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Hi my name is ___________

So I don't think I've written a blog about it, but we are officially having a BOY!! We are beyond thrilled, and cannot wait for the handsome little man to arrive. We have been praying for a healthy baby and neither one of us had a preference of boy or girl....but let me tell you Matt hasn't stopped grinning yet. He is ecstatic to be having a son, and already talks about all the stuff that they can do together.

We have talked about what we would name our children since we were first married. We both adore children, and knew we would be parents. Once we got the positive test (or like 6 :)) we have talked about what to name this sweet baby non-stop. When you are just throwing out random names for a baby you will have someday it's pretty easy, but when you picture the baby you are growing and carrying somehow some of those names just don't seem to fit anymore.

We are praying about it, and want to give him a name that he can be proud of, and that will suit him. It's a pretty tough choice, but the stronger these little kicks get remind me that we need to get on the ball!

Haiti and everyday life

Life can sometimes be frustrating. Things like our dog digging out, finances in preparation for the baby boy that will be joining us in June, and a crazy basketball schedule can wear you down and really take a toll on how you look at everyday life.

Matt and I start to get stressed out, and we get crabby. We are both tired and stretched waaay to thin....which much of is our own fault! It's easy to get stuck in these things and forget about the world around you. We forget how much we have to be thankful for, as we get so consumed in our everyday tasks that lie ahead. When I stop to consider the struggle and pain that other people are experiencing, it embarrasses me how easily I get upset or frustrated with my circumstances. An eternal perspective is what I have been called to have, and situations like Haiti are quick to remind my heart just how out of line it can become.

The images that have infiltrated our homes since the earthquake in Haiti are heart breaking and mind blowing. My first instinct is to turn them off and shut out the pain that I know is quick to follow. My heart aches for those people, and the awful things that they are experiencing. And as usual, my first instincts are wrong. I cannot ignore the pain and the situation. It seems so gigantic and it's tempting to simply say what is my small amount of money and prayer going to do? We have been called to bind up the broken hearted, and to minister to the least of these, and there aren't any qualifiers in those commands. It's for everyone. Here's our opportunity, and with whatever tools you and I may have, let's get started.

Merry (late) Christmas

We hope Christmas found everyone happy and doing well! It was an interesting holiday with all of the snow and ice. Between a paranoid husband and parents lecturing me about falling on the ice, I didn't get to leave the house much... but it was still a fantastic time with all of our family!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!!

Christmas with the Parentals

So we had our annual Christmas celebration with my parents last night. It was wonderful as always. We made homemade pizzas, and all kinds of other yummy food to start off the night. My parents are so wonderful and I am so thankful for the relationship that Matt and I have with them. I mean how could you not love this man.... We all decided to cut down this year on gifts for each other, but I think my parents didn't get the memo! Matt got a new playstation and I got the cutest pair of TOMS ever. My Mom was so cute, as she was talking about getting me, and a child somewhere both a Christams gift.

They have statistics on them about how many people still don't have clean water in the world, and the number of people that are dying from AIDS each day. I will proudly wear them in hopes of bringing a tiny bit more awareness wherever I go. Wearing TOMS has given me countless opportunities to talk about the issues that lie to close to my heart, and I hope this pair is no different!

We got lots of other gifts as well, but the big surprise of the night was my parent's Christmas gift for their first grandchild. They gave us a voucher for any crib we wanted. I of course cried....well, because it's just what I do these days!

So now, any advice on cribs? I have researched quite a bit and looked, but I am still so lost. Go for the 4 in 1 or just go simple and get other beds later on? Should everything match and be from the same place? Ahhh, the questions never end. So, please do tell. :)

Black Friday shopping with crazies!

These crazies are also known as 3 of my favorite women on the face of the earth....my Mom and my two Aunts.

These women are hardcore and I've been in training for years. In my family, you don't go shopping with them on Black Friday until after you're married, as this is when you start buying your own Christmas gifts for the family, and have the motivation to save the $$$!

We rolled out at 3 a.m., and headed to start our 13 hour day of shopping! Hubby was a little worried about me being tired this year due to little Bambino Bolz, so he said I could go if I was in bed by 9:00, which I begrudgingly agreed to. They are like the Energizer Bunny and never get tired, it's unbelievable! They actually took extra breaks this year (for my benefit) which they would lie about and say they needed, so I wouldn't throw a fit about being babied. I guess hubby was right because I actually had to sit down on a step stool in Kmart for like 10 minutes, I guess Bambino Bolz made me get tired a little quicker than I thought! :)

It's one of my favorite days of the year with some of my favorite people. It's a family tradition that we all dearly love, but not nearly as much as I love these crazies!!! :)

Operation Christmas Child

I kept thinking I was going to blog about this weeks ago....but well that just didn't seem to happen. This year the tiny little church that I go to gathered, packed, prayed for, and delivered 121 boxes to Operation Christmas Child. I couldn't be prouder or feel more blessed to be part of a congregation. Our church has come so far in the way they think about missions, and what is going on in the world around them, and I definitely pray that this is just the beginning!

Here is the picture that was used for Operation Christmas Child this year. Wish it was a little clearer so that you could see the true joy on their faces. What a privilege to be able to give them two gifts this Christmas season- a shoe box full of dolls, flashlights, pencils, etc. and also introduce them to Jesus. I pray that these boxes find their way into the perfect tiny set of hands! If you get a chance check out Operation Christmas Child, they are being the hands and feet of Jesus all over the world.

Anniversary Trip to Vegas

Matt and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We stayed for 3 days, but I'm pretty sure we walked 1.3 million miles...give or take. :) I think I'll just let the pictures do the talking... Please excuse the lack of make-up and the super shininess (is that a word?). It was the last stop of one of the days we walked all day long. We always tried to end with the fountains, they were our favorite part of Vegas!

Here we are in front of the Bellagio. Matt was excited to go into this one because he LOVES the Oceans 11, 12, and 13 movies. It was fun to try to figure out what was filmed where!

This is the statue of liberty at New York, New York. We ate several meals inside. We stayed in the Monte Carlo, which after visiting all the other casinos, we discovered that it was one of the quietest casinos on the strip. Very family friendly, and lots of older couples, which was kinda nice it was quiet and we slept great!

So on the first morning there while we were still asleep, there was a knock at the door. I of course freaked and jerked the covers over my head. I couldn't figure out why Matt wasn't freaking out, and responding to my shrieks. He calmly answered the door and brought in this gorgeous vase of flowers for our anniversary! He had called the hotel ahead of time and had it arranged to suprise me!

This is the picture we took after we went to the Blue Man Group show. It was incredible, and I highly recommend it. After the picture I turned around to thank him and to say how much we enjoyed the show. He of course stared at me with the same look that you can see in the picture. I guess you just can't take the Oklahoma out of the girl no matter where you put her. :)

It was a fantastic trip, and a great time for Matt and I to celebrate 3 years of marriage. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and the relationship that Matt and I have ranks pretty close to the top of the list!

ummm....is this thing still on??

So I've totally dropped off the face of the earth this summer. I have no excuse other than the busyness that was our summer. I'll give you a rundown with some pictures and explanations, and I will be better about posting...I hope! :)

The summer has been completely full of all kinds of wonderful things, but it has definitely left me wishing for a few less events scheduled on our calendar. More time to cook out, and take my puppy for walks, and sit on the couch and relax...definitely more down time in the near future I hope!

I, along with around 20 other people from my church, went to a local lake here in Oklahoma and put on a week long Backyard Bible Club with carnivals in the evenings. It was a great experience, and so fun to get to work with people as they experience mission work for the first time. Some of the kids we worked with came from backgrounds that would make most adults shudder, and yet they were still joyful. Some of it was heartbreaking, but it was rewarding to get to be his hands and feet and love, hug, and teach these kids for a week.

Here are some pictures from our trip...

I didn't want to put any pictures of the kiddos on here, because I'm not sure I'd appreicate that if I was the mama!

I also went with Matt to Falls Creek as a sponsor. I just love those kids! We had a great time, and it's such a blessing to see their eyes be opened to all sorts of things going on around the world. I was really impressed with the way that they helped to focus them (and us adults) on others and the pain, sorrow, hunger, etc. that is all around them. They also encouraged them to not be so centered on themselves. I unfortunately was only concerned with myself at their age, so it's great to see them teaching that!

We did fun things like karaoke and theme nights, it was a blast! More pics...

This is Matt and his twin brother Mike, and their little sister Mallory dressed up!

Lastly, Matt and I helped with VBS this year, and the theme was Veggie Tales, The Pirates who Don't Do Anything. Matt was an eccentric scientist named Professor Red Beard, and I was shipmate Ali who was in charge of the 4 year olds. We had a blast, but we were TIRED by the end of the week! Here is a picture of us in our costumes. The picture is terrible, but you get the idea.

There's more, but that's enough for one catch up post! What have you done this summer? Did you relax enough and take time to smell the roses?

my 25th post

I know people normally post 100 things about them on their 100th post, but who knows if I'll ever make it to 100 anyway! Since this is my 25th post I thought I would put up 25 random things about me....

1. I really hate scary movies. I think life is scary and sad enough, and that I should only watch things that make me happy!

2. I am super close to my family. I talk to my Mom like 5 times a day, and normally atleast 1 or 2 of my other relatives each day...Dad, Aunt, cousin, sister in law, etc.

3. I'm convinced that our puppy Bear is the cuddliest dog in the world, and I never thought I could love an animal so much. I'm dangerously close to being one of "those" dog owners! Sorry Care :)

4. Matt and I have hearts for orphan ministry. We feel called to serve in this area, but aren't really sure how yet. Right now we help sponsor an orphanage in Africa, and we hope to go work and serve there in the near future.

5. I love Oklahoma State University, and still say that there is nothing like the pride that graduating from a University will give you. If they win, it feels like I just won some award, and I'm equally as sad when they lose.

6. Quality time is the way to my heart. I love spending time with people I love, and it totally recharges me. Quality time with friends and family ranks WAY up there on my favorite things to do with my time.

7. I love the relationship my husband and I have. We have worked hard for it, and still do everyday. Having a good marriage doesn't come naturally, it takes work, but it's some of the most rewarding work I've ever done.

8. I really dislike when people are racist or discriminatory. Really, really, really dislike.

9. I miss college.....a lot. Sleeping in, working out whenver, spending lots of time with friends...good stuff all around! Plus, the real world is pretty stressful.

10. I'm a country girl at heart. I grew up on a farm, have hauled hay, given animals shots, and helped farm animals have babies. I was recently buying dog food for Bear in the large 40 pound sack, and the cashier's eyes got really big when I just picked it up and tossed it onto my shoulder. He was on his way to help me take it out to my car. I did it without thinking, and then he started laughing at me. :)

11. I really like all kinds of music....red dirt, old rock, acoustic, Christian...you name it, and I will listen to it. I'm totally okay with Hank Williams, Jr., Bebo Nornman, Ben Harper, or .38 special.

12. I am a really happy person. I'm smiley, affectionate, and if I see you will really truly be genuinely happy to see you. I've always been that way. If I'm having a bad day, I'm more worried about making your day better with a smile and a hug, than being mopey about my bad day. It may come off as me not being genuine, but I am. That's just me! :)

13. In a few months I will be a licensed counselor, which kind of scares me to death. I'm not even really sure what I want to do with my degree. At this point, I feel like it will probably be something in the area of adoption.

14. As you would assume from number 13, I'm a listener by nature. You could talk for 4 hours straight, and I would totally be good with it.

15. Old rap music is one of my guilty pleasures. You just simply can't beat old school Mase. :)

16. I could live on fresh salsa. Fresh vegetables are some of my favorite foods.

17. I've had some of my best friends since we were 6, and I promise you when we are 76 we'll be just as close. My kids will call them Aunt..... and I am already an Aunt! :)

18. One of my favorite smells in the world in the smell of fresh laundry. Most candles and air freshners in my house are trying to mimick that smell.

19. One of my lifelong dreams is to take my babies on a vacation to Disney World. I think it should be a huge family vacation where all my sister and brother in laws and their babies all go, and we spend a week wearing those really cool Mickey Mouse ears, take pictures, and use it for our Christmas cards that next year! :)

20. One of my life long goals is to be a stay at home Mom, jury is still out on whether that will ever be financially possible or not.

21. I love buying people gifts.....seriosuly. I think it's so fun to try to find something for each person that I love.

22. I am a worrier. I worry about all kinds of things. Some are legitimate and some really just aren't..... For instance, I worry about poverty levels, the number of people that die of AIDS everyday, my Papa having to spend time by himself, my family members being safe when they drive, etc., and then I worry about whether my flowers get enough sun, if Bear likes his toys enough or not, and how disorganized my office is.

23. I love baseball. I went to a million of Cody's games growing up and all the way through college. The Atlanta Braves are my favorite team. My husband is going to coach baseball this year, and I am pumped!

24. My wedding day was absolutley everything I thought it would be. I think about it all the time, and how thankful I am that God allowed me to marry Matt. I've never felt more loved on a day in my entire life. My friends were incredible, and family was overwhelmingly loving. I could tear up at the thought of that day pretty easy.

25. I think that we should love people right where they are with no expectations. That is what Jesus does for me, and that's what my goal is for loving others.

So there you go, some info about me. Do we have anything specific in common? What's something interesting and random about you?

School's Out Forever!!

So this past weekend I finally graduated! I guess they say never say never, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm never going back to school again!

Working full time, learning how to be married, and going to school full time have made the last 3 years busy and stressful to say the least. Matt has been more than incredible throughout this whole process. In fact, would you like to know who ironed my dress for graduation? Yep, you got it!

Friday night he also suggested that I go get a pedicure. I agreed, I mean who am I to argue?? So as a result, my feet were way cute for the weekend!

We didn't get many good pictures at the actual graduation, but of course there always seems to be something funny happen when I'm involved. Since I graduated with my Masters, while on stage I was to get hooded. When the professor tried to put the hood over my dorky hat he almost knocked it off! I grabbed it in time though.... Crazy.

After graduation Matt and my parents had a reception for me and all of our friends and family came. We had a fantastic time, and it was way more than I deserved!

eyes that tell a story....

So I've already told you about how excited we are to be involved with sponsoring a child from the Kebebtsehay Orphanage in Addis Abba, Ethiopia. Well excited, may be a tad bit of an understatement.

We are a part of a sponsorship group that mostly came together through blogs to sponsor this group of children. So many wanted to be involved that our group now sponsors 3 orphanages, all of which are in Ethiopia. There are still spots available for sponsorship in the 3rd orphanage so if you are interested please send Amy an email. I'm sure she will be more than happy to help you get involved! :)

So recently, we got the information on the child we would sponsor. We had been been praying for him/her since we joined the sponsorship group, but to get to connect our prayers with this sweet face was incredible. We aren't allowed to share her name, but I wanted you to see her picture.

Her eyes tell a story, and I think it's one that needs to be shared.

This is "H". She is 3, and she is already in kindergarten! What I wouldn't give to sweep this baby up and hold her for hours. Matt and I are going to do our best to love her the way she deserves to be loved. We are far away, but I hope someday she understands how precious she is to us. These sweet eyes have seen and been through a lot in their 3 years, and I hope that having us (and the One we serve) in her corner will help somehow.

If you think of it pray for "H", and pray that the Lord would help us to be just what she needs as she grows up, whatever that may be.

Cardboard and Jesus

One of my friends sent this to me in an email, and I've probably watched it 10 times. Cry every single time. There is something about how simple and raw it is. You can tell that there is still pain associated with the situations, but that Jesus has healed and is still healing them. I can't stop thinking about what my cardboard testimony would look like. I often under estimate the healing that He can bring. Good stuff people, good stuff.




Have you ever heard of this? Seen it done before? I wonder why something so simple is so powerful? I think sometimes we make things harder than they should be. Thoughts or opinions?

Anniversary Trip

So Matt and I's anniversary is coming up in July and we are trying to figure out a fun way to celebrate it. We decided we would like to go somewhere fun just the 2 of us for 3 days or so, but then the hard part comes of trying to decide where.

First, lets talk about our anniversary trips in the past....

Honeymoon- Cabin in Colorado Springs, white water rafting, hiking, etc. It was totally perfect.

1st year- Grand Lake- We rented a cabin that was grosser than you can imagine (think mold and bugs in the shower) and couldn't even get in the water for some reason which I can't remember. We tried to hike but we couldn't. It was pretty much a TOTAL bust!

2nd year- Nada- We were saving money for this awesome couple's fun destination wedding in Montana.

So what should we do for year 3? We have tossed around the idea of a long weekend in Vegas. I think we kinda decided that trip would be more fun with a larger group, so maybe we can talk the gang into that one in the near future.

We also thought about San Antonio to see the Alamo and shop, but that's like 9 hours or something crazy if we drive, and we've been told we would need a car, so flying isn't really an option. We even tossed around the idea of Memphis, Branson, and some closer (aka cheaper) places.

So what do you think? Any advice or ideas on how/where to celebrate 3 years of marital bliss with this handsome man???

Go with the flow???

So lately in the Bolz household most things have centered around this question. Should we try to plan or just go with the flow???

It seems like at this point in our lives everything is so up in the air, and trying to sort all of it out and figure out what would be the best often seems near impossible. Things like houses, babies, jobs, ministry decisions, and even small things like vehicles and golf carts. It just totally seems never ending right now.

It's so interesting to talk to people about being a planner or not. I tend toward the planning end of the spectrum, which is often a dangerous thing. I have stuff all planned out, and of course things change and the Lord has a different plan for us! I work to be better at trusting and being patient, it definitely does not come easy for me. Matt is definitely better at it, and doesn't tend to get impatient.

I often think about the fact that if I'm constantly planning for the future, I'm going to miss the amazing things that the Lord is doing right now....today.

So, how does it work in your or your family's life? Plan or go with the flow?

Dunsky.....

I am done with school.....almost.

I passed the last part of the required tests for me to be awarded my Masters Degree. The only thing that stands between me and my degree is one statistics test. So just take a guess at what my motivation is to prepare for that thing....yeah, non-existent!

So this last part of my exam was an oral defense. I had to go in and sit down and then 3 professors began asking me questions regarding information I had learned in the program. I had to answer questions, and give a defense of my test scores. I did pretty well on the test, so that part wasn't too stressful, but still nerve racking at the least. After all 3 of them had asked me several questions, my statistics professor who was on my committee said they had just one last thing for me to complete. He wrote out a complicated statistics problem, handed it to me and asked me to work through and solve it. My heart dropped.... I looked up at him and he had a huge grin on his face. He told me he was only joking, and then I started nervous giggling. I'm sure it was lovely.... He is one of my favorite professors, and we've always had a good relationship full of joking around and teasing. It was totally par for the course, but in my emotional state it was nearly disastrous!

They then asked me to step outside so that they could calculate my scores. After 5 minutes or so, they asked to come back in and then congratulated me!

I'm so relieved and so grateful that it's all coming to an end. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and thoughts getting through this rough time finishing up school!

March Madness

So, March Madness is here once again. Both the hubby and I love this time of year, and look forward to filling out our bracket and joining pools with our friends. We fill them out and hang them on our wall in the living room.

The great part about this whole process, is how we fill out our brackets. We both watch quite a bit of college basketball. When we find a game on TV that we're interested in, we rarely chose to watch anything else. The difference is in the way that my hubby and I watch this said basketball game. Matt is glued to the game, zoned in, quoting stats, and talking abput how so and so totally did/did not fill so and so's shoes from last year's team, while I nod and say uh huh a lot so that he still thinks I'm actually listening and paying attention. Did you follow that??? He's totally into it, remembers players from years ago, knows who is coming up in recruiting classes, etc. When I watch the same basketball game, I normally have my laptop crammed in front of my face reading the Pioneer Woman's latest blog or some other adoption blog I am addicted to. I keep up with the score, and randomly ask Matt what happened when he yells something like..."You've got to be kidding me!" at the TV. I really do enjoy it, just in my own way. I have a hard time just sitting and watching TV, I'm addicted to multi-tasking.

So a week before the brackets are due Matt starts doing research, looking up stats on line, and analyzing which team will "have the advantage because of their unpenetrable zone defense". The day before our bracket is due, Matt prints one out for me and we sit down together to fill mine out. The only research I do is asking Matt random questions about colors and mascots. Since I do watch basketball, some I pick based upon an actual real sports related opionion, but those that I don't know about, I just use other very important information like whether or not I've ever been to that state or University before, or if I know anybody that went to school there.

Part of our conversation this year went like this....Me: "Isn't Maryland's mascot the turtles or something? I like turtles, I always get out and move them on the country road when I see them. I don't want people to run over them, they are so cute. I think they are going to win!" Matt:"Not exactly dear, but turtle is close I guess....do you realize how much of an underdog they are, and what their outside shooting skills are?" Me: "No, but they are still going to win!" Matt: Rolls his eyes and writes down my pick.

Guess who's undefeated in the Bolz Family Bracket Challenge?????? ME!!! I've beat him every single year. It's looking good this year too.

Oh and P.S.- Maryland did win! :)

Do you participate in March Madness? How do you fill out your brackets, scientific research like me or some other way? :) How is your bracket doing so far?

I passed!!!

So my scores came in the mail this week and I passed my test!!!!!

Matt walks in with the mail on Friday and I see him just throw it down on the kitchen counter, so I assume that he's already looked and my scores must not be in there.

We go about life for the afternoon just paying bills, hanging out, playing with Bear, etc. I go into the kitchen and pick up the stack of mail and go through it to see if there is anything eventful, and what do I find but an envelope from my college. All at one time, I start yelling something that is totally incomprehensible about Matt not telling me my scores were here, that my life is over if I didn't pass, and that I am too nervous to open the envelope. Matt jumps up and runs into the kitchen to see what all the shrieking is about, with a look on his face that I can't even begin to explain. It was part sheer terror and part confusion about why his wife had completely lost her mind and started speaking in an unknown tongue!

After more shrieking on my part, and more blank stares on Matt's part he finally figured out that I couldn't open it and he took it from me and ripped it open. He mistakenly thought that he was suppose to actually read it (imagine that since I had just shrieked about how I was to nervous to open it), so I snatched it out of his hands and randomly begin running around the living room while I was reading the results. Yeah, it was as ridiculous as it sounds.

So, I passed 9 out of the 10 areas on the exam, and just have to get through an oral exam in front of a panel and then I will be home free. So anyway, thanks to everyone who said a prayer for me, I really appreciate it!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Well today is Matt's birthday, and he is 26. We were talking this morning about how he can't say...."oh, I'm in my early 20's" anymore. He is in the last half of his 20's...so weird. I can't believe we are as old as we are. I'm pretty sure we will eternally be like 18 or 19, or atleast we will feel like we are. Somedays I don't feel old enough to be married or have a career! Scary huh??

Here we are the day before we got married, and I think if we smiled any bigger our faces would crack and fall to the floor.... funny stuff! Anyway, look how young Matt looks?? Stinkin' adorable!














Anyway, Happy Bday Love!!! I can't wait to see what we'll look like on your 50th birthday, I bet I'll still think you're cute! :)

Free as a bird...

Well my test is officially over, and I won't know the results for atleast 2 more weeks. I wish I could tell you that I was totally relieved, know that I killed that test, and am sitting pretty. Not the case. The test was HARD. Really hard. I studied everything they recommended, and there were lots of people and things on there that I have never even heard of. Atleast it's over, but I am kind of dredding getting those results....yuck.

My husband is wonderful, and to reward all my hard work recommended that I get a new purse! (Yes, he's that great!) I always want a new purse in the spring or summer that is bright and colorful to go with the season. Anyway, I've been looking around and found three that I love, now I just have to decide and then get the nerve up to order it. Here are pictures of them...

Man, this post is pretty deep! :) What do you guys think, which one? Weigh in and tell me which one I should order.

Anyway, the hubby and I are going to the the state basketball games tonight. Should be a good time. I love going, but Matt knows 4 bajillion (yes, that's a word) coaches, so I normally just end up standing and smiling a lot, while they discuss the dynamics of the third quarter or something. Anyway, hope you guys all have a wonderful weekend!