Lots to be thankful for....

Well, this blog is motivated by my brother, Michael, who was tired of looking at our Halloween pictures! Sorry it's been a long time since i updated....let's see...we had a great Thanksgiving spending time with our families in TN. We always go to my Granny & Pop's in Middle TN for a big family get together. Then we stayed in Knoxville a couple of days. Aaron and his dad went to the UT game, while me, aaron's mom, aaron's sister, laura, and my sister, carla, and my nephews and niece went to Fantasy of Trees. It was a really "festive" place and i think the kids had a lot of fun. Aaron and I were talking on our way home Sunday night just about 'stuff' and we realized that we have not been thanking and praising God enough, but mainly just asking for stuff each day, and we feel like that has really caused us to have a bad perspective on things right now. so we are setting our minds on only praising and thanking God this week and trying not to ask for stuff. so far it has been really great, and God has just reminded us of how much He deserves our praise and worship and how much we have to be thankful for...... hope you all are doing well. we praise God that Aaron did well on one of his tests today, he hasn't found out about the other one yet. we are looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas. sorry I didn't get any pictures of Gavin, but I will get some this weekend bc they are coming to visit us in VA!!!
Here's Caryss at the Fantasy of Trees.....cute as always!
Colton thinks this tractor is 'trevor' off of Thomas. This is at Granny & Pop's house.
Mom showing off her 'fake flowers' for cake decorating.....they are edible ;)
She's pretty good at this stuff!
Colton before Halloween......he really enjoys trying to scare people.

Halloween party!!!!

Well, few people know how to party on Halloween night like some Christian couples hanging out, dressed up like little kids and playing games that any 7-9 year old would be really good at.

Sonya and I went to a party last night with our friends from church/school and had a great time. No we didn't win the costume competition, or the balloon burst relay, or the swinging apple and doughnut competition, or the balloon stomp game or the drop the skittles in a cup game, or the guess how many pieces of candy are in the glass game... but we did get to go home with a prize just for looking so funny!

We found out that we had to dress up for the halloween party this year at Aubrie and Jason's house (aka candy corn and Geroge Strait in the pictures). while rummaging through our clothes i found some Thai kickboxing shorts that I had bought a few years ago when I was over there. So then my friend Sem in Thailand bought me a shirt which I gave to Sonya to wear... and it all came together, i even oiled myself up to look a little more authenic.

Sonya would kill me if she knew i put the pictures of her "unhumanly busty bosom" on here but it was all part of her costume.

No ghost came to visit us cause they were scared when they saw the sights of me









I had to put a lawsuit against NBC because Law and Order are trademark names for my fists and feet!

So we had lots of fun and acted like we didn't have 50 hours of studying in front of us for the rest of the week.
Our birthdays are coming up so feel free to get us something good!! Good night!

Hiking the Cascades

So last weekend my brother, Michael and his wife, Katy, came to visit us for the weekend. I was so excited for them to come and hang out with us for awhile and they got to come to church with us too. I really miss hanging out with my family, but I'm thankful for the time we do have together. So Aaron took them on a tour of his school and they got to see all the dead people in the anatomy lab, and I actually saw them too for the first time! It is quite interesting :). After church on Sunday we went to hike the Cascades. It is a 69 foot waterfall about 30 minutes from where we live. It was a great day for a hike. Don't worry, this isn't what it looks like, but it does look funny :). Aaron and Michael had to practice self-control to not climb every big rock we came across. Aaron almost fell in while playing on the rocks, but managed to keep himself dry. Although on the way back down he did manage to topple backward over a rock and land on his rump in front of a group of people. But he's okay :). Just hurt his pride a little. Katy & Michael
Me & Aaron
The gang at the falls. It took us about an hour and a half to hike to the top. 2 miles up.
The Cascades! It was very pretty with the trees changing colors too!

Well, I guess all is about the same with us. We went and looked at a car last week, but it wasn't the one. I started with a new client last week, so now I have 4 kids. I am getting really burned out on doing paperwork all the time. Please pray that God would help me do my job well and not get overwhelmed. Aaron's first test in this block is this Friday. He's been doing better with having motivation to study it seems....Praise the Lord. I honestly don't know how he keeps going and studying as much as he does. Our Bible Fellowship class (sunday school) is going really well, there are more and more new people our age showing up at church. It is so encouraging. Well, I think that's about all, I'm going to go eat some lunch now. Have a great week.

Caryss and Gavin

Well Clint came up this past week and kept me company for a few days while Sonya went and worked everyday. We played Halo for a few hours a day and watched Lost at night with Sonya. I took Clint to see the Anatomy lab and he held a few organs. We did do some productive things. I cooked dinner every night and did all the dishes and laundry. It doesn't make up for the 50 weeks out of the year that Sonya does it but hopefully it helps. I love my weeks off school, but monday I start my official 2nd year material. Pathology and Pharmacology are the 2 big classes this year. But at least Anatomy and Physiology are over!

Anyway here are some pictures of our niece and nephew Caryss and Gavin that Laura sent us. They are great!! Happy Friday the 13th!

Birthdays everywhere

Here is Gavin and Daniel, Aaron's brother....Gavin just finished opening his exciting birthday present.....clothes!! Gavin hanging out in the floor, being tickled by Uncle Aaron.
This is a picture of what my family takes pride in.......how many roundbales you can stack on a trailor at one time without losing any :). My brother Michael, on the left, and my Dad on the right.
My sister Carla, her husband, Scott, and their little one, Colton.....with Aunt Sonya and Uncle Aaron. His present was a little more exciting... He got a Thomas the Train DVD. He is really into Thomas the train lately. He'll say "Tom Choo Choo", over and over and over.


Well, I just had a few pictures to share. Last Sunday was my nephew Colton's 2nd birthday and yesterday was our nephew, Gavin's 1st Birthday. Unfortunately we missed both parties, but we still got to see both of them last weekend so that was nice. Things have been going pretty well here in VA. Aaron is having a hard time getting motivated to study lately, and he has 7 exams and 1 quiz in the next 8 class days. The good news is that he has a break after that starting Oct. 6th for a week. I found out that I will probably have 5 kids (clients) in my classroom this year. Right now I have 3, but the other 2 are in the process of getting services. I am a little overwhelmed thinking about how I'm going to get everything accomplished that I need to with 5 clients. Please pray that I will depend on God, and not my own understanding and abilities. I know He's going to teach me a lot about that this year.
We found out today that our new Sunday school class will be starting next week!! We are so excited about it. We still don't have an extra trailor yet, but our pastor thinks he has arranged something for the next couple of weeks until the other building arrives. So please pray for our new class and Aaron and I as we lead it.
I guess that's about all for now. It's officially fall and almost October.....whew, I'm sure it will be Thanksgiving and Christmas before we know it :) . Have a good last week of September!

Heading Home

Just wanted to let you all know that Aaron's grandmother passed away last night. We will be traveling home for the receiving of friends and funeral this Sunday afternoon. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for our family. We praise the Lord that she had a clear testimony and was a Godly woman who is now with the Lord. Please pray for comfort and strength for Aaron's grandfather and family during this time.

September Stuff

Here's a pic of Colton when he came to visit us......he likes to play guitar, sing, and dance!! Just like his Uncle Aaron! Me and Alicia, at her home in North Carolina! We had a great weekend.This is a picture from our balcony at the beach!! It was gorgeous!! And another view of the ocean.........ahhhhhhhhh



hello everyone, sorry it's been so long. Quick update, Aaron's break was great. He was able to go and shadow some doctors back in Knoxville. My mom came and kept me company that week which was really nice. Then we went to the beach for a few days and got to hang out with my best friend, Alicia, and her husband Eric. It was a great vacation, except for the jelly fish sting!! Don't worry, I have pictures! So now, school has started back for both of us. Aaron is now in his second year, and I'm still in 3rd grade as a counselor. Last weekend we were able to go home to TN and camp with my family for a few days, which was really nice. Aaron's grandmother has been moved to a Hospice care facility, where they are trying to keep her pain to a minimum. Please pray for his family as they stay with her 24/7.
We are excited that our new "bible fellowship" aka as Sunday School class is getting ready to start soon. We are having to wait for our church to purchase another trailor to have classes in because we have no more rooms available in the church!! Kind of a good problem I guess because we are growing so quickly. We are really looking forward to see how God is going to use this new class. Also, the girls bible study I started met again last week and we had a GREAT time. It was very encouraging to be in a bible study group again.
Oh, on a side note. I am proud to announce that my brother was ordained as a deacon tonight back at my home church in Dandridge. Their church is without a pastor right now, but I know God has exciting things planned for them.
Anyway, I guess that's about all for now. Hope everyone has a good week.

Hooray Hooray, 1 down, 3 to go

We are celebrating Aaron completing his first year of medical school!! 1 year down, 3 to go until graduation, then 3 years of residency. But he gets paid in residency :). We give God ALL the glory and praise for providing for all our needs this year and teaching Aaron all he needs to know to be a good doctor. So now Aaron has 3 weeks off to celebrate and relax before he starts again. He is now officiall a "second year" student. It's really exciting for us. Around here med students are referred mainly by there year.
So we had a great weekend hanging out with my sister and brother-in-law and nephew! i will add pictures soon. Colton entertained us mostly. My sister and I enjoyed bargain shopping at the Goodwill store. It is the BEST!! If you like to bargain shop, and don't mind spending some extra time rummaging through things, you can find some GREAT deals!!
Aaron is getting ready to head back to TN.....without me :(. But it's ok, he deserves it. And he's going to have some great opportunities to shadow some Dr's in Knoxville everyday. Meanwhile, I will be in VA with my mom who is coming to stay with me while Aaron is gone.
Next Sat. we are heading to NC to see my best friend, Alicia, and her husband Eric. I am soooo excited that we are going to finally get to see them!! THEN...on Sunday we are driving on to the beach, Myrtle Beach!!! God provided a GREAT deal on a condo place for us to go and relax a few days. We plan on being back home Thursday.
This week is my last week of our "summer program" at school. WHEW!! it's been a long 8 weeks! i am ready for a break. But i thank God so much for my job. He has really opened up some amazing opportunities for me to share Him and witness. He teaches me a lot through my job. ok, time to get ready for bed. hope everyone has a great week. and please continue to pray for Aaron's grandmother, she is still in the hospital and not doing well. and please pray for my dad's back, his ruptured disk. he is still having a lot of problems. thanks

Watch Out Here Come the Jones'

The "VCOM Dream Team"
We were named after the greatest athletic team ever assembled the 1992 USA olympic team. I was Clyde the Glide Drexler and I hate to brag but I think I made ol' Clyde proud. Sonya was a last minute add so she had to wear another shirt but after much consideration she would have been wearing the name "Air Jordan" because she gave such a stellar preformance!






What excellent form!!!!

















Saturday July 29th my school, VCOM, hosted a basketball tournament for all the students, spouses and staff. The first years had 4 teams, the second years had 1 team and the teachers had one team. Well, you had to have a girl on the floor at all time and one of our girls on our team was sick, but never fear I had a secret weapon I like to call "The Sonya".

So Sonya showed up, and as you can see from the picture below she was not afraid to shoot, even though it was a guy's ball and she had hurt her knee in the 2nd of 5 games. She outscored me a few games and had a 3 in the staff/ student game that sparked a big run ( you can see I was awe-struck from her rain of threes). We ended up winning the whole tourney and accomplished something no team has ever accomplished, we beat the teachers but only by 4 ( they had payed the refs, and it was their 1st game and our 5th).
So we had a lot of fun and her knee is doing better. We were just excited to get to play on the same team. I wanted to dedicate this blog entry to my allstar!!!!

Answered prayers

Hello everyone, just wanted to share how God has been working and answering prayers in our lives this week. First, my neighbor, Brenda, who we have been inviting to church for over 6 months, came to church with us this morning for the first time! She has been active in church previously, but quit going for a long time. So, we just Praise the Lord that she was willing to go. Please pray that she will continue to have a desire to be involved in church and God's word.
Also, Aaron has had some good opportunities to encourage and befriend one of his fellow students who just recently became a Christian. He also came to church this morning. He is looking for a church home.
Also, we were discussing with our pastor last night about the need for a new sunday school class for our age group because there are so many new people coming in. And after talking about it, our pastor said that he had been praying about the same thing, and about Aaron and I leading it. So.........we are very excited about starting a new sunday school class in about a month that we will be able to invite other students from VCOM and other couples our age to come to! God just really worked it all out and confirmed it completely through all of us!
Also, our girls bible study at my house is progressing some and we have ordered a book to check out and see if that's what we want to use and there have been two more girls who want to come and be a part of it! It's been a slow process getting started, but I know it's all about God's timing and not mine.
Please just praise God for all of these answered prayers and encouraging things that are happening, and also pray that God would open up an outlet for me to be able to have a "Christian" influence at my school, whether it is by starting an FCA or something else. I'm not sure what I could do, but my heart is very heavy to be able to share Christ with all my kids. They need to hear it so bad, and I want to tell them. So please just pray God would work that out for this upcoming school year. THanks so much!!

My crazy husband

I just had to share this with all of you......Aaron does spend a lot of time at his desk......mostly studying, but what you might not know is that he is also practicing his kareoke routine for next year's VCOM Idol (like American Idol)!!! Here he is learning the words to Elvis' "A little less conversation". This is just one more reason I love my husband. He is one crazy guy!!

And this is just a picture I took at a park Sat. night. I like playing with our camera. Maybe someday I'll know what I'm doing and will be able to take really cool pictures.

Anyway, hope everyone has a good week. Please pray for Aaron's Grandmother Jones. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and has had surgery and is awaiting chemo, but has been put back in the hospital this past weekend because of complications. Pray that the doctors will have wisdom to treat her. Thanks. Sonya

July is here....

Playing put-put golf on our 2 year anniversary. Guess who won??? ME, sonya
WOW....I can't believe it is already July 9th! Aaron will be finished with his first year of med school on August 11th!! THAT is exciting. One year down, 3 to go until graduation.....then 3 more years of residency. Residency is exciting because he will actually get paid some :). It is just really amazing to see how God continues to enable us and provide for all of our needs each day. God is teaching Aaron so much about medicine and the human body. It's just amazing that he can learn so much in such a short period of time. Anyway, we just want to give God all the glory and praise for Aaron's good grades and continued motivation to keep studying.
Let's see.....since the last blog we have celebrated our 2 year anniversary, June 26th! We went to Winston-Salem and played around for the weekend. We also listened to our wedding on a cassette tape, which was really neat. Then we watched our wedding on the DVD when we got back home. Two years has gone by pretty fast, but it's exciting to look back at all the ways God has provided for us and stretched us to depend more on Him.
We were very excited to have a four day weekend last weekend and get to see a lot of friends and family back home. I was supposed to have to work on Monday, but it got cancelled. Praise the Lord!! So we drove to Dandridge and spent the night with my brother and my sister-in-law, Michael and Katy. Katy made the best Apple dumplings for breakfast!! They were so good. Then we were able to go to the lake and play around on the wave runners. Aaron's older brother, Clint, took us to see Superman Returns. I enjoyed it, and I noticed a lot of scenes and lines in the movie were symbolic of Christ. We also were able to hang out with our Sunday School class for a 4th of July cookout and pool party. It seemed like everyone there had a baby!!! Kids were everywhere! It was so nice to get to see everyone, but now it's back to Virginia.
We officially joined our church here in VA and became members this morning. We really like it and are excited to see how God wants us to get more involved there. Ok, well, I'm getting tired of typing so I think I'm going to download some pictures now. I have a lot more to talk about, but it will just have to wait. Hope you all have a good week.
Michael & Katy, my brother & sister-in-law. And their home... Aaron having fun on the lake at his Uncle Jerry's. Aaron was having lake withdrawals, so it's a good thing we were able to go. He's doing much better now. :)

Back in VA

Colton LOVED running through the bubbles! This is a pic of my sister and the craft that we were working on for VBS.

Well, I'm back in VA again. My "vacation" seemed to fly by while I was running around in TN. I had a good time spending time with my sister and nephew. My Mom was and is busy preparing for Vacation Bible School. My sister will be teaching the 5 year olds and I got to help her get some of the crafts ready for that. My nephew is starting to say more words and communicate better. He loves to be outside and blow bubbles.
I also got to see my friend, Lindsey Stewart, who is getting married in August. I really miss all my friends back in Powell. On the way home, I was able to visit with another college friend, Stephanie Osborne, which was really nice too! So I was very thankful to get to spend some time with good friends.
Aaron sang at church this morning. He sang "Hungry". I wish that he had time to do more worship leading, but God has been good to open up opportunities here and there at church and at his CMDA meetings at school. (Christian medical & dental Assoc.). He is the vice president of the CMDA this year, which meets once a month.
Last night we watched "End of the Spear" on DVD. For those of you who haven't heard about it.... it is based on the true story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and a couple of other guys who as missionaries, were trying to make contact with a tribe of people in Ecuador. I don't want to tell the whole story, some of you probably know it, but it is really good. However, the movie does not really talk at all about God much, but that's what it is all about. We are going to try and find the documentary movie "Beyond the Gates of Splendor", which goes into more detail about their lives. It was just so good to remind us that our one true purpose here on earth is to share Jesus with others and bring him Glory, even if it means giving our lives, leaving or even losing our family, and living in uncomfortable places so that others might know Him. We waste so much time on things which have no eternal value. Aaron and I both were challenged to be more intentional in witnessing and sharing with those around us RIGHT NOW, at school and at work, and not to wait until we go to other countries. We are surrounded by lost people all around us, and it is our responsibility to tell them the good news. ok, well, i'll stop preaching now. I just get excited when I think about the power of God and all He desires to accomplish and work through us if we make ourselves available to Him.
Please say a prayer for Aaron this week, he will be having finals all week and then a week off. We praise God for enabling him daily and helping him understand and learn all of this material. Hope you all have a good Sunday, and Happy Fathers Day to both our dads! Thanks for all you have done and continue to do for us. We love you!

I'm on vacation!!

School is out and I have a week and two days of vacation. However, I was still working on paperwork this morning and had to go to our office to print it all out, and I still have an employee review that I need to do before we start back, but I'm putting that off until next week. I started making our DVD of our Kenya trip last night. It is so fun putting it together. I can't wait until it's finished, but it will take awhile.
Before I forget, Happy Anniversary to my mother & father-in-law. They are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary today. WOW! I am very thankful for them and their Godly example they set for us. Our friends here, KJ and Michelle also celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary! And Laura & David's (aaron's sister) anniversary is Wed. Happy Anniv. to them too!!!! And Happy Belated birthday to my dad, Laura, and Uncle Jerry. WHEW!!!! and there are a lot more to come in the next few weeks, including our anniversary..... June 26th!!
I am heading home to TN tomorrow. Aaron is still in school this week, so I figured I would go home and hang out with my family. Aaron is doing very well in school, Praise the Lord!! He got a 92 on his Anatomy test last Friday!!! I can see God enabling him daily to persevere in his studying and going to class each day. I know God is preparing him to be a great doctor for His Glory. I often wonder where God will take us and how he will use us in the future.
For those of you who don't know, my dad has a ruptured disk in his back and is experiencing tremendous pain and has been dealing with this for a long time now. It is hard for him to walk and get around at all right now. He is going to therapy, and they hope that will fix things without having to do surgery. Please pray that God will heal him soon and give him strength, patience, and wisdom to take care of himself as he waits. I know God has a purpose for this trial and that He works all things for the good. Romans 8:28
Well, I'll stop rambling now. I hope to have some good pictures to share when I get back from TN! Hope everyone has a good week.

Green thumb?

Well here is what Aaron and I worked on today. We went to Lowe's last night and invested in some flowers. We decided these will be like our "pets". They will be less expensive and do not require a babysitter while we are out of town. I do not have a good history of taking care of plants and flowers, so hopefully these will turn out ok. And of course I couldn't resist another picture of my newphew, Colton, while we were in the mountains last weekend. He is starting to talk a little more now. He will be 2 in September.
It was a beautiful day today and it was nice to be outside. Tonight we went over to our friends, Derek & Tiffany to start a video bible study on The Song of Solomon. It is geared more toward singles, but has a lot of good wisdom and information about marriage and husband/wife relationships too. One of the things we discussed which actually came from our old Sunday School class in Powell was..."What if God created marriage to make us HOLY instead of to make us HAPPY??" Just something to reflect on. I am so thankful for my husband and I pray that our marriage brings glory to Him.

Aaron's Turn to Update

My best friend from Thailand Sem called last night and wanted to make sure Sonya and I were still alive because he hadn't heard from me via email or by the blog update for a long time. So this picture is me saying "Hey Sem, Thanks for the call, it made my week!" Not my best picture I must admit but well I didn't have much time to prep.

I wanted to update once to give this blog a manly feel for all you men out there that read it. Not sure how to do it better than showing to manly men throwing rocks into a creek in the Smoky Mountains. That's me and my nephew Colton this last weekend at Elkmont camp ground. I showed him how to throw a few rocks and ends up he likes it quite a bit. He proceeded to toss roughly 12,345 pieces of gravel into this creek. For all you environmentalist out there you are going to have to take it up with him. I told him to stop but he just kept going. I'm pretty sure more than half of those tosses were left handed. Sorry Scott, he's a natural lefty. We had a great time hanging out with all our family and just taking it easy.

This last pic was on Easter at my mom and dad's house. I thought sonya looked SO STUNNING that I had to post it let the world see my beautiful wife. I tried to crop me out of the picture but didn't succeed. I know having me in the picture is kindof an eye sore but my computer cropping skills just aren't quite up to par, sorry.

Well not much of an update but quickly... I'm at school everyday learning about the heart and lungs and looking forward to my break in 4 weeks. Sonya is working every day making an impact on the leaders of tomorrow and bringing in some money while she's at it. Other than that we are living on love... and her salary but mostly love and just started a TV fast yesterday for the next 2 weeks at least. We would turn it on for the news then it just never went off till bed time so no more tv for these Jones'. So for all of you trying to keep up with the Jones', i guess you'll have to turn off the TV for a while.
well until next time... Seek God!

Easter in Tennessee

So here are some pics from our weekend trip back to TN....keep scrolling down because there are a lot to look at. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Easter to the Jones'!! And the Johnson's and the Fern(singular because Martin, Sarah's husband, was unable to come). We really enjoyed spending time with our family and getting to hang out. It was a beautiful weekend. I'm really thankful that we are close enough to TN that we can make short trips home for the weekends. God is so good to us.








Here is a picture of Caryss in her Easter dress. Cute as always! She had fun trying to blow bubbles.

Here is a pic of Caryss removing the shell of the Easter eggs she dyed. Mainly I think she enjoyed making a mess. She is starting to talk a lot more now and is doing a great job learning how to share with little brother.









What a great picture of Gavin and Uncle Aaron!!! Two of the cutest boys I know(can't forget Colton)! Gavin seems like such a good baby. It seems like he only cried when he was sleepy or hungry. I had the privelege of rocking him to sleep once.......one of my favorite things to do with babies.

Here are some up close pics of the tulips at my mom and dad's house. They were so bright! I had a lot of fun taking pictures of them. Too bad they only bloom once a year. I was inspired to go back home and start planting my own flowers!! Hopefully I will follow through with that.

At my parents house the dogwood trees were in full bloom!! And they were beautiful!! Spring is a very refreshing time of year.