I Once was a Swinger of Birches....

As of late...

2011-08-07T20:24:00.003-05:00

God has been doing some amazing things in my life lately. He is showing me how to let go of my past. Ive learned to voice those things that make me angry about my past and have learned how to forgive and move forward. It is amazing the things he does when we are obedient. When we open ourselves up to allow him in to our lives to make changes in us.
He has shown me so much about myself and about the relationships in my life this past year. Ive been able to step back and see what I need in my life, and what I dont. I have had to distance myself from those that cause me hurt and pain. Hard but something I had to do for me. And he has allowed me to see those that are true and the good in relationships that I once doubted.
I like the direction Im headed, its comforting to know he hasnt given up on me. That he is still moving and working in my life and gracious as ever when I fail. :)

I want to bring blogging back... So join with me. Put it all out there to share with others what is going on in your life.

Been Awhile!

2010-04-02T22:41:00.002-05:00

Well I have written on here in forever. I have now almost been at my job for a year if that tells you how long its been! Still enjoy it but definitely have learned a passion while working there, we have clients who are higher functioning and lower functioning, and the lower functioning often deal with mental retardation and some sort of mental illness. I love working with the mentally handicapped.... they sometimes are hard and you have no idea what they are thinking. But something in my heart just has such compassion and love for them. They are so brave to constantly walk through a world that they often dont understand. I would love to find a job sometime in the future where I could work with this type of population...

Other news... Bought a new house! Were are moving to Shawnee soon! We had to buy the house before Daniel started a new job (long story). Now were waiting for him to get a new job or for our tax return, whichever comes first.
Were so ready to be in Shawnee and be able to be more involved with our church. God is doing some awesome things there, and we know he has called us to get involved with the youth! Were ready to just be active!!! Its going to be awesome. Be praying for Daniel to get a new job!

Going good....

2009-06-19T11:34:00.003-05:00

Just thought I would get on here and update a little. For those of you who dont know I now have a new job. I work at a place called Red Rock Behavioral Health Center. I am a Psychiactric Social Rehabilitation Specialist. I love it! We work with mentally ill adults, and do social rehab. We have a group setting where they come with others who suffer from mental illness and have that social support. We help them with simple things such as cleaning, cooking, learning how to function in a community, hygiene, and a ton of other things. I love doing this.... I love the clients we have. They are so sweet and just need someone to love on them. Many of their families abandon them because of their illness. And they of course get rejected by their community, they have nobody else. I wanted to find a job where I could be the support for people who are in need, and in this job I get to be that. I love being there for them, and giving them my love and support. They touch my heart, daily....

Another new thing, I got my new car! I love it! I have always wanted a Honda Civic and I finally got one. Heres a picture.

And next week we will be on our way to Youth Camp at Turner Falls. Be praying for me :) I have 12 girls, and I may end up with 3 extra girls in our cabin also. So possibly 15, all by myself. Im nervous... Ive never been to this camp before, so I just feel like I wont know what Im doing. But be praying for that and that God does something awesome in our youth going....

One Year!

2009-05-08T14:22:00.002-05:00

Wow, it is almost our one year anniversary. It will be in 16 days. It doesnt seem like a year ago that we got married, lol... it seems like 3! haha. It seems like we are completely different people now than those 2 people who stood that day and said I do. We have grown and matured much more than I think either of us thought we would in one year. We have had a year of struggles, heartache, new opportunities, smiles, laughs, tears.... Its just been an eventful first year of marriage for us. Its hard to believe all that we've gone through in a year. People never tell you that marriage will be this hard, but definitely worth it! Every little fight that you have to work through, every suprising new fact to learn about one another, every moment of weakness and outburst of anger :), every lack of communciation, every attempt to understand where the heck the other is coming from.... Its challenging but rewarding. You learn so much about one another, more than you ever thought was in them... Things suprise you often! The first year of marriage is definitely not the year of bliss that I thought it was going to be, but I wouldnt trade the bad for the good any day, you learn and understand more of one another through it. Its those times of hurt and confusion that you grow closer and begin to see a different side of each other.

I love Daniel Reid Huff, and am thankful for this past year and all he has given and done for me. I wouldnt trade any of it......

Amen!

2009-04-30T09:27:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to post and say how much God has been doing in my life lately. Im just learning alot about myself and Gods leading. Hes leading me to places and away from places, and I want to follow. Im curious to know where hes taking me on this journey. I just have a heart to gain more understanding from him, and to learn more and more of where he desires for me to be. My eyes have been opened to see past all the bad things that have happened recently, and to see the bigger picture in which Gods leading me elsewhere. I just long for more, and desire to see where I may end up. I want to be stronger and more apt to see with His eyes, and to see his plan in all things.
Im at a good place in life today.... For some reason today, God has given me an astounding peace that HES GOT IT UNDER CONTROL, and I feel so care free and trusting in that.
Gods Good!

Wow I havent been on here in forever!

2009-04-14T18:14:00.002-05:00

Happy late Easter to everyone! It was different for me this year to not eat with my mom and meme at Easter. But it was nice to eat with Daniels family. We had a good time just hanging out. Last week my work had our Annual Fundraising Banquet. That was stressful. I didnt realize how much details people werent telling me about me being in charge of things. I walked in that night and was swarmed with people telling me what to do, that I needed to fix stuff, asking for help. Wow, it was exhausting and overwhelming! Im so glad its over. It definitely made me see the bigger picture of our organization, and I felt for once since Ive been there that Im a part of such a bigger picture than I see. It was just experiencing the whole night and seeing my work influence others. It was cool. Next big deal, we will be having our walkathon October 10th. So be ready for me to hit you up in sponsoring me to walk for our center!

This weekend we have our Youth Explosion at the Church. Those of you that read this that know youth around Cushing or the Stillwater area, point them our way! Its going to be cool. Curt, the Chi ALpha Pastor is speaking. And the Chi Alpha Band is playing. Its gonna be awesome. I hope we bring in alot of kids from Cushing High School. I hadnt really realized how much school has changed since I graduated until the other day. The kids were talking about gangs, drugs, drinking, girls pregnant...... ALL IN MIDDLE SCHOOL. Yeah, some of that stuff went on when I was in HS, but not middle school! It just seems to get lower and lower ages. It blows my mind. Anyways, be praying that God moves and it goes awesome.

Oh yeah, and can you imagine, Daniel and I will be married for a year May 24th. 10 days and 1 month away! So weird!

my life lately...

2009-02-19T21:40:00.002-06:00

Wow, I think I underestimated youth ministry. Im tired. Wore out. Exhausted. We have not been home earlier than 10pm every night for the past 2 or 3 weeks. On the 13th we had a Worth the Wait Lock-In, and then the next day we had the Valentines Banquet. Yeah, Back to Back. I dont know what I was thinking. Never in my life will I do that again! I went on no sleep already on the 13th, then staying up all night, and then the banquet. Lets just say I had a few mental breakdowns during that day. Nothing was working out, everything was a disaster. We didnt have enough steak and chicken for the dinner, the charcoal went out and wasnt working, in 1 hour we had only cooked 10 steaks and it was time for the dinner to start. But luckily, thank you God, I was able to get ahold of Daniels grandparents and they brought the propane grill... It took 45 minutes and we got 20 steaks and 15 chickens cooked! Thank the Lord. It all came together. It actually turned out really well... by the grace of God. Everyone says it was the best they had ever been too... and also to my benefit, for some reason a ton of people did not pay attention to announcements and thought that it started at 7p, so the food being late wasnt a big deal either. :)

Cookie Lee Consultant

2009-02-11T13:07:00.002-06:00

Well I just thought I would let you guys know, I am now a jewelry consultant. The brand is called Cookie Lee, its actually really cute jewelry. I like alot of it!!! Which is no good, because Im going to spend all my profit on it! Haha. Well I just thought I would let you know if you would like to book a show there are a variety of added bonuses for those who host a party, and you can also just order from me and arent required to attend the show. Here is a link to look at the catalog, let me know if there is anything your interested in ordering or hosting a show!
http://www.cookielee.biz/esuite/home/vickeythornton

Youth Pastor Daniel

2009-01-23T21:12:00.002-06:00

Well, after much waiting, Daniel is now officially the youth pastor at our church. We have taken this on, and God is really blessing out youth group. We have seen alot of new faces just in the last couple weeks. We have alot of events coming up, Worth the Wait Lockin, a Valetines Banquet for couples (if anyone is interested in coming let me know), Girls Retreat, and many fundraisers for youth camp. So be prepared for postings of fundraisers, seeing if anyone is interested.
But I am thankful we are now finally official.... Gods really doing alot in us and the youth group. I think its good for many of them to finally have someone they can call their youth pastor. Its pretty much been 3 years since they have had one. There was one for a short period of about 5months in there, but he didnt work out. Justkeep us in your prayers, me especially... have any of you guys ever pictured me, a PREACHERS WIFE? I said crap the other day in the microphone, and I was like Oh Lord, what have you done by putting me here?? Im just not your typical pastors wife, I lack the etiquette and class I guess you could say? Im not perfect, and have a lot of flaws. Gods going to have to do a major work with cleaning me up for good presentation, haha.

A little sad today......

2009-01-10T13:33:00.001-06:00

I dont know why, but today Im feeling a baby bit sad. Its weird how life changes. How aftr marriage some things just arent the same. Your friends slowly drift away... their lives slowly dont include you. They slowly move on, and need you less and less. It would be easier if I knew I just completely hadnt reached out to them and tried to continue hanging out and being friends, but its harder when you realize theyve peaced you out because they dont have what you do. That they have peaced you out simply because they dont understand marriage bc they are still single. Because they dont like being the third wheel, or simply because they have single friends to hangout with. How can something that simple define a friendship? How can something as easy as not being so dern egocentric and focusing on their own insecurities because they are still single completely change a friendship?? Yeah, maybe on my end there are some differences because I cant just up and go to their house at 3 am like before... but I am still the friend I used to be. The more and more as our marriage goes on, I realize how much of a friend I have in Daniel. Hes there for me, has fun with me, makes me smile, is there for me when Im sad... Thats a friend. And apparently is all I can really count on these days... Marriage does change things, is shows you the friends you really have.

(Sorry if this seems cranky, Im just sick of my marriage being the blame for the change in friendships when its really deeper than that)

I love my new job!!!!

2009-01-09T07:36:00.003-06:00

So my first week has gone really well! I love it there.... its been kinda slow bc no one knows exactly what I am suppose to be doing to train me (the girl who was there before me was suppose to but she hasnt come back???) So Im learning little bits at a time... But I love it none the less, each day I realize even more all the reasons God has me there. I see a future at this place and have a feeling God has me there to be a big part! This is totally my heart and something God has called me to do.
So continue to pray, that I finally have daily tasks that I will be busy with :)

I have a job!

2008-12-29T16:48:00.002-06:00

So just to update again. After the interviews and all, I got a call back on the Monday before Christmas asking me to come back in for a second interview at Stillwater Life Services. I went in and pretty much it wasnt a second interview, they were just letting me know I had the job!!! I start on Jan. 5th, and Im actually really excited to start my new job, I think it is going to be fun and interesting. Although I will do some hardwork! I will have my own desk and everything! What I think is most awesome is that from the beginning before even doing any applying or anything this was the job I said I wanted. Right now, Im starting out at the bottom, but I want to stay in the non-profit organization sector of jobs, and you gotta start somewhere. So the pay isnt amazing, but I have a feeling Ill work my way up :) You always have to when it comes to non-profit. So be proud of me, I am officially employed!

Graduate am I .........

2008-12-15T14:38:00.004-06:00

Hola peoples. Well I am officially a college graduate, my mom now has the program from the ceremony with my name on it! :) I didnt walk, because I chose not to, and her friend attended and got an extra for my mom since I was in it.
Its crazy, right now not having anything to do is driving me bonkers.
Daniel may disagree, I think he thinks I enjoy being a bum and laying around the house. But to be honest, its not that fun. Right now, Im bored and cold. Would much rather be making money in a warm office. haha.
I am currently hoping I get this job, I talked about it before Stillwater Life Services. Before when I was interested in it, I didnt even know that it was a christian organization. I had turned in my resume and they asked me to fill out an application and the application was all about my walk with God and my spirituality. I had to have people in my church be my references. It was intense. They are pretty serious about your spiritual maturity working in this place. I think that makes it that much better as a future place of employment. I am praying God opens this door, but it may not be the one he has for me. Wherever he wants me, I pray something comes up soon! We got bills coming up next month, and need me to be getting some mula. Welp, just be praying that I find a good paying job, that I am able to use my talents and characteristics that God has given me to use for his benefit.

On another note, I have accomplished my goal of making a 3.0 this semester. It is actually a 3.016 :) This semester I went out with a bang, 2-A's, 2-B's, 1-C...... Probably the hardest semester of all my semesters, and I pulled off some pretty good grades, Im proud of myself!

One Final Left!

2008-12-09T20:55:00.005-06:00

Here are some Christmas pics of us, and our Christmas tree...

Ok so, the lives of Brittni and Daniel :) Well tomorrow will be my last Final, forever.. if i pass all my classes :) Im jk, I should... Although in 2 of my classes I have no idea where I stand on my grade because one teacher doesnt give us grades, even when we ask, she simply tells us we're doing fine. And the other one, we turned in 2 weeks ago! a video presentation, that is worth half of our grade and he has yet to grade it and tell us where we stand. And I took that final today, so I have no idea on the grade in that class either. Isnt college wonderful? Im so thankful to be done! People keep telling me to go back and get my masters, its just not in me. Im done... and I have no desire to go back, ever. But so far I have an A, and a B on my grades for the semester... Im expecting possibly another A, and 2 B's or 1 B and 1 C. Im hoping my GPA will be brought up a bit.
Be praying for me to find a job. I feel like Ive applied everywhere around here looking for a social service job... but seems that no one wants me :( everyone job that showed interest when I gave them my resume has fell through... so just pray I find a job, and an awesome one at that!

Daniel and I have taken over the youth group, unofficially. We have been crazy busy, with church, Chi Alpha, and the holidays. But finally we're getting to slow down a little, well we will after Christmas anyways. Those who knew we were looking at a house in Cushing, we decided to be responsible and live rent free for another year or so. Our goal is to live here long enough to pay off my school loans and our car loans, and then have a little saved for a house downpayment. And also save enough to buy a new car when the time comes. My goal is to pay cash for a brand new car! I've never been a good saver, so being able to save and pay cash for a car would be awesome. So thats a goal of ours. Then after all that, maybe there will be little Huff's once we have our "ducks in a line"- from the movie Alot Like Love. That seems to be a continuing question, about the little Huff's that is. From Daniel and his family! lol.

Not like anyone ever reads this anyways...

2008-09-13T20:00:00.002-05:00

So my blog isnt as popular as Shaynes :) so I dont write as much. But at the moment Im bored, so I figured why not?Update on our lives lately...

Life has been going pretty good lately, Daniel got a raise which is awesome at the moment since I quit my job and am only a full time student now. And they also asked him if he'd be interested in getting his CDL, nad he told them he would if they paid for him to get it.... so they are paying for it and hes getting his CDL, then hes going to be getting another raise! Sweet huh? Its kinda a blessing and an ecnouragement after the way this summer was with his knee and everything. But were finally getting back on top of things. :) AMEN

School has been hectic, but so far not TOO bad, but Im sure further into the semester its going to get worse.

We have no like free weekends until Nov. We have crap going on every stinkin weekend until Nov. We've been extremely busy with church, youth, and Chi Alpha. Its been a stressful time of church. lol

Cool thing, there is a place here called Stillwater Life Services, its for pregnant women to offer another option other than abortion, they have parenting classes and adoption options. Its actually really cool and I was wanting to try and get a job there when I graduated. Well Ive been offered an internship there, and Im obviously going to take it in hopes of it turning into an employment after I graduate. I would love to work for this place, I believe so much in its mission and I think there going about it perfectly in getting into the lives of mothers. So be praying that maybe that can turn into an employer!!!!!

Other than that, just not a whole lot going on... but theres my life in a nutshell. Hope all is well with everyone else.

SCHOOL

2008-08-26T14:31:00.002-05:00

Well, school has started back up... I actually feel a little better about my classes than what I did at first. I went and met with my advisor the other day, and she assured me that if I dont do anything crazy like fail a class I will graduate! BUT she did say that if I want to make a 3.0 I need to make all A's and B's...... so Im going to have to work my butt off to make good grades! I have a 2.99 right now as my GPA, which I think is lame that they dont just round up. But thats school for you. :)

Other news, I quit my babysitting job... I babysat 12 year old twins, and their mom was cutting my hours way back and pretty much it came down to it that I wasnt even making enough to pay for my gas to get there. lol. $20 a week just isnt cutting it for me. lol So we decided that we could make it without me working, things may be a little tight but we made it this summer without Daniel working, I think my small contribution of $20 a week isnt doing much. lol. So now I have more time to focus on school and working with our youth group. Oh and now Im also on Chi ALpha LEadership... So Ive got a lot going on anyways... :) So get yourselves ready to come to my graduation party that were going to have at our church!!!

Update...

2008-07-24T19:12:00.003-05:00

Well were now having our first challenge as a married couple. We found out the Aflac insurance doesnt pay much, and Daniel is still not able to work... We went to the dr on Tues and he wanted him to do physical therapy for another 4 weeks then come back, but I was like are you kidding me?? 4 more weeks of him not working????? So he moved it to 2. So were going to try and get the guy ready for work in 2 more weeks. Hes going to hate me because Im going to nag him to death about excersiing it and icing it. :) but he has to get back to work, secretly I think hes enjoying this new founded vacation time. But Im fixing to start school and we wont have the money from me working for his grandmothers daycare like I do now... so be praying for speedy improvement and a return to work in 2 weeks! :)

Other than that, everything has been going really well... we've been extremely busy, not really had a weekend off since the wedding until last weekend! We made plans to make no plans and enjoy a weekend of nothingness! Were kinda doing the same this weekend a little, we had planned on going to visit Shayne, Tommy, and Peyton but his parents left us in charge of anything to do with the youth while they are on vacation (his dads the pastor) so here we are, ready for any youth related emergencies! :) Daniel & Brittni to the rescue!!!!

pray for us :)

2008-06-27T10:26:00.002-05:00

So my lovely husband has as horrible knee problems as I do... he was playing softball last night and dislocated his knee... went to the ER and now were going to a specialist on Tues. Were just praying for financial blessings and for him to not require surgery.... so just let him be in your prayers. He has a manual labor job so he is unable to work also.. But we did discover a blessing this morning, he has Aflac ins and they will pay for him not being able to work... so thats a major blessing! But just be praying... thanks guys!

Im married........... ahhhh finally!

2008-06-21T19:42:00.003-05:00

Well its almost been a month of marriage and yet we have made it this far. :) We've been doing pretty good, it was a little hard the first couple weeks... I think adjusting to being together 24/7! lol... We just werent used to being with each other every waking moment. Our house is finally coming along, almost got everything cleaned and decorated... well, still working on decorating.. but that takes time and money. So as far as what we have... its up :)
I am totally sick of our house already though... here are some of the issues.
- spiders
-cockroaches
-creepers who walk around outside peeking in our windows
- oven does not work
- hot water lasts for 10 minutes
- im constantly injuring myself in some way in that house!
- and a new found mouse... ran right over my foot the other morning.

So please do enjoy our misery, and I hope it helps you to feel better and appreciate your wonderfully nice to you houses! :) On a bonus side, we had a garage sale this weekend, selling a bunch of my old apartment stuff :) and we made $200 stinking dollars!!!!!!! I mean seriously, how awesome is that? And really all we sold was clothes, bedding, dishes, bathroom stuff, and shoes! yep, shoes! Daniel believed I had to many (which he may have been right :) but so what? ) so I cleaned out a few and put them in the garage sale, I sold all but one pair, and secretly I didnt want to sell that pair! So I actually got out good! All together our garage sale made $600 though, with his other family members stuff! Now, I think that is a good sale!

Ps. if you know anyone looking for a couch ( its a llil older) and a bunch of womens clothing... give em my name ! :)

5 days away!!!

2008-05-19T11:22:00.002-05:00

I am 5 days away from being Mrs. Daniel Huff!!! Im so ready, but a little nervous.... Its exciting.

Were slowly moving into our house. I dont think were going to be done in time by the wedding. Daniel is a bit of a procrastinator... its ok tho, i still love him.

Any last minute tips on the wedding I should know about???

ONE WEEK

2008-04-28T09:38:00.003-05:00

So I am now in finals week!!! I have ine week left and then freedom for the summer! :) Im so ready. Then its one more semester for me here at OSU. Wow, its hard to believe that me graduating is so close. Only 7months left, then I have to decide what Im actually doing with my life.
How sad is this? Im one semester away from graduating and I have no idea where to begin to look for a job, or what kind of job I want to look for really. I mean I have my options and ones that Ive considered, but I dont really know where to begin to find these jobs. :) Yeah mom, after paying for 4 1/2 years of college, I still have no idea what Im doing with my life!
Well wish me luck on finals!! Once Im done with those, then its on to cleaning up our house until the wedding!

New Job? Lets hope so...

2008-04-16T14:02:00.003-05:00

I went in and talked with Cockrell Eyecare Center yesterday and gave them my application. I am suppose to go back on Thur to talk with the main doctor... I think it may work out well, they want me to start at the beginning of June which was when I was wanting to start anyways. And They are willing to work with me and my schedule when school starts in August. So thats a major bonus. Well lets hope Thur goes well with Dr. Cockrell and I get the job...

6 Weeks!!!!

2008-04-14T10:54:00.002-05:00

Well I cant believe how fast time has flown by, Im getting married in 40 days!! How crazy is that?!?
Its starting to turn into crunch time, Im getting a little nervous about everything getting done on time as far as school and the wedding. Ive got like a million things due next week for school, then the next week is finals! Ugh... But Im thankful that this semester will be over in 3 weeks!
All the small details of the wedding are starting to stress me out, the bouquet, and flowers for the moms and grandparents, the gifts, the songs, the decorations... evrything is getting to be a little much right now with trying to do school stuff too.

On a brighter note, we had my shower in Skiatook this weekend. I had alot of fun. It was good to see everyone, its been awhile since Ive got to see very many of those people! I was excited to see my cousins and friends from high school. Oh how Ive missed them.

And another bonus, I may have a new job! Daniel's cousin works at the eye doctor here in Stillwater and she had mentioned to them my experience and they are dying for me to get in there and bring an application. I was trying to wait until school was done to get in there and apply but they are wanting me to now... So I figure why not, if their that desperate for me then they'll work with me on some stuff. And they already told her to tell me that they dont mind letting me take off for the honeymoom and however long I need for the wedding stuff. Sweet huh? Lets hope it all works out well.

Its official...

2008-02-25T19:22:00.002-06:00

So I am now officially engaged! I know, I talked about getting married in the last post.. but we were officially engaged. He was saving up for the ring, while I started planning the wedding. Things are going good. The wedding planning is coming along grand! Got my dress, bridesmaid dresses, invitations coming along, cake, some decor, and a mega cute groom :) all that I need.

He proposed Friday outside under the stars, it was cute! I love my ring, he picked it out all on his own. He did good! I love this boy!

Bored...

2008-01-28T14:30:00.001-06:00

So I saw that Shayne is doing this and I decided I want to get one :) I used to write on Xanga, and Myspace but thats gotten old. Im so ready to graduate.... the more and more I think about it Im so ready to be done with it. Its getting harder and harder for me to want to go to class and do good with studying and all.... ugh. Im ready to be done.
And Im ready for this summer to be here, I want a break, and I want to be married to my love.

What do you get a boy for Valentines Day? Ive never had a BF on the V-day before!!