Already Christmas!?!?

Wow, I think I say this every year around this time but man, this year flew by! Seems like just a few weeks ago we were packing up our stuff and moving back to Alabama. Truth is, that was almost 1 year ago. We have so many things to be thankful for this year, as usual. We got to move back home, we have been blessed to get to spend a lot more time with family and friends because of the move, we bought a house, we added a new niece, we've got another niece on the way. The list just goes on and on. In the last month and a half, Zach accepted a new job and moved up to Poplar Bluff, Missouri...AKA Nowhereville, USA. Nah, it's not that bad. We are thankful it is only 5 1/2 hours from Birmingham. There's not much to do in Poplar Bluff but at least its not 14 hours away in Kansas City.

Just this past weekend I went up to PB to visit Zach. I left work in Forestdale at 3:15pm and pulled into PB at 8:45pm. Its not a bad drive at all either. It was so nice to spend the weekend together. Zach had been working nights (5pm-3am) but found out Thursday that they were moving him back to day shift which we are both happy about. He will be in charge of layout. We spent a lot of time just hanging out. We didn't really have any engagements that we had to attend so we just focused on spending quality time together, which means we did a lot of wandering around Walmart :) I had a blast and was sad to leave but thankfully they are letting Zach come home for Christmas. He is planning to leave PB around lunchtime Friday and head back some time Monday. It'll be nice to have him home. I know the dogs will be super excited to see him.

This year, we are having my immediate family Christmas at our house because Mom and Dad's basement flooded and there is not enough room upstairs for everyone. Not comfortably at least. Zach family will also be up for the weekend so we will have my entire immediate family and his immediate family. I hope I can get all of my gifts made and wrapped as well as the house cleaned in time. There's so much to do but so little time. To top it all off, I am having to make up for CEs I didn't get completed to renew my Pharmacy Tech license by December 31st. I am a professional when it comes to procrastinating. I'm confident it will all come together.

Merry Christmas,

Zach and Maleah

I've been so tense...

I feel like I need to get some things off my chest. When we moved back to Alabama back in January, Zach quickly found a job with Hoar Construction working on the new Children's Hospital in Birmingham. We knew when he got hired that his position as safety coordinator was a temporary position but it was a good job because he could potentially get a more permanent job with Hoar which is a good company. We kept waiting and waiting but never heard anything about a more permanent job so Zach decided to start looking elsewhere.

He got hired on with MJ Harris who is a company based in Birmingham (yay!) who specializes in building health facilities; mostly hospitals. The pay was good and benefits were good but the downfall was that he would have to travel; something that comes with the job for most people in construction. His first assignment would be a hospital in Poplar Bluff, Missouri; about 6 1/2 hours from our house we just bought. The project is supposed to take 13+ months. Before taking the job, we discussed what accepting the job would mean for us. Clearly, both of us would like for me to travel with Zach wherever his job takes him but realistically, I just can't. If I ever want to have a real career, other than a Pharmacy Tech at Walgreens, I have to get my degree. I decided a while back that I want to do special education. I have always had a heart for people with disabilities but have always been discouraged away from it. I realize that if I don't go back to school now, I probably never will. So, as nervous as it makes me, my plan is to go to Wallace State in Hanceville and get the rest of my pre-requisites then transfer to UAB to get my degree in teaching. I really need to start this coming spring but I feel like I have so much other -for the lack of a better word- crap on my mind, I don't know where to start.

With Christmas 3 weeks away, I haven't done much shopping/crafting, I've got to finish my CEs to renew my license, Zach is 400 miles/6 1/2 hours from home, trying to decorate for Christmas, keep my dogs from tearing up my entire house, trying to get the house finished, working 40 hours a week, and on top of all of that, Mama C fell and broke her hip the other day and had to have a hip replacement. She's so frail making the surgery even more major than it would be for most people. I know I don't have it anywhere near as rough as a lot of people but I don't hardly know which direction to walk. I will be so glad when I am back in Zach's arms. Thankfully my boss has been VERY understanding and has given me a 4 day weekend for Christmas so that I can spend time with Zach. Plus, I have a 3 day weekend this coming weekend so I am going up to PB, MO to spend the weekend with Zach. Unfortunately, Zach got moved to the night shift so our schedules are going to be off when I go see him. Hopefully I can have some Christmas crafting to keep me busy while he sleeps.

Well, as much as I'd like to go to bed, I've got two stinky dogs who need baths desperately! Adios!

UPDATE!

Wow, its been 2 months since I posted and lots has changed since then. Last time I posted Caroline had just been born.I can't believe she's already almost 2 months old.

About 2 weeks before my last post we had put in an offer on a house in Mt. Olive and were working on getting everything agreed upon. The last 2 months have been nothing short of miserable. Everyone always says buying a house is stressful but I never imagined this. The sellers took our offer immediately but then after the inspection revealed a poorly done roof, we asked that they put a new roof on. Well, long story short, that roof has caused a lot of stress BUT they put the new roof on and we closed on the house today!

We are so excited and can't wait to begin our new life there! We thought we were going to be able to take possession of the house today but the sellers still have a few things there and are staying in the house for one more night. We will be able to start moving in Thursday morning. We already have keys too.  Zach and I are both so anxious. We have been living with my parents for 10 months and as grateful as we are, the whole situation was beginning to drive us crazy. Just living amongst someone else's things is hard in itself. Most of our belongings have been in storage since we moved back Alabama so we can never find anything we need. We don't really even remember what we have. A lot of our wedding gifts never got unpacked in Kansas. Unpacking is probably going to feel like Christmas morning :) Can't wait to move in!

Welcome to our humble abode on Memory Lane...

(Before the new black roof)

Yay! She's here!!!!!

Caroline Reeves Coggin

Born August 8, 2011

1:38pm

6lbs 12 oz

19 inches long

She has a full head of jet black hair. 

Mommy and baby are doing amazing! She's only been here for a few short hours but we all love her so much already. 

This was the first picture we saw of sweet Caroline before we got to go back into the room to see her for real.

Aunt 'E' loves her sweet Caroline!

Funny side note: Last night, Tyler and Heather decided to let everyone guess the time, weight, and height of Caroline. Her mommy guessed the weight and height exactly and was only off on the time by 10 minutes. Can we say "Mother's intuition always wins"?

Awaiting the arrival of Miss Caroline Reeves!

The last 9 months we have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Miss Caroline Reeves. Tyler and Heather are expecting their first!!! This time tomorrow, we will have another sweet little girl to add to our brood.

She'll be the 3rd granddaughter for my parents, mine and Zach's 3rd neice, and she will be the first grandchild for Heather's parents, Karen and Allen. Needless to say, we are all anxious and excited! Unless Heather goes into labor tonight, she will be going in to be induced bright and early tomorrow morning. I am so thankful my schedule worked out because I'm off tomorrow and Wednesday when they get to bring her home.

Please pray a smooth and safe delivery. I will try to keep everyone updated and will post pix just as soon as possible.

New Hair

I have always kept my hair pretty short (if you consider to my shoulders short) but when Zach and I got engaged in December of 2009, I decided I would try to grow it out as long as possible so that I would be able to do more with it for the wedding. Well, the wedding came and went and I still kept growing it out with the occasional trim just to keep it healthy. I guess after keeping it short for so long I hated to cut it but finally this summer it just got too hot to handle. So here is a before and after shot of my hair.

Before: 

After:

What do ya think?

Just a few pictures...

The last month or so have been fairly uneventful for the two of us directly but a good bit has happened to the people we loved the most. 

1. Tyler graduated from Samford's CRNA school.

2. Addison turned 3 

3. Annalee turned 1.

4. My best friend Amanda "AT" Turner got married. Now she is Mrs. Amanda Davis.

5. Zach and I are trying to prepare to buy a house.

6. We sold "Big Black" (Zach's 1994 F-150) after it was damaged in the tornado

7. Zarah (Zach's sister) graduated from high school and got a full ride to Troy!

Here's just a few pictures from the recent months:

Addison and Annalee riding in Annalee's wagon at their birthday party 

My sweet girls on Easter

"Big Black" being towed away

The happy couple!

BooBoo snuck upstairs one day when I was getting ready so I let her "help" me get ready

My Chiefy boy always has a ball in his mouth

Zarah - Class of 2011

Baron's Game

Tyler's CRNA school graduation

I just love date nights with my hubby

Today Mom and I went to Gadsden for a baby shower in honor or Heather and Caroline Reeves. We had so much fun. She got so many beautiful things. We can't wait for sweet "Princess Caroline" to arrive so we can spoil her!

Mom and I saw this street sign on our way to Heather's shower and had to take a picture!

A Day of Devastation.

Wednesday, April 27, I went to work as usual. I had to be there at 10 am. I am not one to watch the news very often unless forced or if I know something big has happened to I want to learn more. For that reason, Wednesday morning I headed to work as usual. When I arrived, I learned that several areas in my beloved state had had storms that morning knocking over trees and some areas having tornados. None of this happened in the immediate area that I live in and no one I know was immediately effected by these storms so I didn't think much about it. Just a few hours later, some of my coworkers began getting phone calls and texts about really bad weather coming our way. One girl's mom even called and told us that local meteorologists were saying that we could encounter "perfect storm" scenarios. I have to admit, I was a little nervous but no more than usual. It was when the store began to clear out and one of the clerks who works up front came back to the pharmacy and frantically told us that our store manager wanted everyone to go get their cell phones out of their lockers and put them in our pocket immediately. That's when it sank in because Mike is always pretty strict about his employees carrying our cell phones. I suddenly find myself calling Zach to inquire whether he and my parents know the storms are coming and what their plan is. He says that they are all three headed my way so that he can be with me during the storm and ride back home with me afterwards. This was at 5:30pm. Sam, my pharmacist told me that I could go ahead and leave if I needed or wanted to since I was scheduled to get off at 6 anyways and by the looks of the weather, he didn't think we would have many customers. So, with Zach's consent I ran to my car and set out. Zach and my parents headed back home to wait on me and the storm.

On my way home, there was a constant drizzle of light yet annoying rain. I wasn't the only car on the road but I had a sense of aloneness come over me on my trip. The entire way, about 15 minutes, I didn't really feel any emotion. Only that I HAD to get home before the storm reached me or our house. It was relatively dark the entire way but nothing unusual about an Alabama spring storm. But when I exited I-65 in Fultondale, it was then that I felt a sense of urgency. When I reached the top of the hill at the stop sign, I looked around. You know how they say "the calm before the storm"? Well, that's what it felt like. Everything seems surreal. Almost like a dream. The grass seemed so much greener; almost yellowish. The sky was still stormy but peaceful at the same time. The rain had all but stopped and I felt completely alone. There was not a car in sight at this otherwise busy intersection. Suddenly I knew that I had to get home and quick.

When I got home, I barely took the time to turn the car off and remove the key. I simultaneously grabbed all of my belongings as I threw the car in park and removed the key. I slammed the door behind me and ran inside only to find my husband and parents chilling in the living room watching James Spann preach to us about how we all need to take shelter. I was still in "hurry" mode so I ran to our room, changed clothes, and grabbed something quick to eat. I arrived home at 5:50pm. We watched the weather until about 7 or 7:15 when the power went out. That's when we finally decided that we needed to go to our "safe place" which in my parents house has always been the closet underneath the stairs. It is the center most point of the house on the lowest level. They don't have an underground basement but it has always seemed sufficient. We gathered our dogs, Chief and Morgyn, from the garage and out them into the closet with Zach and I while Mom sat right outside in the hallway and Dad, stubbornly, stood at the front door as if he would be able to stop the storm if it got too close. It seemed like we only sat under the steps for about 10 minutes and then it got really quiet. About that time, dad noticed some of the neighbors heading out of their homes so we all filed out. We stood and talked to the young couple from next door. They had already driven into down town Fultondale to check on a friend. I didn't realize until later after talking to friends and coworkers that the storm actually hit Fultondale not long after I got home. We just didn't lose power or get any effects of it until close to an hour later.

A friend of mine at work said that they got a call from her aunt who lives in Fultondale at about 6:15pm that it had just hit. We didn't lose power until about 7pm. We watched the news the entire time and had no idea it was even close. It is by the grace of God that I didn't get caught up in the storm. If I had left work 5-10 minutes later, I could have sucked up into it. Just thinking about it brings up all sorts of emotions. What if I had never gotten to see my husband again, or my parents, or my neices, or any of my other friends and loved ones?

I am so blessed to have my home, my husband, my loved ones, my church family, etc. So many people have lost everything and all we lost was our power for about 24 hours. Our God is so big and so great. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was effected by these storms. Stay strong!

Thanksgiving....in April?

A little over 7 months ago, I married my best friend. We have only known each other for a year and 7 months but I knew very soon after our first meeting that he was who I was going to spend my forever with. When Zach came into my life, he introduced a part of life that I had never experienced before. Our love, our bond, our friendship, is like nothing I have ever felt or knew I could feel. He is my soul, my life, my strength, my one true love.

I love to look at our wedding pictures and remember all of the events leading up to that day. It was a somewhat bitter sweet day. Our engagement was pretty rough. About 2 weeks after we got engaged, Zach moved to Kansas City, Kansas for his new job and was there during our entire engagement. We sometimes went just weeks without seeing each other and once or twice, we went multiple months without seeing each other. Four months before our wedding day, I lost one of my sweet, sweet bridesmaids, Katie Elizabeth Hill. Then, less than 1 week before our wedding day, my sweet PawPaw went to be with the Lord. Our wedding day itself didn't go so smoothly either. I got my hair done in Hoover that morning and the appointment ran later than expected. I still had to go home and finish packing my stuff to send to Kansas City so I had to leave Mom and let Dad come pick her up. Once we got to Rosewood, pictures went smoothly but shortly before the wedding was to begin, a downpour ascended. The power went out for about an hour. I had a surprise solo planned but was to play with an electric keyboard. Acapella may not have sounded so nice ;) The power outage knocked out that A/C so everyone was either drenched in rain or sweat. Somehow with all of that craziness, I remained calm during the whole thing. August 28, 2010 I was marrying my best friend and I didn't care if the whole place blew away, as long as we had "our papers".

I don't want people to think that I am saying all of this to make people feel sorry for us. That's not it AT ALL. I just wanted to give those of you who don't know our story a little background on us. Everything that has happened to us and/or the people around us has made our relationship so much stronger. The motto that got me thru those times was "The Lord wouldn't put us thru it if he didn't know we could handle it." Another similar saying I love is "The Lord won't bring you to it if he doesn't intend on bringing you through it."

After Zach living in Kansas City for a year and me living there for about 5 months, we are so happy and blessed to back with family. Here are just a few pictures from our wedding that always make me smile and remember just how magical that day was.

One of my favs.

So handsome.

Another favorite.

Two amazing families come together as one.

Like kissing an angel.

All my girls...well almost.

Zach and his boys.

Our PERFECT ceremony.

Joined together forever in LOVE.

A day off...

Today is my second day off of work after 8 straight days of a crazy beginning of the month at good ol' Walgreens. For those of you who don't know, the very end and the very beginning of the month is usually much busier in the world of pharmacy. I guess it is due to people getting their paychecks and that a lot of people prefer to begin their newest "fill" at the beginning of every month. This month was no different except that I was scheduled to work my "every third weekend". I worked 8 straight days without a break and by Monday evening, I was exhausted. Tuesday consisted of sleeping until almost 11 ;) It was grand! I ate a somewhat early lunch at about 11:30am then quickly got ready. This "getting ready" consisted of putting my hair up into a ponytail, applying a minimal amount of makeup, and throwing on a pair of holy jeans and a t-shirt - and when I say "holy" I don't mean that there are bible verses written on the pockets. I went out and rounded up our 2 dogs, BooBoo and Chief, loaded them into the car-windows down, and drove to a nearby park. This park consists of a walking track, 2 somewhat neglected softball fields, a playground, and a creek. BooBoo isn't always friendly to other canines so we usually keep her on a leash while Chief chases his beloved tennis ball all over field. After chasing it a while, Chief decided he was ready to go swimming whether BooBoo and I were or not. Next thing I know, he is high-tailing it -literally- out the opened gate to the creek. Good thing no one was around because that boy isn't afraid of knocking people over to go swimming. BooBoo and I slowly made our way over there to find him running around in the higher than usual water with his tennis ball in his mouth. There was very few people at the park in the middle of the day so I figured Morgyn would be okay off leash. They romped and wrestled in the water for what seemed like hours. It is always so funny to watch them. I love having labs because of their love for the water and to play. BooBoo isn't much of a retriever :) but if you put water in front of her, she loses her cool and dives right in...sometimes literally. And thrown a water-logged stick in the water to Chief and he will literally scoobadive for it. He has gone under water for 5-10 seconds at a time before looking for a stick. They are crazy! And good training for children I might add. 

Here's a shot of Chief and Morgyn swimming at the park.

BooBoo doesn't see the point in chasing that stupid green ball.

I didn't have a picture of him with his ball at the park but this is his chewed-in-half tennis ball that he carries around the yard all day long.

All this park talk is making me want to go today. Guess I better get ready so I can go. Hopefully no one is there again today. 

Our first Vacation as a married couple....

This past weekend Zach and I went to Orange Beach, AL with a couple of friends of ours. Owen, who Zach graduate from Auburn with, his wife Mary Catherine, and their 2 little girls, Adeline (3 y/o) and LeahCate (6 weeks). They have a condo down there so we went down Thursday when Zach and Owen got off work and we came back Sunday evening. We had a blast! Hopefully one day we will have a place of our own so we can have them over. Until then.....lol. Sorry but I have don't have any pictures to post because our camera charger got displaced in our move back from Kansas.

Not much has happened since my last blog. I DID get a job. It's at Walgreens in Forrestdale which is about 20 minutes from my parents' house (where we are still living for now). I am waiting on all of my paperwork to go through but it should be complete by Monday or Tuesday so I can start working then. I'm pretty excited! 

This weekend Zach and I are going up to Huntsville to my PawPaw's house to begin painting the interior. Mom and Dad are planning on coming up Saturday to help so hopefully we will get a lot done.

This weekend, Kevin, Julie, and the girls are in Washington D.C. Julie's uncle is being buried in Arlington Cemetary so while they're gone, we are keeping their dogs in addition to our 2 dogs. If you aren't good at math, that is FOUR labrador retrievers! We've taken them all to the park just about every afternoon. We get a lot of funny looks driving down the road and from people at the park. 

Zach and I are planning on going to the beach with our friends Owen and MaryCatherine and their two sweet little girls, Adeline and Leah Cate. It will be so nice to get away. Life is good.

Well, not much has happened since my last post. Zach has been working at Ebsco in the warehouse which is good. Its funny because I just assumed he would be lifting and moving heavy objects but when he got home after his first day, I asked him what he had been doing all day. He just grinned, pulled out his phone, and showed me a picture of what looked like a big box of manilla envelopes. I was a little confused. I asked him "What is that?" He said "I put books into envelopes all day." The rest of this week he has been doing inventory. I'm actually glad he isn't doing heavy lifting. All we need is for his to hurt his back or something and not be able to work. In the meantime, I've been trying to fill out applications for PCT jobs at some area hospitals and can I just say that the application process is absolutely ridiculous. It takes an hour just to fill out ONE. First you've got to fill out all of your personal info such as name, address, date of birth, etc. Then, they want your work history with descriptions of what your responsibilities were and why you left. Then, they want you to fill out a survey and they even tell you that it is going to take you about 20-25 minutes. Sometimes they even want you to send in your work history again with all of the prementioned details. And lastly, they want you to attach your resume. Umm, I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure most resumes have all of that information on them. Why not just ask for the resume? Ugh, I get frustrated sometimes and can only fill out one at a time.

Now that my venting is over...for now, I have been trying to get a PCT job because I have about decided to go back to school this summer and get the rest of my pre-reqs for nursing. Zach and I met with an advisor at UAB at the end of last week. She told us that prospective students are usually more likely to get in if they have already obtained their 2 year nursing degree. With that being said, what I will probably do is go to Jeff State and get my 2 year nursing degree so that I can start working and then get my BSN when I'm finished. For those of you reading from out-of-state or out-of-the-area, Jeff State is the junior college in Pinson that I played softball directly out of high school for 2 years. It's somewhat overwhelming and intimidating but I know I can do it and I need to do it. Since we went to UAB, I haven't done much. I've been pretty bored. Especially being at Mom and Dad's house because all of my stuff is packed up in the trailor and I'm not about to venture into that thing. I have this fear that I would get swallowed by some sort of trailor-dwelling beast that is living between our dressers in there for the last 2 weeks.

This past weekend, pretty much the whole state of Alabama got snow and/or ice. It was supposed to begin Sunday night. Zach and I were in Alex City at his parents house and we decided about an hour into the "storm" as everyone is calling it that we would drive to Birmingham to my parents because Birmingham wasn't supposed to get it as bad and Zach had to be at Ebsco Monday morning. So, we quickly packed up our bags and got the dogs outside. Since the roads were supposed to get icy, we figured it'd be best if we took "Big Black" (Zach's 4x4 truck). If you had passed us on the road, you would have thought we looked like the modern day Clampets. Zach was driving, I was "riding redneck" in the middle, the floor board was filled with bags and BooBoo layed her big butt on top of them, and Chief sat next to me on the seat. Almost the entire ride home, BooBoo slept and Chief leaned on me with his head on his shoulder. He loves his momma. We made it to Birmingham safely and without incident but not without a few scares. A couple of times we came up on a wreck and the people in front of us would hit their breaks and we would go sliding towards them because there was ice on the bridge. Once, we almost bought a Hummer. After living in Kansas for 2 winters, Zach was getting pretty frustrated with those "idiot drivers who stop on ice instead of just slowing down". It was definitely an experience.

With all the "blizzard" talk over the weekend, not only were Alabamians freaking out about running out of milk and bread, most of us were also freaking out about our power going out and not being able to get TV. Normally TV wouldn't be that big of a deal but this time, it was VERY important since our beloved Auburn Tigers were playing the Oregon Ducks for the college football National Championship. Thankfully the power didn't go out so we all got to watch the game. The game was a nail-biter until the end but Auburn proved victorious. We were all so nervous that Zach watched it downstairs, Mom and I watched in the den, and Dad watched in their bedroom. I think Dad watched alone not because he was nervous but because he didn't want to listen to us lol. Kevin and Julie even got to go to the game. They had a blast. Due to the weather, some people were actually delayed and weren't able to make it to the game. I can't imagine how they felt. Even with all of those people unable to make it, the ESPN announcers were saying 70% of the people there were Auburn fans and only 30% was Oregon fans. There was a lot of orange and blue there.  It is great to be an Auburn Tiger!

Man, when I started writing this post I didn't think I would have much to write about but obviously I was wrong. I doubt anyone will even read all of this but oh well. Sorry.

Our First Post

Yay! Our first post! I'm not good about keeping up with this kind of stuff so hopefully Zach will help me remember to keep it updated

In the last 4 months:
-Zach and I got married
-I moved to Kansas City where Zach had been since January of 2009
-Zach worked for Lithko Contracting Inc. (Kansas City based construction company)
-I worked for Walgreens as a pharmacy tech
-Zach lost his job with Lithko
-I quit my job at Walgreens
-We moved back to Alabama

The last 4 months have been a whirlwind. Some days have been rough but we wouldn't change a single thing. The married life is a blast. It has taken some getting used to but being together every day has been such a blessing. Those 8 months apart were really tough but they strengthened our relationship so much. We are so blessed.

Our move back to Alabama was pretty sudden so the whole moving process was pretty rushed. We are so blessed to have 2 sets of parents who love us and support us more than we could ever ask. Zach's parents drove out the afternoon we found out he lost his job and got there the next morning. My dad left the next morning driving the 21ft "band van" pulled by a Ford F-350 dooley and got there that evening. While I was at work, Zach and his parents packed up our stuff all day and had most of it ready to load into the trailor as soon as my dad got there. We had most of it loaded by the next morning by the time I had to leave for work. They were packing machines. Dad left Thursday before lunch but I had to work until 5:30 so Zach and his dad ran errands all day while Vicki stayed at the house to finish cleaning. We turned in our keys at about 6:30pm and had to say goodbye to our life in Kansas. We stayed in a hotel Thursday night because we were all too tired to drive all night. Zach and Lynn (Zach's dad) found a pet-friendly hotel just up the interstate but when we got there they said only the Smoking rooms were pet-friendly. So instead of leaving, we checked in, parked at the back, and snuck Sammy (The Spraggins' shih tzu), Morgyn, and Chief into our room. They loved it. We got up the next morning and started what seemed like what would be a fairly good trip. Zach drove "Big Black" (his 1994 F-150 that has no right-side power steering), I was driving the CR-V, Vicki was in her Pathfinder, and Lynn was in the Ranger. Other than the frequent  bathroom breaks and the problems we had with the tarps staying on the washer and dryer in the back of the trucks, our trip was going well. We weren't making that good of time but since the rain had stopped, we figured we would make up for it later. Little did we know what was coming. We stopped about 20 miles before Clarksville, TN for what we hoped would be our last bathroom break before Birmingham but not long after we got back on the road, Lynn called Zach and said the Ranger had overheated and he had to pull over on I-24. Vicki and I parked at a gas station and Zach went back to put water in it so it would run but a little while later, Zach called and said the truck still wouldn't crank and that we were going to have to get it towed. Long story short, we had to call AAA to tow it to Murfreesburo to a U-Haul place, Zach and Lynn had to spend the night in the Pathfinder to make sure no one stole the washer and dryer out of the backs of the trucks, and Vicki and I and the dogs drove back to Alex City. Zach and Lynn finally got back to Birmingham around 2pm Saturday. The trip home seemed to be a disaster but I know none of us will ever forget it and I know years down the road, we will laugh and laugh about it. I am just thankful we all made it home safely.

Currently, we are sort of in limbo. Neither of us have jobs and have no immediate offers. We are hoping for Zach to get a job in or near Birmingham so we can be close to both of our families. For now, we are planning to live with my folks so we can be closer to more opportunities but nothing is set in stone yet.

Please keep us in your prayers as we try to get everything figured out.