First post...let's see, what do I want to say?

I'm Michele, early thirties, married for seven years to a wonderful DH who I've known since I was ten. We've been together thirteen years next month...can't quite believe I'm typing that. God has been very gracious to us, as we've had some bumpy times but He has and is healing those issues. I work full time in a marriage/family ministry in sunny, hot, humid central Arkansas, and we make our home in a rural suburb of Little Rock. One day we hope to move to Montana, but that will be in the distant future, unfortunately...unless God chooses to move us there sooner than we plan. DH works in construction, installing glass in buildings. He's a great carpenter and can make pretty much anything. I hope someday he can develop that talent and maybe have his own furniture business or something along those lines.

God has not yet blessed us with children, but he has blessed us with furbabies. We have four - Princess, a Corgi-mix who's ten years old and the most gentle dog on the planet; Laverne and Shirley, German Shepherd/Border collie mixes who are eight years old and were found living under the steps of an abandoned country church - both Shirley and Laverne have the ability to smile, which can be very horrifying and scary to an outsider as it looks like they are going to kill you, but really they'd rather lick you to death; and finally Bella, our most recent addition, a six month old yellow lab mix that we adopted from the animal shelter. We have no idea what her mom was, but she was a small breed, so we have in effect our very own miniature lab. She's the most intelligent dog we own, so its been fun to see her outsmart her owners.

As for hobbies and interests, I love to read, and until about six months ago, that's pretty much all I did besides work, housework, errands, and time with DH. But in January, I made a resolution to learn to knit and crochet, and while I began with crochet, I picked up some knitting needles and I haven't put them down yet. I don't think I've ever gone this long without actually reading a book from start to finish, but knitting is quite addictive and I've got quite the addictive personality when I find something I like to do. Other than those three hobbies, I also like to cross-stitch and am also teaching myself to sew something other than curtains, along with quilting. As you can tell, while I LOVE my job, my heart is really at home and I'm praying that someday God will allow me to either work from home or simply be a SAHW.

I'm not sure what I want this blog to be, but I do know that I want a place to be transparent and just share what God is teaching me, what I'm working on, issues I'm dealing with, and like the title says, my plans, dreams and schemes. You've probably also gathered that I can write a lot when I want to...I'm not yet sure if that's a gift or a curse, but there it is. I hope to be a blessing, most of all, in some way to those who choose to spend a few minutes reading this blog, and hopefully God will use it in some way for His glory.