--Korey and Crystal Henry New Blog--

Our New Blog --
We can't keep kchollrah.blogspot.com forever since we aren't Hollrahs anymore.

Here's our NEW BLOG!

The Henrys

Korey and I had decided to change our last name and started the process this summer. If you didn't know the story, here's a small breakdown.  Korey doesn't know his birth father and that's the name that he had for 23 years. As Korey has thought about his future as a pastor, he realized he didn't want to create a legacy, write books, or be known as Korey Hollrah - his Mother's maiden name is Henry. This is the family name that he is connected to and loved and supported by. Because of this and Korey's desire to build a legacy... we will change our names to represent a family of love and support. Today we had our court hearing here Norman and walked out of there as Korey and Crystal Henry. Now there is a list of many many things we have to change our names through and one of those happens to be this blog. 

The world now has 2 more Henrys and 2 less Hollrahs. 

Glorifying Christ as a Henry....

Class of 2010

When you first step foot onto the beautiful campus of The University of Oklahoma, you are usually a confused, excited, anxious young adult that just completed 13 years of mandatory school. Now, you are most likely choosing (on your own) to continue school for 4 more years to get a bachelor's degree in some sort of area that you are hopefully interested enough in that you enjoy some of the classes. They even give you a shirt that first year that says "University of Oklahoma Class of '10." So from this shirt, they assume you'll graduate in 4 years. They also hand out free shirts that say "Think 15". This is to help you get in the mindset of taking at least 15 hours a semester to graduate in 4 years. However, I was never prepared by anyone or any program to know for sure what I wanted to major in. So of course, after a full year and 30 credit hours later, I changed my major. I have completely enjoyed the past 3 & 1/2 years in my education classes and that leads to my exciting statement: I am graduating in December! (It's still Class of '10)  

This semester is cramming a lot it. I have two field experiences. One is at an inner-city elementary in OKC and one is in a suburban elementary in Norman. The two are very same and different, but I am learning things from them both. Organizing the hours I need to observe and juggling homework and class is quite a task, but I truly enjoy having a schedule and being in a routine. I also will be substitute teaching again this semester. I'm excited to sub for the people I know, I feel that subbing in the same classroom over time helps a lot. 

I'm back to cleaning the offices and working for my mom and I'm done taking my antibiotic.
Korey's flag football started this week as well. It's football time in Oklahoma and I can wear pants that button. 


Life is finally normal again. 


As soon as life is normal, as soon as you can breathe and you are comfortable with all aspects of what God has placed in front of you - that's usually when he changes things up!  So as much as I say life is normal again... well He's decided to change things up. Never a dull moment. 


In normalcy, dull moments, and the rare times they come around - My chief end will be to glorify the One that died to set me free. 

Rainy Days = Hot Chocolate w/ Marshmallows

Glorifying God even when drinking hot chocolate...

Wordle

I had a freaking blast today in my technology class! I learned how to make a wordle! So amazing! You can make it off of a blog. So I typed in this blog address and it made this wordle. The bigger words in the wordle are words used more frequently in the blog. It's just an awesome site and I really enjoyed it.

glorify GOD in your wordles... :) He is one of my bigger words!

3 Round

Friday night we had Game Night. Something that I really enjoy hosting on a regular basis. As I was getting the house ready for guests and game space, I found out that we were only going to have maybe 4 or 5 guests. Well Charades and Catch Phrase are great, great games, but with only 4 or 5 people.. it's just not AS fun as it could be!! So on the basis that game night could be a dud... I thought about canceling or readjusting game night. We planned for maybe a little bit of games and then maybe a group outing to the movies. Then some great friends showed up that I wasn't for sure were coming! A couple more were able to show up sooner than originally planned and that equals a fantastic game night with 10 people!


As we considered Catch Phrase or Charades...  Mary Rachel and Andrew mentioned this game called 3 Round. 3 Round is amazing --- You can play with groups of 2,3, or 4, but you want more than 2 teams. Then each person writes down 3 nouns and puts them in a bowl. 
Round 1. A team starts. One person from the team has 30 seconds to try and go through as many words as possible from the bowl in Catch Phrase format (saying anything other than the word on the paper and no motions to get your team to guess it). Once 30 seconds is up, you keep the words your teams guessed and the next team goes. You continue this (switching players when your teams goes again) until all the words are out of the bowl. Tally up the scores for each time and then put all the words back in the bowl. Round 2. Same process with same words. Instead of Catch Phrase format, you are only allowed to describe the word with ONE WORD. Go around until all words are out of bowl again. Tally up your scores and put all the words back in the bowl. Round 3. CHARADES TIME! Same process, but no words and only motions!


-- The most Fantastic Game Night Ever! It was EPIC! We hope to have many more!

What a Week!

This past week has been a whirlwind for sure!

Tuesday morning I had the consult with the surgeon and scheduled the surgery for Thursday afternoon. Wednesday was full of getting life/school together before going under. Thursday came and after 4:45, I don't remember much! :) Now I'm on the road to recovery, able to sit and stand on my own and going to attempt class tonight. I am still very sore and slow. My body will take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to adjust to being gallbladderless and then my insides should start functioning normally. And oh golly gee am I glad to be sleeping in my bed again! Three nights on a couch in the same position gets old fast!

In the past week we signed some papers to move along in the name change process. Sooner or later we'll change to The Henrys! That kind of looks funny... I'll get used to it.

Monday, Korey started seminary! He and Jeff left at 4:30am Monday morning headed to Ft. Worth. They had a class at 8am and at noon (Old Testament and Elementary Greek). Korey loved it. He is really looking forward to this semester and I am so happy for him and proud of him!

Today, I start my last semester of undergrad! Yipee! I am really excited to be back in the swing of school. I really enjoy classes and routine and love the girls in my education sequence. It'll be a great last semester and I didn't really want to share it with my nasty inflamed gall bladder anyway!

I feel so blessed in this time of sickness and recovery. I really appreciate the thoughts, prayers, and company of everyone. Thank you!

May the Chief end of your new school year and in times of whirlwinds be to glorify the one and only (not OU) Christ! :)

Lookin' good... for who?

Korey and I recently had a conversation about why we wanted to be fit or eat right. Through the discussion we agreed that if your goal for working out or eating healthy is to look "hott" or "more attractive" or "feel better - then those goals are selfish and misguided.

Yes it is okay to want to be healthy, but you should want that for the sake of taking care of the temple that God has given you. A temple that is still rightfully His and His alone. God does not care what your physical body looks like, for he looks at the heart. (1Samuel 16:7) It's okay to be healthy and it's okay to want that, but the chief end should be to glorify Christ by up-keeping the temple He created. Then beauty and attractiveness to God come from what he sees in your heart.

Korey and I also covered how looking better and being in better shape could be to impress your spouse. After finishing Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney today, I realize she had a lot to say about outward and inward beauty and so does the Bible.  Mahaney mentions that it is okay to be beautiful to our husbands, and to our husbands alone. This supports the point that Korey and I had made in discussion. You shouldn't workout to look better than that girl down the street, or to look nice for that job interview with Mr. BossMan. If not solely to glorify the God of your body, looking better should only be for the pleasure and eyes of your spouse. And if you are to be looking better you need to be available to your spouse. (Don't be a tease!) The Song of Solomon is filled with the expression and admiration of each spouse's beauty.  Our husbands, were attracted to us for a reason when we first met, and it's good to try and keep up with that. Later, Mahaney mentions scripture from Peter which reminds us that outward appearances aren't the only way to show beauty, but also our attitude and character.

1 Peter 3:3-5 "Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands.."

The more I want to mention things - the more I think you should read this book!

 It was loaded with scripture and really opened my heart to better serve and love the Lord through serving and loving my husband, Korey. 

Chief end of eating healthier may be to feel better, but I am keeping my eye on Christ. I want to glorify Him. To glorify Him, I need a healthy temple to live in and loving heart to serve with. 

Adios Bladder of Gall

The past two weeks have been filled with pain, cramping and weakness along with way to much quality time in my bathroom. To spare you further details that I'm sure you would like to bypass - I'll just explain the past few days. I had tests Monday morning to see my gall bladder and it's ability to function. The ultrasound didn't show any abnormalities so I was then sent to radiology.  There, I had hydroxy iminodiacetic acid pumped into my veins. I then laid on a table under a huge radioactive camera for an hour. After an hour, they hooked up a drip to my IV of something to trigger my gall bladder into functioning. Over the next 30 minutes, we were suppose to see my gall bladder shrink and/or completely disappear on the screen. It didn't really change at all - but still had to wait for the results to be analyzed. Got the call today saying - "Your gall bladder is no good and we're going to have to take it out."

 It's a tiny booger, but causing a lot of issues!!

So now I am waiting for the call to schedule the surgery. I'm ready to feel better again - but haven't had surgery like this before. It's a simple procedure and should be a short recovery - but surgery is surgery and Grey's Anatomy probably doesn't help soothe my mind (Little Grey's Mom dies from the hiccups).

God is so powerful and so perfect in his timing. Summer school ended on July 23. I had my first "gall bladder attack" on July 25 (I didn't know that's what it was at the time). I've been feeling nasty since then, but haven't really had anything big going on. I've been working for my Mom every two weeks doing payroll and still cleaning the offices, but haven't had anything else till school starts the 23rd. I've recently listened to a sermon where the pastor mentioned that it's okay to pray for the little things, too. This is a little thing, but I thank God for the timing in this medical issue. On top of school starting the 23rd, Korey is going part time at ATT on Sept 1. This means that I am switching insurance from ATT's to OU's and well OU's doesn't quite cover as much as ATT's. There are many things that God works out perfectly... actually - all things he works out perfectly. I just recognized this one and truly appreciate it and thank Him for it.

I'm ready for school to start and I am ready for some regular routine in my life. While I wait for surgery, I get to try to have a no-fat or low-fat diet. Fatty foods are what cause the gall bladder to work and therefore cause me pain and yuckness. Finding no-fat is kind of hard... low fat is easier, but still difficult. It's all been an interesting whirlwind and while being sick and on my route of getting better - I will aim for the chief end of glorifying Christ above all.

Homemaker

So summer school is over and the fall semester will begin August 23 - a few weeks of nothing. Obviously my life won't be just nothing the next few weeks, but it is slightly empty feeling. I am getting a lot done around the house and actually staying up with dishes, laundry and cleaning. I am fulfilling my wifely duties better than ever this week!

Today I got to help my best friend Emily Wilkins paint in her new house and move some stuff in. Doing things like that really confirms the adultness of Korey and I's life and how much we have all grown up over the past year and half. I am happy for Emily and Levi as they have become homeowners!

As this week has dragged by slowly and seemingly empty, I realize how much next week will pick up. Korey's car was hit by a FedEx truck in the AT&T parking lot a week before we went on vacation and we are just getting able to take it to the body shop on Tuesday this week. That will make us a one car family - giving me something to do - drive Korey to work! :)  Some quality car time is in our future! It's payroll time - so I'll be working at Mom's. The boy's mom I was tutoring for had a baby last week and she is ready for Tyler to start tutoring back up Wednesday. So a week of nothing to a week of many somethings.

When we went on our cruise, we accidently left a bag on the shuttle back to the parking lot our car was in. It has all the bathroom stuff in it - blow dryer, medicine, razors, etc. After a lot of confusion between UPS and FedEx (and our address getting communicated as 404 Feril 73701 when it's actually 424 Ferrill 73071 - at least they had my phone # right to call me) we should finally be getting it tomorrow!!!

I've recently been eyeing some sandals that I've wanted to purchase - they have a great cause similar to TOMS. They are called Ssekos. They are made by women in Uganda and the money goes towards furthering their education. I truly love organizations like this and feel that is a healthy way to fulfill my shoe desires.

Waldo has been driving Korey and I NUTS! He thinks biting is playing and he will get in these run modes were he just runs as fast as he can back and forth from the front door to the end of the kitchen and back. In this, he does drive by's. He will try to bite anything as he passes it, including: feet, hands, purses, SHOES.. anything. It's got to stop. A moment ago he ran across my computer in a scenic couch route. He's now punished to his cage early for the night with NO blanket!

May I bring glory to God through my dog. He truly brings anger out of Korey and me that I did not know we possessed. May we learn how to better handle that anger and realize - it's just a dog. Eek. Aren't dogs practice for children? haha..

Anyways, that's all for now and may the chief ends of helping friends move and disciplining our dog be to glorify Christ.

port holes and water slides

Korey and I just got back from our Carnival Cruise to Progresso and Cozumel, Mexico. We didn't take a vacation honeymoon last year because we didn't have enough time/money after the wedding. We thought we'd take a cruise over Christmas break and well that just didn't work out. In February, we planned a cruise for July and man are we glad we did!! We loved all of it and would recommend it and we would do it again!

We headed to Houston to stay at Uncle Bill's place before heading to Galveston. We went to an Astros v. Cardinals game (Cardinals won) and we enjoyed the great indoor ball field.

Uncle Bill and the Hollrahs at the Astros v. Cardinals game

Our Cruise was so fantastic! We loved the constant availability of food and really enjoyed our shore excursions - The Mayan Ruins in Progresso, Mexico and Sail, Snorkel & Beach Party in Cozumel, Mexico. 

Our bedroom, king size bed, and our port hole cubby!

Just laying out on the deck!

The fun slide!!! 

Korey racing Peyton - our 10 yr old little friend that we ran into many times while enjoying the slides!

Cruise Elegant Night - We wanted to be vacation elegant not prom elegant! 

Some Mayan Ruins at our shore excursion in Progresso - no sacrifices were made at this location. We didn't climb this one, but got to climb on some other ones.

After snorkeling, sailing, and then playing on the beach and water slides in the ocean. What a great day! On the sail out to the snorkel spot, I was sitting next to a wonderful lady that I got to talk to about teaching and future life as a minister's wife. It was truly a great conversation and a wonderful moment on a cruise full of people that were pretty much drinking their worries away. 

Our last night --- great sunset after a week of foggy/cloudy sunsets!

No rain the entire cruise - so thankful that we were able to enjoy the great weather and relaxation. And the chief end of our vacation was to glorify Christ and bring glory to His name while relaxing from work. 

good times and good music

Don't you just hate when a song plays on the radio that you haven't heard before and you're just so pumped to know who it's by... and then the DJ never says it?  Well Korey's iPhone has this app called Shazam! It's been on other phones before and is quite the magical little application. It listens to just about 15 seconds of the song and tells you the name of the song AND who it's by! So fantastic! So lately those great songs have repeatedly been by Train. Oh how I did not realize that this Drops of Jupiter singer was still around making great music that I thoroughly enjoy belting at the top of my lungs while driving. So if you are searching for some new tunes... check out Train: Marry Me; If It's Love; Hey, Soul Sister; I'm About to Come Alive, When I Look to the Sky, Meet Virginia, Calling All Angels, or any others. I'm sure they are all fantastic.

My everyday from 1-4pm summer class is OVER! Man it felt good to take that last test on June 30! I'm still doing observation and practicum hours at Educare, but that's so much more fun!!! I'm also still in an online class that has been pushed aside and now needs much attention! 

This past weekend was the 4th of July! It rained again. Last year it rained on the 4th as well. Korey and I haven't celebrated a lovely weather 4th as a married couple, but got to celebrate a fantastic 4th in Lake City, Colorado the summer we got engaged.  Korey and my dad drove the 14 hour drive from OKC to Lake City to see me for the weekend! It was a wonderful way to celebrate our nation's independence. Fireworks with mountains... is unbelievable! I am sad to see that I do not have any pictures of fireworks from that 4th. This year has been a time of change and growth as Korey and I have been growing closer as a married couple and my parents have reunited with my sober brother! We are so proud of him and love him so very much! Because of the rainy 4th weather, we went to dinner and bowling as family!

Kinda blurry/grainy from mom's phone - but here is Bubba and I at Pablano Grill.

As for our other family - Waldo - he's been doing pretty good. Loves to chew! Trying to keep him loaded with bones and toys, hoping that keeps him away from cell phones and remote controls (blankets, and baseball caps, too - Sorry Jeff!). A couple nights ago, Korey went to let Waldo back inside (from his chain tie out in the front yard) and came to realize that Waldo's collar was laying on the patio with no Waldo attached! YIKES! Black dog at 11:30pm --- WHERE'S WALDO?!?! Thankfully he came a running up to the door when Korey hollered for him! His collar's plastic buckle had broken! No bueno! Now he has a new big doggy collar and hopefully won't be turning into Houdini again anytime soon. He's gotten a lot bigger than we thought he would, but I think he's finally done growing! He still loves his sleep!

Korey and I have been preparing for our VACATION! We are just excited to be mandated to spend time with each other in a place where TV, cell phones, and internet connection will not be used by us and serious relaxation is a must! We will be going on a cruise (if a hurricane doesn't cancel it) next week! We are leaving Thursday after Korey gets off work and heading to Houston. There we will stay with my Uncle  Bill. Then we'll head to Galveston to the port of our FUN SHIP! 

Life surely has not seemed to slow down, even though it is summer time. We are very excited about our vacation and know that even while we are taking a break from work and our Norman lives, we will not be breaking from our work for the Lord. We will serve Him at all times in all places. If we did not serve him while on vacation, we would not be fearing our God. On vacation, our chief end will be to glorify Christ who died for us. 

one down & forever to go

Korey and I celebrated our ONE YEAR of marriage two weekends ago. It was such a fantastic day. We slept in - extremely late. Then had lunch at Ozzie's Diner - fantastic little place in the Norman Airport.

Then we let that yummy food settle for a bit by laying on the couch with the puppa before we went swimming! 

Then off to a great night starting with dinner at PF Chang's - only halted for a moment on 235-N by a cop pulling me over - but no worries - he only gave me a verbal warning! 

Had some tasty tuxedo cheesecake at my parents' house. It was the same kind we had at our wedding reception in OK.

Then over to Bricktown for a canal ride and a movie at Harkins. Lovely evening to celebrate one year down and forever to go of marriage!

The ABSOLUTE chief end of our marriage... is to glorify Christ -- for marriage is the greatest display of the gospel - Christ's love for his Church. 

Summer Sickness??

Last week was my first visit to Educare in Oklahoma City.  
"Oklahoma City Educare opened its doors in July 2009, to serve 200 disadvantaged children, ages birth to five years old, with year-round early childhood education programs. Educare Centers, throughout the nation, help young children grow up safe, healthy and eager to learn, providing the highest quality outcome-based learning environments for families and their children who are at-risk for school failure." 
The facility is just a breath of fresh air and a very encouraging, happy environment. The classroom that I was placed in is full of adorable loving faces that I'm excited to grow relationships with and observe their development over the rest of the summer. 

 After the wonderful visit to the childcare center, I got some sort of yucky sick. I was in line at the all wonderful Cafe Plaid with the Miss Amanda and just got so sweaty dizzy that I could not stand. This feeling continued uncomfortably in math class and the teacher let me leave early. I was sick the rest of that day (Wednesday) and Thursday, then woke up Friday feeling 200% better. Really don't know what it was - but it's gone.


Father's day was wonderful. We had a fishing cook out at Mom and Dad's in Yukon! Here's me and my Poppa on Father's Day! :) 

The Master's Degree is still up in the air. The experience that I had at Educare on Wednesday and the joy I get when babysitting has really pulled on my heart and directed me towards infants and toddlers over early elementary. I've always enjoyed babies and toddlers more than the "big kids" and so I'm thinking a Master's in Literacy is only going to help me get jobs with those "big kids". So I'm trying to figure out what Master's would help me with the babies. Any ideas please let me know!

June Summer school is almost OVER! Then I'll be down to two classes instead of 3! Looking forward to that! 

That's about all for now... nothing huge happening! 

Even when nothing big is going on, chief end of nothing huge, will be to glorify Christ. 

what a year does...

Korey and I have almost been married for a year. It truly has been the fastest flying enjoyable year I've lived thus far. I'd say our engagement was the longest year ever! Even though our anniversary isn't for another 2 weeks, I am going to tell you about some of the changes that have occurred over the past year in no particular order:

•  Korey and I moved in together and also moved in with a roommate. Our roommate has changed in the past couple weeks -- I enjoy having my friend Haley (jeff's girlfriend) conveniently at my house more often! 
• Korey got a new car back in August 2009 thanks to his parents' gracious help! He feels spoiled at times in his 2009 Honda Civic. He upgraded from a 1997 Chevy Monte Carlo that had no air conditioning and a few other glitches, dents, squeaks and mishaps that would have soon killed the Carlo if we hadn't gotten rid of it when we did. 
• Korey still works at AT&T but is now full time and we are reaping those benefits! 
• UFC has finalized charter membership and we are now not only fans of UFC, but members of University Fellowship Church of Norman, OK. 
• I have decided to go to Grad School ASAP and get my Master's (most likely in literacy education). 
• I-35 between Moore and Norman is finally finished!!!!
• I discovered that having "sides" of the room and bed are crucial to my happiness in our bedroom. The greater part of our first year consisted of me having the walk through the room to get to my side of the bed. Our bed is now wonderfully located right in front of you when you walk in the room and to the left is all Korey's and to the right is all mine. You can see the carpet on my side... Korey's side... that's another story!
• Korey and I will be becoming the Henry's instead of the Hollrah's in the upcoming months. Korey has his birth father's last name, but has never really met the guy. He's been raised by his great mother Melissa and her loving family - the Henry family (Melissa's maiden name). As Korey pondered the idea of making his life legacy, he realized he didn't want it in the name of a family he's never known, but in the name of the family that raised him (and has no boys left after him). He's had this thought for the past 5 years and decided after we were married and I changed my name to Hollrah... that he wanted to be a Henry. Complicated and confusing as it may seem... I support him in the desire to have a name with meaning and love behind it. I just want to always be his Mrs. what ever comes after that doesn't matter. But this is a heads up for that change!

• We went from being a family of two...

...to a family of three on December 1, 2010! We've had Waldo for the past 7 months, and he truly has become part of the family and has grown to be a great pup!

• On the Wedding Road Trip from Norman to Lake City, CO (take note of hair lengths) - June 2009

 

Me and Korey have both lost some hair over the year! I chopped off enough to donate to locks-of-love in October.. Korey was recently buzzed - June 12, 2010!

Well through all changes, through all growth and all learning - may the chief end be to glorify Christ!

Sweet Summer Time

This past week has been the start of homework and class everyday in the beautiful afternoons of summer in Norman, Oklahoma. It has also involved more jobs to make more money and of course pool-time when possible!

I am thankful for the seasons and the weather change. Just by the time I'm sick of it being cold, sick of wearing jeans and closed-toe shoes, it becomes warm enough to whip out some sandals or flip flops and put on a flowing elastic waist band skirt from Old Navy! I dislike humidity, however, fall will be here soon enough for the wind to blow leaves off the trees and the sky to seem faded and dark before the winter arrives with beautiful snow falling to the ground and no two snowflakes identical.

God has the power to make things happen just as we need it. He doesn't have to do that, he doesn't have to bring us comfort at all. He chooses to. He chooses to bless those who serve him. Just as much as he chooses to do that, I choose to love Korey every day. Sadly too often I will hear of divorces and hard breakups that happen because a partner had "fallen out of love". I feel so deeply for the lover on the other end that doesn't know what happened and never saw it coming. They loved unconditionally and whole heartedly... to get a door slammed in their face and their lives falling apart. You don't fall in or out of love. Love doesn't make you do anything. Love is a choice and not an emotion. It is something that God gave us and He allows us to express that love and feel that love, but ONLY if we choose to are we able to love someone. Every day I choose to love Korey. I choose to do things that I think will bring him happiness, and I choose to fold his underwear. I choose to cook him dinner, and choose to let him hog the bed. I choose to enjoy his sense of humor and I choose to serve him whole-heartedly. In every action, I must choose to love my husband, my best friend, and my soul mate. In no way have I fallen in love with him and in no way will I ever "fall out of love". I will always love my husband because I will always choose to love him as I have for the past 27 months.

Just as God chooses to change the weather and make the sun rise, my love for Korey will be as consistent as the sunrise and as much of a choice of mine as what I wear each day.
I charge you to choose to love the ones around you, especially your spouse. Make it a mental choice daily that you are going to love them. With God as your foundation and love as your choice - marriage will last as long as it's made to.

Chief end of summer and love... glofify Christ!

Furthering Education...

Korey finished his online intersession class last night. He is now officially done with undergrad! We had a little high fivin' and cheers in that moment! Haley came over and we had a wonderful meal together as roommates and friends. Then Haley and I watched and cheered on Jeff and Korey as they put together our wonderful new bookshelf for the living room (might I add - $25 from Wally World made of particle board and black poster board as the back drop). It is now safely fasten to the wall with the safety strap - but it still leans crooked. Oh well -- It looks lovely and will soon be filled with all of Korey and Jeff's books of theology, christianity, biblical commentary, and such. ((This will empty a bookshelf upstairs that will then be able to filled with Cat in the Hat, A Fine School, Alice the Fairy, and many more of my wonderful books of choice for the Early Childhood realm of people.))

I just accepted a tutoring job for the rest of the summer that I'm pretty stoked about. It's just 45 minutes twice a week to work on a 1st-going into 2nd grader's reading. We had to put together a service learning project for one of our classes last semester and my group did a "Rethink Reading" session at Roosevelt Elementary. One of the mom's that attended emailed us wanting someone to work with her boy on his reading through the summer -- and that's now ME :)  I feel this is a sign that I should look more into the graduate programs in literacy. I feel that a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Literacy would help make me more marketable, but also be something that I can apply immediately in my teaching (unlike the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies - which might not be as handy until I am able to be a principal).  I also feel that I understand and love Math so much that a Master's in that would just add some knowledge to something I enjoy already. I feel that I am able to explain math in different ways to children-- Literacy however, is a different story. Our Lit sequence at OU was wonderful and I learned a lot, but I feel that I could learn more and understand it better through getting a Master's in it. Reading is soo important to EVERYTHING else you will ever do. Now I'm looking into when I need to take the GRE (to get into a Grad School) on top of the other 2 tests I have left for getting my teaching certificate. Anyways-- I will get my Master's and I'll be tutoring this summer! -- 

Korey will be just a working boy this summer-- but he is very deserving of a break from school! He took 12 hours this past semester while working over 40 some weeks and still being a wonderful and loving husband. I'm excited for him to relax more this summer and I know he looks forward to starting classes at seminary this fall. 

We have VBS this week at UFC as well has a group coming from Indiana to serve our community with us. I hate that summer school had to start this week. It's going to prohibit me from being as involved as I desire, but I know that prayer for our UFC team and the team from Indiana is always needed and something I can do constantly in class or not! If you have any kiddos and want them to have a week of hearing God's word and enjoying Christ with the loving members of UFC - it's from 6-8 Monday-Friday. 

I should probably get to work on this intro to philosophy class... but even with homework - chief end... will be to glorify Christ.

Cha Cha Cha Changes...

As life goes on, changes are made. Sometimes changes are inevitable, unwanted, and uncontrollable. Some changes however, are by choice and made with much thought and prayer. As of today, we have a new roommate. Brandon (the murderer of our dear spider friend TIBS from a past post and dear friend of Korey's) has moved out and a another dear friend of Korey's has moved in. I know some people think it odd that we as a newlywed couple have a roommate. It has allowed us to live in a lovely home for a lot cheaper and have someone around when Waldo needs a dogsitter! :)  Our new roommate is currently cleaning his carpets and painting his walls to his wonderful 10 by 10 room that exists behind our kitchen in our lovely duplex. Jeff is a great guy and happens to be the friend that Korey will be driving to Fort Worth on Mondays with in the fall. It'll be helpful for him to be living in the same house when they have to awake at 4:30am to make it to their 8am class at Southwestern in Tejas!  Change is not always welcome, wanted, or chosen... but this change was a choice made with much thought and very much looked forward to. We are glad for Jeff to now be part of our home and I look forward to his girlfriend Haley being over here more! :)

Another change that is being made with much thought and prayer is my pursuit of a Masters. It just keeps coming up and keeps coming back to me. I have been looking at an online program through UTA (University of Texas @ Arlington). They have full masters programs online. I'm thinking that I could start this in the spring with a class or two while I am student teaching. Sounds crazy, but if it's possible, it sounds like the best idea. I've looked at some programs at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky, but they aren't online programs and could be more difficult to start after getting there on top of trying to find a job. If any one knows of any other Masters (in Education) options, feel free to let me know!

May God be the chief end of any changes...

Time...

I realize it's been a very long time since I have posted anything. I started to feel that the only people reading this were still getting personal updates and what was the point of updating in cyber form. I realize however, that even the closest of friends will go weeks without updates on certain things because of the fast pace of life. And so... I blog.

Over the past couple of weeks, with lack of school in my life, I've had time to read leisurely. The book I've been enjoying is by Carolyn Mahaney and it's called Feminine Appeal. It covers the godly attributes that God calls us to attain as wives and mothers in Titus 2. One of the many things I've learned is how we view time. We must gain self-control and enjoy all time. Don't sleep in late and not have enough time to do things through out the day and complain about time. Don't stay up late and then be tired the next day. Enjoy time. Use it wisely... it flies by but God has special intentions for each minute of our lives. Don't deprive your husbands of quality phileo love because you are wearing yourself out during the day and then you are at your worst when your husband is home. Use time wisely and love your husbands/kids with phileo love. Love them with an affectionate love that shows them you enjoy them and respect them.

So now that I see myself has having more "time," I have been reading, actually folding the laundry, cleaning/rearranging the house, and I have decided to start back up on the "blogging" thing.

Korey is finishing up his last class (Understanding Comics... what a 3 hr class... online) before he will be a college graduate. He will then start Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth on Mondays this fall. Him and his great friend Jeff will be driving down to take two classes on Mondays. They both feel called to attend Southern in Louisville, KY to finish their masters, but will start this fall in Fort Worth to get a jump start.

I've been looking at different jobs/early childhood opportunities for Louisville. Over 80% of their teachers have masters in Jefferson County (pretty much the entire city of Louisville). This is definitely another hint I feel that is guiding me to start my masters sooner than I had thought I would (the other is Korey's encouragement for me to get my masters). No matter what, it'll be an adventure...

I am taking 3 classes of summer school and working a little for my mom and still cleaning offices.  I am also going to be going to Zumba on Tuesday/Thursday nights. I've only been once, but it was a lot of fun and really is a workout!

Our pastor preached about missional living this past Sunday and Korey has been reading Radical by David Platt. Both of these things have been encouragement from God for Korey and I to radically abandon our own desires and former sinful lives to live for Christ and work for the gospel. This is definitely not a overnight change and something we definitely are praying for in our lives -- Selfless Radical Abandonment.

In all things, our chief end is to glorify Christ,

Crystal Hollrah (soon to be Henry - but I'll post about that later)