I'm an Aunt again....

Jason's sister Rebecca had a wonderful baby boy, Brayden, on Saturday, Feb. 16th at 9:42pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz and was 21 inches long. We were at the hospital when he was born so we got to see him when he was just minutes old. Both Brayden and Bec are doing well. They had moments of fear when Rebecca had a fever of 104*F, then Brayden's umbilical cord was torn and he had pooped in the womb. But the doctor was smart and they got Brayeden out, pumped his stomach and a specialist checked him out, and he was fine. We keep thanking God that Rebecca's assigned Dr. was not the one on call that night, as he seemed incompetent during the pregnancy. So, PTL, both Bec and Brayden are strong, safe and healthy!


When I upload the pics from our camera, I'll post them.

Me and changes

Oh FYI, I got a new haircut, much to my husbands dismay. I was tired of the long locks so I cut it off. Jason still doesn't like it and honestly, I don't know if I like it myself, but thanks goodness, it grows fast! I just had Jason take a pic so here it is.

So much happening.....

I am so sorry for not putting info on here earlier. Life is getting away from me.

My contract with N Touch Therapeutic Massage is done the end of this month. I was renting a room from them and things weren't going as well as we had hoped. Lots of miscommunication. I realized that what I really need right now is to be working FOR someone, not on my own. God worked it out that I will be working at a chiropractors office full time and will be helping them with a program that consists of an adjustment, massage, and exercises. My first day is Tuesday, March 4th! I am both excited and a little nervous! I see a lot of potential for growth there. I guess we'll see how it goes once I start.

Jason and I also have been looking to buy a house. He gets out of the military in January of 2009 and we want to stay around for a while, maybe 3-5 years or so. Definitely not long term, but we really love our church and we like the area, so we figure this is a good place to start. Jason has a few job leads here, which is encouraging. We've looked at probably 30 or more houses and have narrowed it down to a few, so it is becoming more of a reality......ahhhhhh!

There is a lot on our plate right now, so if you think of it, please pray for wisdom on our part. We really want to be in the center of God's will, but there are times when I get anxious and have a tendency to push forward before it is time. My good friend Charletta, very lovingly reminded me not to plan and push my life but let God do what He wants when He wants. Jason and I have really been praying for wisdom and discernment and we've heard a voice behind us saying turn to the left or the right, we just have to be careful to not run ahead. It is harder at times then I'd like to admit, but I'm trying. God's grace is good.

As things progress I will do my best to update the blog, but if your reading this then you know me and know the likelihood of that...LOL

Life is flying by....

Well everyone, life is flying by and I realized that I haven't posted in over a month (which isn't really unusual for me....) Anywho, here's an update:
I did the triathlon. I did it in about 1.5 hours. The winners did it in around 45 minutes or so. Not bad. I got up at 4:45 to get there for registration and I forgot my camelback with the Gatorade in it. Thankfully I had 2 water bottles but I drank one completely before I left so needless to say, I got REALLY thirsty. They had 2 water stops along the way, but it wasn't much. I finished though and that's what counts. I met a wonderful woman who cheered me along and took some pics for me. Her husband was racing and was pretty far ahead of me. My friend Justine came too. Here are some pics.





To make this shorter than a novel I'll touch on the big things.

We got a new puppy! We named her Libby, she is 7 months old now (5 months when we got her)and weighs about 25 lbs. Benny adores her and they have a blast together. Here is a pic.


We bought a truck. It is a 2005 GMC 2500HD Duramax crew cab with a 6" lift. I know, not the best for little ones, but it works for us. We sold Jason's truck and needed something that could hold us and our 2 dogs comfortably and in the future, our kiddos too. Here's a pic of that too.
Well, only 3 more weeks and my Honey is HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM ECSTATIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! It's hard to believe it's almost been 15 months since he first left. WOW! So much has changed.
I now am a licensed massage therapist and working at N Touch Therapeutic Massage in Elizabethtown. I'm there 3 days a week and after the first of the year I should be working at the gyms here on post too. Business is going very well! I recently got published in the Turret (the free paper here on post) in an article about army spouses who are entrapenuers. My business is Massage by Emily and I am contracted to N Touch and soon, the Army MWR. I came up with Massage By Emily on accident, very boring I know but it's my business email and so it's my business name too. Maybe after Jason and I get settled into where we're going to live for a while I'll open up shop with a more interesting name...LOL We'll see....it depends on if I have little ones at my feet or not.....
Well, I need to give my "babies" a bath. They've been running in the mud outside....and bringing it inside....ick.
Until later.......

my clelbruty look-alikes

It's official!

It's official! I am now Emily Hicks, Licensed Massage Therapist! All that schooling and testing has finally paid off. I am looking at a few different jobs right now, but in the meantime I am working at the State Fair. Our school rents a booth and we offer chair massage, for a fee of course. I get to work there for a few hours almost everyday the next 2 weeks! It'll be great exposure! Get my name out, and so on.

I am still working on training for the triathlon. Unfortunately I think I jumped in over my head. I have about 3.5 weeks before the race and I rode my bike today for the first time. I had wanted to get one, so I figured now was a good time to buy one. Then to top it off, the pool on post is closed for renovation so I can only do my lap swimming at the waterpark between the hours of 11am and 7pm. I'm going to do this, even if I come in last! The other girls haven't decided if they want to do the triathlon or not, so I may be flying solo.
I don't think I told you all the particulars of the race before so here they are: It is a 400 meter swim in a pool, followed by biking for 8 miles on some roads, followed by running for 3K (1.86 miles) out back where it is slightly hilly. This is going to be pretty tough, not in comparison to triathlons, but in comparison to how much I usually exercise. I've had to battle tired/laziness along the way and sometimes I lose the battle, BUT I'm trying. This is more than just a physical thing for me. It's physical, emotional, spiritual. It tests me on so many levels.
Thanks to all of you for your support. If I can do this, who knows what lies ahead!

I'm really going to do it!

I can't believe its true, but I am doing a mini-triathlon! Come September I will be swimming, biking and running for a day! There are 2 other girls doing it with me. Its interesting how it all came about.......I was doing a presentation with Arbonne when the hostess, Amanda, asked if I would like to do a triathlon with her. Normally I would have politely refused instantly, but something made me stop and think. "I've wanted to get into better shape and into the HABIT of exercising for a while now, but it's been hard to be consistent when there is no clear goal. Here is a definite clear goal. What a great opportunity for me! I get the bests of both worlds: workout buddies and an end goal. I don't have to finish first, I can go at my own pace during the triathlon...the important thing is FINISHING. I should do it! It will certainly push me outside of my comfort zone, but......that is where growth takes place. I really could use a change too and it would be GREAT to have something to look forward to instead of sitting at home alone, especially these last few months before Jason comes home. I NEED something to look forward to"......isn't it great how God provides for our every need even when what we need is to get out of a rut and off our butts?
I had a little extra incentive too...when I mentioned it to Jason he thought it was a great idea....in fact he told me how great that would be that we could finally run together. ( We attempted a run together when we were camping in Texas in February of 2006. It was awful! I had no stamina and our run ended up being a hoppy-walk for about .25 miles if even. It was so embarrassing.) Jason has really wanted to be able to run together and he joked that if I didn't learn to run then he would tie a rope around my waist and drag me along...LOL Even though he said it in a joking way, I knew he was still serious. I didn't realize how important it was to Jason that this be something we can share. Now I know and now it makes me want to do it all the more!
So now I have a bunch of reasons to motivate me to do this triathlon and now that I've told you all, you can keep me accountable...eek.
I really am excited to see what happens. I'm already feeling better after I exercise! Woohoo!