Puppies & Motorcycles.. good combo right?

I have a lot I want to update on, but right now I'm interested in getting the recent puppy & new motorcycle pictures up. :)

Right now the pups are 6 weeks old! They are so precious. Their little teeth are cutting in and they love to cuddle and play. :) So far one of the boys have been spoken for by a wonderful family who already has a shih-tzu. Now we need to find good homes for the other boy & little girl. The little boy who is spoken for Kevin dubbed as "Manson" because he has one blue eye and one brown eye like Marilyn Manson (I know not the name you'd want to dub anyone, but it's not permanent). I'm beginning to wonder if his eyes are going to stay that way! It's so cute! The other little boy still has bright sky blue eyes! I'm hoping for some odd reason they will stay that way.. Lord? please? ya never know, I can hope right? :) The sweet little girl has deep sugar brown eyes. :) & I love them all!

As for the motorcycle. This is huge for me. Huge step in trusting. Huge step in... well you fill in the blank because my heart just doesn't have all the words right now. It's going to be a challenge for me to not worry, & keep my mind from going places I would prefer it not to go (which it already has), but with that said I oddly enough have this weird small peace about it somewhere inside me (can't quite figure it out)... God? maybe? The reason I know I have "some" peace is because I'm not freaking out at the rate I was last time a motorcycle was considered. A friend from church made a good point today, she said, "...it might be what God uses to keep you praying" (paraphrase). This is very true! What a reminder that I should ALWAYS be praying for my husband, and what a way to remember! Through motorcycle adventures! lol Ha, this may or may not be true, but it can be a good theory.

Life is always a risk. Pretty much anything you do is a risk, and I know some of you are thinking, "well you can try to avoid all extreme risks," yeah I can, but this is truly a desire of Kevin's heart, and truly a passion he has, and who am I to make him suppress this great longing within him? I'm just thankful he's not all into sky diving, or car racing and so on (just pretend with me that those are way worse things he could be doing, please!). I want him to be able to experience adventure in life and be able to do things that excite him! & supposedly that's what this motorcycle is for. :) Thankfully, Kevin took a motorcycle safety class and I am very pleased that he did. He told me all about his strengths and weaknesses on the bike. He even scored 2nd highest in his class! The guy who scored higher then him has been riding for awhile, and was only in the class because of a court order. I'm proud of him for making an effort to be as safe as possible.

Lord of Lords & King of Kings, please know the cry of my heart. Know that I love you and I love my husband. Please protect Kevin whenever he rides his motorcycle, and please protect those around him. Keep him safe. Keep him well. Keep him mindful of those around him. Keep his eyes, & his mind alert at all times while riding. & most of all let it be a great adventure for him to have and enjoy with you Lord. Thank you for providing, and protecting. My heart depends on you. amen

With all that said, here are some pictures of the puppies and Kevin riding the bike in circles in the backyard. :)

Little friendships {that's what Kev calls them :)

Haha please notice Bailey's head peaking out.. she had to be close to the pups :) She's a good mamma

Leo cracks us up this is pretty much his look in every picture (mouth open. Kind of makes it look like he's smiling)

Too Cute

Aw, she fell asleep like that :)

See same pose - Come on Leo switch it up.. ;0)

Aw brother and sister fell asleep together (please ignore the dirty sock in the background, yuck!)

Motorcycle

Nancy Alcorn; founder.

Nancy Alcorn the founder of Mercy Ministries has featured me on her blog today!!

What a privilege and honor it is to have been part of a life changing ministry. It is only by the grace of God that their is such a place to call home. So many women/girls need a place like this to find rest, help, hope, & healing... and thankfully the Lord opened those doors for me when all hope was gone. Not many know my full story, maybe someday I will share it, but really right now that isn't relevant... what is relevant is that God is real, and that our past, our failures, and our faults do NOT determine our future in Christ. My life is a testimony of new beginnings, and of Christ's love on the cross. But it's not just for me, it's for all! My heart is dear to this ministry not just because I walked those halls, but because their are so women/girls out there who need the help and need a place like Mercy to call home. If you are interested in being a part of an incredible ministry or know someone who needs help, I highly recommend checking out Mercy!

If you are wondering what Mercy Ministries even is, well it's this:


"Since 1983, Mercy Ministries of America has provided hope and healing to generations of desperate young women who are seeking freedom from life-controlling problems such as:

Our free-of-charge biblically-based program serves a diverse population of young women from various socio-economic backgrounds, aged 13-28. Many of the girls, who come to Mercy for help, are facing a combination of debilitating circumstances and have been in various treatment facilities with unsuccessful long-term results. We are committed to providing the young women we serve with the most excellent program services that allow them to recognize their self-worth and prepare them to reach their full potential. Our non-conventional approach to healing allows young women to permanently stop destructive cycles and prepares them to take hope out into their communities."

Thank you Nancy Alcorn for dreaming big and being obedient to the voice of God. Without your continued dedication to the Lord many lives would go unchanged today, but because of your vision God has and will continue to use your ministry to set captives free, and bring out treasures from the darkness.

I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Isaiah 45:3

Nancy Alcorn's Blog

The cry of my heart.

This worship song moves my soul, makes me speechless, and literally brings me to my knees.

God Still Speaks.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

3 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

4 Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

Isaiah 43

Many things to Celebrate!

Today is our 2 year Anniversary!

2 years ago today we shared our first kiss.

2 years ago today I made a promise to you.
2 years ago today I wed my best friend.

5 years ago today a little girl entered this world.
5 years ago today a little girl captured the hearts of us all.

5 years ago today I gained a precious sister.

Madison Marie
aka - Maddy-taddy-tater-tots

5 years ago today I graduated from a place called Mercy.

5 years ago today I celabrated 7 1/2 long months of change.

5 years ago today I said goodbye to 29 incredible women who were also on a healing journey.

&

Because of Christ, Today, I celabrate freedom from bondage's

that no longer hold me.

{a picture inside the TN Mercy home I lived in - it was so neat

for Kevin to get to see this place}

{yes all this happened on June 9th - a date of new Beginnings}

Here are some pictures to recap the memories of all these

wonderful blessings we celebrate today

(Please note that the wedding pictures aren't our professional ones!)

Click Here: Ray Anthony Photography to see a video of some of our wedding pictures :)

Getting ready for the BIG DAY! :)

One of my beautiful friends/bridesmaid took this picture of me

you can check out her wonderful work at: Amanda Mattila Photography

We LOVE CAKE! This was one of our "splurges" for the wedding :)

This picture is so grainy - but it is our first dance

our song was: Your Guardian Angel by The Red Jump Suit Apparatus

My brother Tyler (whom I adore) danced with me in place of my father

Our song was: Orange Sky by: Alexi Murdoch

{Video of song below. It makes me cry every time}

Mama, me & Kevin

Everyone getting their dance on!

My Maid of honor Katie and I 'Party Like a Rock Star' {our song}

James & Kevin and their awesome dance moves!

ow ow!

Mr. & Mrs. Van Wynsberg

Father + Son = Motorcycle

Kevin and I were recently blessed with a visit from Kevin's dad... we'll call him Ron. He stayed with us for over a week and it was so awesome to have him around. We love him so much. He always has a great story to tell or adventure to try. :) We did some fun stuff while he was here, but we would have done more if we didn't have to work.

About to climb the liberty trails

climbing the trails

Ron running through the trails making a video -

it was funny i'll have to try and post it :)

Ron & I had a compitition going to see who's camera could take the best picture of this weird fungus? thing - I think mine won :)

the beauty of the day

whatever it was, it must have been either weird or gross

ha beat you both to the top

hangin out at the top - see the blue ridge mountains in the background?

so pretty... hello lynhcburg

this is why I call him friend :)

father-son bonding time over the iphone

virginia is for lovers

I love the background in this picture

hangin out at smith mountain lake

the scenery was beautiful here! I got this shot at the house where we picked up Kevin's new motorcycle

Ron driving Kev's motorcycle home for him -

yep it's official he has a motorcycle, and that's all I'm going to say about that ;)

ok, this is funny - Ron and I were waiting for Kev to get back from his "test drive" and it was taking (what felt like) forever! finally we heard a bike in the distance, and if you look closely kevin is trailing behind these 2 guys on harley's - we thought it was funny, because he came back with a pack of bikers! already making new friends! lol :) It was also funny because when they zoomed by, the Harley bikes were much louder then Kev's and it looked like he was chasing them or something.

Kevin and his cool new Ninja

50 days

I am way behind on blogging certain things that have been happening in our lives - so I figure I'll just jump right into it - Not sure how much I will get done tonight, since I need to get up early tomorrow.. I'm hoping at least 1 post though! :)

Our church and many others around Lynchburg have been participating in this thing called "50 Days of Unbroken Prayer"-which is designed for a network of churches to come together and pray for each other, our city, our nation, and our world.  Each person who signs up commits to praying for an hour at a designated spot, which was the Wingate hotel by our house up on Candlers Mountain.  The room was so awesome! It had worship music playing, pads of paper to draw on, journals to write in, places to write your prayers, and people to pray for.

 I honestly have no idea if other churches from other towns/states do this or if it is just a local thing, but if they do, then that is GREAT :)

Here are some shots Kevin took while we were in the room praying (this was about a month ago).  I wanted to post these because this was such a great experience and I am so thankful to be part of a community that desires to pray and reach out to others.

This is a shot of the city (Lynchburg) It's blurry, but it's neat to think that in that exact moment people were being prayed for.

The room...where many came, many prayed, and many were changed

Thank you God for hearing all the prayers that were lifted to you during these 50 days.

& May you help us to be a people who continue to pray even beyond these 4 walls.