Living Out Our Dreams...

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage....

2012-01-22T20:18:00.007-06:00

Although it seems like not many things these days have made me want to sit down and blog about it, I believe that our latest news is definitely blog-worthy and likely of getting me to update often!

After nearly 7 years married, and together for 12 years…We’re having a baby!!!

We are very blessed to say that God has answered our prayer for a (so-far) easy-going pregnancy with a healthy baby. It wasn’t all that long ago that we decided we were ready for a baby so we feel amazingly blessed that we sit here now at almost 11 weeks pregnant. I’m also excited because I get to share this super-fun time with a great college friend, Bethany, who happens to be due with her first baby the same day as me!

Because everyone has a lot of questions about how things are going and how I am…I’ll borrow the list method and get through the info that way.

Due Date: August 15th -- (Which will make me 11 weeks this Wednesday.) Matt's birthday is the 26th. He asked if I might be able to hold out until then. I'm thinking probably not! :) The next question you have is "What were you THINKING? August in Houston?!?!" Yeah, yeah I know...but I'm lucky to have a few family members with pools that I can survive the summer with! But, I will add that I am excited that our child will be a few months old for Christmas and not teeny-tiny in the coldest months of the year. We are already looking forward to sharing this next Christmas with you, Baby! :)

How am I feeling: Mostly good. Have a few bouts with nausea here and there, but luckily I’ve figured out the triggers and what things make it better, so I’ve been pretty lucky. As far as being tired…not anymore than normal, so that’s nice too. I tend to run out of energy working out and such a little faster, but that’s it. Otherwise...just feeling SO blessed.

Are you delivering at your hospital?: Yes. :) I enjoy knowing my doctor personally and knowing the staff that will get to share this amazing time with us. Who better to care for you than people that care for you?? :)

Are you finding out the gender?: Yes! I can barely contain myself not knowing NOW, let alone for another 29 weeks! :) Monogramming makes my heart happy. Ha! So far A LOT of people think its a girl...including my hubby... so we'll see.

So, is being an L&D nurse a help or a curse with your own pregnancy? I'd probably say both. A definite help with knowing whats normal/ whats not for pregnancy and for what things to watch out for. Its also very comforting to know that I know whats normal for a newborn and what to expect from them; and to know that a crying infant doesn't "scare" me. :) Its a curse to know what "could" go wrong and to worry about any and everything we see daily on our unit. What helps is to go to the nursery and see all the healthy babies we have every single day and to know that healthy babies are the NORM, not the exception. I feel blessed to have a lot of knowledge on this topic, but I'm trying VERY hard not to "overthink" it. :)

Guess that's all for now...much more to come, but I definitely am excited to get to share the news! Stay tuned! :)

Finally! An update!

2011-10-10T21:55:00.037-05:00

It's amazing, I know! I'm sure you were wondering if I even remembered that I HAVE a blog! And...I'm almost next to positive that NO one is still reading this, but for my mom...here is the latest in whats up with us. :) Its gonna be a long post so thanks in advance for reading the whole thing! Ha! :)

In the past few months, it seems as though all of the exciting stuff is happening with Matt! In August, he started a new job with an amazing new company doing insurance brokerage in the energy division of his firm and is L-O-V-I-N-G every single thing about it...with the exception of the commute. But with his joy in this new position, we'll take that. Also in August, my hubby turned the big 3-0. I put together a party with all those closest to him and we had a fabulous time at his favorite place, Ragin Cajun.
One of the biggest hits was a candy table I did. In each candy jar filled with his favorite types of candy (mostly sour gummy stuff!) were the labels "Take me home tonight!" with little bags for people to take home a goodie bag of their favorites.
His awesome, and amazing cake! Note the detail in the car emblems!
Me and the birthday boy---sorry its a little blurry!
The whole gang--the best friends we could ask for!
Silly boys! (Sorry for the creepy glowing eyes on some of them!)

It was so great to get to celebrate my awesome husband with such great friends! We were so grateful that each of them could come and wish him happiness on his 30th! It was definitely a great night filled with many laughs!

Just this past weekend, Matt and a few of his buddies competed in the Tough Mudder. If you've never heard of it, its a 12 mile run with 29 obstacles designed by the British Special Forces thrown in. Definitely not for the weak of muscle OR of mind! :) He ran it with Brad, Kyle and Brad's friend, Jeff. They were all exhausted after but are already talking about next year, so it must have been fun! My parents and I went out to cheer them on and had a great time doing that too! Here are just a few of the pics we got that day! Looks like....fun? :)

This summer, we also FINALLY finished the total remodel of the kitchen. We got canister lighting put in and repainted the kitchen and living room. I am SO happy with how it turned out! I never thought I'd have a blue kitchen, but I really love it. This only shows a part of the kitchen, but at least you can see the new lights!

In this picture, the paint almost looks green...its not though..its kind of a smoky blue.
In August, we spent a weekend with Matt's cousin, Davey, and his family in San Angelo. We had a great time out on the lake with them and just getting to catch up! Wish they lived closer!
One of my favorite pictures of Matt on his kneeboard. He makes it look so easy!
Their sweet daughter, Addison, and me cruising in the boat.

In September, I spent a weekend in the Dallas area with my sister and her sweet family! We celebrated my niece Finley's 2nd birthday, and also our pup Jake's 6th!
Ready for the road trip!
One of my new favorite pictures--do these 2 look happy or what??
The birthday girl in the adorable dress my sister made her! (Jake also sneaked in the picture!)
Jake's birthday treats from 3 Dog Bakery!
A few weekends ago we spent a few days near Austin with some of our great friends, Brad and Amanda, Kyle and Lindsay, and Ashley and Jason. We had a wonderful time enjoying the outdoors, having great food, talking and laughing ALOT and jamming to music--new and old. :) The house we rented was BEAUTIFUL and we can't wait for our next trip!!! We are so blessed with great friends! I'm sure Amanda got WAY more pics than I did..but here are few!
Dinner at The Salt Lick.
View from our awesome deck!
All the gals at Lake Travis before we went shopping while the guys jet skied!
View from our table at dinner! Wow!

The guys, on their way out for a bike ride before we headed home. Matt (and I) have taken up biking in the last month or so. He got a really great new bike and it has been alot of fun getting on the trails with friends and family!

So thats the latest with us...thanks for checking in! We've got some fun things coming up in the next few weeks, so hopefully I'll be back soon with another update. I'll try not to make it take another 3 months! :) Happy Fall!

Dedicated to these guys...there are none better.

2011-06-19T13:53:00.016-05:00

These guys are the ones that have shaped our lives...have been the men that have guided us into the people we are today. Our lives would not be the same without each of them.

Matt and his dad, Don, 2010. A friend to all. A minister. A guy who can't be sent to the grocery for a quick trip, because he will find SOMEONE he knows and spend 30 minutes chatting them up. Steak-griller extraordinaire. Friend. Adviser. Prayer warrior. Dad.
Me and my dad, Brian, 2005. A coach of many things in my life. Teacher. World traveler. Singer with an amazing voice. Cook. Golfer. Wise counsel. Friend. Dad.
Us with Pops (Fred), 2010. Veteran. Gentleman. Classic. Knock-out blue eyed fellow. Tinkerer. Amazing example of what life beyond 60 should be. Giver. Friend. Pops.
My mom's dad, Grandpa (Bob), 2005. Farmer. Leader. Caretaker. Guy who, although always lived far away, knew he cared. Friend. Teacher. Grandpa. (This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. :))--Side story, my mom has this picture framed in her house. A decorator told her to take the stock picture out of that frame to put in a real picture. She had to explain that it wasn't the photo that comes in the frame, but her daughter and her father. HA!) :)
Non-na, Don, Matt's dad's dad. Hard worker. Comical. Direct. Always good for laugh. Family man. Farmer. Friend. Non-na.

My dad and I with his dad, Grandpa (Al), approx 1986. Gone too soon. Loved to laugh. Hard worker. Knew no stranger. Master skipper of rocks. Smart. Friend. Grandpa.

While I was searching for pictures today, I came across this one of Pops and Matt when he is probably about 2 years old. Its been my favorite picture of them for a long time. :) Probably where Matt's love of construction "stuff" started. No better way to end off a post of the most influential men in our lives than with this. No purer love and friendship has ever existed more than between these two.

Happy Father's Day!

Welcome, Summer!

2011-06-03T11:27:00.018-05:00

So....yeah....it HAS been about 3 months since the last update, but in those past months, we really haven't had a whole lot going on around our house! :) I work a lot and life has been pretty steady for us. But in those months we have had some great time with friends and family and I thought that definitely deserved an update. :)

In the past month or so, I got really burned out of the gym that we go to. I felt like I was doing the same exact workout every time and not seeing any results. So, I have started running with my new running buddy!He's not much one for words, but he is definitely a great motivator...especially since he can always keep running even when I'm dying! Haha! But really, its been wonderful to just spend time exercising outside and being with my fur-kid!

Since I have 17 friends who have been due with a baby (I know, right??) between March and October of this year, I have been spending a fair amount of time at baby showers! Its so great to get to celebrate with each of my friends as they get ready to welcome their new little ones. In May, I got to see my nursing school friends, Kylie and Celinda, since Kylie is about to have her baby boy, Harrison, in July. I miss getting to see these girls, especially since we basically lived together at nursing school for a year! Its crazy, because you can't even tell Kylie (in the middle) is pregnant in this picture! She is actually about 30 weeks! We definitely missed the other gals from our group, but hopefully we'll get to be all together again soon!

In early May, we celebrated Pop's birthday! He turned 85 years young on the 9th. 85 going on 35 based on this picture. I don't know many 85 year olds that tootle around on a 4 wheeler, do you?? :) Ha!! He continues to amaze us with his hard work and love for life and those he spends it with! Love this man!

Last weekend, we celebrated Memorial Day with my parents. We enjoyed an afternoon of water volleyball---and I do have to mention that my team won 3 of 4 games! :)--eating some great hamburgers and watching a movie. The weather was so nice that evening, so we got to sit outside, which is SO rare in the summer in Houston! We so enjoy having both of our families so close and getting to spend so much time with them.
If you don't know....I'm a summer baby. (Shameless plug that my birthday is in 12 days! :)) I love all things summer. I would be in, or on, the water in some form or fashion every day of summer if I could. So, after I spent the actual Memorial Day working, and was telling Matt how much I wanted to be on the lake, we decided to take a quick-last-minute- trip up to Austin. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday there and really, IS there a better way to spend a regular ol' Tuesday?? :) We started at The Salt Lick BBQ. If you haven't ever been to the Salt Lick, it is some of the best BBQ in the world. We always make a stop there when we travel to Austin. Then, we headed out to our favorite area of Austin, Bee Cave and Lakeway. We stopped by the resort we always stay at and got some great pics by the very inviting, yet very LOW, Lake Travis.
After this, we spent an hour jet skiing on the lake...one of our most favorite pastimes. I was telling Matt that there was no place I'd rather be right then, than cruising across a calm Lake Travis on a sunny Tuesday with my hubby. Its wonderful!
Me with Lakeway, our favorite resort, in the background! The water was actually a little cold at first, but was wonderful overall!
Not the best quality of pic, but I love the memory from it! Great time! :)

After we were done there, we spent a great evening with the family of a guy Matt has been friends with since they were little kids. Here they are with their adorable son, Carl. We had dinner at a great Italian place called Rocco's...SUPER yummy...with a great view of the golf course next door.
Matt and I with Carl. Matt would want me to point out that there is a Maybach in the background. (For the chicks out there who don't know...that car is apparently worth about $300,000. Crazy!) :) But besides the car...I loved this pic of us!
We spent the night with Gabriela and Steven and then spent a little time walking around a great outdoor shopping area, the Hill Country Galleria, before heading home. Overall it was great quick getaway! :)
Hope everyone is having a great start to the summer!

Thoughts ranging from her heart....to my stomach....and life in between.

2011-03-06T20:14:00.011-06:00

First, let me say how grateful we are for all of the prayer directed towards Debbie, and our family in general last week. Praise God, she came through successfully and we are hopeful that that was the end of a long road of struggle. We are also thankful that she did not have to end up being in ICU as suspected and was able to come home yesterday, once they were able to get the raging nausea she fought (following 8 hours under general anesthesia) under control. If you are like me and happen to be interested, here is the link to information describing the procedure they used. I know 99.9% of you couldn't care less...:) but for that other .1%, there you go. Ha! But again, thanks so much for the prayer. She is moving slowly, but we're looking forward to a full recovery soon.

Onward...
This weekend has been a really nice one. Friday, we spent time with a family that has been a part of our lives since I was 15 years old and their kiddos were 7 months (Anna) and 2 1/2 (Chase). I babysat for them in their home (which is now OUR home--we bought it from them in 2006!) and we have such an amazing and unique relationship. Once Matt came along in 2000, he came with me to babysit and was Anna's very first boyfriend...or so she would tell you back then! :) Even though the parents are about 10 years older than us, we are great friends and still love hanging out with their teenagers...those sweet babies are now 14 and 16! Ack! Here is their daughter Anna, and me, right before we all headed out to spend the evening in their new (huge!) hot tub. It was a great night to chat, catch up and relax! (Sorry for the poor pic quality!)

Last night, we went to the movies, and then to dinner with my parents. My parents and I went and saw "The King's Speech" which deserved every award it won (sorry to our group of friends who previously told us it was terrible!). It was amazing and we really enjoyed it. Matt wasn't really wanting to see that so he went and saw "I am Number Four" instead. He called it "a renter". :)

The reason I'm taking time to blog about our night out is because I officially have a new favorite restaurant in town. Oh my, it is UNBELIEVABLE! If you can prepare yourself for the drive out to Alvin (which is about 55 miles from this NW side gal...but not so much for my Sugarland friends) it is WEEEELLLL worth the drive. Its kind of tempting to keep this place a secret, but I doubt that with the rave reviews its getting from every corner of town, it will stay that way long. I told Matt last night that their truffled mac and cheese is probably one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted in my life. Seriously, top 3. I would also recommend the pan seared chicken and warm Bananas Foster Bread Pudding. Yeah.... Anyway, it is called The Barbed Rose. They probably have a total of 15 tables, and a reservation is recommended. It opened last July and has already made it onto the "Top 10 in Houston" list from the Houston Chronicle. We spent about $45 per person, which included appetizer, meal/side and dessert. Not bad for the amazing food you get. And just as a warning, don't expect to get a Texas Sized steak or feel the need to have someone "roll you out". This is not a place where you leave feeling like you'll never want to eat again. The portions are plenty to get you full...but not TOO much. If you have an open night coming up, special occasion, or just in need of a meal full of wonderful food...check them out. We're already making a list of friends and family we can't WAIT to take down there! :) Ok...I'll stop, but did I peak your interest?? :)

Also this weekend, we worked on the front flower beds. We raked, we bagged, we pulled weeds, we mulched, we power-washed and today I planted flowers. Begonias to be exact. I'm very happy with the outcome, I just hope that they last longer than most plants do around my BROWN thumb.
Jake especially enjoyed getting to lounge in the yard while we worked.
Finished product...

That's about all for today! Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!!

Its where MY heart will be tomorrow

2011-03-02T21:57:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow morning as you drink your morning coffee, read the paper, take the dog out, feed the baby or catch up with the piles of work on your desk, I ask you to take a minute to say a quick prayer for my mother-in-law, Debbie. While you are doing those things, she'll be in the hospital being prepped for a 3rd heart surgery. She has a very severe case of atrial fibrillation causing her heart to beat up to 150 times per minute (up to 3 times per SECOND!). This has caused her to start having momentary loss of consciousness ("blackouts") making it very difficult to function. If you've ever met this wonderful lady, you could see that her tiny 5ft. 3in., less than 110 pound body cannot take this kind of overwork.
They have tried previously to stop this with unsuccessful surgeries and she has "broken through" multiple anti-arrhythmic medications. So, at 8:30 am, she will enter an 8 hour surgery to fix her broken heart. This will include a stay in ICU and multiple days thereafter on a less critical floor. I know my husband's entire family would be extremely grateful for your prayers. Not only for her, but also for the 2 physicians doing the surgery as well as the nurses and additional medical folks. We pray for a successful surgery with quick healing. We pray for little pain and nausea afterward. We pray that she can regain her life and have this in the past. Please pray tomorrow morning...because its where my heart will be also.
Debbie and her dad, Pops, in Austin a few summers ago.

Things I'm Loving

2011-02-14T21:53:00.000-06:00

Having celebrated spending the last 11 years as a couple and with Valentines Day here, we are definitely feeling the love around my house. I have decided to borrow Wendi's idea and post about things I really love right now.

This new painting my aunt did for us for Christmas. Its AH-MAZING and I cannot wait to find the perfect spot for it. If you haven't met him or don't read my blog often...this is our life-of-the-party lab, Jake. Wanna know what someone at work said when I said that someone painted a picture of my dog for me?? "Girl, you need a baby." I have one...he's just a little furry. :)

Spending another year and another Valentines Day with Matt
On the 11th, Matt and I have officially been an "us" for 11 years. I love that this 18 year old guy in this picture has only gotten better in the last 11 years. Our love has only stronger and our fun only bigger. We spent our Valentine's Day buying a new washer (wahoo!) and going to see "Just Go with It". Pretty cute :) I also have to say that he did wait almost an hour (which is WAY long considering how hungry I know he was) because he knew how much I wanted to have Carrabba's for dinner last night! :) Do we look as young as it feels to me like we do in this picture?? Gotta love the braces. This is from his prom night...April 2000.
One Born Every Minute
New show on Lifetime...40 cameras placed around a L&D unit capturing different families experiences. Ok, maybe I don't LOVE this...but its definitely fun to watch!! Only 2 episodes so far but by far the most "realistic" look at birthing I have seen so far. The families crack me up. You can actually watch the episodes online. Can't wait to see the one where the dad drops the camera on the baby just born and on the warmer. Ha!! :)
Spending Time with Friends

Whether its been newer relationships or old ones that we have had for years, we have been spending alot of our free time with friends. We talk all the time about how we prayed for God to bless our marriage with a strong group of friends and a strong Sunday school life group where we could feel at home. BOY have we found that with "Starting Point" which has blossomed into "The Great Commissioned" at church. Our friends are wonderful and we feel blessed to get to spend our lives with them!!
This includes a new weekly Bible study that Matt and I are helping to lead. We're studying the book by Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage. Last week was our first meeting and we are already SO enjoying it. The idea of the study is "What If God Designed Marriage to make us HOLY more than to make us happy??" Wow, what an awesome concept to tackle. We have TWENTY couples from our class that have committed to it for the next 6 weeks. God is so awesome.

So those are just a few things I am particularly loving right now...not to mention the idea that we think winter is gone (yea!!) and spring is on the way.
Hope you had a wonderful Valentines! Go call someone you love!

....and Happy New Year!

2010-12-28T16:54:00.006-06:00

Hoping your Christmas was wonderful and that many blessings are headed your way for 2011.

Has it really been that long?!?

2010-11-18T18:14:00.018-06:00

I'm really going to be surprised if anyone is still reading!! Sorry for the lack of update. Since it has been soooo long and I really haven't taken the time to update everyone, here is a list of what has been up with us over the last couple of MONTHS!

*Those of you that knew me when I was an Acura driving teenager and young 20-something...those days have officially gone with the sell of my Acura and upgrade to an SUV that we LOVE. We got a 2008 Armada and we love it!
To answer some of the questions we've gotten:
Yes, we know its huge.
No, I'm not pregnant.
No, we don't plan on having 10 kids.
Yes, we miss the gas mileage the Acura got.
Yes, it fits in our garage.
No, it doesn't feel like we're driving a semi.

We've already taken it on a few road trips and its wonderful! It fits all of our stuff (plus our big dog :)).
Here I am the night before we sold the Acura:
And here we are the night we brought the Armada home:
*We've been to 2 family weddings for Matt's family lately. One was on a beautiful golf course and one just outside Austin. The first of the two, the couple had set up a photo booth with funny hats and glasses and stuff where you could get pictures taken and then have a copy for yourself and one for their guestbook. I wish I would have thought of it...so much fun!! Most of you probably saw the picture on Facebook of the nutty family I married into, but in case you missed this GREAT photo..here it is again! (Sorry for the flash on the picture...it was a picture of the real picture.) Is Matt's dad's face not HILARIOUS??? :)

One of my new favorite pictures. Me and Pops. If you don't know him, you should. :)
*Matt's 29th birthday was in late August (yes, I'm THAT behind). We spent the evening with his fam at McCormick and Schmick's, his very favorite restaurant.
That night after dinner, we went over to Pop's house (Matt's beloved grandfather and the handsome man in the photo with me up there...) to hang out and look at some old pictures. Check out what we found. We have always said they looked alike, but REALLY?!? This showed us how truly alike they look.

*In October, I went with my mom to Missouri for a Galloway Family Reunion (my mother's mother's side of the family). Got to meet some people I had never met and got to see some that I hadn't seen in a while. My grandmother had 7 siblings, so there were plenty to see and talk to!
*In September, my precious niece, Finley turned ONE year old! :) Its been a really fast year but she is so great and super cute just like big sis, Avery.

My beautiful sister and Fin on her party day!
Love this face!!
*My wonderful nursing school (and fellow L&D nurse) friend had her beautiful daughter, Carsyn, on September 15th and my group of nursing school gals (including our Paris-dwelling friend, Susie!!) got to go down to the hospital to meet her! It was so great to see them all and meet baby Carsyn! Always love getting together with them. Our year in nursing school has given us a great bond and I am so grateful for those friendships. We missed you, Kylie!
A few months earlier, I had taken Celinda's maternity pictures..here are 2 of my favorites...

*Work is still great....just VERY busy. This last week on Tuesday, we had a record number of deliveries. (At least for a smaller hospital like mine.) Between 7 am and 7 pm, we delivered SIXTEEN singleton babies. No twins, no triplets....just lots of single babies. It was CRAZY! Wanna know what was 9 months ago??? :)
If you are still reading...thanks! :) I think I finally have everything up to date with us. Looking SO forward to the holidays and spending time with family. Not to mention the open of this...
Harry Potter is a "holiday thing" for my family. If a new one has just come out, like this year, we always go see it together. If not, an old one is on the dvd. :) Can't wait!
Thanks for coming back to read, even though its been an eternity since I've updated. Hope you are having a great start to your holiday season!

Random Thoughts for the Day

2010-09-03T22:04:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I have to admit right off the bat that I totally stole this blog from a girl I went to ACU with. However, I could have SWORN that I actually did write it. I cracked up at nearly every single one and could easily hear myself saying (thinking) them. I started to tell you which ones I especially loved until I realized that it was basically the whole list! Enjoy! Get to the end and then tell me if you felt the same! (Sorry if you've seen this before!)

Random Thoughts for the Day:

(Author unknown)

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection....again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? ) but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day " Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

21. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

22. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

23. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

24. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

25. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

26. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

27. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front.

28. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

29. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

30. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

31. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

32. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

33. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

Always. Sometimes. Never. (Round 2!)

2010-08-13T22:33:00.000-05:00

Remember this post from last year?? Here we go on Round 2!

I ALWAYS:

*Browse in Janie and Jack when I'm in the Woodlands. That store is the picture of what I plan on dressing my little ones like someday. :)

*Like to plan (or at least think about) my life wayyyy in advance. If I could have a calendar of the next 3 years of my life, I would happily begin to fill it in.

*Get chicken and spinach manicotti at Maggiano's.

*Enjoy reviving a friendship, no matter how long its been.

*Get one of the same 2 drinks at Sonic: Cherry Ocean Water or Vanilla Coke.

*Am envious of people who got to live close by their grandparents and actually know them as adults.

*Eat breakfast.

I SOMETIMES:

*Wish that I lived in a city where people walk everywhere they go. (I LOVE that!)

*Wish I was a crafty/decorative-wise kinda gal. (Luckily I have great friends that are!) :)

*Look at random spots and think about the photo I could take in that location.

*Like it when the dog sleeps on the bed.

*Go days without checking the mail.

*Play Rock/Paper/Scissors with Matt to make a decision about something. Ha!

I NEVER:

*Get tired of watching Steel Magnolias, Pretty Woman or Mona Lisa Smile.

*Can make chocolate chip cookies and NOT eat the dough.

*Am in the mood for sci-fi or fantasy (other than Harry Potter!). Hogwarts, Yes! No Robots, no avatars, no goblins, no alternate galaxies, no, no, no.

*Get tired of planning our next vacation. Never mind that its 2 years away. :)

*Like to sit on the end of a group in a row or at a table.

*Choose to work a bonus shift at work.

*Am able to sleep the little amount I did in college and function well. (No more being proud of going to bed "early" at midnight!) Ack!

What about YOU??

You Won't Wanna Miss...

2010-06-25T16:17:00.002-05:00

...this little Miss....

Head over to my photo blog (link found on the right side of the page) to see more of this little cutie...and her mom and dad. :)

It Only Gets Better From Here

2010-06-11T09:49:00.018-05:00

5 years ago at this very moment, I was doing things like this...
...arriving at the church to marry the guy in the middle of this bunch of hoodlums... :)
...snapping a few pictures with friends...
...and getting ready to do this...
...so that we could get to this... (our first kiss in the moments right after the wedding)
...and this...
...and this...(one of my favorite memories of the day)
which was the discussion after this happened...(Bethany, the dark haired friend TOTALLY had it before Emily, the friend who got it, snagged it with one finger!) :)
...and finally this...
But during the last 5 years, we have gotten to experience and enjoy so much more. Like this...
(Maui, June 2005)
...and this...
(the day we got Jake, October 2005)
...and this...(Welcomed 2 nieces--Avery in 2007, and then Finley in 2009!)
...Add on a few trips to Austin...
...one to Disney World...
...one to Grand Cayman...
... and one to Canada...
...Plus our first house...(with many updates done to it since then!)
...and a new career!

I'd say that the last five years have been pretty wonderful. We're surrounded by so many great friends and blessed to be near our families. We are even more in love than those 2 kids straight out of college could even imagine 5 years ago and I am so blessed to spend my life with this man, my best friend.

The best part is....it only gets better from here.

Back from (the cold version of...) Paradise!

2010-05-30T15:04:00.011-05:00

We have returned from where Matt and I affectionately nicknamed, "The place God goes to vacation." Its truly heavenly up there. Canada is so pristine in every sense. Beautiful sites, clean air and natural land. We enjoyed many great excursions, a bunch of laughs, and of course, a lot of great food. I am posting a link to my photo album on Facebook...its a much quicker and easier way for you to see our pics! Not sure if you can leave comments there, but if not, I'd love to hear your thoughts here! :)

Enjoy!

Click here to link to the photo album!
(A description of what you're seeing in the photo is below each picture.)

Here is a sneak peek:

Our lives lately... by the numbers

2010-05-13T18:04:00.012-05:00

84...the number of years we celebrated for Pops this past weekend. If you don't know Pops, you are really missing out. :) The man can still jump on and off a tractor, can bake better than anyone I know, and can stop you dead with those blue eyes. :) (P.S. To those who can't see it based on this picture; my husband is an exact copy of Pop's. Photos of Pops in his 20's look identical to Matt.)

2...the number of mother's we got to spend Mother's Day with. We got to go to church Sunday morning with Debbie, Matt's mom. Then, we went to dinner and the movies with my mama, Gayla, that night. Simply put---they are they best.

2 pictures of our mothers that I love:
Pic is of my mom and Matt during a trip to Matt's family farm a few years ago. She's a country gal at heart, can you tell? :)
Matt with his mom at Christmas...circa 1985.

4...the number of days until we are in Canada!!! Its all I can think about. If you've talked to me lately, you know this already. :)...

Lake Moraine, Banff National Park
4...the number of picture/video taking devices I am taking on this vacation. See the picture above if you need a reason why. :) (For those asking themselves, 4?! How? Answer: Snapshot camera, DSLR camera with 2 lens, video camera, disposable water safe camera for white-water rafting trip.) Yep, I'm that nerdy. Ha!

12...the number of hours I have left to work until my vacation gets here.

27...days until my 28th birthday!

31...days until our 5th anniversary!

750...the number of miles we drove 2 weekends ago when we went to visit Matt's cousin, Davey, and his family in San Angelo. This included a trip up to Abilene also.
So of course, we had to stop by ACU and wax a little nostalgia. We: played a round of bowling in the old bowling alley (we did this often when Matt use to come visit me. There is REALLY not much to do in Abilene on the weekends. :)), caught a west Texas sunset, and went to church Sunday with the fam before heading back to Houston.

Have a great week! With all those cameras, I'm sure I'll have plenty to post about when we return! :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-14T19:59:00.000-05:00

Favorite Things... Tuesday!

2010-03-16T18:04:00.007-05:00

I know, its not Friday--but since my nieces and sister are coming in this weekend (yea!), I decided to go ahead and do a F.T.F. on Tuesday!

I love this time of year...from now up until it August when it gets to be 115 degrees with 100% humidity here in good ol' Houston. I love spring and early summer and so many things get me in the mood for this great season of the year. So today, its a "Favorites" list of sorts...

My Favorite Things about my Favorite Time of Year:

*Summer Camps:

Me and my crew on Wilderness Trek--2000.

Hello, my name is Ashley, and I am a summer camp addict. I've been to so many camps, and spent so many summers at camp that I seriously believe that my experiences with sleep-away summer camps have changed me as a person! Just a few of the various camps I have been to: ACU Leadership Camps (from Learning to Lead starting at 3rd grade, up through Kadesh in High School and then being a group leader at Kadesh in college. Kadesh, without a doubt, changed me. If you don't know....I just can't explain Kadesh. :)), Wilderness Trek (one word...awesome-ness), Sports camps (volleyball and softball), Camp Koinania, Camp Deer Run, Camp in Austin--don't remember the name--...and others I probably am leaving out. I miss camps so much and I can't WAIT to send our kiddos to camp someday. Do you think they have summer camps for adults??

*Good Watermelon:

I am a watermelon purist. No salt please! There is nothing better than the taste of perfect watermelon (preferably seedless!) in the summer. I pass by the sliced watermelon all fall and winter longing for when it comes back in season. Can't wait!

*Sonic's Cherry Ocean Water:
Yep--the blue stuff. Actually mine is usually purple since I add the cherry flavor. I hear all it is is basically Sprite with coconut (and cherry) flavoring, but to me, its "Summer in a Cup". It tastes like how summer smells and feels to me. Maybe its the coconut. :) I've had one so far thanks to Happy Hour and look forward to many more!!

*Longer Days:
Days that I'm off = more time to play outside. I grew up going on vacations and hearing my Dad say, "We still have 15 minutes of daylight! Lets get going!" We always made use of every summer minute and I love it.
Days I'm working = SO nice to get off work and see the sunlight at some point during the day. In winter, I go to work in the dark and leave in the dark.

*Sandals/ Flip Flops
Simply put, I LIVE in sandals and flip flops in the summer. If you know me, you know this. Last summer I finally did give in and buy some nicer casual sandals (thank you Ann Taylor outlet!) as opposed to Target flip flops in every color of the rainbow. Either way, I despise wearing "real" shoes when its warm out...other than athletic shoes. :)

*Cajun Cones
An Abilene staple. If you have not ever had a chance to enjoy a Cajun Cone during the hot, dry summers in Abilene, you are surely missing out. (And P.S. How is there NOT a picture of C.C. anywhere in Google?) Sure, one might just think that its another sno-cone place, but no....with flavors like "I Don't Know, But its Good", "Pickle Juice", "Silver Fox" (Matt's fav), and others...its not just your typical hut. Although its been a few years since I last enjoyed a summer time Cajun Cone, I hope to renew my love for it this summer! :)

*Swimming / Water Parks:

Fun pic from one of my FAVORITE places to swim...Grand Cayman 2007

I'm a water baby. My mom tells a story about one swimming experience very early in life. She's gonna kill me for telling this online! Love you Mom! I was probably close to 1 year old. We were at the local swimming pool, and my mom was watching my sister doing some trick in the water from the edge of the pool where she was letting me put my feet in. As my mom is watching her, she realizes I'm not right underneath her like I had been. She looks down and there I am....at the bottom of the pool. Not in distress of ANY kind. I was just sitting at the bottom....blowing bubbles and perfectly happy. Of course, she grabs me out and apparently all I did was sputter a bit...but from then on, I have basically been part fish. :) I was in the water all summer, swam on a swimming team, and had summer passes to the local water park as a kid. I also taught swimming lessons one summer. Best tan I EVER had! :)

So that's my list. Any other summer lovers?? What's on yours? What do you love about spring/summer??

Does it GET any cuter??

2010-03-05T21:25:00.002-06:00

I think NOT. I mean, REALLY, need I say more???
(My 5 1/2 month old niece, Finley, on a shopping outing today.)

Just Like New!

2010-02-13T21:30:00.009-06:00

We love our house. We love how cozy it is. We love how easy it is to entertain here. We love the warmth. We always have. The one thing we have NOT always loved was our grossly decorated kitchen. Since the moment we step foot in this house knowing that it would be ours (we bought it from some great friends), I have said, "Love the house, hate the kitchen." I have been wanting to get rid of THIS look for a long time....

BEFORE: (At least we did have new appliances already when we took this picture. If you can't tell, the countertops are gray formica....and the formica extends up onto the walls to meet the cabinets.)
But now.....
In the past couple of weeks, we have totally made over our kitchen and we L-O-V-E it. It is exactly what we had always dreamed of having our kitchen looked like. When I came home from work to see my new kitchen, I actually jumped up and down! :) We are so pleased with this and would you believe that this entire transformation took a TOTAL of 3 work days (1.5 for the cabinets and 1.5 for the countertops and backsplash).
We have spent much time in our new kitchen just staring at it, unable to believe that its actually ours.
So without further ado, here it is!!

AFTER:

Plus a good close-up of the backsplash, too.

So....what do you think? You probably didn't jump up and down like me...
Come see it in person...come see us!! We are definitely OPEN to having lots of people over now and can't wait to have dinner here together soon!

2 Posts in One Day?!?

2010-01-15T20:39:00.002-06:00

I know, crazy, huh? I go for months with no posts and then you get 2 in one day!? :) I told you I was getting back on the blogging bandwagon!
Anyway, for those of you that aren't part of the Facebooking world, I wanted to make sure you took a second to jump over to my photoblog to see more of the photos from Adam and Laura's shoot. Don't miss them!! (And be sure to see my other post below--Favorite Things Friday!)

Favorite Things Friday

2010-01-15T13:52:00.002-06:00

Once again I'm taking inspiration from others for my post. Today, I'm borrowing the idea of starting Favorite Things Friday as a couple of fellow ACU-er's have been doing and I really enjoy the idea. This week, the theme was "Bath and Body Products", and usually I'm not one for especially loving anything enough in this category to "endorse" it. I'm a grocery-store makeup buyin' kind-a girl but there are just a few things that I do have to pass on to you:

Sugar Lemon Body Lotion by FRESH

This first product is probably my MOST favorite thing in my bathroom. It was a gift from my aunt a few years ago and now I cannot live without it..."Fresh" is the absolute best word to explain this lotion. It is very light (I loathe greasy lotions!) and has the most wonderful light, fresh, slightly lemony scent. I use it as my facial moisturizer as well as an all-over lotion. Fresh actually does make a whole line of products including a sugar body scrub and multiple other things, as well as a new scent "Sugar Lychee" or something along those lines, but the Lemon remains my fav. It is a bit pricey just for lotion ($28 for 10 oz or something) but definitely worth every penny.

Mary Kay Eyesicles Eye Color: Vanilla

My mom sells Mary Kay on the side and encouraged me to try this eye enhancer. Its not so much of a shadow, but it adds a shimmery lightness to your eyes. I really enjoy using this especially for when I want to dress up my eye makeup a little bit.

Burberry Brit Sheer Perfume

This is my very favorite perfume. The scent is hard to describe....hmm, florally with a light spice is the best I've got. :) I found this last Christmas and got it as a gift and it took over for my old favorite (Ralph Lauren Romance--which I do still love). I don't like super strong perfumes (as you can tell probably by the fact that I love a light-scented lotion)...and this one is great. It has a definite scent, but its not overpowering. I try to ration it so I don't run out too quickly, but its great for everyday or dressing up. :)

So thats it for this week of Favorite Things Friday! What do you love??

In Entertainment News...

2010-01-13T17:30:00.003-06:00

Let me start by saying that I am most DEFINITELY on "Team Jay".

I won't make a big long, drawn out statement about how I have never thought Conan was funny.

I won't go on and on about how I just don't get why the "invisible string dance" is funny (although Matt laughs hysterically at this particular part of his show).
I won't describe to the lengths at which I HATE the "in the year 2000" skit....

...Or will I discuss that the only part of his show I could bring myself to watch was the celebrity interviews where, for 0.23 seconds, he acted like a normal human being.

...Or that I' m not sad at all that he's going.

I'll just say that I'm glad NBC decided to hold onto Jay Leno and that we'll still (hopefully) get to see more Headlines (a personal fav) and JayWalking. :)

That is all...you may now return to your regularly scheduled Late Night watching. :)

Back on the Wagon

2010-01-09T21:24:00.008-06:00

So....with Chelsie making a post commemorating her 300th post, I decided that I have officially fallen off the blogging 'wagon' and that I need to get back on. I love reading everyone's blog but just never take the time to update my own, so here we go! :) HANG IN there till the end of this post to see a preview of the amazing photo shoot with Adam and Laura... But first, a few things to get some ends tied up:

*CAN'T believe I left my 2 readers left :) hanging about what our upcoming trip is for this year. I gave some clues and never gave the answer...so without further delay...we're going here:

to Banff, Alberta, Canada!!!

This photo is actually a photo of the resort we're staying at called the Rimrock. We are absolutely so excited. We're going in May as an early 5th anniversary trip. Matt has been twice, but I have never been to Canada at all. We have lots of wonderful things planned: white water rafting, hiking, and other lots of outdoorsy stuff! :) Isn't it gorgeous?? If anyone has ever been here, we're looking for other fun things to do or places to eat so suggestions are welcome!

*With that said...its important to note my latest purchase...which I am ANXIOUSLY waiting to arrive:

The Sony HDR-CX100 ACVHDHD Camcorder with Smile Shutter & 10x Optical Zoom.

AHH! I am SO super excited. I cannot wait to have this in my hands for all the trips to come, kiddos in the future to record, not to mention recording just the dog! (Our dog is at a great stage in life of running and leaping to chase a tennis ball. I want to have this on video when he's an old guy or gone on to doggie heaven and we want to remember him just this way he is now!) :) So many great things to catch. Truth be told, I REALLY wanted the Canon HD camcorder, but at a current ticket price of nearly $800, I figured that this great little alternative would be the next best choice! :) Once I figure it out, I will definitely post something fun!

*Christmas and New Years were both great! We spend Christmas Eve with Matt's family and Christmas Day and the following weekend with mine in Southlake. A few pictures from Christmas Day:

Avery and my dad

Me with my uncle Don, Mom, and niece, Finley just before we sat down to dinner. (Mom figured out what I was doing just before the picture snapped. :))
Me and my honey celebrating our 10th Christmas together!

Unfortunately, these are the only pics I got from the weekend and I didn't catch any from New Years but we had a great time celebrating with some folks from our Sunday school class at the Hendricks! Good times!

*Still loving my job and am officially off my probationary period (where I no longer have a "babysitter" for lack of better words, but am now working on my own with my own patients). I know I say this every time I talk about work, but I could not be happier. Of course I have frustrations with my job (like everyone does) but spending my days bringing babies into the world makes me SO happy. Let me just say to anyone out there in the blog universe that questions their day job, and wonders "Do people actually go to work everyday HAPPY and enjoy their job?"...YES, it is true. You too can love your work. If you don't love your work....DON'T stay in it for whatever reason you have brought into your mind. I had all those excuses too...(I don't have the education to do that, and I can't go back to school NOW!; There is NO way we can live on one salary while I work on finding the job I love!; blah, blah, blah....YOU CAN.) Trust me...and you can even ask my husband...I am SO much happier in this "business", and I am enjoying my life in general so much. Now, on a less serious note: hey, pregnant friends of mine (all girls who are or plan on being moms)...I get asked questions a lot about things L&D nurses notice/care about or don't; i.e. pedicured toenails, shaved legs, things that do (or don't) happen when you push, etc. etc. etc....feel free to ask...usually the answer is "No, unless something is REALLY funky, we don't even notice." :) :) HA!

*Finally, check back soon here and to my photo blog for my new favorites in photography...pictures of Adam and Laura as they anxiously await the arrival of their TWINS! They are both so photogenic and we had such a beautiful day to take them. Stay tuned...but enjoy the preview for now. :)

Thanks for sticking around! Would love to know who's still around to check out the daily (or more like monthly :)) happenings around our house! I'll be better, I promise! :) Hope your 2010 has started off with much joy!

Not to be missed!

2009-11-29T20:25:00.002-06:00

Head over to my photo blog to check out more pics from this set. This photo of grandmother and granddaughter is one of my new favorites. LOVE it! :)

Not ME Mondays!

2009-11-16T21:54:00.002-06:00

A friend from my high school youth group, Amy, has been doing a weekly post called Not Me Mondays, and since I enjoy reading the comedic honesty in it so much....I'm borrowing it to use for myself. Thanks Amy! :)

Not ME...never would I do things I don't really plan to fess up about. Never would I make a whole POST about those things that I never intended to fess up about.
Never:
*Would I act as though something doesn't work properly, when in all reality, I KNOW its me doing something wrong...just so that I don't look stupid in front of the patients, and then be TOTALLY relieved when my preceptor can't get it to work either...and THEN be completely embarrassed when the patient's husband actually helps us solve the "broken" problem. No way! Not me.

*Would I continue to feed my dog food at bedtime because I know it will keep him busy just because its so late and I don't feel like going outside to play some more...never.

*Would I buy myself a (gorgeous!!!) coat that I HAD to have with money I don't yet have? No way. Would I go ahead and buy said coat knowing that I have Christmas spending money coming my way and promise to reimburse my account once that money comes in for real? Nope.

*Would I attempt to make up an excuse for why I'm running a few (seriously, <10) minutes late to work allllll the way driving in to work and then be really happy when nobody really even cared that I was a few minutes behind? Mayyybe.

*Would I plan to go to a class for work for 3 MONTHS, not realizing that I had scheduled myself for the WRONG DAY all along? Then, would I be shocked when my boss calls on the day it ACTUALLY was, asking why I wasn't there? No way. Then, would I have to slink into the back row of a (small) class 2 1/2 HOURS late. Uh uh. And finally, would I check and recheck my schedule this time to make sure I don't miss part 2 tomorrow? Absolutely not.

And finally,
*Would I rationalize having dessert at dinner on Friday night by thinking about the fact that Friday was a really busy day and I probably burned off most of those calories (right?) ...plus took into account that I ate a Lean Cuisine for lunch....just so that I could eat that dessert (I mean, really...just try passing up a warm Pizookie from BJ's!) without guilt? No way. :)
___________________________________________________________________

For those few of you who are not part of those within earshot of me, singing my hallelujahs since I heard the news....I got "days" at work. WAHOO! I have been so blessed to receive this truly coveted position and I am continuously grateful to God for allowing it to work out.

Getting SO excited about the holidays--minus the fact that I have to work on Thanksgiving Day. I think, more than the food, I'm most upset about not getting to sit and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv with my family. SO bummed. I plan on having someone Tivo it for me, but I know it won't be the same. :( Oh well...at least I DO get to be off all of Christmas, so I am very excited about that.

Got to see my niece, Avery, when she came to spend the weekend with my Mom, Dad and us 2 weekends ago. Had a fabulous time! Got to see the baby, Finley, for a short period when we went to take Avery back to her mommy and I am SO excited that I get to see them this weekend coming up too! :)

Ok...guess thats all for now. Gotta get ready to go that class tomorrow! Have a great week!

New Post

2009-10-18T22:27:00.003-05:00

Head over to my photo blog to get a glimpse of the Gonzales Fam. :) You all were beautiful!

Blog Neglector

2009-10-13T21:59:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone (that is still interested enough to come around to check out my blog...:)) Sorry I have been a major blog neglector in the last couple of months. I would love to say that its because I have just been too busy with all these amazing things to blog, but really....its just that life, post nursing school, is really just rather...normal! :) So here's a quick (no-pic-this-time) synopsis of whats been happening lately:

*Work is still great. I love my job. Yes, we do have hard days but mostly, our days consist of bringing a new baby (or 2!) into a family that is SO excited to meet them. I am rather bummed because I will be switching from days (on which I have been training) to nights (for which I was hired). I put in a request to move to days very soon after I started working, so prayers that a spot on days opens up for me SOON are MUCH appreciated. Why do I not wanna work nights? Obviously the sleep issue, plus the not-getting-to-see-the-husband thing, plus you have to work more weekends on night shift because they are currently short 2 people. Stink. All that said, I really do feel like I'm getting the hang of this complicated thing called the labor and delivery of a baby. Some people have asked me what a normal day is like. Well, I can give you a general idea of how my last day at work went...
2 boys and a girl born (with my help :)) during this 12 hour shift. 1 c-section, 2 natural. One long delivery, one VERY short.
Things I do during my day: start IV's and draw blood for lab work, get consents signed, prep for surgeries, watch a monitor (of baby's heartbeat and mom's contraction pattern), check for dilation, help mom with pushing, take care of baby and mom following delivery...and on and on. Lots of fun.

*We have begun the planning for our next vacation. I'll keep you in suspense until my next post to tell you where. We CAN'T WAIT! We're going in late May. A couple of clues: we'll need coats/not a warm location, we'll need our Pass-a-ports (as Ricky Ricardo called them in "I Love Lucy"). :) Any ideas?

*I have been in the mood to save time/money lately. This has lead me to change internet plans, electric companies and my doctor. I'll let you know if changing helps! :)

*Jake the dog celebrated his 4th birthday. Still crazy, but I can't imagine our little family without him. He was at Matt's parents the day of his birthday and they celebrated by giving him some "Frosty Paws"--ice cream for dogs. (Yes, that really exists.) He loves it at their house. :)

*Precious Finley turned one month old yesterday. My college friend, Taylor (Stewart) Jackson is an AMAZING photographer and will be taking their family pictures this Friday. I cannot WAIT to see them. :) I'll post the link once she puts them up.

*We're spending time this weekend with the Musslemans. This family is the one that: I babysat with from the time that their (now 12 year old) daughter was 7 months old; let me bring my boyfriend (my now, precious husband) over to babysit with me (everyone thought they were CRAZY to let a girl in high school bring her boyfriend over to babysit); use to be the owners of our house that we now live in; are great mentors and friends. I'm so stinkin' excited!

*I'll post new pics soon on my photography website. Its fallen off the radar lately! Soon there will be pics of the super cute Gonzales Family, and some pics I'm taking this weekend of the Hendricks extended family. :) Can't wait.

Hope everyone is doing well. More pics will come soon! Have a great week!

Our New Little Love

2009-09-12T20:59:00.004-05:00

First off, some of you shouldn't even try and pretend that you didn't click as quickly as possible to this blog when you read that title, thinking you might see news about a new little one in the Lee family. :) Sorry...not this time. :)

Last weekend, our family welcomed a precious little girl! Meet my new niece, Finley Erin was born! She is 9 lb 3 oz and 21 inches of beauty. We enjoyed a great weekend with my family and I have spent the better part of this week up with my sister and her family helping to take care of Finley's older sister, Avery, while her mommy and daddy were still "at the doctor" (as Avery called it) with new baby Finley.

Soon I'll post a few of the pics I took of her before I came home...but here are just 2 for now.

And of course, Big Sister, Avery.

Marathon Post

2009-08-17T15:35:00.016-05:00

Instead of doing each of these things as their own post, I decided to combine them...so get ready for my super long post. :) Things posted will be: Jodi's Birthday Party, Our Shower Renovation, and Erica's Wedding!! Hang on!

TOPIC #1:
On Aug. 5th, we celebrated the birthday of our sweet friend, Jodi! We had a great time of fellowship and fajitas! BIG thanks to my husband for allllll the work he did getting ready for the party and preparing all the food (since I was still at work that day and didn't come home until after the party had already started!). We had a wonderful time and were so blessed to get to celebrate a great day and a great friend!

The partiers: (Please excuse my disheveled look--yes, I'm still in my scrubs!)

April, Jodi and Blythe

We definitely had a house full of little girlie girls! (Plus one more...precious Sarabeth didn't make it in this pic!)

TOPIC #2: The Shower Renovation

This is our gorgeous master bath. I love it.

This was the shower BEFORE. I HATED it.

During:
And....AFTER!!!!!

Closer up: Notice the cut-out shelf and (look closely to see) my shaving step about 12 inches from the floor! See where the diagonal cut is on the floor?..that's it.2 more shelves, plus its kinda hard to see the border detail, but its roses...we love it.The whole renovation was an ordeal in itself (including them getting about 30% finished and having to START OVER!!!)...but in the end, its beautiful!

TOPIC #3: Erica's Wedding
...Was beautiful!! She was (of course) a beautiful bride and we had a ton of fun that day. The weather was perfect, the food was wonderful and the couple was glowing. I don't have a ton of pictures from that day, but here are just a few.

The gorgeous bride and me. :)

It was SO good to see all my nursing school friends again!! Everyone looked so beautiful. I had a great time catching up with them! Wish I could see you ALL more often!

So sad that I didn't get a good pic of me and the husband at her wedding...someone accidentally left my camera at home. Boo. But picture or not, we had a great time. Congrats, Erica and David!

At least I had a few good pics to go along with it! Other news with us: Now working in my rotation in postpartum. Don't love it as much as I did nursery, but its still good and I'm looking forward to heading onto L&D starting in September. Also...we're just 4+- weeks to meeting our new niece!!

Thanks for sticking in there for my super long post!

New Picture Post!

2009-08-10T17:22:00.003-05:00

Make sure to visit my photography blog for my latest photo op...maternity pictures my beautiful sister with her family! :)

This Face!

2009-07-31T17:10:00.003-05:00

How could anyone resist it?? :) Not much of a post today---but I just HAD to put this picture up. I love it too much!

Can't wait to see her tomorrow! I'm headed up to take maternity pics for my sis--only 7 weeks until we meet Avery's little sister! Have a great weekend!

Always. Sometimes. Never.

2009-07-24T21:52:00.006-05:00

I ALWAYS ...

thank God for the fact that my job includes helping people welcome new babies into their family.

make Poppy Seed Chicken (minus the poppy seeds, AKA "Chicken A La Yum" in my house) for families with new babies.

prefer regular over diet ANYTHING. I would rather get less of the regular than be able to have more of the diet.

have to have milk with cookies.

have been better at finding bargains in regular stores, rather than getting "great finds" in discount stores.

do the grocery shopping for our household.

would rather be wearing sandals than 'real' shoes.

miss Kadesh every July when K3 week comes around. (Kadesh is a life-changing summer camp at ACU for high schoolers. I was a camper as a teen and a group leader when I was in college.)

I SOMETIMES ...

leave the dinner dishes in the sink "soaking" overnight (or the next whole day).

enjoy doing a swim workout more than a gym workout.

wish I wasn't this tall.

wonder if the "twins" gene will carry through to my generation like its suppose to.

plan my dinner eating in order to be able to get dessert (and have done this since I was a small child).

miss going to Chapel at ACU everyday. I miss the singing.

think it would be fun to do the photography thing as a "real" business. :)

wonder if I gave up my chance to be really GREAT at one something because I was so busy being ok with just being 'ok' or 'good' at a bunch of things.

I NEVER ...

thought I would meet my future husband at my high school.

knew how much love I could feel for my niece (soon to be nieces)!!

thought I would end up owning the home I grew up babysitting in. :)

eat: Brussels sprouts, (or sprouts of ANY sort), asparagus, sauerkraut, really stinky cheeses, sushi, or anything with a main flavor of vinegar (dressings, chips, etc.)

doubt my move to nursing.

enjoy getting up early. (early = before 8.)--That is unless we're boarding a plane for a vacation. See the next sentence....

could be on a vacation with Matt for too long. Our vacations always go by too fast.

get tired of hearing the words, "I love you." from my husband.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?!?!
(post inspired by various ACU friends.)

Wedding Idea for a Bride to Be

2009-07-23T16:19:00.005-05:00

I had a great time this past Saturday at a Bachelorette Party for my friend and soon-to-be-a-bride friend, Erica. Here we are just before going out to dinner in downtown.

As it gets closer to her wedding (August 8th!!), I am trying to be a good friend and bridesmaid and help in any way I can. Well, in the spirit of that thinking, I came across this video today and had a few thoughts:
1. HILARIOUS.
2. Guests surely would NOT forget this wedding.
3. Think about how much fun a reception would be with a start like this.
So....I sent it to her as "food for thought". Although I know she'd never do this in a MILLION years...it was definitely worth a look and worth a few minutes of your attention. You'll notice...you don't have to sacrifice a beautiful church wedding for a great entrance. It will make you wish you had gotten to be there or be part of that wedding party. Ha! :) Enjoy!!

New Post and a NEW SITE!

2009-07-05T20:39:00.008-05:00

Hey everyone!
Sorry its been so long since I have last posted. Enjoying the last part of my time off and then getting started with my new job has taken over my blogging time!
I wanted to let you all know that I am now launching my new photography site. It will now hold all the posts that are photography related. Please feel free to jump over there to see the new post with the newborn photos of Blythe!!
Catch the link here or through the link on the side of my blog. Thanks!! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since I last updated, I have started my new job as I said. I love, LOVE my new job. Although I was hired as a labor and delivery nurse, they have started me out in the newborn nursery (also called the Well Baby Nursery). It is so-much-fun. :) I now take over most of the care for 1-2 patients (after just a week) and have been given the opportunity to start doing my own "transitions". In the nursery that means that I get to do all the care for baby that has just been born. Everything from the first assessment and first bath, to medications and monitoring. I really enjoy it and can't wait to do even more as the weeks go by. I'm also loving the schedule...3 days a week (12 hour shifts) is WONDERFUL and I really enjoy the time during the week to get things done!

In addition to work, Matt and I had a FABULOUS time during our mini vacation to Lake Travis. We got to rent a jet-ski, eat some amazing food, shop a little, go to the movies and just enjoy our time in the Hill Country. I can't believe I only took a couple of pictures during the weekend...but here are just a few.
Here we are about to head to dinner at a place called Eddie V's. SO yummy. We followed that up with cheesecake to go from Cheesecake Factory and we enjoyed that on our balcony overlooking Lake Travis.
Here is the view from our balcony! So beautiful!
This is at the vineyard and restaurant at the Trattioria Lisina owned by the Mandola family who owns Carrabba's...one of our very favorite restaurants. If we hadn't just STUFFED ourselves at The Salt Lick (yum!), we definitely would have had dinner there. Hopefully on our next trip.
Finally, we ended our trip with a night at Matt's family farm near College Station. We took a very hot "Memory Lane tour around A&M and had some great food at Cheddars...a place we ALWAYS ate at when I came to visit him during college. Overall, the weekend was wonderful. We enjoy ourselves more each time we go and I can't wait to go back.

And finally, here are a couple of pics from the night we went to see Fiddler on the Roof. I realized that I never did update on it. It was an AMAZING show and Topol did not disappoint!
Here we are before the show got started
I couldn't believe how good this picture turned out! This is the cast at the very end! :)

Thats all for now! Head on over to my new blog to catch the new pics I recently took of Blythe!
Have a great week!!

Update as promised...almost.

2009-06-11T20:38:00.007-05:00

I know that most of you who read this are just waiting for the update to see the pictures of precious baby Blythe...but for now, I can only post one because I do not want to risk ruining my sweet friend's birth announcements of her daughter by posting a picture she might want to use on here. So, for now, here is a sneak peak at one to tide you over. :)

Also, I have to say that the Hurst Review, (the test review for the NCLEX, the nursing board exam) apparently went very well because I found out today that I PASSED!!!!!! I have officially joined the ranks of my mother and mother-in-law and friends in saying that I am a Registered Nurse. Woohoo!! Now, I just get to relax and enjoy the last week and 1/2 that I have left until work begins.

I also had to post the picture of the lunch my nursing school friends and I had a few weeks ago just before our friend Kylie moved to Dallas to start her job. We had a great lunch together and even though we've only been apart for about 2 weeks, it seems like forever since our group spent nearly every single day together for the past year!
Here we are at our "see you later" lunch. Can't wait to get together again soon! Miss you!

And last but not least, today is Matt and my 4th wedding anniversary. I won't go into a sappy monologue about how wonderful the past 4 years (plus the 5 1/2 years before we got married) have been. I'll just say that I am so blessed to get to spend everyday with my best friend. Here is one of my very favorite pictures from the day. It is now printed on a large canvas and hanging over our fireplace. :)

Looking forward to this weekend...celebrating my birthday with a visit from my sister and niece!! Have a great Friday everyone!

Segway to an update!

2009-05-29T14:32:00.006-05:00

My next post will be one that completes or explains these things:

This is the FIRST picture I took with all my nursing school friends together in one place:

And next time, I'll tell more about our last full get together for a while...

Also, I'll tell you how my time with this... is going!

Also, my next post will tell you more about our experience tomorrow night with...

And finally, my next post will give you a sneak peek to the pictures I took of the little one who use to call this belly home. Can you guess who??

Stay Tuned!! :)

Life These Days...

2009-05-20T19:49:00.009-05:00

...has been FANTASTIC! :) I have finally adjusted to being out of school, and back in real life (just in time to get BACK to studying for the NCLEX. Ha!). Sorry there has been such a delay in posting pictures from Pinning (the ceremony I was talking about in my last blog) and graduation. They were both great and went off without a hitch. So, here are a few of the pictures I have from Pinning. Unfortunately, we didn't get a good pic of Matt actually putting the pin on me, but here are some other great pics from the ceremony.
This first one is a GREAT pic of my precious nursing school friends (minus Susie)---with whom I would not have survived school without!

This was my favorite teacher during school, Stephanie Meyers. She was the OB professor (which is probably part of the reason I liked the class so much) but she was also just a very easy, "non-teachery" person to talk to. She let us just talk (about the ups AND downs!) :) and treated us like normal folks, not lowly students!

Me and my super-cute hubby!

And finally a great picture of me and my parents.

The next night (the actual night of graduation) we ate at The Grove in Discovery Green first, which made it a really easy walk over to the convention center where graduation was. (Not too many pics from graduation...everyone's pictures came out too dark!) But the "nurses" picture had to be included! This is my mom (a nurse) and my mother-in-law (a nurse) and me (a grad nurse :)).

Then afterwards, we all went over and had some YUMMY beignets at my favorite place here in town. Our friends, the Landes, made the trip out to graduation and dessert with their precious little Sarabeth in tow! Thanks again you three!! :)

It was definitely a great weekend of celebration and we had a lot of fun! :)

Since then, I have spent my days:
-working out
-going shopping
-watching movies
-cleaning house
-finishing the paint job I started in the bathroom in MARCH!
-caught up on laundry
-organizing closets and cabinets
-taken the dog to the park
-gotten together with friends (yea!)
-And today, I started my NCLEX studying. I take the test during the second week of June and I will be SO happy to have it over with!

Other than just studying and continuing to enjoy my time off, I'm thinking about making a trip up to Dallas (you probably could have predicted that one!) and playing with them when they come down here!
We are also in the works of planning a small mini-vacation (just somewhere in Texas) before I head to work.

Thanks again for all the love and "Congrats!" over the past few weeks. I have appreciated every single one of them. Hope you've been enjoying the little cool breeze we've had over the past few days as much as I have!
Looking forward to this weekend, time with both of our families along with some GREAT food and even a movie or two! Happy Memorial Day! :)

It is Finished!!

2009-05-06T18:02:00.010-05:00

Finished. Done. Finito. Completed. Ended. Persevered. Accomplished. Carried through. Reached the goal.

Nursing School is OVER.

I don't know that I can really believe it yet. I took my last final yesterday afternoon (made a 98!!--finished off with a bang!) and passed my ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) class this morning. Whew. I told some friends yesterday at a softball game that the best way to describe it is waking up after being asleep for a year. Life has gone on, children have aged and you find yourself looking around trying to get your bearings on life OUTSIDE school. I am so, so excited to get back to life and doing things I haven't had time to do this past year...everything from finishing the unfinished paint job in our bathroom (started March 23!!) to going to the movies and attending Sunday School class functions. Although I will continue to study for the NCLEX and prepare myself to start a new job, I know that I can now breathe and enjoy my life! :)

I just want to thank each and every one of you that have cheered me on, said prayers, helped me stay connected to my real life and given encouragement to me during this past year. It really has made a difference and I am so grateful to each of you.

Tomorrow is "Pinning". A ceremony started by the first nurse, Florence Nightingale, symbolizing a graduate nurse's transition into the profession. Sort of a right-of-passage thing. The pin is meant to show where you graduated from. Here is what mine will look like. The cool part is that you get to have someone "pin" you. Someone that has helped you during school and has been a big part of your success and life. Of course, Matt will be doing mine. :)

Friday will be fun with dinner before graduation with the fam at a fun new restaurant near where graduation will be. Then of course is the ceremony. Afterwards we're all going to my favorite dessert place that makes beignets! :) Should be a good day. I'll post pictures, I'm sure.

Hope everyone is having a good week. Thanks SO much again for everything. I have THE best friends and family. I am so blessed.

Blog of a Different Sort

2009-04-23T18:57:00.008-05:00

I started this blog on Thursday...sorry for the lateness of getting it finished! :)

Posting a blog on failure isn't something many people really tend to do. But today, when failure ended and GOD intervened, its just too good to leave alone.

Here's some background: Over the past 2 weeks, I have been plagued by a test called the "HESI". Ideally, it was created as a way for nursing programs to know the likelihood a student passing the nursing board exams called the N-CLEX. One tiiiiny problem with that. It is immensely more difficult and MUCH longer than the NCLEX actually is. The outcome? Students fail and the results show that a student is not likely to pass the test, when in all actually, they will pass it with flying colors. The school gave us 3 chances to pass this test with a score of 850 (roughly 80%) or risk NOT graduating.

Anyway, Test Day #1 came and went. I was less than 30 points away from passing. Test Day #2 came and went. The amount I needed to pass with was about the same. I was told that if I did not pass the next time, I would not be allowed to graduate. Panic ensued.........and God intervened.

I'll admit, the day following test 2, I was a mess. I discounted myself, what I could do and gave God no way to peak in. On day 2, my thoughts and outlook changed. I remembered that God would not have brought me through this program to leave me alone and abandoned at this point. He would not have helped me pass each test, quiz and lab. He would not have given me a job in a department I LOVE...to leave me now.

So this past week has been filled with studying and praying as I prepared for test 3. My sweet husband quizzed me on material and gave up his time to help me get ready. I took 1000 practice tests. So many of my family members told me of the confidence they had in me and I knew going into today that I was ready. When the proctor told me, "Ok, so if you don't pass..." and I stopped her there. I just said, "No! That isn't happening. It's done today." She just kinda gave me a funny look and said, "Ok!"

Starting the 160 question exam was nerve-racking. I got alot of hard questions right off the bat, but I just answered them the best I could. I took a short break every 50 questions and took my time. Nearing question 158 my heart started pounding, and as I pressed "Submit", I started to feel sick. When I saw my score, (about 30 points over the required score) my mind went blank for a second and I sat staring at it realizing that I had done it!!!!! NO, God had done it!!!! He had come through just as He told me He always would. The proctor (who could see the exam progress on her computer) came over to congratulate me and I flew out of there with the greatest sense of elation and relief that I have ever felt in my life.

I cannot tell you the amount of amazing relief I feel after doing this. I called my family who were all SO elated. Poor Matt wanted to scream, "YEAHH!" so loudly but had to muffle it in his office. My sister and niece however, DID give me a big shout out. :) No further explanation needed....God is awesome. This journey continues and He has never left my side. I look at a card my Sunday School class sent me last year as I was waiting to find out if I made it in the program. It has hung on my fridge since then and feel such peace and joy and thanks to the God who makes struggles like this...and successes like this all the more sweet.

"Whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVE that you have received it and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

Maybe not the day of test 2, but soon after, these words just kept going over in my brain and I know them to be true. I walked into that room and I believed that God would carry me through. He did it again. Graduation is in less than 2 weeks and I WILL BE THERE. Praise God.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-08T15:38:00.004-05:00

Well--almost "wordless". Just have to say that I can't believe this little cutie pie will be TWO next week! Love you Avery Kate!! :) I dare you not to smile when you look at her sweet face!

The Blog that Needs No Introduction....

2009-03-24T14:50:00.005-05:00

Say "Hello" to Houston's Next Soon-to-Be LABOR & DELIVERY NURSE....

I GOT A JOB!!!!

I accepted a job today at a hospital close to home in the labor & delivery department. (I am not going to list the hospital's name on here but if you want to know...just ask me in person. Hope you understand! :)) It starts in late June (which gives me a GREAT amount of time off to possibly take a vacation, and to study for AND PASS the NCLEX, the nursing boards). I will be working 3 nights per week (days, while I'm orienting to the unit) and cross-training in all things mother-baby from antepartum to postpartum and nursery. It's less than 20 minutes from my house and I only have to work ONE weekend a month (yea!) and I just cannot tell you how excited I am about the opportunity to work in the unit I've had my sights on since I decided to go to nursing school!! Wanna hear another bonus?--I get to wear whatever scrubs I want!!! :) (If you're not in the medical field, I cannot explain to you the joy I have at knowing that I don't HAVE to wear the same color every single shift. Open-ended scrub shopping will be so much fun! :)) I have felt so clearly lead by God throughout this whole process and I feel so blessed to have so many people cheering me on! I have been sent so many well-wishes and had prayers said on my behalf this past year and words cannot explain how grateful I am for each and every one of them. It seems like SO long ago that I wrote THIS blog, but then again it has gone by so fast. A journal I bought right around the time that I started this adventure has a quote on the front by Henry David Thoreau that says, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined!" I feel like that is exactly what I have been lead to do during these past 2 years since I decided to do this. I look SO forward to what God has in store for me in this career and I can't WAIT to get there.

Spring Break!!

2009-03-10T14:31:00.002-05:00

Whew! Made it to Spring Break!! Wahoo!! T-minus 8 weeks and counting until graduation! I cannot believe it's getting this close...but for now I'm enjoying my week. Today is day 2 of spring break, and here is what I have accomplished so far this week:

*Painted the first coat of paint in the study. (Great new green color! Love it!)
*Worked out
*Grocery shopped
*Laundry
*Raked the entire front yard...6 bags of leaves, wow!
*Fertilized the yard.
*Painted the second coat in the study.
*Walked the dog X 2.
*Mailed the taxes. (Wahoo!!)
*Dinner last night with the hubby at Lupe's. Yum!
*Gotten the oil changed in the car.
*Applied for a graduate nurse position in L&D at another hospital.
*Night shift tonight--7p-7a.

Other than that, I am in the process of packing to head to see my precious niece (and her mommy! :)) tomorrow!!! I have not seen them since New Years and I cannot tell you how excited I am to see them! Here is a picture of the little one with her doggy. How could anyone resist that sweet smile? :)

Have a great Spring Break everyone!!

Coming Soon!!

2009-02-14T17:05:00.009-06:00

I had the great pleasure of spending the afternoon with Jake and Jodi and to take some fun pictures of this couple as they anxiously prepare for the birth of their first baby. This couple is SO sweet and cute and we had such a fun afternoon! Here is your exclusive sneak peek of their pictures...PRE-editing! :)Enjoy! Which is your favorite?? :)

100 Things!

2009-01-31T12:28:00.002-06:00

I saw this on April's blog and thought it would be fun. I love reading other people's lists but I rarely ever do my own! Everything in BOLD are things I've done. Feel free to copy this list to your blog and do the same.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.—Does Jr. High count? :)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.—if you count photography..sort of
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.— Aja got the pleasure of being my roommate during it too!
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.—Working on it!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.—helped, but not on my own yet! :)
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Its more than I thought I would have! Thanks April! :)

Pet Peeve of the Day...

2009-01-30T18:30:00.002-06:00

Single drivers in the HOV lane...

I try very hard to not use my blog as a soapbox, but this one just eats me up...so just today, I'm gonna share this pet peeve of mine. :) With nursing school, I have to drive into the Med Center anywhere from 2-5 times a week. For those of you unfamiliar with Houston, that means getting on the freeway (I-45) that has traffic no matter what time of day you drive on it. With little traffic, it takes about 30 minutes to get there. With lots, it can take upwards of an hour or more. My friend, Erica, and I drive the HOV anytime we go down there together, and lament the times we have to sit in the traffic. SO...It drives me absolutely BONKERS when I see people driving ALONE in the HOV lane!!! Today, I was driving towards the Med Center around 3pm and I started noticing that almost every 3rd car had someone completely alone inside. Poor Erica, when she drives us, she has to listen to me saying, "Look!! They're ALONE! Oh my gosh, they're alone too!" Poor girl. :)
As a sidebar: I don't really think its fair for motorcycles or parents with children to be considered ok in the HOV lane...driving your children is a necessity, it's not taking a car off the road.

I am definitely a rule follower, and would never be able to do it, and it ends up making me crazy because its like those people are saying, "Yes, I know I'm breaking the rules, but my time is more valuable than yours, so you can sit and wait, while I drive right on by." Follow the rules People!!! Is it just me or is anyone else nutty too?? Haha!

Annnnnd breeeeathe. Whew! Thanks for letting me vent!! :)

On a happier note...its Friday!! Have a great weekend everyone! Next blog...happier, I promise! :)

The Answers to So Many Prayers...

2009-01-26T11:51:00.008-06:00

All my life, I have prayed for a group of girlfriends to call on. God provided for me with these ladies when I first went to college...

And now, He has continued to provide. God has given me so many great friends during these years since I left ACU. Here is the group that helps me get through the daily ins and outs of nursing school. These girls are wonderful and I am truly blessed to call them my friends. This is from Erica's engagement party this weekend. (She's next to me in black.) Don't I have gorgeous friends??? :) Love you girls!!

God is so good. And while I miss the girls from the top pic VERY much...I know that our friendships will always be there...just like I know they will be with the girls in the bottom pic!!

Overdue Update

2009-01-21T16:48:00.009-06:00

I have probably lost all the once-faithful readers I had due to my lack of updating. Sorry...nursing school and the holiday season does that to a blog. :) So I'm hoping to redeem myself now with a true update about me, even though I know some of you love when I post pictures I've taken of other people! :) Trust me, there are more of those to come whenever I take precious Jodi's maternity pictures next month!

Anyway, we had a fabulous holiday season and break from nursing school. Yes, the nursing school break was Matt's as well. He gained a fully-attentive wife back for a month or so! :)
We spent Thanksgiving (yes, my January update is including Thanksgiving!) at my sister's house in Southlake. We relaxed, had great food and gained our official Avery nicknames, Bat and Sash. We spent the end of Thanksgiving weekend in North Zulch with Matt's family as always. Jake may have had more fun than us, but it was a great weekend. Can't wait to spend this year's Thanksgiving with another new little GIRL cousin! (Congrats Davey and Sarah!)
Here are a few photos from that weekend:
My beautiful sister with "the bird" she worked so hard on!

Love this picture of Avery in her super cute dress from our Aunt Kris!

Me and Litte Miss Kate watching "Poooooh" :)

Havin' a blast with the 4-wheeler on Matt's family farm.

And the dog who was too excited to be there to stop barking for a picture!! :)

After Thanksgiving, I finished up my 2nd semester in nursing school and was looking forward to a long full month off! I saw movies, watched tv, went shopping, worked out and spent some time helping my engaged nursing school friend, Erica, plan some parts of her wedding! SO fun! :) We also spent Christmas mostly with Matt's family this year, but did go to see Marley and Me with my parents on Christmas Night. Great movie...but definitely a tear-jerker! (Those of you who know how interesting life with Jake has been, especially when he was a puppy can probably understand why!)Wouldn't you know that I didn't take a single picture during Christmas!?? Sorry!! Trust me, it was great. I do have one picture. Probably one of my new favorites of Matt and I. It was the runner-up for our Christmas card this year! :) (No its not our house, its my sister's gorgeous place!)

Since we didn't get to spend Christmas with my family, we decided to go up to see my sister again at New Years! We had a fabulous time! My dad made homemade beignets...SO yummy, we played cards and definitely took time to take sweet Avery to the park...her most favorite place! :)
Here is my mom helping out with the beignets!

Now, the real world has begun again and I am officially in my last semester of nursing school. Ahh! Craziness! This semester, I am in Pediatrics (with clinical rotations every Sunday until April), Critical Care Nursing (with 11 12-hour shifts to complete in ICU sometime between now and May), Community Health nursing (clinicals every Friday working with school nurses :)) and a "critical synthesis" class that is helping to prepare us for the Nursing board exams. Whew! I really will be anxious to be a part of so many different environments this semester and I'm sure I'll learn a TON! :)

2009 is going to bring so many great times...from graduations and weddings to the birth of new babies (NOT OURS! :)) and so many other new things that we don't even know about yet. We are so blessed with everything we have and everyone who we call friends!

Thanks to those of you who are still reading this post...or my blog in general! :) Hope your New Years is off to a good start.

New Life

2008-12-30T22:34:00.005-06:00

I have attached a link to a small portion of a sermon that I was blessed to witness while visiting my sister's church in the Dallas area this past summer. I am in awe every time I watch it and I am amazed by the stories of the new life that each of these people have through Christ. If you haven't yet heard of or watched "Cardboard Testamonies"...please take a few minutes to see it now. It's awesome.

http://www.rhchurch.org/pages/cardboard-testimonies

I Made It!!!

2008-12-18T21:59:00.031-06:00

Prelude Note: STICK THROUGH TO THE END OF THIS MARATHON POST!! Its worth it, I promise!! :)

Now that I just submitted my final assignment for the semester, I can officially say that! We made it through the semester and I am SO looking forward to nearly a month off! Woo hoo!! I know some people have been waiting for a new post to see their beautiful faces on my blog, so I'm busting into the holiday season with a peek at some of the MANY Christmas Card Family Photos I have taken lately!!! Here's a shout out to all these great families who have been so patient with me in finishing up their pictures while finals have been going on! Thanks!!

I should actually call this post "Blog o' Favs" because there are so many pictures in here that I am so pleased with. I can't pick an absolute favorite, because ALL of these people/babies/kiddos look so beautiful, but one of my favorite pictures I've taken so far is in store at the end...
So... away we go!!

Now a few more from a separate shoot with the PRECIOUS Jackson girls!!

THANK YOU for sticking in! :) And now, here it is...one of my most favorite pictures taken so far!! :)

Hope you enjoyed my Christmas Hall of Fame!

So, which ones do YOU like?? :)

You See it First!

2008-11-15T14:53:00.009-06:00

Here is a very EARLY preview of some of the portraits I took this morning of our friends, the Cortez's and their sweet baby girl. I have only played with editing a few...but here is a sneak preview. What do you think so far?? Isn't she beautiful?!

Not Much to Say...

2008-11-13T18:14:00.003-06:00

Here comes one of those blogs that doesn't really have much news...so sorry...next week will be better! :)

L&D is going FANTASTIC...I love it so so much. I have helped with 2 deliveries so far and hopefully more will come this weekend when I have my 3rd shift. Its so amazing to watch a baby take its first breath. People have asked me...is it gross? Not gonna lie...Yes, but you get over it VERY quickly and I am just amazed at how awesome the whole process is. Still pretty sure I want to spend my career in this area. I have my shift in NICU next weekend, so I can't wait to experience that.

Another set of "Portraits by Ashley" will be coming up soon, as I am taking pictures of this GORGEOUS pair...plus daddy this weekend. Can't wait! :)

Can you believe it? Thats all for now. But with the holidays and this photo shoot coming up, I should have lots of fun stuff to post soon. Stick around!

Change of Scenery

2008-10-30T20:35:00.004-05:00

In the last few months, I have gained some great experience doing a rotation in surgical oncology for patients that come to me with abdomens looking something like this....

and I have learned a few things.
You know you're meant to be a nurse when (at least) one of the following conditions is true:
*You're interested in assessing the size/shape of someone's scar.
*You beg the nurse to wait to take out someone's staples/start or discontinue an IV so that you can when you're done with another task.
*You are not grossed out by helping someone clean out their colostomy bag.
*You can calmly say, "Would someone please get me a chair?" as a patient is fainting on to you, as if you're ordering a latte.
*You know what medical abbreviations mean and try to get to the patients chart first after the doctor has written new orders so that you can tell your teaching nurse what has been written...just cause you ACTUALLY KNOW what it all means!!

But I can now say that after learning all that in my last placement...plus much more (including dressing abdominal wounds, giving a shot without making it hurt, and knowing what to do when someone's wound drainage comes disconnected)...I am ready to move on!

So starting tonight...I'll be looking at patients whose abdomens look something like this!! (Minus the flower!)

I'm starting the section of nursing clinicals that I got into nursing school to get to! :) This is the area of the hospital that I love the most and I cannot wait to see what experiences I get to have while I'm there. I have my shift in postpartum tonight, followed by 3 shifts in Labor & Delivery, 1 shift in the newborn nursery and 1 shift in the NICU in the coming weeks. Have I mentioned that I'm excited?? I'll let you know in the coming weeks if I still want to stick around in women's services!!
Oh, and just as a treat for reading this far...is a picture of me in all my glory, practicing (on a sim dummy) putting in IV's. Sorry for the poor quality, it came from my friend's cell phone!! :)

Have a great night...and pray that I don't fall asleep during my first all-nighter! And I just realized that I will be on shift when Halloween starts...should I be afraid?? :)

Meet Bailey!

2008-10-21T16:30:00.006-05:00

We have a new furry family member. No, she's NOT ours...she's my mom's and she is SO precious! I went with my mom to pick out this sweet girl from the SPCA on Sunday and she went home yesterday. We think she and Jake will be great friends...once she's all healed from her surgery yesterday morning.
Her name is Bailey, and she is part lab, part something else. What that other part is, we're not quite sure. What are your thoughts? We think maybe whippet or miniature grayhound or something. She is speedy and VERY lean. Future "Flyball Champ" maybe??? She is already crate trained/house broken and is the sweetest little thing. She is very much lab in that she likes to have everyone together, is very curious and loves to give "in your face" love! Here are some pictures from her first night in her new home.
Welcome to the family, Bailey!

"Go easy, guys...I've never gotten this much attention!!"

As my sister said..."This one hit the doggy lottery!" :) Tuckered out at the end of a long day!

On your mark, get set, GOOOO!!!

2008-09-28T21:39:00.045-05:00

Get ready for the longest post ever made!! I know, I made promises about posting Disney pictures..people are about to kill me cause no one has seen any, and I fully intended on making good on that promise, but then our friend Ike rolled into town and stuff changed. So sit back and relax, cause here it all comes.

First...Our Trip to Disney World!!!

It was AWESOME! We had the best week and had the most beautiful weather we could ask for. Instead of giving you a play-by-play, I'll give you a list of how each day went.

Sunday--Arrived in Orlando and we were SO excited to be there!

Here are a few pictures of our hotel. It was beautiful and we had a great room with TWO balconies!

View from our balcony! You can see Tower of Terrior in the background!The boat you see is one of 2 that took people to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) or Epcot.

The pool where we spent lots of time during our mid-afternoon cool-down breaks!

Once we got quickly settled, we headed for Blizzard Beach, the water park and had a great afternoon of fun! (No pictures...didn't have a water camera.)
However, that night we had our first dinner and we chose "The Flying Fish" on the Boardwalk (think Jersey shore type thing).

Here we are with our great sweet treats from an old fashioned soda fountain/candy shop.

Monday- MAGIC KINGDOM! Here comes the obligatory castle pic! :)

I love the mosaic of fairy tales in the walkway through the castle.

It was a perfect day. The weather was simply beautiful and the crowds were almost non-existant! We were so blessed!
Some other fun pics during the day...

Every princess (plus Mickey & Minnie of course) in a show!

Woohoo! No lines!!

I LOVE TEACUPS!!!

Matt doesn't.

AWESOME dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern! We met THE lady herself!

"Gotta have it" picture!

AMAZING night time firewords at MK!

Tuesday-EPCOT! Super HOT but great day!

Germany

After the ride in Norway (Yep, we sure were standing there in line with 10 year olds waiting to take this picture!)

We got to try Segways in the Innoventions Hall.

One of our favorite rides, Test Track!

Entrance to another of our favorites...

About to have dinner in Italy!

This was my only "good" picture from the wonderful night show "Illuminations" at Epcot. It was beautiful, but none of my pictures turned out as well as they did at MK.

Wednesday- Hollywood Studios (aka MGM)
Love Tower of Terror! I was laughing so hard I cried!

Probably our favorite ride from all the parks...Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster! I could ride it 100 times!

And so we had to go back to make sure and get in the front row of the car...its always the best!

The amphitheater right before MGM's nighttime show "Fantasmic" was about to start!

The show had fire, water and lasers! It was Matt's favorite!

Thursday- Animal Kingdom
This is "Everest", the big roller coaster at AK.--Watch out for the "Yeti". :)

The pack of elephants we saw during our safari! Pretty cool--lots of wild animals roaming like they really would on the savanna.

Huge Silverback Gorilla!

Shirt I wanted to buy for my niece, Avery, SOOO badly! Too bad it was too big.

Matt "playing" the bongos with the Tree of Life in the background--over 200 animals are carved into the trunk!

Matt enjoying one of our favorite meals all week. It was at the Ohana restaurant at the Polynesian resort. SOOO good and unending food! :) We also had an amazing view of the lake with Cinderella's castle in the distance!

Friday--Souvenier and departure day. :(
You wouldn't believe this store. Think department store size with nothing but Disney stuff. An entire section for "kitchenware ala Disney"...another for "women's shirts"...you get the idea. Craziness. I wish I could see the cash flow sheet for that place!! :)

Last picture of the trip, Cindy and Me!

Overall, we had the most wonderful trip! Our hotel was great, and Disney World itself IS all its cracked up to be! I encourage everyone to go as a young couple BEFORE you take kiddos later. It is the best time...and helps you realize that you won't ever bring your bunch to Disney World until they're AT LEAST 6!! :)
It was a great vacation and we miss it already!

Now then...Ike. He wasn't so cool. Our house was without power for about a week and 1/2. During that time, we crashed with family, played lots of cards and ate weird combinations of meals that "needed" to be cooked! :) I'm currently listening to nails being pounded into our new roof. Ike took the back part of our roof and we sustained some water damage in our bedroom. We've got the roof fixed and now we're on to replace the flooring and some of the sheet rock that was damaged. A few pics from this fun little party.

Just one of the 3 main spots where water got into our bedroom...

All in all, we are truly blessed to have the minimal damage we did. Many people in Houston had it MUCH worse than us.

Finally...
School is going well. I'm about 1/2 way through the semester and have finished my Gerontology class and have almost finished with Adult Health Care 2. My rotation for Adult Health Care this time is at MD Anderson Cancer Center in surgical oncology. It really has been amazing and I have learned SO much. I cannot believe that I graduate in 7 months! Whoa!
In about 2 weeks, I start a new class/rotation, which is OB (Obstetrical Nursing). We will be studying all things maternal/baby related. I am doing a 90 hour rotation at a local hospital in things like Labor and Delivery, Postpartum, Well-Baby Nursery and more. I am so excited, because this is the area that God has placed on my heart to be a ministry for me. I can't wait! :)

Ok....you're officially updated now! If you read this far, you're truly dedicated...or you're my mom. :) Thanks for sticking in and waiting MONTHS for the update! I promise I'll be better from here on out!
Have a great week!!

Are you still there??

2008-09-08T21:40:00.004-05:00

I know....I KNOW! I'm so sorry I haven't updated with pics and stories from Disney World. It was amazing and BEAUTIFUL. Perfect (albeit HOT) weather. I started back to school last week a few days after we got back and I haven't had a chance to write up a good blog telling of our adventures. I PROMISE I will tomorrow. I have a long day, including a test (of course)...but after that I will. :)
Here's a teaser to keep you interested! :)
Cinderella's castle during the evening fireworks. Beautiful! :)

Vacation!

2008-08-21T10:46:00.004-05:00

This is what we had in mind for our Florida vacation...

OR THIS...

Or THIS...

NOT SO MUCH THIS...

Or this...

Soooo....I thought Florida was supposed to be the SUNSHINE State?!?! We leave for Disney World in 3 days and I have become obsessed with checking the forecast for Florida. I'm praying with every cell in me that this storm moves on out quickly and will leave us with sunny days for our vacation. If you get a sec, please send up a quick prayer that the rain will move on out so that (1) the people who are starting to flood will have some relief, but that (2) our vacation will be wonderful in the Florida sun! Can't wait to update with pictures!

This time tomorrow...

2008-08-14T21:15:00.002-05:00

...I'll be on my way to see this precious girl and singing "Schools OUT for the summer!!!" (All 2 weeks of it!) :)

My beautiful niece, Avery, showing off her walking skills...and amazing cuteness! :)

Catching Up

2008-08-08T11:23:00.005-05:00

I just realized today that it has been almost a month since I last posted anything! This past month has really gotten away from me...so here's an update of whats new.

1. I'm in the final stretch for this semester. I have 3 tests next week but 2 are ones that were rescheduled due to the "MASSIVE" hurricane that wasn't... Eduardo... this week. I really can't believe that I am basically done with 1/3 of nursing school already. Crazy! I am finishing up my first clinical rotation this Saturday...my last 12 hour shift for a little while. I have been on a general Med-Surg floor and have gotten to observe alot; not so much DO alot, but I will get to do more next semester.

2. I have signed up for classes for the fall. Adult Care II (general adult care..doing IV's and such), OB (labor & delivery), Psych (that speaks for itself! :)), and gerontology (working with older patients). As most of you probably know, I'm super excited about OB...its what I think I want to do as a job after I graduate so it should be lots of fun! :)

3. Disney World is just 16 days away. I'm counting the minutes!! Anyone who's been in the last 10 years have any "must do"'s for us??

4. Going to visit my sis and her family next weekend. Can't wait to see their beautiful new house and my precious niece! She's walking now and I can't wait to play with her for a few days!

5. A few weeks ago, our Sunday School class played the local Christian radio station in softball. It was SO much fun and definitely a great morning! Not many people from our class had ever known me during my fastpitch days, so it cracked me up when one of them yelled "You're My Hero!" during batting practice!! :) Here's a throwback to my first days as a player...Haven't changed much have I?

6. The Summer Olympics are starting tonight and I couldn't be more excited. I LOVE the summer games...gymnastics, softball, swimming...All my favs!! :) We're even having an opening ceremony watch party at my dad's house tonight! Go USA!!

Not so much on the pictures this time---sorry! :) But with all of the fun times coming up, I should have lots to post soon!

One Post, 2 Flavors!

2008-07-18T21:47:00.015-05:00

Post one is a post-on-demand. I took some pictures of 2 beautiful mommies-to-be last weekend and they are wonderful. The reason I have not posted any yet (I know some of you have been checking everyday!) is because I got a new Photoshop program and my computer is having issues loading it. Sooooo...hopefully we can get it fixed soon so I can touch up these pictures. However, I will post just a few UNRETOUCHED photos as a teaser. Keep in mind I have done nothing to these yet, so they are just the raw photos. They are beautiful just as they are, but I can't wait to play with them! :)
These first ones are of Stephanie, who is due Labor Day with a little girl!

These next few are of Margaret, who is due any minute with baby Michael whom they have prayed for for so long! :)

LOVE this one! :)

Post 2 is different all together...Its my politcal/humane statement for the day.

Lately, I have been hearing news stories about how the economic crunch has put strains on the pet-world as well. People are giving up pets they feel they can no longer afford to care for. Stories like this made me so sad/sick. Pets are NOT disposable!!!!! These poor animals are having to leave the family they have known to live in shelters. I know that times can be hard, and that money can get tight, but dogs will eat ANYTHING! You can even give them table scraps if buying food for them is out--grocery store brands cost very little and the love you give them keeps them happy. I just can't imagine having to make the choice between food for the dogs, or food for myself. It just hit my heart really hard when I read this, because I cannot imagine giving Jake up. We are his family and I can only imagine how sad he would be if we suddenly left him at a shelter one day for some unknown (to him) reason. I wish I had a yard big enough to keep all these guys being given up! :) Ok, off my soapbox.

Hope you enjoyed the pics!! Let me know what you think and I'll post a few more once they're retouched!

What's Been Happenin'

2008-07-10T20:34:00.005-05:00

Since my life...as most of you know...is rather consumed at this point in time, I don't really have much (other than nursing school news) to post about which is what has lead to the lack of posts lately! Sorry! So, here's a short blip of whats been going on with me.

1. School is still good. I have finished up 2 of my 6 classes--and another one will finish on Tuesday. Still pluggin' along...lots of studying, and reading, and studying some more. August will be here soon and everyone in my class is already counting the minutes until it starts and telling about all the things we're doing during our time off! (Me- seeing the sis's fam in Dallas, and going to Disney World!!; others are doing nothing, going to the river, and going to PARIS!)

2. I LOVE my nursing school gals! I have made the most wonderful group of friends and I feel so amazingly blessed to be going through this with them. These pics are from our dinner last week the night that Susie's husband left to move to France for work. Boo..but we had a great time! :)
In this top picture, from the left is Celinda, Me, Kylie, Susie, Erica and Stacey. Love yall!!! :)

Here is the type of pic I do with EVERYONE. It was fun to try and fit 6 girls into the frame.

3. I have had to get up too early, WAY too much this week. I am NOT a good early riser, so getting up at 6 o'clock 5 mornings in a row is NOT cool in my book. Can't wait till next week when I have to be AT the hospital in the med center at 6:30 am. Thats gonna be awesome, right??

4. Although my photography skills have been put on hold for the last 2 months, I am jumping back into it with full force this weekend, taking 2 different maternity picture sets for 2 couples in our Sunday School class. I can hardly wait!! :) I hope to have some "teasers" up soon!

5. Wanna know the official countdown to Disney??

So thats about all for now!! Like I said, I'll try to put a few pictures up soon from the shoots I have coming up this weekend! Hope you all have a great week!

Birthday Fun!

2008-06-25T17:42:00.008-05:00

This year, I got to spread out my birthday celebration over a few weeks! That always makes it fun!
On the Thursday before my birthday (which was on Father's Day), my mom had a surprise dinner planned for me that included both my parents, and both Matt's parents and us at Pappasito's! It was so much fun and SO yummy! Afterwards, we headed back to our house and had the most beautiful and WONDERFULLY tasting cake ever! Of course, it was a "Virginia's" cake and was almond flavored. I loved every single bite! I kept it as long as I could and finally had to toss the little tiny bit that was left this past weekend.
Wasn't it beautiful? I said that it was almost too pretty to eat!

Then, on my actual birthday, I took a little study break and planted some new flowers in our front yard. I know...I look lovely!! :)

Then, this past weekend, Matt and I celebrated my birthday and our anniversary by going to some really wonderful restaurants here in Houston. Friday, we went to Smith & Wollensky's. Its a place that Matt has always wanted to try and it was definitely great food. On the menu, filet mignon (prepared different ways), truffled mac and cheese, and shrimp cocktail! Here is the pic of us at our table!

After that, we visited our VERY favorite place for dessert in town!! Crescent City, which is FAMOUS for their beignets. We go there every chance we can. I didn't get a picture of ours, but if you've never had them, they're sort of like a cross between donuts and sopapillias. Amazing with powdered sugar and honey...and coffee for Matt of course!
This isn't my picture, but here is what one looks like in case you've never had the JOY of having one!!

Then, Saturday, we ate at one of our new favorite places...The Capital Grille. The place is so nice inside and had the most amazing food. They even decorated our table and gave us free creme brulee before we left. On the menu...more filet Mignon, lobster, crab cakes, and creamed spinach. Sooooo yummy!

We've had a great time with all of the celebrating and now I'm back into another crazy week of school. Working on studying for my 2nd test this week...and getting ready for another one next Tuesday! Only about 6 more weeks to go before our trip to Disney World!!! :)

3 Years and Going Strong!!

2008-06-11T17:32:00.008-05:00

3 years ago today, we got married after over 5 years of dating! :) We had a wonderful day and each day since then has just gotten better and better. I could spend hours talking about how much fun we've had, how he is what is getting me through these long days (and nights) of studying, and how I thank God everyday for blessing me with the everyday joys of being married to him......but I won't. :) The past 3 years have been amazing and I can't wait to see what the coming year brings!
Enjoy a few pics from the last 3 years. I don't have an "archieved" pic of us right now, but I plan to scan one this weekend and post it! :)

Our first minutes married!

Birthday dinner on our honeymoon...notice the sunburns we're BOTH rockin'! :)

When we bought our first house!

NYC 2006

On the beach in Grand Cayman!

School Update

2008-06-05T12:47:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry its taken me so long to get back on here and update...but yes, I am still alive! :) Here's a new updated "How its going" list! :)

1. Getting the hang of this. I have been able to keep up pretty well with the schedule I started out with. I have been able to work during the day and enjoy my evenings for the most part. I do end up doing work some nights just to get ahead...but not because I'm behind.

2. I am officially finished with my first class (crazy, I know!) on Tuesday. Its Nursing Research and I am VERY glad to see it go. I am finished with all of the "Modules", but I still need to work on the final paper. So far, it looks like I'll be able to pull an "A" in that class. Encouraging, but not suprising...if I can't get an "A" in this class, the others would be hopeless.

3. The other classes are going well. I am doing better in my Health Assessment class with the weekly quizzes than I started out doing. I've gotten 100's these past 2 weeks. Hopefully I can keep that up.

4. Oh, did I mention that when I lose "Research" on Tuesday, I get not one, but 3 MORE classes in its place?? We'll see how that goes.

5. I got my placement for my Adult Care clinicals for July. Not close to home, but at least I know people in my group!

6. I've found someone to car-pool with. She lives really close to me and we rotate days driving/paying for parking. So far, its been great!! We study in the car and don't have to spend as much money on gas/parking.

7. I can't believe that I've been in school 3 weeks already. It seems to be going by very quickly and I can't complain about that! :)

8. I have an amazing husband. He has been so incredibly helpful around the house and has been so encouraging!! He never complains when I have to study in the evening and always is proud of me, even when I do well on the "little stuff".

9. I have a wonderful family and friends!! Thank you to everyone who calls to check in on me, who invites us over for dinner, and who asks me how its going! I can't tell you how encouraging it is to have so many people "in this" with me! :)

10. Our Disney vacation has been booked! We'll be there in August once school is out for a whole week!! :) Woo hoo!!

Things I'm looking forward to....our 3rd wedding anniversary next Wednesday, and my 26th B-day next Sunday!! :) Lots of cake headed my way and BOY, do I need it?!! :)

For your picture this week, here is a picture of my school! Not the most beautiful thing ever, but it'll do! :)

Happy Thursday!! Get out there and get some sun for me!! :)

Nursing School...Day 3

2008-05-21T21:18:00.005-05:00

I know some of you knew that this was my first week of nursing school...not just any school, but an accelerated program where they smash 2 years of learning into one. Good for the long run, insanity for the short run. Instead of going into a super long description of how its going so far...I'm doing a super long list for you. :)

1. I learned my first "skill" today. Taking blood pressure manually, the old fashioned way. Yes, I know all hospitals have digital/electronic/automatic BP read outs, but yes...I still have to learn it. Be aware...if you come to my house, you're getting your bp checked. :)

2. I have read more from textbooks than I probably did in the entirety of my last 2 years at ACU. My FIRST quiz today was over 12 (count them...12) chapters of material.

3. I watched an online lecture a professor posted during my first week of study that she didn't give to the generic (2 year) program until 3 MONTHS into the class.

4. I made a spreadsheet of what I need to study this week. It comes out to about 38 hours of study/work. I'm planning to work it like a full time job (from 8-5 on weekdays)...with a little time on the weekend thrown in. I think this will help me stay sane and be able to handle it. Work during the day and enjoy my family in the evening. I do know that there will be some "late nights" just as there are with a full time job, but I know that God will give me the strength to make it.

5. I paid $11 to park in the med center for 5 hours today...plus $3.93 per gallon for 8 gallons of gas. Nuts!

6. I made a little above the class average on my first 2 quizzes today. I'll take that. :)

7. Most people were able to access our classes online and start studying last Thursday. Due to a computer glitch, I didn't get in until yesterday at 3.

8. In my nursing research class, I have one, one-line answer page; a short answer paper; a 1 page paper; and a 2 page paper due every...other...day. That, plus a 5 page mid-term due on Wednesday.

I know it looks like I'm pointing out all the bad stuff..but really, its not "bad stuff"...its just my current reality! :)

Something else I know for sure? There are over 300 people who did not get in that would do ANYTHING to be in the same spot I sit in each day. I am incredibly and wonderfully blessed to be in this program and I know that God is going to do amazing things through me through what I learn during this year.

With all of that said, I AM making it and I WILL make it. I am too excited about my future as a nurse to cloud the fact that my life has disappeared for the next 12 months. It is a little crazy, but just the fact that I know how to take a blood pressure all by my self exites me! :) I can't wait to learn MORE and get through with this semester. Fall and Spring (I hear) are less books, more clinicals (working in the hospitals), and that is what I'm looking forward to....well that, and the fact that at the end of the summer, we're probably taking a trip to Disney World!! :)
Thanks to all of you who have checked in to see how its going...friends and family like you are what will get me through this next year.

From your friendly, neighborhood nursing student and friend... :)

And don't be too surprised to find me like this in the coming months!! :)

Not a Coincidence!

2008-05-19T21:42:00.003-05:00

I found this video on the blog of one of our new Sunday School friends, Nick & Jamie. In honor of it being my first official day in nursing school, I just HAD to post this. Its a semi-long video where Louie Giglio speaks about Laminin, a vital protein in the body and the amazing form it naturally takes. I urge you to watch the whole video, but if you're running short on time, start the video at around 4 minutes and watch the "awesome-ness"! :) We are most definitely fearfully and wonderfully made!

Afternoon in the Garden

2008-05-11T15:02:00.011-05:00

I've enjoyed having something new to post about...nothing much has been going on in our lives right now! I finished my classes (which finishes my prerequisites) and I officially start nursing school a week from tomorrow. For now...just more about what I have been doing in the mean time! ---

Last Sunday, I got the privilage of spending the afternoon with this precious family from our Sunday school class. This family is so cute and I had a great time with them. Thanks for all the posts about which ones you liked last time! I enjoy seeing what you all think! :) Have a great Mother's Day!

More Good Times Behind the Camera!

2008-05-03T14:29:00.013-05:00

Yesterday, I got to spend the afternoon taking pictures of this great couple, Josh and Laura, who are getting married in October! Which one do you like the best?

Oh, and very, very soon, I plan to post a blog calling out all you blogstalkers who I hear read my blog, but never comment!! :) So....if you'd like to be left out of that one, please comment now and tell me which one like!! :) Hee hee! (Chances are...I read your blog too!) :)

This statue is very close to where they got engaged... thats why ol' Sam made it into the photo!! :)

Those are some of my favorites...but there are lots more! :) And yes, I did play with the color in some of them, which is why a few make look different to you! Don't forget to tell me which one you like! :)

Soon to come...picture day for Matt, April and Sarabeth! :)

*These pictures and the rights to them belong to the author of this blog. Please obtain permission before copying or using them in any fashion.

Birthday Wishes for my "Bestie"!

2008-05-02T09:28:00.004-05:00

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY EMILY!!!

(How sad is it that the last really good picture taken of us was at my wedding???)

Love you lots, friend and I'm so sad I can't celebrate your birthday with you! This is for you!! Wish I could be there in person to eat it with you!!

Have a great birthday!!! :)

What a Difference a Year Makes!!

2008-04-23T18:00:00.005-05:00

Me with Avery Kate at one day old...

Avery Kate at one YEAR and one day old...
(TELL me that is not the cutest picture! This is my new favorite picture of her that I have!!) What a doll!

Another Day in the Life...

2008-04-13T00:07:00.008-05:00

...As a photographer! :) I had a wonderful time taking portraits for this wonderful family out in the bluebonnets near Chappell Hill. These are just a few of my favorites. Let me know which ones you like!! Enjoy!! :)

WOO HOO!!!

2008-03-30T14:00:00.007-05:00

So...yesterday morning I got on to check the "status" of my admissions on the UT website. I knew that the possibilities of there being any update to the "pending status will be updated upon committee decision" status was slim. They told me it wouldn't be until April, but just like everyday, I HAD to check! And what to my wondering eyes should appear??? The words that I've been looking forward to reading for months...

You have been granted admission!!!

Granted, it did techincally say that it was a "provisional" admission, but I'm assuming all that means is that they are making it provisional because I am still in the process of completing my final prerequisite requirements. They just have to make sure that I do, indeed, pass the classes I'm in currently. I'll say the same thing I told my dad, the fact that ANY part of that sentence says "Granted admission" is GREAT to me!!! :)

So there it is, folks, the news MANY of you have told me you've been waiting for!! I'll be graduating ONE year from this May with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing!! AHH!! The program starts May 19th and I'll be able to give more info later.

After Matt and I called everyone in our families, my mom suggested that this called for a celebration dinner. Last night, both my parents and Matt's parents and us went to Brio Italian in the Woodlands for dinner. Its one of my fav's!! Then, we went back to his parents house for dessert...a very yummy chocolate fudge cake!

I'm still in shock a little and probably won't fully believe it until I have it in writing, but yeeaaaa! Its a huge relief and I am SOOOO excited!! :) God is SO good. He's given me such an amazing sense of peace about this from day 1 and I could never have made it without Him. Here are a few pictures from our dinner last night. Enjoy!! :)

Matt's parents (far left), Matt and I, and my Dad and Mom at Brio's to celebrate!

The SUPER yummy cake that Matt's parents got for me. There is still TONS left over!! :)

The Photographer Within

2008-03-16T15:26:00.013-05:00

On Friday, I had the great experience of living out a day doing one of my dream jobs as...a photographer. I have "dabbled" in photography ever since high school and always have enjoyed doing it. For that day, I was blessed in the experience of taking bridal portraits for a life-long friend of mine, Kristy. She's getting married in May and had resigned herself to just not taking bridals. Since I know how glad I am that I have my pictures that were taken during that special time in my life, I told her that I would be happy to do them for her! We had a beautiful day on A&M's campus on Friday (she and her fiance are both alumni) and just had the most fun day! She is absolutely gorgeous and I'm proud of how they turned out, so I couldn't resist putting a few up for you all to see! Enjoy!! :)

Since her fiance is in the Navy, and we thought it'd be fun if she puts this last picture on the groom's cake table! :) So anyways, these were just a few of the beautiful shots I got of my sweet friend. I think I had as much fun taking them as she did getting them done!! :) If you (or anyone you know :)) would like getting pictures, but doesn't necessarily need a "real pro", let me know! I just enjoy doing it and would be happy to snap a few shots for fun! This was such a wonderful way to end off my Spring Break. Hope everyone has a great week too! :)

P.S. If you happen to know Kristy, or Kyle (her fiance'), please don't let him "find" this blog! :) I promised her there would be no way he could see these! Ha!! :)

I know...I KNOW!!

2008-03-02T17:45:00.003-06:00

I have had many of you tell me recently that you check my blog every day waiting to hear if there is any news about nursing school. I know!!! It's making me crazy too! Even though I know well and good that they said I wouldn't know anything until late March (at the earliest), I continue to check the mail and the UT website every day hoping they might give me some news early. You think YOU'RE anxious to know??? :) Its about to make me insane. BUT.....no, nada, zippo, ziltch, zero! Nothing yet from school. Trust me, when I know, you'll be the FIRST to know!! :)

I know that patience is a virtue, but that I'm thinking that I am well versed on it now. :) I'm ready for some news...and for my life to move on! I wonder if they make this in an adult size for me?

FINALLY!!!

2008-02-17T12:25:00.005-06:00

I know only a select few of my readers can truly appreciate this blog, but...

After YEARS of practicing and PRAYING....

WOOOHOOO!!! Way to go, girls!!! We're proud of ya'll!!

It's all about love!

2008-02-15T16:42:00.007-06:00

Last night, we spent our 8th Valentine's Day together! Luckily, we had an AMAZING concert to go to to celebrate! Steven Curtis Chapman was in town and played at our church! The crowd of nearly 4,000 LOVED him and he spent most of the evening playing alot of his older, fantastic songs! On the list was: "Saddle Up", "Dive", "Be Still and Know", "I Will Be Here" and even some songs older than that. Also, he played some from his new CD like "Cinderella" (I dare you not to cry while listening to that song!!) and "In this Moment". Matt said he could tell I enjoyed it by all the "WOOOO" -ing I was doing!! :) I had a great time and enjoyed every minute. Even though alot of my pictures are terrible quality (no flash), I still had to catch a few from our evening with SCC! :) Also, I've added a pic of the BEAUTIFUL flowers my sweetheart gave me for Valentine's Day. So sweet! :)

Even though this next picture is TERRIBLY blurry, I just had to put it in here. This is him singing "Dive", my very favorite song of the night (and of all of the songs he's sung!) ! :)

Hope you've had a great week and Happy Valentine's!

Blogs to come:
*The Photographer Within (Shooting a friend's bridal portraits)
*Update on school
*Coming in April: Avery Kate's First Birthday, and possibly "Our Trip to Mexico"

Movin' on Up!!

2008-01-27T17:38:00.000-06:00

This is me...well, a very bad "Paint" program rendition of me... moving up the ladder to nursing school!! I just got my letter last night telling me that I've made it to the interview part of the admissions process.

WOO HOO!!! :)

As you can see from my awesome drawing, I'm only one small step away from being accepted!!! I was told that the interview is 3-4 hours long (whoa!) and it will be taking place on Thursday, Feb. 7. Any and all prayers and happy thoughts that day will be greatly appreciated!! I could NOT be more excited!! So far, I've made the first cut from about 400 applicants down to about 100 that they'll interview. I just now need to make it when they cut it down to 40. I was also blessed to find out that I have plenty of time to finish my prerequisite classes I'm taking the last of this semester as I will be done on May 5th and the Nursing program begins on May 21st. Thanks for your on-going care and kindness as I tread down into this new adventure!

What are the odds??

2008-01-12T10:43:00.001-06:00

That in a silly picture of your husband and your dog....

...the DOG will be the one that blinks!! :)

Hope this gives you a morning laugh almost as much as it did for us! Haha!

Reflecting and Looking Ahead

2008-01-03T20:13:00.000-06:00

I love how reflective everyone gets around the new year. Its so fun to think back on all of the wonderful things that happened during the year, and sometimes even to think about the not-so-great because they show us what we've learned and how we've grown. For us, 2007 was a year of new beginnings and 2008 will be a year of growth.

In 2007, we experienced:

* A vacation to Grand Cayman (March)

* A broken foot. :( (Not we, just me.) (March-April)

* The birth of our precious niece, Avery Kate, who we love on more each time we see her! (April)
* The end of my work at the school I started my life after college at. (May)

* I turned 25! (June)

* My decision to not go back to teaching. (August).. and start back to school to fulfill prerequisites for Nursing School.

* Matt turned 26! (August)

* Learn more about the Accelerated Nursing Program at UT (at the Houston Medical Center) and work myself silly to get good class grades and a good Nursing Entrance Test score.

* Completed the first full year in our new house! (October)

*The growth of relationships with so many new wonderful friends at Champion Forest.

Looking forward in 2008, we're anxiously awaiting:

*Hopefully, my acceptance to Nursing School! (We won't hear anything until, at least, February.)

Cheesy graphic, I know, but you get the idea! :)

* A trip back to Cayman before school starts for me in May...if I get in!

*Celebration of our 3rd wedding anniversary, and of our 8th year together!

*My 26th birthday and Matt's 27th! :)

*Hopefully, a trip some where else...possibly to Europe with Dad, or Disney World for our anniversary!

*Avery turns one!

*Gaining closer friendships with our new friends.

It will be so fun to celebrate with so many friends as they welcome new little ones to their families this year! We are so excited to see what God has in store for us as we continue to bask in His blessings and to live out our dreams!

Christmas Fun

2007-12-28T19:43:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, its been a long time since I've had a real update of any sort...so here you go! So much happened over the few days surrounding Christmas, I thought I'd make it simple so here we go!!

Before Christmas came around, I was able to get my decorations up for the season. Here are just a couple of pictures of how they turned out.

Friday, Dec. 21...Amanda, Brett and Avery came to Houston and I got to see this beautiful face! :) She's 8 months now and has started the CUTEST new thing of waving to everyone and knodding her head 'yes'. SO cute! (She even does the knodding thing if you say, "Boy you sure are a beautiful little girl!" Her mommy says she's already a ham!)

Saturday, Dec. 22nd...

My Mom arrived back in town from going to Dallas to get my Grandpa and his wife from the airport there. The entire fam went to LUPE'S Tortilla for dinner. (If you are a Houstonian and NOT a Lupe's fan...we must talk...you'll convert for sure!! :))

Sunday, Dec. 23rd...

Most of our family went to see "A Wonderful Life" on stage at the Hobby Center. Wonderful play based on the movie and then we came home to have Matt's favorite meal of all time...Shrimp Boil!

Monday, Dec. 24th...Christmas Eve!

We spent most of this day with Matt's family! (We always do!) We went with his parents and Pops to Maggiano's for dinner (yum!) and then went back to his parents house for gifts. Here are a few pictures from our great evening together.

And here are Matt and I on his parents staircase in our "gift opening attire" on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day! Dec. 25th!!

7 am- Woke up from spending the night with Matt's family.

8 am- Went to my dad's house for stockings and gifts and breakfast with my family!

(Pictures: 1. Avery opening her first stocking! 2. Matt showing Avery how her new phone works!)

11am- Went to Matt's aunt and uncles for Christmas lunch...steak and potatoes! (Yes...we ate ALL DAY!) We also opened gifts with his extended family there as well.

(Pictures: Matt's little cousin, Brock, showing off his new Aggie football uniform! 2. His aunt Sherry, cousin Angie, and me!)

4 pm- Head to my mom's house for Christmas dinner (WONDERFUL traditional meal with turkey and all the "fixin's")...and more gifts of course!

Here is Avery with her new car!

My gift highlights:

*Lots of great clothes!

*Food processor!

*Giada cookbook

*Amazing wooden cutting board my Granddad cut using the wood from trees at the farm where my mom grew up in Missouri! Wow!

As for Jake, he was very excited getting:

*A Great fetching toy.

*A HUGE bone that he could bearly carry...and which his is VERY protective over! :)

Here he is getting his stocking!

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. We had some wonderful times and made some great memories...even just during things like playing "Wii"!! We are so blessed and are so grateful that we were able to spend the holiday with family. We're looking forward to the New Year full of wonderful blessings from God...hopefully including an acceptance letter to Nursing school and maybe a vacation somewhere fun! We wish your families great things in the year to come.

Happy 2008, Everyone!

Take My Quiz!

2007-11-30T14:52:00.000-06:00

How well do you know me?? Take this super fun quiz I made up to find out!! :) It only takes a minute...If you read my blog, you should take my quiz!! :) This means you, all you Starting Point folks!! :) I want to know who all keeps up with me on here! Hee hee.
When you're done--leave a comment and tell me if anything surprised or tricked you! :)
Thanks for the idea, Allison!

http://www.quizyourfriends.com/quizpage.php?quizname=071130155124-341855&

Thanksgiving Weekend!

2007-11-26T16:23:00.000-06:00

We hope everyone had a great Thankgiving! Not sure how your weather was, but it was definitely fall-feeling down here! Matt was so excited for it to be cold (for once!) on Thanksgiving...its no fun when its 85 degrees Thankgiving Day like it was last year.

Before I get into how our actual Thanksgiving was, I have to say that I made a very traditional pumpkin pie on Wednesday night. We lost power for about an hour right after I had dumped the pumpkin into the mixer! I ended up mixing it by hand and even melting the butter I needed by candlelight! It came out perfectly...once the power came back on and I could bake it!

We spent Thanksgiving morning watching the Macy's Parade on our couch with hot chocolate, cider and a fire in the fireplace...perfect! :) That afternoon we had dinner with Matt's mother's side of the fam at Aunt Margie's house. We had a group of about 15-20 and the food was WONDERFUL! :)
Thursday night, we spent the night with Dad, watching Home Alone (love it!) and eating leftovers and a sweet potato casserole I made that night. Good stuff! I was so proud of how well the casserole came out, I had to get a photo of it...yes, I'm a dork! :)

Friday morning, Matt and I got up and headed up to the country (in North Zulch, Texas...never heard of it, I bet!) where Matt's family has a farm. We spent the very chilly (and rainy) weekend up there with his dad's side of the family. We watched movies, played dominoes, ate TONS of great food and just enjoyed spending time up there with nothing to do but play around and chat. We're back in the grind again, and school for the last couple of weeks of the semester are going to be crazy! I can't believe the semester is almost done. Just be in prayer over the next few months as UT starts to make their decisions about admissions to the Nursing Program and we see if all the work I have been doing this semester will pay off!

Anyways, here are a few photos from the weekend. Next weekend, we have a progressive dinner with our Sunday School class and plan to spend Saturday afternoon decorating for Christmas! I'll definitely have some photos of our deco to put up! In the meantime, enjoy this GREAT weather and the Christmas Carols on the radio! :)

Matt and our little cousin, Brock! He is at such a fun age...see what he had us all doing in a later pic!

Here are the 3 kiddos in the family in their matching Christmas pj's. That face Brock is making is him saying, "Cheeeeese!" :) (Cassie, Addi, and Brock)

The precious youngest member of this crazy fam...Addison, in the Christmas shirt we bought her! Aren't those blue eyes just gorgeous? :)

The older group of "kiddos" playing dominoes! Angie, Sarah, Davey (nice face!) and me! :)--Side note, I won!!!

And finally, a great picture of my mother-in-law. Remember how I was saying that Brock is at a fun age? Well, right now, he's reeeeally into being a fireman. He decided that since his "Uncle Bubba", (my father in law) was making a fire in the fireplace, that we all needed to practice "Stop Drop and Roll" in case the fire jumped out of the fireplace. So here you see Debbie showing off her S, D and R...and Jake thinking she was playing with him. Notice Brock in the background saying, "Aunt Debbie...now STOP....DROP....and ROLLLLLL!" :) Trust me, my sweet mother in law is not usually a "roll on the ground" kinda gal, but for Brock, she would. :) Hee hee. (She's gonna kill me for putting this pic on the blog!) Love you Deb!

Happy Fall!

2007-10-31T21:06:00.000-05:00

Jake wants to wish everyone a Happy Fall from our family! :)

And I also had to add this picture of our super cute neighbors who dressed up with their kiddos for Halloween! The 2 little ones are Captain Hook and Peter Pan, and mom and dad are the Scarecrow and Dorothy! :) Love it! :)

On the Road Again!!

2007-10-26T18:46:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, we lost a dear family member....Matt's car. His family loved that car the entire 172,000 miles that she drove. :) He was rear-ended on the Beltway. Here is the result...

I know it doesn't really look that bad, but you can't tell from the photo, but it completely pushed up the entire back end of the car. You can see the worst visible damage here, though. After the other person's insurance company told us that it was totaled...remember that this car was already 10 years old anyway, so that just means that repairs to the car would have cost more than the total worth of the car...we decided to get a NEW CAR! We had been saving up for one and I have to say that I have been moved down a notch in the family food chain. This new car is Matt's baby!!! :) Its everything he wanted and more....an Infiniti G35 Sport with Navigation...which, by the way is the MOST fun to play with! We are so proud of it and have been enjoying it so much since we got it last Saturday. Here she is!!!

Can you tell he's excited?? :)

It's great fun to drive, and even just to ride in! I'm sure Matt would love to take you on a drive! :)

Need a Smile??

2007-10-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

I've been studying this weekend for an Anatomy test tomorrow...I'm tired, and at this point, I don't really care what the purpose of the simple cuboidal tissue is. I need a smile. This is what I'm looking at to get it. Doesn't she make you smile too??? How could she not?? Miss you lots, Avery Kate!! Mommy, give her a kiss from me!! :)

Country Folk

2007-09-26T17:04:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, my mom, Matt and I enjoyed a great weekend at the family farm in North Zulch, Texas. The weather was so beautiful and it was so nice to get to relax! I think that Jake had the best time of all...I think he's a country dog at heart. Enjoy the pics! :) (Sorry, I can't figure out how to get it to save without all the gaps between the pictures. Keep scrolling! :))

For some reason, Jake felt it necessary to share his grandma's seat in the car. He had his own seat, but just enjoyed it more sitting in her lap! :)

Matt taking Jake for a "tractor run". Jake did so good, and just ran next to the tractor the whole time. He was one tired pup at the end of the weekend!

Mom and Matt getting ready to "shoot 'em up"!

Me, conquering my fears of guns. I knew I would hear about it from you, Mom, if I didn't include this! :)

A great pic of a boy and his dog! :)

Since Jake wasn't a huge fan of the loud noise the guns made, we got to hang out too! :)

Jake and my mom's dog, Gus, enjoying the shade. Actually, Jake is loving the dirt pile he is in, the stick he is protecting, AND the shade. :)

Overall we had a great time playing cards, relaxing, shooting and eating some yummy food. If you haven't been up to the country, give us a call....we'll make it a weekend! :)

Settling In

2007-09-07T13:39:00.000-05:00

We're starting to settle in to our new lives as a "working man and a student" rather than "working man and the teacher". Well, I am still waiting on the school district we live in to get my things together so that I can sub on my days out of school, so for now I'm just a student. I am really enjoying my classes for the most part --- Anatomy and Physiology more than medical microbiology but thats probably just because "micro" seems to be more chemistry than anything and we all know that chemistry is really not my thing. (See number 5.) Believe it or not, we already have our first test in Micro next Wednesday over the first 5 chapters. I've started reviewing the first 2 chapters and am already up to 60+ flash cards. Whew! In addition to my regular classes (which also includes 2 online classes and an intro Sociology class as well), I am getting ready to take the NET (Nursing Entrance Test), the test they require you to take as part of your admissions to the Nursing School. I'm really not worried, but its just the actual taking it that I have to get through. So that's the latest with school...enough of that! :)

Last week, my sister and niece came to visit! We had a great couple of days just hanging around together and of course, spending lots of time doing whatever necessary to make my precious niece flash that million dollar smile at us! :)

Here are my dad and Avery cheering on OU on Saturday! (He bought this outfit for her before she was born---she had no choice BUT to be a fan! :) )

Here she is splashing her feet in the pool. I LOVE this picture---she is too cute!!

We also went to Matt's parents on Sunday night for his famous steaks and a good swim...especially for Jake! Here are a few pics. Can you tell he was having a good time?? :)

Setting up....

LIFTOFF!

And the splash!! :)

While Matt and I tossed a ball for this activity for a while, here is the rest of the fam enjoying dinner by the pool.

H0pe everyone had a great Labor Day and have a wonderful weekend! :)

Summer Update

2007-08-21T15:34:00.001-05:00

Actually, I should probably call this the "End of Summer Update"! The end of summer is always SO sad, but I am actually really anxious to get started with my classes this fall to get ready for Nursing School. My load this fall includes Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiology...not to mention a few others that I'm not really worried about. :) Should be interesting! So, before the school year gets started, I thought I'd throw out a few pictures from our summer!
(I tried to fix all the space between pictures and it wouldn't save it the right way. Sorry!)

In July, we got a visit from our Caymanian friends! We had a great dinner at Pappasito's and the even got to come by and see our house!

Pam and I (Pam and Me?) at dinner...

During the last weekend in July, my mom and I went up to Southlake to surprise my sis for her birthday! She was SO surprised and we had a great time! My Dad had gone up to visit and they went to Pei Wei for her birthday dinner and had NO idea that Mom and I were there. So fun! We even got to spent a little quality time with the most beautiful baby ever! :)

This was Mom on the phone talking to Amanda, when I beeped in on MY phone to wish her a happy birthday. She had no idea we were in the car together. Hee hee!

Here is my cute sister with her cuter daughter and her yummy birthday cake!! :)

I mean, really, does it GET any cuter?? :)

This past weekend, Matt and I took a little drive and spent one night in Austin and 2 nights in Abilene. Austin was fantastic, even though we got rained on while on our jet ski! :) We had a fabulous dinner at a place called Rocco's. YUM!

Matt with his favorite appetizer ever, Shrimp Cocktail!

Our "squinty", windy picture by the lake right before we left. Sorry, we forgot the water camera, so no fun pictures of our jet ski trip...trust me, it was LOTS of fun, even in the rain! :)

Finally, just a few pictures for all of you ACU folks out there who, like me, had NO idea of the changes to things on campus! I was SHOCKED to see some of this! It's looking great! It was so fun to be in town this past weekend with all of the new freshman moving in...kinda makes me miss it a little bit! :)

Ok, what you're looking at here is a view to the new food court. The area to the left of the picture is where the Hilton Room use to be. Its completely gone and a food court with a new Chick-Fil-A, Pizza Hut and QUIZNO's now sits there! Also, you see the carpet is gone along with the windows (where we got tickets for stuff) and the info center is gone. Also, the display case in the mailboxes is also no more. It looks great, but I was so surprised!!! :) Ahh, the good ol' days of cramming yourself in line for the old CFA.

The new facade to Sikes dorm. They took out the balconies and added that space to the inside of the room. Otherwise, everything is the same, but I think it looks WAY better! :)

The sweet elephant at the Abilene Zoo! :) (Sorry the picture is turned the wrong way!)

The very tired pup after we picked him up from 4 days at Doggie Day Camp! :)

And Finally, last night, we got really great seats to the Astros game. We saw a terrible game, but a CRAZY thing when a lady on our same row, that was proposed to said NO and left the stadium very angry amidst the "Booos" from the crowd. I felt so bad for the guy! Other than that, we had a great time!

Hope you've had a great summer!! Blessings for a Happy Fall! :)

Changes...

2007-08-13T20:29:00.000-05:00

This would have been me two weeks from today...

Want the news??? Now, this will be me in about a year (hopefully!)

If you can't tell what she is...its a NURSE!

Before I ever went to ACU, I had talked about being a nurse. I planned on being a nurse up until it was about time for me to actually pick a major and register for classes. When it came that time, I went with education. I thought I could do well and I think I have done pretty well for a rookie. I have taught for 2 years and was due to start a 3rd year in next week. This calling to be a nurse just hasn't stopped hitting my brain over the past couple of years. Its just not something that is going away from the dream of what I really want for myself. That's why...today, I resigned from my teaching job. Ahhh! I know, sounds crazy. Its just something I feel that I need to do for myself and my family. It's something I want too much to keep putting away and teaching just isn't in my heart anymore and that's not fair to the kiddos I would be teaching.

So, when I went in today to resign, I was terrified. Literally, shaking out of my shoes, about to throw up, hadn't really eaten for 3 days kind of terrified. I wasn't sure they'd let me out of my contract and of how my principal would react to this news just 2 weeks before school was suppose to start. Long story short, she took it VERY well. She did say at first that I had put them in a hard spot, which I knew and apologized for. I won't tell you all the long details, but in the end she actually said she admired me for going after something I want and thanked me for not waiting until the middle of the year to leave when the kids are already attached. I also said that I was sorry for waiting this late in the summer to resign and all she said was, "Well, things happen." Ahhh! I was so unbelievably relieved that she took the news so graciously and even seemed to understand a little bit. She wished me well and said they'd miss having me this year.

So, what's next? Well, I'll be working a regular job (still working on that) and taking some prerequisite classes this fall and spring to (HOPEFULLY) be starting a one-year program that UT Houston Nursing School has for people who already have a 4 year degree. I pray that I get into that program.

Well, as Bill Nye would say.... "And NOW you KNOWWW!" :) That's the big news around our house lately. We know it sounds a bit on the nutty side to be leaving a paying job for this, but just know that I want this SO much and really think I'll be happy making this move in the end. I know I wouldn't have been happy teaching this year and that I would have always regretted it if I never took the risk to go back to school. I can't WAIT to see what God has in store for us in this new venture. Wish me luck!! :)

Connect 6

2007-08-02T11:31:00.001-05:00

This is the latest picture from our "Connect 6" get together with our young marrieds class from Champion Forest. We have had SUCH a great time with "The Other 2 Matt's" and their wives! Connect 6 is like a dinner club where 3 couples meet up once a month for 3 months to have dinner, play games, etc. and then we'll switch to a new set of couples. Its a great way to get to know people better and we're SO happy that we got to know Matt and Nicole (couple on the left) before they move back to College Station. (Boooo!) Our little group also includes Matt and April, (far right) who are expecting their precious baby girl to make her apperance this October. This past weekend, we went to Cafe Red Onion and had a great time together...plus the most wonderful dessert! If you've ever had the cookie monster at Cheddar's, its similar.

These couples are so much fun and we have become "those people". You know the kind....they stay in the restaurant LONNNNG after the bill has come and gone and basically have to be asked to leave, and then they go to the door and talk some more, and then they go into the parking lot and stand outside talking for ANOTHER 20 minutes while the restaurant staff drives out past them! :) And guess what? We love it! Can't wait for next month's get together and then to see who we get paired up with next time!

100 Things About Me!

2007-07-23T19:31:00.000-05:00

Those of you that are regular blog readers will recognize this post from the many that are floating around right now. They are all so interesting and I learn something new about the person everytime I read one. I thought it sounded fun, so I have stolen the idea and decided to try it out as well! Enjoy!

1. I am an elementary school teacher.
2. I will be teaching 3rd grade this year, a change from the 2 years I spent in 4th.
3. I didn't want to be a teacher when I signed up for ACU.
4. I wanted to be a nurse; namely, a Labor and Delivery or Neo-Natal Nurse.
5. I stink at chemistry.
6. That's why I abandoned the nurse idea.
7. I'm afraid of failure. (See #6.)
8. I still toy with the idea of going back to school. Matt says if I decide I don't want to be a nurse, I should go back to be a lawyer. He thinks I'd be a good one. :)
9. Although I am addicted to CSI: Las Vegas and other "ER" type shows, I think I have a weak stomach for that stuff in person. (Also a problem if I were going to be a nurse.)
10. Elementary Education was the "safe" route in school. But, I think I ended up being pretty good at it.
11. Plus it gets me summers off! :)
12. I wish I didn't have to leave my old school district.
13. I'm afraid I won't like the new one as much, but I'm determined to like it as much.
14. I don't like the new calendar for schools that Texas has adopted.
15. Although I'm not ready for summer to be over, I am ready to get all of this stuff out of my house.
16. I also want to start getting my room ready.
17. I love to organize things.
18. Most things I organize don't stay that way long.
19. I am probably one of the most low-maintanence people I know. (See #18)
20. It takes me 25 minutes MAX to get ready in the morning.
21. That includes time to put on makeup, curl my hair and get dressed.
22. I am a night person.
23. My ideal time to wake up: 9:30.
24. Average time I have been waking up this summer: 9:50-10:15.
25. Favorite time of the day: 7:30 PM
26. I am a Child of God. Been in the pew nearly since the day after I was born!
27. I could eat Italian food every day of the week.
28. I would rather have a bag of chocolate chips to eat than any kind of regular candy.
29. I try to workout every other day. It's usually every 3rd day, at least.
30. I think that smoking is the grossest thing in the world. I turn my car vents off so I don't have to smell someone else's nastiness in my own car.
31. Even though I teach school, I don't like to read.
32. I would rather read a stack of good children's books than an adult novel anyday.
33. I think that one of the best ways to teach a child how to write is to read them really good books and point out the things that the author has done to make the reader want to read the book.
34. I think that people have taken alot of the fun out of school.
35. I think recess should be longer. (See 34.)
36. I think that kids would learn better and be more focused if we didn't make them sit in a chair and be quiet for 4 hours in a row. (See 35.)
37. I like for my students to talk while they're working...as long as they're really working.
38. I am excited that I don't have to teach any subjects covered on this year's TAKS testing. (Math and Reading.)
39. I am a journal writer. I kept one when I was little and then sporatically throughout college, and now I have a blog to keep my journal! I would love to start a personal one again if I can find a journaling book I like as much as my old one.
40. I love The Container Store. (See #17.)
41. At ACU, I was a Kojie, just like my older sister.
42. I like to wear clothes with simple designs...stripes or solid colors. (See #19.)
43. I also like to wear clothes in dark/light contrasting colors. (Light shirt, dark shorts; black and white stuff, etc.)
44. My favorite store is White House, Black Market. (See 43.)
45. I try to only buy things there that are on Clearance. I am a bargain shopper at heart. Don't mistake bargain shopper for bargain STORE shopper. I like to find deals in the stores I love rather than going to find stuff at discount stores.
46. Now that I'm spending my own money, I think it's ridiculous that stores want to sell a SINGLE pair of pants for $90. I'll wait till they're on clearance. :)
47. My favorite store to buy things at anytime: the Gap.
48. I like to think that I'm a "shoe gal."
49. I'm really not.
50. I don't buy many shoes...even though I love them because the heel is too tall.
51. I'm 5'9.
52. Matt is 5'11.
53. I don't like to buy shoes that make me taller than him.
54. I'm married to my high school sweetheart and best friend.
55. His name is Matt and he's an Aggie. (Whoop!)
56. He is from a family of Aggies.
57. I never thought I'd meet my future husband at my high school.
58. We dated for 5 years before we got married. I was 22 and he was 23 when we got married.
59. Last year, we bought a house less than 10 minutes from the high school we met at.
60. We bought a house from the people I use to babysit for.
61. He and I babysat here together for years.
62. I'm so happy that we bought our first house from someone we know, and love!
63. In college, I was asked out by a guy that had no idea I had a serious boyfriend. (Of 2 years:)). He became a great friend and ended up being in our wedding.
64. We have a yellow lab, Jake.
65. I think we'll always have big dogs.
66. When we first got him, I didn't think we could handle him. Now, he's the best dog ever!
67. Someday we'd like to own a house with some land. (2-5 acres.)
68. Someday we'd like to have 2-3 kids.
69. If I could pick, I'd like to have a boy first.
70. Right now we're loving our little niece.
71. She is the cutest baby ever, hands down.
72. I use to look mostly like my dad.
73. I think I'm looking more like my mom now.
74. I love the fact that we have an American Indian history in our family.
75. I'm a history nut.
76. I could watch "If These Walls Could Talk" all day. (It's a show about very old houses and the stories of the people who built the house, lived there 100 years ago, etc.)
77. I could walk through American History museums all day.
78. I especially love the war eras...1920's-1950's.
79. I love black and white photos...even those taken today.
80. I am amazed by the Amish culture. (Weird, I know!)
81. I have never been overseas.
82. The farthest from home that I have ever been: Hawaii.
83. The farthest from home that I have been outside the country: Grand Cayman.
84. I can't wait to travel more.
85. I am REALLY looking forward to our trip with Dad to London.
86. I also want to travel to Italy, Greece and France.
87. I started playing softball at age 6.
88. In my lifetime, I have more than likely played more than 2,000 softball games and my dad was one of our coaches for almost all of them.
89. My softball team won 1st place in the ASA 10 and Under National Championchip when we were 10.
90. In other years, we placed 6th, 13th, and 22nd in the country.
91. I should have stuck with swimming.
92. I think I could have been in the Olympics if I would have stayed with it.
93. I taught swimming lessons when I got older instead.
94. The longest series of reading I have done was a 3 book series about the Saudi princess and her life "behind the veil". (See 75.)
95. I wish I were crafty.
96. I don't have the patience to learn "craftiness".
97. The crafty thing I wish I could do most: decorate a cake or sew anything I wanted.
98. I love hydrandea.
99. I am a photographer at heart. This is the one thing I do have the patience to work at.
100. Some of the people I am looking most forward to meeting in Heaven: my grandmother Betty, Matt's grandmother Mambo, and Mary, Jesus's mother.

Hope you found this interesting!! I had a fun time thinking of them all! Do any of them surprise you?? :) I "tag" any of my blogger friends that would like to jump on the bandwagon with this post! Emily, I bet you've got some good ones! Have a great Tuesday!

Hard at Work!

2007-07-16T12:38:00.001-05:00

Part of my summer plans including getting some of our rooms decorated and finished. I have spent the last 3-4 weeks working on a couple of rooms and I can officially say that I am done!! I have stripped wallpaper (with the help of Mom and Matt), I have retextured, I have painted and painted and painted (which includes painting the ceiling!), I have hung pictures and helped hang a chair rail. Whew. I have to say that I am very proud of how it has come out, so here are a few photos for you to see also! :) Enjoy!

Our Bedroom Before:

Our Bedroom After: (Not a huge change, I know...but we love it!)

The guest bedroom before:

The guest bedroom after: (The walls are kind of a soft, lime green type color.)

The guest bathroom before: (Notice the white linoleum.)

The guest bath during: (Here you can see the new tile!!)

And the guest bath after!!

And finally, the formal dining room before:

And after! (Notice the new chair rail.)

So this has what's been keeping me busy the last couple of weeks! Now I'm trying to decide what to do next to keep myself busy while stuck at home without a car. (Matt's car is in the shop again and mine is at work with him!!) Any ideas?? :)