Update....and long post to go with it.

This post could be lengthy, but I assure you, it will be picture-filled :)

To start with, last weekend we decided to take Stoney to play with some kids his own size. He's usually odd man out, so we knew this would be a treat. I randomly hopped on to the North Texas Dane Rescue one day and there was a countdown on the home page to DaneFest 2008....obviously I had to know more. Come to find out, it's an event that has been going on for a few years now, originally designed to bring together families who had adopted danes through the rescue. Now it's open to the public, and for $10 bucks, we got 4 fun-filled hours with about 50 great danes and their owners - other people that know the joy that these beasts bring. It was so much fun, and Stoney looked so happy! Of course, there were tons of pictures, but I chose my favorites so it didn't get too out of control on here. Here goes:

One of the cool girls we met there and her boy Jack - who was definitely a bully. Good thing he was all talk, or bark.


Ashley and his other lover - our Stoney.




THE biggest dog-head I've ever seen....such a teddy bear.




She was my favorite of all the other dogs out there. She was as sweet and as calm as could be, not to mention gorgeous. Could be the color of the next one we get.






He looks so happy :)


Also a cool color - Brindle - one in 20,000 danes or something crazy like that.






Also loved her coat - the closest color to Stone we've ever seen.


He's not scurred.


Albino - usually deaf and blind. She was so sweet, and probably the tallest dog I've ever seen.


Pretty girl again - you can tell I loved her.






Finally....a group shot!


I know that turned into quite a few pictures, but you can't ever have too many, right?

Now onto a start-of-May update...Ash will be finishing up the semester this week, and we're keeping our fingers crossed he passes all his classes. He has had a bad case of "senioritis" this semester, which I totally understand, but let's hope he pulls out the grades he needs. If he takes care of his finals like he should, then he'll be done! Being an individual who does not have a strong point when paying attention to detail, he missed the deadline to apply for graduation, so there will be no graduation now. He assures me he will apply and walk in August, but I have a hard time seeing that happen. I think once he's out, he won't go back for graduation. At this point, as long as he does what he needs to get that piece of paper, I'm happy.

Things at work for me are super fabulous. I'm really happy with the decision I made in September to change jobs. The company I work for really appreciates people who work hard, and know exactly how to reward them. They do quarterly bonuses, and since this is our busiest part of the year, the Q1 bonuses are always the biggest. I was SUPER happy with what I ended up with, and not only did I get a great bonus, I got a promotion! My title still doesn't hold much clout, but the fact of the matter is I have only been there since September, and am already moving faster than people who have been doing this a lot longer. Who knows what the future holds, but I am 100% positive this is where God wants me to be, and I am seeing rewards daily that further instill that in my mind. I won't go on and on, but I am the happiest I have been in a very long time when it comes to my job situation. It's just amazing to see how God works on a daily basis.

Along those same lines, I know you are just dying to know what I treated myself to this weekend....so drumroll please....



While this may not get you really pumped up - I am SO stoked. I have been eyeing a really good quality camera for a while, and was starting to save up, but for all my hard work this year, Ash suggested I use bonus money and go get it. I have done nothing but take pictures and edit in the few minutes of spare time I had this weekend (yes, I'm still working weekends). I am SO SO SO happy I bought this and it was worth it. I did a lot of research, I hope this will fulfill my needs for a while. The kit I bought actually came with a lens, which is unusual for higher-end cameras like this. Usually you buy a body and then get all the lenses and such separately. The icing on the cake is that my mom happened to check the Sunday ads today for the store where I bought it, and they marked it down about a $100 less than what I paid, and offered a zoom lens for $100. So knowing it was a no-brainer, I head back up there to get the lens. There's a consumer law that if you buy something, and it's marked down within 30 days, the store is supposed to refund you the difference of what you paid and the sale price. They essentially gave me my money back and I bought the lens - no questions asked. I figured the money was already spent in my head, I might as well get another useful lens. Overall, the past week has been amazing, and now I'm even more excited about my NYC trip in June. If you thought I took a lot of pictures before....you had better brace yourself. I'm armed and dangerous with all new gear. To wrap up this loooooong post...some pictures I took with the new camera.

Taylor's first piano recital! She did so good and her curtsy at the end was awesome! Her arm is 100% back to normal, and she was cleared this week to return to all activity, so she's excited to be a kid again.



She looks like a pro to me.


All the kiddos who performed.


She's just precious.


Little miss Juliana Ava! She was kind of fussy, so I didn't get many pictures. Next time...I'll get you next time.


Ash and his new found love - restoring a motorcycle.









And of course our kids....



This is probably my new favorite picture.


Or maybe this one - how does it not put a smile on your face??


And he looks like an alien, but I still love him.





Whew...that was fun, wasn't it?

I can promise the amount of pictures in these blogs will increase dramatically. There will be millions of pictures of our pups (because they don't have a choice), only tons of my husband (because he gets sick of the camera), and none of me (because I'm the only camera-crazed one in the house).

If you're still here...I appreciate it. You must be a real pal.

New Article

I know it's been a while, and sorry, but this post won't be very fulfilling for those of you dying to know what's been going on (all 2 of my readers).

Ashley's boss was featured in the Dallas Morning News Home Section today.

Check it out!

I am getting a fabulous new toy this weekend - a reward for working my tail off, getting a fatty bonus AND a promotion :)

More details to come!

GG Emergency

Stoney, I know how you feel.

So our internet is muy stupido and has completely jacked up my TiVo. As a result of not getting home from work until 8:30 last night, AND my current TiVo strike, I missed the brand new episode of Gossip Girl. I know what you're thinking, no big deal, the full epidsodes are online right? Wrong. Apparently they will not be putting the final 5 episodes of the season online - a ploy to get more tv viewers? I think so. So I need a recap if you watched it! My iTunes isn't working right now, so I can't even get on there to see if I can buy it.

It's silly, I know, but it's the small things in life, right?

An eventful Monday already

So it's only 10:13 and it's been a pretty exciting Monday.

For the first part, a little background to start off with. In planning our NYC trip, me and mom were chatting about which shows to go see. I threw out "Jersey Boys", as I had heard it is amazing, but she nixed it - not knowing what it was. So this past week I hear an ad that it's coming to the Music Hall at Fair Park, so I tried to get her to bite - she nixed it again. Well an ad comes out in the Dallas Morning News yesterday and she realizes it's about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons so she calls me SO excited and apologizing for not listening. Tickets went on sale today, but to get first pick you had to go to the actual box office at 8 (old-fashioned, I know). Well it wasn't too far from my client, so she asked if I could make it happen. I told her I would try, but no guarantees because I had to be at work by 9.

So I show up around 7:15, to be greeted by a line of about 20 people, all ages 50+, along with the promo team for KLUV - the oldies station. Great. I didn't stick out at all. It was definitely interesting listening to all these people. There were a lot more men there than expected, who were super stoked I might add. A good start to the Monday morning - I got the tickets for the exact seats we wanted...of course that would have quickly made the Monday a horrible Monday had that not worked out. I told mom that next time she's coming to stand in line with all the oldies :).

Second, check out this website. Daily Candy is super fun and always has some great information. The featured "candy" today - titled "Street Cred" is for the artist Ashley works for! Go check out their website and buy some stuff....we have a credit card to pay off :) Only kidding - Ash is really passionate about his stuff and so much of making it big in the art world is having the right person see one piece and falling in love. His stuff is nothing like I have ever seen. Art is definitely a subjective industry, so don't feel bad if you hate it. Ash is the studio manager for Joshua Stone Studio and it's definitely been an interesting ride the past 6 months. Go check it out!

**update**Ash just told me their website has had over 5,000 hits from 100 countries since the article this morning....great news!


Finally (and MOST exciting for me), in my daily blog-reading, I was looking at this blog, and their new post which took me here. I INSTANTLY fell in love. This sweet woman's stuff is so cute and there is just something about handmade gifts that make me giddy inside - even if I don't get to say I made it. I picked up two fabulous items for mother's day for my mom. She doesn't read this, or barely get on the internet for that matter, so I'm safe to share this with you. I'm super excited to get these in the mail, and I'll share pics once they arrive. The icing on the cake is that I included a note with my purchase and she actually wrote back - and was SUPER nice. Most people won't take the time to do this nowadays. It was my first purchase on Etsy, and I definitely started my new predicted-addiction with a bang. Thanks so much Leesa!

1. I am grateful for fun outings with my mamasita.
2. I am grateful to have a gorgeous cousin, Becca, who doesn't know she's as awesome as she is. She will rock the world one day, just wait.
3. I am grateful for the sunshine this weekend.
4. I am grateful for new babies to play with.
5. I am grateful for my dad making us scrumptious dinners every Sunday night (in addition to my no-bake Oreo dessert).

Reflection

These past few weeks have definitely been weeks of reflection and just listening. I feel like my life is just going, and it's going entirely too fast. We are quickly approaching our one year anniversary, when it seems like just yesterday I was freaking out about finals and a wedding, all in a 3-day period. Since I've been working 70+ hours since January, it seems like the past 4 months have gone by in a haze, and I haven't really gotten to enjoy anything since then. I don't like the fact that work is my life right now, but we are working hard to spend time with friends and get our lives back. Ash should be done with school in May, and then I start all my CPA fun, so we still won't be able to enjoy both of us out of school and simply working, but that time will come.

I find that I have to remind myself daily that there is plenty of time. It's such a hard thought process for me to swallow because none of us are promised tomorrow. It's a horrible way to live, but I think I would rather live like today was my last day on Earth than live like I have "plenty of time". I have always had a problem with trying to do too much at once, and I think it is out of fear of not knowing what tomorrow holds. I was listening to my fave morning show yesterday and they played a clip of this speech (heads up: it's pretty long - so set aside a little over an hour if you want to watch the whole thing - if you want an abbreviated version go here and the link should be at the top of the page). I feel like I get so sappy and emotional when anything like this comes up - so to prevent this from turning into a huge, sad post, I will leave you with this. While we are not promised eternal life here on Earth, we are promised eternal life with Christ -so I will live like there is plenty of time. There is plenty of time because regardless of what I accomplish here on this planet, I will have an eternity to enjoy what the Lord has promised us. While my head is constantly spinning with where I want to be in life and where I truly am, I know that whatever is in store for me is what is planned - and I am completely content with that.

Taking the idea from my sweet cousin:

1. I am grateful for a Lord who promises to protect - no matter what the world throws in my path.

2. I am grateful for a loving husband who makes me cheesy eggs at 9:30 at night because I don't want to cook after a long day at work.

3. I am grateful for parents who gave me a life where it was possible to achieve any dream I ever had - and fully supported me along the way.

4. I am grateful for the light of my life - my 8-year-old niece Taylor

- who is cooler than I ever was.

5. I am grateful for a life with problems that seem so small compared to the man whose story was shared above or amazing families like this one.

My sincerest apologies...

So apparently my game was not so fun for some people. My intent was to look at the picture and guess where Ashley was visiting, not where in the picture he was :)

Here's another picture I received at work this week. I was slaving away and he was frolicking.

That's right...NYC and that's Times Square. I was jealous, but don't worry - I will have my fun in that glorious city less than two months from now!

Sorry for all the confusion ladies :)

Let's play a game.

Where in the world is Ashley?

On a happier note

So I decided that last blog was probably not a pick-me-up, so I will share with you what has brought me great joy in the last 15 minutes...

As a past hater of wedges, this is a big step, but I cannot help but to love these. I have been looking for some patent leather red shoes (why? see: shoe addict), and I think these will serve my purposes. Casual enough for weekends, dressy enough for work. Gotta love patent leather....it's my new favorite :)

The free overnight shipping doesn't hurt either.

After a while

I know the war between the head and heart is often a difficult one to fight. It is a war fought daily, in all aspects of life. Through all my blog-stalking, I ran across this blog. I will give a kleenex warning should you decide to explore, it truly is a heart-breaking story and one I've been following for a little bit. It is so inspiring to see how these people have been faced with a situation and feelings I can't even fathom, yet they seem to have the undying faith to get them through it. She posted a new blog with this verse:

4. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all mean. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 4:4-7

It is one I have heard over and over again but it has new meaning for me. I had a huge revelation this weekend that while I say I'm a Christian and know that I truly believe God is in control, I don't let Him be in control. It has always been one of my biggest struggles, but the problems of life are getting bigger, as they tend to, and now not only does my selfishness and lack of letting go affect me, it affects me and Ash, as a unit.

Reading the blog mentioned above makes our problems seem so irrelevant, but it shows me that if she can have faith in a situation like that, there is no reason for me not to let go of all those truly little problems that stress me out. We are obedient - God will provide. So easy to say, so hard to really believe sometimes.

That verse will be my new verse-to-live-by and please pray for me as I continue to truly let go and let God.

Also, keep that sweet family in your prayers during the hard days to come.

Speechless

After the night I had on Wednesday, Thursday was a very good day. We got a lot done on the client we're working on so I had a chance to catch up on some other work. We also were able to get out of the client a little early, so I decided to hit the metro and enjoy some of DC. I headed to H&M, since that's one of the only stores they have here that we don't have at home. I can say that I do wish we had one - it's Forever 21 prices for working women. It was glorious. It was such a great evening - could have been better only if Ash was with me. I love the metro. I love how easy it is to get around and not have to worry about traffic. I know I looked like a tourist trying to buy my metro pass, but who cares. I am a tourist, so it only makes sense! After my successful trip (a sweater, a jacket, a dress, a shirt, a purse, and some headbands, all for $150!) to H&M, I had a little bit of daylight left, and I wanted to go peek at the National Mall. I got off the Metro at the Smithsonian sight to catch this:



It really hit me how everything in life is God's timing. After such a crazy week, God timed my whole day perfectly to where I would be able to see this amazing sunset. It gave me such peace in knowing that He is there no matter what. Whether it's making sure I get on a certain metro line at a certain time, or bigger issues like whether I'm heading in the right direction for my career - He's ALWAYS there. I just stood there and watched the sun go down knowing I will be ok. Sure our fence blew down and we have to put yet another $1,000 on our credit card - we are obedient and God will provide. No matter what is thrown our way, it will not be more than we can handle, and I will say that's the greatest promise.

On another note - the appointment for Taylor went great yesterday. She got her cast off and they didn't have to put on another one, took the pins out (apparently with some extra pulling needed *shudder*), and she's now working on getting her range of motion back. It will be hard, as she's very guarded, as we all would be, but I'm confident she will get back to 100%. She's still restricted from all activity as with this kind of break, it's common for the arm to break below the elbow while the original break is healing. She ended up with a pretty bad rash from the cast, but nothing to be concerned about. Another instance of the miracle of God's healing.

I head back home today. I'm super excited to see all my boys (the hubby and the dogs) and we have family in town this weekend, which is always great! I've gotten to see my cousin Beck more this year than ever I get to!

Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter - and don't forget to celebrate what this weekend is all about.

Taylor update

An update on Taylor's arm -

She goes back to the doctor today to the pins taken out - which is bound to be a traumatizing experience - and get the cast off for new x-rays. The doc told her at the last appointment that he didn't think they would be putting another cast on at this point, like originally thought, so hopefully that doesn't change.

She's done really well with the whole ordeal. She has learned to write left-handed (like her Aunt), so maybe she'll end up ambidextrous after all of this!

I know the healing road is by no means over, but we're certainly getting closer.

I know it's bad, but the only thing I can think about is how BAD that room is going to smell when the cast comes off :)

Have a great Thursday!

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I know it's cliche, but it's what I need right now.

Happy hump day! I'm in lovely Washington DC, my most favorite place on the planet! Too bad I'm working too much to really enjoy it, but I find joy in the small things, like being able to walk to work and NOT have to fight traffic.

Yet another prayer request

This has to be quick since I'm at work and probably shouldn't be blogging, but a quick back story--I was a helper in Taylor's choir class for a little while and there was the sweetest little boy in there named Jared. His dad is also involved in the media ministry at church, my other place of involvement, and I didn't know him personally but knew of him and all of his help. About three months ago we got word that Jared's mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. They went in for surgery and found that the cancer was everywhere. We got word the beginning of this week that they had called in all family as they did not expect her to make it through the week. We got the final update this morning that she lost her battle around 1 am this morning. I just ask that you keep this family in your prayers. It's never easy to lose someone, a mother, wife, daughter, sister, etc....but my heart is so heavy thinking about this sweet little 7-year-old boy whose life will never be the same. He may not completely understand what's going on right now, but it will forever change the path of his life.

Pray for peace.
Pray for comfort.
Pray that they know their God is there always.
Pray that they can find peace and comfort in the fact that she is no longer in pain.

It seems like every day I hear of crazy things going on. It's a sad world we live in, but I know I always have my Savior and if He decides to take me today, that I am promised eternal life with him. I am not scared of the world, even with all of the evil. I have peace and I pray that you do too.

Pray for this amazing family and that God will begin to heal their hearts.

God answers prayers.

Now I know for most of you, that title is nothing new....but it's always amazing when there is something tangible that you know was really a blessing from God. If you didn't know, Ashley and I have not been happy with our car situation for a while now. He had a Ford F150, Single Cab (2 seat-er) and I had a Mini Coop (technically 4 seats, but no one over the age of 5 has any business in that back seat) so we were always limited in transporting people and when we needed to take our pups anywhere, Stoney was in the bed of the truck which always made my blood pressure shoot through the roof. We were upside-down in Ashley's truck because of a silly car purchase he made before that, so we knew that we would run into some issues in trying to trade the truck in because there would be some rolling in of the upside-down-ness (for lack of a better word). We had been going back and forth about even going to a car dealership because we all know how fun the idea of a new car is, and I didn't want to go through it only to be disappointed. Because of some things that have happened in the past few months, we were not in a place for our car payments to go up a significant amount, so we felt we were kind of stuck. Well, we finally decided to go talk to a guy at Texan Ford just to see if we had any options. This guy has been the guy that my dad has been dealing with for years and we figured if we could get a deal, this would be our man. So we head up there Saturday morning, and four hours later, leave with this.....

The car guy we talked to was able to do what needed to be done in order to keep our payments within about $100 from what they were before...he is truly a miracle-worker. I had said many a prayers the days leading up to the visit to the dealership, and had made my peace with the fact that if it wasn't God's will for this to work out, that I would be ok and trust that there is another plan. Well, apparently this was in God's plan, as I know that had we talked to anyone else, or tried to get any other car, it would have been impossible. I know that God answers prayers daily, and sometimes they're answered in good ways, and sometimes they're answered in ways we don't understand. I try to be patient, as we all know that's my biggest downfall, and see what He is going to do in our lives and 100% of the time I find that when I put it all in His hands, things work out the way they need to. It was truly a humbling experience to see all of this fall into place. I know it sounds silly to get this religious about a car, but God is in every aspect of our lives, and that includes the vehicles we drive, because let's face it, that money has to come from somewhere.
I really feel like it is a blessing to be driving that gorgeous car every day--that's right, Ashley's rocking the mini now, and truthfully, it was his idea! Moral of the story, be faithful and God will provide.

My sweet Taylor

I don't even know where to start about this weekend. I'll start with Ashley's weekend.

There was a trip planned for us to take Ashley's cousin Lance down to Austin to see sister Amber and other cousin Brooke (Lance's sister) and go to a G-love concert. With all the traveling I have been doing for work, the last thing I wanted to do was leave town again, so Ash told me it was cool if I stayed home. I jumped at that offer as I needed a weekend to just re-group. They got down to Austin fine and then Saturday afternoon I get a text saying that one of my favorite singers, Tritan Prettyman, was opening for G-Love. I was disappointed that I would miss out on that, but knew it was better that I was home. Little did I know what was in store for my weekend...more on that in a minute. So later Saturday evening I get an email from Ashley that has a picture of him and said favorite singer....SUPER jealous needless to say.

NOT the best pic of Ash....but she looks gorgeous and he said she is super nice. Too bad I missed out.

Now for my weekend. I woke up and cooked breakfast for me and a friend of mine, whom I've known since 1st grade. Breakfast came out pretty good, which is unusual....should have known then. Ran a couple of errands with my mom and then got a call at about 4 from dad that Taylor had fallen and hurt herself, and he though it was pretty bad. Anyone that knows her knows she is a major drama queen, so we have to be careful about how we handle injuries until we know she's not playing it up. By the time me and mom got back to the house, and my mom saw her, she knew immediately this was something big. All we knew was that Taylor was walking along, went to step over a log, and her toe caught the log so she fell forward and caught herself. Anyways, me, my mom and Taylor load up and head to Arlington Memorial, as it's closer than Cooks. The ER doc looked at her and immediately said something is broken with the way fluid was filling up her elbow, but we had to do x-rays to know exactly what. This picture is pre x-rays....

And walking to get x-rays...
The x-rays were a fiasco. Being at Arlington Memorial, these people don't know the best way to deal with kids. She was in so much pain and obviously didn't want to move as any movement hurt her even more. She stepped up and finally just sucked up the pain to get the x-rays donw, but not without a large amount of tears shed and "I can't"-s. An hour later we have x-rays, and are waiting on the doc to take a look. He initially says he'll put her in a splint, and to call the pediatrician monday for further instruction, as AM does not really deal with children. Then about 10 minutes later, he pulls us back out and says he only had one of the x-rays initially, but in looking at the other two he just received, it's much more serious and they're transferring us to Cooks as AM can't do anything. This obviously freaked out Taylor as she heard the word "surgery" being thrown around.

Right before leaving to go to Cooks...all splinted up:
What felts like 8 hours later we finally get out of AM and head to Cooks. We get to Cooks and go right in since AM had called ahead and filled them in on everything. By this point she had gotten some pain medication in her so she was pretty chill. We get to Cooks, get settled into a room and then they take her for more x-rays as the others didn't give them a clear enough view. Now the doc at AM told us that it looked like there was bone floating around and all this horrible stuff...so we were prepared for the worst. Well, there was NO bone floating around, it was only a break, but it was broken in such a way where they needed to put her down to set it. She broke her humerus (the bone above the elbow), just a little bit above the elbow as the bone gets really skinny. Apparently this is a very common break, but there are only 3 hospitals in the area with doctors to treat it. Again an answer to prayer that we had one so close.

Waiting in the ER at Cooks:
She heard "surgery" and immediately went into hysteria. In the middle of crying, she even tried to negotiate with the surgeon to do the surgery Thursday as it was better than at that point in time. (The doctor's got a pretty big kick out of this one) It's natural for most people to hear that word and think they are being cut open. We explained they weren't cutting anything, and she wasn't going to bleed. I'm not going to go into any details, but my sweet niece has had an EXTREMELY difficult childhood as a result of her mom and dad. As a result of this and a combination of the hard drugs they had her on, and the lack of food or water since they had to do surgery, she was FREAKING out. I'm not talking just some crying, but crying, screaming, going into hysteria. It took all three of us (my parents and me) to calm her down, but anytime another doctor or nurse walked in, she would lose it again. She was just so scared and didn't understand why God would choose her for this kind of pain. It truly was heart-breaking and it was all I could do to not lose it in front of her.
One major answered prayer in all of this is that while we were waiting, the Worship Leader and Children's Minister from church came to visit Taylor. My dad is tight with the Worship Leader, Sean Paul, so he sent him a text just asking for prayer requests. About an hour later, they show up at the hospital which was a HUGE blessing. We were able to keep Taylor's mind off of things for about another hour. These people are amazing and we're truly blessed to be surrounded by these people that care so much to change out of their pj's and come to the hospital at 9 on a Saturday night.
As I said before, this all started around 3:45, well she finally went into surgery at about 1 and was done by 1:30, up in a room by about 2:30 after recovery and everything. I could draw this out even more, but I think you get the picture. It was by far the worst thing to ever have to go through. I have had my share of surgeries and I told my mom, after we cried and hugged in the waiting room after Taylor went to the OR, that I don't know how she's done this so many times. This wasn't even my child but seeing those pleading eyes looking up through tears, begging for us to not make her do this....it makes me tear up just writing this. She has such a big heart and and is such an amazing kid, and of course we all want to know why. It's hard not to have that answer. She is so strong in her faith and she knows God is there and he will give her the strength to get through this. She is stronger than all of us put together because of the stuff she has been through.
I don't have any updated pictures, as she wasn't too keen on the idea yesterday :) Please keep my precious girl in your prayers. She is right-handed and this all happened on her right elbow, so she is really stressed about school and how she is going to function.
She ended up with a cast for about 6 weeks, but they put 2 pins in to keep things where they need to be. *graphic surgery talk warning* They put the pins through the skin and into the bone . However, they are covered by the cast so she doesn't know they are there. We are purposely not talking about it because we know it would freak her out beyond belief, so she will find out about them just in time for them to come out. I think she gets those out in about 4 weeks or something, and they just take them out in the doctor's office, so pray for that day as it will not be an easy one.
I know I said I was wrapping up....so sue me. I can truly say I never want to go through what we went through on Saturday. Seeing the pain she was in...it broke my heart. I know she's a fighter and each day is a step towards getting back to normal for her. There were many answered prayers and that's something we can ALWAYS rely on.

Specific things to pray for:
1. Perfect healing for the arm
2. Taylor's heart--knowing God did not "do" this to her, but it was part of His plan for her life.
3. My mom as she stays home with Taylor this next week...it will be the endurance trial of the year.
4. Pain--that it will begin subsiding so she doesn't have to be doped up all the time.
5. The day the pins come out--pray for peace for Taylor once she finds out what is going on and strength for my mom who will be taking her.

I could go on and on...but I won't.

I appreciate your prayers and will keep you updated on the progress.

Goodbye, Boise

So today is my last day in Boise and while I've had a great time, I'm VERY ready to go home. This city is definitely a little place tucked away in the mountains that most people don't appreciate, but Ashley and I decided it's a place we could live, and really enjoy life. It's a very healthy place (think Austin--lots of runners and bikers), and night snowboarding is only 20 miles away. That means every night after work...head up to the mountain! It's a life I could get used to. I have enjoyed the slower pace. It's so different from Dallas, but still has everything we would need. All in all the trip was really good.
Ashley came up last weekend and we spent Friday night through Sunday night on the mountain--only taking time to eat and sleep. By Sunday my muscles couldn't take it anymore, so I had some good people-watching in the lodge. It was a nice mini-vaca stuck in the madness that is life right now. I made it through learning snowboarding without breaking anything, so mission accomplished! By Sunday, Ashley finally convinced me to venture off the learner's mountain. I had a small break-down at the top of the new run as we all know I am no risk-taker and it just looked like more than I could handle. Once I made it, I had a huge confidence-booster and had a great time. Ashley's patience was out of this world. He is one of those lucky people who can pick up any sport and do it well. Me? Not so much. I did better than I thought I would and it's all thanks to his 100% support and encouragement. It was our early 1-year anniversary celebration, but don't worry, come May there will be parties.....we have PLENTY to celebrate :)
Now, just a taste of our weekend...

Another fun fact from a couple of weeks ago....check out our wedding photographer's new website here. Go to weddings, and then peruse. Be sure to specifically go to "thoughts" page. Make sure you let the page load completely--there should be three pictures that scroll through. Hopefully they will put a smile on your face like they did for me :) We also make some other appearances in galleries --> engagements, so take a peek!

Coming soon to a handmade card near you...

My own stamp! If you can't tell, it says "Shugart". It's a personal logo of sorts I designed recently, and Ash surprised me and had it made into a stamp for all of the cards I make. Even if he picks on me and my craft room, he knows it makes me happy, so he supports the cause :). It's a non-Valentine's day gift, since we don't celebrate with it being so close to Christmas and both of our birthdays. Hard to believe we're coming up on 9 months of marriage. To some, we're just babies in this thing, but I love that it's been that long and we don't even realize it. I love him with my whole heart. He knows me inside and out, and it's the small stuff like this that further instills why he is the one that completes me.

Halfway there

So I'm on the 2nd leg of my 4 week traveling stint for work. I'm now in Boise, ID for, what I'm sure will be, a fun-filled two weeks. I had a layover in Salt Lake City, and it was the most gorgeous landing I had ever seen in my life. The new desire of my heart--a digital SLR camera (more on that later)--would have come in super handy to share with you the gorgeous creations that God gives us daily. Snow everywhere....breath-taking. Boise wasn't so bad either. I saw one of the best sunsets, from the clouds, that I have ever seen. It's so nice to get out of the madness of the metroplex, and Boise definitely seems to be a little more calm. I look forward to what is to come.

We had a busy weekend, as always. We got to go play with new baby, Juliana Ava Murphy, Saturday night and got to see Jonathan, in town from Afghanistan--so it was a double-great afternoon. It's so crazy to think they have a sweet little girl now....but low and behold, she is real! She is a precious baby, and slept 90% of the time we were there, which I'm sure mama and daddy were thankful for. My camera is dead, and someone borrowed my battery charger a while back and I have yet to get it back, so unfortunately no pictures of the little miracle this time around, but you can bet there will be some in the future. I did get to play with GG Rankin's Christmas present, a new digital SLR camera. I was in awe, and everyone made sure Ash knows what to get me next :) I was in Heaven. It truly is an amazing toy, and I can't wait to have one.

After baby-time, we headed out to downtown Ft. Worth (a rare occurrence for the Shugart's) for an evening of celebration for a friend who passed the CPA (the first time around)! We definitely had a good time and got to hang out with Ashley's old gang which is always a good time.

I left DFW at 2:15 today so this morning was spent cleaning/packing/whining because I was off yet again. I am at the halfway point of all this traveling and am SO ready to be back home. Ash said it makes me appreciate home more, and that it does. While it's nice to not have to drive an hour and 15 minutes (at least), one way, to work everyday--it's not worth being away so much. I think I will definitely enjoy these two weeks--not to mention you won't have to read all my whining about it anymore!

Quick prayer request, I have back issues and I pulled something today at the airport, and cannot hardly move at this point. Not only is it painful, but Ash is coming up this weekend for us to snowboard, and I don't want something like this to ruin a fun (early) one-year celebration. I know if it doesn't get better, then I wasn't meant to be on those slopes--perhaps because God knows I don't have the grace and agility to attempt snowboarding without ending up injured :)

A Good Friday

So I had a week that was horrible, but at least I get to end it on a good note.

Good #1:
I got an email last night that my fomer co-worker's little girl, Morgan Kate, was born yesterday morning! (I wasn't lying when I said it's baby boom time). She was born at 10:54 am yesterday, 6 lb. 1 oz and 19 inches long. She looks just like her daddy!Good #2:
I ordered a phone case from vaja leather around mid-December. Now these cases are handmade, out of amazing leather, so not only are they not cheap, they take a while to get as well. When you purchase one, you have the option of the company laser-engraving your name, a phrase, etc. or a logo of your choice. Of course I designed something to go on the case, sent it to them and have been waiting anxiously ever since. The case arrived Monday, but since I was out of town, Ash couldn't get to Fed-Ex until yesterday. He opened it for me, and had bad news for me when I got home from the airport last night. I forgot to include the font file when I sent the graphic, and didn't make outlines in Illustrator either, so I kind of set myself up for failure. Anyways, the logo that was on the back of the case was definitely not the same as the one I sent, as what I designed completely revolved around the font. Ash and I have been going back and forth most of the day with the contact lady at the company, and I received the following:

Hi Tamara
We will replace the case.

This is how to proceed to get the replacement:
You should first send the case to be replaced in the same Vaja box as received
via regular mail to Vaja Corp. 'Return Dept' ,8309 SW 142 AV Dep. H 108, 33183,
Miami, FL.
Once the defective case has been received and checked in our Return Department,
and once the new case is ready, we will send the replacement case to you.
Please print this mail, and send it with the case in the package, we cannot
accept cases without this information.

Bear in mind that this replacement authorization will expire in one month. We
cannot replace the item after that time frame.

Replacement Number: 9686 (it is essential that you write this complete number
on the front of the package)
Returned case's model or description: cap30dck
State (New or Used): U
Cause (Return only, Warranty, Exchange) : W

I was super stoked that they are going to re-do the case at no extra charge to me. However, I was NOT looking forward to mailing back the one I received, as the case is amazing, so I wanted to use it until I get the new one. About 30 minutes after that email, I receive another:

Tammy,
You can keep the case received to protect your device. We think it may not be fair to get your unit without protection until the new one arrives.
So no need to send it back, do not worry about the return.

Best regards

Needless to say, I was SUPER happy. Not only are they going to fix it, for free, now I don't even have to mail back the gimp one I have. I knew I liked this company for a reason :). You can tell a lot about a corporation based on how they handle things when they go wrong. Granted, they probably can't handle every situation like this, but I'm glad I got lucky!

So if you need an awesome phone case, and don't mind spending some money (mine was graduation money, that's the only way I could justify it), this is the place to go.

Good #3:
I get to be home with Ash, who I think missed me more than he's willing to admit! He skipped class last night to clean the whole house so I didn't have to come home to a dirty house. He knows how to keep me happy. Not that I condone skipping class, but hey, I can't complain about it this time.

Happy Weekend!