God is Good

When I think about the seemingly negative things happening in my life and all around me during this time, my chest constricts and it becomes hard to breathe. My heart feels like it's going to explode with love, sadness, compassion, guilt, and sympathy. At the same time I feel completely helpless and I can hardly bear it. I suppose this is normal. I constantly have to remind myself that God is good, one of the things I learned at The Village. God speaks through Matt Chandler, the head pastor, in a way that young people can relate to and understand, which brings me to my first request. Matt is having surgery today to remove a brain tumor they found last week after he was taken to the ER when he collapsed from a seizure. Please pray for him and his family, for comfort and ease through this process, and for wisdom and steady hands in the surgeon.

Please keep Hope, Peyton, Evelyn, and Hadley in your prayers during this time too. My brother-in-law passed away in mid-November, and it's a difficult time for the family as a whole.

Grandpa Troy is not doing well and is being tested for bone cancer today. Up one day, down another, as GG says. Please pray for healing and comfort.

There are a lot of negatives that one could focus on, I think. I get dragged down sometimes by these thoughts, as one understandably might. I am comforted in the thought that I have Bryan, who is my best friend, to go through these times with. Don't get me wrong, I'm not Debbie Downer all the time, just on occasion when I think about all of this happening simultaneously, and especially during the season of joy and giving. I am thankful for the life that I have and the people I get to share it with. I am thankful that God gave me something I can get lost in and forget about the rest of the world, and that's my drawing and painting. I appreciate the little things, like when I get a call from Brit about a story that only I will think is funny. God is good for providing all of these comforts, and He always has a plan.

3.....6.....9?

The washer drum is out of balance.
The master bathtub doesn't drain at an acceptable pace.
The master toilet handle broke off.
The guest shower doesn't get hot water.
The sprinkler head is broken in the front yard.
The can lights in the living room don't work.

Yes, bad things happen in 3s and we're up to 6! What's next, house? Bring it on. I've got my tool belt and I'm READY.

Providence

We began our search for a new church community today. We went into our first service at a new church weary of new people and legalism, and left with a refreshed outlook on our faith and where we need to go from here. We visited Providence Church, a Village church plant located in Frisco. I loved the feel of a small church, when we walked in we were immediately recognized as "newcomers" and greeted warmly. Coming from a church of (at least) 6000 across six services with three separate locations, this was a new feeling. After we left, we both thought it was okay but we didn't feel at home, so Bryan suggests the fabulous idea that we visit at least 20 different churches in the area before we decide where to go. I think this is brilliant because 1 - it gives us a chance to see all different denominations and ways of preaching since neither of us has much church experience, and 2 - we live in the Bible belt so it will be fairly easy to find churches.

Bryan's choice next week - we'll see how it goes!

New Cakes, New Trees

It's been a busy month and it's only the 15th! This last weekend I made a Spongebob rice krispie, a dirt bike cake, and a train cake for a birthday party. This was my first experience in multiple cakes for one event, so that was exciting! I think they turned out pretty good, my train cake picture came out blurry, but here's the other two:

I finally got to use my new "grass" icing tip! The "dirt" is crushed oreos and the "trees" are green suckers with brown icing. Spongebob came out a little more orange that I expected, but hey I'm still learning.

Bryan's been super busy at school too. He's teaching full time now for his mentor teacher and he's the head of the speech team. Hopefully he will be a (paid) teacher in the Spring or Fall!

I finally got to paint something fun in our house! It's about-dang-time.


Palm trees! This is in our front entry way. We've decorated the whole thing with a beachy theme complete with paper lanterns and a surfboard (on the other wall). There are also hooks in the leaves of the trees to hang hats and scarves (no, the irony is not lost on us). To see more of my art, go to: www.artifolio.com/meg/gallery

Our camera has died recently (mostly because I left it out in the rain), so pictures may become scarce in the near future. Can't wait for those Black Friday sales!

Upcoming cakes: Dominos (the game, not the pizza place), basketball, teddy bear, and the last one's a secret :)

This post has been mostly about me... I apologize for that. Bryan's just so busy teaching and making lesson plans that he hasn't had much time for anything else! He has written a couple of new songs though, and I do believe they've got a lot of potential!

Cloudy witha Chance of...oh wait, it's not cloudy.

Since it FINALLY cleared up for a change, here is a picture of our house! We are not fans of the blue, mind you, but it is far to hot/rainy to do anything about that right now. Plus we spent all our money painting the inside (pictures when we finish, I promise).
If you haven't been out yet, we will try to have a party soon. All of the houses in the neighborhood are similar looking, i.e. wood-like with porches. I'm sad to say that there are some that are cuter than ours...but it's what's on the inside that matters most, not the outside. That's what I try to tell myself. :) We really do love this house. I'm not sure if it's the house itself, the location, or simply living in a house that we love the most. Maybe it's a combination of the three.

As I said last post, cake season has begun. Last weekend I made bulldog pupcakes for Aunt Sherry's big 5-0:

Happy birthday Aunt Sherry! This next week we have a birthday, but no party. To make a cake or not to make a cake, that is the question.

Bryan's a Debate Coach!

I promise to post a picture of the front of the house soon.. it's just been so rainy and gah-ross outside that I haven't been able to get a good one. Plus our yard needs serious work. Plus the outside just isn't as cute as the inside. I'm just sayin'.

In other news, Bryan's principal (because the principal is your pal) asked him to be in charge of the speech and debate team this year! This is exciting because that means he will still be at this school next semester even though his student teaching ends this semester. His mentor teacher is retiring at the end of the year, so if you put two and two together...nah, I don't want to jinx it.

In other other news, cake season has commenced! As it turns out, everybody who's anybody has a birthday in September or October in the Hoskins family. This weekend on the menu: bulldog pupcakes.

The Beginning of The Beginning

WOW it's been a busy week! Bryan started teaching and is getting into the swing of things. The teacher that he's student teaching for is going to retire after this year, so maybe if he does a good job he can be his replacement...! We've started slowly moving boxes into the house, but we wanted to try and paint/ fix some things before we officially move on Saturday. We don't know where anything is at this point. So crazy! A HUGE thank you to Bryan's parents, Kim and David, for a refurbished lawnmower and to his grandparents, GG and Troy, for a weed eater! I forgot to take a picture of the front of the house, but here are some before and afters on the inside:

Kitchen Before:
What's with the dark blue accent wall?

Kitchen After:
Minus all the clutter on the counter of course.
Living Room Before:

Brit actually came with the house, but don't worry we had her removed. :)
Living Room After:
You can't see it in the picture, but even the gray brick fireplace doesn't look so bad now.

Bryan and his dad worked really hard putting in the wood floors for the past 2 days! Thanks David! I was in charge of painting, and I have so much more to do! Good thing I love painting! We're moving on Saturday, so once we get settled we'll have an omg-we-just-bought-a-house-come-over-and-see-it party!