And The Family Comes
It’s officially housewarming weekend! Hal and I have spent a lot of time and effort trying to get this house in order and decorated. We’ve even gone as far as to put up some of our Christmas decorations. We haven’t put up our exterior decorations or our mantle yet. We had to have the marble hearth in front of the fireplace replaced so we have to wait a couple days for the glue to set up and then to have it all recaulked.
Anyway, I digress. I’m so excited to have both our families here in Myrtle Beach with us for the weekend. It’ll be the first time in months that I have been able to see my entire family so I am thrilled to have several days with them. Even with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up it still doesn’t guarantee that we will get to see each other. Now that my brother is married he has to split time with both sets of parents too. So needless to say I can’t wait for them to get here.
I will be leaving on Monday afternoon to head to Spartanburg for the week of Thanksgiving. Hal will be coming down on Wednesday afternoon. I won’t be blogging much this next week so I wish you all a blessed week as we celebrate and appreciate all that we have been given…the joy of life, family, friends, and on-and-on the list goes. Blessings to you.
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It’s Back to School I Go
That’s right, as of today, I am officially back in school. I am taking online classes at the University of Phoenix Online. And hopefully I will receive my Masters in about 3-5 years. As I logged on for the first time today I felt a mix of excitement and terror! In the past I had considered going back to school but was always stopped by a couple of things….time and money. I couldn’t figure out how in the world I was going to be able to work full-time, spend time with my husband, AND take on a full course load. The beauty of this program is that it’s totally asynchronous. This means that I can go to class whenever I have the time. I only have to make sure that I attend class at least 4 days of a 7 day week. So if I have some down-time between meetings for my job I can take a seat and attend class or if I want to do it first thing in the morning or at night I can. I love that it is so flexible. And as far as money goes, I took out student loans that will cover all my expenses, including books. As much as I hate the idea of more debt, I know that it will be worth it.
Anyway, so this week I have 3 assignments plus a Graduate Paper that explains why I want to pursue this degree….in APA format. Ugh! Why can’t there just be one standardized format like MLA. All I know is that this is going to be a lot of hard work. Please pray that I will stay committed and focused on the goal!
So on this first day of being back at school I wanted to pay tribute to my daddy’s way of getting me ready for my first day of school while I was growing up. He would bang on the door and sing as loudly as he could….
“School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic
Dance to the tune of a hickory stick” (this was sometimes accompanied by the sound of him cracking his belt during the hickory stick part…gotta love his sound effects)
I only have one question. Hey Dad! Where’s my song?
Headed Where?
Well, I think Hal and I have finally gotten to that point where we are really tired of looking for a church to call home. We’ve been to several now and can’t seem to find a fit anywhere, and we are both becoming really discouraged. In fact, we visited a church today where we were so disrespected and so brokenhearted that it was unbelievable. Let’s just say that apparently there are assigned seats at this church, and being guests we were not aware of said assigned seating and were told so by a “watchdog” of sorts. We scooted down to allow for those people, but apparently that wasn’t quite good enough. And she didn’t stop at just telling us, she told everyone around us that we were sitting in someone else’s seats. So frustrating and saddening.
What if Hal and I had been unbelievers? What if that had been the first church we had ever been to and that was our first experience? It broke my heart (and made me angry) that a person that’s searching for the Lord would find gatekeepers instead, people that could unintentionally cause a person to stray away again. I literally sat praying the whole church service that the Lord would send out compassion and grace in abundance over His people so that we would scatter that around ourselves. That we would show love when it’s easier to show arrogance. That we would show respect when it’s easier to be disrespectful. In that very service I repented of my own arrogance and disdain and critical spirit. I pray that others would examine their hearts as well and would be willing to move beyond our fleshly responses to life. It is my prayer that I would be the church to those around me and that the Lord would physically, mentally, and emotionally move me out of my own way and out of the way of others.
So although Hal and I are still unsure as to where the Lord has us headed here in Myrtle Beach I’m still confident of His presence in our lives and know that He is guiding every step that we cannot see in front of us. I ask that you would pray for us: pray that we would not be discouraged, that we would soon find a group of believers to do life with (it’s been hard feeling like we’re on our own), and that we would radiate Christ no matter where we are or what we’re doing. And lastly, that the church would get out of their own way so that people may readily be able to experience the Lord. Thanks, my friends.
Some Updates
There have been so many things going on in the Weber house lately. We’re slowly started to get used to this being our home. I still occassionally feel like this house is not ours, maybe after making that first mortgage payment it will seem real. It’s very surreal. It’s been nice to start putting our stamp on it and planning for how we’re turning it into our home. Hal will be painting while he is on Christmas break to get rid of all the white. Because we bought a newly built home our wall color options were white, white, or white. 
Hal and I had a great day today. I got to sleep in and catch up on some much needed rest. While Hal was working in the garage I worked on some laundry. We headed out to see our first movie in a theater in quite some time! We saw The Secret Life of Bees. I’d read the book and was interested as to how it would compare…as always the book was much better, but it was still a good movie and I’d totally recommend it. After the movie we went to dinner at Five Guys. They have some of the best burgers and fries of anywhere I’ve been! It’s so good. I love date nights with Hal because we always have a good time together and I truly enjoy the fact that we still act like newleyweds.
We put our Christmas tree up this week and will start decorating the house this weekend. Because we’re going to be on the road so much during Thanksgiving and Christmas we wanted to go ahead and start ringing in the holidays. One of my favorite things to do each year (since Hal and I got married) is to purchase an ornament making kit. Two years ago it was beaded icicles, last year it was clear beaded snowflakes, and this year it is blue beaded snowflakes. I’m on a blue kick this year. So last night I made 8 ornaments for the tree this year. I also want to make some of those cinnamon ornaments. I remember making them with my mom when I was a kid. And they’re so easy to make, just a little craft glue, cinnamon, and applesauce.
I’m also gearing up for a Housewarming Party. Hal and I invited both our immediate families to come spend the weekend with us. It will be so nice to show off our new home and spend some time with everyone together. So this week I will be doing some MAJOR cleaning and grocery shopping and planning a list of some things for them to do while they’re here. Let’s face it, we’re in Myrtle Beach and it is totally geared to the tourist so they should have plenty of things to do! Once the family leaves on Sunday Hal and I have an appointment to work on our Christmas gifts for the parents.
I am also starting my online classes for my Masters this week. Tuesday, to be exact. I’m a little intimidated and a lot excited. My program will take 3-5 years but it will certainly be worth it in the end. This first class is only 3 weeks so it’ll wrap up the first week of December.
Hal and I are also embarking on a new and exciting adventure in our journey together. We’re praying hard that the Lord would see us through and bless us in this area. It’s been an area in which we have struggled in the past, but we feel that now is the time to move forward again. If you really want to know what I’m talking about you can email me to ask (sarahhweber@gmail.com).
Anyway, so that’s the latest happenings in our house. Please be praying for us as we move forward into these new adventures.
I’ve Been Awarded…
My other namesake, Sara Thompson, has sweetly awarded me the Kreativ Blogger award! How exciting! I’ve never won a blogging award before so this is pretty awesome! When I started this blog a year and a half ago it was with the sole purpose of sharing my life. It morphed into a cathartic means for venting, sharing my experiences and goals, and hopefully honoring the Lord as I shared. As of late, this blog has been an update for all those I left behind when I moved. Thanks for reading and following this blog. I love being able to stay connected with all of you, my friends. Thanks Sara!
Before I pass this on to 6 other blog friends, I will also share 6 random things about me:
- I don’t have any hobbies. I know that sounds insane, but I really don’t. It’s not that I don’t want to have a hobby I just don’t have one.
- I am usually quite introverted. I prefer to observe people and listen rather than talk nonstop. I think it’s because I find that other people are typically more quick-witted and have better stories. I have my moments of extreme extrovertism (is that a word?) but I am more often than not happy to sit back and take in the world around me. I find this fascinating since it’s my job to daily work with the public to brand and market our business.
- I hit Hal and ran away from him when he proposed. I thought he was joking. Obviously he wasn’t since we’ve now been married for 2.5 years.
- From the day we moved into our new house, I had 95% of my house unpacked and in place by the end of that weekend. That’s my Type A personality rearing it’s ugly head. Everything has to be done in whatever time I have allotted for it. Since all I had was a weekend, it had to be done that weekend.
- I used to eat at Chick-fil-A multiple times each week prior to working as the Area Marketing Director for all the Myrtle Beach CFA’s. Now, I might eat there once a week. Why, you ask? Because I eat it ALL THE TIME!!! I love the food…that hasn’t changed, it’s as awesome as ever. But it comes down to the too much of a good thing mentality. Hopefully I’ll be back to eating there multiple times a week soon after my brief hiatus.
- I’m going back to school to get my Masters. Furthering my education is important to me. So now I am juggling my full time job with CFA on top of school. Fortunately my degree will be earned online so it’s much more flexible.
Tournament Updates
It has been an incredibly long and fulfilling week! I have probably worked about 72+ hours this week alone on Chick-fil-A’s 2nd Annual Charity Softball Tournament. As the Area Marketing Director I was responsible for all the logistics and planning for the sponsor dinner on Thursday night as well as for the tournament on Friday and Saturday. After much planning, decorating, implementing, and delegating and stressing, it all wrapped up into an awesome weekend!
This was the raffle table we set up. Every penny earned from the raffle tickets went to our charity, Fostering Hope. This was primarily where I spent my time over the weekend. After Thursday’s sponsor dinner my main job after that was just to make sure this was set up and run properly and delegate our other CFA representatives to take care of some of the other aspects.
I have some big-time thank you shout-outs! Thank you to our sponsors, without which this event could not have been the success it was! Thank you to our teams who came out to play, have fun, and benefit an amazing charity with their team registration fees. Huge thanks to Tim and Bobby at the Ripken Experience for working so hard to make sure the tournament portion of this weekend went so smoothly! And to the amazing team of folks I have the privelege of working with…I couldn’t have made it work without you. Because of all these people we were able to give Fostering Hope a check for $7,500!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am looking forward to next year’s tournament….after a nice vacation of course.
Please enjoy a few pics of the weekend.
Yes, that’s me after a very long week looking very tired…and being filmed for TV. EEk. Oh well. And that’s Tabby, one of the founders and operator of Fostering Hope. I learned a lot about softball…more than I ever wanted to, but I was also reminded about how good it is to give back to your community. What a great weekend! Thanks for all your prayers.
Pray For Our New President
I’ll be the first to say that I didn’t stay up to watch the election results. Honestly, I simply spent the latter part of my night in prayer that the Lord would remind me that He is not surprised by the outcome of any election, He is not fearful of the results, He has numbered every step…so why should I be afraid. That’s not to say that I wasn’t VERY nervous when I found out that Obama had won the Presidency. I am still nervous. Many of his policies go against my own personal belief system.
Despite that, we need to rally behind this man that has been set before us as our next Commander in Chief and pray for him. Just as we would if McCain had been voted the President. Pray that he surrounds himself with wise counsel. Pray that he himself would be wise. Pray that he would lead this country with integrity and grace. Supporting him in prayer does not mean that you have to agree with him. But as stewards of the Lord here on earth we are required to show him respect. Instead of bashing him, please consider how the Lord would expect us to respond.
This song has been glued in my head most of the morning. It’s funny because I haven’t heard this song in years (since I started attending CRCC in Greenville), which makes it all the more poignant today.
Because He lives, all fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
and life is worth the living
A Not-So-Short Drive
After a very LONG day of working and driving around running errands today Hal and I decided that I deserved a break from work. We decided to head into Florence to go to the Hobby Lobby. I love Hobby Lobby and one of the first things I noticed after I moved here was that there was not one in Myrtle Beach. EEK! I love the crafty stuff, the metal work, the holiday stuff, etc. Those are the kinds of stores that make me happy.
Anyway, after a not-so-short 30 minute drive we finally found the Hobby Lobby. Since we had the blessing of receiving our earnest money back at closing we were able to pay on some bills AND get an artificial Christmas tree!!! I really enjoy the smell of real Christmas trees except that I am mildly allergic and end up with a snuffy nose for 5 weeks (yes we’re those people that put up our tree during Thanksgiving weekend). With purchasing our new home I was anticipating not being able to buy the artificial tree….which was kinda sad. However, I did have the option of adopting my mom’s “charlie brown tree”. A few years ago the “Hill” clan was sitting around the living room sharing stories and enjoying Christmas Eve together when all of a sudden there was a loud CRASH! My mom’s 20 year old artificial tree had finally bitten the dust….quite literally. My sweet dad ended up sautering the metal to a stand of sorts, which was set atop concrete blocks so that the tree would be 6 ft instead of 3 ft. Haha. Anyway, since my parents bought a new tree I had told my mom to bring it up to me so that at least I would have a tree this Christmas. I was so excited to find we had extra money so I could get a NEW tree.
So we finally got to the store and I found the PERFECT tree…it’s a 7.5 foot Frasier Fir (w/lights). Even better we got it 30% off. We got a $271 tree for $190!!! Because of the sale we also ended up getting some pretty garland for our new mantle, new ornaments, and battery powered candles for our windows (all those were 50% off). Our total bill ended up being $50 less than what would have been the original amount of the tree!! It was so great. And it was so nice to get out and not think about work for a couple hours. Needless to say it was a long, BORING drive, but well worth it. Here’s the flyer for this week’s sales at Hobby Lobby…you should totally go.
