Carol of the Bells

Odis playing "Carol of the Bells"
Merry Christmas from the Baxters!

Home ?sweet? Home

We are officially looking for another place to live. I'm a person that thrives on "mixing it up" every 6 months to a year, but this time-not so much. I love cherish ADORE where we currently live and I can't imagine what being anywhere else would be like. But I am changing jobs in a few days, which means less money coming our way-and such is life.

HaPpY hApPy BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday dear Myles, happy birthday to you!
Myles is 2 years old today, he was born on the exact day I heard Odis' voice for the first time (over the phone) and exactly two days before Odis and I began dating. Needless to say, his birthday will never be easily missed.
Enjoy!

Let the Festivities Begin...

We are tired. We have so little time until I change jobs in the evenings. But we decided that we would go for it and do a project together anyways! These are what we made for a "Tacky Christmas Sweater Party" at a friend's house tomorrow night in Fayetteville. Enjoy!

Myles of course, sat near his (very fitting) Charlie Brown christmas tree and slept and pouted the entire time because all attention was not on him! :) Odis isn't finished with his "tacky masterpiece" so I'll upload it at a later date...

" 17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights." Habakkuk 3:17-19 NLT

Oh, the irony. Times are hard, no secret there. The economy is failing (no matter what the MEDIA would like we Americans to believe). People kill themselves and their entire families over money troubles. It's insane. It's the American dream to live here, to deal with this though...right?

"Even though..." We must remember that we are in no place to complain! EVERYTHING is God's-we are the ones who take all that we are given and twist it, demoralize it, ruin it. Not God. And no, it doesn't seem fair...but we need to ask ourselves constantly-is it God being "unfair" to us in these situations? Or are we cheating God and ourselves out of an abundant life by doing our own thing day in and day out? As if WE know BETTER than GOD?!? Think about it...

"...yet I will rejoice in the Lord..." He is always here. Always. I pray that these thoughts never escape my mind as I take my new job. It pays considerably less, but will allow me more time to be a better wife and be involved in more activities with my church family. Most importantly I will be working where I can make a difference in a child's life every single day. It will be hard, but together, and with God as our focus, we will be okay.:)

And so it begins...

Considering the finals for my 5th semester in college begin tomorrow morning at 8a.m., this will undoubtedly be a short, to-the-point, first ever blog post!

I'll use what little time I have left before I shove my face in a textbook and begin trying to absorb its great logic and meaning explaining the blog name and what it's all about.

I am Kristen-married to Odis-together, we are the Baxters:) Anyone that knows us can easily tell you that we are both "brains." Interestingly, not at all in the same way. I tend towards being book smart, calm, and extremely patient. Odis is best described by his sister, Amber, as "Odopedia" and it fits him like a glove. He is strong, bold, seemingly fearless with the ability to talk for hours on end about anything at all(social, economic, political, historic, academic....). I constantly thank God for his knowledge and hope for days when I know our children will be telling any old stranger on the street all of their endless stories and facts that they gained straight from their daddy.

So although polar opposites, together we are one big "take a risk-dare to be different" brainy couple. Weird as it may sound, different as it may be-I couldn't imagine it any other way.