Kidd Family

It's a BOY!

2010-11-10T16:38:00.002-06:00

I know I am always late writing in this thing, it's not my intention it just happens. We found out on October 19th that we are having a boy! No question about it, the ultrasound was clear as day. We are so thrilled! I think God has a sense of humor about the whole thing because until we found out what we were having we could not agree on a girls name! We always had a boy name for the most part agreed on, but when it came to girls I like more southern names and Aaron didn't like them as much. I'm sure God was just laughing at us every time we talked about it. :) His name will be Gage Aaron after his daddy. I can already tell he is a lot like Aaron. He kicks after I eat ice cream, Aaron's favorite, and he loves to kick all night long. Aaron has always been a night person. I'm preparing myself for an Aaron Jr and i wouldn't have it any other way!

Love, Aaron, Amy, and Baby Gage due in 17 weeks!

Surprise #2!!!!!

2010-09-28T18:32:00.003-05:00

So as you probably all know by know Aaron and I are expecting our first baby. A doctor once told us we could never have kids and all I really want to say to him is...well, its not appropriate, but if any of you really know me please fill in the blanks.

Currently I am at 17 weeks and coming up in a couple weeks we get to find out what it is! I am beyond ecstatic!

My first trimester was less then appealing, but thank goodness teachers have summers off. I was sick! Some days were better than others, but from week 7 until about week 12 or 13 I was miserable. As soon as school started though I started to feel better and now I feel great. I'm tired a lot, but at least I can say goodbye morning sickness. Although it was night sickness for me, but the point is that its over! We can't wait to find out what it is so we can really start planning and narrowing down bedding and names. We feel so blessed to be entering the world of parenthood. :)

Other great news is Aaron finally has a job! He is a case manager for MHMR in the Early Childhood Intervention program. He work with kids 0-3 years of age and assess how they are meeting their milestones. He loves it and I love it form him. The only hard part is that he works in Amarillo which is an hours drive from our home in Clarendon.

Another great thing is we finally have a home. Again we are just renting, but we really want to see where the next few years take us so renting is perfect for us right now. Its a cute 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a fence for our puppies to play. It's plenty of space for us to start a family. I miss my family back in Houston, but so far God has blessed us with jobs, a home, and a new baby so moving here was part of His plan all along. Who knew I could ever live in small town? I'm surprising myself!

Love,

Amy, Aaron, Belle, Apollo and Baby Kidd :)

Surprise!!

2010-05-14T21:50:00.003-05:00

I have officially surprised Aaron for the first time EVER in the 3+ years we have been together! If we had a working camera I would post pictures, but we don't so just take my word for it...it was awesome!

bad and good

2010-04-29T22:18:00.004-05:00

Bad

I have lived in the Conroe area for going on 3 years now and not once have I ever been summoned for jury duty...until today. I am scheduled to show up on May 24th at 8 a.m. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, BUT it just so happens May 24th is my 2 year anniversary AND 2 weeks before I am moving to Clarendon! Not that Aaron will be in town to celebrate our anniversary, but come on, what are the odds that right before I move and on my anniversary I have to go sit in jury duty.

Good

23 days until I get to see Aaron again

and

36 days until we are finally living under the same roof!

new direction

2010-04-25T20:26:00.002-05:00

These past 2 weeks have been emotional...to say the least. I have had to say goodbye to my husband who left go to work, bury Aaron's grandad who died suddenly, say goodbye to Aaron AGAIN after the funeral, start packing our house and dealing with tying up of loose ends of our life here in Montgomery. As the school year is ending and I am coming closer to the realization that yes, we are moving over 500 miles away, my emotions are unpredictable. Really these past 2 years have been emotional and draining. As every newlywed couple has experienced its hard to balance, work, finances, and marriage. We have dealt with infertility, uncertainties about buying a house, changing jobs, and so forth.

This past weekend was amazing. I was able to see my beautiful niece, Alexia, dance in her first spring show, watch my nephew play in a soccer game and score 2 goals, and lastly, find out that my youngest niece Maddy will begin playing violin next year as she enters junior high. While I am grateful for the time I have been able to spend with them, I am also saddened that I will not be able to continue watching them grow up as closely as I have been up to this point. I love them to death and its hard to realize that I won't be able to drive an hour to watch Jordan play or see Maddy have her first orchestra recital. I know that God has a plan for us. He has revealed himself to us in so many ways and opened doors for us that we didn't know existed, but at the same time it is hard to leave everything behind that we have become accustomed to.

On the other hand this move will give us the opportunity to spend time with Aaron's family and our other niece and nephew. They are so little and it will be great to be a part of their lives as they grow. Since Aaron was laid off back in January we have really been praying for God to show us his love and able us to hear his voice in this hard time. In times of such turmoil it is hard to hear Gods voice, but He is faithful and true. God has shown us without a doubt that we are making the right choice in moving to Clarendon. Everything in the past 2 years that we have struggled with came to light. 1.We never bought a house 2. Before Aaron was laid off we decided to hold off on fertility treatments 3. The week Aaron was scheduled to begin his new job in Clarendon, his grandad took a turn for the worse and he was able to see him before he passed 4. Aaron has had a few job offers and teaching positions began to randomly open up in Clarendon when before nothing was available for us here in Montgomery, etc...I wish I could list all the ways He has spoken to us, but these are just a few. How awesome is our God!

I know this blog is all over the place, but I guess its just another way for me to process what our lives are like. I miss my husband dearly, but I am thankful that he is so faithful and dedicated to providing for us. I can't wait to be with him again and start our lives in Clarendon. I will miss this place and the people here, but I know we are headed in the right direction. God is good.

Proverbs 23:18
1 Peter 5:10-11

Love, Amy

changes!!!

2010-03-28T22:56:00.004-05:00

Oh my, has it really been over 6 months since I last posted? I know I always seem to do an update in my blogs about our lives every time i write, but I REALLY have a lot of updating to do. Honestly there is so much to write about it overwhelms me. So here is the short and sweet version of the Kidd family as of March 28th! Our lives pretty much turned upside down back in January. Aaron and I were at a place where we didn't feel completely settled here in Conroe. We were happy, but we always thought there was something more out there for us. We had always planned in the next 5 years or so to move towards the Dallas area, we were just uncertain of when that would be and what it would take to get us there. I mean why up and move our lives when we have jobs, a place to live, and so on? Well God took care of the wondering for us, in a really unexpected way when Aaron lost his job. Talk about a crappy start to a new year! Although it was s shock and things have been tough, God has been good to us through it all. We have learned to rely on each other and actually talk to one another more often. I think life gets so crazy sometimes its easy to just get in a routine and forget to sit and talk to your spouse, but we have had some good heart to hearts about where we are at now and what God is trying to teach us. Obviously, Conroe is not the place for us, I think we felt that all along, but we didn't expect to have to make changes like this. We have some things in the works and are desperately trying to be patient and let God lead us where he wants us. When we find out where the next step in our lives is we will share with you. Right now I am just thankful that we can feel God working in us and we know he has an awesome plan. It is a blessing in disguise that we are going through all these changes, I think we are both just ready to be on the other side of it all!

And I believe that is all she wrote. For today anyway, maybe I will be really ambitious and write again tomorrow. That would definitely be a first!

Have a great night!!
Love, A & A

P.S. Did I mention that I have the best husband ever because he made me Chuy's creamy jalapeno sauce?!!

money, money

2009-09-05T10:32:00.002-05:00

Recently I've noticed a bit of a craze for clipping coupons. I did this some in college and to be honest, I didn't really notice a difference. I mean I would save $1 here and there, but overall I just didn't think it was worth it. Until now... Aaron and I both work full time, but our jobs are not the highest paying, at least in monetary value. We love our jobs, and wouldn't trade them for anything, but it does make our budget tight. So I've started actually shopping around and using coupons whenever I can and I honestly have noticed a small difference this time around. I read it takes time to really build up savings and find good deals, but from what I have done so far I am excited! Its somewhat time consuming, but there are lots of great deals out there, you just have to search.

We have some medical bills we are trying to pay off and some credit card debt, but I see us making progress and its encouraging. We took Dave Ramsey's financial peace course when we were engaged and even though I don't remember every detail it has helped tremendously. I can definitely be doing a a way better job than I am now with our money, but we are finally getting on the right path and looking forward. It will nice to be completely free of medical debt and be able to concentrate on our credit cards. (They really shouldn't let college students get credit cards!)

So its tough when your a minister and private school teacher, but we are getting there step by step!

Good luck!
Amy

why i love him

2009-08-13T20:13:00.004-05:00

I have poison ivy...again....

I had it back in May when school was almost out and it was all over my arm and legs. Well this time school starts in less then a week and yet again the poison has returned! I will spare you pictures of what it looks like because basically its just disgusting. I have it on my arm, leg, and a little on my belly button (I have no idea why) and it REALLY HURTS! The first time I got it I was trying to help Aaron clear out the vines along our back fence so the dogs wouldn't get into them and eat them. Well we didn't know there was poison ivy in it and needless to say a week later I had it all over me. This time we think the dogs passed it to me. With the heat and no rain the vines and weeds have grown so big that it touches the ground and the dogs play with the neighbors dog along the back fence. Before we figured since it had been all summer and I never got poison ivy again that it was gone...until the beginning of this week when that all familiar red rash started to appear. Gross I know!

So Aaron has spent all evening in the backyard trimming the vines and branches to make the nasty stuff go away! There is nothing I can do to help him because I am so allergic to it. He however is not allergic. A husbands of one of the ladies at work has a home exterior business so we are going to have him come out on Saturday to give us an estimate on clearing out the roots and everything so it doesn't grow back. Thank God!

But for now I am thankful for my hubby who is by himself, wearing pants, a long sleeve shirt in the summer heat, cutting away so I don't itch anymore.

This is one of the many reasons why I love him!

growing up random thoughts

2009-08-10T21:58:00.007-05:00

So i was making a birthday wish list in my head the other night, you know just thinking of a few things that I might want for my birthday and this is what I came up with...

1. A salad spinner

2. Serving spoons, the ones with the holes in them so juices can drain

3. Medium sized mixing bowl (Apollo ate part of our old one)

4. Clothes...a constant on any list of mine :)

5. jewelry from James Avery is always nice

6. Jason Mraz CD

7. Britney Spears concert tickets

When I look at the list is just reminders me that I am not in the "college" stage of my life anymore or the "fresh out of college doing my own thing" stage. I have officially entered into adulthood. I never in a million years would have thought I would ask for a salad spinner or serving spoons for my birthday! But here we are fixing to turn 27 this year! I can't believe how fast life has flown by. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was celebrating my birthdays on 6th street. Oh good memories! So much has changed over the past 10 years and its amazing to see how God has shaped my life.

Everything I said I wouldn't do, I ended up doing, and they are things that have changed my life for the better. Here are just 2 examples. First, I said I would never marry a minister. I thought I was too opinionated to be married to one, but God knew me better. Second, I swore I would never meet anyone over the Internet. I thought it was stupid and a waste of time. Now, I do still truly believe that Aaron and I would have meet at Mary-Hardin Baylor, but I was stubborn back then and didn't want to let God take over my life, I thought I knew it all and transferred out of the college the same semester Aaron transferred into it. Just a couple examples...

I guess all of this to say, its just amazing to me that I am going to be 27 this year and to see where I am. Just 3 years ago I had no idea where my life was headed and what was in store for me, but God is good and He knew it all.

Let go and let God, He knows what is best for you and He has perfect timing. :)

So yay for being 27 this year!!

And yes, I am VERY serious about wanting Britney Spears concert tickets too....

Amy

update

2009-08-02T16:25:00.006-05:00

So apparently some people (all family members, but thats ok!) actually read our family blog. Just thought I would write a little about our summer! Summer has gone by so incredibly fast! Aaron and I have traveled to Clarendon to surprise our family for the 4th of July, to Lumberton, TX for junior high mission trip, and to College Station for our high school mission trip. It was all very exhausting, but so much fun. While we were in Clarendon I got to experience my first turtle race, and it is no small ordeal, its huge! I have never seen more people in my life gathered in one place to watch turtles cross a finish line. I loved it! The whole atmosphere of the 4th of July with my in-laws deepened our desires to have children so they too can experience a 4th of July in Clarendon. I can't wait to have our kids enter the children's parade with their cousins, race turtles, and eat homemade ice cream. Although they might have to stay clear from their dad when its comes to to the fireworks part... jk!

Now that summer is coming to an end I am getting ready to head back into my classroom. I thought at the end of this past school year, that i would dread going back after such a long break, but I am actually excited! I am doing a teamwork themed classroom for the kids and I am having a lot of fun decorating and planning. It has been a great summer, but I'm ready for a routine again. Any ideas for my classroom are very welcome! :)

Puppies are good. Well i guess they aren't puppies anymore, but they are to me. Apollo is going for his annual check-up in a couple weeks and I can't wait to see how much he weighs. Yes, I know we can weigh him ourselves, but every time we do it is never accurate. I estimate around 70lbs. I just know he is huge and i swear he thinks that he's a little Chihuahua or something. I don't think its possible for me to go one week without getting a bruise on my leg from him, but we are working on it. He's just a little slow at learning. I wonder if they have special dog obedience classes for "slow" learners like him...hmmm....

Aaron is wonderful. He constantly working away and finding new things to get into. This past week it has been a BB gun. He somehow managed to tear apart my air soft gun and turn his BB gun into some supped up type of thing that now has a laser to help aim with an extra trigger that does something...I don't really know. I DO know we now have a shelf in our garage with a rug on it as a background with tons of targets attached to it. I also heard him say that we need to get small plastic men to set up as targets on the shelf? I guess its better then back in the day when we would shoot each other with nerf guns. I love being married!

Here's some pictures of the puppies that I love....

And soon I will have a video of the man that I love, it hilarious and definitely worth the wait! Stay tuned!

Love you all!

lazy days of summer

2009-06-12T16:45:00.002-05:00

Aaron got home early yesterday and it has been so nice to spend the time together. Yesterday we became addicted to this Farm Town game on facebook, that I swore I would never do. Aaron thinks he can tell who has farmed before and who hasn't based on this game and apparently I never have. Obviously this is true, but I have learned a lot from marrying into the Kidd family and I think my farm will beat his! I recommend Farm Town if you are looking for something silly and addicting to waste your time. But really its fun!

We heard back from the owners of the house we are currently renting and I do not know if we are going to be able to afford to buy this house. I really like this house and DO NOT want to move again. Hopefully we can work something out...

Next week is vacation bible school at our church, which means I have to get back into a routine of waking up early instead of sleeping in until 1pm. I am very excited about playing with the 3 and 4 year olds! This will be a definite change from teaching 10 and 11 year olds all year.

Since its Friday evening and Aaron just left to go play golf, I am going to continue my addiction to Farm Town and try to get some animals and a fence on my farm.

Happy Farming!

one year

2009-06-09T13:48:00.004-05:00

So its been a year since we were married. A whole year!! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. It honestly seems that just yesterday that I kept looking down at my ring finger thinking I can't wait to add the wedding band to my beautiful engagement ring. And now it has been on my finger for a whole year. It just makes me smile. Not just the ring, but the fact that God blessed me with a wonderful man to call my husband. He makes me the happiest, most loved, and luckiest girl ever! I love you Aaron!

I also just finished my first year of teaching and loved it. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work with kids everyday and see them learn and grow as followers of Christ. I am very grateful for summers off though! I have spent everyday sleeping in till at least noon and actually being able to stay up late and watch movies with Aaron. This week on my schedule is a movie date with my hubby, swimming tomorrow night with the youth group, lunch with my dear friend Tiffany, and that's it...aww the joys of summer!

In a couple weeks we are heading to Austin to visit our niece and nephew. Apparently there is a zoo in Austin that after living there for 4+ years I never knew existed until now. Anyway~I am very excited to see them. Last time we saw our niece she wasn't even crawling and now she is talking and starting to walk. They grow up so fast!

And just to mention my niece Alexia, is now going into High School! Wow it makes me feel old! I love her to death, but still see her as a little girl running around in her jeans because she refused to wear a dress. Love you Lexie!

Lastly, still no baby, but we are trying!

Hopefully my next post won't be so random as they always seem to be. I don't have much to do this summer so I don't have any excuses.

Ames

back to work

2009-03-24T20:46:00.002-05:00

Spring break was wonderful! The in-laws were here and we had a lot of fun. They brought their dog (Aaron still claims Tyson is his dog, but whatever) and they stayed Friday through Tuesday morning. Belle fell in love with Tyson and wouldn't stop kissing him. Apollo just wanted to play with him and Tyson just wanted to be left alone. We went to to the Rodeo on Monday and saw Darius Rucker, he put on a great show! The rest of Spring Break I slept in and cleaned house and tried to cook dinner for Aaron every night. Cooking is definitely not my thing, but he never got sick so I guess I did ok! I really needed the time to rest up and get myself back together so it was a much needed and great break. I dreaded going to work on Monday, but it was nice to be on a schedule again.

We did a countdown at school and its officially 11 1/2 days until Easter break and 45 days until Summer!! woohoo! I really do love my job, but I understand why we get summers off. :)

Update: My first round of medicine worked and on Thursday I will start taking Chlomid. Then I will go in around the middle of April to have my blood tested again. Hopefully my hormone levels will be fine and we won't have to go any further then just the chlomid. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Now that it is really baby "trying" time I need to work on getting my body as healthy as can be and the ramon noodles and Dr.Pepper I had for dinner is far from healthy! So starting tomorrow I am going to watch my diet and start working out again. I have loved being the pajama and lay on the couch girl, but I need to start taking better care of myself. I think I'll start easy and use the Wii fit Aaron got me for Christmas and work up to the actual running outside part. :)

Love you and praying for you!
Aaron, Amy, Rocky, Belle and Apollo

spring break!

2009-03-12T18:50:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is half a day with my kiddos...I mean I love them, but what teacher doesn't look forward to Spring Break?!

My in-laws will be in town starting late Friday night through Tuesday morning. We are having a barbecue on Sunday with our parents and then Monday we are taking the in-laws to the rodeo! I am very excited. I can truly say that I do love my in-laws and look forward to seeing them. Hopefully they will love Apollo as well...he's the one they haven't meet yet and he can definitely be a handful!

A lot of you have been asking about our Doctors visit and it went good. We did some preliminary blood work and they started me on chlomid so I guess we will just have to wait and see. I know that in Gods timing His plan will show itself...its the Patience and worrying that I am not so good at! Everything else we know will work itself out. Thank you for your prayers!

Off to finish the laundry and cuddle up on the couch...its freezing outside!!

Ames

just a little of me

2009-02-23T20:46:00.004-06:00

Instead of giving the normal Kidd family update I am going to write about whats been on my heart lately. A few of our family memebers already know and those are pretty much the only ones who read this so it won't be anything new.
Aaron and I have been talking a lot lately about having children. I have felt very stongly from a young age that I am called not only to be a teacher, wife, and Christian, but also to be a mommy. I know babies don't stay small forever and that they are expensive and blah blah blah.....but truly I feel God has always been calling me to be a parent. Having children should be an easy thing for most people, but for me it won't be. I already know I will have a hard time having kids and these past few months have proved that. For the past few months we have been thinking "if it happens it happens if it doesnt then well it doesnt" but even more so lately I feel that I need to go a step further and see the doctor about it. So on March 10th we head to to the doctor to see if I am just a worrier as I tend to be or if my concerns are a reality.
I write this only to ask for prayer as we lead into our first official doctors visit. I am not writing to expose our lives or anyhting of the sorts, but for those couple of you who actually read this to please pray for us. Pray for me that I can give it ALL to God and not worry about it. Please pray for me that I can stay strong and know that in God's timing everything is made perfect for His glory. In reality any child that I may be blessed to be a mommy to is God's child and just a gift to me while we are here.
Please also pray for Aaron who is such a wonderful husband. He is patient with me and the sweetest man I could have ever been blessed with. Please pray that through whatever it is the road we go down that Aaron will sense God's direction upon our family and I follow his lead.

Thank you and we love you,
Aaron and Amy

We're back!

2009-02-08T14:10:00.003-06:00

3 months since we last posted? SORRY!!

Life has been a little crazy. So for now I will give you a little update with many promises to keep this blog rolling along in the future. We don't get to see those we love and care about as much as we would like and I apologize for not doing a better job with this thing.

First I will start with Aaron. He is still hot as ever and the love of my life. I am the luckiest girl in the world to see my best friend everyday and be able to kiss him goodbye every morning before work. His job is going great and we love the kids and their families dearly. Aaron has started drawing again and drew a very cute picture of our puppies last night.

My job is rolling along great as well. I have a couple more tests to take for my certification so please keep praying for me about those. They are very difficult and I can't wait to have them behind me!

Belle is just a doll. She is the sweetest puppy and very loving. She loves to play and run in our backyard and every once in a while dig! I think she heard a while back you could get to China by digging to other side...she is convinced she can do it!

Apollo is a constant blur of a dog running around the house. We have resorted to using a shock collar to train him now that he has learned to climb over the fence. He definitely keeps us on our toes. He is starting to calm down and thank goodness is finally potty trained!

We have also started to finally decorate our house and try to make it into a home..as much is allowed without painting. I can't wait to own a house one day and be able to decorate how we want, but for now we know we are blessed to finally be in a house even though we are renting.

I promise to write more later...really I promise! But i hear Nascar on the TV and I have more papers to grade for my kiddos.

Love you all,
Aaron, Amy, Rocky, Belle, and Apollo.

Big week!!

2008-11-13T18:56:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow I go sign the papers for our new house...no we didn't buy one but renting one is just as exciting for us as if we bought it!

Things we are excited about:
1. Not having to tip toe around bc we have neighbors underneath us
2. Not having to stumble around at 3am looking for clothes because one of the dogs has to go to the bathroom.
3. Not having to walk the dogs to go to the bathroom...we have a backyard!
4. Parking my car in the garage
5. Having a third bedroom so Aaron can have a office and I get a guest room
6. Having a fireplace for Christmas stockings!
7. Having a separate tub and shower in the master bath
8. Not having to walk a mile to throw out the trash or check the mail
9. Having a place to actually use our grill
10. Use our surround sound as much and as late as we want
11. Cooking without the fire alarm going off every time the stove is turned on
12. Being only a block away from the lake
13. Having a wal-mart less then a mile away...and a sonic!
14. Being somewhat in a small town...never thought I would say that....

I could name a million more reasons why we are so excited, but I think you get the point!

Also this weekend is the Follow Me Disciple weekend with our youth group. Aaron has been working really hard on this so please pray for the youth who come that it is a fulfilling and fun weekend for them.

And to close just a small story: Exactly a week ago today our innocent little puppy, Apollo, ate 2 lbs of butter.... No worries he is fine, but I just wanted to celebrate that its been a week and surprisingly he hasn't gotten into any more trouble. :)

Love,
Aaron, Amy, Belle and Apollo

weekend

2008-10-24T17:18:00.002-05:00

This weekend's plans

Friday

set up for Seasons Greetings weekend at church

Saturday

5k run (walk for me)
blessing of the animals (sounds weird but might as well let the dogs go to get out of the house)
family fall festival
go see our house to measure for a refrigerator
craft show with my mom
carve a pumpkin

Sunday

work in church nursery
grade papers
grade more papers
pumpkin carving contest with youth group

NEW!

2008-10-19T16:03:00.002-05:00

Just a little update...

1. We are officially moving into a house on Nov. 15. Its out in Montgomery, TX in a neighborhood thats on the lake. We are SOOO excited!!
2. I started working in the church nursery.
3. Aaron will be 26 soon!
4. My cousins baby is a boy and due Jan 6th
5. Our niece Ella is now all better.
6. Rocky temporarily has moved in with my parents

Thats it!

Love you,
Aaron, Amy, Belle, and Apollo

Amy moment...

2008-09-29T19:16:00.003-05:00

Tiffany this post is mostly for you...... :)

So if anyone knows me and my personality you would know that I sometimes can do things without thinking about the consequences. In the moment I don't really care what the consequences could be whether good or bad, I just impulsively do things. College is a great example, but for the sake of "time" I'm not going into detail! Well last week I got upset with our apartment complex for a few reasons...

1. Our neighbors are gross, loud, messy, and a few other things
2. Trash is never picked up, there is always chicken bones on the ground and with dogs this just isn't good
3. "Smells" of certain smoked substances never fail to be outside or in the hallways so when you walk out its an immediate turn around back into the apartment.

Mainly we are just ready to move on and I had a bad day with trying to walk the dogs, take out our trash and had one to many nights dealing with our neighbors. So I called Aaron and let him know that I was turning in our notice....he said "ok" but being the sweet man that he is was thinking all I needed was some time to cool off and I would be fine. Well when I get to a certain point of "mad" I just sometimes make decisions that aren't the best ...Tiffany this is where I completely think of you and love you for still being my friend..... so I went to the office and turned in our notice.

We now have until November to find a place to live that will take 2 dogs and 1 cat. This all doesn't sound to bad, but I kind of changed plans for my family before it was necessary and while we were planning on saving some money and taking our time we are now packing up our house, searching for a house to rent, and hoping they will take pets. Hopefully we can do all this and still be sane come Thanksgiving!

Not a funny, entertaining, or even good story....its just a moment of truth for me. :)

Love you all and have a wonderful night!!!

A, A, R, B, A

Wednesday Randomness

2008-09-24T17:20:00.003-05:00

Happy Wednesday!

1. I would just like to write that it makes me sick that my husband can eat 5x as much as me and he still manages to lose weight. I just really do not get it. If the rest of our lives together include this little "annoyance" of mine its going to be a long long ride on the married wagon..... Other then that I love being married and definitely recommend it! It has its ups and downs, but at the end of the day having your best friend there is the most amazing and comforting feeling. Not to mention you never have to take out the trash again! Love you honey!

2. Our dogs are crazy as ever and never fail to make our lives joyful and busy! Apollo is still potty training (I honestly don't think he will EVER learn) but he is getting better. I only use better to try and stay positive for my own sanity.... He is completely obsessed with food to the extent that he chokes himself while eating because he is so excited about seeing it...notice i said seeing it not because he is hungry... He acts like a dog on crack sometimes, but we still love him. Belle on the other hand is such a sweet girl. She is exiting her puppy stage and it makes me sad. She will be 1 in October. She still loves to play, but she loves to sleep a little more then she used to. She is definitely our cuddly puppy, she loves to just lay there next to you while Apollo jumps on all of us.

Here is Apollo taking a nap after playing in a backyard for almost a week.... its the only time you will see him calm!

3. I absolutely love the TV show John and Kate plus 8, its hilarious! Even Aaron will watch it with me...sometimes. :)

I'm tired and I need to go join the youth for bible study. I honestly had a point to writing today, but I couldn't remember what it was so I just listed a few things about us in case anyone wanted an update so enjoy the randomness and maybe I'll remember what I was going to write about later!

Love you all,

Aaron, Amy, Rockstar, Belle Belle, and Pollo

wow its been a month!!!

2008-09-18T22:50:00.002-05:00

Hi!! So the latest since I last posted...

My sister-in-law got married, a hurricane swept through our home knocking power out for a good 5 days, no work for 6 days, Apollo ate a birds head, i turned 26, we have decided to buy a house, learned our family has a "timeline" until we have some babies (11 months so we are told), been without proper cell phone usage, I drove to Clarendon for the first time, and I'm sure there is more, but I just don't remember! I haven't even had time to think clearly about what today is much less what tomorrow is.
Life was going smoothly, Aaron and I were starting to house hunt and begin that phase in our lives when it was time to go to Clarendon for my sweet sister-in-laws wedding. But things changed quickly the week it was time to leave. As a hurricane was brewing in the gulf my very realistic-minded husband changed our flight to Christmas and decided it would be best for us to drive to the wedding in case the airport was closed.... i love my realistic-minded husband! The hurricane came through Friday night/early Saturday (we drove out on Thursday) straight into Galveston and on up north, closing the airports and knocking out power where we live and throughout Houston, including my parents house. My very loving parents were watching our 2 dogs at the time so things had to be crazy at their house. Luckily we were not here to experience the hurricane, I guarantee if I was here during the hurricane I would have had an anxiety attack. Yes, I have them and I don't like them! So on early Sunday we drove back and came home to our safe families, but also to a dark and sad community. There was no power and debris was every where. We are so blessed that everyone around us and those we love were not hurt. Only some downed power lines, trees, and a lot of debris. So Aaron and I spent Sunday through Tuesday at my parents with no power. Tuesday was also my birthday so as a present from my dad he let me plug in the hairdryer and chi to the generator...i love my daddy! My mom was able to get an angel food cake and ice cream for my birthday and we celebrated in the dark, I love my mommy! But another present was coming and it was electricity!! The lights finally came on at my parents house so Aaron and I packed up and drove to Conroe where our power was turned on as well. So for the rest of week Aaron has been working in the community helping church members clean up their homes and I have been trying to clean our apartment and get our lives back on some kind of normalcy. Please keep praying for those who do not have power and who have lost everything. This is a very sad time for our community and its is going to take a lot of time and money and prayer to get through this.

The wedding was beautiful....Welcome to the family Michael!

Being 26 is not fun...so far at least.

Apollo is a gross gross puppy and I can't believe he ate the head of a bird (its was already dead, but still!)

I guess it back to house hunting...

Sorry if my words don't make sense, I am very tired and still trying to adjust to life after a hurricane.

Love you all,
Aaron, Amy, Rocky, Belle, and Apollo

long month

2008-08-22T21:12:00.002-05:00

Hi!! Its been almost a month since we last posted, things have been so busy! I love my new job! Everyone keeps asking how I'm doing since I teach at a Catholic School and I'm not Catholic...well my only answer is that its different, but a blessing! The kids and staff are wonderful and so encouraging. Even though I'm Methodist we all have the same faith which is Christ and to be able to pray in school and speak God's name is amazing to me and I feel thankful to serve.
Our new puppy is growing fast and has a funny personality. He is obsessed with food and still hasn't figured out that when we take him outside that's potty time, not try to walk on the bushes time....he's getting there though! He is old enough now that we can take him out to the field at church and play catch. Hopefully soon I can post some pictures when we find the time to take him!
Aaron is gone tonight with his friends who were in our wedding. Its "guy time" as he told me last night when I asked if he could take our girl dog Belle with him so she can play in a real backyard. Apparently even the poor dog can't go because she is a girl....whatever. They are going to eat and then do whatever it is guys do when they all get together and go shoot some guns tomorrow morning. Then tomorrow night the church is throwing us a small wedding reception as well as a good-bye party for our friend Keith who is headed back to New Jersey for seminary and a retired pastor. It should be an interesting night!
I am off to enjoy a night of eating cereal for dinner, laundry, dishes, and an early bed time! Shouldn't I be enjoying a night off as well instead of doing chores....... oh-well!

Love you all!
Amy, Rocky, Belle, and Apollo.............................................. :)

NEW

2008-08-04T21:39:00.002-05:00

HAPPY AUGUST!!

We have some special news to share.....I got a new job!!!! I will be the new 5th grade language arts and social studies teacher for Sacred Heart Catholic School in Conroe! I am so excited about this! I have been in such a rut lately with everything, especially my job. I went back to school last semester, all while planning my wedding...not a good idea, but none the less i got my certificate and have spent every waking hour since we got back from our honeymoon searching for the place God wants me. It was so hard! I applied to 4 different districts in the Conroe surrounding area and sent dozens of resumes and never heard a word! It was extremely frustrating and at times I just wanted to give up. But the sweet ladies at our church never gave up on me! A co-worker of Aarons mentioned to me that she heard the school was hiring and from there a sweet sweet lady named Dianna Carroll gave me some contact information of where to send my resume to and the rest is history! Dianna already works there as the 6th grade language arts teacher so I get to teach alongside her. This job is such an answer to prayer for Aaron and me. Driving over 100 miles a day was draining me and being in a job where I had no passion or calling for was draining me even more. I am so excited about what my future as a teacher holds. I pray that I can not only be an example for my students but also teach them the knowledge they need to make it to 6th grade and beyond. Education is so important especially at a young age and I just pray that I will be a vessel for God to reach these students.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped me along the way....Mrs. Sapp, Mrs. Winberry, Keith, Yvonne, Dianna, our parents, my lovely niece Alexia for laughing at me and especially my very patient husband who has many more years helping me tote school supplies back and forth for my classroom! :)

****Please also pray for the tropical storm/hurricane that is suppossed to hit land tomorrow early afternoon in the Galveston/Houston area.****

Love, Aaron, Amy, Rocky, Belle, and the not doing good on potty training puppy Apollo.....

Apollo

2008-07-29T09:20:00.003-05:00

Good morning!

Aaron and I would like to introduce to you our new puppy. His name is...after much debate.... Apollo Kidd. He is a 3 month old lab/terrier mix. Apollo and Belle get along great and have so much fun playing together, especially tug-o-war! He needs a little nursing back to health, but he is looking great and getting better fast! He should have a clean bill of health in a couple weeks. Here are a few pictures of our little guy, they aren't the best because he gets distracted very easily, but its all we have! Enjoy!

God Bless,

Aaron, Amy, Rocky, Belle, and Apollo

2008-07-25T16:36:00.002-05:00

Our weekend plans....

Friday
1. Eat Carabbas with hubby
2. Go see Hellboy 2 with hubby...yes I want to see it :)

Saturday
1. Go to the bank
2. Go look at lab puppies at the animal shelter
3. Buy decorative pillows for our bland couch...maybe green or blueish???
4. Go to the grocery store
5. Go to movie tavern to see The Dark Night with the high schoolers in our youth group
6. Clean out the guest room

Sunday
1. Go watch our niece Madelyn get baptized....ya!!!
2. Probably go out to eat with the fam
3. Back to Conroe for youth night, couch scavenger hunt!!!

Makes me tired just thinking about it all...but I love my life and wouldn't change it for anything in the world!!

Much love,
Aaron, Amy, Rockstar, Belle Belle, and possibly a new puppy.... :)

Life

2008-07-23T11:43:00.003-05:00

Good Afternoon!

It's been a while since we last posted anything, sorry for the absence.

Last weekend Aaron and I traveled to Frdericksburg to meet our new niece and hang out with his side of the family. We spent too much money, bought too many things, but had a wonderful time. We didn't take any pictures because our camera is a little sick at the moment, but hopefully soon I will find the time to drop it off so we can actually have some memories. Here are a couple pictures of her that my sister-in-law sent to us. Isn't she beautiful?

From all the running around we have been doing this past month I've been thinking about how crazy life is. I have been so busy, stressed out, and literally running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I haven't had time to do our laundry, clean house, unpack from the fourth of july trip...much less our recent trip, take our poor pup on a walk, make a decent meal, take care of myself, or get the guest bedroom cleaned up. This all has me so stressed out that I've put myself in a small rut. I just don't have it all together and I feel drained. Work is draining, church is draining, looking at our apartment is draining, being a newlywed is sometimes draining, trying to figure out my work future is draining and I could go on and on.... I know God clearly states in Matthew 6:25-35 "DO NOT WORRY" and in 1 Peter 5:7 to "CAST ALL YOUR CARES ON ME" I tend to hold these verses close to my heart because I am a natural worrier, but I can't help feeling the way I do at the moment, I'm just in a rut.

I promise it won't be so long until we post again!

Love, Aaron, Amy, Belle and Rocky

excited!

2008-07-11T16:46:00.002-05:00

Aaron comes home tomorrow!!! Today cannot go by fast enough..............

Love, Amy, Rocky Balboa, and Bellerina :)

best friends and sad puppies

2008-07-08T19:16:00.004-05:00

MY BEST FRIEND IS COMING HOME TODAY!!!!!!

For those of you who do not know my best friend Kristi is a missionary somewhere some place. I'm not allowed to say where, but just know its far, far, far away!! Kristi is an absolute blessing in my life. She is more then my best friend, she is also my sister in Christ and the person that has been there for me in the good times and bad and I promise there were a lot of bad! She prayed for me and never gave up on me when everyone else had. I have a story about my dear Kristi and I hope you enjoy it bc its my favorite!

My life was full of irrational decisions. I have been a christian since I was young. I grew up in a baptist church and was one of those church brats running around all the pews bothering the older members of the church. I was part of my church youth group leadership team and always had my face in church....the keyword here is face. I was a christian and loved God, but that was on the surface. Deep down I had a hard time giving control over to God and letting Him be truly and completely in my life. I made some bad decisions in high school, but all together was a good kid. Then I went off to college. I was depressed my first year of college and just kind of floated through the rest of the years falling far from God. I knew in my heart that God was so desperately calling me to Him and pouring out His love to me, but I always turned away bc I was scared. I was scared to give up what I considered at the time fun nights on the town, guys, materialistic things, selfish desires, and so much more. Through these many years of being a surface Christian, Kristi was my rock. She prayed for me and always listened to my stories full of sin. She never condemned me or turned her back. She was the constant God, if you will, in my life. She never forced any views on me, but was just there for me in any way she could be. I remember calling her crying a little over a year ago, right before I met Aaron and was at my lowest level. I did not want to continue with the life I was living, but I didn't know how to turn my life around from the insecure person I was. She listened to me cry and encouraged me the only way a best friend can and told me that I could be the woman God had been calling me to be for him and that I could forgive myself for my past and be accepted as a pure and holy in His sight. God used her all those years to be that light for me and for that I am eternally grateful. She is a wonderful and amazingly beautiful soul and I am so lucky that I am able to call her my sister and best friend.

I don't know if any of that makes sense to you, but it does to me and I know it will to her. I hope she knows the impact she has had on my life and I am forever grateful to God for blessing me with her and for everything she is.

So yea for Kristi being home even if its only for a short time!!!

Belle is missing Aaron a lot since he has been gone. He left Sunday and won't be back until Saturday and she already does not know what to with herself. She aimlessly walks around outside staring down cars in hopes that her daddy is home. I wish I could somehow tell her "Saturday!!" But I can't so we will continue going through the rest of the week and taking a potty break every 30 minutes to see if he is home yet. So for Belle's sake here is one of my favorite pictures of Aaron and Belle....

I'm off to take the trash out, do the dishes, switch around some laundry,pick up whatever it was the cat knocked off the counter, find a bible verse to text to Aaron for tomorrow and finally be a lazy bum!

We love you and God Bless,

Amy, Rocky, and Belle Belle

Sad...

2008-07-06T22:06:00.001-05:00

I have to say I am sad today. Aaron left for UMArmy and will not be back until Saturday. UMArmy is the senior high mission trip for our kids. Around 4-6 churches from all over the state of Texas get together and stay at a host church and spend the week doing community service work through out the city/town where they are staying. This year they went to St. Pauls United Methodist Church in downtown Houston. Our kids will be painting houses, building wheel-chair ramps and being a light in a community where its sometimes hard to see the love of Christ. So if you get a chance please pray for Aaron, Keith (our dear friend and summer intern) and our kiddos. They will need the strength because it is definitly hot out there! Please also pray for me. We just got married a month and half ago and even though a week is not a long time it seems like an eternity for me! We had only been dating a few months this time last year when he went to UMArmy and I barely made it through the week. I think I broke down and called him Friday night crying bc I missed him so much and quickly hung up hoping the message for some reason did not go through because he would probably think I was crazy! Thankfully he called as soon as he got the message in the morning and reassured me he would be home in a couple hours! Silly me...patience is a virtue!

Before we packed his stuff Saturday night we spent a lovely 4th of July weekend at my parents lake house at Toledo Bend. I love going there and some of my best childhood memeries are from our 2 bedroom 1 bathroom single wide trailer filled with family, food, and somewhat clear cable. :) This was Belle's first time to the lake and it went suprisingly well considereing our poor pup is scared of the water. Not to the point where she hides her tail or cries a little bit, but I mean she goes nuts! Giving her a bath is not a one person job, its a whole army if we had them. She flips over herself, claws Aaron to the extent that he needs arm, back, and chest padding and she will literally try to run a hole through the tub just to get out instead of just jumping out. Aaron threw her in the water a few times and I think for today at least she is glad he isn't home, but all together it was a wonderful family time. We watched fireworks on Friday night and made smores then just relaxed and fished the rest of the time. My parents and 2 nieces were there with us and it was great!

In other news, we have a new niece!!! Elaina JoLee Estlack was born on July 2, 2008! We are so excited and can't wait to meet her! We are traveling to Fredrickburg on July 17th to visit her and her big brother Ben, along with Aarons sisters and their hubbies. I will post pictures as soon as we have some! We can't wait to spend a family weekend with every we miss so much!

Me and the pup are off the bed. Its getting late and I have a full week of 8-5 work to look forward to in the morning. Plus, the saddness of Aaron not being next to me is starting to set in so I am going to read my daily devotional and try to relax. Belle is full of energy though so we will see how much rest I get! Goodnight!!

Love you all!!

Amy, Rocky and Belle

The beginning...

2008-07-02T16:25:00.000-05:00

Hello!!!

Recently, I have had the joy of reading others blogs and the Lord has used them to touch me and teach me in numerous ways and for that I am thankful. So instead of being selfish and continually reading others we decided to start one of our own in hopes that we can better keep in touch with our loved ones, but also to share a part of ourselves with you and share our journey and love for God with you! So here is the beginning....

Aaron and I were married on May 24th, 2008 in a beautiful lake side wedding. We have been together since February of 07 and a short 10 months later he proposed! Aaron is the man of my dreams and I am so lucky to get to spend the rest of my life with him. And I have to admit we will have some darn cute kiddos one day!

We live in Conroe where Aaron works as the Youth Director to the wonderful youth at First United Methodist Church Conroe. He does an amazing job with them and its a blast!

I work downtown Houston for a furniture design/sales company. (Yes, I commute over 100 miles a day to work...its not fun, believe me!) Its a crazy world and I am ready to start a new path. In early May I received my teaching certificate so I am eagerly awaiting when God says its time to move into the world of teaching! I am very excited and somewhat scared, but I know that God will lead me in the path He wants.

We have a 9 month old catahoula mix puppy named Belle and a 6 year old stubborn cat named Rocky Balboa....for a good reason!

That's a little beginning to the Kidd family. I pray that our silly blog will somehow bless you in a way only God can do. He is an amazing God who loves you more then you can ever imagine.

We Love you!

Aaron, Amy, Rocky Balboa, and Belle :)