Wifey Duties lead to Wifey Challenges

Hello Again,

I know last blog post I got to tell you a little bit about my summer expectations. They basically included the BEACH!

Well ever since I became so blessed to become a wife to my wonderful husband, there were a few talents I had to pick up. One of the biggest things was COOKING!! I have never been a super experienced cook and never really branched out in the kitchen. Well when you have a man in the house that likes his dinner and likes a full meal....You learn how to cook.

I have actually started to enjoy cooking. I love finding new recipes and trying new meals. YES I DO use recipes. As much as it would be cool for me to become an awesome cook that throws things together, that's just not going to happen. I will let others come up with the concoctions and I will just trust them :)

Some of Nic's favorites that I have done are Apple Chicken Stir Fry, Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi, I have found an awesome baked Mac & Cheese we love, and many many more.

I know it sounds good right? Well it has sounded a little too good and now I have the pounds to prove it :) I have gained 10 pounds since the wedding! As I aimed to treat my husband with good food I also treated myself to a little pooch. Anyways anyways anyways I still feel great and am FAR from fat but there's something lingering in my mind...SUMMERTIME!!

I am going to the beach in 15 days and will be there for 12 days. I have already been working out and have already lost 4 pounds (YAY)! But my workouts have been sporadic. I am now going on a 15 DAY CHALLENGE!! I am going to work out every day for the next 15 days! And I actually have already worked out the last 4 days in a row so it will really be 19 days.

If you know me you know I hate working out so I figured I would set myself up for a little challenge to get me motivated. And after many health pep talks from my healthy work out loving husband I have realized that its not about the pounds but about toning the muscle. So I am throwing the last 6 pounds out the window. If I loose them (GREAT!!!) If I don't then that's okay too because I am turning my little pooch into rock hard abs (haha okay maybe I am a little too ambitious :))

But pray for me! I am actually excited which is good for me! I will keep you updated, have a great TUESDAY!!!

Love you all,

Kira Cardwell aka Work Out Queen :)

One Step at A Time

Good Morning Lovelies! I hope everyone has been doing well. Not a lot has been going since my last post. Nic has been out of town a lot with work. In the last month and a half or so he has probably only been home one whole week and I see him on the weekends. The first couple of times he left it was hard. I just couldn't imagine him being gone for such long periods of time. All I could keep thinking was how I have heard from so many coaches wives is that recruiting seasons are the worst. One has even recently said to me, "Have you experienced the pressure of recruiting season yet? I replied with no. And she said, "Well just wait, you will surely experience some tears. The first few years are the hardest, then it all starts over when you have kids." To me this statement is a little scary coming from a seasoned coaches wife. She understood that it's not all perfect all the time. She seemed to understand that I would go through some tough times and although we are strong women, we still get upset to see our husbands go for long periods of time. Well after being in the middle of this time of recruiting I feel pretty proud of how I have made it through. At times I miss him so bad I can't stand it, but the comfort of knowing he is doing what he is purposed to do comforts me. Isn't that what marriage is all about anyways? Selflessness, preferring the other over yourself. More than anything I am so proud and excited for him. There is only a week or so left of him traveling and I only have 2 weeks left of work and then SUMMER will be here. We have a lot of beach time scheduled in the next couple months and I can't wait. I can handle him being gone for 4 weeks or so if I get to have him for 4 weeks to myself in the summer. We are blessed to both have jobs that give us that free time, and we still get paid :) Speaking of that blessing, I can tell you that we WILL live it up this summer. At times, I feel bad, feel like I should be doing something or working another job. But I know it will not be long before there are babies in the picture. Which at that point I know will slow down our role. Also, there is no promise that we will always have summers off. So I say take advantage of it while we can. One step at a time we will reach more responsibilities but for now we will enjoy the company of each other, our time off, and our youth in marriage! Summer jobs and babies can come at another time ;) Love you all! I hope the sun is shinning where you are and your time in the sun is increasing everyday! Soak it up!

Desires of Your Heart

Hey lovely Blog readers :)

I am happy to say I am blogging from my porch in 70 degree sunny weather in the month of MARCH!! I know my Wilmington peeps will not be impressed but if you have lived in Boone you know that I am living a LUXURY today!

Well life has been good. I've just been working, working out (kinda), and hanging out with Nic and Piper. He has actually been out of town lately giving me some precious time with my friends as well.

My life is full of blessings but sometimes I can not help shake the feeling that something is missing. Growing up I had a woman in my life who directed me spiritually. She led my bible study from 7th grade until my senior year of High School and even into my first year of college she continued to pour into me. Her name was Connie Vigus and she was a God-loving woman who touched not only me but so many young girls and still does. After being established in Boone for over 5 years now I still feel like I am searching for that someone. I believe in being discipled and being poured into. I have tried to meet with some women in town and continue to when needed but no relationship has formed like I have hoped it to.

As I would allow this NEED take me over sometimes, especially recently, the Lord has graciously corrected me :) He is so good at that isn't he?

"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

If this burden I have had was a NEED I would have it! Now I do believe it is important that you have people to pour into your life and that it is a need but I do have that in so many wonderful people. I just do not have it the way that I DESIRE to have it. Which is different.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

God said to me... Kira it is not a NEED it is a DESIRE. And I will give you your desires. Surprise! God is smarter than me once again :) It is a desire of mine to have a EXTREMELY CLOSE relationship with a woman that I know could last a life time. Someone to encourage me, correct me, push me forward, and help me be a better daughter of Christ, and help me develop my dreams.

The moment I made it a need the moment I thought I couldn't survive without it and as soon as I thought I couldn't survive without it I felt like my life was not abundant.Causing me to dis-appreciate all of the wonderful things that I do have. What an interesting concept. It made me want to search my life for other unhealthy "needs" I may have. If I needed it I would have it. I have all that I need right here to live the life the Lord wants for me in this moment :)

Just a simple Revelation that helped me to get over yet one of life's many bumps! Praying for that relationship still, knowing God will provide it when it's needed most! Looking forward to it!

What do you think is a need that is really a desire in your own life? Don't let a "NEED" bring you down! God supplies all your NEEDS !!

Love you all always! Thanks for listening!

Kira Cardwell

Awaited Words from a Quiet Season

Well Hey there!!

I bet you were wondering if I was still into blogging. Well the answer is yes :) Have you ever had times when you just feel like God is working behind the scenes and that's the way it is suppose to be? Well that's where I am coming to you from today...a quiet season. A season of time where Nic and myself have had to sit at the feet of our God and listen to his direction. Knowing the moment we would say something to someone would be the moment things for us would change.

Going into our marriage Nic and I were blessed with new jobs. Unfortunately those jobs only had contracts to December/January. We knew these were opportunities from the Lord and we knew they had to be taken despite the time frame in which they would last. Nic was working as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Appalachian and I was an interim School Social Worker. Nic had hopes to reach the next level of coaching after this season and I had hopes to stay in my profession until the Lord really revealed to me the next steps to take. We believed that He would work out the plans for when our contracts were over. Knowing God is bigger than a signed piece of paper with a date on it :)

We were very open to moving from Boone. We had given up our attachments to this place and put them behind us for God to move in anyway that he wanted too.

In the middle of November, I received notice that the woman who was suppose to be taking my job was no longer accepting the offer.(YAY) The position was offered to me and I gladly accepted! I still at that point didn't know if we would be in Boone post Christmas but I did know that this was a blessing for me to continue doing what I love for as long as I could. It was hard for me to talk about it because I didn't want others to not take me seriously. Why would she take a job when she doesn't know if she will even be living here in a couple months? Well I was trusting God haha and that's about all I had to say :)

Still prepared to move we jumped from moving to Raleigh, Memphis, Florida, Indiana, and then finally the most realistic option...COLORADO! I know right?! We were on a roller coaster. But the whole time we were calm and enjoying the possibilities of moving somewhere new together and experiencing the newness of life somewhere else, knowing what we have here in Boone and North Carolina was everlasting. Well, fully prepared to pack our bags and head across the country to Colorado, the coaching job for Nic fell through. Shortly after that Nic had 2 offers from 2 schools right here in NC...one being Appalachian!

And suddenly we went from moving to staying. To the unknown to the known. Although we were excited to go we are so so so happy to stay! And we hope to stay here for a while! It's not what we thought God was going to do but he did and we're thrilled to know we are exactly where he wanted us. And although, our contracts were telling us that our opportunities in Boone were over, God said different.

If we have seemed distant in this time I apologize. We had to stay focused on what was going on and what the Lord was saying. We were so unsure of his plans that it was hard to even speak of what we thought was going to happen. But it was a fun journey! I love when there's no other choice than to let the Lord do His thing!

Excited for a great season ahead. Being in a place we love with people we love and knowing that we are exactly where we are suppose to be!

Love you all and grateful for each of you! Soon I will tell you about the plan's that have been birthed in our hearts now that we know we are staying! WATCH OUT BOONE, the CARDWELL's are officially STAYING :)

Kira Cardwell