The Harvell's...1 + 1 = 3: Life in the Harvell Home...5 Months of Catch Up!

It's been forever since I've taken a minute to sit down and blog about our lives. So I thought I would take a second and write about some of the latest happenings in the Harvell home.
As the summer comes to a close...sad, we can say that we've had a great summer. We had two great trips to the beach with some friends, and to the lake with my side of the family. We spent a great week away in Perdido Key, FL with our sweet friends, Andrew and Leakhena. Andrew's parents were very generous and allowed us to spend the week at their condo, which was so nice! We were very thankful to them for that opportunity. We also enjoyed having Miss Norah with us! It was our first "family" vacation since she became part of our lives. She enjoyed the trip, but she didn't quite know what to think of the waves and sand. We actually learned after about two days that they didn't want pets on the beach to help keep the tracking of the oil down as much as possible. The beaches were pretty covered in oil...some days worse than others. Overall, we really enjoyed our time away soaking up the sun the last few days of the trip. We cooked some great meals and we enjoyed a few good meals at some of the local places too! We had a great time with our sweet friends also!
We had a great time in Tennessee again this summer too! We spent 3 nights at Tims Ford Lake in Winchester, TN. Over the past 6 years or so, this big lake in TN has become a favorite summer stop for our family. It's always fun to get away and enjoy time with family. We had the whole family there, and my brother Kristian brought a buddy of his along who also had a ski boat, so we were able to get extra time on the water. We had a good time relaxing and enjoying precious family time. As time flies by these days, we really enjoy the little moments that we get to spend together. You really begin to see how special those times together really are. We have been so blessed by an Awesome God in this past year, and we just pray for many more sweet moments and memories together.
Jake and I are doing well! We are loving each other more today than yesterday, and we are counting our blessings each day! We will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary in a little over a month now! So hard to believe how fast time has flown by! Big news for Jake...He started back to school this semester!! Woo Hoo!! He's really excited and encouraged to be starting back and and taking another step toward reaching his goal. He hopes to complete these two classes that he has left before finishing his accounting degree online with Athens State University by the end of next year! Yay, Jake!! So proud of you!
I'll post some pictures of us over the past several months. I will say, part of the reason that I have gotten behind on my blogging is because my hard drive in my computer crashed on me, and I lost thousands of pictures. I was pretty devastated by that for a while, and I just couldn't stand that I had lost the documentation of all those memories. We are still waiting to get it looked at to see if they can recover any of them for me. We are waiting to save the money for it right now. Hopefully we'll have good luck with that when the time comes!
We hope everyone is doing well, staying encouraged, and not losing hope! Our hope is secure in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Though, all around the world seems to be crumbling in front of us, we have nothing to fear...
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me." Phil 1:20-22 Another scripture from a recent message at church...
Psalm 131: "My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both NOW and Forevermore."
Ephesians 6:10-13: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
Just know that we are here for a purpose...to be examples to this dying world that our life is so much more than the life we live here on earth. May God be glorified in all we do, everyday.
With Much Love...In Christ,
J & K

THE BEACH...