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Holy Views! 

We are flattered by the number of blog views we have had over the course of a few months. We love seeing how people are interested in reading about a simple couple, with a puppy, who live in Jacksonville, North Carolina! So, we will continue to share our story with you. (I promise I'll get better at posting more frequently!)

I am sitting here tapping the surface of my Macbook keys thinking, "What can I write for these people about our life that will leave them impressed and happy?" 

And then I think.....

This is our blog, and YES, while this is our place to be open and show people the true happiness, success and LOVE we have.... It is also our place to share struggles we face. Whether it be in our faith, in our home, or in our hearts. After all, I do believe I stated in our very first blog post that we will be as transparent as possible....

When you move to a new place you have so much to take in! This was true when Brent and I both headed off to college to go to Kansas State University... but I have to admit, moving halfway across the country due to your husbands Marine Corps career is just a tad different than moving to college.

I'm going to skip the stress of the physically moving part.. because while, yes that is a stressful process, that is just small speck of time in the grand scheme of things. Brent and I have experienced a ton of stuff already, from meeting new friends that we will keep forever, to being able to finally decorate our own space, to waking up and just deciding to go to the beach... and then.... to waking up and thinking: why does the Marine Corps do this? Why can't we go home to see our families? We miss our friends. North Carolina sucks, the sand is horrible! It is impossible to keep my floors clean. Being married is hard work! With living so far from what we are so familiar with, Brent and I have truly been able to rely on God and each other which I never complain about, but instead, celebrate. Through our anger and sometimes hatred towards a situation, we've always come out on the other end truly loving life, despite the challenges that some days feel like too much. After all, God is always faithful... and I've learned my husband is a faithful man that would do anything for his family! 

With being so far away from family, a way for Brent and I to continue a sense of connection with some of our family and all of our friends we have relied on Facebook. Up until recently it has been a tool we have seen as awesome and useful! I mean, everyone uses Facebook.. We won't miss a beat staying connected to people through Facebook. That is all rainbows and butterflies, until it becomes obsessive. I mean, who would have thought that my thumb would slide open my iPhone to the home screen of my phone and automatically, without looking know which area to press to open Facebook? It was just about then that I realized, I am staying too connected to Facebook.

I love posting on Facebook, I love sharing what is going on with us in a simple type of a sentence, or a quirky happening like how people in North Carolina have a completely different idea of inclement weather than my homies in Kansas, or sharing a video of how big Ezio is getting. I also love liking on Facebook! I absolutely love people sharing their stories with me, funny or serious. I like to show people I'm there, I see and I like when I give the ole 'thumbs up' on Facebook.... Then, somewhere along the way there was a feeling of competition. I mean, people showing the new car they got for Christmas, or the constant bragging about how awesome or cute someone thinks their kid is by the pictures they post every other minute. Or the vacations people took where they posted a picture of every fancy meal they ate. I mean, let's be honest... some of the posts we see we think, what are they trying to prove? But if after we see that question and we don't shrug and say how cool, I am happy for them, we begin to become devoured by Facebook and the feeling of if they show theirs, I have to show mine. I became devoured by Facebook and it was truly affecting my emotional well being. I began to feel targeted with stuff people were posting, things that were meant as lighthearted and funny. I began to post my angry thoughts on a daily basis. I began to stray from the idea that my Facebook was never designed as a place to whine and complain. Posting the negative posts made me more irritable when I wasn't on Facebook. I lost sight of who I was through Facebook. Seems so silly, I know. But I thank God for the clarity that came to me during the days I deactivated my Facebook account.

My break from Facebook has not only given my thumb a new target on my phone screen (Pinterest, of course), but it has given me a sense of feeling complete in North Carolina. Through the hustle and bustle of moving... I never let myself away from my phone for longer than 10 minutes without checking Facebook... I never got to BE IN North Carolina. Realizing that was a bit of a tough pill to swallow, because I was smacked in the face with the thought that I was addicted to Facebook to take away from any sense of emptiness I had from moving so far away from the only place I've called home. But, the past couple of days has given me the clarity I need to be able to use Facebook as the constructive tool that it can be versus the destructive tool it is so often used for. 

If there is one things I am clear about when it comes to my Savior, besides the fact that he loves me even in my dark negative days of obsessive Facebook, is that He is clear when He says for us to live in this world, not of this world. That is something I struggle with and I am having to remind myself of that at least once a day. :)  

''And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what 

is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.''

Romans 12:2

So, here's to being perfectly imperfect! It's okay though, I still have God on my side, and my two main men here in Jacksonville on my side, Brent and Ezio.

With love from our family to yours,

-Ogden Love