Family Vacation

I love having time off... it's so great.... You get to spend time with your family traveling, cleaning the house, and picking up after people.

Well, my family (Ryan, me, my mom, dad, sis, and brother) took a trip to Ohio to see my mom and dads' side of the family (that's where they're from). And man, it was the longest five days I've ever had.

We left at 6 p.m from Hinesville and drove (all of us in a van) to Atlanta (about 3 hours away) and found a hotel to stay in. We had a plane flight at 11 a.m the next morning. So, we bundled into two rooms and then wisked away to the Airport. I hate huge airports by the way. They are way too busy and the people aren't as friendly. Well, needless to say we arrived in Ohio without any bumps or bruises but didn't know if we had a minivan rented or two cars (that would be fun trying to figure out our way around Ohio I thought....). Then it turns out that they had a van for us (but the thing was a bit tiny on cargo room and we had to store some of our items in our laps).

Needless to say there was snow everywhere and I thought we were going to die because it's been so long since any of us had drivin in snow. But, we made it to my aunts house (my mom's sister) and was able to eat dinner after starving for 3 hours on the plane and car trip over there. Now the fun part comes along, trying to accomidate everyone in beds so they can be comfortable. Luckily my Aunt had a couple of extra rooms and we had some air mattress. Otherwise, we would have been SOL. It snowed a bit that night, so Ryan and my dad had to de-ice the car, which was fun to watch... but very cold at the same time.

Then we were off to my dad's side of the Family for the Richards annual Christmas Party. Ryan had never met any of my extended family so it was time to drag out the family tree and explain how everyone was related to me. Luckily my dad was there to help because it had been three years since I had seen any of these people and I didn't know if I could even remember who was still married, which kids belonged to who, etc. But it was fun trying to get Ryan to understand it all. He put the pieces together much better once he saw all of them. That night of sleeping wasn't as great as the first one. All of our air mattress deflated, so by the morning we were practically on the floor. But, we had fresh snow on the ground so we decided to play outside. It was so cold, and jens aren't exactly the best snow playing attire either. But, we did get to go sledding down a hill a few times (I fell a lot, but don't have those pics unfortunatly.. my dad does).
Julie getting clobbered by Ry
Ryan trying to build a snow Reindeer

Contemplating on whether or not to throw the snow balls at me.

We then had to head to a Hotel in order to get some sleep for our 8 a.m flight the next day. I was just praying that we would get out of there because of all the ice clouds and snow storms that were projected to come into the area.

We get to the airport and everything goes great. We board the plane and sit, and sit, and sit some more. Finally the piolet comes on and notifies us that the de-icers aren't working. We then have to deboard the plane and pray that we can get another flight to Atlanta. The only bad thing is, the flight we were on was a combined flight of 3 previous cancelled flights. So, that was going to be fun. Well, needless to say we got a plane ride back home that day. And didn't get into Hinesville until 1 a.m. But, over all I think it was a fun family vacation. I'll just have to remember to go to Ohio when it's not snowing.

1 Year

Wow, I can't belive that Ryan and I have been married a year. And when I look back at what has happened over the past 12 months... it seems so much longer than a year.

It's amazing to think that we were married for 1 month and then Ryan left for Iraq. I think that those were the hardest 6 months of our lives. I can look back and think of the phone calls that always made me cry, the late nights talking on the internet, the first moment I got to see him on the web came (cried my eyes out), the many letters that I wrote, and then the scarry phone call from some nurse telling me Ryan had been medivacted to Kuwait because of his heart. I then remember praying adamatley for him to come home...

Well, soon enough the Lord was kind enough to bring Ryan home to us and his friends. The last 6 months have been AMAZING with Ryan home.. I honestly don't know how I could have lasted with him being deployed for a whole year, but that's not here nor there.... We have been able to appreciate each other so much more than I could have ever imagined.

It's also very exciting to think that we have the opportunity to celebrate our love. We went to Savannah, toured the historic distric in a horse drawn carrage, hoped over to The Pirates House for dinner, and then went to Savannah Smiles (a piano bar). Here are some pics







I have realized that even though we have been through some major ups and downs I still have the most amazing husband in the whole world. The blog he posted on his site made me cry my eyes out. I just couldn't imagine being any happier

Old Friends

O.k., so I ran across a few old friends Myspace site the other day and I'm in a predictiment to add a friend.

See here's the background of the WHOLE story (*the names are ficticious except mine): We were all in high school and I was dating this guy *Paul , and his best friend *Joe was dating *Lisa, and then there was *Jake, and *Tom thrown into the mix (all being best buds and all). My boyfriend *Paul and I had a horrible 7 year relationship that ended VERY badly and *Paul's bestfriend *Joe and *Lisa also had a very bad break up. I still remained friends with *Joe and *Lisa, but had separate contacts with the two of them (seeing as they hate each other).

Any way to get to the point. I haven't talked to *Paul in a really long time because of many reasons, but the main one is while my husband was gone, he would call me "to make sure that I was o.k." I mean, COME ON!!!!! He knew that I was engaged and I told him not to call MANY TIMES!!! Even asked his good friends *Joe, *Jake, and *Tom to tell him to quit calling me. I didn't want to change my number because one-I didn't know when I could give it to Ryan and two- I didn't want to change my life because of this stupid guy.

Well, *Joe wants me to add him to my myspace and wouldn't you know who is his friend also.... *Paul. I am afraid (which I should be because Ryan is here) that he is going to try to start contacting me again. I know that Ryan would beat the crap out of him if he tried to talk to me, and I don't want to put myself in that situation. But, I also want *Joe to be my myspace friend... Such a sticky predictament. I haven't talked to Ryan about it yet because he is at work... BUT I'M JUST A LITTLE CONFUSED....

I know that they say forgive and forget and I have done that. But, I'm afraid that I will become unchristian like to him and say some really nasty things because of all the anger I have botteled up inside of me.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!
And, pray for my sanity.

Prayer Petition

I hope you all received the Prayer Petitionfor "The Refuge" from Jenell Starkel. If not, you can pray TODAY for our orphanage.

I appreciate everyone taking the time out to pray today for our dream of one day providing a loving home for children all over the world. We also appreciate all of the help that has been offered to us from our loving friends and family. We definatly wouldn't have been able to get our dream onto paper with out your continued prayers and support.

If you would like more information regarding our orphanange, please feel free to contact Ryan or I.

Love you all and God Bless.

Anxiety and Simplicity

I have been reading Fosters Celebration of Discipline: Revised Edition over the past couple of weeks. I came across a very interesting and insiteful chapter. It is about the Discipline of Simplicity.

"Freedom from anxiety is characterized by three inner attitudes:








1. To receive what we have as a gift from God
2. To know that it is God's business and not ours, to care for what we have.
3. To have our goods available to others. "

Now, I don't know about you, but I definatly don't have these attitudes all the time. I sometimes catch myself not appreciating the gifts that God has given me or, I even think that those gifts might not have come from God, but of some doing of my own. I know that I have definatly tried to take care of things on my own saying "I am woman, hear me roar"... trying to take care of EVERYTHING possible. And, I definatly don't allow other people to use my goods. I mean for goodness sake, I earned them... THEY ARE MINE!!!!

But, after much consideration of these crazy thoughts; I realized that God is and will be the only person that has given me the things that I have and he is the only person that can and will take them away. I think the reason why I was so anxious before is I was always trying to take care of things myself and not letting the Lord (who does know EVERYTHING) take care of my problems. Simplicity starts with the inside. Once you can realize the above 3 things, then you will have inner simplicity. But, until then you will have anxiety and no simplicity.

Once, you have gotten down the whole inner simplicity, the book list 10 controling principles for our outward expression of simplicity. Foster does mention that these are not "laws" per say, but just suggestions on how we can make our life more simple.
1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
2. Reject anytihng that is producing an addicition in you (ie alchohol, work, school, opposite sex, etc). Learn to distinguish between a real psychological need and an addiction.
3. Decelop a habit of giving things away.
4. Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry (basically don't be pulled in by the "make your live easier by buying this thing-a-mabob").
5. Learn to enjoy things without owning them (ie the beach, but not owning a house on the beach, a park, etc).
6. Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation (look at Psalm 24:1).
7. Look with a healthy skepticism at all "buy now, pay later" schemes. They are a trap and only deepen your bondage (look at Luke 6:35).
8. Obey Jesus' instructions about plain, honest speech (look at Matthew 5:37). Make honesty and integrity the distinguishing characteristic of your speech.
9. Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.
10. Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God.

Now, I know that those are some pretty high demands, but they are all so simple when you take one at a time and work on acheiving it. As I was reading, I made an X by the ones that I don't do. And, oddly enough I put an X by almost everyone. That gave me a HUGE REALITY CHECK!!!! I realized that I get caught up in the latest fashion trend, or the latest gismo buy, or anything that could make my life easier. But, I now realize that I need to make my life simple. So, I start with step one. Soon enough, I hope to achieve my goal of simplicity.


But, I do know one thing.... I will have to learn how to be patient.

Yes, I did steal this idea

Well, I'm just going along with the "cool" crowd again and stealing this idea from Tabs and Ryan and whomever may of had it first.

So, I went to Google, clicked on the image link and typed in the following:

Town you grew up in:
Brunswick, GA








Town you live in now:
Hinesville, GA



My Name
Emily Kay Peters- that didn't come up with anything, so I had to type in Emily Peters. Man did it come up with some interesting things.




Grandmothers' Name (choose either one)
Doris Baker





Favorite Food
Cake Batter Ice Cream




Favorite Drink
Sweet Tea




Favorite Song
Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts




Favorite Smell
Husband's "Sweaty" Smell




Well there you have it folks. Probably some things about me that you didn't want to know or now you know too much.

HELP!!!

O.k., so I am trying to figure out how to change my background and add music and all that jazz. I see where you can change it, but I'm not very computer literate so I can't figure it out. I asked Ryan, and he "says" that he will help me, but always plays poker or Madden and I forget to ask him. So, needless to say I need some direction on how to fix my site to make it more interesting. I have a song and stuff that I want to add.

Also, remember to e-mail ryan (irishnd98@yahoo.com) for the Offical Prayer of The Refuge. We want to have as many people praying for us and the Orphanage as possible. I have seen the rewards for a lot of people praying for a certain thing, it makes it happen (Ryan coming home).

Well, anywho... Ryan and I are going to Six Flags this weekend. I'm so siked, seeing as I've never been.

My birthday

Well so far turning 23 hasn't been all that exciting. I have come to the conclusion that once you turn 21, you don't have very many "exciting" birthdays until you're 25. And, that's only because you get a discounted rate on car insurance. Then, of course after that it's only 30, 40, 50, 60, etc. So, I have just been trying to relax all day today and just soak up the fact that my husband actually has to do things for me today without me even asking (allthough, I have had to ask him to make me lunch).

I have gotten some really good birthday presents- a grill from my parents, money from my nana and papa, money from my mother in law (to spend on just me- YEAH!), earrings from Ryan (the "other" presents he says are coming later), and just verbal happy birthdays. I think that the best present I have gotten though was Ryan coming home in July. Now, I know that July was a long time ago. But, this is a present that keeps giving itself to me everyday (whether it's my birthday or not). And, I'm afraid that if he wasn't here today I wouldn't have gotten any happy birthday love from anyone!

Ryan is taking me out to dinner tonight, which will be nice. Then, next weekend we are (hopefully) going to Six Flags in Atlanta. In Atlanta, we will be able to go to some clubs and dance a bit, maybe hear some jazz music or something.

The Refuge

Ryan and I have created a new website that will keep everyone updated on our Orphanage work. This will allow people to notify us if they are interested and how they can help. Please check it out and let us know what you think!!!

Blessings
http://diaporninos.blogspot.com/

Portland Trip

Well, now that I don't have Ryan breathing down my neck to get off the computer or to leave in order to go to my parent's house in Brunswick- I can write about our awesome trip to Portland. Ryan took me on a wonderful trip to show me where he went to school and the wonderful people that he knew. The drive up there was gorgeous- lots of beautiful mountains and rivers, etc. We (ryan, nelly, and I) made the 10 hour trip without any arguments- yeah I know, I can't belive it either.

I was able to meet some of Ryan's family- Aunt Ozella and Uncle Ver along with their two children Ben and Katie. I also got to meet Rachel and her baby and Sara and her husband Kevin. Rachel and Sara are children of Joy (ryan's moms sister) and also have a brother Andrew that I got to meet in Portland.

Ozella, Vern, Ben, Katie, Rachel, the baby (sorry, can't remeber his name), Sara, Kevin, Joy, and her husband (sorry can't remember his name either) all took a trip to Multnoma Falls. We were able to take the senic route to it and saw many beautiful rivers and waterfalls.







We were also able to go to a coffee house that Ryan RAVED about to play scrabble with a bunch of his friends. I didn't play b/c I'm not very good, but apparently Joh (Tabatha's husband) is pretty good at puns!!


While we were in Portland, we stayed with Aimee Jo and Andrew. She is the best hostest around!!! Thank you for allowing us to stay in your room while you slept on the couch. On Sunday, we went up to Faith Quest with Andrew to hear him sing. It was such an amazing experience. The following pic, Ryan and Andrew weren't even looking at each other and had the same exact face! I guess you know that they are related.



Overall, I absolutly love Portland and I hope that we get to move there soon. I know that it will be an overwhelming change at first, but I'll have tons of Ryan's friends to mooch off of. Well I'm going to head off to sleep now, I have to get Ryan up really stinkin early for his doctors appointment tommorw.

California trip

So I am finally recovered from our (mine and Ryan) trip to California and Portland. I had such a blast and have so many pics to share. This one is of Ryan and I (obviously) in San Franciso. It is so pretty down by the bay. But it was freakin cold!!



This one is of Cheryll, Ry, and Nelly in the same place.






Ryan and I decided to take a trip up to Big Trees National Park (which is about 1 hour north of Stockton). It is a forrest full of 300 feet+ redwood trees. These trees have been there for 1000's of years. This one had a scar where Ryan is standing, but the founders of the park decided to cut a whole in the tree so people could drive their cars through it.


Ryan and I are standing at the root system of a fallen redwood tree. As you can see this tree is HUGE!!!








The day before we left, Ryan's sister Amy finally had her baby- Hannah Joy Fry. We were able to go and meet baby Hannah the day she was born!! Ryan couldn't figure out how to get her out of the cart that they keep the newborns in. I guess he has a LONG way to go before he becomes a dad. But, doesn't he look like a natural!! Welcome to the family Hannah!


I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking when Ryan took this picture. But, it was so much fun being able to hold Hannah. I can't wait until Ryan and I have our own children!









Ryan is such a goofball around kids! These are his (and now mine) niece Abby and nephew Jacob. These kids belong to his older brother Eric and his wife Lori who are so wonderful!!





Well I have more pics to share of Portland, but Ryan is bugging me to allow him to get on the computer and post some pics also. I will try and post some more pics. HOpe you guys enjoy these. It was so great meeting all of you in Cali and Portland that I hadn't meet before. Ryan and I hope to know more by the end of October. We'll try to keep everyone updated

MIA

Sorry that I haven't written a new post in a while. Ryan and I were in California for 2 weeks and we just got back. As soon as I get over jet lag and the time switch, I'll write about my trip.

P.S. It was great meeting all of you in Portland and Cali that I hadn't met before. No wonder Ryan is such a great guy. He has AMAZING friends!!

My Top Ten Songs

Well someone finally tagged me- I guess I had it coming... Thanks Breanna!!!

These are listed in no particular order:

Forever by Ben Harper- This is mine and Ryan's song. When we finally have a wedding reception we're going to dance to it. It's just so romantic and lovely!

Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts- This is also another favorite of me and Ryan. It's just a story of hard times that lead you to a perfect life and something that you've been wanting for so long.

Waiting all my life by Rascal Flatts- This is just something that when I listen to it makes me think of my wonderful husband. Because, I literally feel like I waited all my life for him- HE'S WONDERFUL!!!

Away from You by Supertones- This is acutally a band that I never heard of until Ryan told me when he was in Iraq and wanted a c.d. Well, needless to say that they are amazing!!! There message is played well throughout their songs and it's upbeat.

Good Morning Beautiful by Blake Shelton- This is just a song for any one romantically inclined (and of course as you can see, my list includes a lot of romantic songs.. because I am a hopless romantic- just ask Ryan). I love listening to this song because it just makes me think of the things I usually think about everytime I see Ryan when he wakes up.

On My knees by Nicole Mullen- This just reminds me everyday of what I have committed my life to by being a child of God. I love being a new christian and experiencing all the wonders of God that I have been missing.

In Christ Alone by Brian Littrell- This is a brand new one from one of the famous Backstreet Boys singers. I just love the sound of this song.

Who am I? by Casting Crowns- I also love all of Casting Crowns' songs. They are absolutly amazing.

Run around by the Blues Travelers- It's actually one of my husbands favorites, but I stole it because I like it also.

Switch by Will Smith- This song is awesome!!! It makes me want to get on a dance floor and shake it.

Don't Mess with my Heart by Black Eyed Peas- This is also an amazing song... Don't have too much to comment on it though.

Now, I don't know too many people to tag that haven't allready... Sorry!!

My Beautiful Ovaries

I'm sure that most of you won't care about this, but I thought it was stinkin hilarious.


So, I was having some abdominal pain and some abnormal "female problems" and tried to go see the lovely OB/GYN ( a woman's FAVORITE friend). But, unfortunately they didn't have any openings until September. That dilemma forced me to go to the lovely ER at the hospital on base (so much fun sitting there with all the sick people). I was seen by the doctors and had to do all the lovely things women go through once a year (so not my favorite activity to do on a Thursday morning, but what are you going to do?) I then had to go have some ultrasound done just to check out my ovaries and my appendix (why, I don't know). So I was sitting there and the doctor was talking to me while he was looking at my belly. And, wouldn't you know he was like, "You know, you have some really pretty ovaries. Usually they have some little abnormality, but these look absolutely perfect and pretty." I then of course was intrigued to see my pretty ovaries and got to look at them. And, I do have to say that they weren't that bad looking. Of course, I haven't seen anyone elses' so I can't compare.... But, the doc knows best.

So, long story short after sitting in the ER from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. I was finally discharged, given med's and told to go home. I was fine, just had a slight infection... nothing to worry about.

Oh, pretty ovaries- Thanks for allowing such wonderful miracles to happen. But, when you get sick- YOU SUCK!!!

Interesting Thought

As I sit here and think about this picture that I took while in Cail it occurs to me how much mercy God really has on me.

Now that Ryan is back, I'm having a hard time dealing with some things that wasn't so hard while he was gone. If something stressed me out, I could just go to God and not have to worry about Ryan or his feelings or anything. Now, it seems as if I'm getting less spiritual and depending more on Ryan to solve my problems.

God really carried me the whole 6 months while Ryan was gone. With all of Ryan's medical problems, I really learned how to depend on God with my whole heart. And, now that God has "proven" to me that he really does answer prayers by sending Ryan home.... I feel like I don't have to ask God for any more "proofs", but yet I feel empty.

I'm sure most of you have read what Ryan has said about me on his myspace site and you thought that I was Darth Vader or some evil villan from hell... which in reality I was. But, with him home, I guess I feel like I want him involved in all of my feelings and thoughts that I share with God.

Oh, first year of marrage.... How lovely and sweet it is.

About Me

As I'm sitting here waiting on Ryan to get back home, I'm trying to figure out exactly how this blog spot thing works.


My hopes are that all of Ryan's friends and mine will have a place that they can read about my life and things that are happening here in the East.


I guess I could start off with the fact that I'm almos 23 (in 2 months- October 6th), the oldest of three, and grew up in a town called Brunswick, GA. Brunswick is a tiny town located in between Jacksonville, FL and Savannah, GA. The great thing about this place is it takes me 10 minutes to get to a beach (if I feel like going). I went to Glynn Academy and graduated in 2000 and then headed off to Valdosta State University. I graduated with a Bachelors of General Studies. Now, most of you are like- What the crap is that? Well I originally started off going for Early Ed., but needless to say there were some HUGE bumps that I just couldn't get over and was TIRED of school. So, I took the easy way out and just got a degree.


I then searced FOREVER for a job until I could get back into the grove of teaching. I was also nursing a deep wound of a long relationship of 7 years (where I almost married the guy) that ended horribly. I think that's when I decided to get onto Yahoo personals and a couple of other matching sites to find "Mr. Right". Well, needless to say, within a few months of me graduating, Mr. Right did come along.


Most of you know the story of Ryan and I, so I'm not going to go into too much details.... but needless to say that God really had a hand in putting us two together. We totally didn't deserve each other, but I guess that's what God does. The funny thing is when I met Ryan, I wasn't even a big christian.. and most of you know how big of a christian he is. Well, going around the bush and back to another thought, after we were married I decided to take christ back into my life and totally dedicate myself to living like Jesus. Ryan couldn't have been happier. He actualy baptized me in our bathtub at the house we were living in.


Now, my life is totally dedicated to Christ (which is something I didn't see about this time last year) and living out the Bible. I am one of the leaders in childrens ministry of a new church here in Brunswick called the Chapel that Ryan and I actually stumbled upon while looking for a christian family, working at the YMCA (which is a christian organization), and working on our (ryan and I) orphanage. It's totally amazing to me that hand that God plays in our lives.


Well, enough for now, have more thoughts but I'll post them later... Ryan is waiting on me in order for us to go.