Shots and Coffee

It's not even noon, and already I'm worn out. This morning Josiah and I had his first doctor's appointment with his pediatrician here in Texas. We got there early, but as is bound to happen, by the time we got in to see the nurse Siah had just fallen asleep. So we had to wake him up to be measured and weighed, which he was not a fan of. :-) But he really started screaming after the nurse was done and we were waiting for Dr. Rhodes to come in, and then to top it all off, the poor kid had to get his first round of shots when Dr. Rhodes was done with him. One in the arm, and two in each leg. I felt so bad for him. He was already screaming, and then it just got worse each time the nurse stuck him. I almost started crying at the first shot, and then after that I just looked at the wall and told him it was almost over. On the upside, he got really cool blue camo band-aids. I was going to run some errands, but decided to just go home (because he was still crying). As I was pulling into our apartment complex, I realized he's fallen asleep. So I turned that car right around and drove to the nearest Starbucks to get myself some coffee. Because I deserved it. :-) Everyone there was really nice, thought he was beautiful, and one older gentleman talked to me while we waited for our coffees, and even went to get mine for me so I didn't have to get up from the table I was at. God is so great. Such a small gesture that meant so much to me. It makes me want to go out and find someone to do something for.

I almost forgot! Siah is 13 and 1/2 lbs, and 24 1/2 inches long. The doctor said he's in the 75th percentile in weight, which is about average, but he's in the 96th percentile for height, which I guess means he's tall for his age. TJ's excited, as he's hoping for a big tall linebacker. :-)

Tonight is small group! We didn't go last week because TJ had to work late. This week we're definitely going though, even if we have to be there late. It's the last meeting before everything goes on break for the holidays, but this will be the group we're a part of when small groups start up again in January, so we might as well go meet everyone. I'm really looking forward to it. I've already had 2 women email me the directions to the house we're meeting at, so I feel really welcome. Then tomorrow is the last week for the women's bible study I go to on Thursday mornings. That's been a big blessing. My group is mostly older women, and I just feel like there's so much I can learn from them. Not to mention they've been so welcoming and loving as well. I can't believe how God blessed us with such a great church after only 2 weeks of looking. I can only thank everyone who prayed for us. It really worked, and we feel so blessed.

Yesterday the new Call of Duty game found it's way to my house. So exciting. I'm a good wife though, sometimes I'll watch TJ play and cheer him on. Which is kind of messed up, b/c he's killing people. But they're terrorists, so he's making the world safe for his family. Plus his game came with a canteen, which I thought was fun. :-)

Well I think I'm recovered from this morning. It's time to be productive and get some house stuff done. Love you all!

Our big sleepover!

Friday night we had all four of my cousins over for a sleepover! It was a lot of fun. TJ played Rummikub with the 3 girls (Laurel Ann, Lily and Lydia) while Luke and I watched Ice Age. We fixed dinner for them, watched movies, made popcorn and then in the morning we got up and TJ made everybody chocolate chip pancakes. :-) I love when he cooks! We want to have 3 or 4 kids eventually, but I think it's good that God made it so you (usually) work your way up to that level of fun and chaos. I loved being in a big family though...you don't have the party, you are the party!

Church was awesome on Sunday. We actually made it on time this week, so we got a good parking spot before the parking guys were even out there and were sitting when the service started. Apparently the congregation is memorizing scripture together, so after announcements we all read the verses together, which I thought was pretty cool. Amazing the things you learn when you're not late. :-) Sunday school this week was a lot more comfortable, we were in a class with other couples who have been married for 5 years or less. There were about 30 there I think, and we met some really nice people at our table. The lesson was on theology, which was really interesting. I felt a little like I was back in bible college. It made me want to dust off some of my old books and relearn a few things. I didn't always pay close attention... :-) There was also a girl who overheard us asking the information guy where the class was, and she walked us to it and invited us to the small group that meets at her (and her husband's) house. I'm really excited about it, she seemed like someone I could be good friends with. I'm going to call her tonight, and we'll probably go the small group on Wednesday.

The little man is doing good, he's sleeping right now. We're counting down the days until Christmas vacation!

It's been a while...

I like blogging a lot, but it takes me forever b/c I want to sit here and think about what to say and make our blog pretty, and before you know it I've been sitting down for 2 hours and it's time to get something real done. :-)

Life's been pretty good down here, we went to a new church 2 weeks ago, called Christ Chapel Bible Church. A guy TJ works with recommended it, and we loved it. It's really big, but we felt so welcome and loved the worship and teaching. The pastor tackled the subject of submission that Sunday, so TJ was all about it. :-) We were impressed with the way he handled such a sensitive topic, and how he backed everything up with a lot of scripture. This week we went back and this time we also went to a Sunday School class. I felt so much like a new kid at a new school, but it was really good. It was about marriage, so we read a passage and discussed it at our table and then the guy leading it spoke to the men and his wife spoke to the women. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the women's bible study they have every week, and I'm pretty nervous. They've been doing it since September, so I will really be the new kid there. But I got the homework and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. (Plus they have daycare, so I can go in the morning!) This is just the hard part of finding a great church - making friends and getting to know people. It's pretty exciting though. We loved CPC so much it's hard to imagine a better fit for us, but I know God has one just as good here. (Hopefully it's Christ Chapel!)

Josiah is getting so big! I got on a scale yesterday and then got on it with him, and I think he's somewhere between 13-14 pounds. He's such a big boy! I can't believe how fast he's growing. This past week he's really starting making sounds and cooing, which is a blast. He's laying on the couch beside me right now talking and looking around. I called and made an appointment with a pediatrician, and the soonest they could get us in was 2 and 1/2 weeks from now, but at least the doctor's that much in demand. I'm anxious to get his official weight and length and see how much he's grown in the past month. He's been sleeping through the night semi-regularly, which is soo nice. As long as I make sure he eats really good around 11, he'll sleep until around 6 and then I wake up feeling great! Last night I went to a Bunco party and took him with me, where he charmed the socks off of all the women there. He was so good, he smiled at everybody and didn't cry. He even fell asleep in the middle of all the noise and people. We can't wait to bring him home at Christmas and show everyone how big he's getting!

TJ's work is going well, he's taking on more responsibility as he learns the business. He says Uncle Larry is a good teacher, and he's enjoying himself. I think he's looking at maybe checking out a men's bible study at church next week.

Well this was a novel! I took a picture of Siah this morning in his big boy pants (really any pants are big boy pants at this point!) - just so you can see how much he's growing. We miss everyone!

Life In Texas

I saw a bumper sticker a couple weeks ago that said "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could." Living in Texas has been great! The area is beautiful. I love the city, although it is a little bit more challenging getting around. It's slightly bigger than Lexington!
We are getting more settled in, as each day passes. We can't wait to find a church to connect with, I think it will feel more like home when we find a church. Sometimes I don't think people understand how important it is to be apart of the body. When we are disconnected we don't function correctly. I understand that when Paul was talking about how the Church is the body made up of many parts. Finding a church and connecting with like minded people is the most important thing on our list. Jessie and I are planning on inviting people in our apartment building and people we meet at church ASAP. We want to hit the ground running, so we don't fall into any bad habits. It's important to start building a ministry around us. People who we can love and minster to, but we need older people who can mentor and disciple us.

Josiah is getting huge! He's not a fat baby, he's just going to be a big boy. I think he is going to have my broad shoulder build, but I hope he will be a few inches taller than me. He can hold himself pretty good now, I've been laying him on his belly and putting his arm under him so he can start do some push-ups. Amazingly he can push his chest off the ground. Who knows he could be a 5-star football player out of Texas. I'll make sure he plays for the University of Kentucky.

Work has been going great. I'm going love what I do, but the biggest change is my Boss. It is really nice working for a man loves Jesus, and who shares similar values and principles. The Lord has blessed our family with a wonderful opportunity.

Thank you for your continued prayers - John :-)

Church Hunting

So this Sunday we tried the first of (hopefully not too many) churches. We were really excited about this church, their website was great and they emphasized small groups and outreach. I really thought this might be the church we landed in. But we made it through the whole visit without anyone really coming up and talking to us. (Beyond saying hi and 'what a cute baby'.) TJ and I were on the welcome team at Center Point, but I really took for granted what an important job it is. I felt so awkward being a visitor. It was like we floated in and floated out. They had great worship, a cool building, and everyone seemed really happy to be there, but I came away with the realization that if you're not reaching out to the new people who come in, all of that stuff doesn't do you any good. I remember feeling so weird about talking to new people in the other churches I've been a part of, not knowing what to say, even though I wanted to make them feel welcome. I think from now on I'll just suck it up and stumble through some sort of conversation until I find something to talk about. :-) Wherever we end up, more than anything else I want to be on the welcome team. I guess the point of this is to encourage anyone who reads this. If you see new people at your church and you want to say hi, but you're not sure what to say - try. Anything. For all you know, they're exactly what your church needs.

Day 1 :-)

Hello from Texas! This isn't exactly day one for us in Fort Worth, but it is day one of the Hood blog - which is a way for us to keep everyone up on how we're doing, and for family and friends to see Josiah grow now that he's farther away.

We moved to Texas last Saturday, found an apartment on Sunday and moved in on Monday. It's been a crazy, fast-paced week! Due to our movers bumping up the time they could bring our things to a new apartment, we had to find somewhere fast. But God provided a place for us, and we love our new home. Josiah and I have been unpacking and setting up house this week, and TJ's first day at work was Wednesday. My Aunt Beth came today to help me decorate the house and it looks soo much better now. It's finally starting to feel like home.

Keep praying for us as we look for a church to be a part of and get connected with. We've begun looking churches up online, and we'll start the hunt this weekend! I'm so ready to make friends and be part of a church family here in Texas.

We miss everyone, and we love you! As soon as I find the box with the right cord, I'll start downloading pictures. :-)