So after my nice rant from my last blog I thought that i would write something a little more up beat. So here are some pictures from the shore. I tried not to duplicate pictures from "the hulfish happenings" The first picture on the list is a typical beach day. Mom is reading... dad is looking interested and josh is about to fall asleep, right after putting tones of suntan lotion on.

Here there is a nice picture of something josh made for me. Well we kind of made it together. I drew the heart, then he made the J... then he tried to make the C but it was hard, so i drew it. joint effort from husband and wife.


This is me saying HHHHIIIII so josh




this is josh saying HHHHHIIIIII to me!


This was a picture that I took. Personally, i thought it was pretty awesome. I was just trying to take a picture of a nice view of the beach.... but notice that awesome seagull flying o so gracefully through the air! and the reflection of the bird on the water just makes it all.




This year was a great one. It was upsetting that Josh and I could not be down for a full week, but we did make some day trips and long weekends. Josh and I did have the 'pleasure" of helping my grandparents and aunt unload on their first day down at the shore. Most of you who read this already know of the two mini vans stuffed from top to bottom with things for the house, including the 24 boxes of cereal. Then there was always the fun of people getting upset and locking themselves in there rooms, but then are fine by the time they are ready to leave for the boardwalk and skip out on the dinner that josh and i made for everyone to enjoy. good times.... anyway i look forward to the vacations josh and i have planned. hope all is well in the blogging world.

Luke 11:38-42 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
So which one am I? I think we all know the answer to that question. i would love to open up my home to Jesus, but I would be the one to running around trying to make everything look right and run out to get food... probably a fast food place, fish for Jesus... burger for me. i would run around getting Josh's clothes off the floor, getting the dishes washed that are in the sink and telling my neighbor upstairs to shut up and stop smoking. And after doing all this, i would have missed many precious moments with Jesus. All this because I want my life to look perfect for Jesus. I would want Him to see me and know how hard i have worked to make this perfect for Him. But in reality, it's all backwards. If I was living my life according to what He would want, I shouldn't have to run around and get things ready for Him, I should always be ready for Him. He should be in my "house" everyday.
But everyday, all I do is run around and get things ready for the next day. Work has been so bad this last week and it has really got me thinking. There is so much going on in the world around us. There is always something to get done, or some place to go, or project that needs to be seen through. I was trying to find an excuse as to why it's ok for me to be busy and not ready for Jesus every day. Life was different back then... They didn't have all the things that we have now that keep us busy. But in thinking about it, life was harder then. Everything was harder. Cleaning your house was a task. They didn't have vacuums like do or even brooms like we do. They couldn't just turn on the sink and get water to clean the table. They had to walk who knows how far to get the water out of the well... and then get it back to their place. They didn't have diapers or washing machines. They went down to the river and did it by hand. They were farmers and their life depended on the work that they did. There was no such thing as calling out. We have just gotten so used to being busy. We plan out every minute of our day to make sure it can all fit in. We can pay our bills online so we don't have to run to the post office to get stamps. Yet with all of this, are we ready to sit at Jesus' feet? Do we plan that into our day... or is it something that we can do all the time. I know it's planned for me. Life gets me so tired that I don't want to get up and take the first half hour or even the first ten minute of my day sometimes to come to Jesus' feet.
So what is the answer? Quit my job? be less involved with people? never sleep?
It has to do with priories. Right now, I am young and I want so much from life. I want to have a full life, traveling with my husband and friends, make a difference in peoples lives, have a family. But if I do all these things and they are not done while sitting and listening to God then what is the purpose? Life is short, whether is feels like it or not, it really is. Am I going to spend my days running around and filling them with stuff, or can my day be a reflection of God's awesome power and His love for His children. When I first got this promotion at work, I knew that it was from the Lord and that it was in His will that I be there. With that I knew that whatever I did I had to do it for Him. I have gotten away from that. I am so focused on wanting more from that job and in my life that I have forgotten what is so great about life.
I write all this because it was in my heart and I could dwell on it and try and figure it all out. But instead I needed to get it out. I needed the people that know me to know this about me. So I ask for your prayers. Because right now, I don't know how to pray about this. It's just a lot of thoughts and I know that God can understand them... but I also know then power of prayer from loved ones. It would mean a lot to know that I'm not the only one who's ever felt this way. (there is a book about having a Mary heart in a Martha world, but i have decided to stop readying books like that because i know i can find everything in the bible, it'll just take some digging. And I'm not going to truly learn it if i don't find it myself. )
Hope you all are doing fantastic!!!! Love you all! and I miss you who are not in the state of NJ!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Not that anything that I did needs to stay a secret... its just fun to say. Vegas was so much fun. There was so much to see and was so much fun. I am not technologically advanced so i did not put together a slide show.... even though there is so much more to see. This is me standing at the "Welcome to Vegas sign" It was SOOOOO HOT and SSOOO DRY! but nice non the less.
This is the ceiling at our hotel. For the first few nights i got to stay with kelly in the Belagio. It was AMAZING. since I've gotten back I wanted to watch Oceans 11 to see if i could locate any of the places where. And if you look closely you can see the ceiling. This picture really doesn't do it justice.


This is the worlds largest Chocolate fall. It starts in the ceiling and comes all the way down. This ladys head got in the way so it is a little blurry.



Here are two of the coolest spots. This is in the Venetian. and yes this is inside. There are shops on both sides of the street so you have to cross over bridges to get around. There there is New York New York. there is a roller coaster that you can ride that is on top of the hotel and casino. I didn't ride it, but it was just like walking on the streets of new york when you go inside. Last but not least there is the water show. This is something i can't no describe in words. It was just so amazing... like a fine piece of art. I think you can go on you tube and watch all the different water shows, you just have to name the song that you want to hear to go with it. At night it's every 15 minutes. People would stay for hours so they could watch them.
Stay tuned for my next blog where I will post pictures of the real reason why I went.... The wedding.