4 Year Anniversary

Four years ago today I got married. It was more of an elopement, but I don't regret the way we got married one bit! I didn't realize how drastically it would change my life, but it was one of the best decisions of my life. I am so thankful to have married Aaron Henry. God has definitely blessed me and our marriage. I'm thankful for His protection when Aaron went overseas the first year of our marriage. We have had our share of ups and downs, but I'm proud to say that the struggles we have faced have just made our love and our marriage that much stronger. We have seen each other at our best and at our worst, and I'm just so grateful that when i'm being my worst, Aaron still loves me. I daily struggle to follow 1 Corinthians 13, but I hope that as Corban grows, he will see that Aaron and I cherish each other and long to raise him in a loving atmosphere.
I really look forward to many more years with this man in my life and to the new adventures that we will come across together

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. 


Thank you Aaron for your love, for being a wonderful, caring husband and father. 

A Rocky Journey to Our Heavenly Blessing

I've decided to start back on up this blog since this year is guaranteed to bring the Henry family many new adventures. But first, let me get you caught up on how we ended 2013 and brought in this New Year. It's a long story and i want to download everything  I remember to get it off my chest, but I promise there will be pictures towards the end!

After a lovely Christmas with the family, here in Oklahoma, I got sick. At first, we thought it was just a cold since I was coughing and feeling stuffy. I tried over the counter meds and couldn't breathe well enough to even dream of getting any sleep, but the coughing started making my stomach get sharp pains and since i was 8 months pregnant I decided to go to the doctor before it got worse.
Here's a picture of me 8 months pregnant. The last picture I took while pregnant, the first day I was sick and just spending my day resting.

 Well, the doctor basically said there was nothing he could do, and prescribed me more over the counter meds....to which I was less than thrilled. I decided since he is a doctor I would at least try it for one day. Well, the next afternoon there was no change, and I was getting worse. I went and turned on the shower to get the steam going to help me breathe, but then noticed I hadn't felt the baby move...I tried to get him to move by pushing around which usually would get him to kick me back, but he didn't. It was devastating, I was so scared...I was crying so hard when I told Aaron and we got in the car and he rushed us to the hospital (which thankfully is a 2 minute drive from our house). On the way there though, as I prayed and prayed and prayed that the baby would be ok, he kicked me twice, they were not very strong, but I was relieved to at least feel him.

I got admitted to Labor and Delivery at the hospital on base because the baby's heart rate was in the 200s which is dangerously high. They diagnosed me with an Upper Respiratory Infection and gave me an IV and some medicine as they continued to monitor his heartbeat. My oxygen level started to decline with the coughing and congestion so they put me on oxygen. Two days later they were going to discharge me, but then my fever spiked and the baby's heart rate went too high again. They were talking about a c section to get him out, but continued to monitor him and hold off to see if they could get my fever and symptoms under control. They then ran more tests and found out I had a severe case of pneumonia.  Day 7 in the hospital, I was finally on a really low dose of oxygen and they were talking about discharging me the next morning. I went to the bathroom and leaned down, and when I got back to my bed I was not able to breathe even after putting oxygen back on. It was the scariest moment of my life. They put the oxygen on really high and I still felt like i couldn't breathe. So they decided to have an ambulance transport me to a hospital in Oklahoma City that would be able to take care of the baby since they had a great NICU team if he needed to come out soon and there were complications. The doctors made it seem like as soon as I got to the new hospital I would have a c section because things did not look good.

When I arrived at OU Medical Center I was placed in the ICU and monitored. I was still on oxygen but I was breathing better with it finally. The doctors and nurses started taking blood and vitals and they seemed to be less worried than the team from the base hospital. I had stabilized on the way over. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to attend to me at both hospitals and the EMTs who transported me. In the ICU they continued to monitor me and the baby and slowly tried to wean me off the oxygen. I was doing pretty well. They talked to me about my options on delivery and decided that the best option was to get the baby out soon so that he would no longer be in danger and I could then be able to take stronger doses of meds to get me well and out of danger too. The doctors said csection would be their last option when they found out I really wanted to try to go natural. We compromised. They would allow me to try a natural delivery as long as I had an epidural. They were worried that if I went through labor without any pain medicine then I would be too tired at the end to push the baby out and it would put me at a greater risk if they had to do a csection.

They induced me on the 7th, my water broke naturally on the 8th and on January 9, 2014, at 5:17 A.M. I had my precious baby boy, Corban James Henry. He was 6 pounds 1.7 oz and 19.1 inches long. (i was 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant, so he was only 2 weeks early). As soon as he came out they put him on my chest. I got to hold that gooey baby for 30 seconds before they took him aside to clean him up. Aaron snapped this picture as our sweet boy was being cleaned up.

They didn't want me to hold him without a mask and gloves, so i was prepared  to hold him longer after they cleaned him up, but things didn't go as planned. He wasn't breathing well when they were checking him out. They placed him on oxygen and took him the NICU. Aaron and I did not have time to understand why exactly they were taking him away, but the Lord provided us with a wonderful nurse who took time to explain what exactly the nicu nurses had told us in a hurry before they took Corban away.

This part was difficult. Since I was sick I was not able to go to the NICU because they did not want me to get mine or any of the other babies in there sick with my germs. Aaron was the only one who was able to go visit Corban and get me information on what was going on.
I was released from the ICU and transferred to a regular room in the maternal ward that afternoon. Aaron went to visit Corban and said that he was doing good, but had a feeding tube and they wanted to keep him longer for observation to make sure he could keep his food down because he was not eating the amount they wanted him to, and his head was in a globe so he could keep his oxygen regulated.

How devastating it is when you can't see your baby. It was hard to see pictures of him with a tube in his nose and wires all around him, and not being able to be there and have those first bonding moments with him, or just be there beside him. Aaron was amazing. When he would go up and visit Corban, he would come back and show me pictures of our precious baby.

 Aaron was going back and forth between Corban and my room to keep us company and make sure that we were healing. He got to give Corban a bath one day and kept going up to the nicu every 3 hours to feed him. What a great father!

I was finally given permission to go to the NICU two days later. It was terrifying to see such a small little baby laying there so helpless. My first visit up there I was able to hold him and got to feed him. I also got a picture of dad in action.

 They discharged me from the maternity ward on Saturday, the 11th. And the hospital provided a place for us to stay in the Ronald McDonald Newborn Village. It was a small room with a bed so that we could stay until he was discharged. We are so thankful for that room. Here is a picture of Corban under the blue lights since they were treating him for jaundice. And another picture of the room we stayed in with Aaron sleeping (much deserved, poor guy didn't get much sleep the past two weeks of hospital time and worrying over me and Corban)

Finally Corban was discharged on the 12th. We got discharged around 6pm and got home at 8. There's a picture of his going home outfit. We had an easy first night home with him, with feedings every 3 hours. I have tons of more pictures but i think i'll save those for another post.

It was a whirlwind of a journey that got us to where we are now. This sweet boy is almost a miracle baby! Without all the prayers from family and friends while I was in the hospital struggling to breathe and heal over pnemonia and the flu, we would not have made it. Honestly, I don't think Aaron and I have caught up on our sleep...and I don't think we ever will. We were not prepared to be in hospitals for so long, or have Corban home with us so early, but we were also blessed that his family and mine helped us by getting us last minute items to have, and my mom made us meals so I didn't have to worry about cooking.
I'm still healing from the flu&pnemonia and child birth, along with being a new mother and sleep deprivation, but I am so thankful that I serve a God who gives rest to the weary, because He knows I surely get weary. I'm so glad He is my Strength and my Healer. I don't know what I'd do without my faith.

Aaron and my relationship was made stronger through this rocky journey, and he was wonderful the way he took care of me and made sure the nurses and doctors were taking care of me. He even stayed on the nurses and doctors cases about getting me cleared to go see Corban in the NICU, he asked each one, each time they came in the room to check on me "when will she be cleared to go upstairs" "can he be brought into her room now" "what does she have to do to get the ok to go up" (I love that man!).

These pictures are from his first couple of days home. His newborn clothes were a bit big for him, but he's now grown into them :)

I can't believe it's been 1 month since he's been born. He is definitely growing, and I'm so glad he's healthy. He loves to kick his feet and flail his arms. He's starting to make sudden noises that sound like he's just wanting to talk and get our attention. He still sleeps most of the time (which mommy is thankful for since i'm still trying to rest and recuperate) but when he is awake he has these captivating blue eyes that follow the sound of mine and Aaron's voices and watch us as we are close to him. He hates being changed. He cries the whole time (although he's starting to get a little calmer i think, or i'm getting used to it). Daddy and I are still adjusting to being parents, but we are teaming up pretty well.

 One month old today. I didn't get any good pictures that day, only when I was feeding him. :) But look how he's grown!

Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

Graced to Live Another Day

"if you're reading this...your life is tremendously blessed and full of purpose! not because of the words i'm writing, but because you were graced to live another day! remember this, as long as you have air in your lungs, Jesus has not given up on you and has a plan that he WILL bring into reality. your past or present mistakes cannot detour his love and purpose to working everything out to your good. even the bad we do, he can redeem! never give up on yourself, you have a fan in your corner who just so happens to own the world"- Manwell from Group1Crew


As finals are upon me (and im currently procrastinating and not studying) i have taken on a whole load of stress. I've been worried about the grades i've made so far and the last tests that i will be taking this week that will affect my final, overall grades. I spent yesterday evening worrying and upset because i wasn't sure how yesterday's final was going to play out and affect my final grade.
 Why worry about tomorrow? Why worry about things that are done and we cannot change? GOD IS IN CONTROL. Always has been and always will. -of course i didn't think this positively yesterday! 

This morning i woke up still a bit down about yesterday's test and worried about tomorrow's final, but when i got on facebook and saw this quote, i was inspired to never give up! It's humbling to know that God loves me and has a plan for me, a purpose for me that will play itself out as long as i don't give up and keep trying my hardest. If God is for me, who can be against me?!

So today, i am thankful to be living another day! Although i would love to be spending the day doing other things than studying, i am going to study as if i'm studying for the Lord, not just for the grade and the professor and the test, but so that i can finish this semester and continue towards the plan God has for me. 

Getting Up To Speed

Alot has happened since my last post. 

August- A weird and unexpected thing actually happened in August. My parents moved to Lawton! My dad got offered a job he couldn't refuse and amazingly it was here! So now my family is about 20 minutes down the road from us. It's pretty nice, im getting to spend more time with my little sisters and of course my parents. It's especially nice when Aaron's in the field for weeks a time, just to know that they're right down the road if i get too lonely or have a flat tire or something. It's nice. 

We don't spend alot of time with them though. Both families still have their own families to care for. Me and Aaron enjoy our time to ourselves and our normal routines but we do enjoy going over and playing nertz or sequence every once in a while. 

I've also started back to school at Cameron University. I'm so ready for my school days to be behind me and have my degree!!

October- My dad celebrated his 50th birthday! I'm so blessed to have him as my dad. I love the way he loves and supports me. He supports my husband and our decisions we make as a married couple. He is always around to help out, he's uplifting and encouraging. I really look up to him and all the hard work he puts into life and his job, his family and his home. 

We celebrated with cake and presents and family time. Although we missed Aaron because he was on funeral detail, the rest of the gang went to the Wichita Mountains and hiked around and took tons and tons of pictures....here's just a few

I love you daddy!!

P.s. Here's our very first picture together in front of our house here on post :)

A MINI STORY: FLASHBACK TO YESTERDAY, ARRIVE AT TODAY

First off, let me state that I know how (selfish, self-centered, ungrateful, spoiled and anything else negative that comes to mind) this story makes me sound. But it’s true. I’m only human, but I am trying to work on it! And plus, this is part of mine and Aaron’s journey in life so I just wanted to share a part of the roller coaster ride we’ve been on since being in Oklahoma

 FLASHBACK TO YESTERDAY
 JANUARY 2012- 

Our lease is coming to an end in July and maintenance has been so bad that 3 months after signing our 1 year lease we started looking into other housing options in order to get out as soon as our lease was up. We started to go to different rental companies to get a feel for what our options were once we were able to move. Our adventures went a little like this…

    Aaron walks into a realtor’s office, gets a list of homes, comes back to the car and we both go over it. WE end up marking half of the listings off the list as “no go’s” because they’re not in our prices range. We find a few houses, Aaron checks out the keys, we log the address into the GPS and start out on our journey.

   We’ve already seen the first 3 houses in our price range. They were run down and in unsafe neighborhoods where we almost didn’t get out of the car to look at the inside for our own safety. So here we are, driving to the last house of the day. The houses start out decent in a nice neighborhood and then the GPS says “Turn Right”. In a matter of seconds the neighborhood takes a turn for the worst! We passed by cars that looked like they were striped of parts, houses and cars with their windows smashed in and missing. Some houses were stripped of paint and shingles…everything!

    As we continue towards the house I start sliding down, shrinking into the passenger seat wanting to cry, but yet too afraid we’ll get shot just for driving by some of these houses that all I can do is hold my breath as we pass. Aaron and I decide not to get out, it’s not even worth looking at the inside because neither of us would feel safe living in this area. Our hopes get pretty low..
 
     As we head away from the bad neighborhood and back to the land of the living to grab some lunch, Aaron's phone rings. He asks me to answer it since he’s driving…

 “Hello?” I answered.
 “Hi, I’m looking for Mr. or Mrs. Henry?”
 “I’m Mrs. Henry.”
 “Mrs. Henry, I’m with Fort Sill Housing Authority. You’re number one on the housing list and I’m calling to offer you a house on post.”
**SHOCK, DISBELIEF, RELIEF…All rush over me at once**
 “Really?!” I skeptically, yet excitedly asked.
 “Yes ma’am, we currently have a house available for you and would like to set up a time for you to view it.”


    God’s surprise blessing!!

    Just when I was discouraged beyond belief at the only houses in our price range, because of the low Basic Housing Allowance Fort Sill has, we reached the top of the on-post Wait List! Talk about answered prayers!!

     Sadly, we had to decline due to our lease. However, we would still be #1 at the top of the list, they would just pass us up until our lease came up. We were told they would call back at the end of May. Praise God! Our disappointing house search was over and we were excited that we would finally be able to live on post.

 FAST FORWARD TO JUNE: 

   We got called back about housing and set up an appointment for June 6th to see the house. They said it would be a 3 bedroom 2 bath and I was very excited! I, of course, was hoping for the newer modeled, upstairs neighborhoods, but Aaron told me not to get my hopes up. I still did though because I had been praying for our on-post house, for when we moved to Oklahoma, even before I left to go meet Aaron in New York in 2010.

 June 6th.
        We arrive at the housing office. This young guy, very nicely dressed and talking on the phone, waved us to have a seat. The office was very nice and had a friendly environment. We were offered cookies, coffee and fresh lemonade. We both politely declined. We were really anxious to know what house we were going to be offered.

    The guy had someone cover the front so he could take us to the house. He drove a really nice, grey, new-looking sports car. We followed him for what seemed like FOREVER, since the speed limit was only 15, and it was at least a 10 minute drive away from the housing office. He turned into the nice E6-E8 housing that they just started building. When we turned our cars onto a fresh, smooth, tar road, leading us through the newly built, two story homes with bright beautiful colors. One beautiful, big house after another slowly passed by. We grew more anxious by the second!

    Then, just like our house searches in Lawton, the black smooth, tar road STOPPED!

    We began a bumpy journey to another neighborhood. Our neighborhood. Waaay past the newly built E6-E8 housing. As we bumped and slowed, to miss huge pot holes, my heart started to sink. Every time that grey sports car started to slow (usually just to miss another pot hole), I cringed as I saw the neighborhood we were heading towards.

    I saw these ancient-looking, tiny, old houses with chipped paint, or faded paint…in major need of a new coat of paint. These houses, built back in the 50s, were part of the neighborhood we were being offered. Then the newly looking, grey sports car pulled into the driveway. It was looking very out of place in this neighborhood of “old”.

    The out of place sports car pulls into the driveway of a “puke green” colored house (or so that was my initial impression of the color). I almost cried right then and there. We walk inside and everything seemed to shrink! We were looking at a 3 bedroom, 1 bath house that only by some act of God had managed to keep standing this long!

     Needless to say with my high hopes, the only positives I could see out of this house were: 1. The tub was clean; 2. The stove was newer than our last; 3. There was a carport; 4. The fridge was so much more spacious than our last, and 5. There was carpet.

    We walked through the house and the first thought I had was “We have way too much stuff, it’s not all going to fit!”

     The first two bedrooms were tiny. When I walked into the “master bedroom,” I was so overwhelmed. Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to pour on through. Aaron and I couldn’t see any way that our bedroom suite would fit in there. We could barely imagine our queen size bed fitting, let alone the dresser. The nicely dressed, sports car driving, housing guy suggested we could make one room into our “changing room.” We could put the dresser in one room along with all our clothes (since the “master” bedroom closet looked too tiny to hold but a couple of shirts).

     I’m sure the guy saw the disappointment on my face. When he noticed Aaron’s Sargent rank he made a remark about it being strange we were assigned this house because “these older houses are usually for the fresh out of basic or first duty station, lower ranking soldiers.” After saying that, he then suggested we talk to housing to see if they could do anything for us.

 We attempted to talk to someone at housing but they said that what we saw was the only one available. We mentioned that we had initially been told we would be getting a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, but they still insisted there was nothing they could do- even at the exact time, a lady one cubicle over was calling another wait list person letting them know there was a house available for them. (“There’s nothing else available” mmmmhmmm…). Our only option would be if we declined the house and wait again for another house to open up, which would put us back on the waiting list but that didn’t guarantee us anything by August.

     We had 24 hours to accept or decline. The clock was NOT my friend! I needed time to think and pray about it and I only had a day to decide…Well, we all know, God doesn’t work on our timeline….

Aaron had to go back to work that afternoon so we weren’t able to talk things out until he got home. We went back and forth with pros and cons. I admit I shed more than a few tears over our situation. After going over everything over and over again, Aaron was falling asleep and states “we should just take it”, and not two seconds later he was sound asleep. (HA!)

 Needless to say, with so much on my mind, I couldn’t sleep. I spend the whole night up, until 4 a.m. researching good storage ideas and different ways to make rooms look more spacious, painting ideas…anything to give me a way to turn this house that was offered to us into something bearable for me to come home every day.

 The next morning we went back to see it once more, and there were bunnies in our front yard. What a sweet surprise! We ended up telling the nicely dressed housing guy that we would accept it, and began the hour and half process of signing the lease and going over the rules and such. After that we went to transportation and set up a date for them to come pack and move us to our new house. (I’m very thankful the Army paid for that!)

  ARRIVE AT TODAY:

    The movers came and went and boxes filled our on-post house. The day after everything was moved in, I got all the important things unpacked such as the living room stuff and the kitchen stuff so that by our 2nd night we were able to have a home-cooked meal and watch a movie.

(pic of me getting ready to start unpacking boxes)

(Got the whole kitchen unpacked and organized (day 1) and was able to have a home cooked meal)

     I wasn’t happy about our house and the fact that (as Aaron says) “[He’s] a Sergeant living in a Private’s house”, I had expected a better house due to his rank and the fact he deserves better. He’s deployed before and I think he’s earned a nice house. HOWEVER, in all honesty, I am so thankful to have a roof over our heads and now that we’re moved in I actually LOVE this house. Home is where the heart is, and as long as Aaron is by my side, I’m happy.

A surprise blessing is that we were able to arrange our furniture to fit all in our room, the bed and the dresser!! (God’s little blessings, just when you need it!!)

I’m thankful for the soft carpet, after a year of hard wood floors my feet sure are happier! It is the perfect house for us and I now have to eat all my negative comments about it.

   God really showed me a lesson in this whole roller coaster ride of housing dilemmas. He showed me how materialistic I’ve become. Like a slap in the face I realized it and very quickly have tried to change that attitude. I kept pointing out all the bad, all the while, my other half would try and give me 2 positives for every negative. Thank goodness I married “Mr. Positive”!

   With that slap in the face, God showed me my answered prayer…The prayer I prayed back in 2010 before going to New York, the prayer I prayed in New York all the way up till we moved, the prayer I prayed in New York all the way up till we moved to Oklahoma, up till the day we signed the lease on this on-post house. He answered my prayer for a good home that Aaron and I could find. And, ironically, we have a green house. My favorite color is green, I can’t help but laugh at God’s sense of humor. It may not be the house I dreamed of, but it’s the house God wants us in for whatever reason . And he even provided the one in my favorite color (I no longer think it looks puke green ha-ha). I’m now ready to let go of my materialistic attitude and enjoy what I have, with the man I love by my side!

 I read in a devotion something that helped change my attitude and help me see the light…

                             Jeremiah 29:5-7
Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters;…Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.


    Through this verse, I see that the Lord had spoken through a prophet and told the people to live as through their situation is permanent, not temporary.

    When we were discussing taking the house on post or not, I remember saying “As long as it’s just temporary!” But now, this is my new goal…To settle in for the long haul in this perfect house God has provided for me and Aaron. We are so blessed that God provided a house for us (and I am thankful and do feel blessed that the Army provides housing for us). I know God has a plan and reason he wants us living in this exact house and I’m looking forward to unraveling the details of that plan.

P.S. Have i mentioned how much i LOVE THIS HOUSE?! :)

Update on May

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Psalm 118:29 What an exciting month! May has truly been a month to celebrate! May 1st - Aaron got promoted to Sergeant! I was able to be there and got to change his specialist patches to his new NCO rank of Sergeant! He got three different frames with the NCO creed and documents showing he's now a Sergeant. It was definitely a proud moment for him and for me getting to be there too. It's a dark photo but here he is...all promoted. Along with another guy who got promoted to specialist.

We had car trouble the next day. We ended up having to put almost $800 into getting it fixed, along with the towing and other things. But the blessing in all this was, thanks to the Dave Ramsey Cash Flow Plan that Aaron started using since we got married, we had enough money put away in our "emergency fund" that we didn't have to worry about where any of the money would come from. There was no stress. My initial reaction, instead of a stressed and worried heart, i had a thankful heart, and was praising God for providing the financial stability in our lives for "rainy days" like that. May 16th- Aaron's first softball game. Although his team "cold beer" didn't win their first game. It was fun. A new friend and i ended up making "wives" shirts to support our guys playing. And she also helped me make the team shirts for the guys. It was definitely a fun project. I've been blessed to find yet another army wife friend who, is out of school for the summer so we are going to be able to spend some time together! We sit together in our awesome shirts to support the team during the games. Here's mine and Aaron's shirts...

Memorial Day Weekend Remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom. Thanking God for the safety of my husband and allowing him to be here this year with me during this memorial day. It's a proud day for a soldier's wife, however, a sad day too...remembering that some families are left without their family member, husband, son, or daughter thanks to their sacrifice to our country for our freedom

On a lighter note, this was my first official weekend off work. I am now going back to part time at work so i can have more time to be at home and hopefully start school in the fall. So this past weekend I went to go have a sister's weekend in Dallas with Amber. Aaron and a friend of his came along too. We all went to the Rangers game, which they WON!! And we just hung out all weekend, chilling, riding with the windows down singing at the top of our lungs, talking playing kinect and i even visited her amazing church on Sunday. It was a long but fun weekend. It was great to see my sister and see her new home, where she works, where she lives, where she worships. She has a beautiful apartment and im so proud of how she's made a new life for herself in the big "D".

Last but not least May 30th Aaron went before the board yesterday and ended up winning NCO of the month. Im definitely proud considering he had just been promoted to an NCO on the 1st this month and now he's recognized as the NCO of the month. I can see his dedication to his section and the Army and im proud that he's been taking up his new responsibilities and, as always, keeps putting his best effort in whatever he does. He continues to learn how to be a strong leader toward his soldiers.

Work At It With All Your Heart

Im so thankful for my job. I've been working here since October and in just 3 months time i've gained so much knowledge and experience working with victims of domestic violence. I've had my share of "cultural experiences" to deal with since each one of these clients are different in their own way.
The clients i work with all have one thing in common that i look up to...they all found a way out. They stood up for themselves (and maybe their children) and they say "no more!"
Although it can irritate me when those select few clients feel like they deserve everything handed to them with no effort from them at all, i have learned not to take their attitudes personally with the "give me, i deserve" personalities. I dearly appreciate those who are so thankful for the services they recieve and who don't try to slide by, they try hard to get everything in place to start over on their own.

3 months on the job and for the very first time since i've started working here, my Supervisor told me how much she appreciates the fact that i work weekends when no one really wants to work weekends. And she likes that i take initiative and go above and beyond when it comes to minor things that other people don't care about. It's nice to be encouraged, appreciated, and thanke for all that i've done and all that i do here. It also gave me a challenge to continue this work ethic, because people DO notice.

Before i got this "appreciative speech" from my supervisor, the past week the Client Advocates (which is what i am) were asked to clean the unoccupied roms. As much as i hate cleaning, i found myself working on this one room for 4 whole hours, cleaning it to my standards and above. I found myself thinking "if i had to stay here, how would i want this room to look" Now these rooms we have are most definitely worn and are not even close to a room at the Hilton, but i hope that my hard work and dedication to cleaning the rooms (although that was definitely not in my job description when i signed up for this job) will maybe make the next person feel more relaxed, and comfortable and know they're in a safe place.
My determination to clean really good was also from my trying to clean as a "servant" just like Jesus. Because He came to Serve not to be served.

So what about you? Whether a stay at home mom, a soldier in a war or a spouse working outside of the home...Are you serving others to the best of your ability? Are you working as if Jesus were inspecting you or working with you to get the job done in His highest standard. It does take time, energy, and effort, but i assure you it's well worth it. And people do notice even if they don't voice it (or if it takes them a whole 3 months to say ;) lol)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord, not for men.
-Colossians 3:23