2009 Marriage Retreat: Tucson, AZ

So this past weekend, Aug 7-9th Thomas and I attended a marriage retreat with other couple from our church. We stayed at the Omni Golf and Spa Resort (www.omnihotels.com). We had so much fun together. Seeing as we have only been married for about a year we felt like the target audience for this retreat were couples with children, or couple who are so busy with life they never see each other. This was fine though, it was good for us to gather the materials and look at it as a preventative retreat- it taught us to keep our guards up from losing contact with each other and being romantic together. The main mission of the retreat was to learn how to plan a retreat so you and your spouse and relax, recreate and have some romance. Needless to say, being newly married we do not need to go on a retreat to be romantic, but we got the drift, haha.

We were supposed to come to the retreat with plans of what to do, topics to discuss, and time to spend "lighting our candles" (which I later found out was code for sex- we got to the retreat late which was when they first explained the candle lighting thing). Oh well, haha. So here was the Amos' itinerary:

Friday:

- Arrive in Tucson at 8pm

- Games and dessert 8-10:30

- Pool and Hot tub- 10:30- until the cows come home (the cows ended up coming home at 11:58pm)

Saturday:

- Breakfast 7am

- 1st Session (2nd session for the rest of the group)

- San Xavier del Bac mission house

- Lunch/ Session 2 - 12pm-2pm

- Bead Store!!!!

- Frog and Firkin for dinner- YUM!!!

- Frost Gelato for dessert

- Golf'n'stuff for batting cages, bumper boats, and of course- miniature golf.

- Arrive back at the resort: 1:45am- this was when we decided a late check would be great!

Sunday:

- Breakfast 7:30

- Worship service

- nap time/ relax time

- POOL TIME

- Lunch and the drive back to PHX.

Needless to say we were busy! But I am so proud of us. We set a budget for the retreat, and stayed under it!!! Here is a picture of our fun adventures. For soem reason my computer wont let me add more right now. Another post I guess.

At the resort, our room was right by the cabanas!!

Last reflections on the retreat: Thomas and I realized what a very unique stage of life that we are in right now. We pray that we are honoring God with all the luxuries we have been given. This retreat allowed Thomas and I to begin a much overdue discussion- we were able to have a great time dicussing everythnig too. I think we are even going to write up a family confession of faith. I think it is a cool idea, and glad Thomas came up with it. I will have to post that when we do it. Anyways, in short this weekend was very fun and relaxing. We are not enjoying having to go back into the real world tomorrow and work. Oh well. until next time...

Sweet Internet Connection!

Well it has been a very long time since I have last typed a message for all the blogosphere to read. I hope you all have been well!!!So Thomas and I finally got internet set up in our apt. Only what, after a year of marriage?!? SO weird to be typing in the comfort of my own home- I love it :)
Quick update: Thomas is going back to school full time at Liberty University Online. We are very excited, if he is able to handle the initial work load he wants to be down in a year and a half. It is so cool Liberty has 8 week semesters allowing Thomas to take more classes, in small doses all year long. The best part about all of this though has been that we will be able to do this without pulling loans or going into debt!!!!! Praise the Lord for his blessing upon our family. I am now employed as a payroll assistant. I am still feeling my way through it. I am learning that you need to have thick skin to work in HR, my skin isn’t that thick yet but I guess it is getting there. I am very lucky to have it though it is really helping provide the means for Thomas to finish school up.In the last year I have learn a ton, and grew up a lot.I have now been married for over a year; the joy that still fills my heart when I think about the last year of married life. Thomas is such a great husband. I cannot wait until he is a father. I know he will be great!!!

I have experience a loss of a true friend. The worst part about it is that I have lost a friend not to death but to circumstance. I think this has been the hardest thing I have had to deal with in a long time. When I moved to Phoenix I had lost essentially all my friends from KY. I can count on one hand the people I have talked with since I have moved. This major lost I have a feeling stems from this aforementioned ruined friendship. The things this is friend had said really damaged me, and crippled my mentality early on in my marriage. I was so torn up. So many questions had filled my head. A few months ago I was able to finally gain my composure, and seek a mindset of reconciliation. Not necessarily reconciliation of our current friendship, but of the pain created in the past. I can now say that a weight has been lifted off of me knowing that I did what I felt convicted to do, reconcile. I can really see how much I have learned about my sinful nature, and the grace of God and how he has matured me while recovering from this blow to my ego and friendship.I am slowly opening up to people out here in AZ, and becoming vulnerable to some deeper friendships. I am terrified, but excited at the same time. I have needed a good friend and I believe I am getting a few of those... The Lord is faithful and amidst all of this HE has been there comforting me all along.

I am proud of myself

I have finally faced a giant in my past. I feel so much better now.

A Short Blog, great updates

So it has been a while since I have written anything on here. Thomas and I moved into our apartment a few months ago, but we still do not have Internet. Don't feel too bad for me though, I am getting tons of school work done in the mean time. Thomas and I are having a blast being married. We just started our second season of Co-ed softball. We are undefeated so far... 2-0 baby, oh yeah!!!! I will be writing another blog eventually with pictures and and stories... We are loving life. Eeeep! God is great.

NFC Championship Game!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???? CARDINALS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!

On Wednesday Thomas and I were surprised with an anonymous gift containing TWO free NFC Championship game tickets! So this morning Thomas and I got up and headed out to the University of Phoenix Stadium. 7 some odd hours later we were driving home on cloud nine! We had won, the underdogs had won again!!!! And so on Feb 2nd our Cardinals will face off with the Steelers. Lets go under dogs!

Getting ready to take off for the game!

In front on the Budweiser Horses!!!

From our seats!!!! The place was packed!!

THEY WON!!!!

All the Eagles fan leaving with a few minutes left, haha!!!

blog crisis

So fellow bloggers and bloggettes...

Have you ever really had something on your mind that you just wanted to talk about and get others' opinions but you feel like you shouldn't blog about it? It would be an "off topic." That is where I am at with the blog. I have tons of stuff I would love to blog about, but I feel like I should write about something else. Anyways what got me to thinking all this was inspired by a movie I went and saw: Bride Wars. I know I have joked on here about how crazy my wedding went, but at first when watching the movie I was relieved to see that they had worst things happen to them. Then, my mood began to change as the movie came to a wrap. The two girls who had been fighting reconciled and reunited as best friends. This made my thoughts change, my wedding was not as crazy, but in the end I lost my friend. Personally I am thrilled to be married and I know the sacrifices that came through that process, but I am a human and my heart still hurts when I reflect at what was lost. Time for your opinion: Which is worse a calmer wedding and losing a best friend or a wild/stressful wedding and a grand reconciliation? As for the matter of what to write: to blog or not to blog, what is the litmus test?

My prayers are with miss whit as she is feeling out her new class!! Good luck I hope you find a tutor!!!! Please pray for Thomas and I as we move on Monday.

Wedding memory: Not tonight, but I will when I have more time. love you all!

P.s. Go Cards!!! Thomas and I will be going to NFC Championship game tomorrow FOR FREE! I will have to share that story soon too!

Small tokens...

Isn't strange that something so small can either make or break your day? A passing comment can tick you off, someone returning your "lost" items can restore your faith in humanity... Anyways, yesterday I had a bummer day and today when I got home from work Thomas had cleaned up our bedroom and put flowers (pink tulips!) on my bedside table... Ahhh, I am so thankful. Something so small, but something so great. Ahh... how has someone done something small lately that has put a smile on your face??

The day the Post Office got lucky...

So when I married Thomas I inherited 3 beautiful niece/nephews. I was SO excited for Christmas this year. I could not wait to let the spoiling begin with the the little ones. Thomas and I went out and got them the perfect gifts, keep in mind they are all under the age of three! They were these stuffed animals that turn into a soft pillow. Kinda like the one picture below.

Then I got busy gathering fun stuff for Thomas' family. We just got skype a little while ago, and since Thomas' sister has the internet and a lap top we decided to get them a web cam so we can talk. (Reminder for the future, next time you get a web cam make sure there is an internal mic... yeah otherwise it could kinda dampen your plans :)) Anyways... by the beginning of November we were pretty much done with all our shopping. But we kicked our own butts by procrastinating the grand ship off. So the Saturday before Christmas, December 19th. Because the box was so big we had to ship it parcel (never again will I make that mistake). I knew that there was a great chance that our gift would turn out to be more like a New Year's Eve gift, haha. We now know that next year we will ship it off much earlier.

Well New Year's Eve came around and well... Santa had not quite arrived. January 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th arrive and no gifts. I get home early from work and I decide to call the post office. You would have been proud of me, while I was on the phone I was able to curb my annoyance with the USPS, and my intention to sue, funny I know. The summary form the man at the post office was that after 30 days I could claim a lost parcel request and that they would go look for it. I asked if I would be reimbursed anything, he said no. My anger grew. I asked what I could do if they do not find it in the missing parcel pile, and he said "nothing really." I was now fired up. I remained calm and decided I would wait until I could fill out the form. I marked in on my calendar and was ready to rock'em and sock'em when the 18th rolled around. So I call up my brother, a recent law grad and California bar passer and ask him what my right are. He laughed at me and said suing the USPS would be impossible and I would pay more in court fees, yadda yadda yadda. But I was like "I did not pay them $50 dollars to ship a TON of gifts for it to just get absorbed in the system. I just didn't. They said I could track my item because it was too large, they tacked on overage fees because it was too large, assured my I would not get lost because it was so large. I was not offered a chance to ensure any of it... I mean they totally screwed us over! Allison Amos does NOT go down that easy." My brother, kinda chuckled at me only the way an older/wiser brother can...

Lets just say that God was watching out for the USPS because on January 8th my package arrived, almost 20 days later. I will no longer be suing the federal government. I will also no longer use their services, sad day they were so convenient. Sometimes convenience can be more risky too. Anyone else have a funny/angering mail story?? Trust me writing about it can be therapeutic, it can also make you realize how irrational your gut instincts are, or at least how mine were! Anyways, USPS you better watch it, I gots my eyes on you sucker!

Wedding memory:

We had all our men wear suit for the wedding. We bought them through JC Penny! We got a smoking deal on them. We had all the guys get their measurements and try their suits on, expect Thomas' brother. We just guessed and prayed his suit would fit. The morning of the wedding every groomsmen and GROOM had fitting issues. The most noticeable was Thomas' cousin Devon. He looked like the white country mafia man. Overall Thomas has the funniest fitting story of them all, but I will save that for another time and day. Oh, and if you were wondering his Thomas' brother's suit fit: like a glove! Go figure...

Pray with us as we are praying that the LORD keep the Holloman's safe on their move to Kentucky. Pray for us while we are trying to upgrade our jobs during this hard time. We love you all!!!!

what to blog about in the future

So... I tend to for get things easily and so everyone and I awhile I will have a blog that will have no other purpose but to remind me of things I think I may choose to blog about... so dont mind me....
- how marriage changed me
- How I wanted to sue the US Postal Services -- DONE
- Reconciliation
- Heart of the matter
- Stories of being with the 'rents
- My reflections on Boyce
- Daily happenings.
- Anything you ladies would like to hear my meaningless thoughts on.

Oh, and I think with each blog in addition to a wedding "memory" I will include a way that you all can be praying for Thomas and/or I. Ands ways I have been praying about you! If I am going to be committed to this blogging thing might as well make it slightly interactive.

Misconceptions of Married couples, or is it just a new stage in life?

A few misconceptions of MY married life:
1. Married people have no life outside themselves
2. Married people only hang out with other married people
3. Having girl/guy time is considered taboo.

Lately I have run into a TON of people who, in my opinion, has a skewed view of a married couples social life. A family friend saw Thomas on Friday and asked where I was and when Thomas replied that I was out with one of my girlfriends she was shocked. She said "oh well that is nice you let her out to see an old friend." Another friend had stated that since I was married she figured I was living on married Island and that I would only hang out with my husband or other married islanders.
I should have known that this would be an issue right after I got engaged. There was a major shift in attitudes with my friends once Thomas and I became an engaged couple. My phone stopped ringing and invites to hang out were fewer. At first I thought some of my friends were jealous, then it when things panned out it just seemed that they figured once I was engaged I was gone. They thought my whole life revolved around being glued to Thomas' side. I am totally baffled by this concept. Any one hold this view and wish to clarify the thought behind it?

The entire time Thomas and I dated we made it a point to be very involved with our friends. I have seen how so many times when a friend gets caught up in a relationship their girlfriends or guy friends get pushed to the side. Now I fully understand that things change when you enter a relationship, and time has to be investing in knowing your partner, and growing with them. That said, some people cannot balance a relationship and friendships. Because of this natural pull to seclude oneself, I battled hard to maintain my friendships with my girlfriends. As for my friendships with my guy friends, most of those changed as they should. Thomas and I dedicated time apart to spend solid fellowship with our friends. I still did girl nights; movie, ice cream, facials, shopping, makeovers, etc... Thomas still played football, beat his chest, conquered video games, had pipe smoking sessions, and whatever it is that men do together.
As Thomas and I are getting settles here in Phoenix we have looked for another foundation of girl/guy friends. The transition to marriage took a major blow on my friendship toll, and for that I am filled with sorrow but I not for one second filled with regret.
When we moved back here I had lost most of my support and friendships from my college and had been gone so long that I hardly had any roots left here in AZ. Thankfully those friends I do still have are phenomenal and I am undeserved to be their friend. This girls are Melissa, Laura, Katie (both of them), Amanda, Britney, Jessica, and Kat. I praise the Lord every day for these girls. But of this group of friends only 2 of them live in AZ and both of them are close to moving away soon. For this my heart breaks. Thomas has been able to lay some roots here and has bonded with a few guys, and has even started a very small men's fellowship time with these men once a week. This was an answered prayer for sure.
Thomas and I love each other dearly, but know also know that it is healthy to have other relationships that help keep us accountable, and sane. Thomas does not like to paste crafted cards together and send them to his guy friends just like I refuse to play touch football. I honestly believe that there is nothing wrong, and that it is healthy even to have time dedicated to spend apart from Thomas. I would like to hear some other ladies, or men I suppose, thoughts on this subject. Anyone else made this transition and noticed a difference in how your friends treat you? Maybe it was just Thomas and I... it would be our luck, haha.

Okay I promised to end each blog with a wedding memory... which to choose from? By the way, it has been brought to my attention (courtesy of my mother, how fitting) that I should not call these disasters, but memories.
Wedding memory #1: My wedding flowers were stored in a donut shop for 3 days.
After ordering all my wedding flowers bulk from Costco I was PUMPED! We ordered about 1750-200 long stemmed Cala Lillie's. After they arrived I freaked out, and was in over my head; see I forgot to take into consideration that we would have to store all of these flowers and I had arranged for them to arrive 2-3 days before the wedding (as suggested). They arrived 3 days before. I went out and bought 4 or 5 large trash cans filled them with water and unpacked them. Due to my mom's frequent visits to a local coffee/donut shop they offered to store them. This was perfect, but it also set itself up for another eventful memory... to be heard later!

sneak peak for my next blog...

This morning has been so peaceful. I did not want to throw my alarm clock across the room, it was too cold to get out of bed, yet if I wanted to lay there and snuggle for a while I would have been just as comfy! I think today is going to be great. I am about to make some cini-rolls and pack up food for the fiesta bowl parade. My next post though will be about either: the strange phenom of "being married" from others point of view, or a few of the wedding disasters. The wedding disasters we a request but I am not sure if I feel like writing them all out. OH... I just thought of something. I might just have to end each blog with a little funny story from the wedding. Anyways, today is going to be great and I love you all!

2009: New Year, New Life, New Problems

WELCOME TO 2009!!

Last night was perfect. Thomas and I invited a couple (that we LOVE) over last night for a mini-New Year's Eve party. We got coldstone icecream, started a nice fire, played games and toasted the coming New Year. It was a very special thing to bring in the New Year with John and Jessica. See they just recently got engaged and they are planning for a mid-summer wedding; this was the exact shoes that Thomas and I were in last year. It was beautiful. 2009 will bring a very fun, stressful, and memorable year for them. For Thomas and I 2009 will bring a lot of great memories, and a graduation (hopefully). 2008 looked as if it were going to be the best year ever. We were engaged, I was planning my dream wedding and we had our whole future ahead of us.

Now I reflect on 2008, and it was a very bitter sweet year. I guess the cliche summary would have to be that every rose has its thorns. Thomas and I grew so much during the last 6 months of engagemnt. It was not all flowers and sunshine though. When I say we grew, the growing came with growing pains. I was smacked with a very radically different view of what marriage was intended for. I praise the LORD that I learned it during the enagagment process, it was such a beautiful lesson. This new radical idea was ushered into my life by the way of Gary Thomas' book "Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make us Holy More than to Make us Happy." If that title doesn't just adjust a love drunk person's attitude then I don't know what does. So after I had this realization my relationship with Thomas was so much more meaningful, I the right view of our relationship for the first time. So sweet was the moment that I discovered it too. Then came the lovely wedding plans. Well lets just summarize the wedding plans by saying not everything turned out how it was intended, but at the end of the day we were wed. I will have to save the tales of our wedding plans, aka disasters, for another time. As I reflect on what whole season in my life so many colorful emotions are stirred up. Thomas and I always joke that we should write a book someday about our wedding. Dont worry, for all those involved names would be changed to preserve reputations, haha.

As I looked into what 2009 will hold, I must be very honest: I have no idea what God has in store for us. I have no idea why He brought us out here, I have no idea why he allowed several friendships to come to their end, I have no idea what we will be doing next. What I do know is that I will be finishing my last two courses, we will be looking for a place for Thomas to transfer, and we will be looking to minister where ever we are placed. As with any year though 2009 will bring up new problems. I know that personally I am having a hard time adjusting to the thought of Obama as my President. I know that as a Christian I am called to pray for him, and respect his position. I also know that as a Christian so much of what I consider sacred may crumble under his authority. Pray for me as I try to live as a christian American citizen under Obama's rule.

Thomas and I love you all. NOTE this blog will usually not be this long, I got a tad carried away with everything. I hope that this can be a useful way to keep up with our life happenings. Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009.

This is a picture of Thomas and I at an Arizona Cardinals Game celebrating Christmas. This was his gift from me. He had a blast, it was like he was a little kid in a candy store :)