Broken and Beautiful

No, Mr. President

2009-05-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

From the sermon: "The Baby in My Womb Leaped for Joy" by John Piper.

It's a magnificent thing: The only newly-originating life in the universe that comes in the image of God is Man. The only newly-originating life in the universe that lasts forever is Man.

This is an awesome thing.

And, as everyone knows, that reverence is not shared by our new President, over whom we have rejoiced.

He is trapped and blind in a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he released this statement,
"We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive
freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our
most private family matters."

To which I say:

No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women; you are authorizing the destruction of 500,000 little women every year.

No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for one million little human beings every year.

No, Mr. President, killing our children is killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. You may say it is a private family matter over and over and over, and still they are dead. And we killed them. And you, would have it remain legal.

Mr. President, some of us wept for joy at your inauguration. And we pledge that we will pray for you.

We have hope in our sovereign God.

2009-05-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

I am officially a student at Webster University, seeking a professional mental health master's degree. GO ME! Registered my first 2 semsters yesterday!

Work, Work and more Work

2009-05-19T12:59:00.001-07:00

It's been a great day thus far! Went this morning and did some work at a good friends house, helping her get her life all organized for the family coming in this weekend for her daughter's graduation, went to lunch, finished the work at the house and came back to the office. Going to have dinner tonight with some good friends, watch AI and vote 5000000x for Kris Allen, hoping to make him the next American Idol, and then home to get ready to do it all over again tomorrow.

We showed the house yesterday. Apparently the couple liked the house, but thought that it didn't really fit them. Losers. Someone needs to buy my house already. For real.

On a happier note, I just finished up the semester and am all registered and ready to go for my FINAL semester as an undergraduate student. 3 online courses in 8 weeks and I am FINISHED!!! YAY! (I hate you Holly.... you know why!)

Sigh

2009-05-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

How unfair for a guest celebrity on American Idol to pimp out a contestant? I mean seriously, as if the judges aren't doing enough for Adam, Katy Perry has to be a part of it too!? Don't get me wrong, that boy can sing, but I'm for Kris Allen all the way since Danny is no more!!! No wonder Adam screeched, "I want to see Katy Perry" when Danny was expressing his desire to get the results over with. Anyone else think Perry's performance was a bit dramatic and disturbing? The Idol guest performances have been interesting to say the least this season. Here's to hoping they get better next season!

Update

2009-05-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

Wow.. life has been incredibly busy lately! Here's whats been going on in the Pfeifer house as of late.....

Doug FINALLY received the conditional offer of employment with the Missouri State Highway Patrol. He completed his physical and mental checkup's, spoke with the psychiatrist and apparently they concluded that he is normal. Who knows where they came up with that conclusion! We put our house on the market and hope to sell soon! Doug starts the academy July 1. Unfortunately, we will not know where he will be assigned until closer to time for him to graduate. Probably around October-December time frame.

That throws us into another obstacle. My education. I graduate August 15th and cannot begin a Master's program until I know where the MSHP is sending us. I'm praying that they send us somewhere close to Springfield, KC, StL, or Columbia as those are the only cities in MO with accredited Social Work programs.

My other concern may seem petty and minor to most, but to me its a huge concern. I am the proud momma of a beautiful 2 year old American Pit Bull. Due to ignorance and pre-conceived schemata, my baby is considered a threat in many towns and is banned. The heinous actions of ignorant people who brutalize the poor breed have contributed to an uneducated fear of one of the most loyal breeds on the planet. That being said, Pit Bull's do have an aggressive nature, mostly towards other dogs, specifically male dogs, as Pit's want to be the "leader of the pack" or the alpha male in most circumstances, however, Pit's are extremely loyal to their owners and are usually people friendly. Human aggression in a Pit Bull is RARE!!!! You can train any dog to hate humans, not just Pit's, which is part of the reason, I am adamantly against BSL (breed specific legislation) laws. Any dog owner needs to cognizant of their pets boddy language and moods to head off any dangerous situations.

http://www.pitbulllovers.com/pitbull-articles/pitbull-temperament.html

Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a blast. Between the scavenger hunt, the marriage conference and the beautiful roses that my husband bought me, it was by far the best weekend of the year thus far. Not only did I get to spend the entire weekend with my husband, I also got to laugh and enjoy the company of my closest friends. I wish it were Valentine's day everyday!

Vacation time is calling my name..

2009-02-02T13:25:00.001-08:00

I need a change of scenery. I need a beach, some palm trees, the sounds of the ocean and a break from life. A break from the mundane, just some time away from everything that consumes my thoughts so I can focus on myself and on my husband.

Vacation time is calling my name.

The decision is made..

2009-01-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

My husband has decided to reenlist. I'm both happy and scared. I love that my husband is a soldier. I'm so incredibly proud of him for his bravery and his service, yet I am terrified of another deployment. Don't get me wrong, I accept that he will probably go again and I'm okay with that for the most part, I married a soldier and I accept that duty, however accepting it is not the same as being happy about it. It's a sad, lonely life when your soldier is gone from home for a year and a half.

That all being said, I must say that I am very proud of my soldier and look forward to whatever God brings our way!

Wow..

2009-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

We finally got some snow! A lot of it too! On Tuesday night we left our home to go spend some time with our friend on his birthday. We got our car stuck when we got off the interstate, got out of that jam, and got stuck again trying to get into our friends drive way. This should have clued us in and we should have headed home immediately. However the husband said he didn't drive all the way to Waynesville (like's it that far.. ) just to turn around and go home. So.. we spent about an hour at Chad's before leaving to go home. After 10 minutes of scraping snow and ice off our our car, we left and made it all the way to Hwy 133 exit before we had to turn around. There was a semi turned sideways in the road blocking our road to our house! Doug said that there was no way our car would make it up the hill if we went up Hwy 7. So we drove back to Waynesville to borrow a friends 4-wheel drive to make it home. Our car got stuck another 2x before we made it in their driveway! We finally made it home after about 3 1/2 hours of getting stuck and pushing cars in the snow.

For the record, my car is still stuck in the snow.

BRRRRR......

2009-01-16T07:23:00.001-08:00

It is SOOOOOOO.... cold outside! Why can't we get some snow... without the below 0 temperatures? When it's this cold outside, it makes me miserable.

On a more positive note, we've been doing the Dave Ramsey budget in our household since the beginning of the month and 15 days into it I've paid off all credit card debt. We didn't have much as we pay it off pretty regularly but it feels good anyhow.

I was wrong!

2009-01-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

After further research, I've found that my preconceived notions on the LPC program at Webster versus the MSW program at MSU were incorrect! MSU is WAY cheaper (almost half the price actually...)! MSU does offer afternoon and evening classes as well as some online! Although it's farther from home the cost difference more than makes up for the gas that will be spent driving. I've always found that MSW degrees are more marketable than LPC's. I must now take the GRE. Oh joy.

Joys of Education..

2009-01-09T11:15:00.001-08:00

After talking with a good friend about our career options and education possibilities, I am more confused than ever. (thanks Holly..) I have no specific plans to work with the military as I want to work with children primarily, however I do not wish to close the door to working with the Federal government. My problem now is that I do not know which Master's program to enroll in!? The Masters in Counseling (LPC-licensed professional counselor) or the Masters in Clinical Social Work (LCSW). The federal government does not recognize LPC's and therefore hire LCSW for therapist positions. The LPC program is more "user-friendly" as it is closer to home, cost less and classes are held in the evening, so I'm leaning towards that one. I just don't want to spend all the money and find out that I should have gone the other route.

Oh.. the joys of education.

Where are you Mr. Snow?

2009-01-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

Where's all the snow? Seriously, I'm tired of this weather... bring on the snow!

Dave Ramsey and FPU

2008-12-30T08:19:00.000-08:00

My husband and I have been talking for a while about saving money and budgeting our income so that we don't blow so much of it. We make a fairly decent income for our family and don't really pay much attention to how much of our income we are blowing rather than putting it towards paying off our home mortgage or our car loans. I've wanted to do the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Budget for a while but I have been putting it off (honestly because I don't want to limit my spending, I rather enjoy eating out when I want to). However, being as it is a new year now, I have decided to do it!

However, 10 minutes into creating our budget, Dave Ramsey has hacked me off.

This is going to be fun....

.............not..................

And now it's over...

2008-12-29T13:28:00.001-08:00

Christmas was grand, the food was amazing and the company was immaculate. Now it's over and I'm back to work. Bummer.

Little Brothers...

2008-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Nothing makes me happier than receiving phone calls from my little brother (stationed in Ft. Riley) but sometimes that kid is annoying. This morning my cell phone, which is sitting on my desk in my office, rings and I know it's my brother because the song "American Soldier" is serenading me. I of course am not in my office, I am chatting with a co-worker in her office. I make a mad dash for my phone and stub my toe on the corner of the desk. Instant pain. But I collect myself and answer the phone to this... "You better answer your phone on the first ring next time I call you!" EXCUSE ME! I of course proceeded to inform him that he will not speak to me in that way or I will beat him to a bloody pulp (I'm afraid he's not scared anymore now that he's 6'2 and 200 lbs of muscle, while I am 5'7 and 130). However he laughs at me and says "I ain't scared." My worst fear now confirmed! Now I need a new threat to keep him in check. Any ideas? My toe still hurts. I fear it needs amputated. That should make him feel good! =D

Christmas, Snow and a Marine

2008-12-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

I can't wait til Christmas! Christmas at mom's with my husband, my brother and his wife. Some of my favorite people in the world all under one roof! I wish it were Christmas every day! The only thing that would make it better would be.... SNOW! That's right... SNOW! I LOVE SNOW! I want to go sledding. YAY for SNOW!

To make the holiday season even more amazing, I received a letter in the mail this morning from a Marine who I sent a package and Christmas card to earlier in the month. A friend of ours from church has a nephew who is deployed with a Marine unit in Iraq and it's amazing to hear his stories and read his words of thanks! It warms me inside to know that something as small as a card and a package of goodies delighted him to such an incredible extent.

Snow, Ice and Surgery

2008-12-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

About a month ago my husband's Dr. informed us that Doug had a torn meniscus in his left knee which would require surgery to repair. He went under the knife Tuesday at 11:00 AM at the VA hospital in Columbia. Although it took him forever to wake up from the anesthesia (4 hours to be exact, and he wasn't very coherent then!) and he was throwing up all afternoon and night, everything went great! He's up and walking a bit now without his crutches and hopefully will be off them completely in about 2 weeks.

On the way back from Columbia in the midst of falling snow and ice we witnessed two wrecks! We heard a big "bang" behind us and turned around in time to see a big Ford truck hit the guard rail and end up in the left side ditch. Thank God, he didn't flip the truck and everything was fine. About 10 miles down the road, the truck in front of us lost control and slid into the ditch as well. Again, everything was fine and he drove on out of it! I was never so happy to get home in my entire life!

On the positive side of life finals are finished and I am on break until January 20! Thank you GOD! I have 2 semeseters left in undergrad and I must confess that I am extremely burnt out. I'm praying that the graduate program will be a breath of fresh air and I won't feel as though I'm drowning in a sea of homework. It's difficult keeping all my "duties" straight! Thankfully I have a very understanding husband who doesn't worry when I get my wires crossed and forget something. There are some husbands out there who demand that their wives be a wife first, a homemaker second and everything else comes afterwards if there is time (although coming from a full time employee, a full time + student, a wife and a homemaker I can tell you there is definitely not enough time). I am grateful that my husband is not one of those men. He's very understanding and more than willing to do the dishes or the laundry and cook dinner when I have a final to study for!!! What would I do without him?!

This Christmas..

2008-12-15T09:04:00.000-08:00

Time passes so quickly! It seems like it was just yesterday I was picking my soldier up from his 13 month deployment! He's been home almost 2 years now but I cannot get the lonely Christmas he spent away from home out of my mind. It's this time of year that most American's start worrying themselves over finding the right gift at the right price for that special someone. We tend to forget that the world is not always a beautiful place and that there are people out there suffering and dying for a cause that we take for granted. Few stop to think about or pray for the soldiers away from home, or the wives, children, mother's, fathers, siblings or friends at home missing them. I too have been one of those people. It wasn't until my soldier was gone that I realized how extremely lucky I am! Freedom bears a huge cost and it is my prayer this Christmas that we never forget that, nor will we ever forget the soldiers who paid the price for us.

My Dilemma

2008-12-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

It's not even 8:00 AM when I log into my online Law and Society class to get my new assignment. Immediately I was annoyed. Great way to start the day huh?! My assignment is to write a 2 page paper on my thoughts on capital punishment! Sounds easy right? Wrong. My dilemma is this: do I write the paper that I know my professor is wanting and risk my grade (she is very much against capital punishment) or do I write the paper on my thoughts on the subject (which if you haven't figured it out yet do not correspond with the prof's)!? I started doing some research and read about 100 articles both for and against before I said forget it. I'm writing a paper on what I think and I'll back it up with statistics and research. Let's all pray for an A! I mean if she didn't want my opinion she shouldn't have asked for it!

Who am I?

2008-12-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

I am finally entering the world of blogging! I am amazed myself to be honest, I've never really bought into the whole blogging experience, yet here I am. So anyway.. Who am I? Well that's a good question! I'm glad you asked! I am a 24 year old wife to an amazing man whom I do not deserve as he loves me in a way that one could only imagine (and trust me, I can be hard to love!!). My husband is my hero as well a United States soldier. I confess that I do not like the time he spends away from home on deployments, however, as an Army wife, I accept my duty and realize that this is the price I must pay for the freedom of American people. You will never hear me complain that my husband is away from home. I married a soldier, what did I expect? I am a student who is fed up with college and ready to toss it all out the window. I mean seriously, I am pretty much just buying my degree as I am learning next to nothing. I am a friend to few, however those friends I do have are priceless and I could not imagine my life without them in it. The thing that most defines me is that I am a Princess. Yes, it's true. Okay.. not the type of princess you are picturing, yet I am the daughter of a King. I value my identity in Christ more than anything else in the world and can truly say that my God has saved me from a pit of destruction that would have led me straight to the flames of hell had he not rescued me from myself.