The Big 2-4

I like being 24 so far. Probably because the first day of this birth year was awesome.

I spent the whole day with my husband.

I got happy birthday texts and facebook messages.

We went to church.

My sweet new friend suprised me with a present at church.

We went to Dunkin Donuts.

Matt actually drank coffee.

I opened up cards and presents.

We watched an episode of Everwood.

(since we're not in our house and don't have cable or internet yet, we have been watching seasons of this show--it's so good. I never saw it when it was on TV.)

We drove around to find a park for Lucy to play at.

Matt threw the football for her and I enjoyed laying in the sun on fresh cut grass.

We came home and watched two more episodes of Everwood.

Then we got ready and went to Fogo de Chao for dinner, an awesome brazillian steakhouse, where pretty much we committed gluttony and felt like we needed to be rolled out of there afterwards.

And even though Matt was a wonderful husband and made me feel very special,

he kind of freaked out a little bit when he saw the bill.

;)

Because in all of our 3 years of marriage, we have never paid that much for one meal.

But it was SO worth it. And my very frugal hubby felt the same way.
So here's to 24....I'm excited for a GREAT year. :)
New city.
New job.
New house.
New friends.
Lord, help me to honor you with all of the blessings you have poured out on my life.

It's My Birthday Weekend & I Won't Cry If I Want To :)

Well, on Sunday, August 28 I will officially be entering my mid twenties.

The big 2-4....one year away from a quarter of a century.

I am very very grateful and thankful to the Lord for this season of life that I'm in. :)

I'm thankful for everything he has provided me--a husband who I have so much fun with but also with who I can experience trials and growth with, my wonderful family, our new friends & church home here in Atlanta, a new job (details to come :)), and a real home!

WOW. I think those are about all the presents I can handle. :)

("Real" Side note: Wish I would have thought this way immediately but instead I had to have a selfish heart check--sometimes I don't act like I'm in my mid twenties OR like I'm grateful but I'm thankful for a husband who loves me despite my actions and a God who gives us grace upon grace.)

I posted this today because this weekend I'm going to be having fun & celebrating. (And we still don't have internet LOL. :))

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." -Psalm 28:7

Bear With Me...

While I work on my blog.

I'm getting sick of it again and am thinking of a name change, new colors, and a fresh new look that better suites ME. It may look a little weird if you come here while I'm still working on it but just stay with me and hopefully in the end it will be as cute as I see it in my head. :)

Have a great day everyone!

Now I've Had The Time of My Life...

So yesterday my husband came home from work and said the most hilarious thing I had heard all day. He went to the grocery store for me and as I was putting things away this conversation went down:Matt: I think there's something wrong with me.

Me: What's that?

Matt: Well, when I was in the grocery store the song "Now I've Had The Time of my Life....and I Owe It All To Youuuuuuuu" (as he is loudly singing) came on and I wanted to dance. I've never had that feeling before.

:) Cue me laughing uncontrollably at this point. Oh man. There is no one else who can make me laugh more than Matthew Ryan Garlich. And this scenario was that case in point.

On another random note, I am gearing up for Operation First Home & have been pinning on pinterest, doing a little home decor shopping, and attempting to pick out furniture.

It's kind of all I have been thinking about lately and gets me just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle excited that I actually get to make our house a home! I also am very excited that we are not only getting a home, but a garden. :) I've always wanted one and can't wait to see if I have a green or black thumb. :)

This is also really random but this picture just puts a huge grin on my face. How adorable is this little girl? Doesn't it just bring you back to a time where playing dress up and waiting for your daddy to come home and see you was the best thing ever and filled your little girl heart with joy. Oh, this makes me so excited to someday hopefully, Lord willing, have a little girl who will most definitely be wrapped around her daddy's finger. :)
Happy One Day Till Hump Day! :)

We have a HOUSE! :)

So Matt and I are beyond excited to announce that come September 20 at closing we will be first time homeowners!

After getting the sad news about our last contract, we were pretty let down.
Then for a while our hunt was way more stressful than fun.
But, we persevered and God literally brought us the perfect house for our family.
Even better than the last one.
It isn't a short sale OR forclosure and has only been on the market for a little bit
but has everything (& more :)) that we were looking for....
A big fenced in yard for Lucy girl & her daddy, wood floors, a bonus room,
and a dining room that I wanted, it's move in ready,
and it's in a great location close to Matt's office.
We are so excited to soon be living in Bethlehem, GA and can't wait to start decorating!
:)
If anyone is traveling through Atlanta (and we know you, lol) you have a place to stay
at the Garlichs! :)
WOOO HOOO!

Real.

So I said I was going to post soon and I was about to make it all fluffy like I normally do with words like wonderful, precious, adorable...Because if you know me in real life, you know that I do say those words and I truly do try to keep a positive attitude most of the time and I feel like I am genuinely friendly. But then I got to thinking after reading a lot of blogs lately on "being real" just how I portray my life & how I like to show the "best" of everything. And that even when I post about things that are hard I use words like wonderful, great, blessed, precious, and add in the many :)'s so that maybe it doesn't appear like I'm really struggling (or I don't even blog about what really goes on). And I say how I know God is in control and faithful. You see the truth is....I'm pretty prideful. I like to appear like my life is always wonderful. I'm very concerned with what others think of me. I try to "measure up" to ridiculously high standards. I like to appear like I always think my husband is precious but in reality he's a sinner just like me. :) I'm selfish. I don't always trust God. Sometimes I doubt that he is in control. Sometimes I doubt that he is even there. I'm lazy. My prayer life is pitiful. I suck at laundry and let it pile up ridiculous amounts. We currently have dishes in our sink that have been there for 3 days. I am the worst long distance friend and am horrible about calling people back who have left messages on my phone. I could go on and on...

The worst thing is that I am so prideful I HATE being called out on those things which shows the biggest beast of my sins-pride. And my husband likes to sometimes gently, sometimes not so gently call out my prideful heart to which of course I deny most of the time until the Lord, in his rich mercy pricks my heart and softens it. I like my life to seem like it's in a pretty (and precious :)) little box tied up with a bow. But it's not.

The coolest thing when I type all of this out is that immediately I am depressed. Lol, well that's not cool but what is cool is that when I type all of it out and read JUST how much of a sinner I am and how much junk I carry around I am struck with this fact--GOD HAS REDEEMED ME. You see, Jesus needed me to see my depravity and feel overwhelmed with my sin before I could know the depths of his grace, mercy, and love for me. It's funny to me how sometimes in my head I misinterpret the meaning of justification and santification. When Christ became Lord of my life, he wiped away my sin--once and for all. Because of his love for me, he took the punishment for all of the sick sin that I have ever/will ever commit. However, I am still a sinner. I still struggle with my sin on a daily basis. I am not perfect nor will I ever be on this earth. So what do I do with my sin? Ignore it? Let it take over? NO. Accept God's grace daily. Ask him for the strength to fight my against my pride because I can't do it on my own. Ask for opportunities to choose humility over pride and be obedient when he honors my requests. Glorify and honor him when I see fruit in me spring up. So, I'm probably still going to use the word precious and wonderful because I just can't take it out of my vocabulary. :) And sue me, but I also can't escape the smileys. But, I am going to be a little more real because that's what my Dad in heaven would want--and after all, I'm living my life for His glory, not mine.

So long, So long, So long since I've posted!

The past month has been filled with highs and lows.

Even just thinking about it, I can't believe all of the valleys and mountains the Lord has been guiding us through. :)

And although I don't have time at this very moment to share everything (I promise I will :)) that has happened, I do know that God has been very faithful and he I have seen first hand his promise that he never gives us more than we can handle. :)

I am very thankful for that fact. So, today what I do have time to share is that our beloved home that we have had a contract on since May...the home that I pictured hosting Christmas in with my family, bringing our first child home from the hospital in, decorating every room, you name it....it isn't ours anymore.

We found the news out on Sunday night as we were driving back from St. Louis (I will explain why we were there in a whole other post) that our contract became null and void due to circumstances with the seller. This was a pretty hard pill to swallow at first, but since then we have realized that God's hand is in it. That maybe He has another house that is supposed to be ours.

So, we have started the search all over again. And it was fun for the first .2 seconds. Now I just want someone to find it for me, set up a closing date, and tell me when to be there to sign. :) Just kidding....kind of. I am trying to be grateful that we even have the opportunity to buy a house and grateful that there are such good deals out there, but MAN is house hunting/buying stressful in this market. Everything is either a forclosure or short sale & what isn't can be on the market one day and gone the next.

So, until next time (which hopefully will be sooner than later :))....I am going to try to be excited about finding our first home and less frustrated. If anyone knows of anyone selling their home in the NE suburbs of Atlanta--give me a shout.

:)

Happy Weekend!

P.S. I AM FINALLY GOING TO THE CHICO'S/WHBM EMPLOYEE STORE TOMORROW AND CAN'T EVEN HANDLE MY EXCITEMENT!!! :)