Updates!

Sorry I'm so behind on this blog. I won't even try to come up with an excuse...it's pure laziness :-)

Class is in full swing for Josh and my job is pretty busy getting prepared for student fall retreats and other events. But all is going well and small groups will be starting up with Fifth Sixth soon. Josh and I are both helping out this fall and I'm really excited to be able to get to know some of the kids at Christ Chapel better. It's a great ministry and I'm thankful that we were able to get involved so quickly. Keep all the kids in your prayers that they will grow to understand more fully what being a Christian means. And pray that God will use me and Josh as effective leaders.

Cooking's been a little slower this week because we've had a lot more going on, but never fear. I still have some good food pictures. Considering that I tend to never follow recipes,The tilapia was a modification of a trout recipe and had a crust of lemon, flour, cornmeal, and some spices. The breading basically melted off in the oven, but I thought it tasted great! I think Josh liked it ok, but next time I'll probably put less cornmeal and more flour so it doesn't quite taste like cornbread fish :-) Josh made his frying pan mix of corn, onion, turkey patties, and okra with creole seasoning. It was really good, but we had a hard time coming up with a name for it.

Baked Tilapia and Green Beans

Pancakes for Breakfast!

Grilled Garlic Lime Pork Chops with brown rice and black-eyed peas

Josh's Mix....so good!

We're gearing up for football weekends, so that should be exciting. We're taking a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings this afternoon to watch Byrnes play on ESPN. I hope Dad makes it on tv! School started last week so high school football might become our new Friday date night. We're pretty excited! We also live right down the street from TCU so game day might be a little less orange but we'll still get to watch some good football! And lucky for us it's been a little cooler the past few days since it rained. It's nice to have a little relief from the heat.

Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts! God has blessed us so much and if we get to missing friends and family it's encouraging to know that you are all praying for us. God is teaching us so much about Himself and that He has a plan for our lives that we may not know yet but we know it is perfect. We can have confidence in Him. Pray for Josh as he works hard and studies. He's been very diligent about studying for sure but just pray that he stays motivated and excited about his classes. Also pray that I continue to figure out how to do my job well. I'm learning as I go which can sometimes be difficult. And as a side note I've been having some sinus headaches the past week so pray that I can figure out what's causing those. Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers!

The Break Before Classes Start

Orientation is on Tuesday and Josh starts classes on Thursday so our house is starting to overflow with textbooks. Work is going well for me. It's going to take some adjustment to figure out how things run at McKinney, but I really like the people I work for and I'm enjoying bouncyball wars and random events that really could only take place in a student ministry building. For all you Clemson folks....it reminds me of some crazy times at the BCM!

Now for food, my personal favorite. I baked a cake randomly the other day (ironically right after we went running...I guess burning calories just put me in a baking mood). The cake turned out pretty good, after I made a quick Kroger run to get some vanilla (red food coloring and vanilla may come in similar containers, but they are not the same I promise). I didn't have a good picture, but it was a yellow cake with penuche icing (I have no clue how to pronounce that but it's basically a brown sugar icing I had a recipe for). As for real food, Josh grilled some tilapia which was very good. We had a new version of sausage casserole (with ground turkey and a lot of seasoning). Oh and fajitas! Since we're in Texas we wanted to try some mexican. Delicious! We also tried making some fresh guacamole which turned out good and Josh made himself some pimento cheese because he was craving home cooking. Good times!

Tilapia. Yum Fish!

Sausage... er, turkey casserole

Fajitas

Josh told me not to put this picture up, but it's just funny.

We officially got to see the Rangers Sunday afternoon! A friend of ours found us a great deal on tickets and so we got to sit in the heat and watch the Rangers v. Red Sox. It was a really exciting game and the Rangers won! I also decided that Julio Borbon is my new favorite player (I know that's random but someone might be interested).  I was thinking about the Braves the whole time, but it's hotter in Arlington than Atlanta. And it was really fun to see Boston too. Sports seem to be a really big deal here so we fit in just fine. We're looking forward to football season!

We're sweating to death but having fun despite the heat!

Go Rangers!

Well that's all for now. Keep us in your prayers, especially Josh as he starts classes. Maybe one day I'll be better about posting more blogs, but in the meantime we hope to hear from you! Thanks for all the prayers!

-Tiffany (as always, approved by Josh)

Life in Texas

I got a job! Thanks to everyone who was praying for my final interview! I'm going to be the administrative assistant for student ministries at McKinney Memorial Bible Church in Fort Worth. It's a perfect fit - it's close to the house, seems like a really fun environment, and supports a very God-centered ministry. Josh and I are so excited that God provided a job for me so quickly. God has already sent us so many surprising blessings already. It's such a great feeling to know that God is with us here and that we are following His plan for us.

Here's a summary of our latest adventures:

1. Laser tag with Church! The 5th and 6th graders (over 60 of them) went to a laser tag place here in town and Josh and I got to go along. It was really fun and I'm already starting to get to know some of the kids. They are all so energetic and we had a great time enjoying the organized chaos!

2. Cooking in General! Nothing earth-shattering I suppose, but I've been enjoying our cooking experiences. My personal favorite was pork chops with peaches and potatoes. It sounds gross but actually it was really tasty (the recipe came from Real Simple with a little of our own personal twist).

Na-coction. Thanks for the recipe Na!

Chicken 'n Rice

Pork, Potatoes, Peaches and Couscous

3. Garrett and Anna's Wedding! Anna, one of the interns Josh works with, got married and we got to go to the wedding. It was beautiful. Her wedding is going to be featured on a TLC wedding show. It's part of a contest with 4 brides and it should be interesting to see how it turns out. But her evening wedding with a cookie and milk and candy bar and photo booth gets my vote :-) It was really fun yet classy.

4. Visit to the Stockyards! It was my first experience seeing longhorns up close and personal (welcome to Texas!). We got to watch the cattle drive that goes up the main street of the stockyards. It's more like a saunter but it was still really fun. It was a good Texas experience in the hot weather, and I feel somewhat introduced to the cowboy culture here. I'm enjoying Texas!

Well that's about all that's going on right now. Keep praying for our ministry at Christ Chapel Bible Church with the Fish-Stix (Fifth and Sixth Graders). The youth leader, Ben, is on a mission trip in Tajikistan for the next 10 days so keep him and their team in your prayers as well. Remember us as I start work tomorrow and Josh starts classes soon. We love you all!

In Christ,

Tiffany (and Josh)

Settling In

Everything is coming together. I'm starting to figure out how to get to a few places (despite my directionally challenged self). Here's a few before and after pictures of the living room. It was quite the job but it looks good now. And it's certainly easier to find things. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful wedding gifts! We really appreciate your help!

Josh and I have been cooking a good bit after a trip to Kroger. My personal favorite....parmesan chicken with salad and garlic bread. Yum! Dishes are interesting with no automatic dishwasher, but Josh is a much better-looking substitute :-)

We went to Christ Chapel Bible Church on Sunday (where Josh works) and I got to meet all the 5th and 6th graders that Josh works with as well as the other interns. The kids are super friendly and it's fun to see how alike they are to kids we know in SC. Josh works with 4 other interns, although one of the girls is moving in a few weeks. I'm excited to be volunteering with them. They are a really fun, energetic group!

Well that's all for now. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will be sure to send another update soon. We don't have internet at the house so it's a little slow getting back with everyone but thanks for praying for us!

In Christ,

Tiffany Forrest (approved by Josh)