It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

I have to be honest. I've had a hard time believing that this year. This is my first Christmas away from my family in Oklahoma and its been a little hard for me to get into the spirit of things around here. John and I will be by ourselves and the thought of not spending time with family on Christmas day has been a little depressing. HOWEVER, God has again proven Himself faithful, loving and caring. Here's my story....

John and I decided since we weren't going to be with his family or mine that we would try to make this Christmas special on our own. Now mind you, I have not had a job for 4 months, so the bank roll is a little low. Besides our regular baking of Christmas cookies, we decided that we would not buy gifts for each other until we could hit the after Christmas sales in Dec. 26 and we were only going to spend a certain amount of money for that. That meant no gifts under the tree, so I had to be creative in my christmas tree decorating. :-) I love wrapping presents, and those of you who know me well know that I have an extensive collection of Christmas wrapping paper. So needless to say, I was a little bummed about not being able to wrap gifts. But, I stood my little 41/2 foot tree up on one of our little TV trays, covered the bottom in a sparkly snowflake fabric and set all of my larger snowmen under the tree. It looked really cute and it made it seem like we had a bigger tree. :-) I had forgotten that people would be sending us gifts! So, we got a box from Mom and I wrapped that box. I don't even know who it for, but it was fun to wrap it! I got a box from my grandmother, who shares my passion for wrapping paper, and knew that I would not have to wrap it. Beth sent us a little gift and it is sitting under the tree, also. And yesterday, we got a package from home that had 4 already wrapped gifts in it!!! So now, we have 7 wrapped gifts under our tree and it looks great! Its the little things...
John and I also decided that we would make our very own huge Christmas dinner. We sat down a few weeks ago and made up our menu. We wanted to cook a brisket and have all the trimmings.....downsized, of course, for two people. Well, I guess brisket is not a big deal up in Pennsylvania. I have been keeping my eye out for brisket for 3 weeks and have not been able to find one. We could have gotten one at Sam's, but they are huge and we would never have been able to eat it all. So, I have pretty much resigned myself to having ham or ribs. John said he would rather have ribs, so that was what we were going to get. But, lo and behold, when we were at the very busy grocery store, right next to the hams were two briskets, just the right size!!! I almost cried right in the middle of the meat department, I was so excited! So, our Christmas meal is ready to be made! John and I are cooking it together, and we plan on having a great time!
Isn't God awesome! He knew exactly what I needed to pick up my holiday spirits and provided it with time to spare! I love this season of the year, not only for the wonderment of God sending His only Son to earth for me, but also because of the wonderful memories and traditions that I have been able to share with family and friends over the years. This year is no different and I will enjoy making new traditions with John and our new friends, remembering that Christ has given me everything I need and proves it on a daily basis.

Merry Christmas!!

First Week on the Job

Well, I started my job Monday and I really think I am going to like it. It really didn't take me long to learn what I would be doing and figure it out. The hardest part for me is learning their system and their reports, but I am really going to enjoy this job. I work in a great office with some really nice people. With this being the holiday season, everyone is in a very festive mood. Most of the cubicles are decorated and I believe there is a contest for the best decoration next week along with potluck lunches.
John and I are travelling to Pittsburgh to spend the weekend with his parents. We are going to see the play "A Christmas Carol" Sunday in downtown Pittsburgh. It should be fun because it is supposed to snow here over the weekend.
John is finished for the semester and it is too bad that you all don't live closer. :-) He brought home DOZENS of cookies from his baking class. They are really good! The brownies he made are awesome!! We took them to a party tonight and everyone just raved!
That's all for now. Have a great weekend!

I Have a Job!!!

God is so good! After months of searching and prayer, I finally have a job. I start Monday as an Application Specialist at First Commonwealth Bank here in Indiana. I will be working in the commercial loan department, but I'm not exactly sure what I will be doing other than working on daily reconciliations. I am so grateful for this opportunity. And, this is a job that will allow me to be home on the weekends and during the evenings, which was one of my major prayers. So, thank you to everyone for your prayers on our behalf and thank you most of all to a heavenly Father who provides for my every need just when I need it!

Much love, Becky

Update

Well, there's really not a whole lote to say about this week. I had an interview this week at a bank. I felt the interview went really well. It is an entry level position, so it doesn't pay very much, but at this point, I'm not too picky.
John started his first baking block this week. He has definitely found his passion! He has brought home bread or rolls every day this week! We took some to church Wednesday night....we would never be able to eat all of it ourselves. John's birthday was yesterday, so we celebrated that by watching "Ratatouille". That is a really cute movie! His parents are coming over this afternoon and we are cooking steaks and I'm sure we'll do something else with them this evening. I'm not sure if this will include watching the OU/Mizzou game or not.
Other than all of that, I've just been trying to get Christmas stuff put together. I got the tree up and the dishes out. :-) And I think I'm almost done with all of my Christmas gifts. This is definitely a home-made Christmas, but I think everyone will like what they are getting. John and I plan on doing our Christmas cookies next weekend, so you can be looking forward to getting those in the mail in a couple of weeks!
That's about all for right now.....love to all, Becky

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Everybody,

This is the beginning of my absolute favorite time of year! I love the holidays! I love the food, the busyness, the traditions and time spent with family and friends. I love that it is a time to sit down and reflect on the past year and give thanks for all of the blessings God has given to us. And, yes, I even love the football (which John should be VERY thankful for).
SO, as we get into the busiest time of year for a lot of us, my prayer is that you will not only be grateful for all that God has done for us, but enjoy this special season and all that it means. Do you realize that we live in a country that has set aside a special day for us to thank the Creator of the universe that we are free to worship and live as we please in a country that was founded on Biblical principles? I realize that to a lot of people, Thanksgiving is not used for this purpose at all. However, I believe that this is the original intention for this holiday and I am grateful for the chance to do so.
John and I will be heading to Pittsburg in a few hours to spend the rest of the week with his parents and sister and brother-in-law. We are really looking forward to spending this time with them and hope that your Thanksgiving is blessed.

Lots of love,
John and Becky

What I Have Been Learning

I mentioned in my last post about the church we have been attending. They have been such a blessing to us. One of the things I have enjoyed the most is getting to teach their kids choir. I have been a part of children's choirs for a long time and was really hoping we would be involved in a church that had them. It has been amazing to me how God has answered all of our "little" requests.
We have been studying the history of the Israelites in Sunday School and yesterday, we were comparing the similarities between the Israelites and Christians today. We began to talk about "God Experiences" and how we should be able to see God at work everyday. I couldn't help but think about how God has brought John and I to where we are today. If I wrote out all of the ways God has blessed us on this journey to cullinary school and since we have been here, I think it would take me all day. And yet, I find myself despairing because I can't find a job or am having trouble getting day to day things taken care of. I am just like the Israelites, who had their every need provided for them, but still grumbled and complained and ultimately rebelled against God time and time again. And, like the Israelites, my Lord continually chooses to bless me and show me just how much He cares for me. I certainly don't deserve His goodness, but I am so grateful He is faithful to me. I have been learning a lot about this lately. I have been reminded of several verses lately that have been an encouragement to me. One of them is Psalm 37: 23-24:

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way.
When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand."

How awesome is that! God has ordered my steps and even when I falter, He is the One who is holding my hand and helping me along. AND, He delights in doing this. I am so thankful for a God who loves to pick me up, dust me off and walk the road with me.

Hello!

I have been encouraged by my siblings to create this blog so we can all keep up with each other. Since my sister Beth started one, I figured this would be a good way to keep in touch with friends and family.
John and I have settled in nicely here in Indiana, PA. We are really enjoying being close to John's parents, who are in Pittsburgh right now. Pennsylvania is very different from Oklhaoma. There are trees EVERYWHERE...something I have had to get used to coming from the plains of OK. But it is a beautiful state and we have enjoyed a beautiful fall. Believe it or not, it was snowing just a few minutes ago!
John is doing really well in his classes at the cullinary school. He is in the kitchen for most of the day and is quickly learning the skills he needs to succeed in the business. I am still looking for a job, but God has been so faithful to provide for our needs. We have found a great little church who has just taken us under their wings! A lot of the people in this area are farmers. There is a couple in the church who are dairy farmers and they have given us meat from one of their butchered cows as well as squash, pumpkins and potatoes from their garden. John is in heaven eating those steaks and I have become very adventurous in the kitchen trying to cook the pumkin and squash in different ways! Although I would love to find a job soon, it has provided me some time to get a lot of projects done that I have been wanting to get done, as well as be able to set up our home and make things comfortable here.
I hope this blog will be a great tool to keep everyone informed about what is going on in our lives. We would love to hear from you at any time! We know we are where God wants us, but we still miss being around those we love so dearly.

Lots of love,
Becky