I fly out tonight...

I am SO excited! I leave this evening to visit my wonderful brother Dan, and my sister-in-law Bethany!!! So...needless to say the posts might be few and far between...but stay tuned for pictures when I get back! I will do my best to take a bunch of pictures. And Bethany is taking my senior pictures, so I will have that to share with you too!

Have a blessed week!

My newest cute thing:)

After 4 long hard years of searching I finally found the hat of my dreams!

At risk of you thinking I'm crazy, I will tell the story.

I have never really been a "hat" person...I used to be the person whose ears turned an entirely different color and froze while sledding...but that all changed about 4 years ago when I spotted a hat that I couldn't live without. We were going sledding with some friends, and one of the friends had on a hat that took my breath away...(well almost)...and so began my hunt for the same style, but a different color. His was green, I wanted mine an Aqua Marine Blue with a braid off the top and two at the sides. I had a mental picture...and nothing would work except if it fulfilled that picture...dangerous, I know.

Well, I though my dream would have to die...I just couldn't find any that fitted the perfect model forever etched inside my brain...until one day. At church my sister-in-law told me off handedly that there were some pretty cute hats on sale at Dicks Sporting Goods, and that they just might have mine:) Now let me stop and tell you right now that sister-in-laws are amazing!!! I just love them...they let me borrow their clothes, shop, laugh, cry, and giggle with me, listen, encourage, give me darling nieces, do my hair, tell you about cute hats that are on sale, the list is really endless...but there is one downside. And that is the part that comes before they really become your sis-in-law, the steal-your-brother-right-from-under-your-nose-and-totally-sweep-him-off-his-feet kind of downside. Now that isn't really a downside for anyone...except the sister...but after a couple months...I get over it...I think*smile* (whew, talk about a bunny trail..)

But anyway, my sis-in-law told me about this sale. Now I should have jumped in the car right then and gone and checked it out, but I didn't...because I thought it would be just like every other sale, that had cute hats, but not my cute hat. But then I found out something that sent me scurrying to the store as soon as I could, and just praying that my hat would be there...for a reasonable price. And that something was, I was going snowboarding!!! Now you may think "what? what does snowboarding have to do with a hat"...but if there is one fact you must learn about snowboarding it is this; when going snowboarding you must ALWAYS have a cute hat!

Now let me explain myself. When first learning to snowboard you fall...a lot...at least I did *smile*! And so you find yourself on the ground quite a bit. And while you are falling and sitting on the ground, everyone else is riding up on the ski lift watching you. So they either remember you as "the one who spends most their time on the ground," or "the one who has a very cute hat." And believe me, the latter is the best. Plus it just gives you an extra boost of confidence...knowing that you have a cute hat:)

So when I found out that I was going snowboarding I headed to the store at the first opportunity given. I walked in, went up the escalator and saw a few hats...and my hopes immediately fell. They were nothing, compared to my hat. So I continued looking...and then I saw it! Hanging there just waiting for me to come and snatch it up. The last one...(at that time), and...it was on sale, half-price, which was still kind of expensive, but my self-control was gone at this point. And so I bought it. And then promptly called Betsy on the way home to tell her about it! And she, being the good friend that is, rejoiced with me and then wondered if they had anymore...in different colors of course. She was going snowboarding as well, and you just can't have your best friend flying down the hill in an adorable hat and not have one as well (snowboarding fact #2). So she got a pink/purple one, in the same style and we went snowboarding together with our cute hats!

And the hat is the one in the picture above!! Isn't it cute?!?

Now I hope I haven't bored you...but if I have, just let me tell you this--snowboarding is AMAZING!!! Go, try it yourself!!!

Oh the things we go through to have cool hair-do...

...but it was worth it:) When I first hearing about the dance I was ecstatic! A family-friendly setting, dressing up, having my hair done, and dancing "Old English Country Dances" with beautiful music, and with amazing friends...who could ask for more? Please click HERE for a more detailed synopsis on the dance itself.

Alatheia really outdid herself this time. We arranged a deal..."you do my hair and I will do yours" kind of a thing and it worked out well, although I think I got the better end of the bargain:)

She came over in the afternoon and we spent the next three hours curling/styling each others hair.

~Friendship~

Alatheia and I...we go way back! We have been dressing up, making costumes and doing hair together for 12 years...and believe me, you would not want to see some of our "brilliant ideas" that we have come up with in the past! Our sewing techniques are not your text-book examples...at all...but you would not believe the fun, laughter, and giggles that have taken place!

Love you, Latte!

Also, Hillary posted more pictures of the actual dance (I was to busy dancing to take any)

A challenging thought

"To aim at loving instead of a being loved requires sacrifice. Love reaches out, willing to be turned down or inconvenienced, expecting no personal reward, wanting only to give."

~Elisabeth Elliot

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love."

Praising the Lord for His protection

God is Good!

My brother, Joe, got into a car accident just last week.

We were on the way to a friends house and we received a call from Stephen saying "Joe got in a car accident and he is in an ambulance and on the way to the hospital...seriously hurt." Then he said that mom told us to go ahead and go to the party. After thinking through the facts...and calming the initial panic rush, I realized that it couldn't have been that serious if mom told us to "go ahead."

Joe was on the way to school talking on his phone to Rachel when he said "Umm...I think I just ran out of gas..." and then she heard no more. Naturally she was worried and called mom...abut before they had a chance to start freaking out Joe called. He said he was in the ambulance and on the way to Creighton Hospital, then he hung up.

It turns out he had stopped at a stop sign and then proceeded forward, then promptly ran out of gas in the middle of the intersection. He was T-boned by a lady from the right...spun around and rammed into the car ahead of him.

He suffered a mild concussion and a scraped up face. That's all. Praise the Lord.

On a funnier note; while at the hospital he was continually making very short phone calls. Rachel received about 10-12 and a friend from the basketball team, Dan, received about that many as well:) They were very short calls consisting of "Are you almost here." And, "Where are you?"....etc. When we asked him about it he denied it all...but then quickly looked at his calls...and we were correct! He can't remember anything...it's just like a dream...except for the fact that he doesn't have a car anymore:)

One year ago today...

Feb 1st at 1:06am

Alaina Hamilton Beasley

went to be with her Sovereign Lord.

She left behind; a husband, who adored the very ground she walked on, a loving family, the Moores, who everyday miss the light she gave and was, in their life. As well as many, many friends who grieve for the lively joy she expressed in every part of her life.

I miss her smile, the joy in which she lived life. I miss her humor and cheerful banter! Her love for her husband would just fill you with delight. And then of course...the spunk, that little extra kick, that is so characteristic for a red-head. Her stubbornness matched no other...but neither did her humility to admit her fault when she was wrong.

And for those of you who never knew her...she was the perfect wife for my adventure-loving brother. She accompanied him on any excursion that entered his mind to go. Whether biking, hiking, basketball, a trip to the Caribbean, walking, running, dancing, sledding, skeet shooting, skiing...or as she put it "I don't care what I do as long as I'm with him."

Her very life screamed of her love for life, God and her husband.

And now...she is really living!

Worshipping the Love of her life...except this time...its face-to-face.

Her dreams have come true...in an unfathomable way!

But maybe you are just a blog stalker *smile* and don't know Josh or Alaina...and so are wondering what this is all about. Click here to read the newspaper article about the accident.

Also if you would like to leave a comment for Josh....I will copy them out and send them to him. Just be sure to put your name:) Thank you for ALL you prayers!!!

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15 (Alaina's favorite verse)