One Year Later...

Blogging is hard. Especially when you forget you have one.

One year later and look where God has brought us:



Yep, good bye renting, hello life time of debt called a mortgage. Our new house is beautiful and little by little we are making it our own. So far we have ripped out carpet and put down wood floors:



We bought this enormous microwave by accident/on purpose that is now nicely mounted in the cabinets. When you buy a house built in 1970, nothing is as easy as you think it should be:



We have continued to get more involved with HFBC and have actually made friends in the last year. Strangely enough, Houston is starting to feel like home (but we will never pull for Houston sports teams)

Houstonians

We are officially Houstonians and loving it! We have found such great community at Houston's First Baptist and love the church. TJ has finished all this travelling for work and now stays in Houston most of the time. Our lives have been hectic this summer adjusting to the move plus traveling almost every weekend. We are adjusting to actually living together, something we haven't done very much in a year and a half. Our 2 year anniversary trip is booked and we are going to Antigua!!


Still 5 months away, but may as well get excited now. 


e continue to pray that God gives us community here. We are also praying that God helps us focus on the here and now rather than things that come down the road. It is so easy to get swept up in a new house, new car, kids, dogs.....the "American Dream". We constantly, daily, have to remind ourselves "No change of job, no increased income, no 

new home, no new electronic device, or no new hobby is going to make things better 

inside of you. Only Jesus can - Matt Chandler"

Experiencing God

We always say we want to experience God. We want to know Him and walk in a way that represents Him. But every time I say that, I am never ready for what will come next. I guess I should be used to it by now, but I guess stubbornness doesn't help my case. God has been reminding me that He has us where we are for a reason, and that He invites us to join Him where He is working.

I have started as the Operations Specialist for ACH. It has been a whirlwind of a month where we got a phone call I got the job, drove to Houston, found an apartment, and began to plan a move. Trying to schedule a move between 2 week rotations  for BP and 12+ hour work days has been an adventure to say the least. But I am so thankful because I love my job and have really enjoyed getting to meet new people. I would so much rather work long days doing something I love, than 8 hour days being bored.

TJ only has two more rotations until he is done being gone so much. No lie, it is going to be weird living with him. We haven't really done that yet, but I am looking forward to it. The more I learn about him, the more I realize God has a sense of humor in putting the two of us together. Looking back a year ago and seeing how nervous and anxious we were about TJ starting work for BP, again I am reminded of how much God has provided for us. Every time TJ is home I am so thankful for the time together. It has been a learning curve, trying to figure out how to be on our own for two weeks a month and married two weeks a month, but God has grown us so much in this year. I can't really believe that rotations are almost done. I am so excited to start a new phase of life together with him in Houston. Even last night we were noticing how God has gone before us in Houston. A few people from Living Hope live in the area we are moving to and are already plugged into a church and small group, so hopefully that helps us fit in quickly too.


We are going to Haiti in June. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate to travel, expecially when I don't know where we are going, or what conditions will be like when we get there. But God has really shown me that no matter where I go, His heart is broken for those who don't know Him, and if those are God's passions, they need to be mine as well. So, I am pretty much terrified to get on a plane to Haiti, but if that is where God want us to go, then to Haiti it is!

Update

Well it has been a while since I posted last (so long in fact I had to facebook stalk Amanda to remember the name of this blog to sign in, but shhh don’t tell her) so here is an update on life. So after reaching the half-way point on these rotations, we took a one year anniversary trip to California, and it was awesome. We drank so delicious local wine, and basically just relaxed for a week. Better than the trip though was it marked the start of an extended stay at home. Because of training at work I got to spend almost 10 full weeks in a row at home. While this seems miniscule as I type it, I can assure you, it was fantastic, getting to come home every day and spend every evening and weekend with Amanda, not to mention sleeping in my own bed, and not living out of a suitcase. For just a brief period there, we got to experience what it is like to actually live with your spouse, and after we readjusted to living with another person, it was amazing as we realized that after a year of marriage and 5 years of dating, we are still absolutely best friends. We got to make future life decisions, and catch a glimpse of what the future may hold for us. One of which was that we both separately felt God calling us to go to Haiti in June so we will be going there this summer on mission. Now that I am back to rotating it has also become obvious that God used that time that I was home to take what we had learned on my first 5 hitches and use it to build our relationship stronger, to the point that when I left last week it felt like leaving the first time all over again. Well, that about sums up the past few months of our life, please pray for us as we begin to prepare to go to Haiti and as we finish up this stage where I am gone. I love you Amanda.
Shalom,
TJ

Sometimes I feel like it is really hard not to compare our lives to our friends' lives. Example....most of our married friends have babies or are pregnant. Let's just clear up any rumors....we are not pregnant. Most of our married friends live with their spouse 365 days a year.....we get 180 days this year. And we wont event talk about the puppy issue. Yesterday was TJ's birthday. While sitting with him at dinner, he looked at me and said "I'm so glad I'm home so I can spend time with you. " melt. my. heart. This man is incredible. Wakes up at 4am to go to work, got home to me at 9pm, and drank an energy drink on the way home so he could sit up and talk to me. Our life right now is a little unconventional, but it is what God has for us. We are unsure what will happen in the next 12 months, but we trust the Lord has a plan. We are so thankful for the time we get to spend together and God has made it so sweet. He has given us strength to be apart. He has confirmed over and over that this is the right place for us right now. My husband LOVES his job. I LOVE my job. Can you ask for anything else?!

We have booked our 1 year anniversary trip
http://www.thesanctuarybeachresort.com/photo_gallery.html
SO PUMPED!!!!!!!!! only  68 days until we leave. But a bigger deal than the 1 year anniversary, this marks the half way mark of rotation, AND our best friends will be married, AND teej get to spend 8 weeks at home :) In all seriousness, we are facing a lot of important decisions about our move to Houston. It seems like it is far away, but some things have to be decided within the next two months. We beg for your prayers.


For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart- Jeremiah 29:11-13

Hard Times

Maybe we will look back on this year and see why we had to be apart all the time, but maybe we won't. I don't think I am at peace with that fact yet. All I know is it is hard. It is hard to go through half the month without my best friend here. It is hard to maintain a relationship 500 miles apart. It's just hard. I get so lonely without my sweet husband here. I have a HUGE respect for military families. I honestly don't know how you do it.  I'm stuck between not wanting to bother other people by letting me hang out at their house, and not wanting to be alone.

God has proved over and over that this is clearly the path we are supposed to be on, and that it is supposed to be hard. But I don't understand. And maybe I'm not supposed to. Our timing is not God's timing. Our plans apparently are not God's plans. I'm reminded of that as I watch other people in the Body suffering as well. I don't understand it, but I know God is good

First Success!

I have decided i LOVE not being in school. I get off work and have nothing else to do. TJ spend our weekends with friends, screaming at the TV during the football game, and like many Aggie fans, having our heart broken weekly. BUT all that aside, I have developed a small addiction to Pinterest. I spend all this time looking at all these creative women and how beautiful their homes are. *Reality check, most of them probably don't work 45 hours a week, I try to keep that in mind* But this weekend I made a wreath for our front door. I was so excited. TJ tried to share in my enthusiasm, but alas, boys just don't get amped up over a wreath. He tried though :)

Well, we are full swing in this new season of life. TJ has finished 2 of his 11 rotations, I am finished with turn and TJ has now has 6 weeks in the office. We have been married 8 months and God has blessed us with many experiences we never thought we would have. We have learned what it means to budget....for real budget. We have learned what it means to blow the budget. We have learned to enjoy just being together rather that going and doing something all the time.
This month is a big month. We are getting a matching bedroom set. oh and it is KING SIZE! umm HECK YES!



it is so pretty! I am so excited! It is so nice having TJ home for this month. I never realized how much fun it is to have your husband in the same city. Weird I know. We have decorated our apartment *pictures to follow when we get our new bed set* Life is grand. It is cool outside in the mornings this week so we have sat out on our patio and read together. Blessed. Life is challenging but God has blessed us with this month to refresh us before we head back into TJ's rotations. Good news, our birthdays are on Wednesday this year, so TJ comes home from rotation on his birthday in October and my birthday in November. Yes our birthdays are always on the same day of the week! LOVE that random piece of trivia

I have gotten addicted to pinterest. I don't know what I did before it. It has so many amazing recipies and I just want to try them all.


Menu:

Tuesday: Cream Cheese chicken, potatoes, veggies
Wednesday: Taco Braid
Thursday: Chicken, bacon, avocado quesadillas
Friday: Papa Murphy's date night
Saturday: Crock pot hawaiian BBQ chicken
Sunday: Enchilladas & Creamy jalapeno ranch dip w/ smores croissants for dessert

"after dealing with the unpleasant people that I couldn’t control or make go away… I began to need Him. I began to realize that my strength was not working." I read this in my devotion this morning. Life isn't all about what you can accomplish and who you can become. It is about who God makes you and what challenges He puts in your path to mold you into a creature dependent on Him for survival. For life and energy. At this point in the year 14 hour days are normal, and even expected. I never minded working long days. In fact, I like it. I love being busy and seeing things get done.

But busyness doesn't replace Jesus. It can't. Because then I'm just a person who can't sustain myself.

*Whew*

God has us in an interesting places. New jobs, marriage, husband away for 2 weeks at a time. Its a tough season. If anyone knows me they know that my idea of a good time is for nothing to change. But I have read the Bible alot and I have never seen that promised anywhere. I always thought once tests and papers were over, we would have more time. It amazes me that today is Friday again....where did this week go. I've worked 50 hours, TJ has worked nine 12+ hour days in a row. Our lives are crazy. When we talk at night I put the phone on speaker and keep working so it seems like TJ is there and not just on the phone. But through it all we see how God is so faithful. These first two rotations come during the busiest part of my year, so it makes it easier. I come home and collapse, talk to TJ and go to bed. That is about how it would be if he was here. So in a way, these first two rotations have been blessings in that by the time I am done with turn, we will have already done 2 rotations. TJ has already been gone 9 days and will be home in 5 :) Thank goodness!




"He is before all things and in him all things hold together" Col 1:17

Life at our house

16 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:

“Who am I, LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?



Alot has happened in the past few weeks. TJ has started work. He LOVES BP and the people he works with which is such a blessing. Life has been a little crazy. Alarms start going off about 4:30 and by the time we both get home from work it is almost 7pm. So life has been busy. To be honest, I didn't feel quite ready for life to pick up that quickly, but I guess God never sat me down and asked for my approval on our life. Haha! Sometimes we just get to sit before the Lord and ask how it is the Lord has already brought us this far. What a blessing. I am married to the man of my dreams who passionately loves the Lord and walks with Him daily. That same man of my dreams spends time every day serving me and making sure that all my needs are met. That same man of my dreams drives 3 hours to and from work every single day so that I could be with Living Hope when he leaves on rotation. Be jealous. I married the most selfless man on the planet. And on Tuesday I got the text message I had been dreading. Rotation is starting. TJ leaves early on the 13th and will be back the 27th. How am I doing? umm I cry alot, but then I rememeber the verse above...."who am I that YOU have brough me this far?" Amazing. Don't get me wrong. By no stretch of the imagination am I looking forward to this. This starts a year that will fly by and drag on forever. I cannot even tell you the changes that are coming this year. And I'm sure God has even more than we know. Looking for jobs in Houston, moving to Houston, leaving our family at LHBC.....life moves way to fast.

Yesterday, Kristen and I finally legally changed our names. Odd feeling. We didn't like it. Oh, and 3 hours and the DPS didn't help that. Then I went to the bank and they told me they didn't know an Amanda White so they wouldn't talk to me unless TJ signed off that he knew I was his wife. I lost it. I pulled the crazy lady card. "My-husband-works-in-houston-and-is-leaving-in-less-than-a-week" I'm not proud of it, but I did it. Clearly I handle change well.

So please be praying for us. TJ leaves in less than a week, his wife is a mess. Pray for safety while he is gone. Pray for comfort for both of us. Pray our marriage is strengthened during this time. What a blessing it is to sit in the presence of the Lord and know He goes with us. Everywhere we go, He is already there.

And it finally hit me....

my husband is leaving soon. my best friend won't be here every day with me. And today, that is a little too much to deal with. I don't know why God picked this path for us, but it is hard. And I don't want to do it.

Psalm 30:11-12


11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;you have loosed my sackclothand clothed me with gladness, 12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

The calm before the storm

oh goodness...we move in 5 days. Our house is perfectly neat and organized. The floors are clean and the laundry is...not so done. But other than that life is good. The missing piece of the puzzle...oh ya...we haven't packed yet. At all. Not one thing.

In other news...the door has been stripped and the holes have been filled. All that is left to do is sand the putty and paint! You can clearly see where my priorities have been today. Yesterday we went on an all day date to Houston. I love being in the car with my husband. Ever since we started dating we have spent alot of time in the car talking. Lucky for me, TJ likes talking and driving :)

We have been talking in church about the importance of community. Nothing has seemed more real to me that the need for community as we prepare for TJ to leave on rotation. Two years ago I was given the opportunity to work for an oil company as a meteorologist. But God said no. I have been wondering why God said no, and I have been getting frustrated. Then it hit me. A job with the oil company would have put me in Houston starting soon. Which would be no community at all while my husband was gone. Now, granted we won't be hermits and will make new friends, there is something comforting about the pastor's wife coming up to you and saying " I have room at our house for you when TJ is gone." That is true community. People who are willing to step up to the plate and embrace the rough times we go through and help. The beauty of our family at living Hope is that we trust them to the point that TJ has walked up to people and said "I am leaving, and YOU will take care of my wife." Some of our sweet friends who have been gone for awhile, Landon and Ashley Carl found out Landon had to go do some training for a few months. Landon sat down our HOPE group and told us to take care of his wife and new son. So we did. That is what community looks like.

I was watching TJ at church praying over one of the men in our church family and I was so thankful God has blessed me with such a wonderful, godly man. The Lord has given me a man who loves me enough to tell me no. He loves me enough to leave me for a few weeks at a time to take care of us and provide for us. He humors my odd projects and spends a Sunday afternoon sanding a door in our living room because I decided it was too hot to go outside. So how can you pray for us? Pray that through TJ's rotation period, God would use TJ to win souls. This is a very lost industry. Money attempts to buy happiness for alot of people and we know that Jesus is the only thing that can bring joy. Of all the toys, and upgrades in this life, the greatest joy is to have a new brother or sister come to Christ. So pray for TJ's ministry in the field. Pray for me, that I will be diligent in serving and staying plugged into our church family while TJ is gone. Please pray for this next month as we prepare for him to leave. We. Are. So. Blessed. Over and over again God has provided in ways that we could NEVER have imagined. Praise the Lord!

Meal Planning Monday

Monday: Enchilladas
Tuesday: Tater Tot Casserole
Wednesday: Baked Ziti before the AWANA Grand Prix!!
Thursday: Sliders w/ sweet potato fries
Friday: Steaks & Corn on the cob
Saturday: Date Night in The Woodlands ;)
Sunday: Leftovers

Can't lie...pretty excited for this week

Ode to Sally

Meet Sally. For those of you who don't know, she has been a huge part of our lives for the past six years. TJ and I met six years ago at age 16. He was the cool kid who drove a red sportscar with a manual transmission. He picked me up for our first date in this car. This car has seen a lot of life events.

• Finding out we got into A&M.
• First date
• Going off to college.
• Hours in Kids Kastle talking/falling in love
• Sitting in WCG talking.
• Teaching Amanda to drive stick
• On our wedding day TJ picked me up and we sat in sally talking before the big day.

Life has happened in this car. The biggest story here is that God is faithful. We have relied on this car for six years which is proof that God is faithful. It was very sad to see her go. We cried. But God has provided. He gave us a great deal on a new car. He held Sally together in working order much longer than we could have prayed for.

meet oliver. Oliver will be here for this new phase of life. He has air conditioning, power windows and an auxillary jack. We are spoiled. I was nervous before buying a new car and TJ texted me "Come with me. Lets do life together" Welcome to the family Oliver! We are so thankful God provided. He IS SO FAITHFUL! Signing the paperwork and joining the car payment club was like a punch in the gut, but at the end of the day, God is so faithful.

Oliver White
Born 7/7/2009
Adopted 5/17/2011

Chapter 2

Well, i am officially done with college as of 10 AM this morning, WHOOP! So it is on to the next chapter in our marriage. Being a student and a husband has been a challenge that took some getting used to but I have already had a glimpse into the next chapter, here i must be careful that, though i have more time to spend with my beautiful bride, i do not get lazy and waste that time just sitting and watching tv together or other non creative activities. quanity time is a desirable thing, but it is not a substitute or replacement for quality time. So in this next chapter i will get to learn how to love amanda well with an excess of free time. And i am glad that i get this time to learn how to do that for a month before i start work because then i will begin bouncing between the two extremes, while i'm in the field i will be loving her with nothing but conversation, and while im home i will have a week of "down time" and love her actively when i have an excess of time. i am thinking about this actively because this weekend i realized (with the help of my wonderful wife) that i have apparently forgotten how to be creative, and that is simply unacceptable from the guy that covered the walls of her room with post-it notes of reasons i love her. well those are my thoughts for the moment, and now i will go relish not being a student and try to rekindle that creativity.
Shalom
TJ

life update.

Life is stressful. I feel like I could end the post at that. Life. is. stressful. Amanda is working 50+ hours a week. TJ has 4 projects due + finals. Amanda has AWANA. TJ has Wesley. Bills need to be paid. Friendships need to be maintained. A marriage needs time. Expenses are rising. Feels like we are drowning. How is it possible to live on amanda's salary...but not TJ + Amanda's salary? How does one afford a house? What will Amanda do when TJ moves to Houston? No one seems to be hiring, no one wants a meteorologist. It is an odd feeling. After working for 10+ years to be facing a future without a job...its scary. Saying "The Lord will provide" and then really trusting it...is hard. I know the God we serve is Faithful. Always. On one hand its exciting to watch God show up. Watch Him deliver us from the mediocre life society has for us.

Rotation is nearly here. Two months. No lie...marriage is hard. It. Is. HARD. There are evenings we sit on the couch and stare at each other saying "how in the world do we do this?!" There are so many things that we have no idea how to do. I feel like everything we talk and dream about is being put to the test. Are we willing to trust that the Lord has a plan. And right now, I can honestly say I have no idea what that looks like. Faced with the reality that in 2 months my husband will be gone on an oil rig somewhere and I will be at home by myself. I am blessed to have the family at Living Hope Baptist Church to take care of me. What a phenomenal blessing they are. I am blessed with a great job. The future is scary and unknown. But I guess if we knew what was coming, we wouldn't need God. Please be in prayer for our family. We are facing lots of changes in a very short period of time. It is overwhelming at times.  pray that we will do what Revelation 2:3

says,  " You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. "




 ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, " Jeremiah 29:11-14

Ask us whats going on. Tell us what is going on with you. Please

Wait....two of us live in this house?

45 Hours of work a week
2 tests
1 PETE 400 project
1 Full time senior engineering student
1 Full time employee
AWANA
Wesley

Welcome to our lives.

We don't see each other much. But the Lord has blessed us in that we have gotten to spend the weekends together. Typically I don't see TJ Mon-Thur because of work and school but Friday-Sunday I have been able to spend so much time with him. Life has been hectic to say the least but we can tell God is preparing us for rotation which is quickly approaching. TJ graduates in a month, we move in 2 months...life has never moved so quickly. We enjoy the brief quiet time we have together. The biggest blessing is that even though school is ridiculous right now for TJ and work is in the busy season for me, TJ is so excited to start work with BP. He cannot wait to apply all the things he has learned. Watching how excited he is encourages me every day.

We have been talking about buying a house, buying new cars, how life will work post- school. It is incredible what happens when you get paid for working instead of paying TAMU to work. We have different opinions on some things, but God has given me a very vocal husband who has learned to tell me "no". Not always a pleasant sensation but it has been good. Sometimes I skip steps and miss the present looking towards what is coming. In my mind we are buying new furniture for our new house and parking our new car out front. Which means I need to stress about a mortgage and car payments. In my mind we already live here:









Thankfully I have a husband who keeps my feet on the ground.

Things TJ has learned recently

1. Amanda is pathetic when she is sick...PATHETIC
2. Bringing smart water home to your sick wife is just as good as a fancy date
3. Having a sick wife allows TJ two whole days to sit in bed and watch movies
4. Blankie does sleep in bed with sick Amanda (yes Blankie is 22.5 years old)

Amanda has bronchitis and a sinus infection. TJ is the best husband ever.

Spring Cleaning

It always takes awhile at the beginning of the semester for time to start moving. By the end of the semester weeks fly by and time passes in the blink of an eye. But at the beginning, time drags on. We are about to hit the halfway point of the semester so finally time is moving. Somehow it is Wednesday already which is great because its a payday Friday and then the weekend :) We are almost to Spring Break, my sweet husband graduates in 9 weeks, we move 4 weeks after that, and he starts work for BP a week after that!! Amazing. God has been so faithful this semester. In church we have been studying Ruth and what a faithful God we serve. This has been so evident in our lives lately. From unexpected tax returns, to petroleum competitions, God has provided abundantly and in every way.

School has begun to pick up for TJ. Long nights in the computer lab while his wife is sound asleep at home :) One of us is very lucky :) He has a huge project due next week so he has been quite busy. But the end is in sight. He is working incredibly hard and will be a fantastic drilling engineer in a few short weeks.


God has been teaching us to simplify our lives. We live on a strict budget so at first I didn't think this was even necessary. Then we started looking for a new place to live. MM....about that. We have a lot of stuff. unnecessary stuff. We were looking at beautiful apartments but kept coming back to the question "But where will all our stuff go?" Shortly after this we realized that God was telling us to simplify. So Sunday after church, TJ went to school and I started getting rid of stuff. At church we were given the opportunity to donate clothes for a mission trip. At Hope group a girl was collecting donations for a garage sale to benefit missions. What a perfect opportunity. So spring cleaning has begun at our house. Shoes, clothes, notebooks, books, paintball sets, lamps....we are simplifying. There are some selfish motives I will admit, having to move in June to a second or third floor unit will seriously motivate you to reduce the volume of junk. We are in a transition right now, financially, physically and spiritually as God continues to refine our views of money and what is important in the world. Mint.com has become our best friend and the worst punch in the stomach ever as we try and get our spending under control. Thankfully, our grocery bill is finally under control where it should be which has been a tremendous blessing. Now if we could cut out all the quick runs to the store to grab something I am craving. Next on the list is eating healthy....again meaning Amanda can't eat whatever she is craving.


So this is where we are. Cleaning out all the random things we don't use anymore, headed to a simpler life. Happy 2 months of marriage to us!

Shalom