My husband has spent the past two weeks explaining to me that Monopoly is not a game of chance but rather a game of skill, strategy, and scheme. I have opposed his view until tonight, when my great strategizing bled his resources drier than the Sahara Desert! I had the great fortune (I mean, strategy) to land on both Park Place and Boardwalk and to develop my properties fully, so that the unfortunate party who landed on Boardwalk owed me a whopping $2000.00 on every visit. Third time is the charm! Looking forward to game number four!

Since moving to Texas, we’ve enjoyed getting to know Micah & Anna Martin, a newly wed couple (as of May) from our church. Micah and Anna are both taking classes at UTA and spend all Tuesday and Thursday on campus. We’ve been able to have them over twice for Thursday evening meals after Anna’s class and are looking forward to many more meals with them (that is, as long as they don’t grow tired of my cooking).

In their spare time, Micah and Anna are working on revamping/remodeling/re-everything the house they bought. They are very much looking forward to having their own home…so who knows, if they get desperate, maybe someday we’ll have pictures up on the blog of our working on their house. It’s been neat getting to know some “real Texans” (Micah even goes boar hunting!), and we are blessed with their friendship.

Everyday since June 28th, I’m learning what I wonderful man I’ve married. Josh has been so good to me and very patient with me as I adjust to life in Texas as a “Mrs.” and search for a job. This week Josh accompanied me to a Pampered Chef party (those of you who know me know that Pampered Chef parties are not my kind of fun). We were under the impression that Josh’s officemate would be there and that the guys would wander off after a while. However, that was not the case. My dear husband sat next to me and kept me company for almost the entire presentation before his officemate showed up. So again, I was reminded that I have married the most wonderful man in the world and reminded of his love for me…that was shown to me this week by his sitting in a room with a bunch of women (and one rather strange man) to keep his wife company. That’s my man – thanks, Josh!

My parents and sister, Emily, stood in line for hours yesterday to attend the McCain/Palin rally in Lancaster, PA. Their waiting paid off! Not only did my dad get to shake both McCain’s and Palin’s hands, but McCain’s armpit rested on Emily’s head while he shook Dad’s hand. Quite an exciting day for the entire family!

(If you look at the first picture, you will see my parents standing two rows behind Emily.)

Today is my dear friend Mr. West’s 86th birthday. During my past four years at Cleveland Park Bible Church in Spartanburg, SC, Mr. West has become my adoptive grandfather. Mr. Leo West was born in 1922 and served our country during WWII in France and Germany. He is a faithful servant of the Lord and continues to serve those around him. Even though his knee causes him severe pain, he still helps his friends with their yard work and assists with the upkeep of the church’s grounds. Happy Birthday, Mr. West!

On August 21, 2008, my older brother Sam married Ashley Baker on Long Island, New York. We’re delighted to have Ashley officially join the Sutter family and look forward to the times when our whole family can be together.

Welcome to our apartment! Our apartment is on the second floor. Our window is the middle one directly to the left of the stairwell. Last night we completed our last move-in project and hung up all our pictures. Here’s some pictures of the rooms in our apartment. (Click on each picture for additional information on each room.)

What does one do with old t-shirts, a blue sharpie, Elmer’s glue, scissors, and the Dallas Cowboys logos?

Chick-fil-A is introducing new bigger, tastier, dippier Chick-n-Strips and sauce – and you can try them for free. This Labor Day, from 10:30 a.m. to close, wear any football team logo into any Chick-fil-A location for a free three-count of Chick-n-Strips. Unfortunately, we don’t own anything with football logos. But thanks to the ideas of Deb, this morning after I made our own Dallas Cowboys t-shirts, we went to Chick-fil-A and enjoyed two servings of their Chick-n-Strips.

For the past several months, we’ve been praying for UTA campus housing, but as Josh’s semester approached, the Lord did not see fit to make an on-campus apartment available to us. So we found another apartment 10 minutes away from campus and left for Texas on Tuesday, August 12th. Upon arriving in Arlington Wednesday night, we found out that we would not be able to move into our apartment until 4PM the next day. While we waited on Thursday, we were contacted by The University of Texas at Arlington and told that someone had canceled his housing reservation and that there was a campus apartment available for us to move into – not in 30 days – but that very same day!!!! We were amazed to see how the Lord worked every detail so perfectly and we continue to praise Him for our on-campus apartment.

Dear Josh ~

Thank you so much for creating our very own blog!! I’m very excited about sharing our lives with all our friends and family! I a-d-o-r-e YOU!

~Your Amy