This thing we call life can be crazy at times...

Dr. Meredith Grey: A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying.

Well...a lot has happened since the last time that you heard from us. I quit my job at the newspaper after much prayer, advice and thought. Sometimes things need to change. I've always had a fear of failure, fear of rejection, and sometimes a fear of making a decision. This was a fear that had to be conquered. I quit without another job lined up...I am a planner...loose ends just don't sit well with me. God knows that and I ...actually we...Trusted in Him...not sure of the next step. This was definitely a change for the better. He provided for me...for us. I now work part time at a Chiropractor's office. I have really enjoyed it...minus the getting up at 6a.m. to get to work on certain days. I have been really happy. And although it is only part time, it has given me a chance to take care of my Husband...to do things around the house...to cook and enjoy it. No stress. It has been amazing...God is amazing.

My wonderfully supportive Husband is almost done with his third semester in grad school. One semester left! Though he gets stressed...he is doing amazing. I'm so proud of him. Not only does he deal with school, homework, teaching labs...he also has been filling in for a professor when he's been out of town.

What is the next chapter in our life? (Many have asked and well...) We have no idea what awaits us...but we know that God will provide. He is always faithful.

I'll have Grant update when he gets a chance...
Until then...

Blessings,
~LC

It's September already...

Commander Anderson: Have you ever been in a combat situation before?
Stanley Goodspeed: Define combat, sir.
Commander Anderson: Shep?
Lt. Shephard: An incursion underwater to re-take an impregnable fortress held by an elite team of U.S. Marines, in possession of eighty-one hostages and fifteen guided rockets loaded with V.X. poison gas.
Stanley Goodspeed: Oh. In that case, no sir.

Well another month has gone by. A couple of days ago we watched "The Rock." Have you ever been in a combat situation before? I think we all have our wars and battles, whether they be spiritual, emotional, or actually physical.

As a family, Grant and I have been through a lot. But I thank God every day because though we've been through a lot, yet there's certain things that could be so much worse. He has blessed us greatly.

A couple of weeks ago I had a pain on my right side and in the middle of the night my wonderful husband drove me to the ER. I had to have my appendix out. (I kinda miss it :-( ...just kidding. I think.) But thanks to God, we got there before it burst and the surgery went incredibly well. Thanks for all your prayers! We appreciate it.

Everything else has been going pretty good on the home front...we still have work to do on the duplex...hanging stuff up and trying to find a little extra room for a few things. We have a guest room so y'all need to come visit...yes we are taking reservations for ski season!

Grant's doing well in school and he's teaching 4 labs this semester. And because of appendectomy I've been on vacation. YEY!!! Day time TV still isn't the greatest...but hey...it's time off. We do have a puppy dog now...my daddy's dog Buddy came to live with us and absolutely loves it here...mainly because of the cat. They play all day and run all over the house. They even manage to get into trouble together...it's like having two 2 year olds. We love it!

Well...I guess that's all for now. Grant may update later.

We miss all of you a lot and hope that all is going well.

Blessings,
~LC

A somber note

As the summer winds down, I feel that I need to comment on the major events that occurred.
The passing of my grandparents was hard for me. They had been right next door for most of my life. I still think about them every couple days or so. It will be really hard to get used to the idea of them being gone. But I don't feel sad for them; selfishly, I am only sad for myself, and the fact that I won't get to be around them anymore. I don't feel sad for them because they both lived into their 80's, they were still in love until the very end, and they passed within weeks of each other. I couldn't ask for a better end to my own life.
And then there was the sudden passing of my uncle Wayne. I won't go into too many details, but cancer had been creeping up on him slowly, and then struck quickly. I learned more about my uncle at his funeral than I did when he was alive. He was a good man, and I wish I had gotten to know him better.
This was a particularly difficult summer for my entire family. And I would appreciate it if you would keep them in your prayers.
--Grant

Another month goes by...

So another month has past....and we are just now updating...go figure. Like last time there are many ups and downs.

Papa (Grant's grandfather) past away. We'll miss him greatly. He was a kind hearted, caring man...who always shared everything BUT THE REMOTE! He had a beautiful military/Christian funeral with a 25 gun salute (yep...it's supposed to be 21). Papa would have thought it was funny. At the funeral, Jeff (Grant's Brother) summed up Papa well...he was a man that always cared about you and nothing wasn't worth having unless he could share it or the experience with you. There are many things about Papa that we will miss but we know that we will see him again in Heaven. Right now he is probably holding Grammie's hand while she's beating everyone in Bingo. We are still mourning his loss even though we know he is pain free and with God and Grammie.

Good news... Our nephew Cole has accepting Christ as his savior!!! We are so proud of him.
More good news... My cousin Rebecca is engaged! (so incredibly exciting) and so are our friends Sandy and Jen! And my cousin Calvin's wedding is in less than a month! Jeff & Liz's wedding is in less than a year (super exciting...still have to make birdseed roses).

Bad news... I'm allergic to everything...equally. Yep only me. Out of 141 sticks for allergy testing...i had a reaction to 140...the 1 i didn't have an allergic reaction to was the saline solution. So in August I will have a rush therapy done (4 months of treatment in 1 day). Should be interesting...but thank God that they found the problem! I'm looking forward to not being tired all the time or sneezy/runny/ headachy.

Good news... we move in about a month into our larger duplex...CAN'T WAIT!!!! We are excited and will start packing soon. Once we move, Buddy the Dog (my daddy's puppy) will come live with us. Buddy and Indy (our precious pumpkin of a cat) get along wonderfully. It should make life a little busier but wonderful.

We hope all is going well for everyone and we miss you.
Come visit soon!

~LC

The world is all ups and downs...

So...May has come and almost gone. There have been many ups... Friends getting married (and another set to marry before the end of May)...Grant finishing his first year of Grad school. Celebrating my first birthday away from home (sad and happy)...And Grant and I celebrating our FIRST anniversary...with many more to come! I love him more than ever and thank God every day for the love of my life.

There have also been many downs... Grant's Grammie passed away...and we miss her sooo much...she kicked everyone's butt in Bingo...and she was one of the kindest women that you'd ever meet. His grandfather (Papa) is in poor health as well...we love him so much and wish we could be there more.

Throughout the month Grant and I have traveled back and forth from Georgia to Hendersonville to Boone. We've literally lived out of a suitcase for the past 5 weeks. Though this past weekend we actually stayed in Boone! And this next weekend we will be back on the road to celebrate Michael and Rachel's wedding... we're very excited for them and can't wait for them to exchange vows.

Life has been crazy. Work for both of us, freelancing, travel, errands, chores...seems like we don't have enough time for anything...where does the time go? One second it's the beginning of the month and the next day it's the end. Oh well....


If you ever need to reach us...call our cells...
~LC

Score...

As a Journalist, one of the most exciting things (besides breaking a huge story) is making the front page of the paper. I've had a front page article before...mainly because a Georgia Law was being changed. But this time I made front page as a Freelance writer on a controversial article. I went to hear an ex police officer speak on legalizing drugs. He was an amazing speaker... but anyways... I MADE FRONT PAGE OF A 20,500 + READERSHIP PAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though I don't write for a living (though I majored in it)...it validates that I can still write and hang with the big guys.

Well I have to go...will write more later. My wonderful husband brought me food from my favorite restaurant to celebrate!

~LC

Being an adult can suck...or be an incredible experience...

Meredith Grey: We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?

When we're kids life seems to move so slow...when will we be 18...then 18 hits...when will we be 21... 21 hits and life picks up...it's when is graduation...the wedding...etc.

Life has definitely been moving fast. Grant's almost halfway through his master's degree...and I've been with the paper for almost a year (for those who are closest to me...you know the 8-5 thing has been killing me...oh how i miss the evening working hours). Along with all my regular duties, I've had a few opportunities to be a freelance writer...it's made me realize that I still want to learn...that there are so many things that I haven't learned. I guess you can't know everything...yet I want to and like a child I continue to ask what? when? where? WHY? how? What's God's plan for us? When will He reveal it? Where will we be in a year? What will we be doing? The questions continue to roll through my head.



~LC

Zombie Preparedness

Those closest to me know that my preferred method of death is zombie apocalypse. It's not that I have the desire to die a gruesome death from a corpse mauling, I just want to know that if I am going to die, I want to take dozens of others out with me.

"The Zombie Survival Guide" is a must read if you want to survive the imminent uprising of the undead. Even though most of the focus is on boring details of how to stay alive, by running away,fort building, etc. it does spend time discussing the much more awesome subject of weaponry and zombie hunting strategies.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5 , although the book was great, I wish it had a chapter on "How to go out in a blaze of glory".

--Grant

FIRST

FIRST. The first post of a blog is always full of fail. So lets not kid ourselves, this thing is just a placeholder until something legitimate gets written.

--Grant