So Long Bubbie!

So, some have asked about Tex (i called him bubbie) and what happened. So here is the story.

Tex is an Australian Shepherd. He is a very high maintance dog. He needs lots of exercise. (I could give the attention and loving :)) We have a tiny backyard and he is aggressive towards other dogs so walks are very difficult. That left Aaron and I not many options to exercise with him. I would try and play fetch with him everyday but 15-30 minutes a day - not enough. He was just getting started. We have a pretty busy life plus we are tired when we get home and just didnt have time to spend 1 - 2 hours playing fetch a night. I loved walking him, but honestly walks were a nightmare. He wanted to charge any animal he saw and I am not real huge and he is 65 pounds, so it was difficult for me to manage him. We had several other issues over Christmas break as well that were just weighing on us.

So we made the best decision for him. We found a great loving home with a very large backyard. They have another dog (male) which he gets along with (SHOCKED) and two little boys to play with. They go to 50 acres of land sometimes and let the dogs chase the cows (he was breed specifically for that) and also take car rides and boat rides. He will get out the energy he needs plus be loved.

Honestly, this was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. To some, this will seem crazy!! I mean its a dog right. You have no idea what kind of a dog lover I am. I LOVE dogs. and i LOVED me dog to death. He followed me around everywhere and was so protective of me. I loved having him sit in my lap and just love on him. I was home for 10 1/2 months before I found my current job so I spent almost everyday all day with this dog. He and I became SO close. To give him up was for sure in his best interest. My best interest would have been to keep him and love on him. This has been so difficult. I have shed many tears. I cried the whole 2 1/2 hours home from taking him to the new home, cried when we got home, cried when I woke up Sunday, cried when I got home from church, cried when I got home from Life group, and cried this morning when I woke up. I hope it gets easier. (i know so are thinking get over it, its a dog!!! You just dont realize how much i loved this dog and how close we were). I just have to remind myself he is where is needs to be. I cant help but miss him everytime I walk into my empty house. He would run and greet me with his whole bottom wagging! I miss my sweet bubbie!! He is and will be so loved!!!!!

We will be getting a new puppy in March (i am to much of a dog lover not to have one). I am excited about it but it doesnt take away the hurt and me missing my Tex. I dont think it will until we actually have the new puppy.

This has taught me that God is the same with us. He does what is best for US! It may not always be easy for Him to let us go through things or watch us have to live life here, but He always does what is best for US! That is what we did for Tex. What was best for HIM!

8 weeks!!

My 8th week of pregnancy was great! I felt good the whole week.

Pregnancy highlights:

How far along: 8 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: Lima bean

Baby Changes: My baby now has webbed fingers and toes. It has eyelids and breathing tubes connected to its lungs. Its brain is branching out and it should have a heartbeat this week!

Gender: Aaron and I want a boy but we really just want it to be healthy.

Movement: nothing yet

Food Cravings: None really this week. I love pickles, tomatoes, and Mission Burrito all the time.

Sleep: Sleeping about 8-9 hours a night and feel good during the day.

Symptoms: None really this week. The biggest thing is indigestion. If I get to hungry I start to feel sick.

I have a doctor's appointment Feb. 17. I am not sure if we will do a sonogram or not. I sure am excited to see my little peanut and hear its heart beat!!

Week 7

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 7 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: Grape

This week our baby will grow up to 13 mm.

Baby Changes:A face is becoming more distinct in our baby. Eyes are starting to form. They now have a retina and lens attached! Major muscles are forming and he/she is starting to pump their own blood. A lot happening this week!

Gender:Dont know, hopefully a boy

Movement: None

Food Cravings: pickles/tomatoes, pasta, chips

Sleep: sleeping well

Symptoms: feeling sick a few times this week, but overall good.

We have a doctor appointment Feb. 17th. Cant wait!

Week 6

So, today I am 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant!! I cannot believe it! I am actually going to be a mommy!! Wow! Yesterday I had a lot of nasuea, but feeling pretty good today! This week my baby is about the size of lentil. My baby has buds that will become his/her arms and legs. Muscle and bone tissue are forming. The rest of my baby's brain is forming (it started last week). The craziest thing is my baby has a heart beat!!! It is beating about 150 beats per minute. You cant hear it yet on a sonogram, but its there!

Here is a picture of what my baby looks like in my belly (these are from the internet) It doesnt really look like a human yet.

Aaron and I are thrilled to be able to become parents! We are nervous, excited, and anxious for September 19th to arrive! We will still be waiting to tell everyone (besides family) for about another 6 weeks. I am saving all of these until then, so when you read these I will really be 12 or 13 weeks. I wanted to keep a blog along the whole way though!!

I have not gained any weight yet (which is good im not supposed to). I have been craving salty, crunchy, and sour things though. I want chips, pickles, tomatoes and salt, pickle juice, and v8 with salt. I do normally like all of these, so maybe its not cravings yet, but they all sounds so good all the time :) (well besides yesterday) I didnt realize how careful you have to be when eating while pregnant. There are so many things I didnt realize you couldnt eat while you were pregnant - like fresh deli mea, lots of cheeses, and ceasar salad dressing. Who knew? I do now. I look up almost daily what I can have just to be sure I am not eating anything I shouldnt be.

I am trying to eat healthy and walk to take care of my body the best way possible. I want to make sure I give my sweet baby the best environment possible to grow and form. We are so thankful for this blessing from God and cant wait to meet our little one!

See you next week - week 7.

-Mommy to be

A work in progress

So, I got some pretty exciting news tonight!! No, I am not pregnant :)

My very first book is now available to buy!!! I am really excited. I did only online for now since I am not a real known author and since many people use kindles now anyway.

I have felt the Lord tugging at my heart for many years to do this and I finally stopped dragging my feet and did it. I am so excited that it is done and available for others to read it. I really hope the Lord uses my life and words that He gave me to help others and to be an inspiration to others. I give Him all the glory upfront for what He will do through this.

I am really excited! It is crazy to think I am a published author. I will print hard copies to sell in the future but for now I think the ebooks will do great!

The book is geared towards females, sorry guys, but everything in it could apply towards guys as well. Anyway, I am very thankful for the blessing to be able to do this and excited for what the future holds.

You can find it on Amazon.com by putting in Grace Karlee Webster in the search bar. It will also be available through Barnes and Noble, iBooks, e-reader, kobo, and Diesel ebookstore. Hope you enjoy it if you read it!

Karlee

Why Even Pray?

So, we had my extended families Christmas this last weekend! It was a blast. I am so thankful for my family and all the blessings God has given me through them. They are just so much fun, so loving, and great Christian examples.
We got to talking one night about prayer. I mean why do we pray if God already knows how the situation is going to turn out? If He isnt going to change His mind, why even bother? I mean Mark 11:24 says "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have recieved it and it will be yours." So when we pray for something, we should get that right? Like healing from cancer, or money we need, or a house we want, or healing in a realtionship, whatever it may be.
I dont think this is what God means when He tells us that. I mean Jesus, who was God, prayed to His Father. If He needed to pray dont you think we do too? He even prayed that He wouldnt have to go to the cross, but He did anyway. So why would God say ask for what you want and you will get it. Wouldnt Jesus have not had to go to the cross then? I think God gives us what we need in the situation we are praying about. God knew Jesus needed to go to the cross and God couldnt say yes to that prayer. Instead, God gave Jesus strength. He answered Jesus' prayer still, just not in the way that Jesus or others thought He should. I think we pray with a certain result in mind and when that doesnt happen we think, "Either God didnt hear me, He is real, or He doesnt care." In all reality, He did, you just missed the answer because you were so busy trying to see it like you wanted it.
I think about it like kids. Sometimes they want to go across the street and paly on a playground. They ask you and you answer, but sometimes not in the way they want. You say no because you know the danger of them crossing that street alone. You can see what could happen if they did that. You could see what could happen if they were playing alone. They cannot see and dont understand, but you can. So you answer to protect them and build their trust with you, even though they may not like it.
God often answers in a way we dont necessarily agree with. But He can see what is coming. He knows what is going to happen and what we need. He knows what we need to be protected from and what we can handle. When Aaron and I moved to Houston, we moved here because we felt like God wanted us here. I left my first teaching position and didnt have one here. We prayed daily that I would find a job. I thought God wasnt answering because I wasnt getting a job. He did answer my prayers, just not in the way I thought he should. Had I had a job, there are many things I would have not been able to experience. My job came at the perfect time! He knew what He was doing (read about our 2 years in Houston to find out more)
So dont pray today expecting a specific outcome. Pray for the Lord to answer and that He will listen to your prayer. He will and He will answer in the way He sees the best for you. God only has our best interest. He doesnt need our prayers, but we need that connection to Him. Prayer doesnt build Him up, but us!

Romans 12:12 says "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Have a great day!
Karlee

2 years in the making

Two years ago on Nov 10 Aaron and I went to Jeff and Meagan's apartment. We went to have our "last evening" if you will with some of our best friends. I remember having fun that night and then I remember it was time for Aaron and I to leave. I remember watching as my husband hugged his two best friends and as three grown men cried as they would soon be parting. That was a rough night!! Aaron and I would soon be facing 4 of the 5 biggest changes in a person's life in a matter of 6 months (graduation, new jobs, moving, and marriage. The 5th is a baby and we did not have that yet! (or now :))

Two years ago today Aaron and I woke up about 6 am. We got our the last of our things together as we spent the night at my sister's house since ours was empty. I remember my sister getting ready for work as we were getting ready to leave. Then it was time for her to leave for work. I remember sobbing holding my sister as she was sobbing as we were saying goodbye. I would move from 45 seconds away from her to about 7 1/2 hours. SInce we had never lived our adult lives near each other this was especially hard because we had only lived by each other for about 3 months. I remember waking my nephew up for school because we were about to leave. I remember squatting down to his eye level and telling him how much I would love and miss him. He didnt understand that he wouldnt see me everyday anymore. Aaron and I said goodbye to Chris and Preston and set out for our adventure. Before we got in our cars Aaron and I hugged through tear stained eyes as we were leaving everything we knew and loved to follow the call of Jesus.

I remember that long trip. It was especially long because Aaron was driving a UHaul with a trailer with his car on it. We got into Katy about 6 or 7 I cant really remember - we got lost a few times :). I remember people already waiting at our house ready to help us unload our trailer. We got it done in about 1 hour. We already felt so much love and support from the people here! Aaron and I fell asleep on the couch our first night in Katy because we were so tired.

And then our adventure in houston began. I began looking for a job right away and couldnt find one. I put in so many applications. We knew we were where we were supposed to be but we didnt know why I couldnt find a job. We later learned. Because I didnt have a job I was able to get the house in order. Because I didnt have a job I was able to spend a week with my sister when she had a baby. Because I didnt have a job I was able to help Aaron a lot at the beginning of his job here in Houston. Because I didnt have job I got to know Nicole very well and got to spend time with the students. Then, I interviewed for a job at Woodcreek Junior High in July I think. Sometime around then. I really liked the school and really wanted the job but I didnt get it. Because I didnt get that job I was able to spend a week and half with Aaron and his family when his grandfather died. Had I gotten the job this would not have been able to happen. Literally on the way home from the funeral I got a call from Woodcreek asking if I would come back for an interview. Of course! And, I got the job. God's timing was written all over that! He knew I needed to be with Aaron during that time and provided a way for me to do that.

Then I started my new job at Woodcreek. I got home from my first day of work and Aaron called me telling me he had been in a wreck. God's timing again. His car was totalled and had I not had a job we would not have been able to get a new one. Isnt it just neat how God planned that? I think so! I mean my first day of work and Aaron gets in a wreck. It was like God saying - I am going to take care of you - SEE??!?!!

The youth group we work with is amazing. We love the kids and Aaron loves his job! We have grown and changed a lot since we first got here. The Lord has changed the hearts of our youth and us. We have made some very close friends as well. Some of our closest friends are Shane and Nicole, Kim and Chan, Jack and Glenda, Scott and Jenni, Pat and Vanessa, and Dan and Suzanne. They have encouraged us, strengthened us, made us laugh, and brought us so much joy! We are so thankful for them. We have been in houston bascially our whole marriage (besides 3 months) and these people have watched Aaron and I grow in our marriage and been with us along the way.

Although we had to leave everything we loved and knew, the Lord has blessed us tremendously here in Houston. We are thankful for Him and what He has done. We are thankful for our jobs and so happy with them. We are thankful for the people the Lord has brought into our lives. We love them dearly and are so blessed to have them and call them friends. The church has been so wonderful to us. We have really enjoyed our time here in Houston so far. We are thankful for these 2 years in Houston that we have had!

To our friends and family in Oklahoma and Texas - we miss you dearly and love you. We are so thankful for you and wish we could see you more often!!! To our Houstonians - thank you for making us feel so welcomed and loved! We are so thankful for each one of you and we love living here with you!

Here's to 2 years!!