was very exciting. We went outside and played in the snow...sort of. You see, the ground wasn't cold enough to hold the snow so it melted on contact and my entire elementary school spent the afternoon playing in cold, slushy mud. This is a fond dmemory of mine and as I retell it, I am not sure why? Anyway, it snowed quite a bit when we live in New Jersey but that wasn't fun snow at least not after a day or two. It became trouble snow. It made our cars dirty and it was hard to drive around especially since we lived up such a steep road. It was bitter cold and crippling. I remember standing outside in several inches of snow (and even more falling from the sky) and mud for what seemed like hours as Chris and tried to get his Mustang out of the giant pile of snow that had accumulated around his car. That wasn't much fun either. Nonetheless, when I heard that we were expecting snow here I was very excited. In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, it happened. I looked outside and there it was, falling from the sky, covering the ground. I fell asleep very excited thinking about what awaited me in the morning. The next morning we woke up to about three inches of snow on the ground. It was just enough to be beautiful and not so much that you would be inconvenienced by it. It was so cool. Duke and Daisy were a bit confused by it at first, but Duke took off into it and Daisy followed and Chris and I sat watching them. This was thier first snow and they seemed to think it was awesome! Labs love cold weather and our two are no exception. They rolled around in it, chased each other in it and ate it. By the late afternoon most of it was gone but it was fun while it lasted. There are a few spots of the white stuff still hanging around but for the most part everything is back to normal. One of the best things about North Carolina is not just that we have four seasons, but that they are four distinct yet mild seasons. It's a hot but not too hot summer, a beautiful fall, a cold, but not too cold winter and a pretty spring. The weather is still cold but it's nothing that requires more than a heavy sweatshirt.

Today the sky is a beautiful blue and there is not a cloud in sight. The sun is shining and it's really nice outside. Thank you Jesus for giving us just the right amount of snow and then turning it around and giving us this beautiful day!

KSW

Trident Nuclear Missile Inbound!

Now that I have your attention...this past weekend we went to Atlanta to see Celine Dion in concert (yes I love Kelly that much!) and I must say that it was quite an event.

I had never been to Atlanta and the little bit of it that we saw was very nice. It was very clean and the people were generally very cordial and conversational. Typical southern hospitality. Within a few blocks were many interesting sites. There was the Coca-Cola Museum which is really exciting for me because I love Coke and when I'm a multi-millionare I want a room in house especially devoted to Coca-Cola. There is also the CNN Tower right next to Philips Arena where the concert was. I'm not really all that interested in CNN (being conservative and all) but I guess it would be nice to see some day. But one day we'll come back to Atlanta and see all the cool stuff there.

The concert was quite a scene (as Seinfeld would say). There were many different types of people there. Black, white, old, young, male, female, straight and .... it was a virtual cornucopia of diversity. What does that say about Celine Dion? The music was Celine Dionny. The classics as well as some new stuff and even a song in French. While Celine Dion is not really my bag I enjoyed the musicianship and talent of the band. She is a little corny and cheesy but she can sing her butt off. The band was extremely tight and right on. But I left the concert asking two questions:

1. How does one go about becoming the drummer for Celine Dion?
2. Will my heart indeed go on?

What a man! What a mighty good man!

I have to take a moment and tell you how amazing my husband is! I have always known he was incredible but I have become acutely aware of how blessed I was that no one had snatched him up when I came along. How he was still on the market has always been a mystery to me. He's 6'8", blonde hair, beautiful blue/green eyes and well, he didn't get the nickname 'sexy legs' for nothing. He has a good job, a Master's degree and enough ambition to share. He loves the Lord and has a deep understanding of the Word. He loves me and there is nothing he wouldn't do for me. He spoils me rotten and seems to like doing it. Christian works so hard and the fruits of his labor are very evident. He has provided us a beautiful home and given me a life better than I could have ever imagined and it keeps getting better and better. He is so sweet to all our pets and although he may never say so, I have seen cuddle up with them and play and baby talk to them. It's very sweet to see that. I admire his strength of character and his servant's heart. I have known very few people with the kind of integrity he has. He's smart and clever, he's quick-witted and funny and he's thoughtful and passionate.

Growing up I was fortunate to have been raised in a christian family and my father is one of the most amazing men I have ever known. My dad set the bar for whoever I would chose to marry. There was a point I didn't think anyone would be able to fill dad's shoes but Christian came along and I knew in an instant he was the one who would do it. And do it, he did. He jumped so high over the bar, the bar is a dot to him. Since getting married we have overcome just about every kind of obstacle imaginable and we love each other more because of it. My husband is a remarkable man and I couldn't imagine my everyday with anyone else.

Christmas year round?

Kelly and I had an interesting idea. Instead of waiting until the Christmas season to buy presents for each other for Christmas we have decided to buy one Christmas present for each other each month of the year.

I think this will save us from the budget bust that always happens around Christmas and gives us a little of the joy of the Christmas season all year round. The only downside to this method is maybe that you lose a little of the Christmas shopping craziness that is hectic but yet fun (in a sick sort of way). Oh yeah...and you have to find a way to hide the presents too!

So...to us...2009 will be the year of Christmas! (inside joke for those who are aware of the "year of" idea)

Peas,
Christian

Living under Love

Our blog is not here so that we can argue about politics or religion and we will not allow this to become that. However, it seems so foolish to forget who we are and how we got to where we are. I think the greatest struggle our country faces is not the collapse of the financial industry or the housing market, it's not the rise in unemployment. I believe our great struggle is the growing spiritual poverty and moral deficiency of the people. People are mean. Meaner than I have ever known them to be. They are hateful and perpetually ungreatful for what they do have. Even on America's worst day, we are more blessed and have been given more opportunities than anywhere else in the world. As Christian's we have been given so much and this idea that somehow we are entitled to anything is so contrary to everything Jesus describes a Christian should be. We are not entitiled to anything. Everything we have is a blessing. It's a gift. God promises to take care of His children and in my experience I have always known Him to do exactly that. My God has proven Himself time and time again. There are things I don't understand but I have learned to accept that I don't have to. "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

Feeling Good

KSW here... Well, the new year is in full swing and for the first time ever I decided to take advantage of the new year as a fresh start for me. I decided that the new year was going to find me with a better overall attitude, a renewed committment to my sweet Savior and I made the decision to have fun and just enjoy each day. I know we are only 2 weeks into 2009 but I think I have made great strides. This blogging thing was my idea. I was able to convince my husband that this would be a great opportunity to open the lines of communication with family and give us a wonderful chance to share with the people we love about the things God is doing in our lives. I started a new personal bible study that explores the lives of women in the Bible. Each week is a new woman. Obvoiusly it started with Eve and I have really enjoyed looking at her life. Genesis is one of my favorite books, I have always been partial to the Old Testament. I am praying that the Lord will stay on my heart about this and I will continue to be faithful. I also set my Tivo to record Joyce Meyer in the mornings. She comes on really early so I record and am able to watch it at my convenience. I really enjoy her. Even Chris is enjoying the series she is discussing now. She's funny, she's smart and she really communicates well her messages.

Along with my renewed committment to Jesus, I have decided to have a little more fun. This started with an attitude adjustment which didn't seem like much but really makes a difference. And of course, yesterday, I went from red-head to "blonde bombshell!" (At least that is what Chris keeps calling me... and believe me, I am loving that!) Growing up my mom was really strict about what I could and couldn't do to my hair. She didn't want me fickle and changing it all the time and as a result destroying it forever. I have strong and in my opinion, pretty great hair, but I also had a weird aversion to hair treatments. Before I decided to go blonde I called around to several salons and asked them about their process. Most used bleach and I wasn't feeling that. I was also really nervous because a friend of mine with red hair dyed her hair blonde and ended up with pink hair. I don't think I would like having pink hair for more than a week or so. If I was a grandma I would totally be into having pink hair. That would be so awesome. Someday I will be a pink haired grandma with high heeled shoes and lots of bling. Oh yeah! But for now, not so much. So I went in for a consultation and my salon was going to be able to help me make the transformation without bleach. My appointment was Wednesday at 11 a.m. and I was not finished until 3:30 p.m. It was a long process. But totally worth it! When the color was in and it was just a matter of the blow dry and style, Tabitha, my hair dresser, spun me around so I couldn't see...I waited...and waited...and then, she spun me around and I started screaming and crying! Happy tears! It was amazing. I didn't even look like me. I was one satisfied customer. To make a long story short, so was my husband. He couldn't take his eyes off of me. It's nice to have the man of your dreams checking you out all night. It's a good feeling!

Life is really good. Chris and I are happy. We are having fun together and taking advantage of life in the slow lane. Life is good. I love you Chris Walter!

Legally Blonde 3

CW here. Ok...interesting day. I get home from a ridiculous day at work and lo and behold, my lovely, fiery, red-headed wife is no longer. She has been replaced with this fantastic and gorgeous blonde bombshell. So I had to take my new maiden out to an exquisite dinner at Texas Roadhouse to introduce myself to her having never seen this fine woman before. I must say, that I was quite smitten and could hardly touch the juicy steak on my plate as I stared at this new glowing beauty in my life.

As we went home, my new wife and I settled down to a cozy, warm house and enjoyed the first night of our new life together....

OK, before anybody freaks out Kelly just changed her hair color from red to blonde today and it looks great. But red or blonde, it is fantastic either way. I love you Kelly!

Our Family

Our family is a little different than most. We have Chris, Kelly and 2 dogs and 5 cats. Chris teaches at a high school here in the Charlotte area and coaches volleyball and basketball. He works for what seems like most of the hours of the day, leaving around 6 a.m. and not making another appearance until around 10 p.m. on game nights. He doesn't have much time for fun but manages to make enough time to play war games with a friend about once a week and let's not forget the love of his life...Guitar Hero! His victories and defeats echo throughout the house every night, thankfully Kelly hears more cheers than jeers.

Kelly is a full time trophy wife. She spends her mornings, afternoons and nights taking care of the home, our pets and the biggest job of all, Chris. Kelly takes a lot of pride in her home. It's an extension of who she is and is reflective of the kind of wife she is to Chris. While Chris is at work Kelly takes the time to do housework and run errands. On Wednesdays she meets with her local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was fortunate enough to be able to trace her ancestry to the Revolutoinary War and is proud to serve as a member of such a distinguished organization. The DAR volunteers with the Salvation Army, at the Veterans Hospital and works to maintain the integrity of the historical homes and buildings throughout America. She sings in the choir at church and is working a few solos to sing for the congregation. She has a lot of pride being a wife and serving the community.

We also have 2 dogs and 5 cats. Duke and Daisy are our labrador retrievers. Duke is a barrel chested, block headed yellow lab. Chris's mom thinks he may be a bit slow. When Kelly asked why she believed that to be true his mom just pointed out into the yard and said, "look". Kelly looked to see Duke standing out in the middle of the yard, using the bathroom, with a hot pink frisbee hanging from his tooth looking off into the distance with what looked like a smile on his face. He is the eternally happy puppy. He's a big talker but is as gentle at 100 lbs as he was when we brought him home. Duke is Kelly's dog and will follow her to every corner of the house all day long. Daisy is the antithesis of her brother. She is black as night and about 15 lbs smaller. She is smart....freakishly smart. She is our faithful protector. She can hold her own with Duke but out runs and out jumps him by a long shot. She is definitely Chris's dog. She will sit right in front of him and stare at him as long as he can stand it.

Our cats are Luke, Leia, Han, Padme and Obi. Star Wars. Chris said Kelly could have a cat but he would get to name it. She agreed. When we ended up with two right away, Chris struggled to come up with something clever and cute. Luke and Leia are brother and sister. We brought them home just a month after we were married. Luke is fat. Very fat. He's friendly and very easy going. Luke is a black and gray stripe tiger looking tabby. Leia is only kind of fat. She is beautiful calico with a bit of an attitude. She loves to have our undivided attention and is the epitomy of a "lap cat". Han was our very first charity case. He is a one-eyed, allergic to everything cat. He is solid white and with that comes sensitive skin and possible blindness and deafness. His eye was removed before we brought him home due to an infection his previous owners neglected. He is allergic to fish, if you can believe that, and can only wear hemp collars if he wears one at all because any other collar reacts with his skin resulting in hair loss and a rash around the neck. He is quite a sad situation. Han is also the sweetest cat we have ever known. He loves to be held and loves the water. Where water is running you will find him close by being amazed by it. Padme was charity case number 2. She is a black cat that sat in a cage at Petco from November 06 to May 2007. She has a very high pitched meow and is very shy. If people are here she is in hiding. She stays in our room 23 out of 24 hours. She doesn't get along well with everyone. She tolerates the dogs and like Obi pretty well, but that's about it. Having her is very low-maintenence. She is small, quiet, and likes her privacy. Obi was the third and final cat charity case. Kelly brought him home after finding him wet and scared near a local restaurant just before we moved to Charlotte. We planned to give him to a local rescue but obviously, we changed our minds. We were amazed at how well he got along with everyone in the house. He's an adorable little orange and white kitty. His lip is a little deformed so he always looks like he has an attitude. It's funny! Because he was the only cat to join after Duke and Daisy he was able to choose to be friends with the cats or the dogs. He chose the dogs. He is very dog like and loves to copy them. He can play rough with them and they don't seem to mind. Obi gets along with everyone and it's very rare to see him by himself anywhere.

We know there are a lot of critters in this house but to us it feels normal. We don't know anything different. They say that people who own pets live up to 7 years longer than people who don't. We think we know why. It's got to be becuase they make us laugh. We laugh a lot and it's often because of them. We couldn't imagine life without them.

Happy New Year

Hello all, Chris and Kelly here. It's quite possible we are the last to join in the blogging revolution, but we are finally here, and what a better time than this, January 1, 2009!

Happy New Year!

It’s officially 2009 and we are praying that this year will not bring yet another huge change for us, but instead be one of peace and rest and stability. In two short years we have moved three times, have had six jobs, been members of three churches, traveled through every state between New Jersey and Texas and added five cats and two dogs to a wild and crazy life. Although the journey has been long and at times we have been weary the destination has made it all worth the while. We have had the privilege to see our sweet Jesus move in a way that neither of us had ever experienced.

We left New Jersey to give Kelly the opportunity to complete her final semester at The University of Houston. She graduated in December ’07 with honors. We both struggled to find work in a tough job market. However, we were blessed to be near Kelly’s family and be members of a wonderful church near our home. Christian began interviewing for teaching positions in schools in both Texas and New Jersey. Although the thought of another move so quickly brought on a lot of stress we were ready, willing and able to go where we had to go.

As the days grew longer and longer we found ourselves struggling to find work, pay the bills and on some days even find the strength to get out of bed. After months of silence from God we dropped to our knees and didn’t ask for a job or money but a miracle. We knew that God was in control, that He was the only One who could deliver us, and we asked Him to move in our lives in a way that only He could. We asked Him to move in a way that would be His undeniable hand over us. We asked for a miracle. And a miracle is exactly what we got.

As we faced our battles daily, our dear friends Alex and Danielle Tavarez were facing the same battles 1600 miles away. In May they asked us to begin praying for them because Alex had applied to a job in Charlotte, NC and was excited about the opportunity for both his career and their family. Two months later, as we sat frustrated and jobless we thought North Carolina seemed like a place we might like too and Christian sent his application to school districts across the greater Charlotte area. Fifteen minutes later, Christian received a call from the principal of Independence High School in Charlotte, NC. Principal Bosco seemed eager to meet with Christian and a week later we were on our way to NC for the interview and to spend a few days checking out the area. Kelly made arrangements with a realtor to show us a few homes and tell us about Charlotte. The more we heard the more excited we were about the possibility of making this our new home.

Christian’s interview ended with an initial offer pending HR paperwork. Two days later, Alex called us at our hotel to tell us he too had just received a job offer. It all seemed very surreal. The drive home was long and filled with phone calls and random stops to fax this or that and awkward discussions as we avoided getting too excited about this opportunity. When we got back to Texas we sat on pens and needles hoping this would come together. It was a Wednesday in July and Christian was on his way home from yet another interview when he received the call…or calls. His interview from earlier that day offered him a position, Princeton High School in NJ offered him a position and Independence officially offered him the position. We were overwhelmed but this was a no-brainer. We were on our way to Charlotte. Christian had to report to work on August 4th. August 4th meant we had two weeks to pack up, move and move in.

During our initial visit to NC we were shown a home in Concord that stood out among all others. It met our needs and had all the personal touches we wanted. It was big enough and had a nice little piece of land, red brick, white columns and blue shutters, fenced yard, covered patio and rural enough to give us the “country” feel we wanted. When the job offer came in, Kelly immediately called the real estate agent, we put in our offer and it was accepted. We had the job, we had the house and now we had our own little spot in the world that we could call home and we did it in less than a month.

August began with Christian teaching and coaching volleyball and Kelly setting up our new home. There were moments we would stop and take it all in, feeling like any moment we would wake up and be right back where we were just a month earlier. It seemed like this little town outside of Charlotte had everything a Jersey Boy and a Southern Belle could ever want. Six weeks later we eagerly welcomed Alex and Danielle and their brand new baby girl Bekah to North Carolina. They had found a home perfect for them that we really liked too…mostly because it’s a mere 15 minutes from our house.

We settled in easily and found our routines. After a successful volleyball season, Christian is now on the tail end of a successful basketball season and enjoying being back in the classroom. Kelly stays busy taking care of Christian and seven animals and has begun working with the local chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution. In our free time we enjoy weekend trips to places like Greensboro and Asheville and taking in all that Charlotte has to offer. Charlotte is home to Lowe’s Motor Speedway where for $5 you can ride around the race track in a passenger van at 85 miles an hour! And for $100 a professional driver will take you around the track 3 times at 165 miles an hour!

It took us a few months to find a church where we would both be happy but true to form, God lead us to Pitts Baptist Church and into a church family we love and look forward to seeing every week. We have already made several friends and are excited about using our gifts to serve and give back to the church.

Even our critters have adjusted nicely to the move. The house is big enough that our cats Luke, Leia, Han, Padme and Obi all have their own little nook and cranny to get away from each other, us or the dogs if they so choose. Duke and Daisy love the big yard to run and play and have even learned to catch a Frisbee in the air and bring it right back to us to do all over again. It’s hard to imagine what God has in store for us this year but we are hoping it’s peace, rest and a little stability at least until next year.

Until next time.