Join The Conspiracy

Hello everyone. I would like to invite you to join with Ethan and I on something very special this Christmas. First of all, did you know that the average family spends $900 on Christmas? And just think of all the money we spend on top of that on decorations, etc. For a moment I would like to reflect on the real reason for Christmas. Jesus' birth. God becoming Emanuel. God With Us. He came to this earth to reach out to us and suffer and die to bridge the gap between us and God. The whole message of God is love. So on December 25th we celebrate Jesus' birthday. The wierd thing is, WE ask for presents. Somehow the world has commercialized this huge event into being all about us and our families. If your best friend was having a birthday, would you ask....what do I want for her birthday?! Instead, this should be all about presents for Jesus. And what would he ask us to give? Peace, love, kindness. He epitomized love to those who are unlovable. He loves us despite our sins and what we deserve. This Christmas, join Ethan and I in giving back to Jesus by loving those around us.

Our church is participating in something called the Advent Conspiracy. It was just featured on the front page of the Metro area in the Star. It's called a conspiracy because that's the very way Jesus came to the earth. Just think about it. He is the living God, Creator of everything. You'd think he'd come to earth with trumpets playing, riding in on a horse out of the sky. Instead, he slipped in the back door. He chose to come as a helpless baby. He came to change the world forever and to change us from the inside out. And the only way he could do that was to humble himself and come in a barn as a helpless baby. His magnificent birth wasn't announced to all the famous rulers of that time. Instead it was announced to a few shepherds. They were considered the lowliest of the people of that time. They lived in caves and spent all their time with sheep. Why would God choose to announce His birth to them instead? To show us how much he loves us. He considered the most outcast to be the most important. He came quietly whispering to us on the inside, Peace. This shows us how much he loves us no matter who we are. He wants us to slow down and hear his still small voice beckoning us to love others.

We decided as a church to give to others on behalf of Jesus because that is what He would ask for on His birthday. For "Advent Conspiracy" the goal is to reach out to those in need in our local area and world wide. The goal would be that everyone could cut back on spending on just our loved ones and asking for so much, and give that to those who are hurting and needing to know the love of Jesus Christ. The goal is to give $200 this Christmas Season to Advent Conspiracy. I realize that may seem like a lot, but it really isn't if you think about how much you spend on an iPod, etc. Instead of getting a Nano this year, how awesome would it be to say, my Christmas present is to feed and clothe the hungry in Indy. If you cannot give $200 but would like to participate anyway, you can give whatever amount you would like to at www.adventconspiracyindy.com. Feel free to check out our website to see all of the different ways the money will be used. 100% is going to the less fortunate. The following groups will benefit from the money:

A christian school in downtown Indy that is struggling to keep their doors open. They take children in off the streets and give them a wonderful education. The teachers get paid hardly anything but they continue to help based on their faith. We saw several interviews of the students there and how Christ has been introduced to them and turned their family situations around. The school tries to employ some of their parents to provide jobs for them. Every year they are in danger of being shut down and operate on donations.

The Crux would like to plant a church in downtown Indy that reaches out to the hurting population there.

Outreach is a program in Indianapolis that reaches out to teens that are homeless. A lot of them have been thrown out of their homes and have nowhere to go, so they turn to the streets. Last year Outreach helped around 30 homeless students graduate or get their GED. They find the kids, feed them, clothe them, and teach them about Jesus. They are the first faith based organization to be invited in to the IPS schools to seek out the homeless kids and help them to graduate.

Gleaners Food Bank is a nonprofit organization that feeds the hungry in Indianapolis. It supplies much needed groceries for underpriviledged and homeless people in Indy. For every dollar donated to them, 6 pounds of critical food and groceries are given to those in need.

The FERMI Project supplies clean water to Rawanda. Every 15 seconds a child dies from unclean water. They not only supply clean water but also educate the people on how to maintain it, give hygene training, and healthcare training. For every well built, 750 people are served clean water, half of whom would die without it.

International Justice Mission is one of my most favorite organizations. There are very intelligent detectives that work for them who study places and protect people from injustices. They rescue teenage victims of sex trade and other injustices and prosecute the perpetrators. They then work with the victims on educating and helping them stay protected in the future.

World Vision is dedicated to helping aids orphans around the globe. Children in Africa need food and medicine and are often orphaned from Aids. This organization directly reaches out the them and allows your to sponsor a child.

If you would like to, we invite you to participate in the Advent Conspiracy with us. After hearing all of the hurting that is around us, we have 3 choices. To be apathetic and say "That's too bad, I'm glad it isn't me." To have compassion and think for a moment, "I sure would like to help," and then continue on with our lives and never take the next step to make an effort. Or we can be empathetic and really feel it like it was happening to us. To the point where we take it on as our trouble and move to alleviate the problem. That's what God did for us and would love for us to follow His example. After thinking about all of this, I don't know about you, but it makes me feel really bad to walk around during Christmas picking out cologne when others don't have clean water. I'm giving the gift of love to others this Christmas. We'd love for you to consider that too.

For the PODCAST to hear more about this or to view some videos posted on youtube, visit www.adventconspiracyindy.com and click on resources.

Super Bowl Ring

Hey there. Sorry, it's been a little while since I wrote on here! Well, we recently received our Super Bowl Rings and it was a fun and eventful night. We started by going to the Conrad downtown, which is one of the few 5 star hotels in the country. It is pretty amazing. I had never been inside. We had Hour deuvres (sp?) and wine and milled around visiting. It was SO great to see everyone!! It was a complete reunion. All of the girls came back, including ones from out of state. I forgot how fun it was to be with them! My girl Lauren was looking as beautiful as ever and told me all about her beautiful daughter Gracie. She is so cute and looking more and more like her mommy every day! I got to see my room mate from the Super Bowl, Heather, my love. She is a blast and it was SO fun to just hang out and be silly the whole time in Miami. The parties there were amazing, and it was such a breathtaking experience, that I'm glad I got to share it with a fun friend. We went all the way back to the Firebirds together. My girl Jessica was as silly as always, and everyone was looking gorgeous. The waiters treated us like we were worth a million bucks, even though we weren't. The food was amazing! They had perfectly cooked beef medallions and all kinds of finger food.

We were lucky enough to have our significant others with us. Ethan showed up and became my camera man for the night. The Pacers were playing the Lakers the next day, so the Lakers were there, and Ethan got to see them! He brags that he made eye contact with Kobe Bryant. Some of the girls were getting pictures with him. They had the Lombardi trophy there, and we took all kinds of picture with it! It's heavy!! Then they started the ceremony with a DVD show of the Super Bowl. It gave me chills just seeing the game and remembering the rain and just how special and amazing that experience was!! Thank you Lord for such a blessing. That whole time was so magical that I could never explain it to anyone. You just had to be there. I am so unworthy to be so blessed.

They called my name to come get my box, but we all had to wait to open it together, since none of us had seen how the ring looks. When we opened it, we couldn't believe how huge it was!! I kept thinking it would be a lot smaller, since it is the girl version. It still is really big. There are 19 diamonds on the top with a horseshoe. It says world champions around it. On one side it says Super Bowl XLI, Colts, Faith, and the score. On the other side it says my name and Our Time since that was the theme of our Super Bowl experience. I think it's neat and I really think a lot of Dungy to put Faith on the rings. Inscribed on the inside is my full name.

Here are a few pictures. There will be more to come!!

My lover, my friend

Well, I was sitting here tonight thinking about how long I've been with Ethan. Over 6 years. That's right...6 years!!! I just can't believe it. We hit our second wedding anniversary in Sept., and our wedding still feels like it was just a little while ago. Where does the time go?! That day was the most important and perfect day of my life. I was surrounded by so many loved ones that held a very special place in my heart. Each and every one contributing to who I am today in some way. I could never thank each of you enough for being there for my on my special day. I really feel that MY wedding was the most perfect wedding ever. I hope everyone feels that way about their own wedding. They should. I feel as if the heavens parted, and God shone his light down on us and blessed us so much that I can't even think of the day without crying. We cracked out the old wedding tapes again on this anniversary, and I always cry. I just can't help it. The whole thing was so emotional for me...

Ethan is amazing and I really can't believe that God made such a perfect soul-mate for me. He is such a loving and caring husband that deals with all of my faults day in and day out. We were just talking the other night about how a lot of people say the first few years of marriage are the hardest. And that sometimes they can be just miserable. We totally disagree!!! We have had an amazing two years and are happier and even more in love than when we were dating. Sometimes I wonder why God chose to bless me with such a wonderful man, who is sensitive to all of my needs and loves me for who I am. I think Ethan and I, and all of you who have a healthy marriage, are an encouragement to so many and we don't even realize it. I had someone ask me the other day, an old friend I hadn't seen in a while, if Ethan and I were still happy. I told them yes, SO MUCH SO, and they said good, there's still hope for me then.... Not only as Christians are we examples to the world, but we also can show the world what God meant marriage to be. The binding of three, you, him, and the Lord. A chord of three cannot be broken (that's in the bible somewhere).

For our first anniversary, we watched our wedding tapes, ate old stale cake (Ethan liked it), lit our unity candle, and relaxed all day together. We ate by candlelight, and then went to Sullivans (a really expensive steak place) for dinner. I think later on went to Chicago for a shopping trip. Our second year anniversary was fun. We ate a picnic in the park, took a walk on the canal where we got engaged at. We even sat on the bench where it happened. It gave me chills. He took to the Adam's Mark Restaurant, one of the nicest in town, and I had fillet minon. He got me all kinds of running gear since I'm attempting to continue racing (side note, I ran tonight in the bitter cold for the first time, and it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!). If you are wondering what the bump on Ethan's head is...it's from hitting himself with the car door accidentally!!! DON'T ASK, and don't you dare tell him I told!! :)

Happy Halloween

Hello everyone! I haven't been on in a while and I wanted to say hello again. This Halloween has been so much fun. We had over 100 trick or treaters at our house! I think that's because our division is SO full of kids, and we live on the main street. It was crazy. There were so many that we couldn't even sit down the whole time. We just left the door open and kids just kept coming by. We gave out tons of candy. I LOVE seeing their little cute costumes. There was a little nemo girl that loved Bella and every time Bella got close to lick her, the little girl would just giggle! I gave her candy and she goes "Dank guu". We also had a little Cookie Monster and Elmo that were about 4 and had little eyeballs on top of their heads. They waddled up the porch and I just wanted to grab them and squeeze them!! Of course we had quite a few colts players, and one little boy looked like a real miniature player! He had the pads and tights and everything.


We've had a bet going on whose is the best. Let's be honest.....it's my boo!

Speaking of the Colts. GO COLTS. It's kind of funny to me that so many people keep asking me if I really miss it. Or they ask me why I quit, like I must be crazy. I really do not miss cheering. I miss the girls, cause I loved them...but I don't miss the schedule, and holding perfectly still on the sidelines while everyone else is sitting comfortably and going crazy. I definitely miss the game atmosphere, but I would rather be back in the stands. It was great during the time, but I know it was time to be done. I'm very content with going to the Super Bowl and my team winning it. I think that is a perfect last memory.

Things are going great right now. Ethan's job is good, and he just hired his own secretary to help out. I love my job in Broad Ripple. It's neat to see our commercials on TV at night. I've had several friends, close friends, find out they are pregnant. I am so happy for them, but at the same time it really makes me question if it's time for us. I like my life and my freedom, and don't feel ready for a kid. But at the same time, I would love to have children the same age as my friends. And I'm sure it would be amazing to love something so much. It would be cool to have our own family. As of right now, we are sticking to the 2 or 3 more years plan, but I just can't believe how many of my friends are having families!!

Please pray for the health of my family. It's really weird, but it seems like right now everyone is having health issues. Almost every day, someone in my family is going to the doctor. My grandpa just got diagnosed with cancer again and is struggling with trying to decide what procedure to do for it. He has a few options. My father just pulled his hamstring and may have severed the muscle, which requires surgery. He also just found out that his lungs are not functioning properly. My mom is getting tested for diabetes. And my grandma just finally scheduled a surgery date in December for knee replacements. She has been in so much pain that she really hasn't been able to walk for a couple of years.

Do you ever wonder what significance we have? I was wondering that the other day. I work in an office in Broad Ripple making TV commercials. What significance is that? What am I really doing for God? I had a great discussion with Ethan who put things into perspective for me and might for you too. We were created with a purpose...to love God and do His will. I think a lot of times we get so hung up in wanting to do something huge and amazing for Him. At least I do. Or thinking that we are special and are going to be used in this BIG way. But really, being used in a big way to God may not be the same big way to us. Our calling could be to be a janitor that loves the Lord and witnesses whenever possible. Billy Graham accepted the Lord because of a janitor. As humans, we think we need to be successful, but we may be called to something unsuccessful in the world's eyes, but still is something important in God's. Instead of spending so much time praying that God would use us in awesome ways, maybe we should just be praying for strength to be obedient with whatever we are called to do. If we do enough small tasks that show obedience, who knows, maybe one day we'll wake up and realize God really was using us for something great that we couldn't see or didn't realize at the time....

God is Amazing

Oh ya...I rode the Bull :)

Well, I don't know where to begin on what has been happening in my life....but I just have to tell everyone. Well, I had been in a bad situation in my job. One that tore me down, and I kept praying that God would deliver me from it. Let me just tell you. God is so amazing. He listens to every prayer that you pray. It was all in His timing. I kept wondering what to do. I had thought about quitting, but knew God did not want that for me at the time. When I got fired, they gave me 2 weeks severance pay, and it was on great terms. It ended up being the biggest blessing. Within one week, I had a new job, and God just opened the flood gates with interviews. I had people telling me that I would be a huge asset and I had a lot of skills they would love to have. God knew what He was doing, because He knew I needed to hear all of that. It was amazing to see all of the opportunity that God was giving to me. The place I accepted told me that they didn't have a current position open for me, but that they would make one for me because I was too valuable to pass up. Wow. Music to my ears. I had people tell me that if I got a different offer, to please let them know so they could counter. I couldn't believe it. So now, looking back on the whole trial, I know it was so that I could grow closer to God, and that He could show me that He will come through for me. What Satan plans for evil, God plans for good. He used the whole trial to show me that He loves me and cares about my life and my prayers. I know he feels that way about you too, if you just give everything to Him. Every trial and care you have, He knows about it and is listening. I would never take back the difficulty because I know that ultimately, it glorified God, and that's all life is for. To glorify Him. Thank you to all of my close friends for the prayers. They worked!!!

Weddings Galore

Hello everyone! I am so sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth for a whole month!! It feels like once the summer hits, it's completely packed full of things to do! All fun things though, of course! :) We've had a lot of weddings again this year. One of them was a friend of mine from the Pacemates. It was so much fun! She had her reception at the Murat Center in Downtown Indianapolis, and it was really fancy.

My favorite part was meeting up with all of the old pacemates and dancing with them all night long. The lady in the middle is the coach. She's a doll, and I miss her so much! We sat with an older pacemate that danced with me for one year. She is now a mom and a pilates instructor.

Also at our table was the trainer who is hard core! Her husband is a trainer for professional athletes as well. That is one in shape family!!





Poor Ethan, he hates dancing, so he sat and talked to my bestest friend CP the whole night. CP likes to play it cool and low key too. He's been a great friend of mine and actually was my supervisor for my internship in the Pacers Sports and Entertainment production area. Ladies, he's single, and one cool cat! He really is a big teddy bear :)

These are my girls!! Melanie and Johnica. Melanie danced in my wedding to "I Surrender All" She might be the best dancer I've seen. She was on "So You Think You Can Dance." Those girls are so much fun. Crazy and a bunch of teases. Those poor men never knew what hit them!

My really great friend Paige came down a couple of weeks ago and watched the pacemates try outs. There really weren't a lot of girls that tried out, and I LOVED their new dances they taught. MAN, I wanted to be out there so badly! I sat with Paige and Johnica, and we learned the dances just sitting in the stands. Dancing our hearts out like that was such a blast back in the day. If I only didn't have to work, or if they could lessen their amount of games....hmmmm... :)

The Many Faces Of Bella

Ok, so I'm a little obsessed, but I just had to show you her many faces. Enjoy! :)

Her first bath! She was shaking and nervous. Poor thing. She's a lot skinnier than what we realized, since she's so fluffly with hair!


This is how she sleeps! What a silly!


Sitting at the back door telling us that she needs to go potty. What a good girl. Except for the 100 times she has pooped and peed on our floor already. Rrrrrr.


Laying underneat the dish washer. I think she just likes to be where the action is!


Stretching out, playing with Titus.

That teddy bear is tasty!


Suck in that tummy!


Doesn't she look like a really little version of Bigfoot?!