Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)

I'm sure you've all heard the saying, "Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug." I felt like the poor bug at work today. I was handed a project that had turned into a mess before I ever received it and I got to have the fun job of making people in China, Mexico and Ohio mad. Me, the one who hates conflict, managed to make people irate globally today. Oh well. Nothing major...just an aggrivating day. Everyone seems ok now and I'm praying for a better day tomorrow. At least my coworker who handed me this project and later smugly said, "I went ahead and gave this to you because I knew it would be difficult to deal with" won't be there tomorrow, or for the next two weeks. Good. :)

As for the rest of life...it remains amazing! :) We cannot say it enough...God is so good!

Oh, and in keeping with our odd nature theme we have going on here...I almost ran over a duck on my way to work the other day. Most people almost hit squirrels or deer, but I somehow manage to just barely miss hitting Daffy less than a mile away from my work (and, as far as I know, there is not a lake, pond, or any body of water that would be inviting to a duck around that area!)

Have a great Friday and weekend!!

Can't think of a creative title...

First and foremost, though he doesn't read my blog, I want to wish my awesome brother a very happy birthday...there ain't no other like my brother!!! ;) (Ashley, you can tell him I posted it on my blog!) :)

Just thought I'd give a quick update. Life is good in the Turner household! This week we went to my first NBA game (Jared went to one when he was 8). We went and saw the Charlotte Bobcats play the Philadelphia 76ers (haha....yeah, definitely not the most popular teams!). But it was fun and I can say that I've been there and done that. There were so many parents with children there, so I'm sure that I'll make it to at least one game with Jared and our children some day. :) We also went to Lake Norman (about 20 minutes away from us) and enjoyed a dinner at a lakeside restaurant last night. We sat outside on the deck that overlooks the lake...it was beautiful and romantic...we loved it! :)

We were both a little sad on the day of the one year anniversary of the VT tragedy. We felt like we should have been in Blacksburg on that day, and yet, we were both a little grateful we weren't there. It was a strange feeling. Our thoughts were definitely in the mountains of Virginia on Wednesday though.

Work is still going well for both of us. Both of our supervisors are on vacation this week, which is nice. We like them both, but it's always nice to have a little bit less pressure at work. :) Jared is going to the races THREE weekends in May (thankfully two weekends he will be at the track in Charlotte!), but we're definitely not going to see each other much on the weekends. So, for all of you who have said, "We'd love to come and visit you and go shopping, etc." May will definitely be a good month for you to come!! Though I'm bummed that I won't get to see my man much on the weekends in May, it's a great opportunity for Jared and I'm so proud of him. :) His schedule is still so much better here than it was the last couple of months in Blacksburg...we are so thankful that God has blessed us so much!

We hope everyone has a great week! I am already counting down the days to the weekend and seeing some of you!!! :) :) I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!! :) :)

Wiper Woes

There is absolutely never a dull moment in the Turner household. Today was no exception. After a weekend excursion to Lynchburg to celebrate my sister, brother and niece's birthdays (which was great fun by the way), I returned home this afternoon to spend some time with my awesome husband (who couldn't come to Lynchburg because he had to work yesterday and part of today....boo!). We decided to go exploring and discovered that the SC state line is less than five minutes away from my work. For some reason I think that is interesting. :) Anyway, we were enjoying our drive and it started raining. The rain was not going to deter us from having fun, so we kept laughing and goofing off until the driver side windshield wiper just quit working! We were able to pull into a parking lot and inspected the wiper to see what the problem was. We are definitely not mechanics but managed to quickly realize that it must be a failed wiper motor (if there is such a thing). After waiting out one storm and pulling into another parking lot to wait out another storm, we finally made it home! Oh and while in the second parking lot, we noticed a beautiful rainbow in the sky! It was so bright and pretty! :)

I just asked Jared if there was anything he wanted to add to the blog and he simply said, "Go Hokies!" Which is code for "Tell everyone hi for me!" :) My man of many words. :)

Everyone enjoy your week!! :)

Happy Birthday Brandy!

Happy Birthday Brandy!!! :) We love you!!!

Thank you for being the best sister ever!!!

Enjoy your day!!!!!

My brilliance amazes me (haha)

Me: (while getting ready to head to the gym tonight)..."Too bad that we have to ride separately to the gym."
Jared: "Why do we have to do that?"
Me: "Because we both have to use the tags on our keyrings to get in."
Jared: .....completely silent.....
Me: (about a minute later , in my "lightbulb moment" tone)..."Oh...we can ride together! I'll just bring my keys, too!"

Enough said. :)

Isn't frog hunting called "gigging" or something?

Saturday night, Jared and I went frog hunting. Before the question, "How can they possibly move to the city and become redneck?" lingers in your mind too long, I will quickly explain. We have struggled quite a bit with cell phone reception in our apartment. So, Saturday night my Mr. Wonderful walked outside to talk to on the phone. When he came back in, a gross looking, brown creature (otherwise known as a frog) jumped in with him. Of course, we didn't realize it right away, but when we were getting ready to head to bed, Jared suddenly said, "Is that frog?" as he pointed to the grimy thing on our dining room floor. We walked a little closer, which made the thing jump - in turn making me jump. Then the frog jumped into our kitchen (yuck, yuck, yuck!). I ran to the closet and got a broom (not sure why I chose to do that) and proceeded to climb on the chair, and then onto the bar that separates our kitchen from our dining room. While kneeling on the bar, I used the broom to point to the frog, so that Jared would know exactly where it was at. After a few minutes of me screaming every time the frog moved and Jared looking completely confused, I suggested that we call someone. I quickly ran down the list of who we could call, and decided Bill (my step-dad) would be our best bet. He grew up in Franklin County, VA so I was sure he had experience in catching frogs. Thankfully, Bill was up and was quite helpful. I put him on speaker phone and he instructed us to get a towel - I instructed Jared to make sure it wasn't a good towel - and then Bill told us to throw it on the frog. The little frog was having nothing of it and jumped behind the fridge. I screamed some more, Jared got mad at the frog, Bill woke mom up, and the two of them proceeded to laugh at the commotion going on four hours away from them (and yes, Bill put their phone on speaker, too!). Finally Jared used the broom to get the thing away from the fridge and by throwing two towels on the frog, we managed to get it cornered! Then we were like, "Now what do we do?" Mom and Bill went into hysterics laughing so hard, but managed to tell us to pick up the frog. So after a moment of hesitation, Jared picked up the two towels with the frog inside of it and ran outside. Though the thing landed with a thud, he did manage to jump away. I was so proud of my frog-hunter-warrior :) and couldn't help but laugh when he said, "That was one of my finest moments!" Other than having to stay up a little bit later to mop the kitchen floor (I didn't want frog germs all over the place), Jared and I were able to get a good night's sleep, knowing that the only critters in our apartment were us (at least we hope!). Of course, now were wondering what we are going to do when we have children...we can't even take care of ourselves without freaking out! :) Anyway, thanks Mom and Bill for your guidance while we were in our completely clueless state of minds! We're glad we could provide you two with some entertainment!! :) Love you both!

Other than the frog incident, all is well in our world. In fact, all is more than well...it's very well! :) Jared is enjoying his job and I am enjoying mine. My supervisor is very nice and has already placed a ton of responsibility on me, which makes me realize that he has a lot of confidence in my ability to get the job done! Jared had a ton of fun at the races in Martinsville, and his boss is planning on sending him to more. He is definitely wowing his supervisors. :)

We pray that all is well for all of you! Enjoy your week!!!

Thoughts

Thought 1.) Saturday my family and I were in the back yard of my apartment. I glanced up (or maybe someone else noticed it first...can't really remember) and saw a nest perched right on the bottom of the deck of the apartment upstairs...which is right outside our back door. I freaked out thinking for sure a wasp - or something worse - had built a nest. All I wanted to do was have Bill get rid of it. It only took a couple glances from Bill for him to realize that it was a bird's nest. Suddenly, the nest turned into a gem from God. Every day when I wake up, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed, I check on the nest. Several times I've watched the nest's owner proudly sit on her eggs...and I love it; it brings me so much joy and once again leaves me in awe of one of God's creations. So, the next time you are faced with something that looks scary, step back and take a second look....it may actually be a blessing from God.

Thought 2.) When I flew out of Ohio Friday, the weather was terrible. The sky had pretty much been cloudy and dreary almost the whole time I was there. No more than ten minutes after the plane took off, we were above the clouds and the sky was blue and sunny. Whenever you feel like you are in a storm (i.e. a huge trial) and the clouds are practically smothering you, just remember that above those clouds is a warm, friendly, blue sky.

Thought 3.) There is a 4-year-old named Coleman who has cancer (and it's pretty severe). At some of his weakest, most vulnerable moments his parents asked for two things: 1. For people to pray hard for Coleman and 2. for people to do random acts of kindness for other's in honor of Coleman. Think of Coleman, do a random act of kindness (or two) and smile knowing that there are parents in this world who have every reason to be upset with life and instead are thinking of others.

Thought 4.) My supervisor moved to Charlotte last week while his wife stayed in Ohio until May. Every morning at work, he calls her and speaks with her briefly. He has been married for over 25 years and speaks to her so lovingly...and giggles with her like they're teenagers. I hope Jared and I are like that when we have been married that long. For some reason, I think we will be. :)

Thought 5.) Animal Foundation commercials irritate me. Why are people trying so hard to get people to donate to animals when there are people trying to figure out how to provide dinner for their family? I love animals, but I love people more. The next time I see an animal foundation commercial, I think I'm going to make a note to buy some food for the local food bank.

Thought 6.) I'm vain. I'm afraid of getting wrinkles. Actually, I'm terrified of them. I study my face for a few minutes each day to see if wrinkles are developing. I've already researched botox injections just in case I feel I need to get them at some point. How can someone who cares about the well-being of others so much be so vain? Maybe the next time I study my face, I'll just smile and make a note to buy some food for the local food bank.

Thought 7.) My wonderful husband is sitting beside me. I always say I never have enough time with him. I think it's time to get off of here and spend time with him.

Goodnight and God Bless.