Update on the Young Youngs

It seems like time has gone by so fast, yet so slow! Where do I even begin? Well we are expecting a little girl in June, excited for that! Her name is Hailey Ruth Young, and Caden is just excited to be having a baby sister! He is already very protective of her now :)

Hunter has joined the army, and left last week to go start his training. He is wanting to be an EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal). They let him keep his rank, which is a blessing! He and I are very excited to be back in the military. Now I am an army wife! Its going to be kind of tricky transitioning from a Navy wife to an Army wife, but I think it will be ok. He has 9 months of training starting in April. Caden and I still reside in St. Johns, But Lord willing not for long. We will be heading up to Washington for a couple months at the beginning of May! We are looking forward to it. I am hoping to raise enough money to move back up to Washington. I have faith that God will provide somehow.

Other than that, not anything new is going on here. I will keep you guys posted!

Monsoons, where have you been?

Monsoons in Arizona typically start the first week in July. They are different in every place you live. This year, it seems as if the monsoons are stalling.

i cant wait for the start of the storms!

New and Old Relationships

While I have been gone from home, I have encountered different kinds of relationships. I have made new one, got in touch with old ones, and am trying to get to know people in church for future relationships.

When we first got here 2 months ago, I didnt think that I could make any kind of relationship here, as it is a small town. I was new, and I was a little bit nervous. I have never really been "new" anywhere, except when I went to a different church. Let me just tell ya, I hate being new. Lol. I guess you have to start somewhere right? I have been meeting new people in the last 8 weeks that have changed my perspective on things. I have mainly met people at church, but I have also met a couple of Hunter's friends as well.

I am falling even more in love with the church that I am at. I know that God has sent me here for a purpose, and I believe that purpose is being shown in this small town. Our music ministry at the First Baptist Church of Saint Johns is growing like crazy! We have new visitors every week, and I am just so happy to see the church grow. I havent taken any pictures yet, but I plan to do that soon! I might just take them tonight!

I miss everyone back home, but as I was driving today in the car, I realized that this is my mission field. God has sent me to a town full of Mormons to spread the word of God and to teach the truth. I have been meeting new people with different kinds of religion. I know that God has intended relationships with them to change their beliefs. It is awesome to always talk about the Lord and spread new seed.

These pictures are some relationships that have blossomed or are beginning to flourish. I will add more pictures of the people here in Saint Johns. Miss you all!

New Experiences

I love new experiences. I only like good experiences though, not the bad ones :) I have encountered new experiences this weekend. We went camping in these so called mountains. I just call them really big hills.

I wasnt planning on going camping until Friday afternoon, but we left on thursday afternoon. I had to rush to get ready! We packed our things, and left for them mountains. We had to stop off at safeway to get some steaks. Then we met hunter's dad there and followed him up to the camping site. We went by Big Lake, which i was told was a place with a big lake. Oh, the beauty of words!

We finally got to our campsite, after what seemed like never ending miles of dirt bumpy roads. We were in the middle of nowhere! No bathrooms, no water, no nothing! I had only been camping one time without anything around, and that was with our other friends. This was sure to be interesting! Hunters parents brought their trailer, so at least we had an escape if it started raining!
We pitched our tent, and set up camp. The dreadful time has come- time to go to the bathroom. What was I to do?! I really was not going to go to the bathroom in the woods.. Are you kidding?! I told hunter I needed to go to the bathroom and he said okay toilet papers in the car, have fun! I looked all around me, and saw that Iwould have to walk up the hill very far to find a huge tree. This is not exciting.. How am I going to deal with this?

Hunter had been so nice to warn me of the rattlesnakes around. Ok, thats it, i can hold it until we get home. I hate snakes! I almost stepped on one in the front yard while weed eating, and i couldnt step foot in the grass for a week. If I saw a snake while I was doing my duty, I would have nightmares forever! So, I grabbed the TP and took off. Took off walking up the grassy, wild hill that was filled with who knows what. I looked over and saw a bush start shaking and yep, that was it. Im not going to the bathroom. So I took off running, and tried to find a different place. I would not like to have to do that if I dont have to anymore.

After that, we started our steaks. They were the best steaks ever! Yum! It was then time for bed after torturing Caden to eat his delicious chicken. I was so tired! Caden and I went into the tent, and I got him ready for bed. He started using his stalling tactics, as usual, and started singing to act cute. We then prayed and he just kept talking. He stopped in the middle of a sentance and fell asleep. Poor guy was wiped! Hmmm sounds like someone else I know (MOM!) Haha. What was the name of the retail merchandiser of that building? haha.

Let me give you a word of advice, never ever bring a two year old camping with you unless you're prepared to spend hours of time awake instead of being asleep. Im telling you, Caden woke up every single half hour to turn over, or to even snuggle up under our armpits, because apparently that spot is warmer than anywhere else. It was his favorite place to end up. I hardly got any sleep. I think we ended up catching about three full hours of z's. Caden decided to be so kind and wake me up at 6 am. Now, I dont know about you but thats what time I still want to be asleep.

We got up, ate cinnamon rolls, and headed off for the lake for some fishing. Needless to say, without a boat, its virtually impossible to go deep sea fishing. Try fishing off a lake on the rocks- it does not work very well. Hunter and his dad decided to try to see if they could catch some luck at the lake, but it wasnt before long that the rain decided to fall. We then packed up and went back to camp. We had some hotdogs, but since I despise those unGodly things, I ate summer sausage. It was okay, but definitly not a filler.

I couldnt manage to sleep another night with a kicking, punching, sleepless child, so we packed up our stuff and headed back home. Ahhh the joys of electricity and the TV that plays Handy Manny. That was one experience I dont want to have any time soon. At least next time I will be more prepared.. I will bring body pillows so caden is stuck in one place while he sleeps. I will also be bringing a laptop with his favorite movies to keep him occupied.

I took some pictures of the campsite and of caden playing with his net in the water while we were waiting for magic fish to jump on the poles. I hope you guys enjoy them!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to mee- eeee, Happy Birthday to me!
I am now 21 years old. What does that mean to me? It means I get a normal horizontal license! I would if I was in Washington at least! I went down to the DMV because my license expired on my birthday! I had kept forgetting an important piece of information every single time I went down there. One time I forgot my birth certificate. The next time I brought my birth certificate, but they wanted the real original. I had to then go back and get my original, and then FINALLY get my license! I am legal!

Hunter had asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. In all honesty, I just wanted to go somewhere that I could go shopping, and just feel normal again. We went for lunch at Speedy B's- a small tiny little sit down place. Everyone in the town goes there! We went to lunch with hunters co-workers, and I saw my pastor, and a lady from church. Its THE place to go!

We tried to get me a fishing license so I could go fishing, so I went to the drug store where they sell them. I went up to the counter and told the lady what I had needed, and she asked me how long I lived in Saint Johns. I nicely said "Oh! Not that long, cant you tell?" And apparently you have to live in Arizona for 6 months to obtain a fishing license. I had already told her how long I lived here before she even asked me the question! How dumb of me!

We went home to put caden down for a nap. Then we went to go to Springerville, which is half an hour from here. I heard there was a Safeway there! We started driving, and I just enjoyed looking at the scenery- the luscious dirt filled hills, and beautiful bunches of dead weeds everywhere. Hunter showed me where the city was, and I looked and what did I see? Nothing! I said Hunter, where is this so called city? He told me it was right over the hill, and sure enough, it was right over the hill!

The first thing we went to was the sports store. Yep, you guessed it! I was going to get me a fishing license! The man asked me how long I lived here and I had to fib.... Of course I wanted to go fishing! I thought, "steph, dont say 6 months, because youll sound supicious!" So what did I say? I said 7 months! Yes! Score for Steph! I felt bad, but hey, you would do the same thing if you were me!

So we bought some other stuff and headed out for dinner- cuz this girl was hunnnngry! We went to this steak restaurant, and had some wonderful bread, and steak. Oh, and salad. After eating, we went to go fishing! So we headed off on the road, and we were chatting away in the car. I was noticing how awfullly long our trip was, and i looked up next to the road, and I saw a "Welcome to New Mexico" sign.. now wait a second! How did we end up here? Apparently we got lost, but dont worry, we finally got there okay!

Fishing was okay, except I kept getting my line stuck, and it was making hunter mad. I just kept laughing my head off! We didnt catch anything at the first place, so we went to the lake.. Yep! Lyman lake!!!! We got there, and it was pitch black! So we set up our spots, and started to get our poles ready. I was holding the light for hunter so he could see what he was doing. The worst part was, that everytime i turned on the light, thousands of mosquitos swarmed over to the light... They were going in my sleeve, in my shirt, biting my face, biting me everywhere! It was miserable!

It was a good, silent time of fishing with my husband. I truly enjoyed Gods handiwork when I looked up into the sky and saw the stars. Thats one thing a small town is good for- you can really see the stars. Sometimes at night I just sit outside and stare at the sky. My line only got stuck once, thankfully! We then ventured home, and I passed out because I was so tired!

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes. The best present I got was from a dear friend of mine. She sent me prayers for my birthday. I think that is a great thing to have.

Confirmation- In a way I never expected

God confirms his will to you in some shape, way, or form. Sometimes God has plans for us but we do not see them until something gets "confirmed."

Moving here was no easy task. In fact, everyday I am facing a new problem or trial. It seems sometimes that I want to ask God why I am here and not back home. Sometimes I think that I cannot live everyday here. I know God made a way for us to come down here, and gave Hunter a job, gave us a place to live, and a church to attend. What I didnt understand was my purpose here.

I have been asked to play the drums at our small church, First Baptist of Saint Johns. Its not a very big church, maybe 40 people on a good day. I had been talking to the pastor about doing music, and it seemed like all my ideas were not so good. So I started to get a little down, but knew that someday something would happen.

The church has a drumset that has not been played in a very long time. The only people that do music are the pastor, and a bass player. Thats about it. I came to the church the first Sunday I got here, and I saw what needed improvement. I was excited to help this worship team and get something started!

I had my first practice, and it was so fun! I didnt get to play my first Sunday because I was in Tucson. But I kept going to practice every Wednesday morning at 10 am. I got to play a few Sundays ago for the first time, and I was nervous about what the people were going to say to me. " Well this will tell me whether I am meant to be here or not" that is what I thought after church waiting for peoples response.

The response was phenomenal. I have never felt the way that I did just then. I had people coming up to me and telling me that they had been praying for so long for someone to come along and help with music. Every weekend I have someone new coming up to me and telling me they have been praying for me. It is very encouraging, and I look forward to serving God in a way I have not done before. I have done music at my old church, but leading a team is something that has been a blessing!

So, I now know that I am supposed to be at this church, In this city. Things might be tough, but
I know God has great plans for me.

Lyman Lake (for the weekend of the Fourth)

What do you get when you have 10 people, a boat, and a day off? A trip to Lyman Lake!! Yay! To me, that is the ultimate vacation destination. Okay, maybe not, but its the best place to go and the best place to get out of a small town. According to the citizens of Saint John, Lyman Lake is a really big lake. If you ask me, I'd say its the size of about a medium size lake. I would compare it to Kitsap Lake (back home for those of you who know where that is) and say Kitsap is bigger.

I have a blast everytime I am out there. I finally bought a top to go with hunter's shorts. I dont like wearing those short shorts or bikini bottoms. So I always wear mens board shorts. Ohhhh yeah. Caden has so many pairs of swim trunks, but only one pair fits him. Isnt it funny how little kids clothes range in different sizes and fit differently even though they all say the same thing- 2T. I hate that!

We packed up the family and headed out for the lake. We had the suburban, and the truck following us. In our car, the suburban, we had Dad, Diana, Hunter, Caden, Me, Lana, Elaina, Trysten, and the dog Charlie. In the truck behind us, there was Roxanne, Bobby, Nathan, and Mackenzie. Thats a good size group to take to the lake.

First group to go on the boat was dad, hunter, me, trysten, nathan, diana, and caden. We did some tubing, and the only one that managed to fall off was nathan. But of course he did that on purpose. It was a good time! We then went on the shore to drop off the tubers, and take anyone that wanted to go skiing or wake boarding. I wanted to try one of them, but I wasnt so sure if I would or not. Im not really the type to try new things unless I know it is safe. Everything I know about skiing and wakeboarding is not safe. I really didnt want to go when Bobby and Hunter were telling me stories about people crashing..

First Lana went skiing. She made it look so easy! When she crashed she would just let go and float on top of the water as if she was skiing on snow and then sit down in the water. How graceful that was! Then Hunter got on the wakeboard.... He made it look so hard to stand up!

It was my turn to decide if I wanted to go. I decided not to, after watching hunter take some gruesome falls. We went back and dropped off the crew and picked up another round of people. I stayed behind on the shore and took some pics of hunter teaching caden to float on his back. I worked on my tan as well. Hunter kept complaining that I wouldnt go out there to wake board, so I finally gave in and had to try it out.

I got in the freezing cold water, and chickened out but Hunter would not let me get out of it. I tried 3 times on the wakeboard, andI couldnt even get pulled by the boat. Once the boat took off, the handlebar flew out of my hands and it was not very encouraging. So then I tried the skiis. Same thing happened. Oh well. Not today.

So I went on the boat one last time as the rain clouds were starting to come in and rode back with roxanne, les, and nathan. It was a great trip! Not to mention that Diana cooked fried chicken and made potato salad for us to eat while we were there! It was yummy!

If I had to pick a place to hang out, I would definitly pick the lake. After all, one day i WILL be able to wakeboard or skii. Just gotta get the hang of it.. I guess that means more trips to the lake!