Big week!!

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

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!

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...

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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

:)

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

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!

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

Love, Amy, Rocky Balboa, and Bellerina :)

best friends and sad puppies

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...

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...

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 :)